We go down, together

Sebastian

Olivia drank the Firewhiskey as if it was water. The only sign of it effecting her being the flushed face and red tipped ears.

She remained silent while Ominis read through the letters. As did I.

Each correspondence seemed to suck the life out of him further. The threats became increasingly more apparent as they progressed.

Your status is in jeopardy by just associating yourself with scum like her.

We are giving you the opportunity to end things civilly, it would be wise to take advantage of our kindness before it is too late.

Failure to comply will result in immediate action from us.

We are more than willing to eliminate any threats or distractions.

Your fixation of orphans boggles the mind, Ominis.

Your brothers will come to collect you, by force if necessary.

"That is the last letter." He discarded it alongside the others on the floor, "I take full responsibility for everything. It is my fault."

My hand grasped his shoulder, "you are not to blame for the actions of your family."

A giggle spilled out of Olivia. Ominis tensed under my grip, "are you alright?"

The giggles turned into manic laughter and then the laughter turned into tears.

Ominis outstretched his hand toward her but she jerked her leg away, "don't touch me."

Shit.

We knew it was coming, the inevitable breaking point. Ominis straightened, as if preparing for a blow.

"I don't remember anything. I can't remember anything after going into the house. Why can't I remember?" Pleading eyes bounced between mine and Ominis.

This time it was me who reached out my hand but she jumped off the couch and away from my touch. "No. No no no. Why can't I remember? Why won't you tell me what I did?" Her words came out slurred and rushed.

"It's not that we won't tell-"

"You said we don't have to talk about it right now, which means whatever I did was really bad. It means that you are disappointed in me... again. It means I let you down again." She sounded like a scared child.

"What are you talking about? I'm not-"

"You almost killed Marvolo." Ominis' head snapped towards me but I kept my gaze locked on her.

"I- what?"

"You almost killed Marvolo. In my opinion, you should have."

"No no I- I didn't have my wand. I-" she began pacing. Ominis took a few hesitant steps towards her. "I said don't touch me." Terror bled through the stern demand.

"What did they do to you?" The sentence was so quiet I don't think he meant to even say it aloud.

Olivia stopped in her tracks, red rimmed eyes stared blankly into the fire. "They tortured me for hours." Her voice was so detached it was as if she was speaking about someone else.

She walked up to Ominis, her head tilting up. Glazed eyes met milky ones, "they came into my room, threw me against a wall, blindfolded and cuffed me." Her hands began to shake, "kidnapped me. Chained me to the wall." Her fist made contact with his chest.

Oh, Olive.

"They used Crucio on me." Another punch. "Five times." Her hand slammed down against him again. Tears were pouring down her face, Ominis did not move.

"They touched me."

Thump.

"They tried to drown me."

Thump.

"They set my arm on fire."

Thump.

"They- they-" her fists came down quick and hard.

She's going to hurt herself or Ominis. I need to calm her down.

I yanked her hands down to her side. My arms slid around her waist and firmly held her back against my chest. She bucked wildly trying to escape my grip. "It's okay, Olive. They can't hurt you anymore. Shush now."

Ominis stepped forward, his hand gingerly caressed her face. She cringed away, "do what you need to do, Olivia. We can take it."

The words hit their mark.

Her knees buckled beneath her, "shush, we will be here until you are okay. We will share the weight." Her body stopped supporting her, I sunk to the floor with her between my knees.

She began to wail, the noise shattered my heart into pieces. Ominis knelt down in front of us. "He- they- they said-" her hands clung to my arms, "they were so cruel."

Ominis visibly recoiled from her words. "I'm sorry." She just cried harder.

He sat in front of us, legs touching mine. Olivia's head lulled to the side and hovered above Ominis' chest. "Do you think I'm unloveable?"

"Of course no-"

"I think I'm unlovable. I have dark magic that I can't control. I'm a liar. Im a murderer. I'm just so tired of it all. And now I'm-" a broken laugh, "I'm just as ugly on the outside as I am within."

"You are not unlovable just because you have magic that can save people or destroy them." Ominis' voice was hardly more than a whisper.

"Exactly, and I take great offense to your comment. I don't associate with ugly people. You don't see me hanging around Prewett or weasel bee now do you? You are not ugly, sweetheart."

Olivia snorted, a spec of pride bloomed in my chest. I made her laugh. It was quickly squashed.

"Aren't I? I'm permanent damaged goods."

"If you are referring to the scars, I'm sure we can-"

She cut Ominis off, "not those." Her hand dropped to the hem of her skirt. Her fingers grasped the edge and began to slide it up her leg.

"What are you-" the fabric inched higher, her teeth audibly snapped shut. She closed her eyes just as the upper portion of her thigh came into view.

Any other day, under any other circumstance, I would have been positively giddy to see her exposed skin. But today... today I was revolted.

My stomach dropped. My breath hitched in my throat.

What the fuck is that?

Blinding rage clasped around me like a noose. I was paralyzed by the shock and anger.

A small whimper escaped her mouth. I wanted to look at her but I couldn't pull my eyes away.

I am going to fucking kill them.

"What is it, Sebastian?"

I tried to speak, tried to verbalize to him what I was looking at but no words came out.

All I could do was sit there and stare. Stare at her flesh and the word that was grotesquely carved into it.

Mudblood.