Know When To Stop

Chapter 2 Ominis' POV

Truthfully for the first five and a half years I attended Hogwarts the only people I could be bothered speaking with were the Sallow twins. As first years, Sebastian introduced himself to me right before entering the Great Hall to begin the sorting ceremony. I already knew my fate as a Slytherin, though I'd hoped to be placed in any other house. It was a relief when the hat sorted Sebastian into Slytherin and he sat down next to me. He had been nervous about the possibility of not being placed in the same house as Anne. I remember hearing the sounds of his applause and cheers when the sorting hat placed her with us. Later when we all found ourselves in the Slytherin common room goofing off by the fire, it was the first time I truly felt I belonged anywhere. All my anxieties disappeared as I told myself I finally had a home.

After that moment we all became inseparable, spending every moment even holidays by each other's sides. Studying and practicing new spells in the Undercroft after curfew or in between classes, any chance we got. Anne and I used to spend hours in the common room together trying to see how long we could laugh at the first year's expense, we'd swear we had witnessed merpeople in previous years. Fifth year was when things started really changing and my new family, just like my old, was poisoned by dark magic.

The year started with Anne being cursed and the rising tension of a goblin war, then a new fifth year joined Hufflepuff house. Throughout the year Sebastian and I seemed to disagree more frequently, while at the same time him and Charlotte grew more aligned. They were an unlikely pair and I resented her at first for captivating his attention, however I was thankful to no longer be his detention partner.

I'd inquired on several occasions about his true feelings for her. Aside from finding a curse for Anne the only words he spoke were of Charlotte. The day she asked him to sneak her into the restricted section, Sebastian spent the entire afternoon daydreaming aloud. Rambling on and on saying perhaps she truly belonged in Slytherin house, that the sorting hat must've made some sort of error. The closest he got to confessing his feelings was in the summer after fifth year. Charlotte had gone home for the summer and we had taken a trip to Hogsmede together. Sebastian insisted we stop by the Three Broomsticks and after I lost count of how many butterbeers he consumed, I overheard him ask Sirona if she ever thought Charlotte fancied him. Sebastian always changed the subject when I brought up the topic however.

The events of that year left permanent scars on each of our psyches that at first we all avoided speaking of. Sebastian had reoccurring nightmares of what he'd done to his uncle. He started missing classes and hiding in the Undercroft to escape his panic attacks. Poppy confided in me that Charlotte woke their entire dorm most nights with her screams, but her title of 'Savior of Hogwarts' deterred the girls from mentioning it. Sixth year began and all our classmates were suddenly speaking in hushed tones around the three of us. Whispers followed us everywhere which was nothing new to me, I've been accused of practicing the dark arts and being the heir of Slytherin since first year. To my friends, the rumors about Solomon and Professor Fig were salt in freshly made wounds. Both of them struggled immensely but neither seemed to want to talk about it.

Though neither Charlotte nor Sebastian would acknowledge their feelings for one another, gossip surrounded that aspect of their lives as well. I observed quietly and bit my tongue, their feelings were so obvious to everyone but them it seemed. Charlotte never hesitated to offer up help with Sebastian's studies even though she was perfectly aware that once they got into the library he'd spend every second trying to keep her laughing and they'd never prepare for classes. The two of them became somewhat of a cliché, I awaited the day that one of them would walk into the Great Hall wearing the wrong house tie or be caught snogging in detention.