Chapter Text
After sending his letter to Anne, Ominis had gone straight to his and Sebastian’s dorm room. The long walk from the owlery to the dungeon, as well as venting through his writing, had done wonders calming his temper. The root of his anger was still there, but the buds which had blossomed into slammed books and harsh words had been pruned. Such was the nature of fighting with his dearest friend. Sebastian was prone to bumbling into sore spots and often unapologetic about such blunders. Sulking would get Ominis nothing except poked and prodded until he cracked and inevitably forgave anyway.
Sebastian had been waiting for him. He had not apologized, but he had snuck the book Ominis needed to complete his essay out of the library as an offer of peace.
Another week passed and October crept into the castle. The cold found nesting spots in the abundance of nooks and crannies in Hogwarts’ stone walls. As such, fireplaces all over the castle had been meticulously cleaned and it wasn’t uncommon for students to spot a house elf tending the magical fires. Ominis favored when cedar wood was used in the fires. There’d been a large cedar tree near the Sallow’s property, which had fallen down four years ago. Solomon has been able to use it for firewood since, and the smell of a cedar wood fire reminded Ominis of winter holidays spent with his closest friends.
Warm thoughts of snowball fights and falling asleep between the twins in front of the fireplace kept him company on his way to the Undercroft. It was quiet in the castle, right on the edge of curfew. Sebastian hadn’t been anywhere in the common room, and Ominis would bet his supply of sugar quills his friend was skulking beneath the astronomy wing. Normally he would not care if Sebastian wanted to risk life and house points pushing the bounds of the rules, but Sebastian was one detention away from losing his flying privileges. He’d be even more intolerable if he lost them and Ominis wasn’t willing to risk it.
He held up his wand and with a flick of his wrist, the cabinet began to whir and click. When he stepped through into his sanctuary he heard Sebastian’s familiar voice and felt immediately on guard when it was clear he was speaking to someone. Heart pounding, Ominis said sharply, “Sebastian, am I interrupting something?”
“Ominis,” Sebastian said in an even tone. There was a rustle, and it was clear that he and whomever he was speaking to had stood up from the couch. “I know how this looks, but-”
“I don’t know what it looks like, but it sounds like you betrayed me,” he snapped. “I cannot believe you would-”
“It’s Dorothy,” Sebastian cut in.
Everything stopped–the breath in his chest, the blood in his veins, the thoughts in his head.
There were rumors all over the castle if you knew how to listen for them.
During potions, Garreth had been bragging about how ‘that Astor girl wasn’t such a swot after all’ because she’d broken into Honeydukes’ cellar to fetch him Billywig stings for his latest concoction. Grace Pinch-Smedley had been telling anyone who would listen about how the new fifth year student had dived into the murky depths of the Black Lake to retrieve her family’s long lost astrolabe. Zenobia Noke had proudly announced her return as the reigning gobstone champion after a helpful Hufflepuff tracked down each and every one of her scattered gobstones. Alice Beaumont had almost cried from relief in the Great Hall upon receiving a letter from her mother letting her know the goblins in their hamlet had been driven out by a mysterious Hogwarts student who’d happened to be passing through.
Most of the whispers didn’t mention her by name, but Ominis knew. Dorothy was never in the Great Hall at mealtimes, or in her common room in the evenings. She couldn’t be found studying in the library (at least, not outside the restricted section, he suspected) or indulging in a butterbeer at the Three Broomsticks like every other student in their downtime. She was nowhere she was supposed to be, and everywhere she wasn’t, including, apparently, standing right in front of him in the Undercroft.
Ominis breathed in deep, but couldn’t find even a hint of bergamot. What he did smell was ash, as though Sebastian had been practicing confringo, the heavy musk of the forbidden forest, cinnamon, and something sharp and metallic. It took Ominis a second to place the copper scent, as incongruous as it was with his safe haven. “You’re bleeding,” he said stiffly.
“Not anymore,” Dorothy was quick to say, and there was a bone deep weariness in her voice. “I’m okay now. Um, I’m sorry I’m here, Ominis. Sebastian made it clear this was a special place for you, and I swear I won’t say a word, I just needed a place to- to-”
“She’s hurt and wouldn’t go to the Hospital Wing,” Sebastian supplied.
“I told you, it was just a scratch. That’s not-” Dorothy’s voice cracked, and it was clear from how nasal she sounded that she was crying now. “Oh, it was just awful! Everything happened so fast, I-”
A thud indicated Dorothy had dropped her weight back down onto the couch, and Ominis felt his anger give way to worry. “What happened?”
“That’s part of why I brought her here,” Sebastian said. “She said it wasn’t safe to talk about in the open.”
“Does this have to do with Ranrok and Rookwood?”
“No-yes . It’s…” Dorothy sighed. “It’s complicated.”
By all rights, Ominis should leave. He did not need to rummage around in others personal lives for spare complications, he had plenty of his own in the form of his family. He enjoyed Dorothy’s company, considered her a true friend despite how briefly they’d known each other, but there was no doubt she had trouble coming out of her ears.
Fighting by her side against a troll, standing between her and Rookwood in the Three Broomsticks with Sebastian, those choices had been made in the heat of a moment. They didn’t have to mean anything. He could walk away here. Choose not to involve himself further in whatever it was this witch had gotten herself mixed up in. But, somehow, he knew he’d be poorer for it. Ominis sat down on her left, aware of Sebastian taking her right. “We’re listening,” he said resolutely.
Dorothy’s breathing hitched. “I don’t know where to begin,” she whispered.
“Start from what happened after we separated in the library,” Sebastian suggested.
“No,” Dorothy murmured. “I have to start earlier. In the carriage, coming to Hogwarts. With Professor Fig and- and George Osric.”
A shudder ran through Dorothy’s body. The couch was simply not meant for three, and Ominis felt the tremor run through her where they were pressed together at the hip. He reached for her unthinkingly, and it seemed she’d had the same idea. Their hands met, and Ominis noted that her skin was rough to the touch, and chilled. He traced a large, barely scabbed over cut on the palm of her hand lightly. Just what had she been up to this past month?
“The dragon attack,” he said.
“Yes.”
The Daily Prophet had run a story on George Osric’s death, but the article had been sparse. The tone of the article suggested they were trying to remain respectful of the ministry official’s tragic demise by omitting the gorey details, but Ominis suspected the only people who knew the full extent of what had occurred were Professor Fig and Dorothy.
“Mr. Osric met us in London before we departed. In flight, he showed us an artifact that had been sent to him by Professor Fig’s wife just before she’d passed. He said no matter what he tried, he couldn’t get it open, but the second I touched it…” Dorothy trailed off, sounding troubled. “It held a key. We’d barely begun to examine it when- next thing I knew the- the carriage was in half and then we were falling. I think the driver managed to apparate away, but Mr. Osric… he- he was- it was his half of the carriage in the dragon’s maw. I don’t know if what I heard was the metal being ripped apart or him but-”
She cut off abruptly. Ominis heard Sebastian suck in a sharp breath through clenched teeth. “Oh, Dotty,” he started to say, but he clearly didn’t know how to comfort her any better than Ominis did.
Dorothy took a shaky breath before continuing. “The key was a portkey. It brought us to ruins on a mountain. We explored a bit and found a portal that brought us to Gringotts.”
“To Gringots ?” Ominous interrupted.
“Yes. Apparently it was a private entrance. There was a goblin who took us to the vault the key belonged to. Vault twelve. He said his instructions were to bring the holder of the key to the vault and lock the door once they were inside.”
“He locked you in the vault? ” Sebastian said incredulously.
“Yes, unfortunately,” Dottie sighed. “Professor Fig and I got separated. It was so odd. The vault was set up as some kind of test. There were elements of it that only I could see. This silvery glow. I had to fight my way through golems to get back to the professor. And our reward was a memory in a pensieve.”
“A memory?”
“Yes, it was of two men, building the very room we were standing in. Truly some of the most incredible feats of magic I’d seen at the time. They were talking about creating a path for someone. A path that would be impossible to follow save for one person. A person who could… well, a person who could see traces of ancient magic. Like one of the men could.”
It clicked for Ominis. “Ancient magic,” he repeated. That magic which Dorothy had performed in the village, that could blind even a man who could not see.
“The glowing I’d been seeing, it was magic,” Dorothy said, sounding breathless. “And I hadn’t just been able to see it, I’d been able to manipulate it too.”
“That’s what you did to the troll in Hogsmeade,” Sebastian realized. “But what does all this have to do with Ranrok and Rookwood?”
“I’m getting there,” Dorothy said. “After the memory ended, that’s when Ranrok showed up. He wanted whatever we had found. He killed the goblin who had brought us to the vault and he was going to kill us too. He threatened me, and Professor Fig began casting. I think he triggered some sort of security feature of the vault and in the confusion we managed to slip away through another portal. It took us just outside of Hogwarts boundary and we made our way to the sorting feast from there. I know it sounds ludicrous…”
“It does,” Sebastian agreed immediately.
“But we believe you,” Ominis was quick to add. And believe her he did, though he was having trouble wrapping his brain around the entire series of events. “That’s why Ranrok sent those trolls after you.”
“Yes, they wanted the locket we found, with the memory. But it was more than a memory. Professor Fig examined it and found a map. Only I could see where the map was leading to… a secret room in the restricted section of the library.”
“That’s why you needed to sneak into the restricted section!” Sebastian exclaimed. “See, Ominis. I told you she had a good reason.”
Ominis scowled in Sebastian's direction as Dorothy hurried to say, “Yes. I’m still sorry you got into trouble for me that night. I’m afraid I was being impatient. I was supposed to wait for Professor Fig to return from his business so we could go together, but it was driving me mad not knowing what it was all for and I took a risk.”
“You never did tell me what you found,” Sebastian pressed.
“Another portal, to a secret room beneath Hogwarts. Well, it was more than a room. It was just like in the vault. A sort of trial chamber, with puzzles and tricks and the prize at the end was more memories. They featured the same two men as before, but they were with another man and woman. In the first memory they restored an entire hamlet using ancient magic. The next memory took place in Hogwarts where they were professors. Headmaster Fitzgerald and Professors Rackham, Bakar, and Rookwood.”
“Rookwood?”
“Yes, Rookwood’s ancestor. In the memory they were speaking with a girl named Isadora. She was a new fifth year student, just like me. And she could see ancient magic too. Professor Rackham said he had been the same. The Professor was going to train Isadora to use her magic… and then the memory ended.”
Ominis pinched the bridge of his nose. “More breadcrumbs,” he said, breaking into the story. He shook his head. “These people in the memory, the professors, why are they doing this? What is the point of it all?”
Dorothy was quiet all of a sudden. If he strained his ears he could hear the soft sound of twisting fabric, as if she was wringing her clothes anxiously. Ominis realized her story was not finished. The awful thing that had precipitated this entire tale and injured Dorothy enough to cause her to bleed was next.
“Dotty, what happened?” Sebastian asked, tone soft in a way his abrasive personality would usually not allow.
The breath in Dorothy’s chest shuddered, as if she’d been holding back a sob. Ominis was alarmed, unsure of what to do when faced with a crying witch, but Dorothy cleared her throat and was able to say, “The book I found, I brought it to Professor Fig. He said some pages were missing. Apparently he said this in hearing range of a portrait, because the next thing I knew, the portrait of a former Minister of Magic, Eldritch Diggory, which is hung in the Hufflepuff common room, summoned me. He said he thought he knew what had become of the pages.”
“Did he?” Ominis asked.
“Yes. He put me in touch with a woman named Helen Thistlewood, who is a retired auror. The pages of the book were tied up in a murder case. She believed a young witch named Anne was wrongly convicted of the murder of a boy called Jackdaw. Jackdaw had gone missing after he was meant to meet up with Anne. He’d stolen pages with a map off Peeves and promised her an adventure. He gave her a puzzle of his own making that was meant to lead her to their meeting place, but Anne claimed she’d never been able to solve it. However, another witch, who Madame Thistlewood suspects must have been jealous of Anne, gave a testimony that she’d seen Anne and Jack together before he disappeared.”
“They convicted her on that alone?” Sebastian said incredulously.
“She was given life in Azkaban,” Dottie said sorrowfully. Another shudder ran through her body. “Oh, poor Anne. I’ve never seen someone so emaciated before. And her eyes -”
“Hang on,” Ominis cut in. “You saw Anne? You just said she was in Azkaban.”
Dorothy squeezed his fingers. “Helen brought me to Azkaban so I could speak with her. Her mind was ravaged and she spoke in tongues, but I was able to glean something from her ramblings. Anne lashed out and injured Madame Thistlewood so we left in a hurry.”
“That was incredibly irresponsible of her,” Ominis snapped, enraged on Dorothy’s behalf since the witch herself didn’t seem to have the common sense to be mad. “Taking a Hogwarts student to Azkaban . What was she thinking?”
“It was worth the risk,” Dorothy insisted. “Anne’s clue led me to Jackdaw’s ghost, who confirmed her innocence. Hopefully she’ll be exonerated, even if she’ll never be the same witch she was before she entered Azkaban.”
“And did you find the pages?” Sebastian asked.
Dorothy hesitated again. “Jackdaw led me to his remains. Well, most of the way at least. The cave the map had led to was deep in the Forbidden forest… that’s when I discovered I had been followed by Ranrok’s loyalists. I managed to give them the slip but…”
“But you were hurt,” Ominis said.
“I’m okay,” she repeated, but the reassurance was weighed down with exhaustion. “I had a Wiggenweld potion on me. Jackdaw had unwittingly stumbled onto the path Professor Rackham and the others had created for someone like me. It was the same as the other trial chambers. Puzzles and pre-planned battles.”
“I presume it all led to another memory?” Sebastian spoke up.
“No, actually. This time it led to Professor Rackham’s portrait. I was able to actually speak with him. Unfortunately he says we cannot discuss what this all means until I return with the book. The book which I gave to Professor Fig, who took it with him when he left Hogwarts on business.” Dorothy sighed, the wounded sound almost a moan deep in her chest. “That’s where I just came from. I ran into Sebastian. I’m just- I-I-” her voice broke.
Ominis pressed his lips into a thin, disapproving line. “You’ve been running yourself into the ground. And the people who are asking you to run yourself into the ground won’t even tell you what for.”
“I’m sure they have good reason.”
Sebastian snorted. “Naive Hufflepuff,” he said.
“Cynical Slytherin,” Dorothy threw back, though the end of her insult was lost to a yawn that audibly popped her jaw.
“Rest, Dotty,” Ominis said. “You need rest.”
He nearly startled when the witch’s head came to rest on his shoulder. Her locks tickled under his nose, and even this close he could not parse any bergamot out of the overwhelming deluge of musky wood, salty sweat, and tangy copper. After the momentary surprise that she'd so immediately taken his advice, he shifted his body to allow her to contour herself against him. She did so, practically involuntarily as her exhaustion caused her to melt.
“I think she’s gone already,” Sebastian’s voice came quietly.
“Hardly surprising,” Ominis said. “She’s had quite a day apparently. Imagine–someone like Dotty in Azkaban.” For some reason, that was the part of her tale that rankled him the most. Dorothy’s natively empathic heart would leave her wide open to a Dementor’s insidious influence. He lay his hand on top of her head and began combing his fingers through her hair.
“That’s quite the sentimental gesture,” Sebastian said in a teasing tone.
Ominis threw an unamused look in his direction. “I’m checking for injuries,” he said acerbically. “Her story was no doubt abridged. Knowing her, she certainly got into more trouble than she described, and she described more than enough.” His searching fingers crept methodically along her skull until he got to the back of her head and touched something wet. He hissed. “Sebastian, here.”
Sebastian’s familiar fingers brushed his aside as he investigated for himself. “Not bleeding anymore my arse,” he grumbled. “Hold her still. I’m going to cast episkey.”
“We should take her to the hospital wing,” Ominis said.
“Episkey ,” Sebastian intonated crisply. “There, it's closing up. And, she didn’t want to go. I’m not going to haul her unconscious body to the hospital wing if she doesn’t wish it. That’s a breach of trust.”
Ominis breathed out sharply through his nose. “Well we can’t leave her here alone. She shouldn’t sleep unattended with a head injury,” he argued. “You only healed the surface cut, who knows if she bruised her brain in any serious capacity?”
“You make a good point, old chap.”
The couch shifted and the next thing Ominis knew, Dorothy’s weight was being lifted from his side. “Sebastian?” he questioned, standing up. “I thought we weren’t going to bring her to the hospital wing?”
“We aren’t. We’re bringing her back to the dormitory.”
“The Hufflepuff dormitory is quite a distance away,” Ominis pointed out. “And what are we to do with her when we get there? Knock about and hope another Hufflepuff appears to take her inside who won’t ask any unflattering questions?”
Sebastian’s footsteps began pacing towards the cabinet. “Not her dormitory. Slytherin is much closer by. She can bunk with us for the evening. Now, could you get the door? She’s not as light as she appears.”
A blush crept up Ominis’s cheeks. “Your plan is to sneak her into our room?” he said incredulously, swiftly crossing the room and using his wand to open the cabinet door.
“Do you have another plan or do you just wish to criticize mine?”
Ominis bit his tongue. He did not, but he wasn’t sure lack of a competing plan made Sebastian’s a viable one. They would be in deep trouble if they were caught sneaking an unconscious witch into their dorm, regardless of their noble intentions. His hesitance had not stopped Sebastian. The other boy was already out of the cabinet and into the astronomy wing. Ominis hastily followed.
By some stroke of luck they did not run into a single professor on patrol, no amorous students sneaking back to their common rooms, nor nosy ghosts on their journey. Not even one of the castle’s many cats stumbled across them as they trekked down to the Slytherin dormitory. Ominous trailed his fingers down the rough stonewall as they descended, feeling the dungeon’s cold settle into his chest in an unwelcome manner. Away from the enchanted hearths in the common room the chill was bitter and clawing.
“Take her,” Sebastian said once they’d stopped outside the entrance. “I’ll go ahead and make sure there’s no one lingering in the common area.”
A protest welled up in Ominis’s throat too late. Sebastian had already pressed Dorothy’s weight against his chest, forcing him to cradle her in his arms, before disappearing into the common room. The frigid air drove Dorothy’s unconscious body to burrow into his chest. His heart leapt when a chilled nose pressed into the hollow of his throat. Ominis had but a moment to panic before Sebastian poked his head back out and said, “All clear.”
Ominis’s heart didn’t settle into a normal cadence until the three of them were safely ensconced in the safety of their dorm room. The door snicked shut and Ominis carefully, but expeditiously, lay Dorothy on his bed as it was closest to the door. He stepped back, the tips of his ears red when Sebastian chuckled low in his chest at his predicament.
“Oh, do shut up, Sebastian,” Ominis hissed, the flush in his cheeks now due to annoyance. “Since this is your idea, I expect you’ll be the gentleman and give up your bed?”
“My bed’s plenty big enough, you can share with me,” Sebastian said. “Though if you stick your obnoxiously cold feet against my legs at any point in the night I have no compunction in kicking you out.”
Ominis rolled his eyes and shucked off his outer robe. It wouldn’t be the first time they’d shared a bed. The twins already shared a room at their uncle’s small cottage in Feldcroft–the Sallow’s were generous in allowing Ominis into their home, but they had limited space for sleeping quarters. Sebastian’s bed in the Slytherin dorm room was certainly larger than the twin cot they’d shared at his home.
“Fine,” Ominis agreed.
They each took their turn in the ensuite bathroom before settling into Sebastian’s bed. Dotty remained dead to the world, not stirring even as the boys bickered and shuffled around the room. She must have been truly exhausted. Ominis closed his eyes, and listened to Sebastian finish up his evening ablutions before crawling in beside Ominis.
“Goodnight, Ominis,” Sebastian said, voice made husky by the late hour.
“Goodnight, Sebastian.”