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They say the Room of Requirement is a magical room that only shows itself to those in need and takes the form of whatever the visitor ‘requires’'.
So why was it whenever Ominis visited the Room of Requirement he could smell nothing but the intense scent of white lilies that reminded him of you?
The room had taken the form of a small greenhouse, rows and rows of planters filled with white lilies filling most of the room. Vines crept up the glass walls, a few comfortable seats lined up against it. The room was perhaps trying to hint at his true desires but Ominis honestly took it as more of a cruel joke.
He’d first discovered this room not long after Sebastian had revealed he had feelings for their close friend, Y/N. Ominis had wished him luck as a good friend should, pushing his true feelings for Y/N deep within himself. You would be better matched with Sebastian than with a Gaunt, he had thought to himself then.
In his efforts to support Sebastian, Ominis did his best to push away the memories he shared with you that he held dear to his heart.
He tried so hard to forget about the evening the two of you had spent in front of the fire in the Sallow household in Feldcroft last summer, when Anne and Sebastian had already gone to bed. You had quietly read out the stories from a Muggle book you’d ‘borrowed’ from the Hogwarts library ‘Snow White and the Seven Dwarves’ to Ominis, making up funny voices to go with the characters as you went.
Ominis had never felt as relaxed with anyone but you.
Ominis started frequently visiting this room soon after Sebastian’s initial confession to get away from you and him, mostly because he was unable to handle the pangs of jealousy which ate away at him whenever he heard you giggling at Sebastian’s silly jokes.
Today was one of those times.
Earlier in the day, Sebastian, Ominis, Anne, and Y/N had gathered in the Three Broomsticks for a warm mug of Butterbeer before hitting up the other stores. Ominis had instinctively moved to sit next to Y/N but Sebastian beat him to it first, sliding onto the bench next to you.
Ominis had to stop himself from frowning. Sebastian always sat next to his twin, Anne out of habit but clearly, this wasn’t the case anymore.
When Anne went up to the counter to order the Butterbeers for the table, Ominis’s sensitive ears picked up the sound of Sebastian whispering “So Y/N, I was thinking - how about we stop at Madam Puddifoot’s later for some dessert before heading back to Hogwarts? Just you and me.”
Ominis clenched his fists in his lap. Was Sebastian really asking you out right in front of him? He heard you ask, confusion clear in your voice “But we’re out with Anne and Ominis, we can’t just leave them?” Sebastian must have leaned in closer to you to whisper something else then because Ominis could no longer hear anything until you said “Okay, sure! I’m up for that.”
What happened next was a bit of a blur to Ominis. He remembered mumbling some excuse for why he had to leave immediately before storming out of the tavern. Next thing he knew, he was pushing through the doors to the Room of Requirement, desperate to be away from everyone - especially Y/N and Sebastian.
Ominis realised if he was truly to be happy for Sebastian and support him, he was going to have to get over his silly little crush on Y/N. But how was he meant to do that when he felt sick to the stomach just imagining you wrapped up in Sebastian’s arms, not his?
<~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~>
Back in Hogsmeade, you were following Sebastian on your way to Madam Puddifoot’s. A part of you was still worried about Ominis - sure, he’d said he had a very important letter to his family that he must write and send off today. But since when had Ominis started writing to his family? Sebastian had insisted that he was fine though, so you’d relented.
Anne had left the two of you not long after your stop at the Three Broomsticks with the sudden exclamation that she’d forgotten to finish the essay for Potions. You thought you saw her giving her twin brother a sly wink but when you asked Sebastian about it, he said you must’ve imagined it.
The bright pink exterior of the cafe soon came into view, the windows filled to the brim with tiered serving trays stacked high with delicious looking desserts and various styles of teacups and teapots in every colour.
Upon entering the cafe, Sebastian immediately headed for a table in the far corner of the cafe. You followed after him but asked with a raised eyebrow as you moved to sit down on the chair opposite his “I thought you said we were just coming here to get something for Anne?”
Sebastian cocked his head to the side, an innocent smile playing on his lips. He answered “Well…yes. But I thought since we were here anyway, we might as well treat ourselves to something good too. We deserve it after all that studying we’ve done, don’t you think?”
You couldn’t argue with his reasoning. You’d done little more than study for the upcoming NEWTs for the past couple of weeks, a treat would be well-deserved.
By the time the waitress had taken your orders and come back with your drinks, the two of you had begun chatting about the latest explosion Gareth Weasley had set off in Potions class last week. “Oh, the smell was awful! He said he only added a single drop of Horklump Juice but he must’ve dropped the whole beaker full of it in there. You should have seen the look on Professor Sharp’s face,” you laughed, wiping away tears.
Sebastian burst out laughing too. The smile on his face grew softer as he gazed at you, a wistful look in his eyes. He hesitated before speaking “I…have something to confess to you, Y/N. I’ve not been entirely truthful to you about my reason for coming here. I just needed some time alone, with you so I could tell you…”
His cheeks had turned a bright red and Sebastian was visibly too flustered to finish his sentence. You felt your whole body tense up in anticipation of what Sebastian was about to say. Sebastian cleared his throat nervously and said “I like you, Y/N. I really, really like you.”
You opened your mouth and closed it again when you began stuttering, unable to form a coherent sentence. You couldn’t believe you didn’t see this coming, stopped this from happening somehow and now it meant having to break your best friend’s heart.
Sensing your hesitation, you saw Sebastian’s face fall. A sad smile curved his lips as he said slowly “I’m guessing by your reaction, you don’t feel the same way, huh?”
“I’m sorry, Sebastian. I just…You’re an amazing guy and anyone would be so lucky to have you. But I…I already have feelings for someone else.” The words spilled out of your mouth, your heart beating so fast it felt like it was about to jump out of your chest.
Silence fell upon your table. You waited for Sebastian’s reaction but he gave you none. Instead, he just gazed at the cup in his hands as if trying to read the tea leaves. You had just about decided to say something, anything to break the tension when Sebastian looked up again and said “It’s Ominis, isn’t it? The guy you like?”
You were caught off guard again. How could he have known? You’ve never even told Anne who you normally told everything to because you were afraid she’d tease you about it. Sebastian sighed and explained “I’ve seen the way you look at him sometimes, when you think the rest of us aren’t watching. I tried to brush it off in hopes I was wrong but I guess I really shouldn’t have.”
You mumbled another apology, looking down at your fidgeting hands in your lap. What was going to happen between the two of you from now on?
Sebastian sighed again before putting on a brave smile. He said “No matter. I…I just need some time alone to process all this but don’t worry. We’re alright. I’ll get over it and we’ll go back to how things always were - best friends.” Sebastian downed the last of his tea before getting up from the table. “I’ll see you later then. You’ll be alright getting back to Hogwarts yourself?”
You nodded with a faint smile, still feeling nervous from this whole interaction. You watched as Sebastian exited the cafe and let go of the deep breath you didn’t know you had been holding. At least you hadn’t lost a dear friend but a new issue had arisen. Now Sebastian knew for sure that you had feelings for Ominis, he was bound to spill the beans sooner or later.
Maybe this was the right opportunity for a confession.
<~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~>
Ominis stepped into the Slytherin Common Room late in the night, having spent most of his day in the Room of Requirement tending to the delicate white lilies. He smelt the sweet scent of freshly baked cinnamon buns coming from near the centre of the room.
“Oh, Ominis! You’re back,” your voice suddenly called out from the same direction as the smell. He heard your shoes clicking on the cold marble floor as you got up from the couch and approached him. The smell grew stronger with every step you took. Your voice crooned happily as you held out a pink box “I got you your favourite cinnamon buns from Madam Puddifoot’s!”
“Hmm. Thanks,” Ominis mumbled as nonchalantly as he could. Inside though, he felt as flustered as a person could get but he was determined not to show it. After all, you’d just been on a date with Sebastian. And yes, the cinnamon buns meant that you were thinking about him even while on that date and surely, that must mean something. But no, Ominis wouldn’t acknowledge it. He mustn’t or it might spark further cumbersome feelings inside him.
You meanwhile deflated a little, feeling disappointed that Ominis didn’t seem even the tiniest bit excited that you remembered what his favourite treat to get from that cafe was. You placed the box onto the couch and said with an awkward laugh “Well, it’s there when you want it. How did that letter go by the way? Did you manage to get it sent out in time?”
“What letter? Oh! That letter. Yes, it went fine,” Ominis responded quickly. He’d almost forgotten the excuse he’d given earlier for why he had to leave so suddenly. Ominis hesitated then, wanting to spend more time alone with you but he knew that the more time he got to spend with you alone, the more it would hurt later on when you were with Sebastian. He said abruptly “I’m heading up to bed now. Goodnight, Y/N.”
Ominis started to walk in the direction of the boys’ dormitory, his wand held up so he could sense where he was going but you suddenly jumped in front of him. You blurted out nervously “Ominis, please can I just talk to you alone here for a moment? If you don’t mind…”
He opened his mouth to protest but relented. Whatever it was you wanted to say must be important.
Ominis moved to sit down on the couch and he felt the slight depression in the cushions as you sat down next to him. Being at such close proximity to you, Ominis was reminded of the fact that due to his being blind, despite having been friends with you for so many years now, he had absolutely no clue what you actually looked like. All he knew about you appearance-wise had come from listening to Sebastian singing endless praises about you and how beautiful you were, especially when you smiled.
“So Ominis…I’ve been thinking-,” you started saying when you suddenly stopped yourself. There was a long pause before you spoke again, the words suddenly pouring out of your mouth so quickly he struggled to keep up. Your confession came out as one big sentence with no stops in between for breath:
“I’m just going to come out and say it - I love you, Ominis. I’ve loved you ever since that time you stood up for me in Madam Kogawa’s class when Imelda was teasing me for crashing into that bush in First Year. I don’t know if you feel the same way or what but it’s okay if you don’t, really. I just really had to tell you tonight before…before anyone else tells you.”
Your confession over, you watched Ominis’s face, trying to predict his reaction. But instead of a rejection or a happy ‘I really like you too’, Ominis’s face twisted into a scowl and he spat “Is this a joke?”
He stood up from the couch and glared at you. Ominis snapped, anger and pain clear in the tone of his voice “You just came back from a date with Sebastian, and you expect me to believe that? Did Sebastian put you up to this? Is this some stupid prank you two concocted while you were out? Cause it’s not funny.”
You stood up quickly from the couch as well in shock. You hadn’t expected him to react in such a way, much less accuse you of trying to prank him. A confused frown on your face, you asked “What are you talking about, Ominis? Nobody put me up to this. Why would you even think that?”
Ominis looked at you like you were as dumb as rocks. He said slowly “You and Sebastian are obviously dating now. So why would you suddenly decide to confess to me if it’s not for some stupid joke?”
It took you a second but you soon realised that Ominis must have assumed that Sebastian had been asking you out on a date earlier in the Three Broomsticks, and it must have looked like you’d agreed. He had been, of course but you hadn’t known that at the time.
A relieved smile spread across your face then and you calmly explained what had happened to Ominis, especially how you had rejected Sebastian when he’d confessed. A pink flush crept across Ominis’s face. When you’d finished your explanation, all Ominis could muster to say was a curt stammered “I-I see.”
You gathered up all your courage and gently slipped your hands into Ominis’s. You guided him back onto the couch and hands still in his, you asked “Ominis, I have feelings for only you, I promise. I just…need to know if you maybe feel the same way about me?”
Ominis’s gaze fixed itself upon your face, both seeming to see you and not at the same time. To you, it felt like an agonising amount of time had passed before Ominis suddenly asked “Can I kiss you?”
Your eyes widened in surprise. You nodded, then realised that Ominis couldn’t see your nod so you shyly murmured a quiet “Yes.” Ominis smiled, bringing his right hand up to your cheek to act as a guide for himself as to where your face was. He leaned in closer and gently pressed a kiss to your lips, sending a tingling sensation throughout your body.
He pulled away, finding himself unable to stop smiling now. “I’ve always wanted to do that,” Ominis said with a quiet chuckle. This time, you went in for the kiss and before the two of you knew it, several hours had passed. The two of you reluctantly went up to your dormitories, disappointed that the night had to end but excited for the future of your relationship.
Ominis found himself wondering later that night as he lay in bed replaying the kiss and your confession over and over in his head - would the Room of Requirement look different now that he had what he needed most?
He never did find out the answer to that however, because he never found a reason to go back there. He had you and that was all he needed.