Work Text:
Vaguely, seeing as how she’s hiding from everyone, Katherine knows the undercroft probably isn’t the best place to hide. But since the death of Sebastian’s uncle, neither of the boys have really visited the cold concrete room.
She’s reminded just how cold the room can be when another shiver racks her body, and she wonders idly how much trouble she’d be in if she were to just add a sofa down here.
Hours have probably passed since she’s returned from the repository, but she isn’t quite sure. Honestly, everything feels numb to her anyhow so days could pass and she most likely wouldn’t notice.
Everything has become an utter mess. Everywhere she goes, death follows. She thought she was helping Sebastian, thought she was strong enough to pull him back when it got too dangerous for him, but instead she watched helplessly as he killed his uncle.
She was supposed to help Lodgok; supposed to help him in getting back into Ranrok’s good graces. But instead, she watched helplessly, yet again, as her friend was killed in front of her.
And now she has yet another name to add to her list. She wasn’t strong enough to save anyone, but she was strong enough to defeat Ranrok. She supposes that counts for something. She knows deep down Professor Fig wouldn’t blame her for his death, but still. She feels like she failed him- failed in protecting him.
How was she supposed to protect an ancient magic repository if she can’t even protect her friends?
She’s yet to visit the Keepers; knowing Professor Niamh will have heard about the goings on under the school by the other portraits or even Professor Black in his office, and she knows the former headmistress will have told the others. They can wait to hear from her for a little while longer, she figures.
She ran out of tears what felt like an hour ago, having rocked them all out of her. She’s left staring at the wall now, knees propped up under her chin, arms hugging her shins tight. Her mind feels like Kings Cross; a hundred different trains going a hundred different places with a hundred different reasons why. Every event from the moment she was told she was a witch is shifting through her mind like wildfire, untamed and not at all in any order.
This is how she’s found, by a relieved Sebastian who had apparently been searching for her for over three hours, along with a few of her other friends. When they had noticed her absence at Professor Fig’s eulogy, they figured she needed some time. When Sebastian and Ominis had not seen her enter their common room afterwards, and discovered she was not in her bed either, they decided to go looking for her. The undercroft had not crossed either of their minds.
“Kat?” Sebastian calls, looking around the room. He almost leaves until he spots her, tucked into the back corner between two barrels. He thinks she’s asleep at first, but then her head slowly rises and she gives him a blank stare.
“Kat, we’ve been looking for you for hours. How long have you been down here?” Sebastian asks, walking slowly toward her, afraid he’ll spook her.
“I looked everywhere I could think, Sebastian, I still couldn’t- oh!”
Neither Katherine or Sebastian had heard the metal door to the undercroft swinging open, nor Ominis’s sudden presence. His wand informed him immediately of two bodies, and he almost sagged with relief.
Katherine slightly perked up at the sound of Ominis’s voice, but only barely. Sebastian puts a hand on the other boy’s arm as he passes, silently warning him.
“Katherine? Are you alright?” Ominis asks, making his way to stand beside their friend. Sebastian sees her head nod and he asks softly, “how long have you been down here?”
“Since Nurse Blainey let me go.” she mumbles, her voice coming out scratchy from the mixture of disuse and the amount of crying she did hours ago.
“Kat, that was like, six hours ago. Have you moved at all? Have you eaten?” he asks, glancing at Ominis.
“At the very least I think you should take a bath. The hot water will help your muscles, and it’s freezing down here; that can’t be good for your health.” Ominis murmurs, lowering himself to a crouch, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder.
She’s still caked in the dirt from the repository, white dust from the crumbling stone spread all over her robes and in the crevices of her hair. She blinks at Ominis, distracted by the beauty marks dotted over his cheek. Not for the first time she marvels at his beauty, and welcomes the distraction with open arms.
“Okay.” she sighs, leaning into his hand, letting her head fall onto his knee. He jolts in surprise but relaxes, looking up at Sebastian for help.
“Come on then, Kitty Kat. I bet they’ll let you use the prefects bathroom after what you just went through.” Sebastian tells her, using the nickname she always said was ridiculous, but secretly enjoys. He bends down, gently taking her under the armpits, and pulls her to her feet.
She stumbles and falls into his chest, his arms wrapping around her to keep her upright. Ominis feels around and grabs one of her arms, draping it around his neck for support before he wraps his other hand around her waist, taking her from Sebastian, his wand in his free hand.
They don’t encounter any teachers, and any prefects they see turn their heads politely as they recognize her, letting the trio pass into the bathroom. Ominis sits her on a bench while Sebastian begins filling the tub, putting a few towels down by the side for her.
“Come find us in the common room when you’re done. We’ll be waiting for you in case you need us.” Ominis tells her, running his fingers through her hair, then wishing he didn’t. He keeps the disgust off his face, but her hair really is gross.
She nods, her eyes filling with tears as she feels her heart nearly burst at the affection she feels for him, for both of them, for how absolutely kind and gentle they’re being. When they’re convinced she’s okay, they leave her alone, telling a nearby seventh year prefect not to let anyone in. The boy nods, straightening as if he were a sentinel to the bathroom.
In all honesty, it’s about time she has one, for the amount she’s done for the staff and students here.
Katherine sighs, looking down at her robes in dismay. She hadn’t asked them to grab her another set, as none of them really thought of that. Before she can wonder too long on how she’s going to wash and dry her clothes, she hears a knock at the door and walks over to it, opening to see a house elf grinning up at her.
“Hello miss, masters Ominis and Sebastian told Maggy to bring these to you, miss.” With a bow, she holds out both hands and Katherine smiles softly as she sees a clean set of robes and pajamas. Thanking the house elf, she takes the clothing and closes the door again, setting her new pajamas by the stack of towels Sebastian left her.
Peeling off her dirty clothes, she sets them off in a corner and pads to the end of the gigantic tub- or is it more of a pool?- and steps in, groaning as the warm water begins seeping into her bones. Ominis was right, this was a wonderful idea.
She swims a couple laps, stretching out her aching muscles, then begins scrubbing the dirt and dust from her hair and body, marveling at the staggering amount of soaps and spouts line the tub, picking her favorite one.
Now clean and smelling like lilacs, she eases herself out of the tub, finding the drain and watches as the water slowly begins to disappear.
She uses a simple drying charm she discovered after all her swims in the lake on her hair, watching in the mirror as the wet lanky strands become silky, cascading over her pale shoulders like an ebony curtain, watching in fascination as the knots untangle themselves.
She then takes stock of the rest of her body and sighs. Her normally bright green eyes are pale and tired, looking almost as washed out as her skin. Her freckles that rival Sebastian’s own are paler than usual as well, normally darker than her friend’s, now almost unnoticeable.
Nodding at the seventh year prefect, she wanders down toward her common room, ignored once again by all of the students prowling the halls. She wonders how long that’ll last.
She’s met by Peeves once, but even he takes one look at her, blows her a raspberry, and zooms away.
She finds her friends passed out on the sofas in front of the fireplace and she smiles affectionately. After everything they’ve been through this past month, they still put her first when she needed them most.
She conjures a blanket for them, laying a fuzzy green plaid blanket on Sebastian, then conjures another one but larger, settling herself on the sofa beside Ominis, hoping he won’t mind her nearness when he wakes.
She lets herself lean against his warm side, sighing contentedly as she spreads the blanket around them both, basking in the warmth that both her friend and the blanket bring. She feels Ominis shift beneath her, one arm coming to wrap around her shoulder while the other swipes at his nose, sleeping on. It doesn’t take long for her to fall asleep herself, wrapped in a cocoon of security that her friends have brought her.
***~~~~***
The sound of whispering is what wakes her hours later. In all honesty, she should have expected it when she cuddled up to Ominis.
“I think she’s waking up finally.” she hears, causing her to groan tiredly. Sebastian chuckles, poking her in the nose.
Ominis swats his hand away, continuing his ministrations of running his fingers through her now silky hair. She leans into his touch, wishing this is what woke her up instead of the whispers.
“Kathy, I’m loath to be the one to wake you, but it’s nearly noon and I’m certain you must be starving.” Ominis says softly, smiling when she tucks her nose into his side.
She suddenly remembers where she is and who she’s cuddling and she shifts, her cheeks burning as she slowly sits up, immediately missing his fingers in her hair.
“Sorry.” she mumbles, rubbing her eyes tiredly as she looks around the room. A handful of students loiter about, but mostly they’re alone.
“Whatever for?” he asks, letting his hand fall and adjusts himself to sit up straight now that her weight has left him.
“I didn’t mean to make you my pillow.” she says, ignoring the cheeky grin Sebastian is giving her. She spots a bowl of sunflower seeds on the table and takes one, chucking at his grinning face.
“Yes, I was rather jealous to see you chose Ominis to cuddle up to instead of me. After all we’ve been through? Such a shame.” Sebastian whines, faking a pout. Ominis rolls his eyes but she notices a blush that dusts his own cheeks.
“I didn’t mind. It was rather comfortable, actually.” he tells her, smiling warmly as he hears her breathe out in relief.
“Well if you two are quite done being so domestic, I’d like to get something to eat.” Sebastian says, ducking as another seed comes sailing toward his head.
Ominis scowls at his friend, shaking his head as they all stand, heading to their rooms to change into their school clothes for lunch. Somehow they don’t figure the staff will excuse their casual dress, no matter how lenient they’ve been today.
“What are your plans this summer then, Kat?” Sebastian asks later, his mouth watering as they enter the Great Hall.
“I’m not sure. Professor Fig was going to let me stay with him over the summer holidays instead of letting me go back to the orphanage, but now I’m not quite sure what my plans are. I’ve seen a few rundown abandoned cottages throughout the highlands, I might pick one and fix it up. No one will even know I’m there.” she says, liking the idea the more she thinks about it.
“If you move into one of the ones close to Feldcroft you could spend time with Ominis and I. I don’t know where Anne went, but our uncle’s cottage will be empty so we’ll be going back there like normal.” Sebastian tells her, looking defeated as he thinks of returning home to an empty house, and having no one to blame but himself.
“I’d like that.” Katherine tells him, laying a hand over his own comfortingly.
Ominis’s eyebrows scrunch and he asks, “are you allowed to just fix up a cottage and live in it like that? At such a young age?”
She shrugs, taking a roll from the middle of the table. “I don’t know, but unless someone says something to me about it then that’s what I’ll do. I don’t see it being much of an issue, really.”
It’s Sunday, so after lunch the trio make their way down to the undercroft, elbows locked together as they walk.
“Ominis?” Katherine asks once they enter the undercroft, a memory resurfacing from last night.
“Yes?” Ominis says, sitting down beside Sebastian against the stone pillar on the floor.
“How against it would you be if we added some sofas and tables in here? Something other than cold concrete and wooden crates to sit and study on?” she says, bouncing lightly on her feet.
Ominis’s eyebrows furrow and he asks, “how are we going to get all that down here without someone seeing?”
“Professor Weasley has helped me greatly with my transfiguration spell crafts; I can conjure a whole assortment of things now. Including sofas and tables, among other things.” she tells him, smiling wide when she spots the impressed look he gives her.
Sebastian jumps to his feet and shouts, “brilliant! I’ve grown tired of sitting on this floor for so long. Let’s get started!”
“It’s Ominis’s room, it’s his decision.” she tells him sternly, looking back at the other boy, watching the side of his mouth tilt slyly. “Yes, Sebastian, it’s my room, I have full say in how it’s treated.”
Sebastian groans, crossing his arms over his chest in a mock pout, knowing his friend is only messing with him. In truth, they had talked about putting furniture down here before, but neither had been confident enough in their own abilities to conjure furniture, and decided it wasn’t worth the trouble in case one of them accidentally conjured something that could potentially get them in trouble.
Or killed.
With Ominis’s blessing, Sebastian and Katherine get to work pushing the empty barrels and wooden crates to a corner of the room, stacking the cauldrons in another alongside the covered practice dummies left behind by whomever once used this room regularly.
They decided the back of the room would be saved for practicing spells, clearing a large empty space in the middle to give them plenty of room for error. In the front nearest the door, Katherine conjures up two sofas that match the ones in their common room and face them together in front of a fireplace she laid into the wall, then a large table with three squashy armchairs off to the other side of the fireplace for them to study.
She conjures a large green carpet with a gold dragon sewn intricately in the middle and lays it beneath the sofas, and conjures a few of their house banners for the walls to make them a little less sparse.
Sebastian looks around the room and grins, giving her a high five. “Well done, Kat! It looks great in here. Like you tried to bring our common room up to the undercroft. The Slytherin Undercroft Common Room!” he announces.
Ominis walks around the room, letting his wand map out the new area. Sitting on one of the couches, he grins up at Katherine and tells her, “it’s perfect. Truly much better than sitting on the floor.”
“If there’s anything else you think we might need I can conjure those, too. Unless it’s food. I can’t conjure food.” she says.
“I might have you put a bed down here; I may never leave.” Sebastian jokes, plopping himself down heavily on the couch opposite Ominis. Katherine sits beside her Slytherin friend and shakes her head at Sebastian across from her.
“Your other dorm mates would notice you gone all the time, wouldn’t they?” she asks, knowing she’s right when he scowls.
“Either way, it’s brilliant down here now. Now if only we could sneak some books in here, we’d never have to return to the library!” he says, ignoring the eye rolls he receives.
***~~~~***
The following month goes by in a blur. Slytherin wins the house cup thanks in major part to Katherine’s heroic deeds beneath the school. O.W.L.s are taken and passed. Not surprisingly, Katherine receives an O in Transfiguration, along with Defence Against the Dark Arts and Charms, and even receives an E in Potions. The truly shocking part was the E she and Ominis both received in History of Magic.
She wasn’t at all surprised at the O Poppy received in their Beasts class, but was happily surprised when she received one as well.
Soon the trip to Feldcroft was upon them. Katherine had managed to convince Professor Weasley that she was going to be staying with someone in Feldcroft, and was thrilled to find a small cottage just on the outskirts of the town that she could fix up and call her new home.
Sebastian and Ominis had helped as much as they could with the repairs, but she handled most of it herself. Sebastian took care of updating the lawn and surrounding area outside of the little cottage, planting flowers for her and yanking up weeds that didn’t belong.
Ominis took care of stocking her kitchen, baskets of her new goods floating merrily behind him as he returned from his shopping, dropping one basket for him and Sebastian in their cottage on his way.
In just a matter of hours, Katherine has a home all to herself. She knows it’s technically not hers, but hopes that whoever it once belonged to won’t notice or mind that someone else has taken it over.
She used her spell crafts to her advantage, conjuring herself all the necessary furniture, all in various colors. “It looks like a painter’s palette exploded all over the place.” Sebastian comments, looking around in amusement. Katherine shrugs, sitting down on her purple lounge sofa. “I like it. Nothing matches and it’s all different. That’s what makes it unique.”
“I think it looks great.” Ominis deadpans. The room goes silent before all three of them burst into laughter. Sebastian pushes Ominis down onto the sofa beside Katherine, catching him off guard, causing his hand to shoot out and land on her upper thigh, making both of them turn scarlet as Sebastian cackles, sitting himself far away from their reach at the dining table.
When the sun begins to droop into the horizon the boys bid her farewell, wanting to head back before it gets too dark to see where they’re going. To which Ominis once again reminds them is no problem for him.
When the door closes behind her friends, she finds herself both comforted and saddened by the silence of the house. She immediately misses her friends and their presence, but is also relieved to have a few moments of peace to herself.
She goes to work in adding some more logs to the fire, lighting a few candles on the walls to add more light to the room as she begins conjuring a few pictures to decorate the walls a bit before cooking a light stew with the vegetables and meat Ominis had gotten for her.
It’s a while before Katherine sees her friends again, spending her time exploring the area or reading one of the many books she’d gotten from Hogsmeade or Diagon Alley. She even floo’d to Hogsmeade once to buy a few more books to keep herself entertained.
She wakes on the sofa, having fallen asleep reading one of her new books, to knocks at the door. Hoping with all her heart it’s not the previous owner of the house she shoots off the sofa to the door, pulling it open to see who’s graced her with their presence.
Ominis smiles when he hears the door open, and it turns bemused as he hears her sigh in relief. “Expecting someone else?” he asks, walking inside when she moves out of the way.
“Not really, but also yes. I’m afraid the person who owned this house will show up and kick me out.” she admits, setting a pot of tea to boil in the fireplace before wrapping a shawl around her shoulders, a bit chilled from the morning air.
“I doubt anyone will show. This house has been abandoned for years. I’ve never seen anyone in or near it in the four years I’ve been staying with the Sallows. You should be fine. And if they do, see if they’ll just sell it to you.
Katherine nods, figuring she does have quite a bit of money from selling all the things she’s found throughout the highlands. And if the worst happens, she could just find another abandoned home and move into it instead.
“Well hopefully you’re right. So, what brings you here this fine morning?” she asks him, setting a small plate of biscuits on the table in front of him before pouring a cup of tea. His hand reaches out and he picks up a biscuit, closing his eyes as the salty bread touches his tongue.
“This is delicious. And I wanted to see if you’d like to go somewhere with me. There’s a place I know of that I’ve heard is breathtaking, but I couldn’t say. I simply like to feel the sun on my face and the ocean breeze around me. It’s a wonderful spot.”
Pouring herself her own cup she agrees easily, eating a biscuit before making her way up the small staircase to her bedroom, quickly changing into her outdoor clothes.
They take the nearby Feldcroft floo to one at Clagmar Coast, and Katherine thinks no matter how many times she visits the coast she’ll always stare in awe at the large rocks that jut from the ocean, creating large towers and cave systems of stone, and she’s reminded of when she was last here, taming a graphorn. She hopes Deek is taking good care of her animals in her absence.
Ominis leads her down a rocky path, his feet finding the familiar route with ease until they reach a tall plateau that overlooks the sea crashing against the shore down below. Katherine conjures a table and two large armchairs for them, watching as Ominis pulls a basket out of thin air and begins setting the table up for their lunch.
She stares in amazement as he pulls out a steaming loaf of bread, some sliced ham and turkey, a salad, and various types of cubed cheeses and gives a breathy chuckle. “Went all out, did you?”
A faint blush begins to dust his cheeks but he ignores her, putting the basket back to wherever he pulled it from in the first place, using his wand to go around to her side and pulls out the seat for her with an exaggerated bow.
When they’ve both sat, they begin tearing apart the bread, slowly making the food in front of them disappear as they chat about what each other had been doing for the week that they hadn’t seen each other.
Finally, when all the food is gone, Ominis leans forward and looks intently in Katherine’s direction. “I had a real reason for doing this, actually. I’ve held this back for much too long, and I need to get it off my chest and move on, hopefully in a good way.”
Katherine suddenly feels nervous, a million different things going through her head as she begins to worry. What’s going on? Is Anne okay? Is he leaving? Is his family forcing him to leave? Have the professors found out that a trio of underage wizards and one witch is living alone without a guardian?
“Now before your head spins off with wild ideas, it’s not bad news.” Ominis tells her, grinning when he hears her sigh in relief.
“Katherine, I’ll admit when I met you I had reservations about you. Your desire for adventure and disregard for the rules rivals Sebastian’s in a remarkable way, and I confess I was worried you would land him in more detentions if he were to hang around you. After the Scriptorium I worried you’d join Sebastian and encourage him down his path into the Dark Arts, but that was before I knew you. Before I truly knew how kind and understanding you were.
“I felt remarkably guilty at judging your character before I even knew you. When he tried to keep secrets from me you were on my side, telling him it was wrong to keep it from me. I appreciated that more than you know. I was grateful for you trying to keep the peace between us and still believe in him to do the right thing when he took the relic, even if it wasn’t the right choice. I don’t blame you for that; at the time we knew nothing about it, and had both hoped it would do what Sebastian hoped.”
Katherine blinks back tears at his words, the memory of that night replaying in her head as if it happened only hours ago. Before she can say anything, he continues.
“I could never and will never blame you for what happened that night, and neither does Anne. We knew Sebastian was going down a dark path, and we had all hoped we were strong enough to stop him when the time came. The Dark Arts is stronger than all of us. But you stayed to help pick up the pieces when being together is the most important thing, and I thank you for that. On top of everything else you had to go through, to help him- help us- when we called on you; there’s no way I can ever thank you for that. You helped salvage my oldest friendship. I hope one day we can work together to salvage his and Anne’s relationship.”
His words veer off and suddenly he looks unsure, as if he’s rallying himself up to say something else. Katherine watches in silence, unaware that she’s holding her breath.
“But the real reason I brought you out here, was to tell you that through all of that, somewhere along the line I began to care for you. You’ve ensnared me in a way I’ve never experienced before. And I want- I need to tell you that if you’ll let me, I’d like to spend now and however many years the future allows to show you how much I care for you. I’d like to court you, properly. And hopefully, one day after we leave Hogwarts, make you my wife.”
The air whooshes out of Katherine and her mind is blank for once in her entire life. Never has she been confessed to in such a manner; hell she’s never actually been confessed to. Ominis takes her silence as rejection, and she watches in horror as his face and shoulders drop, leaning away from her to protect himself from the rejection he believes he’s receiving.
Before he can get too far her hand shoots across the table and links with his own, her other hand reaching up to press against his cheek. He jumps at the sudden touch but leans into her hand, hope reaching back into his eyes as he looks toward her.
“Oh, Ominis. I’ll be honest, I liked you from the beginning. You fascinated me in a way not many do. And, at the risk of embarrassing myself, I found it rather attractive at how scary you were when you first encountered me outside of the undercroft.”
He groans at the memory, making her giggle. He supposes if it makes her giggle like that he can stand to suffer the memory a little.
“I would love nothing more than to be courted by you, Ominis Gaunt.” she breathes, letting her eyes drift over his face, watching in awe as he absolutely lights up in delight. He stands suddenly, coming around to her side of the table and pulls her lightly to her feet, his arms snaking around her waist to pull her into his chest in a bone crushing hug.
She tucks her face into the crook of his neck, inhaling her new favorite smell of citrus and mint, mixed with the salty sea air surrounding them. He brings his face back a few inches and looks down at her, and butterflies erupt in her stomach as she inclines her head toward his, letting her lips meet his for the first time in a gentle press.
One of his arms slowly slides up her back and tangles in her hair, and he tilts his head to the side, deepening the kiss. Her arms rise to wrap around his neck, standing on her tiptoes as she kisses back, her breath coming in gasps as they part.
“I’ve been wanting to do that for months, now.” he tells her, leaning his forehead against hers. She grins, pressing her lips to his nose before turning her head and leaning against his chest, listening to his heartbeat.
“I have something for you.” he tells her then, gently untangling himself from her embrace. She watches curiously as he dips his hand into his pocket, pulling out a silver locket adorned with intricately carved flowers with a beautiful emerald nestled into the center. With a faint click, he opens it to reveal a picture of him and her side by side.
She gasps down at it, staring as his beautiful face winks up at her, her other tiny picture self giggling at his flirty wink. Launching herself at him, she wraps her arms around his neck once more and their mouths crash together, months of pent up feelings exploding between them as their hands struggle to find a purchase, when all they want to do is roam freely.
“I love it.” she mouths against his lips, reveling in the feeling of his hands running up and down her spine.
“I love you.” he tells her, capturing her mouth once more, already addicted to her taste, wanting to experience everything about her, knowing it’s much too soon.
“I love you too, Ominis.” she tells him, happier than she’s ever been in her life. If someone asked her to perform a patronus charm right now she believes with every fiber in her being that she could with just this memory alone.
They stay on their cliff of happiness for another hour, basking in the sun and spray of the ocean, eventually getting up to gather their things and head back to Feldcroft.
Sebastian greets them with a group hug when they return hand in hand, blubbering that he knew from the very beginning they’d end up falling in love. Ominis reminds him that half the school thought Sebastian would end up with her hand, but they defied every obstacle.
Katherine lays there in her home that night, cuddled up to Ominis while they read and enjoy each other’s company while Sebastian writes another letter to Anne, thinking that she may have lost a lot this year, but she’s gained a hell of a lot, too.