Chapter Text
Sebastian may not have been a well-behaved kid growing up, but he is definitely a good brother. One of his innate talents that showed early was that he never hesitated to put himself between Anne and danger. Sebastian takes pride in his role as a protector, no matter it is for Anne or Ominis. Of course Ominis is not his biological brother, his blood is not noble enough to be qualified as a relative of the Slytherin descendants. However when he met the little blind boy when they entered Hogwarts who often found himself in awkward situations due to his condition and couldn’t stop his tears, Sebastian naturally felt that he should extend his protection to him as well.
It tore him apart that one day he had to choose between Anne and Ominis.
“I see smoke, it is Feldcroft!” Seeing the distant smoke growing more intense, Sebastian couldn’t help but scream knowing Anne was in danger. The new fifth-year heard him and stopped his track.
“You go first, I am going back to get Ominis.”
It was only at that moment that Ominis, under the control of the Imperius Curse and surrounded by inferi and spiders, came to Sebastian's mind. He couldn’t believe that his excitement over the relic had clouded his judgment to this extent. He left Ominis there, blind and unable to fend himself! He cursed himself and turns around, ready to dash towards the catacomb when he heard a scream coming from Feldcroft. He froze, and Ominis in his mind morphed into Anne, tortured by the curse and lied helpless on the ground facing a vicious goblin. Dammit! You can never count on Solomon to keep Anne safe, Anne needed him! But Ominis……
The new fifth-year noticed his sudden stiffness and made a gesture to stop him from proceeding towards the catacomb.
“This is an emergency, go to Anne first. I will take care of Ominis, I was the one who cast the spell on him after all. No need to worry, I will keep him safe and sound. “
This was the most logical course of action, and Sebastian couldn’t think of a better solution. He suppressed the turmoil of unease and guilt in his heart and nodded at the new fifth-year: "Thanks, I owe you one."
The new fifth-year gave him a strange look, replies with just a "Be careful," and briskly ran towards the catacomb without looking back.
Unfortunately, being careful was not really Sebastian’s strong suit. He accidentally casted the Imperius curse in front of Solomon and Anne, and now Solomon has kicked him out and forbidden him to come back. Even Anne didn’t speak up for him. But that’s okay, he had the relic at his hand now. As long as he could lift Anne’s curse so she could return to Hogwarts and live a carefree life again, he didn’t care if he could go back to that wretched place or not. He was so close to success and so desperately in need of it that he stayed up all night studying Slytherin's spellbook and the relic. It was not until dawn that he realized Ominis hadn't returned to the dorm all night.
Anxious and worried, he rushed to the Great Hall and only encountered the new fifth-year there. The tall boy who usually hurried around the school to complete his extra assignment and mysterious exploration tasks, appeared unusually relaxed in his movements and casual in his stride this morning. Upon seeing Sebastian, he greeted him cheerfully, "Good morning Sebastian! If you're wondering about Ominis, he's doing fine, just a few minor injuries and a fright, nothing I couldn’t take care of. He doesn't have any classes this morning, so I suggested he take some rest."
Sebastian furrowed his brow: “Where is he? Why didn’t him return to his dorm?”
The new fifth-year shrugged: “He is at my place. I don’t have a roommate so he can rest peacefully. “
“I wanna go see him. “
With a gentle flick of the new fifth-year's wand in the air, the bread rolls and apples on the table slowly floated along the wand's path into his handkerchief—Sebastian recognized the elegant embroidery “O.G.” on the handkerchief.
“Perhaps it's best not to disturb him. You'll see him in the Potions class this afternoon, “he advised.
Disturb? Sebastian suddenly felt rage and a sickening sensation as if he had just swallowed a fly and the fly was flying inside his chest. Since when did he get the right to accuse Sebastian of disturbing? When Ominis woke up in the middle of the night weeping about his nightmares and drenching Sebastian's pajamas with tears and snot when they were little, he was nowhere to be found, probably lost in his sweet dreams.
The new fifth-year seemed completely oblivious to his inner turmoil. He carefully and gently wrapped the bread rolls and apples in the handkerchief. As he was about to turn and leave, it was as if he suddenly remembered something and spun around, waving his wand to pour a glass of chilled pumpkin juice. After a moment's contemplation, he cast another spell and the pumpkin juice suddenly emitted a wisp of warm steam.
“Ominis kept complaining about the cold last night. I think it’d be better to give him something warm to drink,” the new fifth-year examined the pumpkin juice, seeming quite satisfied with his thoughtfulness. He looked up to meet Sebastian's grim expression with a gentle smile and offered another glass of pumpkin juice from the table. The cold mist from the cup's surface almost touched Sebastian’s scarf. "Would you like a glass too?”
He met Ominis earlier than expected. On his way to the Potions classroom, a figure holding a wand approached him with hurried steps. When the figure was just a short distance away, it suddenly hesitated, then hurriedly approached him again.
“Sebastian!”
The youngest Gaunt boy rarely had such reckless footsteps and he almost collided headfirst with Sebastian, if Sebastian didn’t instinctively reach out and catch him. “I heard what happened at Feldcroft. How is Anne? I wrote her but the owl didn't bring back any reply.”
Sebastian assessed him discreetly. Despite his slightly disheveled hair, there were no marks on his fair cheeks beside a few moles scattering like stars, and his typically neat wizard robes were still immaculately worn. It seemed that the new fifth-year did take good care of him. It was just that his scarf was much puffier than usual, almost threatening to bury his entire face within it.
“Anne is fine.”
Ominis sighed in relief. However, his face quickly hardened and the serious expression on his slightly rounded teenage face seemed a bit comical. He leaned in closer, blond hair almost brushing against Sebastian's nose. "You didn't do anything with the relic, did you?"
They were surrounded by a constant flow of people in the corridor, but it seemed that everyone had grown accustomed to these two always sticking together, and no one paid them any mind. But Sebastian still pulled Ominis to a more secluded corner and asked, “What's going on with your scarf?”
“Scarf?” The unexpected question left Ominis with wide, foggy eyes. He instinctively buried himself more into the scarf, explaining in a frustrated tone that he lost his scarf in the catacomb, but fortunately the new fifth-year had lent him a spare one he had. He then furrowed his brow and scolded, “Don't try to change the subject Sebastian, you promised me you won’t attempt anything dangerous with the relic!”
While many considered Ominis' eyes as a lifeless and still pond, Sebastian could see them as the clouds in the sky – one moment they danced and moved with the wind and sunlight, and the next moment they can be pouring down like a torrential rain. Now, his unfocused gaze was fixed in Sebastian's direction, filled with both urgency and earnest hope, like a kitten in the wilderness watching the human who regularly came and fed him, pleading for them not to disrupt the serene beauty and plunder the abundant treasures of the forest.
Sebastian suddenly chuckled, “Oh how much faith you have in me Omi, it's only the second day I got the relic and you're already expecting me to do something.”
Like a kitten whose tail had been tugged, Ominis pushed him away in annoyance. “I told you not to call me that in public!” Then he turned and rushed towards the Potions classroom, but Sebastian could still see the blush tinting the tips of his ears pointing out of the scarf.
Following Ominis into the classroom, He saw Ominis has taken the seat next to Garreth Weasley, who still didn't have a partner yet, leaving the new fifth-year with the only empty seat in the entire classroom. He and Ominis had been explicitly forbidden by Professor Sharp to partner up in Potions class because Sebastian would unabashedly help Ominis cheat. Sebastian and Weasley were also a combination that Professor Sharp would break up without hesitation because they had once come dangerously close to blowing up the entire classroom. Under the sharp scrutiny of Sharp, he strode purposefully towards the new fifth-year’s workbench. Thwack! He slammed his notebook onto the table and to respond the new fifth-year’s somewhat puzzled look: " Such a cold day today and you're not wearing a scarf? I hope you don’t freeze to death. "