Chapter Text
The ability to see was something so many people took for granted, although, Ominis can't blame them. Being able to experience colors and shapes without a wand to help guide you or without someone's pitying voice as they attempt to describe something they know you can never begin to understand, is something most people don't understand, unlike Ominis. He all too frequently hears the sympathetic voices of his peers as they try to inform him of the color of his potion before it boils over, or how beautiful a flower looks, or just how magnificent the world around him is. It truly is a pity.
They very rarely would experience the feeling of stumbling into an oddly placed object after someone forgot to put it back in its rightful place, or the feeling of helplessness without a wand to help guide you through everyday life. They never have to worry of what danger may befall them if their wand happens to break, or, in this case, if it gets flung across a cave in the middle of the Scottish Highlands while one was exploring with their classmate.
No, they certainly would never need to worry about that, but it appears that today, that is exactly what Ominis needs to worry about.
It had been another one of Sebastian’s convoluted plans to help Anne. Sebastian had found another parchment in that damned scriptorium, depicting yet another artifact that may help Anne. It’s not as if Ominis does not wish to help Anne, of course not, he wishes she could get better and finish out the rest of her schooling years with him and Sebastian. But Sebastian, just like Ominis, needs to accept the fact that Anne is not going to get better, especially not with the help of dark magic. And, if Sebastian does wish to go down that path, then he certainly well can, but he can do it without Ominis’s help, and preferably without the help of the new 5th year too.
But no, Sebastian decided that he would go visit Anne in Fieldcroft while the new student went out to find whatever that damned artifact is. Having overheard their plan, Ominis went out to stop the new student before they make a mistake that will doom both themselves, and Sebastian. However, things quickly went awry.
So here he was, scrambling around on the dirty floor of the small cavern, searching for the comforting wood of his wand. An accio charm could do the trick, but without knowing what direction the wand is, it would be all for naught. His hands desperately search the grimy floor, and despite the fight raging on around him, and the stinging of his hands as they get cut on rocks, his mind is focused on one thing. Without his wand he is a sitting duck for any Inferni who happens to look his way.
Variations of BOMBARDA, CONFRINGO, INCENDIO, PROTEGO, and DEPULSO, ring out through the cavern as the new 5th year yells out various combinations to keep the dwindling Inferni army at bay. The sound of spells being cast and meeting their targets fills the small room, making Ominis’s ears ring as one zips past his head.
Ominis however, pays no mind to his new found tinnitus, if anything, it helps him drown out the fear of being feasted on by re-animated versions of ancient wizards. As the fight continues to rage on, Ominis’s fingers brush the familiar smooth wood of his wand, causing a rush of safety to flow through him. Quickly, he grasps it, bringing it close to him for a moment so the wand can help re-oriente him to his surroundings.
Shapes and figures start to appear in Ominis’s vision, they lack color, as they normally do, but the feeling of sight gifted to him by his wand is all that Ominis needs to expel the feeling of danger in his stomach. Now that he has his wand, he returns to the battle, quickly dispatching the remaining Inferni with the help of his companion.
As the last Inferni falls, Ominis breathes out a sigh of relief, the cavern falling silent. The only sound in the small cave is the labored breathing of the two students, as they catch their breath from the fighting they just endured.
Ominis recovers quicker than his companion, straightening himself up, and brushing the remaining dirt off of his hands. “We ought to find that artifact. I don’t intend to give it to him, and nor should you, but we’ve come too far into this cave to turn back.” Ominis says as he lightly kicks one of the Inferni skulls away from himself, before turning his attention to the other 5th year.
“I suppose you’re right, but he wont stop. Even if we don't give this one to him he’ll just search for another one, and end up getting himself hurt. Sebastian isn’t dumb by any means Ominis, but he is obsessed with helping Anne. Keeping this artifact from him could just endanger him more.” They respond to Ominis, although their attention is not on the blind wizard, instead, they are much more focused on collecting the small piles of coins that dot the corners of the cave, and picking up whatever skulls they come across, including the one Ominis kicked away.
“I’ve seen what the dark arts do to people, they should not be trifled with, especially not by Sebastian.” Ominis replies, the conflict in his voice evident. “But I suppose we need to find the artifact first, and then we can decide what to do with it.” He decides, his wand brandished out in front of him to guide himself towards the entrance of an adjoining cavern.
At the sound of Ominis moving, the other student quickly catches up, bursting into the adjoining room. Inside the room, atop a small, adornless pedestal, rests the artifact. It has few defining features, it's simply a stone, or perhaps clay, cube, with a rune protruding out of its side. “Doesn't look all that fancy does it, not that I was expecting the Holy Grail, but perhaps some color, and some shiny gems. Perhaps a bright red ruby, or a shining green emerald, or at least-” They say with an unimpressed tone, before stopping themselves quickly, leaving their sentence unfinished. “Ahem- Sorry Ominis-”
The object looked normal to Ominis, it truly was nothing extraordinary. But hearing his classmates’ disappointment at it not being extravagantly decorated, sent a small feeling of disappointment into Ominis too. It’s not like his classmate was trying to be insensitive while noting it’s lack of color, colors that Ominis has always yearned to see, but hearing a description of an item covered in shiny, colorful gems, would truly be amazing. And it is regretfully, quite sad that even if the artifact looked like that, Ominis would not be able to see any of it. While his wand could show him the shape of it, the gems would look less shiny, and all the colors would simply be washed away into tones of gray. “It’s alright, you meant no harm.” He responds, disguising his sadness quite well.
His classmate nods, before continuing their earlier statement. “It’s just not at all what I expected. When Sebastian told me that he found notes of an artifact that could ‘change the course of time’, or whatever, I was expecting something fancier. Perhaps gold, maybe a large time turner? I’m not sure, but certainly not whatever this is.” They exclaim, throwing their arms out for emphasis towards the object. “It just looks so simple, how is this thing going to save Anne?”
Ominis silently nods along to his classmate’s words, approaching the object slowly. Then, with a steady hand, he reaches out to grab it. The artifact is rough in Ominis’s hands, although the rounded corners of the cube clearly demonstrate a high level of craftsmanship went towards making it. As Ominis inspects the object, turning it in his palm as he uses his wand to visualize it, he comes across the side with the protruding rune symbol. Ominis has never been great in Ancient Runes, but he still does not recognize whatever this symbol is, he allows himself a moment to trace over the strange shape, mapping out the feeling of it while using his wand to see it.
“Right then, if you give me the artifact I’ll fly over to Feldcroft and give it to Sebastian.” Ominis’s peer says, having finished their monologue about the artifact, their hand extended towards Ominis.
“I won’t give it to you.” Ominis says, his tone definite as he brings the object close to him. “Sebastian shouldn’t use or experiment with it, nor should he do it with any artifact. This has to be the end. You said it yourself, you and Sebastian have no idea what this artifact could do. I won't let you use it.”
“But Ominis-” They say, exasperated. “Sebastian will just go looking for another artifact, and what if this is the one to help Anne?”
“You and I both know that Anne wont be getting better.” Ominis says, with a shake of his head. “It’s time you and I both put a stop to Sebastian and his endless search. We both know where it’s leading him. If he doesn't stop he could end up in Azkaban.”
“Why don't we take it to the undercroft then. We’ll bring the artifact to Sebastian on the terms that this is the last time. Deal?” They say, in an attempt to bargain with Ominis.
With a sigh, Ominis nods his head, knowing that he can't convince them otherwise. “Fine. But don’t expect me to just give it to him.” He says, walking towards his peer, as he lifts the object up. “We don’t know what this could do, it may be dangerous.” Ominis’s thumb continues to trace over the runic symbol as he holds it up for the both of them to see, until something happens.
As Ominis’s thumb traces over the rune, there is an audible click, as the Rune depresses into the cube. With wide eyes, the new 5th year looks over at Ominis. “Ominis, what happen-”
POP
In an instant, the cave disappears from Ominis’s vision. It’s although he dropped his wand, but he didn’t, as it still remains clutched firmly in his hand. Noise starts to pick up around the boy, similar to wind, as it rushes and howls about him. It gets louder and louder, causing the ringing of Ominis’s ears to return, further disorienting the blind wizard.
Then, it feels as though it is wrapping around Ominis’s limbs, before tugging, quite painfully. Each limb on his limber body being pulled, tugged, and shook in opposite directions. It feels almost as though he is a cloth doll, being shaken about, the head getting thrown back and forth as the body goes limp and the appendages sway.
Just when Ominis starts to cry out in pain and confusion, it all disappears. The surrounding noise dissipates, and his body falls limp as he regains autonomy over his movement. A moment later, the familiar hum that accompanies his wand’s magic fills his mind, and the recognizable outline of shapes reappears.
He appears to be back in the cave again, if he ever left it at all, although it could really be any cave, they all look the same. While his wand grants him vision, it is quite limited, it really only shows Ominis the outlines of objects, with a bit of shading to them, making it quite hard to determine if he truly is in the same cave.
Despite that, Ominis picks himself up off the cave floor, it appears he must have fallen during whatever that was, and then attempts to dust off the dirt and grime from his school robes, although it’s quite unsuccessful. With a huff, Ominis then looks around, noting that his companion is missing.
“Figures, they never do stick around long. Probably have gone back to Sebastian to tell him I’m not cooperating.” He states under his breath, as he starts to make his way through the winding tunnels of the cavern and towards the entrance. “They ought to be quite daft though, as they left me here with the artifact.” He continues to mutter, feeling the weight of the cube within his hand, before he deposits it into one of the many over-sized pockets of his robe. “Or, perhaps they’ve decided to stay out of it, and let me deal with Sebastian.” He says, coming to a conclusion of his thoughts as he reaches the entrance of the cave.
From the shadows and light depicted by his wand, it appears to be early morning, considering that there is a hamlet nearby, it shouldn’t take him long at all to floo back to Hogwarts, get a fresh uniform, and perhaps a bit of sleep, before attending class for the day. Sebastian and his ridiculous plans can wait until Ominis feels rested enough to confront the other Slytherin. Perhaps tomorrow, or later this evening.
The walk to the nearby hamlet is short, and nothing of note, the path to the hamlet is empty, and judging by the many roots and overgrown plants dotting the path, it doesn’t get much use. None-the-less, it is quite comforting to Ominis, the quiet chirp and song of the morning birds is soothing and peaceful, and the monotone sound of his steps beating down on the dirt helps him to relax.
It’s not often that Ominis can enjoy a moment like this. Usually, he is busy with school, or being dragged along into some ridiculous plan by Sebastian, or spying on Sebastian, or on occasion, actually doing his duties as a prefect. There are no pestering classmates, or first years ogling at Ominis due to his blindness. No. Out here it is simply him and nature. It’s truly quite refreshing, and for a moment Ominis considers that he should spend more time outdoors, before discarding the idea. There’s not much use in going outdoors if you can't experience the sight of it.
The hamlet that Ominis comes to is small, and nothing of note. From what he can hear, it seems that a few wizards are already up, most likely the farmers, caring for their flocks, or tending the gardens. The town seems to be like any other hamlet, from the thatched roofs to the stone work cottages, The cobblestone street is empty as Ominis passes through, the only sign that people other than the farmers live here, is the various shop stalls that dot the narrow street.
Next to the shop stalls is what Ominis was looking for, the familiar statue of Ignatia Wildsmith, and the glow of the floo network beside her. With a deep breath, Ominis grabs a handful of the communal floo powder next to the floo. He would’ve used his own, but he didn’t bring any with him, and surely the citizens of the hamlet wont mind. With the glittering, what he is told to be green, floo powder in his hand, he takes one more breath before throwing it on the fire and clearly stating “HOGWARTS NORTH EXIT”. In a whoosh of magic, Ominis is engulfed in the flames of the floo network, appearing moments later at the North Hogwarts floo station.
The Hogwarts floo station appears to be overgrown by vines, which cover the small podium of the floo network.. However, as the floo flames dissipate from around Ominis, they leave a burn in their wake, effectively clearing out any remaining vegetation from the surrounding vicinity. It strikes Ominis as quite strange, floo network stations, no matter their location, are always kept free of encroaching vegetation by use, as demonstrated by Ominis, a simple floo will burn away surrounding vegetation. Not to mention that this station is used quite frequently, considering the amount of students that use it to floo in and out of Hogwarts grounds.
Despite the strangeness of it all, Ominis decides to not dwell on it; the overgrown vegetation could be the result of a growth charm gone wrong from a student trying out their herbology homework, or perhaps, caused by a student dropping a newly purchased bag of fertilizer. Besides, there were much more important things for him to focus on. But right now, it is imperative that he changes out of these dirty robes. It won't do him any good to be seen looking disheveled. While he may not like his family, he still has quite the reputation at school, one that would be tarnished by being caught in sullied robes.
As such, he quickly walks off and down the footpath towards one of the many doors into the school. Now that Ominis is surrounded by more familiar places, although he could have sworn that the canvas covering the quidditch pitch never appeared that new, he is much more comfortable while walking around, knowing that his memory, and his wand, should alert him of any obstructions in his path. He does remarkably well, as usual, approaching the large doors quickly, and slipping through them with little noise.
Ominis quickly takes off down the hallway and towards the Slytherin common room, his wand is raised, guiding him, but he barely pays attention to it in his rush. It’s not until Ominis turns a corner, and smacks into a suit of armor, that he slows down. With a groan at the impact, Ominis pauses, hearing the suit of armor cascade down to the ground with a SLAM, the metal pieces ringing off of the stone floor as they scatter about.
As Ominis pauses, he takes a moment to truly inspect his surroundings. It’s possible that in his rush he could’ve taken a wrong turn, leading him to running into the suit of armor. As Ominis inspects his surroundings, nothing looks familiar. Suits of armor, including the one that he ran into, are in odd positions. Not to mention the paintings dotting the walls are unfamiliar to Ominis. Strangely, the hallway feels familiar though, the large glass windows to the side, along with the stone arches and arrangement of doors show that this is the correct hallway, but why is it decorated so differently? Before Ominis had the time to question the probability of Headmaster Black redecorating a hallway- or rather demanding that the house elves do so- an unfortunately familiar voice interrupts him.
“WHO-HOO-HOO-HOO, what’s this? Blind-As-A-Bat Gaunt, is it?” The taunting voice of Peeves greets Ominis. The see-through form of the poltergeist floating in front of the downed suit of armor. “Knocking over armor? VANDALIZING school property~?” He continues to taunt, floating on his back in the air as he dramatically lays the back of his ghostly hand over his forehead, almost to feign shock and disbelief.
“Shut it you damned poltergeist.” Ominis mumbles out, staring in, what he believes to be, the direction of that damned ghost, given where that infernal high pitched voice was coming from. How unfortunate it was that Ominis’s wand couldn’t locate the translucent form of the ghost.
“Can’t even be bothered to look at me? Or can you just not see batsy?” Peeves continues to taunt, his sentence ending off with another one of his infuriating maniacal laughs as the poltergeist flies around Ominis, throwing his voice all around the long corridor.
Ominous lets out a resolved sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose as he closes his eyes. “Don’t make me complain to Headmaster Black about you Peeves. Perhaps he’ll finally hire a blasted exorcist for you.” He says, a small smirk appearing on his face at his final comment, as he reopens his eyes, trying to relocate the poltergeist.
“HOO-HOO Headsy-Master Black can’t be doing nothing about me now can he? Funny Phineas has fallen down, falling, falling, fallen down, down 6 feet in the ground!” Peeves sings, his tune off key, in a way that shares a striking resemblance to a hinge which has been left out in the rain for 50 years, and never been opened. So that when it is finally opened, it lets out the most horrendous sound that the listener has ever heard. The squeal is so high pitched and off key that if it was any louder, one’s ears may start bleeding, and if the sound, or in this case the singing, went on any longer, one may attempt to claw their own ears off in an attempt to escape from it. Even those exposed to the shrieking cries of mandrakes would be stunned and begin to cringe away from the sheer prospect of the ghost’s singing. And as such, it takes a moment for Ominis to respond, his hands cupped over his ears momentarily as he glares in the general direction of Peeves, the lyrics of Peeves’s song not being fully understood by him.
“If you don’t begin to float off down that hallway I will call the Bloody Baron, Peeves.” Ominis says determined, continuing to glare at the poltergeist, waiting for the mere threat of the other ghost to scare him off. But before that can happen, Ominis’s ears key into the ever-growing louder, and therefore closer, noise of someone in high heels walking down the corridor.
“WOO-HOO, have fun dealing with Missus Umbridge, ickle batsy.” Peeves laughs out as he begins to float away, ascending until he passes through the roof, undoubtedly looking for mischief more fun than annoying the ever-living life out of the poor Gaunt boy.
“Damned poltergeist. Black ought to hire an exorcist.” Ominis mumbles, pinching the bridge of his nose again, before turning black to the downed suit of armor, and pulling out his wand, planning to cast a quick reparo on the armor, before going to his dormitory for a quick change of clothes before breakfast.
The noise of the high heels continues to get louder, their pace appearing to pick up as the Click—-Click, begins to turn into a CLICK-CLICK-CLICK. Ominis pays it no mind however, afterall he is a prefect, and all the students, and faculty are, unfortunately, aware of his disability. It sadly is not uncommon for Ominis to be found having run into something at the start of every term, or after holiday decorations have been put up. So generally, seeing Ominis repairing something is not unusual. With this, Ominis casts REPARO, on the suit of armor, waiting for each piece to be gathered as they begin to place eachother back together, reforming the daunting figure of iron armor.
As the last piece of armor land in place with a small clink, Ominis is surprised, and caught off-guard by a high pitched “HEM-HEM” and the rapid clicking of high heels as the walking figure appears behind Ominis, undoubtedly the figure that Peeves referred to before floating away.
“May I help you miss?” Ominis questions, turning around to face the woman, his wand raised so that he may see who he is talking to. From the vision cast by his wand, he can see the toad-like face of a middle aged woman, her hair curled in an odd hairstyle in Ominis’s opinion, yet he doesn’t know much about women’s hair. Although Ominis’s wand cannot depict colors, the shade of what appears to be the women’s un-blended blush, and bright lips, tells Ominis that she is wearing makeup, although quite poorly. Perhaps she could benefit from a lesson from his mother, or perhaps by any other pureblooded lady.
Her outfit also strikes Ominis as quite odd, although he is not one to talk, given the disheveled state of his school uniform, his cloak, trousers, and waistcoat dirtied, his tie loosened, his button-up untucked and rolled up his arms, and his shoes scuffed.
But the lady’s outfit is odd, simply because Ominis has never seen anyone wear something like that before. Her skirt was of a normal length, but appeared to be made out of tweed, similar to that of a man’s suit, and to match it she wore a button up coat that only covered her torso, and a small hat upon her head to tie the look together. Given the similar shade of all of her clothing, Ominis can assume that they are all the same color, but yet again, he could be wrong.
Beyond that, the woman is quite short too, however, not petite, although that was fine. But despite their height difference, and the fact that Ominis was quite literally looking down upon her, the woman holds her head high, her arms crossed over her chest as she looks skeptically at Ominis.
“Miss?” Ominis questions again, waiting for the woman, presumably someone’s mother, or perhaps somebody from the ministry, which would be quite odd, considering Headmaster Black already works for the ministry, and there therefore is no need for another ministry worker to be within Hogwarts. “May I help you with something?”