In the shadow of the relic (Ominis X GN!reader)
Pairing: Ominis x GN!reader
Warning: fix it fic, angst
Summary: When Sebastian's obsession with dark magic spirals out of control Ominis and you have to find your way back together to save your best friend.
“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry,” Sebastian stuttered and stumbled back, looking at his hands as if they did not belong to his body.
“It’s okay,” you croaked, “You didn’t mean to.”
“What have I done?” he murmured to himself, still in shock, and stormed out of the catacomb. Ominis didn’t move, he just kept holding you, but you pulled back. It took all your strength to peel yourself from the warmth of his embrace, but you knew what you needed to do. “Go after him. He needs you.”
Not seeing Ominis also meant that you saw Sebastian less frequent than before. He had to stand with his best friend, and you understood that you had imposed on him an impossible situation. It had been weeks since you ended things with Ominis when you received an owl from Sebastian asking you to meet up in the Three Broomsticks. He was already waiting when you entered the pub, staring at the half empty glass of butterbeer in front of him. When he spotted you, he gave you a weak little wave and a crooked half-smile. He looked wrecked, his hair was disheveled, and he had dark circles under his eyes. Normally you would ask him what was going on but right now there was a question burning on your tongue like hot coals.
“Bad. He hasn’t left his bed for weeks, he refuses to eat, bathe and talk to me,” Sebastian sighed and ran a hand through his thick locks. His answer hit you like a knife in the heart. You’d seen Ominis only a few times in classes and he had seemed fine enough, all things considered. Of course, you’d known he would be heartbroken - you were too – but hearing from Sebastian how hard he was taking this you couldn’t help but feel guilty. You had spent the past few weeks trying not to think about what had happened, distracting yourself pretty much every minute of every day and being confronted with it brought back the pain you had so desperately been trying to avoid.
“I did the right thing, didn’t I? This is better than whatever his father would have done to him?”
“I’m not so sure anymore. I can’t stand seeing him in so much pain. It seems like all the people I love suffer,” Sebastian sighed and rubbed his face in exasperation. He seemed tired in a way that 100 years of sleep couldn’t fix and you wished there was something you could do to help your friend.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to … I just didn’t know what to do.”
“I know. It’s not your fault. I know you’re hurting too. That’s what I mean – everyone I love is in pain right now and I don’t know what to do about it.”
“How is the search of the cure going?” you asked, desperate to change the subject.
Sebastian’s face lightened up at this question and he shot up from his hunched position, straightening his back. “I found something in Slytherin’s spellbook that looked promising. It’s some sort of relic but I don’t yet understand fully how it works.” You remembered Ominis’ warning about how everything to do with Slytherin seemed promising until it was too late and tried to think of a way to instill caution into your friend. It was a balancing act, being supportive yet also trying to be the voice of reason.
“What kind of relic are we talking about? Are you sure it can be used to help Anne?”
“Of course I can’t be sure. But if there is even the slightest possibility I have to try. It’s my sister’s life we’re talking about,” he replied, seemingly annoyed by this concern.
“What does Anne have to say to this? Have you talked to her about it?” you tried again, fully aware that Anne, would definitely be against using dark relics of any kind.
“I don’t want to get her hopes up at this stage. I don’t know enough about this relic yet. Will you help me find it?”
“Do you know where it is?”
“As a matter of fact, I do. It’s supposed to be in a catacomb near Feldcroft. I was planning to go there later this evening. Will you come with me?” This took you by surprise. Until now it had been purely theoretical, and it had been fun to speculate what one could do to save Anne but this felt dangerous. Yet knowing Sebastian you knew that there was nothing you could do to stop him, so that left you with only one choice.
“Can’t very well let you go into a catacomb in the middle of the night to search for a dark arts relic alone, can I?” you sighed and emptied your drink.
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“Ominis would be livid if he knew what we were doing,” Sebastian remarked when the two of you were just about to enter the catacomb. This made you feel even worse about the situation. You had promised Ominis to keep an eye on Sebastian and make sure he did not pursue the dark arts any further yet here you were helping him to find some mysterious relic which was capable of Merlin knows what. It was a terrible idea. But Sebastian was convinced this would help Anne and nothing you said or did would stop him from looking for that damned thing. You suppressed another sigh and followed your friend into the catacomb.
The place was crawling with spiders, and it took the two of you some time to fight your way into the heart of the catacomb. By the time you reached the last room you were out of breath and covered in blood and even Sebastian seemed frustrated. “Dead end. Lovely. All that for nothing,” he growled and wiped a sweaty lock from his forehead. You had made your way to the back of the room and were taking a look at a stone altar when you stumbled upon a weird looking object.
“Hold on. I think I found something.”
Sebastian rushed to your side and immediately picked up the object, that seemed to be made out of human bone and depicted several skeletons that formed some sort of pyramid. You on the other hand began to read the notes that you had found right next to the relic. “I can’t believe it. After all this it lines up. We’ve really found it!” your friend exclaimed.
As much as you wanted to be excited for him something about this felt very wrong. “What do you suppose is meant by ‘the dark sacrifice required to realize the relic’s potential’?”
“ I have no idea. But we’re here for the relic.”
“I don’t know, Sebastian. I have a bad feeling about this. Maybe we should leave it here.”
“Are you mad? After all we’ve been through to get it? This could be the key to saving Anne! I’m taking it,” Sebastian spat and marched towards the exit only to be held back by Ominis.
The tall blonde blocked the exit and didn’t say a word, yet his face said enough. He was not, as Sebastian had assumed, livid, but seemed to be disappointed and exhausted. You immediately started to feel guilty for not having tried to stop Sebastian from this dangerous endeavor.
“Ominis! The sounds we kept hearing – it was you!”
“You gave me no choice. I had to follow you. Sebastian please. Leave the relic alone. We can find another way to help Anne,” Ominis pleaded, his voice heavy with exasperation.
“I’m sorry, Ominis, but I’m taking it.”
“No, you’re not. If you don’t put it back, then I will.” Both of them readied their wands, seemingly about to fight each other and you knew you had to step in.
Ominis flinched at the sound of your voice. It was the first time you had talked to him since you had broken his heart. You stepped between the two of them and gave Sebastian a meaningful look and he took a few steps back to give you your privacy. “Ominis,” you whispered and had to suppress the urge to touch his arm. How you longed to take his hand right now, feel his warm skin against yours and forget about that mess you’d gotten yourself into.
“We need to stop him,” Ominis declared, his grey gaze fixated on you.
“I’m afraid we cannot. He has made up his mind.”
“What do you suggest we do then?”
“We let him have it. He will take it anyway so let’s negotiate with him. He can take it, but after this no more.” You knew this was not exactly a great suggestion, but you had to keep them from fighting. There was no way Sebastian would leave the relic behind, even if he had to sacrifice his friendship for it. For a moment your mind wandered back to the warning about the dark sacrifice that had to be made in order to access the relic’s power and you shuddered.
“I already lost my family to dark magic. I cannot lose my best friend too.” Ominis voice brought you back to reality.
“You won’t. We will keep an eye on him,” you assured him, but even as you said it you couldn’t shake the feeling that you were making a mistake.
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When you received an owl from Ominis a few weeks later, asking you to come as quickly as possible you didn’t waste a second and immediately apparated to the entrance of the Feldcroft catacombs. You knew it had to be something seriously bad or he wouldn’t have asked for your help.
“I’m glad you’re here,” he said flatly, his face remaining completely emotionless.
“Inside the catacomb. Frankly I was surprised you weren’t with him.”
“What’s that supposed to mean? I didn’t…,” you began but Ominis interrupted you.
“Stop. You swore you wouldn’t let Sebastian take this one step further yet here we are. Then again, I shouldn’t be surprised. It’s not the first promise you broke,” he spat, his voice so full of anger you took a step back.
“I…,” you tried again but couldn't think of anything to say. You knew he was right. He had warned you multiple times about the dangers of dark magic and you had ignored it. Even though he hadn’t told you what Sebastian was doing inside that catacomb you could guess it was bad.
“You’re to blame for this. You enabled his behavior. I put my trust in you and you let me down – again.” The tone of his voice sent shivers down your spine. He was more than just angry, he was furious. You had never seen him like this before, not even when he had discovered that Sebastian had shown you the Undercroft.
“Ominis if this is about us….”
“Don’t. You hurt me more than my family ever could. I let you in, I trusted you and you betrayed my trust. All I want is for you to help me save Sebastian from himself.” With that he turned around and entered the catacomb.
Inside you were immediately attacked by a horde of Inferi and had your fight your way forward. You instinctively tried to stay close to Ominis, making sure no Inferi came too close. Even though he was an excellent and feared duelist, fighting so many enemies at once was something different all together. There was no need to talk, the two of you seemed to sense when the other was about to move and instinctively react to cover each other’s back. Sweat trickled down your forehead when you finally reached the great room where you found Sebastian, surrounded by more Inferi.
“Sebastian!” Ominis cried out and stormed towards his friend with you following right behind.
“Isn’t this incredible? I told you the relic is the answer! I’ve been to reverse the magic that injured Anne but this allows me to control it – just as I can control the Inferi.”
All color had drained from Ominis’ face. “Listen to yourself, Sebastian! This is the dark magic speaking.”
“Ominis is right,” you chimed in, “this has gone too far.”
Sebastian’s eyes darkened and he made a step back, clutching the relic even tighter. “So the two of you are talking again?” he growled not even trying to conceal his contempt. It was clear that he felt backed into a corner by the two of you and reasoning with him right now would be hard. Still you knew you had to try, not just for him but for Ominis too. He had already lost so much, he couldn’t lose Sebastian too. Since Ominis was usually quite rough you tried a gentle approach.
“We’re worried about you, Sebastian. I’m sorry we were so wrapped up in our own problems that we didn’t see how much you were struggling.”
“I don’t need your pity. I have made up my mind.”
“This is the dark magic speaking, Sebastian. Anne doesn’t want this.”
“You don’t get to tell me what to do. You have been lying for weeks, made me lie to my best friend,” the dark Slytherin hissed.
“What is he talking about?” Ominis asked, alarmed.
“That’s not important right now. Now give me that damned relic!” you practically shouted, finally losing your composure. It was quite transparent what Sebastian had been trying to achieve with this. He wanted you to fight with each other instead of him but you weren’t having any of it. You took a step towards him, reaching for the relic, ready to pry it from his hand when he bellowed “Diffindo.” Time seemed to stand still for a moment when the spell hit you and you stumbled back, blood trickling down your arm. The silence was deafening. After the initial shock you slowly approached your friend again, this time with hands raised to signal you were not out to fight.
“Sebastian. You don’t want to harm me. I’m your friend.“
When Sebastian didn’t react Ominis took initiative and yelled “Accio relic,” ripping the object right out of his best friend’s hands. Then everything happened fast. Sebastian lurched forward to attack Ominis and without realizing it you threw yourself at the brunette, slapping the wand out of his hand. As you watched it fall to the floor, your friend grabbed your throat with both hands and started to choke you. You didn’t fight back. In the corner of your eye you could see Ominis destroying the relic, then your vision got blurry and you closed your eyes. All of a sudden, the grip on your throat vanished and you fell to the floor, gasping for air. Ominis rushed to your side and gently touched your face. Still dizzy from the lack of oxygen you collapse into his embrace and take a few deep breaths.
“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry,” Sebastian stuttered and stumbled back, looking at his hands as if they did not belong to his body.
“It’s okay,” you croaked, “You didn’t mean to.”
“What have I done?” he murmured to himself, still in shock, and stormed out of the catacomb. Ominis didn’t move, he just kept holding you, but you pulled back. It took all your strength to peel yourself from the warmth of his embrace, but you knew what you needed to do. “Go after him. He needs you.” He hesitated for a moment, unsure whether or not to listen to you but you kept pushing him, “I’m fine, really. Go.” Finally, he got up and chased after his best friend, leaving you alone on the floor of the catacomb. You remained there for some time and tried to gain your composure after everything that had just happened, taking a few deep breaths before getting up and making your way out of the catacomb. On your way out you bumped into Anne and Solomon, and you knew you had to think quick on your feet to avert another disaster.
“What happened? Where is Sebastian?” Solomon bellowed and you wondered what exactly Anne had told her uncle.
“Don’t know,” you whispered, your voice still hoarse and raw.
“Did he do this to you?” Anne inquired.
You shook your head and gestured towards the burnt remains of the Undead. “Inferi.”
“Alright this needs to be looked at. Let’s get you home,” Solomon sighed, and you were glad they didn’t ask any more questions for now. This gave you more time to think of a believable story to tell them. No one talked on the way back to Feldcroft, you just walked next to each other in silence. You thought about Sebastian and hoped Ominis had found him by now and was able to calm him down. He had looked so lost and terrified when he realized what he had done. It was not his fault; it was the dark magic that had made him attack you and you knew it and did not take it personal, in fact, you were more worried about what it had done to him.
You followed the Sallows to their home where Solomon prepared a concoction for your wounds. The ointment felt nice and cold on your skin, and you could practically feel the dark bruises and the cuts on your arm heal within minutes. As soon as Solomon saw that you were better he started to question you. “You have to tell us what happened eventually.”
“Sebastian saved my life,” you lied.
“Anne told me about some sort of relic?”
“He destroyed it. It’s gone.” At least the last part was true - the relic was destroyed. You had just rearranged some of the facts. Solomon gave you a long probing look, trying to determine whether or not to believe you.
“If you are lying, so help me Merlin…” he growled.
“I’m not. Sebastian destroyed the relic and saved my life.” You held his gaze until he finally stopped giving you that distrustful look. You could tell he still was not entirely convinced by your story and tried to brace yourself for more questions. To your surprise it wasn’t Solomon who continued the interrogation but Anne. “Where is he then? Why did he leave you behind, wounded and vulnerable?”
“Ominis was not feeling well. I told him to go after him.” Anne took after her uncle, not taking your eyes off you while she was considering your answer. It was hard to tell what she was thinking but at least she stopped asking questions.
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When you returned to Hogwarts you immediately made your way to the Undercroft where you waited for Ominis and Sebastian. It didn’t take long, and they came bursting through the secret entrance, both looking tired and exhausted. Sebastian still seemed shaken up when he came over to you and started to apologize straight away. “I’m so sorry. I don’t know what got into me. Are you alright?”
“I’m fine Sebastian, really. It wasn’t that serious, and your uncle is an excellent healer.” You pointed at your arm and throat which where completely healed and hoped this would calm Sebastian down a little, seeing that he did not seriously hurt you.
Sebastian flinched when you mentioned Solomon and tentatively asked, “What did you tell him, my uncle?”
“I technically didn’t lie, I just rearranged some of the facts. Inferi attacked me but you saved me and destroyed the relic. Ominis was upset so you went after him.”
“Looked like it. Anne seemed a bit suspicious, but she didn’t say anything.” You looked over to Ominis waiting for him to scold you for lying to Sebastian’s family, but he stayed quiet.
“Thank you. Both of you. I should talk to Anne. I’ll be back when I can,” Sebastian said and stormed out of the Undercroft leaving the two of you alone. As soon as the door shut after him Ominis rushed over and threw his arms around you, burying his face in your neck and exhaled shakily.
“Thank Merlin you are alright. I was worried sick! Leaving you behind like this was the hardest thing I’ve ever done,” he sighed while gently running his fingers over your face, then letting them wander down your body and to see for himself that you were fine. You let him, enjoying the warmth of his touch and replied softly, “Sometimes we have to make hard decisions to protect the ones we love.” Ominis stopped what he was doing and abruptly pulled away. You wanted nothing more than him to continue but you knew the moment was gone.
“My family threatened you, didn’t they?”
The silence was deafening. You didn’t dare to look him in the eyes and instead focused on your feet. Ominis took a step towards you, then another until he was mere inches away and you could smell the sweet scent of his hair. He lifted your chin up with his hand and forced you to look at him.
“He threatened to hurt you. I’m sorry, I know you warned me. But your father is so terrifying. I couldn’t risk it,” you blurted out, tears running down your cheeks. Ominis softly wiped them away with his thumb before once more pulling you into his embrace. “I’m so sorry,” you kept sobbing into his shoulder, unable to stop crying as the events of the past weeks came crashing down on you.
“It’s alright, darling. I should have known. I should have known you wouldn’t do this to me. I’m sorry that you had to go through this. My father is a dangerous man.”
“What are we going to do now? I’m scared, Ominis. I don’t want him to hurt you. He said he would take you away from Hogwarts and have you locked up somewhere. „You studied Ominis’ face, but he did not seem surprised at all which left you wondering if this was not the first time he had threatened to do this. His milky gaze was fixated on your face and he reached for your hand, intertwining his fingers with yours.
“Let us worry about this another day. You look like you are about to collapse, and I could use some sleep as well. Tomorrow we can worry about the future, but for now let’s sleep.”
“What if I don’t want to sleep alone tonight?” you asked softly, your lips almost touching his ear. Ominis trembled when your breath caressed his skin and tilted his head until his lips were inches away from yours. “Promise me that now we shall never be parted,” he whispered with a hint of desperation in his voice. He wanted you. You wanted him. And for now this was enough.
