What if Sebastian was cursed instead of Anne?
Nighttime had slowly arrived. The Slytherin common room had become more empty as the moon grew higher in the sky. The lake cast dark shadows around the young girl, who was hovering over a book that she had gotten from the library.
Anne’s wary eyes stared at the blurring words in the book, determined to find something, anything, that could help her brother. She blinked, tears of exhaustion running down her face. Anne took a deep breath and leaned back in her chair, groaning. “There just has to be something.”
“It’s late.” Anne jumped at the voice coming from behind her. She turned, sighing as Ominis approached her, resting a hand on her shoulder. He waved his wand over the book, using it to examine the contents. “You’ve read this same book twice before already, I’m afraid it doesn’t have what you need. Go to bed, Anne. Tomorrow I will help you search for another.”
“No!” Anne protested. “No, I’m missing something. There just has to be something in here that can help him.” She looked up at her friend, who frowned in response. “Oh, Ominis, what am I to do? My brother is slowly withering away. I can’t focus on anything because of it! I have a potions essay due by Friday and I haven’t even started it! I’m just stuck, looking at the same, stupid book over and over until I eventually pass out from exhaustion! I just want him to get better, is that so much to ask?”
“No.” Ominis responded. “It’s not. But think of this, Anne. Would Sebastian want to see you agonizing over the same thing? Would he want you to become the embodiment of an Inferi, doing the same thing over and over again for someone else’s sake? No, Anne, that’s not what Sebastian wants, nor is it what he needs. He needs his sister.”
“So you suggest I give up?!” Anne stood, fully facing Ominis. Anger boiled in her chest. How dare Ominis suggest such a thing? He was Sebastian’s best friend for Merlin’s sake!
“Of course not!” He replied, keeping his voice steady. “What I’m saying is that it’s okay to hurt, Anne. I’m hurting too. It kills me to see him like this, breaks my soul. He’s like a brother to me, but he can’t see you like this. It’s not good for him and it isn’t good for you either. He’s already in pain. He needs the sister he knows. The happy, loving, mischievous twin sister that has always stuck by his side.” Ominis reached his hand out, placing it on Anne’s cheek. She leaned into his touch, closing her eyes as tears seeped down her face.
“Now don’t cry. Go to bed. Tomorrow we will return the book and search for another. And I will speak to Professor Sharp regarding your potions essay.” He took a shaky breath, blinking back tears of his own.
The night stretched on. Ominis woke parched. He reached for his wand and made his way back to the common room so that he could grab a glass of water. As his wand scanned the common room, he frowned. Sitting at the same table was Anne, her face down on the open pages of the same book she had been reading only hours earlier. He approached her, removing his robe and draping it over her. She hummed in her sleep, stirring for a moment before finally settling back into her uneasy rest.
“I promise, Anne. We will find a cure.”
