Ominis and Anne sent Sebastian to Azkaban for his own good. Their friend and brother had changed from the kind boy he once was, and they regretted their decision ever since. They are desperate to have Sebastian back and are willing to do anything, anything. Ominis will even become the monster he vowed he was not.
The Fall of the House of Gaunt.
How did the ancient House of Gaunt, once among the wealthiest, most powerful, and most dangerous families in the wizarding world, become the desperate souls depicted in The Half-Blood Prince?
How did Sebastian's life sentence to Azkaban trigger the downfall of the heirs of Slytherin...
Chapter 29: Professor Black is having a bad day.
“Poppy is still alive, I heard the teachers talking, but she doesn’t look well...”
“- How did she even get out in the grounds? Does this mean she was attacked outside, if so why was she even out there? Or was she inside the school and the killer is still here, are we safe or? – “
“The Fat Friar said nothing looked odd last night and he was patrolling nearby. He didn’t see or hear anything.”
“They took her to St Mungos, they couldn’t cure her here, was it really dark magic? Did you see all those marks on her skin?”
“DARK MAGIC?”
“Shush. Shush. No don’t you see? Remember when Gaunt didn’t want Poppy seeing his brother. Did he get jealous and curse Poppy, if he couldn’t have her, nobody can? You know what that family does, my uncle warned me about them. Ominis Gaunt is the attacker.”
“I can hear you, you know.” Ominis snapped at the voices as their words reaching him, the following yelps and footsteps told him they had ran away from him in the direction of the grand staircase.
“How ridiculous.” He muttered. “They really will believe anything here.”
“Girls, no running please.” Came Professor Weasley’s voice as she walked past Ominis, giving him a quick “Good Morning, Gaunt” as she walked past.
He could hear her calling instructing for the doors to be opened, before the following grinding noise of them opening reached his ears.
“Ah hello there, it is good to meet you. I hope your journey wasn’t too difficult.” Professor Weasley’s voice answered “The headmaster is upstairs, come this way.”
Ominis paused, it was easier for him to eardrop on people as nobody looked twice at the blind boy ‘trying to find his bearings’, which he was not doing at all. Tilting his head, he was able to hear what sounded like a group of people entering the school. There were other people in the entrance hall with him, the combined chatter of voices quietened slightly, as others like him were trying to listen in.
Ominis was sure he knew who was with Professor Weasley.
Aurors.
The whole school was alive with mumbling and whisperings, panicked hysteria and conspiracy theories. There was no hiding it that Poppy had been attacked with very dark magic of some sort, even the teachers had not been able to heal her, including Sharp, Weasley and Hecate all working together. There were rumours her eyes had bled out until nothing was left, that she had been attacked by snakes, some thought she had left the castle on her own free will and discovered a gang of Ashwinders in the grounds, some said the attacker was a fellow student and he knew they meant him. He could feel eyes upon him as they whispered, more than just a handful of students, but that idea was absurd and he knew nobody could really believe them.
However, the whispers did get one thing right.
“The Gaunt boy knows what happened to her, I’m sure of it.”
Those were too close to the truth.
He did know more than everybody else, but he was to ashamed to confess it to any of his teachers.
This attack bore all the signs of Marvolo.
An attack made to shock and scare people, naturally rooted in the dark arts. This is what Marvolo loved most and what he excelled at.
The worse part was his brother was a skilled killer, their father had made sure of that. Marvolo would leave no evidence to link him to the crime, not even the smallest scale from Mori left behind. He had ensured no witnesses by luring Poppy to him, he would never come within the castle grounds himself where any number of charms may identify him as the attacker. Ominis could almost see his brother attacking Poppy, placing her body in the perfect position to scare everybody, then apparating miles away to cast everyday charms to cover his recent casts, before apparating home.
His brother would get away with it for sure, even if Ominis had the courage to shout right now that it was his own family. Ominis’ insides crawled with guilt, there was no way to proof it had been Marvolo who attacked Poppy, but Ominis knew this was on him.
He had tried to get Marvolo in trouble had it had resulted in Poppy paying the price.
It was all his fault.
“-JUST WALKED IN HERE! He is a descendant of one of the founders, they can do that. His father does the same thing all of the time.” Black shouted. “They walk in, they don’t need the password!”
Ominis wasn’t the only person inside Hogwarts having a troubled time. Black’s throbbing nose alone was putting him in a bad mood, but now Professor Weasley and a gang of snivelling imbeciles stood before him, forcing him to be awake and dressed before 9am.
“It is outrageous! Simply outrageous!” Professor Black raged. “Ominis Gaunt came into my office unannounced and uninvited, yet you say I am to blame? I told him to leave and he fell down the staircase. He can’t see where he’s walking, this is clearly his attempt to have me removed. Anything I say you won’t believe anyway, it’s clear you are all in Matilda’s pockets. The boy was blackmailing me, he threatened me!”
The small woman in glasses before him blinked and noted down what he said with her quill.
“Headmaster Black, a student needs to know the password in order to be in here, the Gaunt boy-“
“The Gaunt boy,” Continued the woman from the board of governors, as if Black wasn’t shouting over her, “Claims you invited him to your office to talk about student matters, you collected him from the bottom of the stairs, took him to the top where you assaulted him by shaking him and throwing him back down the stairs, where he hit various parts of himself on the stone as he rolled down, resulting in damage to his skull, a broken nose and cheekbones. He was found by a Professor Garlick of the Hogwarts’ teaching staff. His words upon waking were a recount of events in your office of the attack. You are denying the attack?”
“Yes!” Cried Professor Black “He’s a cripple, but a sly and scheming one. His father has recently fell out with me, as I daresay you can see.” Black pointed to his face and body, where the injuries Gaunt and his inbred son had inflicted upon him. “You surely have heard of The House of Gaunt, have you not, who hasn’t? They are the scum of our world. Untrustworthy, dissembling little inbreeds. No doubt they’ve already paid you to fire me, what was the agreed price? You’re on their payroll! I know it.”
Both Weasley and the woman from the board of governors glanced at each other.
“I assure you, the Board of Governors do not accept bribes in anyway, I am here to conduct an investigation on behalf of the Ministry of Magic.” The witch said in a level and professional voice.
“Now, can we have your account please?”
“Certainly.” Professor Black said, sitting back in his chair, his hands on his desk, glaring at the two witches before him. “If I recall correctly, it was the afternoon and I was drinking my tea in here. Gaunt came barging in, demanding the reenrolment at this school of a criminal. I said no, as it’s my duty to protect the children in this castle. Gaunt then turned violent, no wonder too as his family are all mentally unstable. I told Gaunt he was out of order, then I asked him to leave, which he did. The first I heard of his accident was when I was informed by the mud- ah, Professor Garlick. Yes it was her who told me the dreadful thing that had happened to Gaunt! That is my account. That is the truth, yes.”
He folded his arms and waited for them to reply to him.
The witch scribbled down a few notes, before looking back at Professor Black.
“I also need to discuss with you the attack on one of your students just last night, this will also need a report, there is a task force of Aurors on their way to investigate the grounds. I must say Mr Black, this does not bode well for you. Two students attacked within Hogwarts, one claims by your own hands and another within this school who bears the marks of powerful dark magic.”
Professor Black struggled to keep his temper.
“Are you implying something against my own House? The Blacks are not dark magic users! That was clearly Gaunt too. That girl was covered in snake bites, you’ve read the report and they control snakes. It’s not too hard to see the truth here. The Gaunts are all over this, trying to get me removed and now blamed for this attack. You are all blind to their actions. Clearly Gaunt wants to discredit me, no doubt he knew you were coming today, so he attacked the girl last night. He picked his moment well and Poppy Sweeting was collateral, chosen for her blood statues.”
“Phineas, surely you are not accusing your own students of dark magic?” Professor Weasley said shocked. “You know as well as I that this level of dark magic is beyond anything a sixteen-year old wizard can do.”
“Aha! But remember Matilda, how you praised Sallow and all along he was using dark magic behind your back.” Black shouted triumphantly, pointing at Professor Weasley. “The apple never falls too far from the tree, and Gaunt and Sallow are the roots of all this trouble. They even lived together during holidays, I imagine Gaunt grew tired of Sallow’s dead weight and turned him in, to focus on his own progress to the dark.”
“You are raving. This is your own students you are talking about,” Professor Weasley said back. “Might I remind you Headmaster that Sallow was cleared of all chargers-“
Black then muttered something that sounded like, “Yeah and the Gaunts had their hands in that too.”
The witch from the board of governors continued to make notes.
“How would you describe your relationship with your students, headmaster?” The witch asked, interrupting Weasley and Black’s disagreement.
“I have a good, strong, rapport with all my students.” Black said, while Professor Weasley looked on in disbelief behind the witch’s back. “Just ask them! They shall all tell you what a great headmaster I am, I’m always mingling among them, patting their backs, sending encouragements.”
“I shall indeed be talking to various students I come across, to get a firsthand account of their experiences of Hogwarts under your premiership.”
“Yes, yes” Black said, suddenly on edge. “Yes, you do that.”
“I shall go and speak to students now, I will be about an hour, then I shall see myself out of the castle when I’m done, you shall get my report and verdict within a week.”
Professor Black smiled, and held it upon his face as the witch let herself out. Then he looked sidewards at Professor Weasley.
“Well, it looks like you’ve finally done it Matilda. You’ve always wanted to be where I am now, haven’t you? I daresay soon this office shall be yours, that is your goal, is it not? When the last Head left, you thought this job was yours for the taking, but I came along and you’ve loathed it every day. I know it. I see through you.”
Professor Weasley made to leave the office; she paused as she opened the door.
“Let’s not be unprofessional, headmaster.” Was all she said.
“Maybe you should have been in my house Matilda, you are certainly a snake! You, Gaunt and Sallow. Don’t think I haven’t noticed! Don’t you think for a second that I don’t know about all the times you visited Sallow before his strange disappearance! You’re behind this too!”
He called out behind her, then his blood went cold as he noticed the witch from the board of governors still on the stairs. Her eyebrows were raised as she looked back into the room at Professor Black.
He smiled at her warmly, hoping she hadn’t heard everything, but already the damage was done.
Back in the corridors, Ominis lined up outside of History of Magic, it would be hard to fall asleep in class today, with none stop mutterings all around him.
“Her gran is with her at St Mungos, it almost sounds like she’s, you know.” Evangeline Bardsley said behind Ominis.
“No, don’t say that. Shush. Don’t talk like that.” Answered Adelaide Oakes.
Ominis’ gut twisted more.
“I say, have any of you seen the strange witches and that wizard walking around yet? They’re stopping students at random and asking them questions about Black and Hogwarts. A witch approached me after break, so I told her he is the worst headmaster we’ve ever had, and mentioned how he looks at me as though I am a pauper.”
Ominis’ head turned at that.
“Pardon? Somebody is asking about Black?” He asked.
“Yes Ominis. The woman I spoke too was in the Defence Corridors, she was by the teapots. Loads of people were dishing the dirt, so to speak.”
“I thought they were Aurors? For what happened to Poppy” He asked, unsure now that he had arrived at the right conclusion.
“Aurors?” The voice answered. “No, although I think I did see some earlier in the grounds, no this group is from the Ministry, they have those little badges all the workers wear, maybe they are doing something about how Black treats us.
He was sure it was Samantha Dale, but he wasn’t certain with all of the noise around him.
As expected, when Professor Binns opened the doors for the class to enter, tiny whispers all around him started breaking out, about Poppy, about who the attacker could be, and about the group from the Ministry. His head was still reeling when he left class an hour and a half later.
“Well, Well, Well.” Came a loud voice walking past him as his wand lead him in the direction of the Slytherin common room later in the day to drop off his bag before dinner.
“You happy now, boy? You will have your precious Sallow back in no time. Tell your cousin-marrying father he has won this time, but he has lost me as an ally. The House of Black will never answer the Gaunts again.”
It was Professor Black, a painful knock to Ominis’ side ran down him as the Headmaster deliberately pushed into him. His wand fell on the floor and Ominis went to bent down to feel for it, but footsteps quickly rushed to his side.
He could hear Professor Black’s footsteps fading away far ahead of him.
“Are you okay?” A little voice asked uncertainly, and Ominis felt his wand being placed in his hand.
A first year maybe by the high voice.
“Yes, thank you.” He said, a little startled. “I think Black’s in a mood.”
Clearly Black wasn’t done, his voice echoed down the dungeons as he shouted far ahead.
“Move along now! Move it Mudblood, how dare you stand in the way of a pure blood!”
They came a slapping sound.
Shocked gasps all around him.
“Professor Black just slapped a student!” shouted a boy.
“I never!” Came Cressida Blume’s outrageous voice, leaving the potions classroom. “He just assaulted a student and used the M word.”
They could hear Black moving away from them, still shouting at random students as he passed. Ominis went into the Common Room, where his fellow Slytherins were all talking about Black or Poppy.
The scandal of Professor Black continued into the late evening.
As Ominis left the Slytherin Common Room, a mixture of uneasy talk and laughing reached his ears.
“He told me my family do illicit things with Muggles and that any children I have will be squibs.”
“He called me a Mudblood in front of Professor Sharp. My father is a wizard.”
“I saw Black today shouting at Amit and calling him a bore.”
As he walked to the Great Hall, more voices joined him.
“What in Merlin’s name?” Came Lucan Brattleby’s high pitch voice as Ominis crossed into the hall
“He shouted something rather obscene at me. I am a little shocked, I can’t repeat what he said, but that was... Has somebody cursed our headmaster?”
“No” Ominis answered. “I think our headmaster is in his right mind, but in a dreadful rage.”
He took his normal seat half way up the table and his wand guided his hand to his favourite meal. He placed chicken onto this plate with some fresh bread and began to eat.
All around the hall, gasps of outrage rang out.
The room went quiet really fast and Ominis looked up, bread still in his mouth and turned his head to hear why the room was now silent.
“Hem Hem! I have an announcement to make!” Came Professor Black’s voice, clearly up at the owl lectern by the way it echoed around the room. Ominis kept eating, he was hungry and nothing Black was going to say would be very pleasant anyway, his mood had been continuously vile all afternoon. Ominis half expected him to insult everybody right now in the hall.
“Ahem. Ahem. Ah yes. I am here tonight to declare my intentions to step down as Hogwarts’ Headmaster, with immediate effect.”
All around the hall, talk broke out. Excited chatter and even some cheering.
“Bah! Silence! I am not finished.” Professor Black shouted out. “If I see anybody talking over me, I shall curse the perpetrator. I am not joking, I shall curse each and every one of you uncanny little freaks.”
Silence filled the hall. A few people give a sort of nervous laugh.
“There has been a coup! Lead by the serpent herself, Matilda Weasley. I have chosen to stand down before false evidence can be used against me to sour my name. I came here with the best intentions, to improve this school for my own children, and for all magical children who pass through this door. I accepted the role of Headmaster with the goal of ridding this school of Mudbloods, but as you can see, there’s one such vile wand stealer in my own staff.”
“I said be quiet, didn’t I? I will curse you, so hold your tongues. Mudbloods have no place at our school, but sadly, there’s some blood traitors here tonight that believe otherwise. Well, I say have the school Professor Weasley. It’s yours! You want murderers and inbreds by your side? Then so be it. Take your place upon my chair, in my office. You are welcome to this cesspool, feel free to stew in the filth you accept into this noble school. I shall be remembered as the headmaster who tried to save Hogwarts from the dirt, the stain of the unworthy. Children, I have had enough of you. I am from the noble house of Black, and I won’t be pushed around anymore. How dare those among us tonight in this hall believe for a second that they can control me! The Black family will always be here, unlike some of you. That is all I have to say. Goodbye to you all.”
There was a loud bang that made Ominis jump, it seemed Black had pushed over the owl lectern. Footsteps ran down the middle tables as Professor Black walked out.
There was an awkward silence.
It went on.
“Can I have everybody’s attention please?” It was Professor Weasley. “I believe our headmaster has absconded his role. As the deputy Headmistresses, it would seem I am now acting Headmistress.”
Silence still lingered.
“Merlin’s Pants, Auntie!” Came Garreth’s voice from the Gryffindor table.
The whole hall erupted into cheering as the school appeared to have caught on.
Ominis sat stunned in his seat. The bread clutched in his hand, now forgotten about.
Black gone?
“Black really has left?” Ominis asked around him. “He’s walked out of the castle?”
“Yep” Somebody replied. “He’s not here at all. I can’t see him, it looks like he’s left.”
A few people were now hovered around the hall, late comers to dinner catching up on events, people from other houses visiting tables of their friends to talk.
People celebrating.
“Professor Weasley, can we have Quidditch again?” Shouted Imelda Reyes a few seats down the table, all normal rules and curtsy’s forgotten about temperedly.
“All of Professor Black’s past legislations will be null and void.” Professor Weasley said from the owl lectern. “Starting with the Quidditch ban.”
The screaming that came from each house’ Quidditch players was deafening.
“I shall address the full school in the days coming, but right now there’s an important duty I must attend to.”
The staff had now joined in with the applaud, signs of relief upon their faces as Professor Weasley stepped down and walked between the tables. She glanced at Ominis, sitting at the Slytherin table, she was in two minds to ask him to come with her, but she believed it was best to try what she had planned alone, that way, if it didn’t work, they would be less disappointment.
She walked up the stairs and along the corridors.
She finally came to the headmaster’s office. The Stone Gargolyes moved aside for her and the staircase took her to the top where the door opened.
The old Headmasters and Headmistresses were awake now, congratulating her on her promotion to Headmistress.
“Thank you. Thank you, you are all so very kind.” She walked over to the side of the room and there in a small circler tube was a key.
“I shall be needing this.” She said, picking it up.
Maybe undoing the ban on Quidditch had been her first call as headmistress, but this second act was her most important.
She carried the key back down the stairs and walked down the hall. There was a locked door at the end of the corridor that never opened, only the current head of Hogwarts was allowed access. She unlocked the door and began her journey upstairs, to one of the highest rooms in the castle.
She pushed open the door and there before her was the book she had only ever heard of. Book of Admittance and flying around it, the Quill of Acceptance.
“Sebastian Sallow, please” She told the book. The pages started turning back page after page after page, until a few dozen turns had happened. There was his name, right under Anne’s.
There was a line through his name.
“Reenrol Sebastian Sallow.” She instructed the book. At once, the Quill of Acceptance flew up and skated across Sebastian’s name, taking the line of ink away.
At the Ministry of Magic, in the Improper Use of Magic Office, a beeping, humming noise went off.
A young wizard picked up a note that had just appeared on the desk, taking a glance at it, the wizard nodded and went over to the source of the humming. In one of the wand lock up boxes, one of the boxes had started humming. The wizard took the box out and opened it, the wand within was wrapped in parchment, with the owner’s name clearly labelled.
The note in the wizard’s hand read
Sebastian Sallow
D.O.B: 1875
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
Sebastian Sallow has herby been reemitted to Hogwarts School as a student. As per to the law on the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery, all charges against Sebastian Sallow were lifted and reenrolment at school confirmed. Please ensure wand is reunited with the correct owner.
Your Sinserly,
Professor M. Weasley
Headmistress of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
An hour later after all the appropriate checks had been confirmed, an owl was sent out. It eventually found it’s way to the Burrow. It arrived and tapped the window of the living room and awaited entrance into the house. At the same moment, an owl from Hogwarts joined it and they both hopped in together.
Sebastian was laying in front of the fire on the rug, the lingering smell of gobstone fluid lingered on Tessie as Anne apologized to her.
“Told you not to play with her, she’s too good.” Sebastian laughed. “She beats me, every time.”
“I demand a replay. Slytherins cheat, everybody knows that!” Tessie said, crossing her arms. “I never lose a game, you cheated Anne.”
“I most certainly did not.” Anne laughed, gathering all her Gobstones back up. “Round twenty. Shall we begin?”
Sebastian laughed, scrunching his nose up. These two really stunk and he was happy he had refused their offer of playing.
Mr Weasley crossed the room as two owls entered, he removed their mail and let them back out. One parcel was long, another was a letter.
“Sebastian, these are both addressed to you.”
“Ooooh Sebby got mail. Is that a sugar quill order from Honeydukes? I like Sugar Quills, just saying.” She give him her big eyes that suggested if it were sweets, she would want some.
Sebastian glanced curious at the long parcel. It was wrapped in brown paper with the Ministry of Magic ‘M’ all over it.
Anne had also noticed the M’s, she suddenly leaned forward as Sebastian slowly got up and crossed his legs, the letter on his knee, but it was the parcel his attention was on.
“Can I open this?” Anne asked him, pointing to the letter.
All of Sebastian’s attention was on the parcel as he pulled apart the paper.
It felt like something was calling to him. An old friend.
He knew what was in the box, he didn’t need to see the wand box to know what was inside this, his wand knew its master was here.
He let out a cry of pure joy as he took hold of the familiar wand, with its green hand. Tessie’s open dropped open in awe as golden stars flew out of the wand.
“I missed you!” Sebastian cried, his wand vibrating in his hand, a warm glow running down his arm.
“Sebastian! They’ve let you back in!” Anne shouted, holding the letter near him.
Mrs Weasley came in at their shouts, she was beaming.
“That’s brilliant, Sebastian, I am so happy for you.” She said, coming down to the floor to hug him as Anne read out loud.
Dear Mr Sallow.
We are pleased to inform you that you have been reaccepted at Hogwarts School of Wichcraft and wizardry. Term starts on the 1st Sepember, the Hogwarts Express will leave from Platform 9 ¾ at 11’clock on the 1st September, term starts on the 2nd. Please ensure you have all required books and supplies for the upcoming year. I hope you are well.
Yours, Professor Weasley.
Headmistress of Hogwarts.
Anne glanced up, she had tears in her eyes that she blinked away.
“There’s a PS” She read the letter more.
“’Your wand will be arriving shortly by owl from the Ministry. I will come visit you at my earliest convenience, I wish to tell you how we at Hogwarts are going to get you up to speed with your fellow classmates and about taking your O.W.Ls and N.E.W.Ts. It shall be a challenging year, but I have faith in you Sebastian, I know you can do it. A very happy evening to you all.’”
Sebastian was feeling weird, like his mind was spinning, but with total euphoria.
His wand was right there in his hand, a Hogwarts letter right beside him telling him which books he would need for his 7th year, with an addition list of books from the 6th year he had never yet studied. He ran his eyes down them all, so many new books, full of spells he had never learned.
“I’m going back” He said, it suddenly hitting him. It was real. He was really going back to Hogwarts!
Anne had tackled him with a crushing hug, all around him, the sounds of the Weasley’s congratulating him.
