~~~Ominis
I listened to her walk away from me, and fought every instinct in that moment to not chase after her, pull her into me, and...
Instead, I stayed rooted to the spot and just let her go.
I truly didn't know what to do.
I'd pushed her away before I'd even gave it a chance.
And I knew my little songbird. I knew how she was. What was done, was done, and she'd force herself to be content with that, even ignoring her own personal feelings on the matter.
She didn't like to make a fuss, was always the calm one in any situation, and after everything that happened in our fifth year, she'd sort of made it a personal mission to just fade out from anything that put her in spotlight.
Which while I respected, I also found absurd, as that was exactly where she deserved to be.
My beautiful Aria. My beautiful, broken, Aria.
~~~Aria
A few more days went by, and I tried my hardest to go through them as normally as possible, but it was difficult, even for me. Ominis sat next to me in nearly every class and from the occasional greeting, or asking for notes, the space between us had grown from a crack to a canyon, and it ate at me.
That afternoon was another potions class, and while Sebastian and I were getting on much better, it was sort of...awkward, for the two of us to hold a conversation around Ominis, so our table had become the quietest in the class for the moment.
We were all brewing batches of Regerminating Potion because Professor Garlick had run out and needed some immediately.
I got mine going easily enough, idly stirring when I saw again, Ominis about to accidently dump an entire bottle of Rose oil into his cauldron. I snapped my hand out, fingers closing around his wrist to stop him.
"...Remember how I told you to hold it?"
"Yes...Sorry, bit distracted."
I released him and watched as he changed his grip on the bottle before tilting it gently this time. I watched his lips move as he counted the drops, listening for the hiss.
"Aria, are you feeling okay? Your face is scarlet."
I looked over at Sebastian. "Yes, I'm fine..."
"Mhm."
"Gentleman, getting more help from Miss Aves again?"
Professor Sharp had wandered over, and I thought maybe he'd be angry, but he didn't appear so. Ominis immediately interjected. "She was just reminding me of some of the tips she'd given me, Professor."
"Oh yes. That reminds me. Miss Aves, if you are alright with it, I'm not opposed to letting you help Mr Gaunt here with some extra credit assignments if that suits the both of you."
"That's...fine with me."
Ominis nodded. Professor Sharp said he'd come up with something by Monday and we'd go from there.
Sebastian laughed. "So this whole avoiding each other thing...How's that going?"
Ominis and I both answered in unison.
"Shut up, Sebastian."
"Quiet, you."
~~~Ominis
Saturday afternoon, Sebastian convinced me that it might be a good idea to revisit the festival in town, since there was hopefully a zero chance that I'd find Aria there again with Garreth's hands on her.
She'd chewed him out for it in the great hall that next morning, her gentle voice still somehow able to convey malice when needed. Sadly, Garreth hadn't seemed to get the hint, and she was avoiding him harder than she was even avoiding me.
I was still a bit burned up about that, despite everything that had happened. That he'd so boldly claimed his love for her there didn't help.
We ignored the music and just wandered around the stalls. Sebastian stopped at one selling rare zonkos items not sold anymore, while I stopped at one next to it after I heard a woman talking about how lovely everything there was.
My wand guiding me, my fingertips brushed over some metal...a comb? There were feathers on the end almost in a fan pattern, a smooth stones adorning the middle. Jewels of some kind.
"Ah. A fine choice, I just made that hair comb last week. One of a kind, it is. Looking for a gift for a sweetheart?"
"...You could say that."
"Ahh, trying to catch her eye. Or maybe as an apology?"
I smiled a little. "Bit of both, to be honest. Might I ask what feathers these are? Apologies, little hard of sight."
"I know who you are, Mr. Gaunt. My son is a second year in your house. Apparently you've given most of the other students a run for their money in Wizard's Chess. They're blue magpie feathers. Very beautiful. Musicians of the bird world. Took me forever to get those, they're only found in the Himalayas."
"...I'll take it."
After Sebastian and I loaded up on various gifts, and jokes, and food, we had to race back to the castle, as it had begin raining heavily. Fat, freezing drops. My wand could barely keep up directing me.
We managed to make it into the north courtyard when Sebastian stopped.
"...What the fuck is she doing?"
"Who?"
"Aria...She's sitting on the edge of the fountain, just getting rained on. She's not wearing a coat, and it's so cold out here. I'm going to go-"
"No. Here. Take my things to the common room."
"But..."
"Sebastian. I know why she's out here. She won't want you to see her like that so please. Just go inside."
"What, and you think she'll want you to show up instead? You two-"
"...I've caught her before. Plus...I can't see her face. Just go."
Reluctantly, Sebastian left, and I made my way in the direction of the fountain, and Aria.
I could hear her sniffling.
"Ominis..."
"Aria, sweetheart...Please, come inside with me."
"I...I-" She'd been trying to hold it back but the quiet rain was interrupted for a moment by her sobbing out into it. "-I can't"
I sighed, moving closer to sit next to her. I wrapped my coat and my arm around her and she leaned into me. This was why she was out here. She told me once, in fifth year, when I'd caught her the first time, hiding in the clocktower courtyard.
"...I always cry in the rain. People think you're stupid for sitting out and getting soaking wet, but they can't tell you were going insane for a little while, because everything is wet, not just your face..."
It's how she was always so calm, so quiet, always came off so well put together...
She waited until her emotional bottle broke, spilling its contents everywhere.
"This is all my fault..."
She shook her head against my shoulder. "No. I just...I've been trying, the past couple of days, to do what I did the last time, but it's not working."
"Pushing me to the back of your mind?"
"Pretending we're not real. That you don't exist. That none of this does. That this is all a dream and I'm going to wake up any moment and forget everything before I've completely risen from bed and had my tea in the morning."
"...Do you really want that?"
"No. I want you."
~~~Aria
It had come out so easily, that admission. The possible embarrassment of what I'd just said didn't really have time to sink in.
Because Ominis reached for my chin and tilted my face up to his.
His kiss was timid at first, but became deep and passionate very quickly, like he'd been waiting for this.
It lasted for a long, drawn out moment, until both of our lungs were screaming for air. That was when he pulled back, just barely.
"Promise me you mean it..."
"With everything I have. Promise me you won't leave."
"Never. You'll...forgive me, if it takes me a little time to...let this sink in."
"If you'll forgive the same."
He laughed softly. "I'm pretty sure I'd forgive you almost anything."
"Even wearing the hat you made me?"
"...I take back my previous statement."
Both of us broke out into giggles and he slid his thumb over my cheek. I sniffled a little.
"Are you ready to come back inside?"
I felt another wave of tears coming. "A few more minutes."
"Back under my arm you go then, my little songbird."