Touched

Shadow of Election - Seventh Year

Ominis coughed and Sebastian tried to smile at that.

No one spoke.

"We came here for some advice," Sebastian cut through the silence that he started to drown in, and Rowley made an agreeable sound but did not speak so Sebastian went on. "We don't know what we want to do after school, so we don't know which elective classes to pick."

"What do Miss L/N and Miss Reyes want to do?" He asked, and then retracted his sentence, waving his hands in the air as though to wipe it out. "Actually, we'll stick to Miss L/N. It's obvious what Miss Reyes wants to do."

"Bark orders at everyone," Ominis replied sarcastically, and Sebastian smirked in quiet amusement.

"Does she know which Quidditch team she wants to be on?"

"Ballycastle Bats or Chudley Cannons," Ominis responded. "Don't know how easy they are to get onto. They're both winning teams."

"Y/N wants to be an auror, of course," Sebastian swallowed, thinking of how determined she was to become one. She'd be a good one too, she had defeated their enemies in their fifth year, and since then had been showing many brave, and sometimes stupid, qualities. "There's honestly not much I can do. With a criminal record," he said, eventually.

"Don't worry about that, dear boy" Rowley muttered. "Pick what you're interested in, and I will try and get us out of that scrape like I did the other one."

Something about the way Rowley said that twisted Sebastian the wrong way. "Did you ever think that maybe I should pay for my actions?" he asked, quietly. "That I should experience some consequences of what I did?"

Rowley immediately shook his head. "You didn't mean to do it-"

"Yeah, like I don't mean to bump into someone, or I don't mean to mix the whites with the greens in the fucking washing basket," he said, surprised at the swearing. "I didn't mean it? To kill him?"

Ominis rushed to place a hand on his shoulder, whispered quietly for him to stop. Sebastian let him, and sat back on the couch.

"Sebastian," Rowley sighed. "At some point we have to get you out of this rut. I understand how you're feeling-"

"Yeah right you do," Sebastian said, his tone was not unkind. "I'm just so fed up with myself. I don't think I deserve to do what I want."

"What do you want to do?" Rowley raised his eyebrows at the boy, standing across the other side of the room. "What do you want to do, Ominis?"

"Sebastian has a criminal record and I have no eyesight, so we're doing well so far," he griped, and that made Sebastian laugh, even in the tension of the moment.

"Merlin," Sebastian scoffed.

"You could be a dueller," Ominis piped up. "They have a department for that, and you're really good at it."

"They'd be afraid I'd pull out the killing curse," Sebastian laughed darkly, and Ominis sat back, pursed his lips and didn't reply.

"What would you like to do, Mr Gaunt?" Rowley pressed again, trying to turn the conversation in a different direction.

"I mean, if I could.." Ominis started, deep in thought. "I'd like to become a wand issuer, either of permits or perhaps like Ollivander. I can't live without my wand, I'd like to help people find theirs."

"Of course that's possible for you, boy," Rowley laughed, clapping his hands together once in excitement that they were finally getting somewhere. "So far your little circle has an Auror, a Wandmaker, a Quidditch player and-"