Touched

Shadow of an Attack - Seventh Year

Ominis POV

Ominis' family had tormented him about what he'd do after Hogwarts since he was a child. His brothers futures had always been set in stone. They'd finish school, they'd join their parents in their fantasies of the dark arts, join the ministry as his father did.. they'd get married to beautiful women - their distant cousins, no doubt - that were forced to keep the Gaunt bloodline pure by popping out children left right and centre.

Ominis never properly understood why he'd been the one casted out and left to be estranged from his family. He didn't mind it, because obviously he didn't believe in what they did, in their status and the way they treated people. A major part of their hate for him was that he was considered a defect, and apparently no one of 'his kind' could live a successful life, one lead with ambition. No, he could never have a successful career and a loving wife or children of his own. In their eyes.

So when he began his advanced charms class he felt rather proud of himself, really, that he'd gotten into a position where he could study for the career he wanted. With Imelda, too, he felt like he'd outdone himself in his families eyes. He wondered if they'd feel anything for him, any sort of surprise or wonder, or pride.. or disgust in him, even. Or if they'd continue to act like they didn't have a youngest son.

He was still thinking about it when he left his advanced charms class that morning with intentions to meet Sebastian, Y/N and Imelda in the Great Hall for lunch.

However something was different. No one was laughing as they usually did and they were speaking in hushed voices, full of concern. Ominis could hear the rustling of a newspaper.

"What's going on?" He asked no one in particular, anxious for a response. Sebastian finally replied in a tight, clipped voice.

"Someone has attacked a muggle town not far from here," he told Ominis. "We think Imelda's mother might've been one that was.. injured."

Ominis gasped quietly and rushed to sit down next to where Sebastian's voice had come from. "Injured?" Ominis cried, listening for Imelda's reaction, but he didn't hear anything. "Or killed?" He whispered the last part as though to keep it private and then added "Where is she?"

"She got terribly upset and she's gone to the dormitory," Y/N said, but her sentences were short and strained, like she was hiding something. "I promise I'm going up there in a second, I just wanted to finish the article so that I can explain to her what happened... this is so out of the blue."

"Well what does it say?" Ominis asked, rushing to sit down in order to hear better.

"It says 'four muggles were killed yesterday in a freak homicide yesterday involving a male suspect.." she stopped for a moment, took a breath as though trying to figure out what to say, and then continued on. "Said muggles have not been named, however magical folk Brian Porterland and Dierdre Reyes have been gravely injured at their homes during the attack."

"Who's Brian Porterland?" Sebastian asked. But Ominis had heard that name before.

"It says here that he was the previous Professor for Muggle Studies," Y/N read, and Ominis heard Sebastian start tapping the table with his fingers nervously. "It also says that Porterland used to work at the ministry."

Ominis felt his stomach lurch. "He is Imelda's step father. How do we find out if her mother is okay?" Ominis questioned, turning to leave. "We need to go to the dormitory."

"You won't be able to get into the girls dormitories," Y/N told him, quickly. "They've changed the password. I'll go."

Ominis put his hands out in a protest. "Just tell me the password," he said, almost angrily. "What's the issue?"