In the Shadow of Azkaban

Volume II: LVII

I had fallen asleep in Ominis' arms. I assumed the trip had made me more tired than I believed to be.

Sweat had beaded between us, and I pushed myself off the mattress and sat up in the bed. The room was extremely dark, but I could hear the faintest waves crashing in the distance.

I leaned my body into Ominis one more time and spoke in his ear, "Would you like to see now?"

His eyes shot open at my voice, and he cradled my face in his hands. "I want nothing more."

When both our feet touched the floor, he wrapped his arms around my waist. His hand slid down my backside, and he locked it behind my knees to swing me up into a threshold position.

He walked straight out of the bedroom and into the foyer. His grasp was steady when he carefully set me back down directly beside the concrete basin.

His hand hovered over mine against the pensieve, and he was looking in my direction. He smiled softly at me before dunking himself into the enchanted water. I followed his cue.

The first memory was rather beautiful.

It appeared both Klein and Deek had melded their memories somehow to provide an omniscient viewpoint. That was rather thoughtful of them.

I was not standing at the top of the staircase just yet, and Ominis let go of my hand to study the wizard folk around the foyer. I watched him intently and stared at his eyes. I knew it would have never been possible, but it was my only wish that he could see. It wasn't fair.

Ominis' voice was low when he saw Xilia, "Mother."

He stood directly in front of her, his eyes level with hers. They were the same height but bore very few similarities now that I was aware of her true personality.

Marat had been standing to Xilia's right, and Ominis' eyes flickered to him. His hand grazed the deep scar extending his entire face. "I hadn't realized how horribly maimed he was." He turned back to me, and I noticed his brows drawing together and the neutral expression he had entertained morphed into a frown.

Morganna's singsong voice broke the faint whispering of the crowd, "Ladies and gentlemen of high society, please let me introduce to you, the mistress of the evening: Antoinette Madeleine Delacour."

While she had been announcing my entrance, Ominis pushed through the crowd of people over to Morganna. He knelt before her, and I could see the faintest tears in his eyes. "I thought I would never see her." His fingers fanned his cheeks as he brushed the tears away.

When he heard my small footsteps descending the stairs, he stood straight up. His pose had mimicked the one he had done in the memory where his hands were crossed in front of him with his feet barely shoulder-width apart.

His pensieve self extended his hand to the copied version of me, and they strolled around the room with one another before dancing in the center of the foyer.

"Look at you, darling. You should wear that color more often. It complements you well." Ominis' voice was soft in my ear.

We both noticed when the conjured Ominis held my other body and whispered, "Obey."

"I thought you would like that one." He turned to face me and winked. I inhaled sharply at the gesture.

We had decided to take the seats where Marat and Xilia were previously and watch the rest of the memory play itself out.

Morganna and Ominis had been dancing together, and Ominis reached over the armrest to entangle our fingers. "Perhaps, if we had a daughter, she would resemble Morganna. She appears so similar to Marat and myself. Our genes tend to be strong, but I would prefer her to look like you."

He brought my hand up to his lips and pressed gently against my skin before continuing, "She should have your eyes, your smile. I want your features to find their way into every generation that follows us, so the world can witness your beauty throughout the rest of time."

His eyes met mine. They stared lovingly at me before sifting back to the scene. Each time I was able to gaze into his eyes, I felt my heart flutter in my chest.

Ominis grasp tightened on my fingers when Sebastian cut in to dance. He didn't speak. I carefully watched Ominis as his eyes followed his lifelong friend around the foyer while he danced with my remembered self.

"I have to be honest. I think I am more handsome than Sebastian. He always seems so gruff and unkempt. Why are women attracted to that?" Ominis sounded slightly disgusted when he asked, and I laughed in return before I gathered he was serious.

I cleared my throat and came up with the best explanation I could. "Well, men, or should I say 'boys' like Sebastian have interesting ways of showing affection. It isn't necessarily how he looks; although, he is considered attractive to the average woman. People like him tend to only give you just enough attention for you to want more."

I smiled to myself when I had thought about Sebastian. "It seems all in good fun at first, but it can wear on you when your needs are not met. And once you see their true motives, you feel generally repulsed by their behavior."

I frowned at the metamorphosis of my and Sebastian's relationship. "Sometimes it can take weeks, months, or even years to come to that realization. But it's important to do for healing, so that you don't entertain men who only want you for one thing."

I rolled my eyes at how I described the idea, but it was as accurate of a description as I could give him.

Ominis just muttered a small noise of contentment while the rest of the guests began filtering into the veranda. He rose up from his spot and gave me his arm.

His face appeared close to mine, and I could feel his breath on my cheek when he said, "I plan to give you all of my attention for the rest of our lives, and I expect nothing in return, my love."

He kissed the space between my forehead and my temple as I intertwined mine with his when we slowly made our way to the other part of the manor.