No Choice But You // Ominis Gaunt x Reader

Chapter 23

~Songs I listened to while writing this chapter: The Funeral by Band of Horses, Winter's Eve by Kishi Bashi~

Y/n's POV//

After that day in The Three Broomsticks, Garreth and I started hanging out regularly. He didn't ask questions, and I didn't share anything regarding my condition. I liked it that way. So far, he hadn't fallen witness to any of my episodes, so he knew nothing about any of it. I didn't mind his company, at all. It was like a nice breath of fresh air from the way everyone else had been treating me as of late. 

I'd even been seeking him out myself recently as well. He still chased after me most days, but I didn't mind it so much when he found me at one of my various hiding spots, and some days when I wasn't sure what to do with myself, found myself looking for him, too. 

He always had that same big grin on his face and was nothing but sweet to me whenever we hung out. No serious subjects were discussed, and my past was left in the past, and I enjoyed it. 

We sat in the transfiguration courtyard on the edge of the water fountain on one of the few afternoons where it wasn't raining or too chilly to enjoy the weather. I was working on an assignment from ancient runes class, trying to translate a page from a book. Ancient runes was never my favorite subject, but it could be a useful class to take, especially given my unique set of abilities. Understanding the past was a big part of understanding the depths of my abilities. Of course, I had the professor's portraits to guide me, but their narrow thinking on what I could and couldn't use the magic for amounted to them not telling me much. 

I could practically smell the smoke coming out of my ears halfway through the translation as I tried to piece the meanings together. I had my eyebrows pressed firmly together in a frown as I continued translating. 

Garreth pressed his fingers in between my eyebrows and rubbed out the tension there. "You look like you could use a break."

"I have to get this done by Friday," I told him. 

"You've got a few days until then." He took the book from my hands and stuck it back in my book bag. "Let's go for a walk. Maybe go to Hogsmeade. There's plenty of daylight left if you're up for it."

"Okay, you win. Let's break." 

I shoved the rest of my books and parchment into my messenger bag with a featherlight charm on the books, which made it a million times easier to carry. Garreth and I took off toward Hogsmeade. 

The later it got, the colder the bite in the air, which I didn't mind. The ache in my chest had been steadily growing, it it was evident that it wouldn't be too much longer before I had an episode. I welcomed the cold and focused my attention on the way it felt, rather than the storm brewing in my veins. 

When we got to Hogsmeade, we made toward The Three Broomsticks. Upon arriving, we noticed a table of our other friends in the back corner. They spotted us and waved us over before I had a chance to decline to sit with them. 

It was Sebastian, who of course had Poppy with him, Natty, and Anne. Ominis sat by her side as well, but he refused to acknowledge us as we sat opposite him. Garreth pulled my chair out for me as we took our places at the table, I uttered a quiet thank you, and he gave me one of his famous grins. 

Sirona came to the table and took our order, taking no time at all to have butterbeer sitting in front of Garreth and me like the others had. 

"You've been quite illusive as of late, y/n," Poppy said once we were settled. She sat flush against Sebastian's side with his arm slung over her shoulders. Their display of affection made me a bit jealous on the inside--making me wish I could ever have something like that. But I knew I wasn't built for that sort of thing. 

I knew my problems. I couldn't be open with anyone anymore, and no one could ever like me like that. I was callous and mean even when I didn't mean to be, and I pushed people away. Aside from that, I was too awkward to know what to do with myself half the time when people did like me. 

Anyone who'd ever had a crush on me only liked me on a surface level. Objectively speaking, I wasn't terrible to look at, and my public list of achievements made me look like a catch after fifth year, but anyone who knew me personally knew better than that. 

"I've been busy," I said shortly, before bringing my pint to my lips. 

"That's obviously not why you've been ignoring everyone," Ominis said quietly, making the air between us tense. I ignored his statement and took another sip of my drink. 

"She likes her space, that's all," Garreth told him. 

"Except from you, apparently," Ominis scoffed. Anne slapped the back of his head. 

"Shut up, you," she said. Ominis rubbed the back of his head and grumbled. "We're glad to see you," Anne said, turning her attention to me. "How is... everything?"

"Just fine," I said shortly. I wasn't in the mood for a heavy conversation, and I knew that was what she was trying to get out of me right now. 

"You seem tense," Garreth whispered against my ear. "We can leave if you want." 

Ominis scoffed, perhaps having used his super-human hearing to eavesdrop on what Garreth was saying. I rolled my eyes. I did want to leave, but part of me wanted to stay here and continue to poke at Ominis. He was obviously not keen on my presence here, and that irked me more than anything. All he did was make everything difficult, and maybe I wanted to give him a taste of his own medicine.