A Summer to Our Own

Sleeping and Stumbling

Trigger Warning: Mention of parent death, minor blood.

Author's Note: Sorry for the late update! I was on vacation last week and didn't have time to get some writing done. This chapter definitely took some time to write but I hope you all enjoy!

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"I still can't believe your mum went into full detail about what entails when a baby becomes breech during a delivery, right as we were eating breakfast of all times."

Andromeda laughed softly to herself as her quill scribbled across the piece of parchment. It was the day after Ominis' birthday and her mum had finally returned home after a successful birth along with the weather clearing up. They were settled outside in the back garden, soaking in the warmth from the sun while Rose stayed inside the cottage to get some rest after being away for so long. The scent of the morning dew from the grass with a mixture of salt surrounded them while they sat together at the cast iron table.

She glanced over at Ominis, who was shielding behind his folded arms, leaning on top of the table, and noticed that the tips of his ears were still red. He must still be feeling slightly embarrassed after her mum gave a full lecture on what to do if the baby is breech, despite Ominis claiming he did not need to know the graphic details.

"I will say Mum was quite thorough with her explanation."

"Yes...but..." He lifted his head up and ran a hand down his face, resting it on his chin. "She didn't have to explain what she had to do with her hands...and the baby..."

"And she didn't even stop when you told her that a gentleman should not be hearing any of it, but I think that just gave her motivation to continue on. I wouldn't be surprised if she gave the same lecture to my father."

Andromeda shook her head and set her quill down to pick up the owl she had just received from Natty. "At least you are not spending your summer term doing extra work at school. Natty wrote that her mum is forcing her to practice tea readings and is bored out of her mind. She said she may never drink tea ever again if she has to interpret any more leaves at the bottom of a cup."

"A perk of being blind. Divinations is a rather pointless class if you can't see to do any of the readings. It's not like I can actually look into the future, to begin with..."

A subtle sort escaped from her throat as she folded her parchment into an envelope. "I suppose that's why you were not in my Astronomy class."

"Ah yes, let me peer through a telescope to only see darkness. The professor could ask me what constellation I was looking at and for I know I could be pointing it straight at the ground."

She reached out to place the palm of her hand on the side of his face with the pad of her thumb making small strokes across the surface of his cheek. He immediately shut his eyes while leaning into her hand with a faint smile.

"But who would have thought that we would sit next to each other in History of Magic? I got to watch you doze off in almost every single class."

"Excuse me, but I do recall hearing your forehead smack against the desk quite a few times when you fell asleep."

"How would you know if I was actually asleep?" She withdrew her hand and crossed her arms. "I could have been smacking my forehead out of pure boredom and trying to keep myself awake despite our professor's lack of enthusiasm during class..."

"Darling, I can hear you snore..."

"I DO NOT SNO-"

Ominis held up his hand and then pointed at his ear. "May I remind you that I am sensitive to sound? You can deny it all you want, but I know what I can hear."