Lament (Sebastian Sallow)

Chapter 21 1/2: Expect The Unexpected

"My answer is no." Ominis kept his eyes closed.

"You don't even know what I was going to say,"

"You've been hanging out with Sebastian awfully a lot, so I predict anything that you suggest is because he sent you, let alone, anything that comes out of his mouth is stupidity. So no." Ominis informed in a normal tone.

"Okay..." Penelope's eyes squinted at the honesty and quickly came to her senses, grabbing a quill, "It's actually part of a paper I need to do for Muggle Studies, Ominis."

Penelope's quill poked over Ominis Slytherin robe and the boy snarled an "ow" as he complained.

"And what does this paper have to do with me?"

Penelope sighed, and read down, "Because I'm playing out an intuition test some muggle scientists do. I usually make people close their eyes and try to guess how many fingers I'm holding up." She smiled.

Ominis Gaunt thought about the information being said to him and it wasn't a minute before a scoff came out of his mouth from the realization.

"Oh, and your first bloody pinpoint for this assignment is me? Because I'm blind?" Ominis frowned.

Penelope looked at the ceiling and shrugged, "You're the best candidate."

"Remind me why I am even speaking to you in general." Ominis sighed.

"Because I always tell you what you need to hear, as you quoted that one time in the Scriptorium," Penelope teased, "Come on. It's just a blind test. Your wand tells you everything, but I want to know your intuition without it."

Ominis Gaunt was prepared to refuse. If Penelope Silverthorn wasn't such a powerful witch that has helped him in certain ways and kept him entertained in class, he would gladly tell her to piss off; but it was Penelope.

"You have two minutes, Pen." Ominis warned.

...

Ominis Gaunt was challenged to keep a serious expression over hearing Penelope's voice again. The girl was clearly a menace in his head. A bloody menace since he met her, but it was eight years for him too. And they were good friends in the past.

"Merlin, it's really you," Ominis gave a slight chuckle, lowering his guard and shaking his head, "You're holding two fingers."

Penelope lowered her two fingers and gave a half smile, shrugging, "It is me, unfortunately."

Sebastian Sallow stood in a somber posture as he observed the adults who were feet away. There was a stern look and a tightness in his jaw that he was fighting from seeing them interact at the reunion.

The man never had anything against the friendship between Penelope Silverthorn and Ominis Gaunt. Those two were their own bond and Sebastian never intervened. If anything, he enjoyed the idea that his best friend, almost like a brother, got along with the girl he was once in love with. It was perfect.

But for now. Just right now. This moment exactly. For a few seconds, Ominis Gaunt became his biggest enemy.

It wasn't fair. Sebastian thought to himself. It wasn't fair that Ominis got a proper reunion with her, like everyone else, but yet — for him; for Sebastian, he got nothing.

"This is quite a visit of you." Ominis Gaunt let out.

Penelope Silverthorn just nodded awkwardly at the reminder, "Well, I am full of surprises, aren't I?"