Cursed (Hogwarts Legacy fanfiction - original in German)

Chapter 62 - Screw the comfort zone

[AI art from the banner made by me]

As the cursed Yule Ball approached, Ominis' mood grew worse. He was actually looking forward to the subsequent holidays in Feldcroft, but first, he would have to survive this ball, where Phina might finally confess her love to Sebastian. Presumably, then the holidays would also become a hell specially designed for him too if the two of them were to be fresh in love and around him 24 hours a day. Even Anne's presence would not be much of a comfort in this case, as Nathan would be there too, so he would be the last lonely wolf surrounded by happy couples. Perhaps he should use the Yule Ball as an opportunity to practice enduring this emotional state as gracefully as possible in advance.

While he had withdrawn somewhat in the past few days, Sebastian seemed to be flourishing more and more. As a member of the Slytherin Quidditch team, he was already being celebrated by almost all other housemates as a hero, even though the first real game wouldn't take place until the day before the Yule Ball. As well as Imelda would have trained her team by then, the ball the day after would probably turn into his own personal victory celebration. A won Quidditch game, the prospect of Christmas holidays with his beloved sister, and above all, the woman of his dreams by his side. 

The ugly force of envy and resentment surged through Ominis' stomach like an acidic tidal wave, making him feel like he wanted to throw up immediately. Not a second later, boundless shame joined in because as the best friend of the two, he shouldn't feel this way. But he just couldn't turn it off. He just couldn't let himself be so consumed by these negative feelings that he allowed them to control his actions too. Sebastian and Phina simply didn't deserve that. 

Although Ominis had originally thought he had somehow subconsciously prepared himself for this, his stupid heart still seemed to have stored enough hope all along to now be immeasurably hurt. As if it had secretly always held onto the bold idea that Phina might choose him after all. But now that fragile veil of uncertainty had been torn down, and he had to face the only applicable truth, that he had lost this battle, even though it had never really been a battle. It had been a silent arms race, and Ominis had to admit that it had been a fair arms race and he couldn't simply blame his defeat on Sebastian cheating or playing with underhanded methods. Phina had the right to love him. After all, he loved him too. Not in the same way, but he could understand why his best friend was so popular.

Ominis was grateful that neither Phina nor Sebastian had mentioned the Yule Ball to him again. Therefore, he had successfully managed to deal somewhat normally with the two of them so far, so they still couldn't guess the extent of his inner turmoil. 

It had been enough for him already that Professor Weasley had summoned him to her office after Transfiguration class recently because she had heard rumors that he had clashed with Duncan Hobhouse. It hadn't been easy to convince her that it was just a trivial misunderstanding, probably exaggerated by some classmates. 

On one hand, he was pleased that the deputy headmistress showed such sensitivity and didn't hesitate to bring it up with him. On the other hand, throughout their conversation, Ominis had feared that she would dig deeper if he dared to confide even the slightest of his secrets to her. Perhaps this conversation would quickly have turned into a bottomless pit, and in the end, he might have even told her about the prophecy. The genuine concern in her voice had already made it difficult enough for him not to break down and let his tongue run free.

As Ominis stepped out of the library, having given up on concentrating on studying without Phina and Sebastian, he was nearly overwhelmed by the volume in the Central Hall. It was filled with students engaged in lively conversations, exchanging the latest gossip and chatter.