Meet Me In the Undercroft
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"I believe that is quite enough for one day. I will say quite satisfactory work today, students. Class dismissed."
As Professor Sharp dismissed the class, everyone began gathering their things and lightly cleaning up their stations before heading out of the class. Sofiya, however, had to take a few extra moments to put away some ingredients she had gathered from the nearby shelves. Professor Sharp often encouraged the class to bring in their own ingredients from Herbology or elsewhere, which Sofiya was typically able to do thanks to the Room of Requirement last year. Though so far, she hasn't been able to head there yet today. Perhaps she would now, given it was the last class of the school day.
Sofiya shuffled past the exiting students, making her way to one of the far shelves to put some Ashwinder eggs and Fwooper feathers back in their place. She hummed quietly to herself, but as the students filtered out of the room, she began to quiet herself. Eventually, the only ones left in the room were Professor Sharp and herself.
"How have you been this past summer, Sofiya?" The man asked, making Sofiya look back over her shoulder for a moment. Although she had spent all class with him, Sofiya suddenly noticed that Professor Sharp looked a bit more worn than he did last year - perhaps that is the effect being an Auror has on people.
"I've been alright, professor." She smiled before facing the shelves again.
There was quiet for a few moments before the man spoke up again, "I'm aware that I'm a few months late, but if you ever need anyone to speak with about the events of last year, Sofiya, please do let me know. I can assure you I know what you've been feeling these past months."
Sofiya paused for a moment, feeling her breath hitch in her throat. This past summer, the traumatic events of her fifth year caught up with her only after it was all over. She suffered from a lot of anxiety, and a depressing and lonely feeling that swallowed her whole, some days. She had written to Professor Weasley about it; however, it was a bit embarrassing that Weasley seemed to have shared those personal moments.
Though, she knew Professor Sharp only had good intentions. As she placed down the last Ashwinder egg, she turned and faced him.
"Thank you, professor. I'll keep that in mind."
A small nod came from the professor as he stood from his desk, beginning to walk toward the exit of the classroom. It seems his limp from last year has disappeared.
"Well, you performed greatly this class, as I expected. Please close the door on your way out, will you?"
Sofiya nodded to the man as he exited the room, leaving her alone in the Potions classroom. The mischievous side of her wanted to search around a bit, perhaps for any small forgotten chests or secret potion ingredients - but Sofiya wanted to relax. It's been quite a busy day, especially for the first day of term. What sounded best right now was to retreat to the common room and cuddle up into bed, book in hand.
Though, as she passed her table, she caught a glance at a small piece of parchment laying on the wooden surface. She approached it curiously, her fingers tracing the ripped edges for a moment before picking it up and examining it further. On it, it read:
Sofiya,
If you could, please meet me in the Undercroft. I believe it's time we spoke properly.
No signature?
The words made Sofiya's mouth run dry, immediately assuming this was Sebastian trying to speak to her again. However, the writer mentions 'speaking properly' as if they haven't before. Was this someone new? It could only be between Ominis and Sebastian, the only other students who know of the Undercroft.
At first, Sofiya refused to go. She crumpled up the note in her hands as she exited the classroom, her mind questioning whether or not it was worth going there. On the off chance it was Sebastian, there would surely be nothing to force her into talking to him. She could always turn around and insist on their separation before walking out on him. And yet, if it was Ominis, why couldn't he simply approach her during class? What was so serious to speak about that it had to be in the Undercroft?
Letting out a frustrated sigh, Sofiya changed her direction and headed to the Defense Against the Dark Arts tower.
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As Sofiya approached the clock nestled into the corner of the tower, a now-familiar dread welled up inside her. It wasn't too late for her to turn around, to simply leave whoever was inside waiting and instead retreat to the comfortable and safe Ravenclaw common room. Yet a deeper, far more bold and curious part of Sofiya begged her to make these possibly ignorant decisions. What did she have to lose?
The hands on the clock turned rapidly before clicking into place, the hidden door swinging open and granting Sofiya permission to enter. She stepped inside, her gaze stuck staring forward as she passed through the short, dim hallway, before the large room that was the Undercroft came into view.
In the center of it stood Ominis.
Thank you, Merlin.
"Ominis..!" The girl called, her voice vaguely echoing through the room. The blonde standing before her turned toward her, though his gaze was tilted down toward the ground. Similarly to Sebastian, Ominis also seemed to slightly grow over the summer. He gained a couple of inches in height, and it seems his hair grew a bit longer around his neck.
"Sofiya, there you are!" Although Ominis often spoke in more of a monotone way, his response to Sofiya came with a bit of excitement, making her smile as she walked closer to him. "I was hoping you would come."
"You are quite lucky I didn't miss your note! Although I do wish you left some kind of signature."
"Ah, it wasn't there?" The boy crossed his arms, speaking bashfully, "I must have torn the signature away when I ripped my parchment. My apologies..."
"It's alright, Ominis." Sofiya shook her head, "What did you want to talk about? It's hard to tell with just words on paper, yet your note sounded a bit serious."
Ominis' eyes looked up slightly, just barely missing Sofiya's. His face read as a bit somber, almost regretful, "I wanted to speak about the situation between you and Sebastian."
Even if Ominis couldn't see it, Sofiya gave him an exasperated look. Everyone seemed to know about their situation, and frankly, it was getting extremely frustrating - and of all people, Sofiya never expected Ominis to comment on it.
"There is no situation!" The girl whined, her cool hands covering her face as it gradually seemed to warm up, "We're not speaking, Ominis. It's as simple as that."
"I beg to differ." Ominis retorted. Always blunt with his opinions, this one. "I'm sorry, Sofiya. I must be adding to a list of over a dozen people who have asked this of you, and by no means do you need to say anything. But I like to believe you are both my friends - and if something is going on unbeknownst to me, I want you to tell me."
Sofiya let out a sigh of defeat, her hands lowering from her face to instead cross over her chest. "Have you not asked Sebastian yet?"
"Knowing him, he wouldn't give me the truth. It isn't that you never lie, Sofiya, but I happen to trust your word a bit more than Sebastian's."
Another tug at her heartstrings. Sofiya had only revealed her summer events to Poppy, Natty, and now Beau. In reality, Ominis should have been one of the first she told; but there was a sense of responsibility when it came to her decision with Sebastian. She felt as though it wasn't a problem she wanted Ominis to worry about, although both she and Sebastian had thought that many times last year, and it was always the wrong choice. Once again, keeping Ominis in the dark made things worse. When will she learn?
Another sigh came from Sofiya, "I'm sorry I never told you, Ominis. I never meant to hide this from you."
"It's alright, Sofiya. Now, what happened?"
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"...So I decided to not speak with him this year. I'm not sure what he thinks, but I have no desire to chase after someone who clearly has no interest in even writing to me."
The room fell into silence for a few moments. Sofiya and Ominis now sat on the floor, and as Sofiya looked at him, she noticed how focused he seemed. Or, perhaps it wasn't an expression of focus as it was... Annoyance? He seemed almost bothered by Sofiya's short story rather than concerned.
"What's wrong, Ominis?" She eventually asked, the tense silence starting to bother her.
"Well, to begin with... Sebastian never wrote to me this summer, as well."
Sofiya's eyes widened. A small part of her always understood that it made sense Sebastian never wrote to her specifically, since they haven't known each other for very long - but for him to not write to Ominis?
"However, he gave me a reason why he would do so before the summer holiday began." Ominis let out a small sigh, his head tilting up slightly, "The only issue is, he had informed me that he told you the same. Clearly, he never did."
Further the knife in Sofiya's back sank. She furrowed her brows together, staring at Ominis as if he was the one who didn't write to her all summer. She felt that familiar rage she felt when she spoke with Sebastian bubbling up again, threatening to overflow and take over her skin. She despised this feeling, despised it; however, the more about Sebastian she heard the more she couldn't help it from overtaking her. This rabid anger that sent a shiver down her spine - it wasn't like herself.
"...Do you understand why I don't want to speak to him?" Sofiya uttered, tugging at the hem of her skirt to distract herself.
In the corner of her eye, she caught a slow nod from Ominis. Poor Ominis, she never wanted to get him caught up in this. Although, she didn't want anyone to be caught up in this situation, whatever it was. All she wished for this summer was to avoid Sebastian Sallow, and leave it at that. Now, far too many people were caught up in the web she only intended to weave herself.
"Then why did he never write to us? What did he tell you?" Sofiya looked back up at Ominis, who only shook his head at her.
"I believe you should ask him of that yourself. I wanted to know what was wrong, Sofiya, but not to mend the problem - I've tried to do that far too many times before. This is something you must do on your own."
Ominis' words were cold, yet true, which Sofiya had learned to appreciate. As much as she wanted to resist, Sofiya knew the only way she would find a reason for the disappearance of Sebastian this past summer was to speak with him again. Properly, this time.
Sofiya stood from the stone floor, quickly patting off her skirt, "I will, Ominis. And thank you... For speaking with me. I know I really only give you a chance to listen, but I truly appreciate it."
"Don't be. I care about you, Sofiya, and I care for Sebastian as well. I simply hope you two work things out soon." He replied with a soft, yet rare smile.
"Yes, well... Goodnight, Ominis." Sofiya uttered as she walked toward the exit.
"Goodnight Sofiya."