Ominis smoothed down the creases in his waistcoast and adjusted the cufflinks on his dress robes for what must have been the thousandth time as he waited anxiously for your arrival. Garreth had assured him he looked the epitome of class and high-prestige, but he couldn't help but feel incredibly self-conscious, teeming with anxiety about what you would think of him.
His parents had insisted he wear the traditional Gaunt formal attire and had sent them over by owl, but he had removed the family crest that was normally embroidered on the front and opted for only the silver signet ring instead as a symbol of homage. If he was going to flaunt around as a highbrow pureblood heir all night, he would do it in a tasteful fashion at least.
"Ominis, if you pace around any longer you're going to wear a hole into the floor." Garreth chastised lightly.
The blonde stopped his nervous walking but it wasn't long before he was tapping his foot anxiously and fidgeting with every detail of his attire once again.
"Seriously, what are you even nervous about?" Garreth sighed, at his wit's ends. "She's not going to bite, I promise."
"Trust me, that's the least of my concerns." Ominis muttered, running a hand down his face. If he managed to have your mouth anywhere near him by the end of the night, the evening would certainly go down as a success in his books.
"You're a very strange man, you know that?"
Ominis opened his mouth to retort with a quip about all the merits of lovebites when Garreth suddenly broke off, his attention turning towards much more pressing matters in front of him. Such pressing matters including the sight of two gorgeous women appearing at the top of the staircase, arm-in-arm and clad in jaw-dropping gowns. Ominis knew they were jaw-dropping because he could almost audibly hear the sound of Garreth's mouth going lax beside him.
"There's our girls." Garreth announced with a breathless excitement.
Ominis straightened immediately, an exhilarating mixture of excitement and unease furling through his gut— a feeling some other soul might call butterflies, but to Ominis felt like someone had just unleashed a swarm of vampyr mosps in his stomach. "Gods, I'm going to be sick."
"I promise they don't look that bad." Garreth humored, though Ominis looked starkly unamused.
"Will you describe her to me?" He asked, taking a steadying breath. He neatened the emerald ascot around his neck — the only part of his attire that he had let you see beforehand because he wanted the color to perfectly match your gown.
"She's quite the sight, mate." Garreth remarked before delving into a bit-too-enthusiastic narration of said sight before him. "She's got her hair pinned up real pretty and some glittery stuff on her eyes. Oh, and she's wearing this green dress — a bit too Slytherin for my tastes," He added with a subtle frown. "But, oh man, it's doing wonders for her hips. Quite mesmerizing honestly, really accentuates her—"
"Garreth, have you ever tasted dragonhide?" Ominis interrupted through gritted teeth.
"No?" Garreth furrowed his brows in confusion.
"Finish that sentence if you'd like to, I'd be more than happy to shove my boot so far up your—"
"Boys," You greeted politely as you reached the bottom of the staircase and Ominis cleared his throat stiffly, schooling the anger from his features and turning his attention towards you. Natsai flew to Garreth's side immediately and the couple hurried away excitedly, beaming smiles plastered on their faces.
You let your eyes comb over Ominis' attire for the first time and you couldn't help but let your gaze linger for a bit too long. God, did he have to look like that?
Something about the absolutely refined way he held himself did something to you — his shoulders broad and postured, his features aristocratic and reserved. There wasn't a hair out of place in that elegant style of his, and you nearly let out an audible gasp as you saw the rings adorning his slender fingers when he took your hand in his and placed a demure kiss to your knuckles.
He wasn't just attractive, he was out right provocative in his formal attire — in an utterly infatuating, weak-in-the-knees, have-you-a-fainting-chaise? sort of way. If you weren't surrounded by teachers and other students you'd grab him by those pristinely-pressed lapels and snog him senseless on the spot.
"Shall we?" Ominis held out his arm for you to take, and you eagerly complied, tucking your hand into the crook of his elbow.
"Ever the gentleman." You teased as he led you towards the main gala where most of the other students were collected.
"What would a man be without his manners?" He replied.
"The way you're dressed, I might just lose all of my manners."
He raised his eyebrows at you, though dedicated to playing the role of a cavalier tonight, he bit his tongue at indulging your enticements, giving you a coy smile instead as he led you onto the dance floor.
The Great Hall was dressed to the nines in festive adornments — a white and silver spectacular of dazzling ice sculptures, glittering garlands of tinsel and holly, and snowflakes that rained from the enchanted ceiling that were charmed to not be cold to the touch.
"God, it's beautiful." You commented breathlessly.
"Couldn't possibly compare to you." He informed with a smirk as he situated the both of you in front of a musical ensemble that was starting on the build-up of a lively waltz symphony.
You rolled your eyes but couldn't help grin. "How would you—"
"Oh, how would I know?" He interjected, already expecting your little retort. "Thankfully, Garreth was ever so gracious in providing me with a description all about your mesmerizing hips in that dress." He supplied with a subtle amount of bitterness in his voice as he ran his hands down your sides demonstratively, resting them on your waist. He relished in the soft feel of the silk beneath his fingertips, the little indents of your curves that seemed to have been made specifically to accommodate him. You felt so delicate in his palms and he was certain he would never get used to the feeling.
You turned to peer around the crowd, spotting Garreth chatting up Natsai near the punch table. "And he's still alive?" You narrowed your eyes, surprised to see the ginger not suffering the aftermath of a dozen hexes. "I have to say, I'm proud of you."
"I'm playing nice tonight." He shrugged, though the slight ire in his eyes suggested it would definitely not be the last time the Gryffindor would hear about it. "Like I said, what would a man be without his manners?"
"Oh? And to what do I owe such chivalry?" You raised an eyebrow.
"Well, you see — I've been given this wonderful opportunity to dance with the fairest girl in Hogwarts on my arm all night." He informed as he pulled you flush against him, taking one of your hands in his and letting his other hand rest delicately on the small of your back. "Such opportunities must not be squandered."
"A gentleman and a sweet-talker." Your cheeks warmed at the contact, the suave lilt of his voice, the way he glided you across the dance floor with such ease. If his intentions for the evening were to turn you into a pathetic puddle of infatuation on the parquet floor, he was certainly on the right path. "Pray tell, Mister Gaunt, is there a limit to your artful charms?" You teased, putting as much pompousness as possible into your tone of voice.
"Oh, it's Mister Gaunt now, is it?" He laughed, looking utterly delighted with you. "You're adorable."
"Would you prefer Sir Gaunt?" You offered. "I'm not caught up on whatever titles you noblemen prefer."
"Darling, you can call me anything your little heart desires."
"Careful now," You warned. "I have a rather impressive range of profanities in my vocabulary."
"The way I'm feeling right now, you could curse my entire bloodline and I'd still be smiling like a hapless git."
"I think I feel slightly more inclined to thank them." You admitted, letting your hands trail over his arms and rest on his shoulders. "The sight of you in these robes is enough pardon for even the most heinous of family sins."
"Who's the sweet-talker now?" He rolled his eyes.
"Still you," You retorted. "Your abysmal flirting is unprecedented, I could never compete."
"Abysmal?" He leaned in until his breath was ghosting your ear. "You don't fool me, I can practically see you blushing."
"Does this usually work on your other dates?" You inquired, pretending you weren't about two more breathy words away from your knees giving out. You truly weren't confident in your ability to maintain composure for an entire evening of Ominis whispering in your ear while looking like that. "I'd expect a man of your charisma would be fighting off ladies left and right."
"Thankfully, the only lady my charisma has an effect on I don't have to fight off."
"That's what you think," You teased, leaning in yourself this time. You had to stand on your toes to properly whisper in his ear, even in your heels. "Wait until I get you alone at the end of the night."
The desired effect was clearly reached, and you watched in amusement as it was Ominis' turn to feel his cheeks warm, his pale skin tinging pink and a smile involuntarily creeping on his face.
"Who's blushing now?"
"Not my fault," He countered. "There's a gorgeous witch whispering indecencies in my ear."
"Indecencies?" You asked coyly, looking up at him through your eyelashes. "Whatever do you mean?"
"I guess you'll just have to wait until you get me alone." He replied. "I'll show you what I mean."
Before you could give into temptation and drag him into an empty classroom right that instant, Ominis had swept you into a dance as the main crescendo of the symphony began, falling in tempo with the other students around you.
Ominis twirled you around the Great Hall with such ease for the entirety of the evening that it almost compensated for how horrid you were at dancing. Almost.
In reality, most of the night was spent stepping on his shoes, and you would've felt awful for his poor, battered toes if he wasn't such an absolute prick about your uncoordinated movement.
"Is it hard traversing life with such dreadful motor coordination?" He teased as he led you through another dance composition. "I think I have more ease making my way around and I'm blind."
"My sincerest apologies for not being as well-bred as you," You rolled your eyes, stepping on his foot "accidentally" a bit harder this time. "You see, not everyone has had rigorous waltzing lessons since they were six."
"Actually, when I was six I believe the focus was on le minuet." He informed nobly, with a perfect pronunciation that had way too much of an effect on you than you would've liked. "Waltzing lessons only began when I was eleven."
"Well, while you keep putting that pureblood upbringing to good use," You taunted, letting him twirl you one last time before you broke away. "I'm gonna find Natty and use the lady's room."
"Don't take too long," He called out as you made your way through the crowd. "My feet are already missing your heels digging into them!"
You bit back a laugh as you walked away, your eyes scanning the huddled groups of students for Natsai. After seeing no sign of her, you stepped out of the Great Hall into the dimly lit corridor, just in time to hear excited giggling and see her signature amber dress being dragged down the hallway out of view by a very giddy Garreth.
You shook your head in amusement at the two as you turned the other way, making your way towards the girls' restroom alone. After not seeing the Gryffindor couple anywhere in the Great Hall, you had somewhat expected that they had run off somewhere to snog by now, and after receiving this confirmation you were certainly in no mood to interrupt.
As you turned the corner you stopped in your tracks when you came upon a morose looking Sebastian perched against the wall. You hadn't seen him at the ball at all — though, to be fair, your eyes were fixed on another Slytherin the entire night — which was why you were surprised to find his attire was almost as refined as Ominis', save for his bowtie which was untied and draped loosely around his neck and his sleeves that had been rolled up over his forearms.
He stood up straight immediately when he saw you come into view and just stared at you for a few moments that seemed to stretch for far too long. It had been weeks since you'd said a word to each other and he had dutifully abided by his promise to leave you and Ominis alone entirely. Seeing you again in a context that wasn't brief, awkward glances in the library late at night, or avoiding each other's eyes in Potions, seemed to be having a great effect on him.
"You look lovely." Sebastian spoke up finally and you cursed yourself internally for not turning the other way and leaving immediately.