Pictured: Ominis Gaunt's family home in Dublin, Ireland.
"Your sisters are expected to arrive soon. Your parents, however, did not give an estimated time of arrival. Communication has been spotty due to their travels," Ominis said to me.
"I do hope they come in time," I worried. I hadn't heard from my parents at all, although Ominis assured me his family had sent the proper correspondence.
Ominis cocked an eyebrow. "Would you have second thoughts if they were unable to make it?"
I shook my head. "No. No, this wedding is happening, I promise."
"I see." His nose pointed towards the driveway, ears listening for the sounds of carriages.
The Gaunt Estate loomed behind us like a big black shadow. It reminded me of Hogwarts quite a bit. The exterior and roof were both black, and had a pointy, gothic atmosphere about it. In the front was a long driveway and manicured hedges. was a striking home, and unsurprisingly not their only one. Ominis informed me his family had homes in Ireland, London, and a townhome in Paris, but that this one in Dublin, Ireland was their favorite.
Two horse-drawn carriages came into view behind the neat rows of trees. My heart beat a little faster knowing that my sisters were in there.
Kharis came out of her carriage first. She was the only one of us to inherit our father's chestnut brown hair, and it suited her perfectly. She was curious and bold, and much more comfortable in riding pants than a dress. When she was at Hogwarts, she had been sorted into Gryffindor.
"Prisma!" She threw her arms around me like a puppy happy to see its owner. "Who on earth said it was okay for the baby of the family to get married?"
She turned to Ominis. "And you are the man who has stolen my sister's heart. Pleasure to meet you, I am Kharis St. Cloud, Prisma's older sister by three years."
Kharis extended a warm welcoming hand to Ominis, who did not notice.
"Pleasure to meet you," Ominis replied.
Kharis smiled hesitantly. "A warm welcome is not complete without a handshake."
I cleared my throat awkwardly. "Ominis is blind."
Kharis blinked, letting her hand fall. "O-oh, pardon me." It was not often that Kharis was caught off guard. "Excuse my curiosity, but have you always been blind?"
I wanted to scold her for such a brash question, but Ominis didn't mind. "I have been blind since birth," Ominis replied calmly.
"Well, I'd certainly like to know more about that," Kharis said with wide gray eyes. "I've got a dozen questions to ask you later."
"Perhaps then I can take you up on that handshake as well."
I was amazed at how cordial Ominis was when talking to my blunt sister. Normally, he was a grouch- and I still saw a glimmer of irritation on his face every so often, but it was gone almost immediately.
Seraphina came out of the second carriage. She was the oldest, and most elegant. She had the beauty and grace of a swan and the charm of a piper. At Hogwarts, she had been in House Hufflepuff, where she met her husband Eddie Darling.
"Seraphina Darling," she curtseyed to Ominis, her blonde hair falling over her shoulder. "You are to be my brother in law, so you may call me Sera."
"Sera," I smiled at my oldest sister. When I was a child, I saw her as a goddess. I still kind of did. "Thank you for coming."
Sera's smile flickered like a candle. "My dear Prisma, you are pale."
"Am I?"
Her hand flew to my forehead to test my warmth. Ominis listened closely.
"Sera is a healing witch," I said to him. "She also worries too much. It's just wedding excitement."
She pursed her lips. "Oh yes, I suppose you're right. Regardless, I want you to drink something warm before bed and sleep with socks on tonight. There's going to be a storm tonight and tomorrow."
Just as she said it, I felt a drop of rain hit my cheek. Ominis, my sisters and I began to head indoors. The house staff took in the luggage, levitating the suitcases through the door in a neat assembly line.
"When are Mama and Papa arriving? Do you know?" I asked as we stood in the entrance hall.
"Oh, dear," Sera and Kharis looked at each other. "A blizzard has them stranded at their lodging and completely unable to apparate. Nor do they have the floo network in Antarctica."
"What?" I was stunned.
"They're not coming," Sera confirmed with disappointment. "But don't worry. We've brought the gifts, and the dowry to give to the Gaunt family."
"Oh, good, the gifts and dowry." A woman's voice came from upstairs. At the top of the stairs was a thin woman with a bony face and a hat that matched her sensible gray gown; I knew it could be none other than Ominis's mother, Hilda Gaunt. Behind her was a tall bald man that resembled a vampire. He had a pitch black stare that matched his black funeral suit.
"Welcome to our home," he said, "I am Lord Marvolo Gaunt the Second. This is my wife, the Lady Hilda Gaunt."
"We were just making sure the House Elves prepared the rooms appropriately," Hilda said, "Which, unsurprisingly, they did not. They are making the adjustments properly as we speak."
My sisters greeted them with smiles. The Gaunts attempted to smile back, but somehow their lips seemed incapable of moving in such a way.
"We are overjoyed that Prisma is joining our little family." Hilda certainly did not sound overjoyed. More like underwhelmed. "Ominis is actually the first of our sons to find a marriage match."
"You have more children?" Kharis asked.
"Cyril is twenty-nine. Morfeus is twenty-two, and Claudia is twelve. They will all be attending the wedding tomorrow." Marvolo said. This was the first time I had heard Ominis's brothers names. He never spoke of them, aside from how horrible they were.
Hilda's cold eyes lit up. "Perhaps we may make another marriage match today?" She looked right at Kharis, who was still unmarried. Kharis looked like she would rather take a walk off a cliff than marry into this family.
"Shall we exchange the gifts?" Sera said, swiftly changing the subject.
The House Elves lined up two trunks. "First, a gift from us to Prisma." Sera said, bringing out a smaller box lined with jewels.
I opened it. Inside was a beautiful necklace with a single multi-colored stone the size of an olive. The stone seemed to be every color, and yet no color all at once.
"How beautiful," I said with amazement. Kharis lifted the necklace from the box and began to clasp it around my neck.
"Beautiful," Kharis agreed. "And like you, it is also smart. See, this necklace is made of a special stone that detects emotion. The jewel will change color with your mood."
As she clasped it around my neck, I saw the stone had changed to a sunny yellow.
"It's yellow," Sera said. "That means happy."
"Thank you both." I said to my sisters. I wished Ominis could see how beautiful the stone was. Thankfully, he was intuitive enough to know my mood without needing a color to say it for me.
In the first trunk was my dowry of 1,000 gold galleons. Dowry is money brought by the bride's family to the groom when they are married, usually to establish a starting fund for the household. The Gaunts, however, were already rich. And the amount that we brought, while large to me, seemed to them like nothing more than pocket change.
Not a single muscle on Hilda's skinny face moved. "Hm. How... nice. I am immensely curious to see what kind of gift you have brought."
Kharis opened the second trunk. Carefully, she removed a chunk of turquoise stone that emitted a soft yellow glow. The stone looked to be ordinary, until you looked a bit closer, and saw the etchings on the outside in an ancient language.
"This is an artifact from the magical peoples of South America. It is the only one of its kind and contains inscriptions of the first traces of magic in their culture," Kharis said. "Our parents discovered it on one of their trips."
Hilda and Marvolo looked at the rock with empty expressions. "What does it do?" Marvolo asked curtly.
Kharis continued holding the heavy stone in her gloved hands. It seemed heavy. "It-it is an artifact, my Lord."
"Yes, but what does it do?"
Kharis looked at the shiny stone. "....it does nothing."
Hilda, wanting to keep things moving, nodded and said, "Well, thank you for the shiny rock."
The House Elves took away the trunks with the galleons and the gift. Hilda began herding everyone further into the house, towards the cellar.
"Now, it is time for our gift," Hilda said, clasping her hands together with glee. "It is most expensive, and rare. Perfect for a young couple."
We each traveled down the cellar stairs into a dark, cold room. As I descended the steps, I heard the sounds of animalistic screeching that I recognized all too well. I knew it because the sound had haunted my dreams for months.
The Gaunt's wedding gift was a baby dragon.