"Sabrina? Sabrina, wake up!"
Sabrina Lewis opened her eyes and stretched, feeling her muscles tighten as raised them above her head. She looked up to see Anne Sallow standing above her, a familiar mischievous grin adorning her face. "Did you have a nice nap?" Anne asked.
Sabrina sat up, instinctively looking around her small cottage before looking back at Anne. "Why are you looking at me like that?"
Anne shrugged. "You were talking in your sleep."
At this, Sabrina felt a chill go through her as the pleasant dream she had came back to her. She had found herself walking along the shore of the Black Lake with a certain blonde boy on her arm, his eyes as blue and cloudy as the sky itself as they fixated on her. She had said something that made him smile, a rarity on his face, and she couldn't help but smile back before they found themselves leaning closer to each other. And if she imagined it hard enough, she could even feel his breath against her face and his soft lips against hers.
That was when Anne woke her up.
Sabrina frowned, her face reddening before she got off the couch and immediately began changing into her school uniform upstairs, avoiding her friends' gaze. Anne was already in her emerald and silver uniform and excitedly followed her friend around as she got ready.
"Oh, come on!" Anne told her. "I know how much you like him."
"I'm not sure what you're talking about."
"You know if you dream about them, it means they were thinking of you." Anne sighed, dreamily. "Oh, I wonder what he dreams of —"
"Anne, we've been over this. Ominis doesn't like me in that manner." Sabrina had changed her skirt and vest by now, not bothering to ask Anne to leave the room.
"How do you know? Have you asked him?"
"Where is Sebastian?"
Anne could tell her friend was trying to change the subject, and decided for the moment to let her. "Picking up Ominis at the train station. It should be arriving soon. I told him we would meet them at the castle."
Hogwarts. Sabrina put down her hairbrush and felt her chest warm at the thought of returning, and how a year ago she had departed from her sad and miserable life at a London orphanage to come and start her magical journey and education at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
So much had happened in that year. Sabrina had learned when she first arrived at the castle that she was able to wield and see traces of an ancient magic that had been dormant for centuries. She had also learned that her ancestor, Isidora Morganach, had used her ancient magic to take pain from others and she had placed the magic in a repository to keep and use its power. A man named Victor Rookwood had been in league with a goblin named Ranrok, and together they had been trying to find the repository for their own selfish means. They hadn't anticipated Sabrina, however, and after completing many trials set up by four 'Keepers', she was able to stop them and destroy the repository before they could use it.
Sabrina had also learned about her parents, Theodore Lewis and Minerva Reese, and had learned they too could also see this magic. Theodore had disappeared when Sabrina was very young, and Minerva had given her to the orphanage in London as a precaution to keep Sabrina safe from Rookwood and Ranrok. Minerva had passed away before she could return for her daughter, and Sabrina had spent nearly all summer trying to find any information on her fathers' whereabouts with no luck.
And now, here Sabrina was getting ready to start the school year as a sixth year student. And soon she would be seeing all of her friends like Poppy, Natty, and Sebastian.
And Ominis. Just the thought of seeing him again immediately brought butterflies to her stomach.
Anne pulled Sabrina out of her thoughts. "I hear the train. Come on, we need to get going!"
—
The large black and crimson train screamed as it came slowly into Hogsmeade Station. Not many people, aside from teachers, had come to watch the Hogwarts Express pull in, which was honestly how Sebastian Salow preferred it. The warm autumn air blew a soft breeze through him, and he lifted his head towards the setting sun and allowed it to calm the nerves running through his mind.
So much had changed during last school year, and the summer had been rough for him and his sister. Sebastian was anxious to get things back to normal.
He watched as the train finally came to a screeching halt before he pushed himself off the stone wall to approach. A minute later the doors to the passenger carriages opened and the dozens of Hogwarts students aboard all walked off buzzing with excitement and joy at being back.
Sebastian looked over the dozens of heads looking for one in particular. He saw the red glow of the wand still on the train carriage before he saw the boy that held it. He quickly made his way to the carriage door and waited, smiling when he finally saw his best friend approach him.
"Ominis Gaunt!" Sebastian called, announcing his presence to the blind boy. "I'm upset at you!"
Ominis stopped short, a slight look of annoyance washing over his face. "Must you really do this already?"
Sebastian turned his back to Ominis as his friend grabbed his shoulder for support, stepping off the train. As they walked away from the crowds towards the thestral drawn carriages, Sebastian allowed himself a chance to properly look at Ominis.
This past summer had been the first summer Ominis had gone home in almost five years, and Sebastian could see in his face that it had been a rough summer for him. Ominis' face was slightly hollow and pale, light purple bags lay under his eyes, and although he had grown a few inches, his weight had dropped and he was more lean than he was before.
However, he knew Ominis wouldn't like it if he was the first to bring any of this up, so he cleared his throat. "I'm upset at you! You hid my copy of Beedle the Bard somewhere in Feldcroft and I couldn't find it."
"Why do you need it?" Ominis asked. Merlin, he even sounded tired.
"Because I was looking for romantic ideas," Sebastian said simply. "Anne and I have concocted a whole plan."
"Sebastian—"
"I was thinking of a romantic picnic in the Forbidden Forest. Candlelight dinner, an enchanted violin—"
"Sebastian—"
"Although Anne thinks it's a bit over the top. She suggested—"
"Sebastian, stop!" Ominis tone was harsh. He squeezed Sebastian's shoulder, making him pause to finally look at him. "It didn't work."
Sebastian first felt shock, then disbelief, then anger. "What do you mean 'it didn't work?'"
"I mean exactly that. It didn't work."
"HOW DID—" Sebastian stopped and lowered his voice when a few students had stopped briefly to look at him. He brought his voice to a whisper. "What do you mean? Nothing worked? All of that hard work you put in last year accomplished nothing?"
Ominis frowned. "The only thing it did was delay it. But it's still happening. My father is still looking. I tried, I really did—"
"So what now? Do we just accept it? When did it get pushed back?"
"As long as he doesn't find anyone before then, I have at least until I graduate next year."
"Oh, well then that's fine," Sebastian said, calming down slightly. "We have time. We'll figure it out. We'll continue the slander, we'll keep telling every girl in school what a horrible person you are."
"It won't work—"
"I am not giving up." Sebastian gave a stern promise, staring straight into Ominis eyes and swore it, even if he knew Ominis couldn't see. "You are my best friend, and I will not let this happen to you. We will figure this out."
Ominis stopped, hearing the determination in Sebastian's voice and knowing he wouldn't be able to argue anymore. "Where are the girls?"
"They're meeting us at the castle."
Ominis grabbed Sebastian's arm desperately. "We cannot tell them."
Sebastian began to argue again. "Oh for Merlin's—"
"Especially not Sabrina."
"Ominis, she doesn't know about this already. Do you seriously want to keep her in the dark? She'll be upset when she eventually finds out."
"I know... I just..." Ominis sighed heavily, their conversation hung onto him like a heavy weight on his chest. "Let's go before they start the feast without us."
—
Anne and Sabrina waited by the front doors of the castle, anxiously watching each thestral-drawn carriage that came in carrying a group of students. After what felt like forever, they saw Sebastian and Ominis as they pulled up. They got out, and the girls rushed to them.
"Ominis!" Anne exclaimed. She grabbed Ominis' hand and put it to her cheek, an affectionate expression that Sabrina had learned was their way of greeting one another. "You look so tired. How was your summer?"
Ominis frowned. "As well as you may expect."
Sebastian approached Sabrina and immediately pulled her into a hug. "There you are! Hope you had a good summer!"
Sabrina blushed at the move but welcomed it. She was surprised how much taller Sebastian was now, and how filled out into his broad body he had become. His brown curly hair now seemed slightly tamed, but when she saw his face she could still see the same freckled boy she had come to know from the year past. "It's good to see you too, Sebastian."
Sebastian let go of Sabrina and turned around. "Ominis, come over here and say hello to Sabrina."
Just as Ominis approached her, Sabrina felt a flutter back in her stomach. She always felt Ominis looked handsome, but the summer had seemed to really draw more of that out of him despite how tired he looked.
Sabrina took a deep breath. "Hello, Ominis."
Ominis grinned slightly, grabbing her hand and squeezed in a reassuring way. "Hello, my dear. It's nice to see you back at Hogwarts this year. I feel your heart is still beating wildly."
Sabrina blushed. Ominis always seemed to know when she was nervous around him.
Sebastian came up and put his hand on Ominis' shoulder. "Come on. Let's go to the feast. I'm starving."
—
A year ago, Sabrina had arrived late to the start-of-term feast due to an unfortunate dragon attack. She had been the center of attention from the moment she walked in, and then promptly was sorted by the Sorting Hat into Slytherin. This year, she got to sit with her classmates and watch as a new batch of first year students came in to be sorted. She clapped with every new student, cheering when some made their way to the Slytherin table, and then promptly began eating to her heart's content when the food came in delicious waves in front of her.
After dessert was finished, Headmaster Black stood up and grabbed the halls' attention. "One more announcement before I relieve you all. Due to some rather harsh criticism from parents and ministry officials, Quidditch will resume this year—"
The Great Hall exploded in excitement and anticipation before Black had finished his sentence. Imelda Reyes, the best flier Slytherin had seen in a generation, erupted in cheers before she started talking to others about tryouts.
"—But only for six years and older!" Black continued. "And make sure you talk to your head of houses for more details. That is all!"
Sebastian turned to Imelda. "You'll let us know when tryouts are?"
"Hell yeah!" Imelda beamed. "I can't wait!"
Eventually, the students finished with their feast and they made their ways to their common rooms. Slytherin Common Room was located in the dungeons and lay underneath the Black Lake. As the students approached the large empty wall, they spoke the password, "Ambition," and a large snake appeared and revealed a hidden door in the brick.
Anne and Sebastian had talked excitedly non-stop the entire walk to the common room, only finally stopping when they split and headed towards their dorm rooms on opposite sides of the common room.
Ominis and Sabrina had walked back together silently. Normally, the pair weren't very talkative, but even Sabrina could feel there was something off about Ominis and his heavy silence.
Ominis walked with Sabrina all the way up to the stairway leading up to her room. Sabrina cleared her throat. "Well... thank you for walking with me, Ominis. I suppose I'll see you in the morning." She turned and began walking up the metal stairs.
"Wait."
Sabrina immediately stopped and looked back at Ominis, his blind eyes seemed to be looking right at her. He was suddenly looking anxious. Almost like he wants to say something, Sabrina thought as her heart beat wildly.
"Yes, Ominis?" Sabrina called out gently.
For a few seconds, Ominis didn't say anything. Then he swallowed. "I just wanted to tell you how happy I am to see you back this year. And I'm glad I was able to keep my promise to you to return."
Sabrina could feel her chest warm as she walked towards him. "Of course I came back. And thank you for coming back...." She froze before she spoke again. "I missed you, Ominis."
He seemed surprised. "You did?"
"Of course I did. You're so kind and sweet... and you're one of the best people I've ever met."
Ominis was suddenly looking uncomfortable. "Your flattery is unwarranted, Sabrina. But... thank you."
Before she knew it, Sabrina found herself reaching for him. Maybe... just this once....
She didn't know if Ominis could sense her intentions, or if he was just that nervous, but he suddenly took a step away from her as if trying to compose himself. "Goodnight, Sabrina."
Sabrina put her hand down, feeling a slight wave of hope wash away. "Goodnight, Ominis."
——-
A/N: Welcome to book two!! As always, comments are love and thank you so much for reading!!!