Ominis walked up the long flight of stairs to the seventh floor corridor. He very rarely made his way this far into the castle. The last time he had been up here was when he had to take the mandatory Astronomy class in third year, and he sighed as he remembered how long that class had felt for him.
He felt along the walls and felt the woolen tapestry that Sabrina had described to him. This had to be the place. But... Why did Sabrina want to meet Ominis all the way up here?
He suddenly heard scraping of stone and metal on the wall opposite him, and a second later a door was opened. Ominis didn't remember there being a room up here next to the tapestry.
Ominis felt a soft and familiar hand grab his own before he was being pulled forward. "Sabrina!" he called as he heard her giggles. He heard her close the door behind them. "Where are you taking me?"
Ominis was now walking on what felt like marble flooring. This room felt slightly warmer, and it seemed as if they were standing outside in the sun. But that couldn't be right. Ominis' wand told him there were walls around him. He was standing in a hallway that opened into a large open room, and he could hear birds and papers rustling above him. He could also smell some plants nearby, and a clock ticking in a nearby corner.
"This is our room of hidden things," Sabrina's sweet voice finally answered.
Ominis' eyes widened. "You found the Room of Requirement?"
"You know about it?"
"I've heard rumors," Ominis admitted. "It only appears to students in dire need."
"Well," he heard Sabrina smiling. "Professor Weasley showed me how to find it. We are in dire need, afterall."
Ominis smiled with her. "'Dire need'?"
"For privacy. For our own space. I thought... we could use this place as our own safe spot within the castle." Sabrina's hand still held his, but her other hand began to gently graze his arm in a comforting manner. "A place where we don't have to tiptoe around Sebastian and Anne, where we don't have to pretend to not care about each other. In here... we can be ourselves."
He felt his chest begin to warm as her touch moved up to his shoulder. Ominis thought about her words, and he actually began to feel joy. She had done this for them. For him. "Away from prying eyes." He finally understood what those words meant.
"Away from prying eyes," Sabrina repeated.
Ominis took a deep breath and exhaled, allowing himself to completely relax for the first time this school year. "Come here," he grinned as he pulled Sabrina closer to him.
Sabrina's body crashed against his chest, and his hands instantly moved to her waist to hold her still before he dipped his face in the crook of her neck. Merlin, he would never get used to this feeling. She was so soft, like velvet against his warm skin. He lifted a hand to her hair and gently felt the silkiness of it against his fingers. And she smelled so very sweet, like vanilla and fresh laundry. Ominis always felt so warm and relaxed with Sabrina, but the way his body reacted to her touch was like a brand new level of sensations he had yet to ever experience.
Ominis could have sworn he had died and gone to heaven. There was no way he had ever done anything to deserve this beautiful creature before him. It felt too good to be true.
"Ominis," he felt the girl under him gasp as he gently kissed her neck.
He brought his face up and put a hand on her cheek to better find her. Ominis placed his forehead against hers and smiled. "Our own private place," he whispered. "Where I can finally have you all to myself."
He felt Sabrina grin under his touch. "You already have me."
"No, I mean where I can really have you to myself." Ominis' voice lowered as he moved closer to her. "I don't have to share you with anyone here. I can truly be yours, and you can truly be mine. We don't have to hide anything."
Under his touch, Ominis felt Sabrina's heart quicken. "I am yours, Ominis."
Merlin, the way she said his name made Ominis' own heart beat wildly against his chest. He leaned forward and captured the girls' lips against his own, determined to taste every inch of her that he could reach. He wanted to map her entire being so it was engraved in his memory forever, and she seemed just as eager to allow him.
She took a step back, and suddenly she was pressed against a wall. Ominis smiled at the sudden entrapment, but took advantage of this to deepen the kiss. One of his hands was still wrapped around her soft hair while the other one pulled her hips closer to his own. Sabrina opened her mouth, and Ominis' tongue delved in to taste her sweetness. The warmth in Ominis' chest fully engulfed him, moving down from his heart, through his arms to his fingers, and down lower into the pit of his stomach until–
"Oh hello, Miss Lewis!"
Instantly, Ominis broke the kiss and held his wand up, aiming at the direction of the voice. He was now on full high alert, and the warmth in his chest was gone as quickly as it came. "Who's there!"
"Oh, pardon me!" the high pitched voice said again.
Sabrina sighed deeply, obviously just as unhappy about the intrusion as Ominis was. "I'm sorry, Ominis," she said. "This is Deek. He's Professor Weasley's house-elf. He comes in here to check on the room and to clean it for me when I'm not around."
Ominis thought he recognized the voice. He had heard Deek around the castle with the other elves. He turned towards Sabrina, a horrible feeling coming over him. "He's not going to tell anyone about us?"
"Oh no!" the house-elf replied. "Deek won't tell anyone about who Miss Lewis brings into the Room. The Room is your place. Deek just comes in to check-in and make sure Miss Lewis is alright. Deek will leave you alone now, just call if you need Deek."
"I will, thank you Deek," Sabrina said. With a snap, Ominis heard as the house-elf left the room. Sabrina quickly attached herself back to Ominis' side. "You're so protective."
Ominis turned his face towards her as he wrapped an arm around her waist. "I meant what I said I'm not sharing."
"Good, because I don't want to share either."
The warmth in his chest returned. Oh, Ominis was going to love this place.
–
"Oh, c'mon Anne! How often do we turn seventeen?"
Anne walked up the stairs and rolled her eyes towards her brother. "And where are we going to get the money for a party at The Three Broomsticks?" she asked.
Sebastian ran to catch up. "Ominis has an allowance he never uses. Besides, didn't Solomon have some money he left behind?"
"That doesn't mean I'm sharing it with you," Anne snapped. "That money is for emergencies!"
Sebastian reached out and grabbed Anne's shoulders to make her stop walking. "Come on," he pleaded. "This is our seventeenth birthday. How often do we reach adulthood? Besides, we didn't do anything for our birthday last year."
Anne looked back at him, feeling herself begin to falter just looking at those sad puppy eyes that Sebastian was so good at giving. He was right, of course. Because Anne was sick last year, they hadn't done anything to celebrate them turning sixteen. Not like Solomon would have let us anyway, she thought bitterly at the memory of barely getting an acknowledgment from their uncle.
But now Anne was better. Sebastian wasn't going mad with dark magic, Ominis was no longer sulking and pushing them away, and Sabrina was finally beginning to open up again. Maybe it wouldn't hurt to have a little party....
"Can we talk more after the Quidditch game this weekend?" Anne asked. "I would like to sort of focus on one thing at a time."
Sebastian's eyes lit up, but he nodded in understanding.
It was the first official Quidditch game of the season on Saturday. Slytherin versus Gryffindor. The entire school was buzzing about it, especially since the game fell on the day after Halloween. Imelda had been running extra practice sessions in preparations, and had kept an especially close eye on Anne the entire time to make sure she wasn't crashing into walls again. As much as Anne hated it, she understood why everyone was being hesitant and extra cautious.
That didn't mean it would be a hard match. Anne had seen how Gryffindor practiced, and she could tell right away that Slytherin definitely had the better team.
She was just thankful she didn't have to face Ravenclaw so soon after their last match.
As if taunting her, the grating voice of Everett Clopton sounded from behind them as they headed towards Charms. "I just think she's really into me," he said to whoever he was talking to. "She keeps asking me for Quidditch tips and extra practice time, even wanting us to practice early in the morning before anyone else."
Anne didn't need to see Samantha Dale's face to know she had rolled her eyes. "Everett, you're the Quidditch captain. I think Aurelia asking you for Quidditch help has more to do with her determination to be a good seeker and a lot less to do with her being interested in dating you."
"Laugh all you want, but I know girls. She's interested. And let's be honest, who wouldn't be interested in her?"
I very hardly doubt that, Anne thought bitterly to herself. Although, that thought did bother her a bit as she walked into class. Everett had been known to be a smooth talker, and it was rumored around school that he certainly knew his way around a girls' body well enough. He had even grown more into his face and was looking more like a cocky man than the arrogant prick he was last year. But the thought of Aurelia being interested in Everett was almost laughable.
She looked up and saw the girl sitting at her normal desk. Aurelia's head was already buried in a book, and the seat next to her was looking pretty inviting. Anne watched as Everett walked past and headed straight for the empty chair.
Oh the fuck you are.
Anne wasn't sure what came over her, but an instant later she had bolted past the Ravenclaw boy and had her bottom firmly in the empty seat at Aurelia's desk. "Good morning," Anne told Aurelia, purposely ignoring the dumbfounded look on Everett's face.
Both Aurelia and Everett stared at Anne in disbelief. "Um, Sallow?" Everett said.
Finally, Anne looked up at him. "Oh, hi Clopton. I'm sorry, were you sitting here?"
"I was going to, yeah."
"Well, sorry about that. I'm sitting here today."
Aurelia was looking at Anne. Her face showed shock but her eyes seemed to hold a slight hint of relief. Everett's face was beginning to turn red. "That's my chair."
"I don't see your name on it."
Before Everett could say anything else, Aurelia stopped him. "Everett, it's fine. I'll catch you later, okay?"
Everett shot another annoyed look at Anne, but finally relented and sat next to Samantha Dale.
"Thank you," Aurelia whispered to Anne.
Anne smirked. "Your boyfriend getting on your nerve?"
"Oh, Merlin's beard, he is not my boyfriend," Aurelia sighed. "I have no idea where people get that insane idea from."
"You might want to bring that up with him." Anne found herself sighing softly. "I will admit though, I am glad to see the rumors aren't true. I was beginning to think you were lowering your standards."
Aurelia turned back towards Anne, her eyebrows raised. "What's that mean?"
Anne shrugged. "I just think you could do better than baby face Clopton."
"Oh?" This seemed to really pique Aurelia's interest. "And who would be better for me do you think?"
The Slytherin girl froze nervously. Her instincts were telling her to respond with a cheeky answer, but another part of her wanted to be honest. Perhaps I could be, she thought as her eyes met Aurelia's gorgeous blue eyes with hints of green. Aurelia was also watching her, waiting for her answer.
Instead, Anne cleared her throat. "Actually... I did have a motive for coming over here to annoy you."
She saw the deep sigh in Aurelia's face. She almost seemed disappointed. "Oh?"
"Sebastian and I are having a birthday party on the sixteenth of November. We're turning seventeen, so we want to make a big deal about it. I was hoping...." Anne swallowed. "I was hoping you might want to come."
Aurelia listened to her words before responding. "The fifteenth is the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff match."
Anne had forgotten. "Oh, right."
"So... it would be fun to celebrate your birthday and Ravenclaw's victory together."
Anne's heart skipped. She felt a flicker of hope ignite brightly in her chest. "That would be fun," she agreed.
Aurelia smiled at her, and Anne never thought she would ever have such a gorgeous smile directed at her. "I would love to go."
"Good morning class!" Professor Ronan announced as he walked into the classroom.
The action made Aurelia finally turn away from Anne, but Anne's eyes lingered a bit longer on the auburn haired Ravenclaw. She wasn't sure what exactly had just happened, or what had made her want to sit here, but she was thankful to whatever magic it was that led her to that decision.
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A/N: Comments are love! Thank you for reading!