Author's note: Sorry for the late update! You guys are in for a treat since I added Ominis POV and will be adding more of his perspective in future chapters/stories since it was fun to write. Enjoy! :)
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"Wait. You mean the chess pieces move across the board on their own!?!"
Andromeda sat up from leaning across the accent table and pressed her back into the cushion behind her due to sitting on the floor. Her gaze landed on Ominis, who was lounging on the sofa right next to her and fiddling with a chess piece. Andromeda found it this morning while she and Ominis were going through her father's trunk. She noticed his immediate interest in it and insisted he should have it. He told her it wasn't necessary but finally gave in after she claimed to have little interest in chess.
Ominis nodded and softly chuckled. "Darling, I'm honestly surprised that you were not aware of this. There are so many chess boards throughout Hogwarts! How did you not notice it?"
"I thought my mind was playing tricks on me due to lack of sleep."
"Well, each chess board in the wizarding world is enchanted so that chess pieces move just by the player's command. The pieces will hit each other once captured and disappear from the board until the game comes to an end."
"Oh." Andromeda tilted her head to the side and asked, "Do you enjoy wizards chess?"
"I quite like it. I have been playing for as long as I can remember. It's one of the few hobbies I could participate in that doesn't require vision, unlike riding a broom."
"How did you learn how to play?"
Ominis spun the chess piece around in his hand. "At first, I memorized the board and how each chess piece would move across it. I did this by holding each chess piece in my hand to differentiate them from each other. Then, I learned about all the different strategies used to get to checkmate. It became a bit easier once I got my wand since it helps to alert me where each chess piece moves across the board."
"I'm absolutely rubbish at chess."
"I'll teach you once we get back to Hogwarts. I'm certain that you just need some practice and fortunately for you, I'm a great teacher."
Andromeda snorted to herself and returned her attention back to her book. She thought about questioning his hobbies further when Ominis changed the subject by saying, "I've noticed that your mother leaves for a few days at a time. Does she do that quite often for her line of work?"
Her mother had to leave this morning for a few days to travel to a village to do monthly checkups on some newborns along with attending to a mother who was past her due date. It wasn't uncommon for her to be gone for a day or two, which meant Andromeda was left on her own to take care of herself.
"My father would look after me when I was younger, but after he passed, I would go with her if she planned to be gone for a few days. Sometimes I would help out, but usually, I was in another room with a book until Mum was done. Or if the birth was going to be longer than expected I would explore the village. Maybe that's why she agreed for you to stay with us for the summer, that way she didn't feel guilty leaving me by my lonesome."
Andromeda felt Ominis threading his fingers through her hair as she glanced over to see him giving her a small smile. She was curious if his parents ever had to do some sort of work due to their pureblood status in the wizarding world. Maybe now was her opportunity to finally get some answers to the questions that had been brewing in her mind.
She has told herself to be patient, but it was starting to wear thin.
"Do...What do your parents do for a living?"
His hand went stiff while he slowly drew back his grasp from the ends of her hair. The smile she grew to love had instantly morphed into a grimace with his eyes growing cold.
"My mother has never lifted a goddamn finger in her life. As for my father, all he does is look after his money in the vaults of Gringotts."
Andromeda remembered hearing this tone of voice at the beach when she asked if he had ever been to his father's estate in the highlands. It meant he didn't want to go further with this discussion and at this point, she would normally move on to another topic of conversation.
But a little voice inside of her gave her the confidence to carry on.
"Alright. So...was it your father that taught you chess?"
"No."
"Was it your brothers? You never told me how many you have! What are their names?"
"Andromeda." Ominis narrowed his eyes and lowered his voice to a growl as if it were a warning for her to stop. "Drop. It."
Andromeda didn't even flinch. She knew exactly what he was doing, trying to utilize his scare tactics that were becoming predictable. Anyone else would succumb to their fear of facing his wrath, but she was not going to back down.
Ominis may be a Gaunt, but Andromeda was also a Black.
She had enough of playing nice.
"Do they know about me? About us?"
Ominis quickly sat up and rubbed a hand down his face. "Andromeda. I'm asking you to stop."
"Well, I will have to politely decline!" Andromeda sprung to her feet and began to pace behind the accent table, stomping across the floor. "You don't get to do this! You can't shut down every time I ask about your family! It's not fair!"
"Andromeda." His voice was filled with anger. "We are not talking about this. And that's final."
She came to a halt and shook her head. "No! We are going to talk about this because I want to kno-"
Ominis shot up with his hands clenched at his sides and yelled, "WE'RE NOT GOING TO TALK ABOUT THIS. I DEMAND YOU TO STOP. NOW."
Andromeda swore the air was sucked right out of the room, her heart was pounding against her chest. Ominis has never acted like this before, but then again, they never had an argument escalate this quickly.
"Why do you want me to stop, Ominis? You should at least give me the courtesy to know the reasoning behind all of this."
She stared at him until he finally gave her an answer.
"I don't want your pity."
As soon as those words came out of his mouth, a whirlwind of emotions came as a blow to her chest.
There was anger, sadness, fear, and frustration.
But not pity.
Andromeda bent down to grab her book and slammed it against the table, the burst of sound causing Ominis to jump. She tried to hold back the tears that were building up behind her eyes, but at this point, she didn't care. He needed to know that she was beyond upset and would make her matters known.
Her voice cracked when she finally broke the silence.
"Do you truly believe that? Is that what you do to convince yourself when I ask about your childhood or your family? That I pity you? Has it ever occurred to you that I'm asking because I simply want to get to know you better?!? I'm trying to get a sense of who you are as a person, but I'm finding it to be nearly impossible when you keep pushing me away!"
Ominis was running his hands through his hair but still refused to acknowledge any of her questions. He wouldn't even turn his head in her direction, which meant he wasn't able to keep himself composed and was doing this on purpose.
This only fueled Andromeda to continue onward.
"I bear my soul to you, Ominis! I told you things about myself that I will never reveal to anyone else. For Merlin's sake, I brought you into my home with my mother, who's a muggle! Do you want to know why I did that? It's because I trust you! Because I love you! And yet each time I ask a single question about anything related to your family, you just bring your walls back up that I have worked so hard to knock down and get scrutinized for asking!"
Andromeda let out a shaky breath and rubbed her eyes with the back of her hands. She needed space and to get out of here, to clear her mind while time to sort out all of these emotions that were whirling all around in her head.
She turned around on the edge of her heel and marched to the back door. Part of her hoped that Ominis would plead for her to wait but she wasn't surprised that he didn't have any intention of following her out the door. She grabbed the doorknob and pushed it open with such force that she almost took the hinges off the door frame.
Andromeda looked back at Ominis for one last time. He appeared to be defeated with a hand over his closed eyes and each breath causing him to quiver. If she wasn't feeling such anger and resentment towards him, she would have run back and held onto him in her arms. She wanted to tell him that it was going to be okay and to provide him some form of comfort.
But...
This was painful to her as well.
"Ominis, if you want this relationship to work, you're going to have to let me in at some point. That decision is on you...not me."
Andromeda flung the door shut behind her as she made her way across the back garden. She had no idea where she was going, but her legs took her down a path without hesitation. Once she was out of sight from the cottage, her face finally crumbled, and allowed herself to let out a sob with tears streaking down her cheeks.
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"Urgh!"
Andromeda whipped a stone out across the pond, staring as it skidded across the water and finally sank to the bottom. She found herself at the very same pond where she learned how to swim as a child. The same pond that she planned on teaching Ominis how to swim if he ever agreed to her idea.
That seemed highly unlikely now.
She picked up another stone and threw it with all her strength. After coming here and channeling her frustrations with a few stones, she was finally able to calm down and come to terms with what exactly happened between her and Ominis.
Andromeda had a feeling that Ominis didn't want to relive memories from his past due to stirring up old emotions. Those emotions have been locked up and set aside so deep within himself. The hurt and the pain that he had to go through at such a young age. For how long now? Was it better to avoid everything about your past at all costs? To simply pretend it never happened?
She went too far, bombarding him with all of her questions at once. But then again, Ominis has always encouraged her to speak her mind. It was no wonder she was at her breaking point after revealing events from her past that she had never mentioned to anyone while he was tossing her bread crumbs.
But still, she didn't mean to hurt him. It has been so long since she lost her temper like that.
Andromeda lifted her chin up to the sky, noticing clouds starting to form. She closed her eyes and made her plea to the heavens.
"I just wish Ominis would let me take some of his pain away. I want to relieve him of his burdens. I want him to know that he doesn't have to do all of this alone."
The wind blew through Andromeda's hair, tickling the skin on the back of her neck. After a few minutes, she sighed and stalked over to a nearby tree. With her back pressed against it, she slid down until she was sat on the ground. "Bollocks. I really made a mess of things, didn't I?"
She drew her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around her legs.
How on earth was she going to fix this?
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Ominis groaned as his head hit back on the sofa, his hand dragging down his face. The feeling of dread and guilt completely washed over him like a tidal wave. This day has been an utter disaster, and it was all his fault.
Why did he push her away? Why did those god-awful words stumble straight from his mouth?
Andromeda didn't do anything wrong. A rational person would have answered her questions without hesitation. No, he had to act like an absolute fool, lash out at her and shut down. A defense mechanism that he grew to depend on for what seems like forever. It was his own way of protecting himself for he feared what people truly thought of him once they found out about the atrocious acts made by his family. It took over a year for him to finally confess to Sebastian and Anne about what happened behind the doors of the Gaunt Manor.
It wasn't uncommon for him to be met with pity. He was grateful that he wasn't able to see the look of horror on each individual's face; even Sebastian and Anne were almost speechless to learn about the cruel punishments that his parents implemented if anyone were to disobey them. He believed that it was easier to keep everyone at a distance and would rather be feared than allow someone to get too close to him.
That is until Andromeda came out of nowhere to change his life forever.
Ominis leaned forward while pinching the inner corners of his eyes, his head hanging low. She was the first person to see right through his meaningless threats after he found her strolling out of his Undercroft. He was beyond angry with Sebastian, but little did he know it was a blessing in disguise.
Andromeda was the one to find him on her own accord after she overheard his argument with Sebastian in the Great Hall. She was the one who protected him in the scriptorium from forcing him to cast the same curse that his family used to torment him. She was the one who stood by him as they tried to stop Sebastian from losing himself by using the Dark Arts and risked her life in order to do so.
For Merlin's sake, she even punched Leander after he tried to tell her that he must be using some sort of dark magic in order for them to be together.
Andromeda didn't break down his walls.
No.
She completely annihilated them.
Ominis shook his head and sighed. Gods. He was an absolute arse to Andromeda. A shot of pain spread across his chest when he heard her crying outside of the cottage. It hurt so bad that he almost ran after her and begged for her forgiveness.
Andromeda accepted who he was, even after he told her how he was forced to cast the Cruciatus curse against his will. She didn't care that he was a Gaunt or that he was a direct descendant of Salazar Slytherin.
He can't lose her after he just found her.
He needed to let Andromeda in, even if it scared the living shit out of him.
The sound of rain pummeling against the roof lured Ominis away from his thoughts. He furrowed his brow as he swiveled his head towards the clock across the room and pointed his wand right at it. He was surprised by the time.
Andromeda has been gone for hours.
How long has he been brooding on this goddamn sofa?
Suddenly, a crack of thunder came crashing down in the distance and almost shook the cottage. Ominis flew from his seat and scrambled over to a window. He recognized a shift in pressure in the air, indicating a storm was coming.
His heart dropped into the pit of his stomach. Andromeda. Where was she? She should be back by now.
What if...?
He was quickly filled with the feeling of dread. The same exact feeling he felt when Sebastian came back from the catacomb without Andromeda.
His grip on his wand tightened as he closed his eyes and cleared his mind to focus on finding one person.
Andromeda.
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CRACK.
Andromeda gasped as her head shot up, the rumble of thunder awakening her from her slumber. How long has she been out here? Did she truly doze off? She stood and peered up at the sky to only be met with heavy drops of rain. Dark clouds loomed overhead with flashes of lightning followed by cracks of thunder.
"Shit!"
She took off running down the path to make her way back to the cottage. In a matter of seconds, she was drenched from the pouring rain with her blouse sticking to her skin. A burst of wind blew her off the edge of the path, causing her to slow down her steps to regain her balance. It was nearly impossible to see where she was going with the wind blowing the rain right into her eyes.
CRACK.
Andromeda whipped her head around, the ground underneath her shook from that crack of lighting. That was too close. She needed to get back home and hopefully in one piece.
The wind seemed to pick up with intensity, making it difficult for her to quicken her pace. She tried to stay focused on the path ahead of her, but the rain was piercing through her eyes, causing them to constantly burn.
CRACK.
Andromeda shrieked in terror. That crack of lighting was a bit too close for comfort.
Suddenly, she lost her footing as the tip of her boot got caught on the edge of a tree root and plummeted to the ground, falling face-first into a puddle of mud. Andromeda spiraled into a coughing fit, trying to catch her breath after having a mouth full of sludge. She brushed her hand across her lips to get rid of the taste and tried scrambling back to her feet when a bolt of lightning struck a tree lining the path, causing it to split in half.
Andromeda was paralyzed with fear as half of the tree came plunging down right towards her. Everything was happening so fast that all she could do was cover her head with her hands and brace for whatever was to come.
THUMP.
Andromeda screamed out in agony.
She was pinned to the ground with half of the tree landing on top of her lower left leg. Her ankle was throbbing in pain each time she tried to push away from the tree. It refused to budge. She padded the pockets of her skirt in search of her wand but came up empty.
"BOLLOCKS."
Andromeda pounded her fist against the ground in frustration. Of course, she forgot her bloody wand back home. And she was stuck. In the middle of the woods. Alone.
Her whole body shivered as the wind blew right through her soaked clothing. She lowered her head in defeat and broke down in tears.
Was this how it was supposed to be? Was she really going to succumb to her death by a fallen tree? For goodness sake, she survived her first year at Hogwarts being hunted down by goblins, ashwinders, and poachers but it was Mother Nature that was out for vengeance.
Would it be hypothermia? Getting struck by lighting? Lack of blood flow to her leg? Starvation? Maybe it will rain hard enough that she will float out to sea.
It was useless to cry for help. No one could hear her over the roaring wind. Who would be insane enough to be out in the weather like this?
"ANDROMEDA!"
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Ominis cried out her name in pure desperation with the storm continuing to wreak havoc above his head. He swore he heard her screams somewhere in the distance and came to a halt to refocus his attention on his wand.
He couldn't explain it. When he first got his wand before coming to Hogwarts, he used it as an aide to guide him through his surroundings and to make sense of the world. For once, he did not have to depend on anyone else and it gave him a taste of freedom. It was almost like his wand allowed his magic to communicate with him without the use of words.
His wand also prevented him from getting lost, which was more than useful with the endless corridors and hidden alcoves at Hogwarts, but he wasn't able to use it to find his friends or professors in the castle or nearby grounds. He had to rely on learning everyone's routine or habits to know where they were; then he could simply think where to go, and his wand would guide him to the right place.
But Ominis noticed a change when he first went searching for Andromeda after she fled from the Undercroft. He was lucky enough that Imelda told him that she saw Andromeda heading towards the lake, but he had doubts that he would actually be capable of finding her. Not only was the lake massive in size, but she could have been at any dock. Initially, he was discouraged from finding her until he realized each time he thought of Andromeda that his magic seemed to be pulling him right to her.
It was like his magic was drawn to her own.
And it kept occurring over and over again. As they became closer, Ominis began to get a strong inkling when she was in some form of distress. His hand would have a slight tingling sensation, and initially, he thought something was wrong with his wand. But it happened each time Andromeda needed his help. It was how he was able to find her in the Undercroft casting exploding spells after her argument with Sebastian and when she was unconscious outside of the catacomb.
The only way it made sense to him was that somehow her magic was sending out a signal, and he was the only one that was able to read it.
Ominis pushed his hair back and closed his eyes. If there was any chance of finding Andromeda in this god-forsaken storm, he needed to clear his mind. He began to imagine her laughter and how it made his heart fill with so much love, the scent of lavender that always seemed to follow her, the sound of her voice while reading from her book, but most of all, how her lips curved into a smile each time he came in for a kiss.
A bundle of energy tickled his hand when he heard his name.
"OMINIS?"
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Andromeda held her breath in anticipation. She thought her mind was playing tricks on her after the sound of her name echoed through the trees. How on earth could Ominis be out here? But there was this feeling that she could not get rid of that he was trying to find her.
A certain memory flashed before her eyes.
"I will always come back to you. Not even hell on earth will stop me."
She couldn't give up hope. If anyone could find her, it was Ominis.
"OMINIS!"
"ANDROMEDA!"
His voice. It was close. Andromeda searched for any sign of him despite barely being able to see through the rain.
All of a sudden, Ominis came flying out of the darkness and appeared right in front of her, completely drenched from the storm.
"Andromeda!" Ominis fell to his knees and cradled her face in his hands. "Oh, thank the Gods...What happened!?! Are you hurt?"
Andromeda felt she could finally breathe for the first time. "It's my leg! It's pinned down from this fallen tree. I can't move, and I don't have my wand and-"
"It's okay." Ominis combed some of her hair away from her face and lowered his voice. "It's going to be okay. I promise. Just..." He inhaled slowly and leaned against her forehead. "I'm just glad I found you. I'll think of a way to get you out and get us home. Just...give me a moment."
Andromeda gave him a nod and watched Ominis as he withdrew himself to inspect the tree. He crept around it carefully with his wand out in front of him and his other hand dragging across the wooden surface. After a couple of minutes, he came back to her and asked, "If I cast Levioso, do you think you will be able to crawl away in time?"
"I think so."
"I'll cast it on the count of three then."
Ominis aimed his wand at the tree and began to count down. Right when he said, "Levioso!" Andromeda felt a relief of pressure off of her leg and pulled herself free. She sat up only to be met by Ominis as he collapsed to the ground and gathered her into his arms, shielding her from the merciless storm. He buried his nose into the top of her head and let out a long sigh of relief. She circled her arms around his waist and hid her face in his chest.
It was going to be okay. Ominis kept his promise that he made to her back in the catacomb. Nothing will stop him from finding her.
Ominis bent his head towards her ear to whisper, "We need to go, my love. Can you walk?"
Andromeda tried to stand up with help from Ominis, but her ankle gave out as soon as she put any weight on it, and cried out in pain. Ominis caught her before she fell over and lowered her to the ground. He then turned around and ordered, "Climb on my back."
She stared at him with some confusion. "Excuse me?"
"I'm going to have to carry you since it's quite obvious that you are in no state to be walking. I'm not familiar with this area so I need my wand to guide me. And I will not be taking no for an answer."
Andromeda let out a small huff but relented to his request. For once she was grateful that she still had her stockings on when she hiked up her skirt to make it easier for Ominis to hook his arms underneath her legs. He gradually stood up after she linked her arms around his shoulders and took a few steps forward.
"Ominis, are you sure about this?"
"Let's just focus on getting home."
Andromeda bit her lip to keep herself quiet and pressed her chin into his shoulder. She decided to hold off on protesting and that it was best to let it go. Silence settled between them as they made their journey back home.