Chapter Text
Chapter 1: The Scriptorium, Part 1
Everly Barber did not truly know what to think of Sebastian Sallow.
He was a strange character, to say the least.
He just truly felt bad for the boy’s sister. What the two of them went through, going to Feldcroft and seeing how his uncle had given up all hope of ever finding a cure for the boy’s sister. It was a lot to take in. And he knew it hurt his friend.
Everly found himself smiling as he walked down to the dungeons of the castle.
He wondered just what had triggered inside of his mind that made Sebastian his friend. Sure, he had been in Hogwarts for about a month or so now, and the two of them have never really hung out save for their time in the Undercroft and the whole secret passage fiasco. But the two of them have been cordial over the last month, so he thought that counted for something.
Especially with the fact that Sebastian had lied for him when they were in the library. He definitely did not expect the other boy to do that. So the Slytherin inside of him tells him he owes the boy. At least for that.
Everly trudged down the steps to the front of the Slytherin dorms, already seeing Sebastian standing in front of the non-existent door. The brown haired boy had his arms crossed, currently looking for something, or at least, someone. And when his brown eyes landed in Everly’s green ones, the brown haired boy smiled.
“Everly Barber.” He said with a smile. “Thought you wouldn’t show.” The boy looked him up and down, eyeing his uniform, which was currently in disarray. “You look like shit.”
Everly rolled his eyes. “I was just with Sirona Ryan. I had to travel all the way to the Upper Hogsfield to retrieve some letters from her friends.”
Sebastian’s eyes widened. “You traveled all the way to Upper Hogsfield? For some letters? What even possessed you to do that?”
Everly gave the other boy a sheepish look. “Because she asked me to…?”
Sebastian rolled his eyes. He scoffed. “You know, you’re starting to get a reputation of being everyone’s errand boy. The entire school sees you running around left and right, doing everything for everyone.”
“Well, I’m new here. And there’s just so much to see.” Everly slowly smiled. “And I don’t do everything for free. I do charge for my services every now and then…”
Sebastian slowly smiled. “Now you’re talking Slytherin. I like it.”
“But I received your owl.” He then says. “What happened with Ominis?”
Sebastian sighed, shaking his head.
“I told him none of us will be able to avoid Dark Magic forever. So the more we know about Salazar Slytherin and the Dark Arts, the better prepared we’ll be.” He knew Sebastian took note of the way his eyes narrowed at the mention of Dark Magic, but he ignored him and kept speaking. “Unfortunately, only a Gaunt knows the location of the scriptorium entrance, and Ominis won’t tell me.”
The black haired boy hummed to himself. “Perhaps I should have a chat with Ominis.”
“You?” The brunet asked skeptically, looking him up and down. “Do you not remember the last time the two of you spoke? He essentially got all pissy because I showed you the undercroft.”
“Yeah. He threatened me.” Everly nodded his head. “But… I don’t think he really meant it. I just think he wanted me to keep the undercroft a secret. Which I will.”
“I know you'll hold your tongue. You’re good at keeping your lips tied. Especially with all that’s going on with your unique…” Sebastian looked around to see if anyone was watching. “ Talents.” He finished, looking back at him with those brown eyes. “And he shouldn’t have threatened you.”
“Well, he’s been civil since that time. At least, when he’s with you.” The fellow Slytherin still didn’t look convinced. “But I can at least try…”
Sebastian scratched his neck. “I suppose it’s worth a try, but don’t get your hopes up. Ominis is annoyingly stubborn. Nothing new.” Sebastian licked his lips. “I know where he is. I’ll lead you to him. Come on.”
And with that, Sebastian turned into one of the corridors adjacent to their common room, and Everly soon followed.
The two of them slowly walked through the fire lit halls of the Slytherin Dungeons. When Everly was first sorted into their house, he was quite intimidated by how dark it was down here. But soon, over the past month, he found it to be home. Especially when he was in the common room, studying with his books, watching the mermaids swim by.
As the two of them walked, Sebastian turned back to look at him.
“Keep an eye out. Never know who’s watching.” He chuckled. “Although that hasn’t stopped us before.”
Everly slowly smiled. “Strictly speaking, it has. We were caught.”
Sebastian growled. “Damned poltergeist.” He spat. “Such a nuisance.”
Everly hummed. “Is there no way we can banish him or something? Send him to where he belongs. If you understand what I am saying.”
“Banish him to hell?” Sebastian smiled as they walked shoulder to shoulder. “That, my friend, requires Dark Magic. Which is the main reason he still roams through our halls.”
“Well, it is something we shall soon acquire.” Everly shrugged.
“That I have no doubt.” He nodded. “There he is.”
The two of them stopped walking.
Everly took note of the blonde boy in the corner of the corridor, walking back and forth. He had a worried look in those eyes of his. And it was obvious that something was bothering him. Though, the black haired boy already knew what it was.
He turned to Sebastian.
“I’ll go speak with him.” He said. Though it was obvious he did not want to. But it had to be done.
“Good luck.” Sebastian says. “I’ll be over here. In the corner. Where he can’t see me.”
Sebastian then moved around one of the many columns in the corridor they were in, suddenly looking fearful. Everly raised an eyebrow.
“He’s blind you know.” Everly crossed his arms.
“He can see!” He hissed in a hushed tone. “Now go over there! Get him to open the damned door. Wherever the hell that is.”
The black haired boy rolled his eyes before he made his way over to the blonde.
As he got closer, he took note of how the boy was mumbling to himself. He really could not make out all the words, but he knew he heard Sebastian’s name in there somewhere. Along with ‘dark arts’ and ‘fucking idiot.’ Which one one of the truest statements that the blonde could have ever uttered from his mouth about his long term friend.
But as Everly stood a few feet away from the other boy, Ominis stopped pacing and looked right in Everly’s direction.
“What are you doing here?”
The way that Ominis said ‘you’ was definitely intimidating, but it did not sound all too bad. So there was hope.
“Hello. Ominis. Do you have a moment?” He politely asked. “And please do not say you do not. As I have seen you pace this corner over the last five minutes.”
The blonde’s cheeks slightly reddened, but he did not argue with him about that last statement.
“What is it?” He asked. “What have you and Sebastian been up to now?”
“How do you know this has anything to do with Sebastian?” The Slytherin put a hand to his hip. “Perhaps I just wanted to talk to you.”
“Ever since you’ve arrived here, knowledge is the only thing you seek.” Ominis told him. “Everything you do comes with a price. Even I know that.”
He sighed. “Please, Ominis. I confided in you before about what happened with the Undercroft.” He tried to explain. “I know we truly never really spoke about it again after that night. Sebastian simply wanted me to have a safe place to practice some spells - to try and catch up to the other fifth-years. He didn’t think you’d mind.”
Everly hoped that was enough for the blonde.
Ominis let out a long sigh.
“I thought as such. It makes the most sense. Sebastian has told me that he would not have told you if he didn’t trust you.” Ominis shook his head.
“I know that place is sacred. To the both of you. And I am aware you truly do not know me. But I swear on my magic I would never tell a soul. Except. You know. If lives were in danger.” He added. “Lives I care about, anyway…”
Ominis slowly smiled. “I suppose that is an appropriate answer.”
“So… are we good with that? With the Undercroft?” He asked.
“I suppose…” Ominis nodded. “As long as you do not tell a soul.”
“I promise.” Everly said for the millionth time. He took note of how the corners of Ominis’s mouth twitched upward, but he did not say anything. “But… Why are you here? Talking to yourself in a corner?”
The blonde shook his head. “I suppose I look mad, do I not?” Everly found himself nodding his head, but he immediately stopped. Catching himself. “Sebastian’s been pestering me lately about something and I’m frustrated with him.”
Everly knew just what the boy was talking about, but he had to play it off like he was unaware of what was happening.
“Don’t tell me he's still going on about - what was it - a ‘scriptorium?” He knew the name. He just had to make it sound like he did not.
“He told you about that?” His voice echoed through the dungeon’s corridor.
“He did.” He nodded. “We were talking about Hogwarts founders and he mentioned it. Wouldn’t say much more, though.”
“Yes, well. He seems to think it contains the answer to saving Anne. I think it’s likely full of Dark Magic that is better left untouched.”
Everly’s mind halted. “Wait, you’ve never been inside?
“Of course not!” The boy scoffed. “I only know about it because my favorite aunt - Noctua. She thought like I do. Didn’t agree with the family on the use of Dark Magic.”
That was when Everly thought of the story Sebastian had told him. On how Ominis had to use Dark Magic on muggles even though he did not want to. Everly knew he was not a knight in shining armor, he already had plenty of bodies in his bank, but he could never truly hurt someone who did not deserve it. So he understood why the blonde was so against Dark Arts.
Ominis continued.
“In fact, Noctua hoped to convince my family that there was more to Salazar Slytherin than worshiping pure-blood status.” Ominis had a pained look on his face, and Everly wanted it to go away. “She’d heard of this ‘scriptorium’ and thought its contents might shed some light on him. She even found the secret entrance - in this very corridor.”
“ Here ?” The black haired boy began to look around the hall in disbelief.
Ominis let out a sour laugh. “Yes.” He continued, "She wrote regularly to my father about her efforts to gain access. And then she simply vanished. No one else ever tried to enter.”
Everly licked his lips.
“I’m sorry about your aunt. Truly.” He paused. “But… don’t you want to find out what happened to her?”
“Aunt Noctua went down this path with good intentions and lost her life. I don’t want the same to happen again.” The blonde shook his head. “Especially not to the people I care about.”
“You don’t know that history will repeat itself. Besides, you said your aunt thought like you. And if that is true, then she surely had a head on her shoulders.” Ominis’s mouth twitched again, and Everly fully smiled. “If we do this, it could honor her memory. Get your answers about Slytherin. About what happened to her. And Sebasian could get answers for Anne.” He took a step forward. Ominis’s head jerked towards him. “And you don’t have to do this alone. We could do it together.”
Ominis didn’t say anything for a little while.
“And what do you get?”
“Pardon?” He asked.
“I will do it for my aunt. Sebastian will do it for Anne.” He stated. “But who will you do it for? Answer honestly and I will show you how to get there.”
He was so close. He just had to think of an answer to satisfy his fellow Slytherin.
“Honestly? I’ve been roaming this castle for weeks now. Finding different nooks and crannies no one had seen for who knows how many years. It’s like no one ever looks for them. And when Sebastian and you tell me of a place where Salazar Slytherin could have dwelled, it feels like another place to journey into.” Ominis slowly nodded his head. But he was not done. “But if this fixes whatever is going on between you two, then that’s a bonus. I don’t like seeing my friends fight.”
Ominis nodded his head. “Friends, huh?”
Everly smiled. He just wished the boy could see it. “Yes.”
“You are a true adventure at heart, Everly Barber. I can respect that.” Ominis slowly nodded, and he knew he convinced him. “I confess. You’ve convinced me. I did not think it was possible.” He let out a laugh. “Very well, I shall tell you what I know. Fetch Sebastian from behind that column. I’ll wait.”
Everly’s eyes widened at that. “You knew he was behind there. How?”
And it was the first time in the entire conversation that Ominis smiled. “I don't always need my wand to see. Now hurry, before I change my mind. I hope I- we don’t regret this…”
“Of course.”
Everly took a few steps from the blonde, turning the other way of the corridor.
“Sebastian! Over here.”
The blonde’s head peaked out from the column, looking unsure. All Everly truly had to do was nod his head at the boy, signaling it was okay to come out. The brunette licked his lips, and jogged over to the two of them. Ominis had an unimpressed look on his face.
“He knew you were there.”
Sebastian scoffed, looking towards his friend. “Of course he did.”
“Let’s not dwell on it.” The black haired boy rolled his eyes. He turned to the blonde. “Ominis. Where is the door?”
The blonde simply huffed. He took a few steps forward, and gestured towards the braziers that were scattered throughout the corridor. Barber took note of them. They were tall, about two and a half times his height or so. They were designed like most things in the Slytherin dungeon: made out of stone and seemed cold in design. Everly liked it though.
He felt Ominis stand next to him as he looked up towards the brazier.
“These brazier’s grant access to the scriptorium.” The blonde explained. “Opening the entrance has something to do with threes.”
He felt Sebastian on his other shoulder. The brown haired boy looked at his friend in disbelief.
“Now, you’ll share?” The boy scoffed. “You wouldn’t tell me when I practically begged!”
“It wasn’t you who told me what I needed to hear.” Ominis raised his chin. “And besides,” He gently nudged Everly. “Perhaps my new friend here asked nicer than you did.”
“I can be nice!” Sebastian pouted.
Everly raised a single eyebrow. “I’ve yet to see it.”
The brown haired boy’s jaw slowly dropped. “I could have ratted you out in the library. But I didn’t! That was me being nice .”
“Don’t believe him, Everly. He always has some ulterior motive.” Ominis said with a smile.
“I’ve noticed.” He laughed.
Sebastian’s eyes slowly squinted. “This… thing ,” He gestured to both of them. “The two of you have going on right now - I don’t like it.” He turned to the blonde. “Now, can you continue with what you were saying about the braziers. Let’s just hurry up and get in the damned place.”
Ominis hummed. “Like I said before: opening the entrance has something to do with threes.”
Sebastian slowly smiled. “Well, three heads are better than one…”
Ominis raised a single eyebrow. “It’s two heads are better than one.”
“But by that logic, darling, three is better than two.” He gave the blonde a smug smile, which Everly knew Ominis felt. “Simple mathematics, Ominis.”
The blonde clicked his teeth.
Everly left his friends to bicker, and went on to the other braziers.
From what he could conclude, the three of them were identical. At least, from first sight. But if there was anything he had learned while being here, it was solving puzzles. He could not even think of the amount of Merlin Trials he has already done, and still has to do.
But they were braziers. And there were three of them. So, with all the puzzles he had done over the last month, something clicked in his mind right then.
Everly pulled his wand out and pointed it at one of the braziers. “Confringo!”
Magic burst through his wand, and the top of the brazier went aflame.
He then did it to the other two, ignoring how Ominis and Sebastian were still bickering about how the phrase went. It was not until Everly uttered another, “ Confringo!” right between the both of them, and the blazer in front of the two lit with fire.
The two of them jumped back from the brazier, looking at Everly in shock. Well, it was mostly Sebastian giving him an annoyed look, and Ominis scrunching his eyebrows in confusion.
“Aye!” Sebastian hissed. “Careful with that. Taught you a new spell and now you’re out here shooting it all over the place.”
Everly shrugged. “I-”
He then heard mechanisms moving from behind him, along with stone grinding against stone. The black haired boy fully turned his body, and discovered that setting the braziers on fire indeed opened the path to the scriptorium. A door that was seemingly engraved in the wall behind them slowly slid open, revealing what seemed to be a stairwell leading down.
Sebastian’s eyes widened, while Ominis simply gulped.
Everly was quite shocked at the stairwell, considering that he did not think that Hogwarts could go any lower. He just always assumed that the Slytherin dungeons were the lowest the school went. But, this was Salazar Slytherin’s, so he assumed this was part of the dungeon as well.
He felt the two boys on both of his shoulders. The three of them stared down at the steps.
“I hope we’re ready for this…” Ominis licked his lips.
“We’ll be fine.” Sebastian slowly smiled at his friend. “You can hold my hand if you like.”
Ominis scoffed. “Don’t be ridiculous!”
“Let’s just go.” Everly sighed. “Lumos.” The tip of his wand illuminated with light. He took a step forward. “And if it is any consolation, I have two hands. You both can take one if you’d like.”
-000-
As the three young men traveled down the steps of the stairwell, Everly could not help but the sense of dread that formed in his stomach.
Which was a new feeling. He has been through so much already. With him discovering that he was a wizard. And not only that, but discovering that he has an ability only a few before him have ever held. And not only that, but there was a whole list of people who either wanted him dead, or wanted to abuse his power. So there’s that.
But as he traveled deep into the dungeon, dread kept rolling around in his stomach. But, even with all the places he has traveled, he felt safer knowing that Sebastian and Ominis were right behind him.
Speaking of which.
He looked towards both of his friends. Sebastian had an apprehensive look on his face. He understood why, as this dungeon was not as homey as their dormitory. And Ominis looked like he was going to vomit. Though he was sure that the boy did not even see what was going on around him.
Everly licked his lips and turned back around.
Once they made it to the bottom of the steps, he looked around.
There wasn’t anything much at the moment. Save for a small room and a door at the otherside of it. He just wished there were torches on the wall so he could light them, giving some warm light, but alas, there was nothing of the sort.
But, he took note of a parchment that was sitting on an engravement in the wall. The black haired wizard stepped towards it, picking it up. He read its contents.
“Ominis…” He breathed, turning towards the blonde. “I found a journal entry. Signed by Noctua Gaunt.”
Sebastian’s jaw dropped. “Gaunt?” He turned towards the blonde as well. “Ominis! Your family was here!”
Ominis nodded his head. “I know. She was my aunt.”
“You knew ? That she came down here?” The brunet asked, clearly shocked. “And didn’t tell me?”
Everly gently folded the parchment and slid it in his pocket. “To be fair, he only told me moments ago.”
Sebastian looked hurt. Everly rolled his eyes.
“Ominis…” He stepped towards the blonde. “The Journal mentions many challenges ahead.”
Ominis shook his head, looking down. “That’s why I said this could be dangerous. Aunt Noctua kept my father informed until she vanished.”
He felt for Ominis. He truly did. But, they had a scriptorium to get to.
Everly found himself looking towards the floor, at a pile of rocks. His eyes then gleamed over to the wall, and he quickly realized that those rocks indeed were part of some bigger picture. The reason they came off was probably because of the time they had been down here. Or maybe someone destroyed them. Who knows.
But, luckily, The black haired boy knew how to repair such a thing.
“Reparo!”
The rubble of the rocks formed, and the three of them took pictures. Well, he and Sebastian did.
“The rubble formed the relief of a person facing a snake…” Sebastian said, looking up at the figure critically.
“That must be the voice I hear.” Ominis shook his head, fiddling with his wand. “The voice is ancient.” His voice was that of a whisper. “Sinister…”
Everly stepped towards the boy. Closer than usual.
“You hear a voice?” He asked him.
“It started when you just repaired that relief. I hear a whisper, saying ‘speak to me.’” Ominis shook his head. “I’m a Parselmouth.”
“A parselmouth?” Everly asked, confused. “Just what is that, exactly?”
“It means I can hear and speak to snakes. Nearly all known Parselmouths descended from Salazar Slytherin.”
“That’s…” He started. “Quite amazing, actually. I wish I could speak to snakes.”
Well, he could do a lot of other things. Like wielding ancient magic none had ever seen for over hundreds of years. But talking to snakes seemed cool too.
“You might not want the ability to speak Parseltongue. It’s often associated with Dark Wizards.” Everly wanted to tell the boy that he did not fear Dark Wizards, but he did not want to set the blonde off. “I haven’t spoken it in ages. But I wager if I speak it now, the door will open.” Ominis licked his lips. “I hope you're having second thoughts.”
“I am. Second and third thoughts.” He enjoyed the small smile on Ominis’s face. “But I see no reason for us to stop now.”
“It’s ironic. When I left home, I vowed to leave the Dark Arts behind. And yet, here I am.” The blonde stood straighter. “Stand back.”
The black haired wizard nodded his head, standing next to Sebastian. The two boys watched the blonde in front of them, waiting for him to do whatever it was he was going to do. Ominis had an unsure look on his face, but he soon began to speak his tongue.
“I can’t believe I’m doing this…” He sighed. “ Husssssssaa .”
Ominis’s voice echoed through the chamber. Everly felt chills dance through his spine at the way the other boy’s tongue hissed.
But soon, the snakes that were engraved on the door in front of them began to move, with their eyes turning green. The two snakes circled the symbol at the top of the door, which was circular, and stopped right when their faces touched. The circular symbol fully turned, and the door opened.
“It worked!” Everly smiled. Unconsciously, he took a few steps forward, putting a hand on the other boy’s shoulder. “Ominis, you possess a rare ability indeed. I am truly jealous.”
But through the darkness, he could have sworn he noticed the blonde’s cheeks slightly reddened.
“I-It is nothing, really.” The blonde cleared his throat.
Sebastian took a step forward. The brown haired boy put both hands to his hips. “Huh.” He said, looking up towards the door. “You now, between the two of you, I’m starting to get jealous.”
Sebastian looked back down at him, smiling. But that smile soon vanished when he realized the somber warning in Everly’s striking green eyes.
“‘Between the two of us…?’” Ominis turned to the direction of Sebastian’s voice. Before he turned back to Everly.
The black haired boy sighed. “I shall tell you later, Ominis.” The blonde looked like he was going to say more, but he closed his mouth.
Everly did not want to say more, as that would give away his own natural talents. So, he simply casted Lumos once more and led the way forward, stepping into another corridor. Sebastian and Ominis slowly followed behind him.
But the only problem was that there was no clear way forward. As the three of them were now greeted with more corridors. The only problem that they had was that the corridors went in all different kinds of directions, and some of them had barred gates in front of them. If only they could apparate through them.
And unluckily for them, the door behind them closed.
Everly turned, eyeing the now closed door. He sighed.
“Well, we can’t go back that way.”
Ominis suddenly looked panicked. “Are you saying we’re trapped?!”
“No.” Everly shook his head. “I’ve been in, like, three different crips this past week. There’s always another way out. Trust me.” He looked between the two of them. “I’ll go look around. You two keep a lookout. Perhaps I can find a way to open some of these gates.”
Sebastian crossed both of his arms. “There’s no clear way forward, though…”
“Like a maze.” Ominis added. “Salazar Slytherin most likely wanted this to be difficult to solve.”
Everly simply hummed, looking at one of the closed gates.
The gate itself was made out of iron, and the bars seemed weak. So, he tried to cast Depulso on it, but the gate did not budge. He had a feeling it was not going to work, but he could at least try it. But the strange thing about the door were the two symbols on it. The symbols themselves were nothing he had ever seen before, but he knew they had to be important somehow.
He left his friends in front of the gate as the two of them searched for any way to get through, and Everly walked down the hall to try and find something else.
But lo and behold, there was another gate that was slightly opened ajar.
“Should be able to slip through without a problem…”
So he ducked down, making his way inside of the room.
The room itself was not all that large, and luckily, there was a small torch that he immediately lit with Incendio , revealing some kind of snaked lock near the torch.
Everly eyed the thing curiously.
It did not seem too large. It was engraved into the wall, with a small snake sitting on top of what appeared to be two circular dials. The snake appeared to be asleep, it was glowing a deep green that reminded him of the Slytherin common room. But he had never seen anything like this in the dorms or in the dungeon, so he wondered if this was something Salazar Slytherin did on his own.
Everly bent down to take a closer look at the dials, eyeing it curiously. The dials appeared to have symbols he had never seen before. And he wondered if this was something Salazar Slytherin made up, or if this was some kind of ancient language.
But wait, he knew some of those symbols. His eyes narrowed. Yes. Those were the symbols on the gate where Sebastian and Ominis were.
He gently reached forward, and the snake sprung to life. Everly jumped back at that.
The snake was now looking at him with wide green eyes, with his mouth open, tongue flapping out. Though he was sure the snake was made out of stone, it looked as alive as ever. But the strange part about it was the snake looked… excited. Almost as if it was waiting for something.
Everly licked his lips and looked back towards the dial, trying to move it so that both symbols matched how they looked at the gate.
But soon, the snake began to move in a circle, and quite fast mind you. Everly’s heart began to race, and he wondered just what was going to happen when it reached a full circle.
But right before he was able to match the symbols together, the snake jumped from the podium, striking him right on the cheek. The snake bit hard on his cheek, and Everly jumped back in pain, letting out a yelp.
It hurt. He was used to getting shot at by spells and magic and such, but this hurt. Once the snake let go, he grasped at his cheek, feeling the blood falling down his cheek. He kept hissing to himself, removing his hand from his cheek, noticing the blood.
He just hoped that the snake wasn’t poisonous.
Everly grunted. Looking back down towards the dial. He quickly moved the last symbol in place, and he could hear the door open from down the corridor.
“There.” he said finally. The snake did not go back down, it simply stood in place, eyeing the wizard. “You’re not very nice. I’ll remember this.”
The snake didn’t even bother to back at him.
But before left the room, something caught his eye.
Another piece of parchment was sitting on one of the rocks in the corner of the room, and he immediately moved to pick it up. He read the contents of the letter, noticing how it was the same handwriting of Ominis’s aunt.
“This journal entry…” He said to himself. “It mentions getting lost and being unwelcome…” He shook his head. “Well, this was Salazar Slytherin, after all. If you were not a pure-blooded wizard, he thought you didn’t have the right to exist.”
Everly left the room he was in, and jogged back to his friends. The door that they were standing in front of was now opened, with the iron bars hanging from the top of the door. He approached the two other boys.
“There’s a strange lock of sorts. Like a riddle. When I matched the two symbols, it opened the door.”
Sebastian nodded. “There are a few more scattered around here. Was about to do the same thing myself, but, uh…” The brown haired boy coughed. “You got to it first. Nice work.”
Sebastian turned to look at him, smiling. But the boy’s smile immediately dropped when he looked at the boy’s face.
“By Merlin…!” Sebastian took a step towards him. “You’re hurt.”
Ominis’s eyes widened and turned into the direction of their voices.
The black haired boy scrunched his eyes at the blonde. But when he noticed that the brunet’s brown eyes were focused on his cheek, that’s when he remembered. He had just gotten bitten by a snake.
“Oh. Right.” Everly nodded. “The good thing is you didn’t hit that dial. The snake bites if you take too long.”
The fellow Slytherin took a few steps forward, to the point where they were about a foot away from one another. Sebastian had a pained look on his face, as if he was the one who had gotten struck. His brown eyes brows were furrowed, and his eyes twinkled in the darkness.
Sebastian slowly lifted his hand up, but paused mid air.
“I…” He suddenly looked unsure.
“Oh! Uh…” Everly smiled sheepishly. “You can touch it. It won’t hurt.”
Sebastian slowly nodded his head.
The brown haired boy lifted his hand up and gently placed his hand at the side of his head, caressing his cheek with his thumb.
The dungeon was cold. Colder than most places he had ever been to. It reminded him of the cold of the dormitories, only instead of it feeling welcoming, it was bleak and distasteful. But as Sebastian's hand rested on the side of his face, it felt like literal fire to his face. It was almost as if the boy had casted Confringo to his hands.
And he liked the way that Sebastian kept rubbing his thumb over his wound. It did not hurt. He has been through worse. Even before he had found out he was a wizard. But the touch was nice.
Sebastian leaned in slightly, taking in the wound with his eyes. He had a concentrated look in those beautiful brown eyes of his. As if he was trying to figure out a way to make it disappear.
Sebastian slowly applied pressure to his thumb, almost as if to see if he would flinch. But Everly Barber was tougher than that.
He smiled at the boy. “See? Totally fine.”
“Hmm.” Sebastian looked up at him. His eyes slowly widened. And Everly was sure it was because he just realized how close their faces were.
So there was a pause. A moment where the two of them were looking at each other. With their green and brown eyes glistening in the darkness.
“Is it bad?”
The two of them jumped back from one another.
The two Slytherins looked back at Ominis, who was looking in their direction.
There was a brief moment of silence, with Sebastian looking at him. It was obvious that the brunet wanted to say something, but he shook his head.
“He has a scratch.” The brunet answered. The blonde suddenly looked worried. “We’ll heal it when we get out of here.”
“A scratch?” Ominis took a step forward. “We don’t know if these things are poisonous! How could you be foolish enough to even get bit by one of those things? Don’t you know how to cast Protego ? I-”
“Ominis.” Everly passed the brunet and placed a hand at the blonde’s shoulder. The Slytherin stopped talking. “I’m fine. Like I said, just a scratch. And if it's poisonous, it must be slow. Because I’m still here standing.” Ominis still didn’t look convinced. “Let’s just keep going, huh?”
The blonde pouted. Everly found it endearing.
“I just…” He slowly started. “I am not fond of the idea of you getting hurt. The both of you.”
Everly smiled. “We’re going to be fine, Ominis. Let’s go.”
Ominis sighed. “All right…” Everly smiled. “But…”
The black haired boy tilted his head. “What?”
“Earlier… you said…” The boy cleared his throat. “I can make my way around here just fine, with me not having sight, but… I could perhaps guide myself better if you…
Everly looked down at the boy, confused.
What the hell did he say earlier? The three of them had said a lot to one another since then. From getting Ominis to tell them how to get down here, from finding out the boy had a rare ability to speak with snakes. So what did he say earlier that the other boy was referring to? It had something to do with Ominis being blind, but what-
Then it clicked in his mind.
The black haired boy felt his body heat up at the thought, but he chose to ignore it.
With his non-dominant hand, he slowly reached for Ominis’s, which was curled up in a ball. Ominis’s eyes slowly widened at that, but he slowly released the fist, sliding his tan fingers into the boy’s pale ones.
Ominis’s hands were… cold. But a nice cold. The cold that was their dormitories. Everly’s hands always ran a little hot, so connecting their hands was like fire to ice.
Everly cleared his throat. “Better?”
Ominis licked his lips. “I-yes. I can see my way slightly better now. Thank you.”
“I’ll try not to let go. Come on.”