Risk // Sebastian Sallow

Chapter 32: Gaunt

"What do you want me to tell him? 'Oh, hi Ominis, I know you hate me using dark magic, but I've found two ancient artefacts and now I need you to hand over five thousand galleons to give to some goblin for a shady deal!' because I don't think that will go down well!" Sebastian said, his voice way louder than normal.

"I don't know, Sebastian. If he knew this could save Anne, you don't think he'd agree?" I replied.

"No, I don't. I don't even agree! I had something right there in my hands that could have saved her in the catacombs and look how he reacted then."

"Sebastian, you summoned an entire army of inf-"

"I know what I did!" He barked, cutting me off abruptly.

I pursed my lips and dropped the grip on his hand I had. He peered down at me and sighed softly.

"I'm sorry, Olive. I'm just frustrated, I don't know how to feel about this and I'm worried if we get Ominis involved... we could get into trouble. Again. I can't risk either of us being sent away."

"What's the worst that can happen? We haven't done anything wrong, maybe just broke into a tomb but neither of us has touched dark magic at all."

"I put a curse on that mandrake."

"It doesn't need to be dark to be a curse... he won't know."

Sebastian mumbled something under his breath and tipped his head back and pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration, "My head hurts."

"I'm sorry, Sebastian. Maybe I should never had tried this again, I didn't think it would be like this."

"No, I'm glad you did. If there's a chance it could work... then I'm happy. I'm just worried about what it's going to cost us."

"Sebastian," I said softly, placing a hand on his arm, "I know you're worried about involving Ominis, but we can't let fear control our decisions. This might be Anne's last chance, and if using the wand is the key to saving her, then I will make it happen."

He glanced at me before he finally nodded, albeit reluctantly. "You're right, Olive. I just... I've just come to terms with losing her and having hope again... it's scary."

"I understand, Sebastian. We'll be careful, we'll plan this out, and we'll make sure Ominis understands the urgency of the situation. Maybe there's a way to present it to him without revealing all the details... maybe I'll talk to Ominis. It doesn't have to come from you. I'll explain it well."

Sebastian's tense posture seemed to relax just a little as he took in my words. "You talking to Ominis might actually be a better idea. He's always had a soft spot for you. Maybe you can make him see the importance of this without making it sound too risky."

So we had a plan. We would approach Ominis, explain the situation, and with a bit of luck, secure the funds we needed for Deagol.

And just our luck, when we returned to the common room, the person we were looking for was sat by a window. It was late. Curfew had come into effect while Sebastian and I were having an existential crisis on our walk back and we were forced to use our disillusionment charms since we were ill-prepared and didn't expect to be back that late.

"Ominis? It's late. Why are you up?" Sebastian said, surprised.

"I wanted to know where you both went. I heard a rumour you both went to the Hogs Head. You know that place is dangerous, why would you take a pretty young woman into that place, Sebastian!"

Ominis' stern voice caught us off guard, especially because we thought we were being discreet. "We... we were just discussing something," Sebastian stammered, trying to come up with a reasonable explanation.