Chapter 1. Farewell to Old Friends
It was a small group who attended Ann Sallow’s funeral. Her home hamlet, Feldcroft, had never been particularly large, however its populous had moved further afield after the events surrounding her brother’s arrest. It appeared that after the loss of Solomon Sallow, the ex-auror, many thought the family to be cursed in more ways than one and after five years, it was only Ann who resided in the hamlet. Her closest friend, Ominis, insisted on doing all he could to watch over his adopted sister; so much so he moved in and became a permanent guest. Together, they lived a quiet and peaceful life until Ann took a turn for the worst and no number of healers could help. Ominis took on the role of carer to ensure her final days were comfortable, then fought tooth and nail to insist that she be buried alongside her parents in the family tomb near Milton Keynes. Not one of her old neighbours who she had supported during the rise of Ranrok’s rebellion, agreed to attend.
The weather had been overcast as they’d entered the church, as Ominis took to the podium, the clouds gathered outside ready to wash away mushc of December’s residual snow. Ominis looked out over the pitiful group who had attended. Ann deserved so much more than this, for all the pure kindness she had offered him throughout her short life, Ominis was frustrated he could not have celebrated her life with more of her old friends. Steadying both his nerves and sorrow, Ominis cleared his throat to address the gathered.
“As some of you here will know, Ann was a dear, dear friend of mine. We were both sorted into Slytherin house, alongside…” he hesitated, swallowing a bitter lump in his throat; “alongside her twin brother, Sebastian. All three of us together, were a trio unlike any other. We were the rebels without cause.”
Some delicate murmurs of agreement met these words, from a few of the mourners. Ominis gleaned confidence somewhat from knowing Professor Weasley sat close to the back of the room. While he couldn’t see her, she had assured him that she would be sat toward the rear of the hall, ready to walk by his side to the tomb. Matilda Weasley had her head bowed low, dabbing regularly at her eyes. Her dark, maroon witches hat obscured much of her face, but her flaming red hair poking out from under the rim relayed it was her.
“Toward Ranrok’s rise, Ann interrupted a gathering of goblins and dark wizards and was cursed, by Rookwood. To this day, we still do not know what that curse was, but it was enough to condemn Ann. Just one innocent child. So cruel. Since that day, Ann remained in Feldcroft, being cared for by her uncle Solomon, until his untimely death; receiving glimmers of hope from her brother, Sebastian; until his…” another pause. Ominis sighed, how much tragedy could one family experience in so short a space of time? “Until his arrest. From that day on, Ann and I remained closely tied. We lived together and very soon I discovered that while I had insisted on ensuring her the best comfort and care; she was providing so much more for me. Ann was a powerful, fierce, and devoted friend. I will never experience such a friendship as hers, in this lifetime at least…”
So saying, Ominis nodded to the priest, who began the sermon of final rights. Everyone bowed their head as the soprano who Ominis had hired, sang out Ann’s favourite poem from Dulcibella Philbert’s collection. Her voice filled the cold church hall with warmth. For all of a moment, Ominis felt his heart swell as he listened to the lyrics:
You are as dear to me as an Augurey,
Whose voice foretells the coming rain.
You are as loved by me as a Crup could be -
Whose loyalty is true and plain.
You have cast a spell over my heart,
I want it not undone;
You have charmed me from the very start.
You have always been the one.
As Ann’s coffin was lifted by the ushers and carried out of the church to the Sallow’s family tomb, the assembled group slowly rose to their feet, and each bowed their head as the coffin was carried by. One by one, each member shuffled behind the ushers, creating a serpentine like path toward Ann’s final resting place. Finally, after what seemed like an immeasurable amount of time for Ominis, the tomb’s doors closed on his dear friend.
The rain that the clouds had been threatening to release for some time, began to fall. With each drop of rainfall, it felt like each member of the congregation approached him to rest a hand on his shoulder, complimenting his arranged send off for Ann, before making their polite excuses to leave. Eventually, only Ominis and Professor Matilda Weasley remained, both with hands clasped in front of them, both heads bowed. After a short while, Professor Weasley raised her head, delicately dabbed her eyes with a pristine, lace handkerchief and turned to face this phenomenal young man.
Ominis, sensing Professor Weasley’s gaze, turned to face her in turn. Many found his foggy, blind eyes haunting and would flinch or bow their heads apologetically to avoid staring. Matilda however, simply smiled. What most perceived to be cold and unclear, were two of the brightest stars she’d ever seen in her Transfiguration classes.
“That was a most beautiful send-off Ominis. Ann would have been proud.” Matilda said softly, her voice croaky with restrained emotion.
Smiling weakly, Ominis nodded. “Thank you, professor. I do appreciate your taking the time to attend. I know with it being January, you are amid the Winter academic year, and must be so very busy right now. I only wish more could have made it. I know how loved Ann was by many of her class friends.”
Professor Weasley delicately shrugged; “even in the world of magic, where it is so prevalent, death is very much a taboo topic. Many who would have wanted to pay their respects would also like to remember Ann as she was, a beautiful soul, racing on her broom with her brother. Beating you and many of her peers at gobstones; and filling the room with her wonderous laughter.”
“But they will never see or hear that ever again professor!” Ominis sniffed, “they should have been here! Of all people, I would have thought Cassy…” At her name, Ominis shivered.
Cassy Weaver, the mysterious fifth year starter. Granted, Ominis had valued her friendship at Hogwarts after Sebastian had been arrested and sent to Azkaban prison. But it had been on her insistence that he, Ominis, highlight his closest friend’s crimes to the still current headmaster, Professor Black. To this day, Ominis still wondered if he had done the right thing by his closest friend, in listening to Cassy.
Professor Weasley cleared her throat, “I brought news from Cassy with me today, as we both thought you would be of this mindset. Please believe me Ominis, she wished to be here today b…”
“Then why wasn’t she?!” Ominis interrupted angrily.
Quickly recognising his temper was getting the better of him, he steadied his breathing. His wand, always hovering sentient close by his side settled down from sputtering angry sparks from its tip in response to his emotions and emitted a steady warm glow. “My sincere apologies professor. I confess, I have been under a lot of stress recently. Press members from the Daily Prophet have been hounding me for days leading up to Ann’s funeral. I cannot comprehend why they would be so relentless, they cared very little when she was cursed in the first place!”
Professor Weasley rested a friendly hand on Ominis’s shoulder, his mourning robes was soaked through; “how much of the Daily Prophet have you had the chance to divulge in dear?”
Ominis frowned, “forgive me again Professor. With Ann’s health deteriorating quicker than either one of us anticipated, the affairs of the wider wizarding world meant very little to our lives in Feldcroft. Ann even stopped responding to her post a fortnight before her passing, and refused to let me open anything that came through the door. Her final days were particularly hard, as you can imagine…”
The rain began to settle down, with a few rolls of thunder in the distance indicating the worst of the storm had now moved on. Clearing her throat delicately, Professor Weasley carefully picked her words.
“Then my dear, I fear I have some news that might come as somewhat of a shock for you. Perhaps it best we head back inside, I believe this news is best suited to private environments than open air conversation.”
Nodding cautiously, Ominis proffered his arm to Professor Weasley who, understanding the gesture, placed Her’s on his. Within less than a single breath, they had both apparated out of sight of the tomb, arriving in a flash inside the Sallow’s small house in Feldcroft. Quietly gesturing for Professor Weasley to seat herself at the rickety dining table, Ominis waved his wand and summoned two mugs from the cupboard. The teapot, resting on the side, filled itself with water, which it boiled independently, before carefully floating over to fill up each mug with a warm cup of tea. This was accompanied by a small pot of honey, which, after bobbing over to the table; proceeded to spoon a teaspoon of its content into each mug. The jar than hurried back to the kitchen to usher the bottle of milk in to providing its services. Professor Weasley admired the procession of it all. She had always been particularly fond of Ominis. He had been such a quietly passionate student, who was meticulous in his appearance and how he addressed and behaved around others.
At school, his dark blonde hair had always been neatly combed into position, not out of vanity, but pure pride. Considering his upbringing, Ominis rarely spoke ill of anyone he crossed and preferred his peers to review him of his own personal presentation and merits, rather than his family’s notorious magical status and wealth. Matilda recalled how he had been so introverted in his first year until his friendship with the Sallow twins brought him out of his shell and introduced a gentle yet dark sense of mischievousness to the Hogwarts faculty.
Holding her mug and breathing in the contents, she allowed Ominis time to hang up his sodden cloak, smooth back his hair; straighten his shirt and tie; before sitting down opposite his old favourite professor.
“Very well Professor,” he said, “what news could you not tell me before?”
Taking a sip of the warm, sweet tea to freshen herself up from the coldness outside, Professor Weasley focused her gaze on the young man in front of her.
“Ominis, it has been five years since Sebastian’s arrest for the murder of his uncle Solomon. During his time in Azkaban, Sebastian has shown nothing but pure remorse for his part played in all that occurred during his final days at Hogwarts. His grief is so that, I have been informed, that the Dementors are unable to feed from him. It would appear the positive memories he held so dear have been swarmed with pure grief and regret. So much so, Minister Spavin has not had the heart to inform Mr Sallow of his twin sister’s passing, to save him from spiralling beyond return.”
Ominis choked on his tea, spilling much of its contents down his front.
“You mean to say Professor, that Sebastian is unaware of Ann’s passing?!” he choked.
Matilda bowed her head sorrowfully, “indeed, I do Ominis. Furthermore, Minister Spavin has issued a decree that in the exceptional circumstances of Mr Sallow’s case, that he is to be released in the next month. If that weren’t enough, he has assigned his auror team to remain vigilant around him, we have no idea how Sebastian will react to normal life outside of the horrendous confines of Azkaban.” She paused.
Ominis was staring at her. He was pale as a sheet and wide eyed at the revelations just presented to him. His cup had been halfway to his lips when she’d relayed the news of Sebastian’s release and he had simply frozen.
Some time passed. The grandfather clock situated behind the curtained off bedroom, tolled the hour of six. The sound of the tuneful chime brought Ominis out of his trance and he lowered his mug to the table.
He swallowed several times before weakly venturing, “he will be sent here, I presume?”
Matilda nodded, “yes, he is to be returned to his old homestead. The people of Feldcroft were informed that a new movement was being instated to introduce a herd of endangered Graphorns nearby, in the hopes that it would encourage some of the residents to relocate. Only Ann, was informed of the truth. She received a visit from Minister Spavin himself, 2 weeks ago while you were out with Cassy in Hogsmeade. According to a trusted source, Ann was quite insistent that he be returned to his home in Feldcroft. As much as she still harboured some reservations, we believe that she deeply missed her brother and it was, as she declared ‘a parting gift’ that he be home in time to see her, before she passed. Sadly, the administrative team at the ministry took longer than anticipated in processing the decree and so, he will return home, but Ann will not be here to greet him. He is also to be provided with a new wand…”
Ominis, who had taken that moment to believe it safe to take a sip of tea to calm his nerves, once again choked on its contents, dropping everything as he jumped up from the table; his wand sparked violently; “a new wand! But Professor… We all know how emotionally unstable Sebastian became in his pursuit to cure Ann. We know, how far into the dark arts he went and what he was capable and willing to do to obtain a cure. He cast Crucio on Cassy! He used Imperius on a Goblin loyalist! He killed his own uncle! By yours and the minister’s own admittance, he has been in a state of desperation at Azkaban, and now he is to be presented with a new wand?! Really, this is too much!”
Ominis began to pace the room. He loosened his tie and ran his fingers through his hair. Altogether the scene was quite destressing for both professor and ex-student. Matilda stood up and gently placed her hand on Ominis’s shoulders.
She guided him back to his seat while softly whispering, “I know, I know…” With a wave of her wand, she had cleared away the spilled tea and had conjured a blanket, which she wrapped around Ominis’s shoulders;
“we knew this would come as a shock for you, dear…”
Ominis looked up, his foggy eyes now pink in colour as tears quietly slipped down his cheeks. So many emotions were working their way through him; a mix of grief, anger, frustration and (although he would not admit it out loud) a mix of fear and joy to be reunited with his dear friend – who he had condemned to five years in the cruellest of environments;
“you and Minister Spavin have been in close contact, Professor” he quietly observed.
Matilda smiled pleasantly, “Ominis, you misunderstand. I have learned all this from Cassy. She is too close a contact to serve as Sebastian’s custodian, instead she has been assigned to review Sebastian’s progress from a distance. She was deeply saddened to be unable to attend Ann’s funeral today, however she was following orders directly from the Minister to keep her distance and to make it seem as though she has distanced herself from you and Ann. She has been sworn to secrecy, however she insisted that you be informed as she fears that Minister Spavin is showing his years and is not completely firing from all cylinders. Furthermore, someone leaked the news of Sebastian’s release to the press, which would explain why members of the Daily Prophet are pestering you. Suffice it to say, you will be under Cassy’s protection, regardless of whether you opt to stay here or relocate. She will also be observing Sebastian without his knowledge. We do not know how he will respond to his sister’s passing, nor do we know how he will respond to both you and Cassy, as you both played such key roles in his final days at Hogwarts, those few years ago.”
Ominis nodded slowly. Wrapping the blanket tightly around his shoulders, he cautiously asked;
“what is the exact date of Sebastian’s release?”
Professor Weasley opened her mouth to respond but was interrupted by an urgent knock at the door, making them both jump violently out of their seats. Ominis’s eyes were wide with apprehension, and he was rooted to the spot. Keeping a tight hold of her wand, Matilda approached the door, as another set of urgent knocks rained down on the timber panels. This time however, a familiar voice followed;
“Ominis? Professor Weasley? It’s Cassy! Are either of you in?”
