Chapter 3
A tentative knock at the door interrupted them. Ominis’ eyes were turned down as he sat in silence, Amelia studying him from across the table. They had been sitting for a while since their argument, neither one of them ready to break the silence.
“One of us better respond, or they’re going to think you murdered me.” Amelia said, trying to make the situation more lighthearted before cringing at her choice of words. Luckily, Ominis seemed to ignore it.
“Yes? What is it?” Ominis called out, turning his face towards the door. The handle jiggled for a moment as if unsure, before opening to his assistant’s face peeking inside.
“Prosecutor Gaunt?” Oliver, Ominis’ assistant, cautiously called out, “Are you ready to continue?”
Ominis moved his gaze over in Amelia’s direction, listening to her breaths settle. The only thing that betrayed the fact that she was still in some form of distress were the casts of ancient magic he could feel in the air. He always found himself covered in goosebumps when she did that.
“One moment” Ominis called out to Oliver, listening for the shutting of the door before turning once again towards Amelia.
“Look, I’m sorry. I know it’s my fault we’re… this now.” Ominis started, feeling the burn of her eyes on him, “If you want, I can request to be taken off the case. My boss will be back tomorrow, or the next day... actually, I’m not entirely sure when he will be back but-”
“Ominis” Amelia interrupted, watching as his face went slightly red at the sound of his name from her lips, “You don’t need to ask to be taken off the case. I’m just…” She fiddled with her hair, trying to think of the right words to say, “I’m just going through a lot right now. Between being back in London and the trial, you weren’t something I had exactly counted on.”
She watched Ominis, thinking about how if it was four years ago, if she was twenty and freshly out of Auror training... If she was alone in London for the first time again and Ominis came back into her life, she would’ve jumped at the chance. She couldn’t erase him from her life. Every milestone she hit in her career; she wondered what he would think. His voice was always in her head, every mission, every second. Even when Amelia was hit with the Cruciatus curse in her last assignment, her first thought wasn’t the pain, it was how glad she was that Ominis didn’t have to listen to her screams this time.
“I can’t imagine how you’re feeling, seeing me after all this time,” Omnis cut into her thoughts, “But now that you’re here, I don’t want to just pretend that we were just schoolmates, and that’s it. You, me, and Sebastian, we were closer to family.”
“I know” Amelia replied, “But we’re not the same people we were back then. Merlin’s beard, you use a cane now! I thought I had a short fuse, but by the looks on your staff’s faces a few moments ago, your shouting didn’t seem that unordinary.” Ominis flushed again, knowing she was right. “In my mind, you’ve been frozen as the fresh faced seventeen-year-old, ready to take on the world with his friends by his side. Now, I just don’t know who you are anymore.”
“Then I’ll get rid of the cane… you can keep it even! Break it in half, if you so please.” Ominis found himself pleading. To be honest, he wasn’t sure if he was desperate to have Amelia back in his life, or just desperate not to be alone. All he could think about were all the close calls he had read from her jobs as an Auror. Hearing the most recent one in her own voice was the breaking point for his stoned heart.
“There’s a reason you’re sitting here, right now, with me, and I won’t forgive myself if I don’t get another chance. I messed up, I abandoned you, I know that” Ominis swallowed hard, “I can’t change the past, but I am not going to let you slip away again.”
“Ominis, I don’t know…” Amelia began, unsure of what to say.
“At least let me take you to dinner.” Ominis said firmly, trying not to let his desperation show in his voice. “You’ll be in London until the trial, correct? That’s at least a month from now, thirty days, you can choose any one of them. I’ll move everything aside for you, my treat.”
Amelia began to fiddle with the cane she still held on to on her side of the room, “Just give me some time to think about it. Between this case and the mandatory healing that I have to go through at St. Mungo’s… I still haven’t even checked into the Leaky Cauldron yet.” She had a standing appointment for the next two weeks every morning at St. Mungo’s to check the healing on her leg as well as the mandatory mind healing that was required for every Auror who came in contact with an Unforgivable curse in the field. It was a far cry from her Hit Wizard days when she was practically living out of their wards, but she still had a bed with her name on it, despite how much she avoided having to go.
Ominis found himself running his hands through his hair, “I understand, just… promise me that you’ll actually consider it.”
The knock sounded at the door again, startling both of them. This time, Ominis called out, “Come in.”
“Prosecutor Gaunt?” Oliver called out, slowly walking in. He found himself looking around at the room, trying unsuccessfully to hide his surprise that all the furniture was upright this time. Ominis had a frustrated look on his face as he messed with his hair, but Amelia shot him a wink across the room. Oliver let out a nervous cough before continuing, “Do you wish to proceed with the report?”
Ominis’ mind was anywhere except in the meeting room right now, but this was a welcome distraction. He grabbed the papers again to go over what still needed to be done for the day.
“Yes, we’ll press on. We’re nearly finished anyways.” He said as he began to cross reference with the scribe who also finally made their way back in.
After many minutes of confirming details and putting a request in for both Auror Chase’s accounts and the records from the Bulgarian Wizarding Council, Ominis found himself satisfied with the work that was completed today, despite the numerous outbursts. Outbursts which he had been the cause of.
“Does he lose his temper often?” Amelia’s voice broke her silence, turning to Oliver as he was organizing the paperwork. Ominis had immediately whipped his head in her direction, a glare painted on his face as his poor assistant looked like he wished the earth would swallow him up.
“Not... um... not usually in the presence of others,” Oliver managed to squeak out, trying his best not to look at his boss, “Prosecutor Gaunt rarely yells or displays anger like he… he did today.”
Amelia smirked, “I gather it’s rare then, or rather rare when someone shouts back?” Her demeanor was the opposite of Ominis', a playful, almost flirty grin painted on her face. Ominis found himself trying not to scowl at the question before he decided to answer for his assistant.
“It is quite rare when someone actually shouts back at me.” he said, keeping his voice steady as he tried to figure out what she was playing at.
Amelia chucked and turned to his assistant, “Well then, I feel like we ought to be better acquainted after you saw that nasty side of me. What’s your name?”
“Oliver, ma’am” Oliver blurted out, also unsure at where this was going.
“Well then, Oliver, can you tell me if Mr. Gaunt has any plans this Wednesday evening? Around... let’s say 6pm?” She asked, watching as Ominis’ face slowly lifted at the sound of her voice. Oliver, on the other hand, straightened quickly with surprise, his head whipping back and forth between Amelia, Ominis, fishing a small planner out of his coat.
“Well, Prosecutor Gaunt does have a late meeting around 5:30 with a representative from the Improper Use of Magic Office regarding another case he just closed. He also is set up to meet with Senior Prosecutor Miles shortly before he leaves for work at 7.” Oliver read off his boss’s itinerary from the worn black book in his hands.
“Cancel them,” Ominis said, startling Oliver.
“I beg your pardon sir?” Oliver questioned, shocked at how his boss, who regularly stayed until 10 o’clock most nights, suddenly asked him to cancel two work meetings without second thought. “These meetings are only two days out, and Senior Prosecutor Miles will want to go over the Carrow case with you as soon as possible.”
“I said cancel them,” Ominis repeated, trying not to sound as shocked at his own words as he was. He constantly moved his life around for work, and maybe for once, it was time for him to try and have a life outside of work. Especially if Amelia was asking for the reason, he hoped she was.
Oliver started wide eyed at his boss before turning back to face Amelia, “I stand corrected, Auror Howell. Mr. Gaunt is not scheduled to do anything this Wednesday night.”
“Pencil me in for dinner with Mr. Gaunt then? A non-cancellable affair, let’s say, around 7 o’clock?” She smiled, thinking of a small place she used to frequent, “How about Lenning’s Tavern?” she offered to Ominis, watching as a small smile appeared on his face, his pale eyes glazed forwards.
Ominis shook his head, “Make a reservation for two at The Ark in Hotel Rialto,” listening to his assistant quickly scratch out the other restaurant in favor of the one his boss named.
Oliver, diligently writing in his boss’s planner, felt like the conversation he was originally apart of was in another language. Here, Auror Howell, someone who just got out of a shouting match with his boss, had casually invited herself to dinner with him. On the other hand, his boss not only accepted, but cleared his schedule for her, requesting a reservation at one of the restaurants that Oliver couldn’t pay for dinner without clearing his Gringotts account for. His experience working with Ominis these past few months had shown him that he never had dinner outside the office unless it was for work, or one of the rare times his father requested his presence.
Oliver pinched the bridge of his nose as he made a mental list of everything he would need to do. Reschedule meetings, send an owl on Ominis Gaunt’s personal stationery to ensure a reservation in two days’ time, perhaps get his boss a new tie, basically anything Oliver might have to add to the endless list he was creating in his mind.
Ominis and Amelia stood up, leaning across the table to shake hands. The scribe began to leave, passing through the door into the main floor. It was still quite silent out there; the other workers were obviously trying to catch a whisp of the conversation.
As Ominis began to turn away, he leaned his hand back on the table and called out to Amelia, “Auror Howell? I do believe you still have something of mine.”
Amelia smiled, her voice turning cheeky, “I had nearly forgotten.” She picked up Ominis’ cane where it had been seated next to her for the majority of the meeting. Raising it in her above her head to study closely, Amelia put her hands on either end of the cane, placed her foot on the chair, and swiftly broke it in half over her knee. Oliver nearly fainted as Ominis just sighed at the noise of the wood splintering, remembering how he practically dared her to break it earlier.
“I always did like it better when you used your wand,” She said, “but if you so desire, I will have a new one for you by the time we go to court next month." Taking the two halves of the cane, she offered them to swaying Oliver. He was speechless as she turned to gather her luggage from the floor.
Ominis’ face didn’t seem angry. In fact, he seemed quite chuffed at what had just happened, to a shock to everyone but Amelia. While he did feel a bit annoyed at how dramatic Amelia had to be, he did agree with her about preferring his wand over the cane. Another emotion crawled into him, admiration. The cane had been a crutch given to him by his father. A loud and inconvenient reminder of what he lacked in sight. By breaking the cane, Amelia had broken the symbol of oppression that his father had forced on him. For the first time in a long time, he felt the cruel hand of his father loosen its hold over him.
As they left the meeting room, Amelia felt a small bit of pride watching Ominis stride out onto the floor towards his office.
It wasn’t just her imagination. With his wand, Ominis could sense where he was better than he could with his cane. There were a million reasons his father gave him to make him use the cane in the first place. From saying it looked more prestigious to walk with one, to claiming that a good wizard did not need to brandish out their wand like a child. The one that stood out though, was when his father said that holding his wand out like he did made it look like he was threatening the world around him. It was the first thing his father told him when he had their house elf deliver him the cane. Originally, Ominis had felt ashamed, figuring that it was how the rest of the wizarding world saw him, another Gaunt off to threaten them. Overtime though, he realized that it wasn’t the world that feared what he was going to do, but rather his father.
Ominis was his father’s youngest son, behind Marvolo and Myron. Marvolo was like his father’s prized show dog, foaming at the mouth for the chance that his leash was released and he could let his cruel tendencies flow. He was the son that his father had always wanted, savage and uncaring. His hatred for Muggles was prominent and he wasn’t shy to show his eagerness at cursing them when he wanted. Marvolo was practically excited when his father finally let his cast the Cruciatus curse against Ominis, his cackles still haunted Ominis’ nightmares.
Myron, on the other hand, was particularly apathetic about all of it. Six years older than Ominis, he took part in the family’s Muggle torturing, but never extended his own viciousness outside of that. Ominis grew up without him having much of a presence in his life, as Myron opted to spend the majority of his holidays at Hogwarts. Ominis remembered his first year at Hogwarts, his heart stopping in a panic when the Sorting Hat placed him in Slytherin, for he knew that they would be in the same house. Luckily, Myron did not spend much of his 7th year speaking with his younger brother. There was an exception one night, as Ominis penned another unanswered letter to his parents. Myron had walked away from his friends as they entered the common room. He went over to his 12-year-old brother. and simply plucked the quill from his tiny hands.
“Don’t bother, they don’t read them anyways,” he said, ignoring the tears that appeared in Ominis’ fragile eyes, “While you’re here, focus on gaining the respect of those who actually want to give it to you.”
While Ominis did not understand the meaning behind those words until he was older, he did find himself missing Myron’s presence when he went back the next year. Ominis followed in his brother’s footsteps by spending all his holidays from then on at Hogwarts as well.
From what Ominis recalled, Marvolo was following in their father’s footsteps, riding off the coin from his family name. His name as a philanthropist was mainly due to his father paying off those who Marvolo had either shamelessly cursed or attacked.
Myron worked for the Ministry, in the Department of Magical Games and Sports. Ominis rarely came across him, especially as their offices were separated by five floors, and Myron was constantly out of the office due to his duties assisting with the British and Irish Quidditch League.
There were a couple instances, though, where they interacted. Ominis could fondly recall one morning when they had arrived at the same time, riding the elevator in silence together with various other Ministry employees. Myron kept interrupting with muttered remarks under his breath of, “what an idiot,” coupled with the sound of a newspaper turning. Later that morning, Ominis returned to his office with Page 10 of the Daily Prophet lying across his desk. An article titled "Oldest Gaunt Son makes History with St. Mungo’s Donation,” was front and center, one that he had been trying to avoid reading. When Ominis began to reluctantly start it, he surprisingly came across some colorful annotations alongside the print such as, “10 Galleons Marv sent that chap there,” and “How will the illustrious Gaunt’s buy him a bride when they spent all their coin on coverups?”. The paper made him smile as he elected to keep the copy in the bottom drawer of his desk.
Other than that, their correspondence was limited to the sending of small gifts during holidays, birthdays, and promotions. Although, more than once, Ominis had found tickets to a particularly important Quidditch game on his desk, usually coupled with a note from ‘The Office of Myron Gaunt.” When he didn’t show up to the first few games, the next set came with a note reading, “If you don’t go, at least bribe your boss with them,” to the delight of Miles.
In return, Ominis made sure to have a rare vintage sent over to Myron’s office whenever the occasion called for it. Neither man knew how to speak to the other, it had been years since they had even been under the same roof. In fact, Myron’s last year at Hogwarts was the last time he lived in the same place as Ominis, opting to move out of the Gaunt manor as soon as possible. Nevertheless, he found this arrangement almost cordial.
Ominis walked, allowing himself to get lost in his own thoughts as his wand guided him. Behind him, Amelia found herself following through the hall. She took in the glances and whispers of the other workers on the floor, grinning shamelessly back at them.
“You know, you really didn’t have to break my cane like that…” Ominis said under his breath, so only she could hear him. He knew she liked to make a point, but it still was a bit dramatic for him.
“I’ve always been on the dramatic side,” Amelia replied, watching Ominis smile as he sensed the joking nature in her tone, “Besides, you do look more natural like this.”
Ominis couldn’t help but shake his head as let out a small laugh. Amelia never pretended not to be anything less than over the top when she felt like it.
“I’m not sure how everyone else will appreciate your little stunt though. They seemed to appreciate hearing me coming from a mile away,” He joked right back, turning the familiar corner to his office. Ominis reached out to open his door and held it open behind him as she followed him in.
Amelia tried to hide her disappointment as she looked around his office. “All this space and not a single personal touch…” Ominis scoffed at her words, placing the stack of documents back on his desk to organize later.
“My, my… how could I live in an office without some pleasing landscapes to look at?” He said, tilting his head as if he were thinking, “Oh yes, that’s right, because I’m blind?”
Amelia snorted with laughter as she walked over to the sitting area, “But still, you have this nice, large, corner office. The least you can do is have refreshments for your guests,” she responded as she dropped her duffle bag on the floor with a thud. Amelia ran her fingers down the side of the couch in an attempt to discover traces of dust or any sign of neglect with fail. With a disappointed sigh, she let herself fall into the couch.
Ominis walked over to the front of his desk and leaned against it, letting his long legs lazily cross, “For your information, I don’t find myself entertaining guests in my office often,” He said, a soft smile on his face as he heard her sigh into the his couch, “and if I recall, I didn’t exactly invite you back here with me.”
“Did you not want to ask me to come back here with you?” Amelia asked, patting the spot next to her on the couch loudly, hoping Ominis would get the hint.
“I just didn’t think you would want to join me,” he said, walking over to the couch and sitting next to her, placing his wand on the coffee table as he reclined back. “I wasn’t looking to push you to talk more than you were ready to.”
“I’m not prepared to talk about the past right now, that’s a headache for another time,” she said, studying the way that Ominis’ gaze stared forward, “but I don’t mind just being here. I’m a bit too tired to go over to the Leaky Cauldron just yet anyway.” She said with a yawn, letting her head fall on Ominis’ shoulder.
Amelia didn’t know what to say to Ominis, but as he relaxed under the weight of her head, she knew that she could let her guard down. As much as she wanted to tread carefully, keep her heart locked up again, she couldn’t. Ominis always had a place there, and it was a hole she wasn’t willing to fill. For the first time in as many years, Amelia let her guard down completely as the call of sleep took over her weary mind.