Revelations & Ruin
Ominis slowly regained consciousness, his senses returning one by one. He blinked, but the familiar darkness greeted him; the brief gift of sight granted by the entity was gone. The heavy silence of the Hospital Wing pressed down on him, the air thick with an unsettling stillness. He could feel the weight of someone lying on his arm, their soft breaths warm against his skin. Tentatively, he reached out, his fingers brushing against her face, tracing the contours he knew so well.
“Theowen?” he whispered, his voice a fragile mix of relief and worry. His fingers lingered on her cheek, feeling the faint warmth of her skin. The chaotic visions that had assaulted his mind were still fresh, their disturbing images seared into his memory, but the reality of her presence grounded him in the here and now.
She stirred slightly at his touch, her breathing deep and even. He let out a shaky breath, the tension of the past hours slowly seeping out of him. Her eyes fluttered open, adjusting to the dimly lit Hospital Wing. Ominis's clouded gaze remained fixed on her, his heart a turbulent sea of emotions—relief, confusion, and a lingering dread of what was to come. The last thing she remembered was being in Rackham’s tower, then a sudden, searing pain as she was attacked from behind.
“Ominis?” she rasped, her voice weak and strained as though she hadn’t used it in days. She felt disoriented, her body heavy and sluggish, as if the weight of the world had settled onto her.
Ominis's grip on her hand tightened, his voice low but laced with urgency. He gently brushed wet strands of hair from her face, his breath hitching with relief. “Thank Merlin… How do you feel?”
She slowly sat up, though her body was propped up by him. Her eyes darted around, taking in the sterile surroundings. “The Hospital Wing?” she murmured in confusion. Turning to Ominis, she asked, “How did I get here?”
His lips pressed together in apprehension, the question stirring memories he was hesitant to share. “Theowen, do you really not remember what happened?”
She furrowed her brows, struggling to piece together the fragments of her memory. All she recalled was the agonizing pain from the attack and then strange, disjointed flashes of a life she hadn’t lived—yet. Ominis sensed her turmoil and, with a trembling hand, he cupped her cheek. She sighed softly at the coolness of his touch against her fevered skin.
“I know everything, Theowen.”
Her heart dropped, eyes widening at his words. The weight of his revelation hit her like a tidal wave. “I’m s-sorry?” she stammered, her voice barely a whisper.
“Your past, or should I say your ‘future’? I apologize; it’s still hard for me to comprehend,” he said, his tone heavy with the burden of what he had witnessed.
Theowen recoiled from his touch, blinking rapidly as if trying to wake herself from a nightmare. “H-how? W-what? Who showed you?” Panic surged through her, her mind racing to grasp the enormity of her secret being exposed. Who could have known?
Ominis took a steadying breath, his expression a blend of concern and resolve. “I don’t fully understand it myself, but it was like I was pulled into a series of visions. They showed me everything—your past, your future. The entity that possessed you… it- they showed me.”
“Entity…?” Theowen repeated, her voice barely above a whisper, laced with confusion. The term was foreign, yet it resonated with a gnawing fear deep within her. Memories of a corrupt presence gnawing at the edges of her mind surfaced—the malevolent force she had inadvertently absorbed from Isadora’s Repository. Dread settled like a stone in her stomach as she realized the entity had gained sentience and was now manipulating the one person she trusted most.
She jerked away, her heart pounding. “W-what did they want with you? J-just why…?”
Ominis sensed her fear and approached her with caution, aware of the delicate state she was in. “Theowen, calm yourself. I don’t know _exactly_ what they wanted, but I believe they intended to use what they showed me against you. But I promise, I’m here to help you, not them.”
Theowen’s breathing grew ragged, her mind a whirlpool of fear and confusion. “Why would they do this now? Why you?”
Ominis’s voice was calm but insistent. “Because they know how much I mean to you. They thought they could use that to their advantage. But I won’t let them. We’ll face this together. You don’t have to go through this alone.”
She hesitated, tears brimming in her eyes. Slowly, she nodded, allowing Ominis to take her trembling hand. He pulled her into a reassuring embrace, his arms encircling her with a protective warmth. “Breathe. _You know_ I would never hurt you,” he whispered, his hand gently stroking her hair. Her breathing began to slow as she buried her face in his shoulder, inhaling the comforting scent of him. The safety of his arms felt too good, almost dreamlike. The fear that this moment could be snatched away again gnawed at her, a constant undercurrent of terror.
She clung to him, her fingers twisting into the fabric of his shirt, holding on as if her life depended on it. Hot tears spilled over, a dam breaking as all the emotions she had kept tightly sealed away surged forth.
Ominis’s frown deepened as he felt the full weight of her anguish, the burden she had carried alone. He knew the horrors he had seen in the visions needed to be addressed, but now was not the time. Right now, she needed his comfort, his presence.
“It’s alright,” he murmured, his voice a soothing balm against the torrent of her sobs.
Her tears turned into wretched, heart-wrenching cries, and Ominis held her through it all, his hand never faltering as he smoothed her hair in silence. He waited, patient and steady, as the storm of her emotions gradually subsided. She was still shivering slightly, her body drained from the release, but he knew she had needed to let it out. He then gently guided them both onto the warm bed, moving them away from the cold stone floor. They sat in silence, the only sound the distant howling of the Scottish winds battering against the windows of the Hospital Wing.
Finally, Theowen broke the quiet, her voice barely more than a whisper. “How much did you see?”
Ominis hesitated, his brows knitting together as he weighed his words. He felt like he had intruded on the most private corners of her soul. “Just the important parts.”
She inhaled sharply, her body tense. “So…you know what happened to Sebastian… and Anne?” Her voice wavered as she spoke Anne’s name, the memory of her fate in that other timeline a sharp pang in her chest.
Ominis nodded slowly, the images still haunting his mind. “I saw… enough.”
Theowen’s eyes filled with fresh tears, but she forced herself to meet his gaze. “Do you blame me?”
Ominis turned towards her, his expression softening with sorrow. “I need time to process this, Theowen. I… I’m struggling to accept that vision as reality. Could it still be reality when I know the events that led up to it never happened?”
She bit her lip, nodding slightly. “I know how confusing it must feel… It is a reality for me, but it doesn’t have to be for you… I _will_ cure Anne, and I _will_ not let Sebastian fall into the Dark Arts.”
He reached for her hand, his grip firm yet tender. “Be honest with me, Theowen.” The tension in the air thickened, her breath catching in her throat as she awaited his question. “If I had never died, would you still have come back to save both Anne and Sebastian?”
Her eyes widened, her thoughts racing as she tried to find the truth in her heart. “I… I,” she hesitated, her voice faltering. “I don’t know…” Before he could speak, she continued, her grip tightening on his hand. “But I do know now that I’ll do anything in my power to save them. And you.”
“Even at the cost of your own life?” Ominis’s voice was sharp, cutting through her resolve. She flinched at the intensity of his tone, the disapproval evident in his words. Nodding hesitantly, she felt a pang of guilt.
His lips pressed into a thin line, frustration clear in his voice. “You don’t remember, do you? How you became unconscious in the first place?” She shook her head, her voice failing her.
He sighed heavily, the memories of her ordeal flooding back. “I saw glimpses. You were attacked from behind. The wounds were so severe that it was a miracle you didn’t die from blood loss,” he said, his voice thick with suppressed anger. “Then you were dragged into those filthy dungeons by the Goblins, barely clinging to life when Sebastian and I found you. Lodgok had to sacrifice himself to get us out safely.”
Theowen’s head snapped up in shock. “L-Lodgok… is gone?” Ominis nodded gravely. He didn’t want to be harsh, but he needed to make her understand the gravity of her reckless actions.
“That Goblin warned me of your capture. He risked everything to help devise a plan to rescue you.” Tears welled up in her eyes as she whispered, barely audible, “Oh, Merlin. I’ve failed…”
Ominis grabbed her shoulders, shaking her gently but firmly, forcing her to face him. “Don’t you see, Theowen? Whether you like it or not, you were never alone in this! Your goals may be noble, but your recklessness, charging headfirst into danger, will cost us all our lives!”
His words struck her like a blow, and she felt the weight of her actions crashing down on her. She had thought that by keeping her distance, by shielding them from the truth, she could protect the people she loved. But instead, her actions had dragged them into a danger she couldn’t control. She hadn’t wanted Ominis and Sebastian to risk everything for her. Now, she feared she had steered them all too far off course.
“I-I’m sorry,” she started, her voice breaking as she clenched her fists. “I thought I was protecting you.”
Ominis sighed, his frustration tempered with concern. “Keeping me in the dark isn’t protecting me.”
She looked at him with wide eyes, her voice rising as the turmoil inside her spilled out. “Then what was I supposed to do? Walk up to you on the first day and without warning, just blurt out that I’m from the future?”
Ominis’s brows furrowed as he considered her words. There was a harsh truth in what she said. If she had approached him on the first day with wild claims about the future—about the dark paths ahead for Sebastian and Anne, about their future together—he would have dismissed her as mad, or worse, as a liar trying to manipulate him.
The tension in the room was palpable, the unspoken truths hanging between them like a heavy cloud. Finally, Ominis spoke, his voice softer but still resolute. “No, I wouldn’t have believed you then. I understand that. But you don’t have to carry this burden alone.”
Theowen’s eyes shimmered with unshed tears, her emotions a tangled web of guilt, fear, and an overwhelming sense of relief. “I didn’t want you to get hurt. I didn’t want any of you to get hurt.”
“I know,” Ominis said gently, lifting her chin so that their gazes met. “But now, I hope you can trust me enough to let me in. I’m not a child, you know.”
A soft chuckle escaped Theowen’s lips, though the sadness in her eyes was still there. “I’ll try,” she whispered, her voice laced with regret but also with hope.
Ominis offered a small, reassuring smile, his thumb brushing lightly against her cheek. “That’s all I ask,” he replied, his tone warm but firm. The tension between them eased slightly, giving way to a quiet understanding.
But a nagging thought lingered in Theowen’s mind, something she couldn’t quite shake. “Ominis… I…” She hesitated, the words catching in her throat. She took a deep breath, steadying herself before she continued. “I want you to know that, regardless of what you saw in our shared future—I don’t want to pressure you into anything.” The word that hung heavy between them was relationship. It was something she couldn’t quite bring herself to say, knowing how much it would change everything, and that it was still too early, too uncertain.
Ominis’s unseeing gaze seemed to penetrate her very soul, and his lips curled into a wry smile. He recognized the awkwardness, the tension underlying their conversation. “I understand,” he said quietly, his voice tinged with a mix of uncertainty and warmth. “Truth be told, I don’t know what to think at this very moment.”
Theowen nodded, her emotions a turbulent storm. “Take all the time you need,” she said softly, trying to reassure him—though part of her was desperately afraid of the unknown.
Then Ominis spoke, his tone unreadable. “Would you be alright, then, if I were to court others?”
His question hit her like a punch to the gut, her heart skipping a beat as she swallowed hard. “It would be a lie to say that it wouldn’t bother me,” she admitted, each word feeling like a knife twisting in her chest, “but if that’s the choice you made, then I’ll accept it.” The words were like poison on her tongue, and she knew she was lying through her teeth. The thought of Ominis with someone else tore at her, a dark jealousy clawing at her very soul.
Ominis’s smirk and the soft chuckle that followed broke the tension. “You’re such a terrible liar,” he said, his voice gentle but teasing.
Theowen’s heart fluttered, a mixture of relief and embarrassment washing over her. He saw through her, even in his blindness, and for a moment, it felt like they were connected on a deeper level. She laughed nervously, but there was a warmth in her smile, one that spoke of hope and the possibility of something more between them—something worth waiting for, no matter how complicated it seemed.
Theowen tried to laugh it off, though the nervousness still lingered in her voice. “Maybe I am, but I’m trying to be fair.”
Ominis’s expression softened, the teasing tone giving way to something more genuine. “I know you are. But there’s no need to worry about that. I’m not interested in courting anyone else,” he admitted, his voice carrying a sincerity that made Theowen’s heart skip a beat.
Relief washed over her, and she couldn’t help but smile back at him, the tension between them dissolving into a moment of mutual understanding. “Thank you for saying that,” she whispered, her voice barely audible.
He nodded, his hand still resting lightly on her cheek. “We’ve been through too much together to ignore what’s between us. But let’s take it one step at a time, alright?”
Theowen nodded, feeling a sense of calm settle over her. “One step at a time,” she repeated, her voice steady and filled with hope.
But just as the moment seemed to settle, the ground beneath them trembled, sending a jolt of tension through the air. The walls of the Hospital Wing shook, windows rattling in their frames. Echoes of hurried footsteps and raised voices filled the corridor outside—professors, prefects, and Aurors barking orders in urgent tones.
Theowen and Ominis exchanged a glance, their earlier conversation instantly forgotten as they moved closer to the window. Peering out, their eyes widened in shock.
Outside, the serene grounds of Hogwarts had erupted into chaos. Dark wizards, their forms flickering in and out as they Apparated around the castle, were launching a fierce assault. Spells of every kind streaked through the air—curses, jinxes, and hexes colliding in flashes of light and bursts of smoke.
Ominis’s grip on his wand tightened, the familiar coolness of the handle grounding him amidst the sudden chaos. Theowen’s heart pounded in her chest, the calm they had just found shattering in an instant. The threat they had feared, the darkness that had been brewing, had finally come to Hogwarts. The peaceful respite they had found was gone, replaced by the urgent need to defend their home, their friends, and each other from the darkness that had come to claim them.