First day
Chapter 3
POV Ominis
I didn’t sleep well that night. I kept thinking about what had happened with Sebastian, I was relieved in a way, that we were on speaking terms again, but I was devastated every time I thought about Anne. Letting her go was not an easy task. I was in my bed, I heard the alarm clock ringing. Morning already. First day of classes. I was feeling quite anxious, but then I remembered Sebastian was here, and oddly enough, I felt relieved. I got out of bed, got dressed, and went for my usual morning run, my regular exercises, had a shower, and then went down for breakfast. As I was picking up my tray, I heard a voice calling out to me. It was Sebastian. He wanted me to sit next to him. I happily obliged of course.
We went through our timetables together , this morning we had « concealment and disguise » classes.
As Sebastian found us seats right in front of the professor’s desk, (so I would be able to listen properly to the entire lesson), I could smell that beautiful sent again, the smell of ginger. I could see a shadow sitting next to me, the shadow was green.
- « Sebastian, who is sitting next to me ? » I whispered to him.
There was no answer.
- « Sebastian ? What’s going on ? » I asked puzzled.
- « What ? Sorry ! You know, there are times where I wish I could lend you my eyes, well this is one of these moments. » he said joking.
I was intreeged by what he just said. It must have shown on my face, because he immediately continued.
- « She is magnificent ! »
So that sent of ginger belonged to a she. I wanted to know more about her, to introduce myself to her , but I hesitated, and as I did, I didn’t event get the chance to say anything before Sebastian started the conversation with her.
- « Hi, I’m Sebastian , nice to meet you, and this is my friend Ominis. As you can see, he is blind » he said in his seductive voice.
- « Thanks a lot my so called friend » I remarked.
Sebastian started laughing.
- « Actually, I can’t. But, I’m glad to know I’m not the only once this year. It will make a nice change » she said.
I was confused by what she has just said. And clearly so was Sebastian because he wasn’t saying anything.
- « If it isn’t obvious, Sebastian, I’m also blind. ». She called out Sebastian’s name with a playfull voice. « Nice to meet you boys ».
- « The pleasure is all mine » replied Sebastian, reaching for her hand and kissing it like a gentleman. And here we go. He’s in flirting mode again. At Hogwarts, he was always the handsome boy all he girls wanted. But he never wished to have a girlfriend, because he only wanted to, I quote, have fun with girls. But it seemed like they didn’t really care, they were so mismerized by him that they would do anything to be with him. As for me, well, I always thought girls wouldn’t want a relationship with me because I was blind, and I was dead weight.
We were cut off by the professor.
- « Welcome to my concealment and disguise class. I am Professor Herod. Before we get started, quick question ? What will this class be about and why is it important ? » said the professor.
When it came to studying, I was always eager to learn and share my knowledge. So I raised my hand.
- « Well professor, for starters, concealment is nothing more than hidding yourself from observation. It’s about what visual obstacles or a spell you place between yourself and observers. Whereas disguise is about taking another’s appearance, for example Metamorphmagus exeed in this particular subject, because they can change / morphe into another apprearance just by thinking of it, which makes them great aurors for spying. »
I was quite pleased with myself as I had studied all summer (even for years) for this.
- « Well, quite impressive I might say M. ? » asked the professor.
- « euh...M Gaunt sir » I replied hesitantly.
And then, all student started whispering. No doubt at the mention of my name. To be honnest, I wish I could change it, now the school will associate me with that awful family of mine. The mighty « Gaunt » family. Great.
- « Silence please. Well, M. Gaunt, you are a desendant of a fine lineage, I can’t wait to see what you can do. And do tell your fine parents what an honour it is to have their son in my class. ».
And here we go again. Everytime, my teachers try to suck up to me or my parents. They assume I will do great things just because I’m a Gaunt. But if I am to do great things, it’s only thanks to myself, not because of my name. But no one here understands that, besides Sebastian.
- « A Gaunt hey ? What an intreasting lineage you have » said the cute smelling ginger girl.
I didn’t reply to that. Mostly because I didn’t know what to say, or perhaps because I felt a bit embarrassed, it seemed like I used my name to be popular, a teacher’s pet, but although I love being held in high regards from my teachers, that was not my intention there.
By the end of the lesson, it was time to move on to our next lesson stealth and tracking.
I wanted to speak to the ginger girl, but I could’t see her shadow, nor smell her sent any longer. She had already left.
Sebastian and I moved on to our next lesson : stealth and tracking. The lesson was held outdoors. So we had to leave the school grounds to go down by the hills. I could smell the fresh air and the sun on my skin. It felt good. Relaxing. We were the last ones to arrive. It seems that Sebastian is not as good as he pretends to be to read a map !
The teacher welcomed us, he had a deep voice, very singular. He spoke slowly, taking his time articulating every single word. Sebastian told me he was quite tall and well-built. He had long wavy ginger hair and was probably in his early 40s.
- « Welcome dear students to my class. I am professor Dunavan. In my class, you will learn the essentials of tracking and stealth. Can anyone tell me why you would need these skills to become an auror ? » asked the professor.
- « Well, to track donw our targets obviously » said a boy.
Everyone laughed.
- « Sir ? If I may, it’s much more than that. We need these skills if we are to enter any facilities undetected, or to track down a missing person, or even obtain pretious information that could change a course of action, because information is power ».
I recognized that voice, it was the ginger girl talking.
- « That’s exellent. If you have information , you have an advantage over your enemies. But for today, I will ask you to make teams of 3 ». said the professor.
I was wondering who I was going to pair up with, I thought of Sebastian of course, we used to make a great team, but that was a long time ago. After evrything we’d been through, would we still be a great team ?
And that’s when I heard Sebastian’s voice.
- « Should we pair up together ? After all, we are the « Sebminis team » he said laughing. « And you are the best at tracking »
I just smirked at the thought. He was right, I was the best at tracking, thanks to my amplified hearing and the « radar » from my wand and my extended ability of sent.
- « All right then. But we need a third person » I replied.
I heard from the distance the voice of the ginger girl. She didn’t seem too happy.
- « Look, don’t take this the wrong way, but I don’t think tracking is your strong suit. You can’t even see. How will you see the tracks ? How can you follow a trail ? » Said a boy harshly. « We take this course seriously. Sorry ». But he wasn’t feeling sorry at all by the tone of his voice.
I could feel my fingers being crushed into my hands, I couldn’t listen to that crap, how dare they talk to a blind person that way ? How dare they talk to a woman that way ?
- « Why don’t you … team up with us ? We need a third person, and we will show these brainless fools what is means to be awesomely blind ? » I said determined sill annoyed.
- « Ok, thanks » she said hesitantly. I could feel relief in her voice.
- « By the way, I don’t even know your name. » I said.
- « That’s because I didn’t tell you ».
The way she said that felt like a game, a game she wanted me to play, and only she would be in command. I couldn’t help but smile bashfully.
- « Alright everyone, the objective is simple. Hippogriffs have been released. Your job is to find them by tracking them, not capture them, but find them and report to me. Do not, I repeat do NOT try to approach them or capture them. They are proud creatures. And they could be very dangerous. » said the professor. « Now, may the best team win».
- « Well, he didn’t waist any time. So what do we know about hippogriffs ? » asked Sebastian.
- « We know they can fly, they have claws and wings, and they have feathers. They are proud creatures. Oh and they feed on insects. » said the ginger girl.
- « Well I’m glad we paired up with you ! » said Sebastian amused.
- « Clearly you didn’t listen much in third year, as usual. » I said amused.
« We can focus on listening and on their sent, we can lure them out with a couple of insects, we’ll be the ears and smell, Sebastian, you can be our eyes, look for feathers, tracks on the ground, they have 4 fingers, 3 in front and 1 behind. » I said.
- « Got it. » replied Sebastian. « Wait, who will seek the insects ? »
- « I’ll let you guess » I said smiling.
- « Ugh, fine, fine ! I’ll get them ! » sighed Sebastian.
- « Well you make quite the team, that’s so nice » she said softly.
Sebastian grabbed a couple of worms by the hills. After a while walking through the forest next to the hills, he saw a claw track, that we followed. Me and the ginger girl heard noises from a far, like the hippogriffs were trying to comunicate between them. It was like a bird noise, but deeper. We set the worms on the floor, then took a few steps back to go and hide.
And there it was, one of the hippogriffs. We successfully tracked one down.
- « Hey, let’s try and bring one back to class, we could totaly manage. And that way, we’ll impress the professor» said Sebastian.
- « Come on Sebastian, we’re not kids anymore, we’re not at Hogwarts, we could get expelled, remember I don’t have the same influence there. » I replied exasperated.
- « But it’s no fun to just leave them be, that’s not the slytherin way» joked Sebastian.
- « Yeah, well we’re not in Slytherin anymore ! We’re young adults now. It’s time to act more responsibly ! » I scroled.
- « If you two are quite finished, maybe we could go report back to our professor as to the whereabouts of the hippogriffs ? » said the ginger girl sarcasticly.
- « Agreed » whispered Ominis releaved.
- « Killjoy » mumbled Sebastian.
When we returned, the teacher was quite pleased, as we were the first ones to return.
As no one was back yet, I thought it would be a good opportunity to talk to the girl. But, I knew myself, I was just too shy. But in order to be a good auror, professor Weasley said I needed to try new exeriences, to dare more. Plus, the thought of Sebastian flirting with her earlier today kind of bothered me. I really have to to be braver. I can’t remain the whimp I used to be in Hogwarts. Time to change. So I took in a deep breath, gathering my courage, trying to look relaxed.
- « So, it seemed that a bunch of blind people outdid arrogant boys. » I said joyfully.
- « In deed. But I wasn’t worried, their arrogance will get the best of them.» .
I could hear in her words she her smiling. And of course, it made me smile in return.
- « So, what will it take for me to know your name ? » I asked, hoping she wouldn’t deny me. I wanted to know as much as I could about her. She had such a lovely calm voice, very feminine, gracious.
- « And why would you want to know my name ? » she said teasing me.
- « Well, I’d like to talk to you again, I mean … you know … since we are … classmates. And I don’t want to shout in the corridors, « hey girl ! », that sounds very rude. »
She burst out laughing.
- « All right, you win, my name is Valerian ».
- « It’s a pleasure to make your aquaintance Valerian. I am Ominis. And the immature boy we had as a partner is Sebastian. » I said with a grin.
- « It’s lovely to meet you, Ominis » she replied.