Chapter 5
Chapter 5:
An owl landed upon their open windowsill one misty morning, fluffing up its feathers before turning its head down to preen itself. Gen was leaning against the counter with her cup of tea lightly grasped when her avian friend startled her into tilting her cup toward herself and pouring a slight bit of the steaming hot liquid onto herself. Luckily for her, she was wearing a colorful pattern, so the stain was not as noticeable to an outward source as it was sticky to herself. Genevieve huffed, reaching toward a kitchen towel to dab herself dry before throwing it down and pulling up the string tied to the owl’s leg. A piece of script unraveled addressed to ‘Mr Gaunt’ from a ‘Dear brother’.
Ominis was still in bed, he had been down with a cold since the latter day when the man had decided to follow Genevieve on her romp through the bog in search of mysterious and interesting things to sell in her shop. She felt awful, but Ominis insisted upon joining her and when they returned home the man had a red nose and a wide smile filled with glee from their adventure. They would be going on another adventure soon, so it seemed to Genevieve.
The letter was from Ominis’ older brother Aviditas, who was soon to be married and was summoning the younger man to be an attendee, if not to be in the bridegroom's matrimonial party. Genevieve shouldn’t have snooped, but the formal writing and the officiality of the invitation piqued her interest. The owl fell and swooped from the windowsill just as she had finished reading, having done its job and leaving to retrieve its compensation for doing an honest day's work.
Genevieve stared at the letter as she poured a second cup of tea, this one meant for Ominis. She set the kettle down, rolled the letter back up, then turned toward the bedroom door with the cup in one hand and the letter beneath her forearm against her side. She knocked, waiting for a sniffled response.
“Ye shall enter.” Came the voice, jest in his tone. “But beware! Misfortune follows!” He bellowed, evoking a single laugh from Genevieve as she opened the door. “Oh hello, love. Thank you for the tea.”
“Of course, Mr Poe.” She pressed a smiling kiss against his temple, securing the cup into his hands and then settling down at his side. He moved to get comfortable, pushing himself into a sitting position and sipping from the rim. “You received an owl, darling. I hope you don’t mind, I skimmed it.”
“Oh? Who would be sending for me?”
“Your brother, Aviditas.”
He took a large breath in too harshly whilst drinking, causing him to break into a coughing fit. Genevieve was quick to act, taking the cup and setting it on the bedside table then patting the man on the back to calm him. Once Ominis could breathe properly, she handed him the letter and allowed him to decipher the script by touching the lines imprinted on the paper.
His shoulders raised, then he stiffened, but ultimately, he calmed himself with a few deep breaths as he read. It would’ve been good news, but Ominis’ being back around his family equated to nothing but trouble for the youngest Gaunt.
“We don’t have to go; we can always pretend you never received this letter and see if they don’t send for you anymore.”
“We should.” He straightened himself, folding the letter then removing the cool cloth from his forehead and setting it upon the saucer to his side. Ominis swung his legs over the opposite side of the bed, barely able to stand for a moment until he steadied himself on the post beside him. Genevieve quickly stood, moving to his side to assist by settling her hands on his arm and securing his uprightness. He smiled gently, appreciating her concern and nodding at so. “You have my gratitude, my love. With your tending, I must admit that I feel much better.”
“I’m pleased to hear that.” Genevieve retorted, squeezing his forearm and leaning in to press another peck into his cheek. Ominis sighed when Genevieve pulled back in dissatisfaction, wanting to chase after her touch but keeping his composure to not compromise the ease of their relationship. This did not go unnoticed, not that Genevieve would do anything about it. “When shall we leave?”
“They tend to let me know of these things last minute as per usual. The wedding is no more than three days from now, that’s little time to prepare.” Ominis looked in thought, not wanting to impose that they should leave earlier rather than later.
“Shall I inform Penny that we’ll leave tomorrow in the morning?”
“That would not be unwise. Tomorrow, first thing in the morning.”
“Then so shall we.”
And with that, they set apart with Genevieve insisting that Ominis rest a while longer to ensure he would feel his best considering they’re going to face down his family the following day. She moved to take care of their affairs so they would be ready when they embark the following day.
It wasn’t long after a restless sleep that they called upon a carriage and set off, a tense silence settling over them. Ominis looked uncomfortable to say the least, he couldn’t stop shifting about and readjusting his suit in what Genevieve could assume was a self-conscious manner. She thought of what to say, what to do to make it all better. What was there to say? These were the people that tortured her heart, people that Ominis insisted she may never meet for fear of what they may do or say to her. She hadn’t seen her dear calm and collected Ominis this on edge since their fifth year at Hogwarts, it wasn’t particularly pleasing to witness. So rather than putting forth some words that may or may not be the right thing to say, she moved to the other side of the carriage and sat beside him.
Ominis raised his head to this, void eyes flickering in her direction. She smiled as if he could see it, and somehow, he understood and smiled back albeit a bit tense. Their hands found one another's, and Ominis’ shoulders dropped as some of the tension was alleviated.
The ride wasn’t terribly long, Genny kept the conversation light and distracting though he seemed plenty occupied with the feeling of her hand laced in his. Sometimes he would trace his fingers along the seams of her digits up to the palm and she would jerk at the ticklish sensation which elicited a grin from him and a bashful laugh from her.
The small talk ended all too soon, the carriage descended then landed on an intricate brick road with a bounce, the enchanted doors opened to a marvelously detailed manor surrounded by trees that had lost their leaves. It was a bit eerie, Genevieve had to admit, taking Ominis’ hand as he had already exited the carriage. There were a few men and women all dressed to the nines strewn about the lawn, once talking in full tone now reduced to whispers as Genevieve took Ominis’ arm and allowed him to lead her with his wand in front.
“Brother!” A boisterous voice called from the side, dormant grass and leaves shed from the trees crunching beneath the feet of a man just about Ominis’ height. This man, Genevieve thought, had sharper features that seemed more tired and perhaps a bit less kind. His eyes were astonishingly green, and his hair was the same as many of the others on the lawn. People began turning their attention from the three, focusing on themselves and the others in their group. “I didn’t think you’d make it out, not after the events that took place the last time you visited.” His tone was mildly snide, but not how Genevieve expected.
“Aviditas.” Ominis greeted, “I would say that it’s good to see you, but…” Genevieve stifled a giggle, using the back of her hand to cover her smile.
Aviditas scoffed, the corners of his lips up turning into a smirk. “Very funny, you’ve turned into a right comedian, haven’t you.” His piercing green eyes flickered, glancing at Genevieve then giving her a onceover. “You’ve brought the girl, I see.”
“Woman, actually.” Ominis interrupted whatever his brother may have been planning to say beyond that. Genevieve kept her lips sealed, not wishing to interfere and make things more unfortunate for Ominis.
“Yes, well, fine.” Leave it to Ominis’ family to refuse to compliment any outsiders, the man immediately became dismissive at the counteraction. “I must go meet with Cressida, the house elf inside will show you where you’ll be staying.”
He turned and walked away, and that was the end of Genevieve’s first encounter with a Gaunt outside of Ominis. She squeezed Ominis’ arm and he bundled in tighter to her touch.
“Let’s go find our temporary living quarters.” Genevieve suggested, and Ominis gave her a slight smile to agree.