Ominis Gaunt

Ominis Gaunt
Biographical information
Born	Between 1 September 1874 and 31 August 1875
Died	Between 1891 and June 1925 (aged 15–50)
Blood status	Pure-blood
Nationality	British or Irish
Physical information
Species	Human
Gender	Male
Hair colour	Dark blond
Eye colour	Pale
Skin colour	Light
Relationship information
Family members	Father † Mother † Older siblings † Noctua Gaunt (paternal aunt) † Salazar Slytherin (paternal ancestor) † Cadmus Peverell (paternal ancestor) † House of Gaunt
Magical characteristics
Wand	Unknown length, wood and core
Affiliation
House	Slytherin
Loyalty	House of Gaunt Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry Slytherin

"The Dark Arts seem harmless until it's too late."

— Ominis Gaunt on the Dark Arts

Ominis Gaunt (c. 1875 – pre-1925) was a pure-blood wizard and a member of the House of Gaunt. He was a Slytherin student at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry from 1886 into the 1890s. Despite being born into a family of dark wizards, he developed a deep distrust towards the Dark Arts, and often found himself in conflicts with his friend Sebastian Sallow over how they should be used.

Quick Answers

What house was Ominis Gaunt a part of during his time at Hogwarts?

Ominis Gaunt was a part of Slytherin house during his time at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. This was a house he expected to be sorted into due to his heritage.

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How is Ominis Gaunt related to Salazar Slytherin?

Ominis Gaunt is a direct descendant of Salazar Slytherin, one of the four founders of Hogwarts. This lineage comes from his father's side of the family. Despite this connection, Ominis isn't particularly proud of his ancestry, given Slytherin's obsession with blood status and the dark history of his family.

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What was Ominis Gaunt's stance on the use of Dark Arts?

Ominis Gaunt, a character from the Hogwarts Legacy, had a deep distrust towards the Dark Arts. Despite being born into a family of dark wizards, he often found himself in conflicts over how these arts should be used. This stance was quite unique, especially considering his pure-blood wizard lineage and his membership in the House of Gaunt, a family known for their dark wizardry.

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Who was Ominis Gaunt's friend that he often conflicted with over the use of Dark Arts?

Ominis Gaunt's friend, with whom he often conflicted over the use of Dark Arts, was Sebastian Sallow. Despite their close, brotherly bond, their differing views on the Dark Arts often led to disagreements.

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What is the significance of the House of Gaunt in the Harry Potter series?

The House of Gaunt holds significant importance in the Harry Potter series. It was once a prominent and wealthy family in the wizarding world, originating from many powerfully magical wizards and witches, including Salazar Slytherin, one of the four founders of Hogwarts. Despite their illustrious past, the Gaunts fell into squalor and poverty, retaining only their arrogance, pride, and a few treasured family heirlooms. The Gaunts are also directly related to Lord Voldemort, making their lineage a crucial element in the series.

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Biography

Early life

"If you cast Crucio, you will regret it forever."

— Ominis Gaunt on his hatred of the Cruciatus Curse, instilled since childhood

He was a descendant of Salazar Slytherin, born into the pure-blood House of Gaunt to a Mr and Mrs Gaunt, two Dark wizards. He was born blind, and no spell was able to reverse it. After this, he took to using his wand, which was "almost sentient", to navigate his way around.

His upbringing resulted in trauma that made him pessimistic, distrusting of people, and sarcastic. He disagreed with his family's use of the Dark Arts, which aligned him with his favourite aunt, Noctua Gaunt, who herself wished to change the family's traditions and uncover more about Salazar Slytherin's legacy. Ominis was dismayed to find out that she had died in her attempt to navigate Slytherin's Scriptorium.

When he was a child, he refused to perform the Cruciatus Curse, which his older siblings and parents often performed on Muggles "for sport". This resulted in his own family using the curse on him, creating a division between him and his family that never healed. When told to cast the curse again, he relented to avoid further anguish to himself, and found it difficult to forgive himself ever since.

Hogwarts years (1886–?)

Earlier years

Ominis Gaunt in a particularly boring History of Magic class at Hogwarts

Ominis started attending Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry at the age of eleven. On 1 September 1886, he was sorted into Slytherin (a house he "most certainly" expected to be sorted into due to his heritage), and became friends with Sebastian Sallow and his twin sister, Anne. The three of them would often go into the Undercroft, a secret room only known to the House of Gaunt, to play Gobstones and hang out. Ominis considered this place very special to him, and he was disappointed when Sebastian later revealed the existence of the Undercroft to another student. When not at Hogwarts, Ominis would retreat to the Sallow home at Feldcroft, shying away from his own family, but developing a strong connection to the Sallows. The first time Sebastian and Ominis practised the Blasting Curse, they singed their eyebrows.

Ominis had quite a playful nature, often taunting first year students by pretending that mermaids could be seen outside the Slytherin common room windows, keeping them "on the lookout for hours".

Fifth year

Meeting the new student

"You breathe a word about this place to anyone and not even your precious Professor Fig will be able to help you. My father is friends with the Headmaster and I'm not afraid to exploit that connection if I need to."

— Ominis Gaunt's threatening introduction to the new fifth-year student

Ominis Gaunt (left) in the Slytherin common room in his fifth year

He also became more acquainted to a new student who had joined late in their fifth year due to their ability to see and use ancient magic. If this student was a Slytherin, then Ominis would have met them in the Slytherin common room on 2 September; otherwise, they had a thorny introduction when Ominis caught them sneaking out of the Undercroft. Sebastian often wanted to enlist Ominis's help with Dark Magic to help his sister Anne, which he was deeply uncomfortable with due to his intense childhood experiences.

Later in the year, when the new student disguised themselves as Phineas Nigellus Black using Polyjuice Potion, they accosted Ominis Gaunt in the hallways, demanding to know where he was going. Ominis made a quick exit by stating that he was headed to the Hogwarts greenhouses to research for his essay on dittany and its uses, afterwards murmuring that the Headmaster was acting strangely.

Helping Sebastian Sallow

Ominis Gaunt: "You're a liar, Sebastian. I heard everything. You swore you'd never engage in anything to do with Dark Magic again."

Sebastian Sallow: "No I didn't. I said I understood you wanting that. I'd never swear to give up on finding a cure for Anne."

— Ominis and Sebastian's primary disagreement

Eventually, he was pressured into breaking into Slytherin's Scriptorium under Sebastian's promise that it would be their last encounter into Dark Magic, though Ominis was distressed throughout the whole venture, especially as he came face-to-face with the bones of his late aunt Noctua.

Ominis confronts the new student in the Feldcroft Catacomb

Sebastian did not stop his journey into the Dark Arts; by the winter of 1890, he followed Sebastian and the other fifth-year student to the Catacomb outside Feldcroft, which they had just infiltrated, and was disgusted to find they had not only been practising the Imperius Curse, but also looking for a lost relic, infused with Dark Magic, to cure Anne's illness. Ominis did not even register Sebastian's existence in this encounter, finding it too uncomfortable to see him as a friend anymore. The fifth-year either persuaded Ominis to let them go, or went so far as to use the Imperius Curse to force Ominis to stand aside.

Later that year, Ominis was present at the Feldcroft Catacomb again, as Sebastian used the relic to summon Inferi. Solomon Sallow had sworn to alert Headmaster Phineas Nigellus Black the next time Sebastian used dark magic, so Ominis ran to the Headmaster to tell him that the event was simply an exaggerated argument. In his absence, Sebastian murdered Solomon, which convinced Ominis that he could no longer stand by and watch his friend's descent into darkness, and that it was time to turn Sebastian in.

Deciding Sebastian's fate

"I don't want to lose Sebastian, but I don't think we have a choice."

— Ominis Gaunt

Ominis asked their mutual friend to turn him in, which the friend possibly did. After this, Sebastian was possibly expelled and put on trial at the Ministry of Magic; likewise, it was possible that the friend refused to turn him in, and the incident in the catacombs was kept a secret, with Ominis being tasked to convince Anne to keep quiet.

After the defeat of Ranrok in the battle for the final repository, Ominis's friend possibly informed him at the memorial ceremony for Eleazar Fig that it had been Victor Rookwood that cursed Anne Sallow, not the goblins as they had originally believed. After receiving this information, Ominis possibly informed both Anne and Sebastian. Alternatively, if Sebastian was given the chance to amend on his own, their mutual friend told him directly about Rookwood being the one who cursed Anne.

Later life

It is known that the last living Gaunts by the summer of 1925 were Marvolo and his children Morfin and Merope. It follows that Ominis had already passed away by that date; he either did not have any offspring or, if did, they must also have already died by that date.

Magical abilities and skills

• Dark Arts: Ominis was once forced into casting the Cruciatus Curse by his family. However unlike his family, he grew to detest the Dark Arts and opposed their practice.
• Parseltongue: Ominis was a Parselmouth, meaning he could magically talk to snakes, an ability which resided in his family tree.
• Defence Against the Dark Arts: Despite being blind, Ominis was still capable of defending himself against the Dark Arts, managing to beat off waves of Inferi in the catacombs of Feldcroft. It is unknown exactly how he managed this, but as his wand was described to be "sentient", his skill may have been linked to that.
• Love: Though certainly not one of Ominis's most obvious qualities, he held a great amount of deep, brotherly care for his close friend, Sebastian Sallow, as well as fear for the dark path that he was going down. Even though he understood Sebastian to be manipulating him, he still felt a duty to try to stop his descent into darkness as the only person that he trusted. Furthermore, after the traumatic experiences of his childhood, he made a genuine and radical attempt to distance himself from his family and their culture of the Dark Arts.

Possessions

Ominis using his wand

• Wand: Ominis owned a wand of an unknown length, core, and wood. It possessed a rare sentience which allowed him to navigate his surroundings and duel others with relative ease.
• Owl: Ominis also owned an owl, which he used to transmit messages to others.

Relationships

Family

"My family on my father's side are direct descendants of Salazar Slytherin – one of the four founders of Hogwarts. Not something I'm especially proud of, mind you. He was obsessed with blood status. A pure-blood maniac. Unfortunately, most of his descendants do not fall far from that tree."

— Ominis Gaunt on his family

Ominis had a strained relationship with his father, mother, and older siblings as they were all Dark wizards with a history of brutally torturing both himself and countless innocent Muggles. He was additionally disgusted by their Pure-blood supremacy. On the other hand, Ominis stated that his father was friends with the headmaster, and threatened to exploit this if he wished on at least one occasion. It is therefore unclear exactly how fragile their relationship was.

Sebastian Sallow

Sebastian Sallow, Ominis's oldest friend

"He never confides in anyone – but he trusted me since the day we met."

— Sebastian Sallow on their friendship

Sebastian Sallow was Ominis's oldest friend. However, their relationship became more tenuous in their fifth year with Sebastian's continued exploration of the Dark Arts, which Ominis regularly advised against. In the end, their relationship suffered so badly that Ominis found it difficult to consider Sebastian a friend anymore, even though he did continue to worry about him greatly.

Unidentified fifth-year friend

"I know we had a bit of a rocky start, but you've proven yourself – as a friend."

— Ominis Gaunt to this student

This student was Ominis's new friend, who started late in their fifth year. They had a rocky beginning when Ominis caught them outside of the Undercroft, which they had been shown by Sebastian. Ominis attempted continuously to convince this student to help curb Sebastian's descent into the Dark Arts, and had come to trust their wisdom a great deal. By the conclusion of the 1890–1891 school year, he considered this student a friend: a rare honour, as Sebastian had been his only true friend before.

Behind the scenes

"I think all three Slytherin characters, we all share a similar sense of loyalty, and family, and wanting to do the right thing even if it's difficult to do. We're all conflicted, but very loyal."

— Tom Felton

• Ominis Gaunt is voiced by Jacob Edwards in Hogwarts Legacy.
• Chronologically, Marvolo Gaunt could be one of the elder siblings who tortured Ominis with the Cruciatus Curse.
• Ominis is related to Lord Voldemort. Voldemort's mother, Merope Gaunt, was also a descendant of Salazar Slytherin.
• His name may be a reference to the twelfth verse of Edgar Allan Poe's "The Raven", in which the Raven is described as "this grim, ungainly, ghastly, gaunt, and ominous bird of yore".
• He might have been named in honour of his Aunt Noctua. Noctua literally translated as "night bird" otherwise known as an Owl and in some cultures the bird can be seen as an omen, which Ominis translates as.

Appearances

• Hogwarts Legacy (First appearance)
• The Art and Making of Hogwarts Legacy (Mentioned only)
• Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions (As a character skin)

External links

• Ominis Gaunt at the Hogwarts Legacy Wiki