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Your hurried steps echoed in the large hallway, and you flinched at the harsh noise. A few fellow students looked your way, giving you unneeded attention, as you swiftly made your way through the central hall.
It was late in the evening and the soft light of the candles in the corners gave the hall a warm, cosy glow. Everything looked a lot calmer and serene than you felt.
You were agitated.
It had only been a few days since your fight against Ranrok, and subsequently the death of your mentor Professor Fig. The last moments of his life kept flashing before your eyes and you knew it was entirely your fault.
You had taken some of the power kept in the repository. It felt good, like breathing in cold, fresh air after being held in a hot, stuffy room for a long period of time and it made your body tingle in a delicious way.
But after the first breath of this magic, you knew it was too good. It felt too lovely. And this was exactly why Isidora Morganach was unable to stop herself in the end.
You knew if you kept going you would end up a power-hungry threat to wizardkind.
So, you stopped yourself. You used the new power you had inside you, to repair the repository and put the magic back, as best you could. Some of it escaped, but it was a low percentage of the overall power. You managed to put most of it back, in the end.
But now you knew what you could do with the little power you consumed. It was enough. You knew you had the ability to heal Anne. To take her pain away.
This realisation hit you like steam train a few minutes ago, when you were reading up on some of your exam material in the quiet library. The boring history of magic book in your hands wasn’t able to keep your full attention, especially when Goblin wars were mentioned. As your thoughts wandered back to the events by the repository, you suddenly saw what you gained from all this tragedy.
Hence, you're hurrying through the castle, gaining the unwanted attention from your peers, as your steps echoed along the way.
You were searching for Ominis as you needed his insight.
His vision might be non-existent, but it appeared his perception of right and wrong was even more present.
You didn’t know where you could find him exactly, so you looked simply everywhere. You had started looking in the early afternoon, and now the evening was slowly but surely creeping its way into the day. The daylight fizzled out and the candles and torches lit up one after the other, to keep the castle aglow.
And this was the last place to look.
Your keen eyes scanned now scanned every inch of the Astronomy Wing.
You knew Ominis enjoyed sitting in the halls near the small ensemble of string instruments, as he dozed off in some corner or other.
And that was exactly how you found him.
He sat on a bench, slumped over, his head in his hands and his eyes closed. Although, you supposed, to him it wouldn’t have made a difference, if his eyes had been open.
Your running steps seemed to alert him a little, as you were still a good deal away. But you saw his head rise, and his tires eyes blinked a little confused, as he tried to locate the reason for urgency.
“Ominis!” You called out, skitting to a slippery halt in front of him. The slick marble floor made for a rough landing. “There you are!” Your voice portrayed the relief you felt.
“Oh?” Ominis, simply asked.
“I was looking for you everywhere,” you continued, your breath loud and quick from running. “I need to talk to you. Preferably in private? It’s very urgent. Please.”
“Calm down, please,” he held up his hand in a calming gesture, “of course we may talk. In the Undercoft perhaps?” he asked.
“Yes,” you quickly agreed, waiting for him to rise and ready his wand for navigation.
You didn’t speak on the short way there, but once you both were safely locked away from the rest of the castle, you turned to Ominis.
“If you hear Sebastian coming through the door, please tell me right away. Your hearing is a lot better, so I’m sure you’ll be able to hear it a lot sooner that I would be able to.” You said, clasping your hands together as your nerves got worse.
Ominis frowned.
“This is a secret conversation?” he asked sceptically.
“Yes,” you nodded vehemently, although unnecessary.
His brows furrowed deeper.
“Why?” He clearly was not approving.
“This is about Anne.” you explained. But you stopped, as you didn’t know how exactly to explain the whole picture. Ominis still wasn’t clued in to everything that happened with the Keepers and the repository.
“What about Anne?” Ominis asked, worry now taking over his features, instead of scepticism.
“I think-” you started, but cut yourself off. Before you told him that you thought you could heal her, he needed to know the risks. “It’s difficult to explain, so I’ll need to tell you about everything else first.” You told him.
His unseeing eyes jumped around the room in curiosity.
“Is this about what you couldn’t tell before? The things Sebastian knew? And what led to Professor Figs death?” He asked. He clearly picked up a few details from conversations.
“Exactly.” You said simply.
“Is this going to be long story?” he asked, crossing his arms in a relaxed manner.
“Oh yes,” you breathed, mentally preparing where to start.
“Well, then I would prefer to sit down. Come here,” Ominis said, leading you over to a pillar so you could both sit down and lean back against it.
When you were both comfortably situated, you began from the start.
You told him about the portkey before you even made it to Hogwarts, about Gringotts, about the memories. About the trials, the fights, your injuries from them.
About Isidora Morganach and what exactly she did. About the fight against Ranrok. About Professor Fig’s death. About your guilt.
That’s when you started crying. He heard it in your voice and reached out to gently find your cheek with his hand. It made you cry harder. He took both of his hands to frame your face and softly brushed the tears away with his thumbs. You closed your eyes to concentrate on the feeling of his calm hands. It worked only marginally.
The sobs still prevented you from going on in the story. He felt that his movements to calm you were not enough and promptly tucked you into his arms, resting his chin securely on top of your head. His arms constricted around you and the pressure finally calmed you down.
This closeness between you was unusual and unprecedented. But it was welcome, as it finally calmed you down enough to continue what you needed to tell him.
Then you told him about the power.
This was where Ominis’s features darkened. You felt his body stiffen and you knew that he saw already, what complication there might be to all of this.
The more you told him about what you were feeling during the consumption of this magic, the darker his face grew. Though you weren’t able to see it, you felt it in the air and in the tension of his arms around you.
“But you know what this means,” you mumbled against his uniform, concluding everything you needed to tell him, “I can heal Anne, I know I can. But I don’t know if the benefit outweighs the risk.”
The tears still hung to your voice.
He was quiet for a moment.
“Why didn’t you ask Sebastian about this?” He asked hesitantly. “Surely his opinion would matter more in this, than mine.”
“Of course it would matter,” you said, pulling away from him again to sit back against the pillar, “but we both already know what his opinion will be,”
And Ominis nodded.
Yes, he knew as well as you, that Sebastian would not even see the power consumption as a risk. He would willingly send the world into to its fiery end if it meant it would heal Anne.
“This Isidora,” he began, pinching the bridge of his nose in thought as he spoke, “she took peoples pain away without their consent, right?”
“Yes,” you agreed.
“Did you plan to do the same to Anne?” He asked, raising his brows as if he knew the answer already, “did you plan to do anything without asking her first?”
“No!” Your exclamation was louder that you indented, the echo bounced off the walls of the Undercroft, and you both flinched at the volume.
“Sorry,” you continued with a lowered voice, “of course not. I would ask her first, of course.”
He nodded.
“And you wouldn't be doing it for personal gain, either?" He followed up.
You shook your head until you remembered that he wouldn't see.
“No," you said softly.
“That’s what I thought,” he said, “this is the difference between you and her. I don’t think you have as much to fear.”
His words sank in like molasses, slow and thick. It seemed to take an eternity for his comment to seep into your mind. But you realised he might be right.
You would have to be careful. And maybe try to lock the pain away into a container once you extracted it from Anne. Trying not to consume the power would be the hardest part.
The silence between you two grew, as you both thought about the other’s words.
“Anne is your friend, too, right?” You asked Ominis.
“Yes,” he quickly agreed.
“Will you send her a letter about your opinion on the matter?” You asked, “I think she values your opinion a lot and I can’t ask Sebastian to talk to her about this. But she needs someone to discuss this with before she can make an educated decision.”
“Do you want me to convince her to let you do it?” Ominis asked.
“No, I don’t even need to know what you advise her. That’s between the two of you,” you said. “I just want her to not be alone in this decision.”
He was quiet once more as he thought it over. Finally, he began to nod.
“Okay, I’ll send Anne an owl.”
Your relieved sigh filled the space between you as a slow smile spread on your lips.
“Thank you, Ominis. You don't know how much that means to me.”
Just at that moment, you both heard a quiet metallic clink from the entrance of the Undercroft.
“I hear-,” Ominis started, but you interrupted him.
“Yes, I heard it, too,” you spoke a little panicked, “what do we tell him?”
“Leave it to me, it’ll be fine,” Ominis said quietly.
You took his hand and squeezed it one last time, before you sat back again.
Sebastian’s footsteps quietly echoed as they grew louder, Ominis and you both listening silently, the only sound your soft sniffles.
When they were close enough, they stopped abruptly.
“Hello, you two,” Sebastian's smooth voice carried over to them, “what are you doing here?”
He went over to where you were sitting, and you saw his amused expression fall completely off his features once he set eyes onto your tear-stained face.
“Oh, what’s wrong?” His hands reached towards you, but he stopped himself.
Ominis knew this was his cue.
“She was telling me everything about her first year here, with the keepers, and Ranrok. You already knew all of it, think.” He said with such conviction, you almost believed it yourself.
Sebastian’s hands are still frozen in mid-air as he’s unsure what to do with them.
You were still reeling from all of the raw emotion eating at you from this whole conversation, and from keeping it all a secret from Sebastian.
So, you didn’t really think twice about it, as you rose and stepped into his arms.
He was seemingly just as thoughtless as you, as his arms closed securely around you.
Just like Ominis’s arms had, a few moments ago – but it felt different with Sebastian.
While Ominis’s arms had felt just as secure, in Sebastian’s you felt even more cared for.
He tucked your head under his chin, like Ominis had, but Ominis didn’t turn his head to loosely rest his mouth on top of your hair. You felt Sebastian’s warm breath on top of your head and your eyes fluttered closed. Your own arms slowly snaked around his waist.
The weight of keeping him in the dark threatened to pull you under, but his arms kept you afloat, for now.
***
The following days dragged themselves along, but when you got an owl from Anne inviting you to her home in Feldcroft, you felt like you had been energised to the point of discomfort.
Your mind practically buzzed the whole way there.
You were prepared enough – you knew you had to contain the magic instead of consuming it. And that was when you remembered the small, Goblin-made vial that you found back on your first unexpected trip to Gringotts. The vial that contained the first memory of the keepers. You thought it might be a strong enough container to hold that kind of magic.
So, you searched your belongings for it and finally found it, buried deep into a pocket of the clothes you had been wearing that day. And now you brought it along to Feldcroft.
You paced in front of the door a few times, trying to rid yourself of the nerves that had built, picking at your nails as you went.
But after a few passes, you supposed it wasn’t at all helping.
So, you knocked.
It took a moment before the door moved.
“Oh, you made it!” Anne exclaimed softly, as she moved the door to the side to invite you in with a gesture of her hand.
You didn’t think you would be as welcome in her home after what happened with Sebastian and her uncle. But you took the invitation gladly and made you way into the cosy main room.
The sunlight flooded in the small windows, casting the room in a bright, warm atmosphere.
Anne went ahead and sat down at the small dinner table, gesturing for you to do the same.
“Ominis sent me an owl,” Anne said as an introduction, “he’s telling me you might be able to cure me yourself, without any artefact, or anything like that.” Her hesitation was obvious in her voice.
“Yes,” you started to explain, “it has something to do with ancient magic. I was looking into this magic unrelated to your condition, but I think it may help. However, …” you trailed off.
How could you properly explain the issue that came with all this?
But Anne was already nodding.
“Ominis explained it in the letter, actually.” She regarded you with carefully warded eyes. “Do you know what he advised me?” She asked.
“No,” you shook your head in honesty, “I told him that was between you and him, and it still is.”
You paused. Anne seemed slightly surprised but remained silent.
“I’m only here to ask your final decision about it,” you continued, “because that is the only thing that is significant for me right now. I won’t do anything you don’t want.”
Anne’s soft features were overtaken by the smallest smile possible.
“Are you even sure it will work?” She asked, still sceptical, despite her warming up to you.
“I cannot guarantee it, but I am very confident,” you said.
“Does Sebastian know about this?” She asked suddenly.
You were taken aback slightly at her almost accusatory tone.
“I… well, no. He does not,” you couldn't take her probing look, so you averted your eyes.
“Why not? Surely, he would do anything to convince us both to just hurry up and try it already. And to stop talking about what we might decide,” Anne mused.
“Exactly,” your eyes raised back to hers.
You saw realisation dawn on her face.
“I wanted this decision to be yours,” you said, “and if he knew, he would have… I can’t-”
You felt a desperate frown creep onto your face as you realised another reason you kept it from Sebastian.
Anne already knew, though.
“You can’t say ‘no’ to him, can you?” She asked plainly, her face completely unsurprised.
You didn’t know how she knew before you did. But the realisation felt threatening. You slowly shook you head at her question.
Anne let out a heavy sigh.
“That’s unsurprising,” she muttered. “But” she rose her voice again, “I have actually come to the decision, that I do want you to try and heal me.”
You felt smile break through your worry and let out a sigh of your own.
“Really?” You asked, just to be sure.
“Yes.” Anne nodded in confirmation.
“Oh, Anne,” you rose to your feet in agitation and excitement. You felt like jumping up and down, actually, but you refrained.
Anne laughed for second but then her expression suddenly changed.
“Argh,” she crumpled forwards onto the table holding her sides, her face contorting in agony.
You rushed back to her side, holding her at her shoulders, unsure what to do.
“What do you need?” You asked, helplessly.
“Do it now!” She tried to yell though her pain. “Just try it now!” Her voice was strangled.
As she continued to writhe in agony, you took a step back.
You harshly shoved you hand into the pocket of your robe where you put the Goblin-made vial and pulled it back out as soon as your fingers closed around it.
Then you hesitated for only a second.
Raising your wand, you focused on Isidora’s memory of how she removed the pain. You felt the ancient magic channel through you. The room was suddenly a lot darker, the only glow coming from the tip of your wand as it cast the room in a soft blue light.
You felt Anne’s pain.
You felt it in the air around her, swirling inside her.
You closed your eyes to focus on it.
It was dancing around, almost inviting you in. Unconsciously your other hand rose to match the hand your wand was in.
And then you pulled.
There was a rushing sound, that got louder and louder.
Anne screamed, but it seemed very far away.
Then suddenly all sound stopped.
You quickly opened your eyes, panicked that something went wrong.
But you only saw Anne looking at you with wide eyes. No longer thrashing about in pain.
And in front of her, in the air between you, was the dark curse that caused Anne such pain. Visible only to your own eyes, you knew. Anne couldn’t see it.
She wouldn’t know if you took it for your own.
It was crackling with power, constantly moving. Dancing. Inviting you to take it.
Unbeknownst to you, your eyes changed to a red colour as you fought this dangerous train of thought. You couldn’t see Anne behind the swirling magic, but her eyes grew more worried the longer she looked at you.
“Please,” Anne’s worried voice suddenly cut through the room, and thankfully it also cut through to you, “don’t take it.”
Your red eyes snapped to hers, and you struggled to gain back control. She knew. Ominis must have told her.
The container you brought was still in your hand, and you focused to control the magic in the air and steer it into the vial.
It resisted, and you didn’t want to do it. But you knew you had to.
As it flowed so close to you, right by your hand, you wanted to move your head forward a bit, or bring your hand closer, just a few centimetres, and breathe it all in.
You struggled to avert your head and pressed your eyes closed forcefully. Only feeling the magic, guiding it into the container, away from you.
Then suddenly, it was gone.
Releasing a breath you didn’t know you were holding, you slowly opened your eyes.
Everything was back to normal.
You heard the birds chirping outside and your own stressed breathing. The sunlight flooded back into the room, lighting up a few dust particles in the stream of light.
The vial shone in a black and red light you recognised.
Then your eyes fell back on Anne.
And she was already watching you, sitting straighter than before. Her shoulders held a little higher. The improvement of her health was visible.
She was cured.
You meant to smile, but for some reason when you moved your mouth, the corners turned down and your eyes filled with tears.
Anne jumped up, her movements much swifter than you were used to from her, and she threw her arms around your shoulders.
“Oh, Merlin, you did it” she breathed into your ear, and it tickled.
You laughed then, through your tears, and brought your own arms up to reciprocate her hug.
“I can feel it, it’s gone! Completely gone!” she was tearing up herself, you could hear it in her voice. “We should tell the others,” Anne said after a brief silence.
And while it was a terrifying thought to image how Sebastian would take all this secrecy, you agreed.
You sent an owl to the boys in preparation, before you and Anne left for Hogwarts together.
***
Anne was sat in one of the few intact chairs in the Undercroft. Many of them were blasted to pieces during various practises, either by you or Sebastian.
Ominis always cleaned up after himself.
But the chair she chose, was still usable.
You both got there before Sebastian and Ominis, talking about the castle and her peers – things she missed and things you didn’t know yet.
Until finally you heard the mechanism of the door click and hurried footsteps grew closer.
When Ominis and Sebastian came into view you could only focus on the latter.
His eyes only remained on you for a second before finding Anne.
He stopped to a halt. Had Ominis been walking behind him, instead a few paces to his left, he would have walked right into him.
You knew he could see the change in Anne’s posture and complexion. His face broke out in a disbelieving smile.
“Oh, Merlin…” you heard him mutter.
He rushed over to Anne and lifted her up in hug, a huge smile gracing both of the twin’s faces. When he let her down Anne turned towards Ominis.
“Anne!” his voice cut through the Undercroft, as Anne threw her arms around an unsuspecting Ominis. “It worked,” he added a tad more quiet, and wound his arms around Anne. He tucked her head under his chin, just like he had with you.
“It worked?” you heard Sebastian repeat. He turned to you with a questioning gaze. When he met your unsurprised eyes, you saw him grow suspicious.
“What worked? What happened? Am I the only one out of the loop?” he threw at you.
It was now or never. Quickly, like pulling a tooth with nothing to numb it.
“Yes.” You admitted quietly, you tone and eyes begging for forgiveness.
His eyebrows drew together in an angry frown.
“What?” he demanded, his voice harsh and callous. “Why?”
“It was Anne’s decision to make,” you said, reaching for him. He evaded. “I didn’t want to give you false hope again, in case she decided against it.” You continued, stung that he didn’t let you touch him, but accepting it. You looked over his shoulder at Anne and Ominis, they were still in their embrace, ignoring you two. Ominis had started to pet her hair.
Your eyes flitted between them and Sebastian’s so much, that he turned to see what you were so distracted by.
“That’s normal,” he indicated his thumb towards them over his shoulder as he turned back to you, “ignore them, and focus on me.”
“Sebastian, we shouldn’t disturb them so much-”
“No, just let them be and don’t change the subject,” he said, this time he reached for you. You let him grab you by the wrist, even though his grasp was a tad rough.
“What did you do, and why didn’t you involve me?” He demanded. His eyes were sparkling with anger.
“I used the ancient magic like Isidora did. You even suggested it, remember? I knew what your opinion would have been, Sebastian. I didn’t need to ask, to know.”
“But you asked Ominis?” He accused. You saw a muscle twitch in his jaw.
“Yes, I needed an un-skewed opinion about the risk involved,” you defended yourself.
“Oh, and Ominis has an un-skewed opinion about anything involving Anne?” he spat, disbelieving.
“Well in my defence, I didn’t know about…” you paused, “that.” You gestured towards the two, who continued to blissfully ignore your spat with Sebastian.
“Still, why ask him and not me? Is my opinion irrelevant to you?” He continued, his hold on your wrist increasing to an almost uncomfortable pressure. He pulled you a bit closer.
“Of course not, but I can say ‘no’ to him,” you said. You felt cornered.
He paused.
“What was that?” he asked you, as if to repeat yourself. His fierce gaze held your eyes captive.
You realised what you admitted to and slowly closed your eyes in frustration at yourself. You sighed.
“I can say ‘no’ to him,” you said, still holding your eyes closed, “but I can’t say ‘no’ to you.”
There was another pause during which neither of you spoke.
“So,” you continued, opening your eyes and meeting his waiting, surprised stare, “You would have wanted Anne healed, consequences be damned, and I wouldn’t have been able to say ‘no’.”
“You can’t say ‘no’ to me?” he asked, his eyes searching yours. You didn’t know what they were looking for.
You shook your head in a panicked, jerky movement.
He pulled you even closer and relented his grasp on your wrist a little in the process. His touch was light as a feather now. Sebastian’s shoes were almost touching yours, you stood so close to him.
“So, you mean to tell me,” he started in a soft, low voice, “If I were to ask something of you, you couldn’t say ‘no’?” He was so close, his breath danced over your face.
You lowered your eyes as you couldn’t stand the intensity behind his.
He pulled you even closer and your hands raised to clutch onto his green and black uniform. He leaned in, so he could softly whisper into your ear.
“So, if I asked something of you, you would have to say yes?”
You turned you head towards him, to drive him just as insane with your answer.
“Yes,” your voice wavered.
He pulled back just enough to show you his smug, soft grin.
“Well then, will you let me kiss you?” He asked, his eyes conveying teasing and anticipation.
You smiled back just as softly.
“Yes,” you sighed.
He didn’t waste another moment, as he grabbed your chin softly and guided your lips to meet his.
All the tension between you was finally resolved, but at the same time, a different tension grew.
He felt warm and firm as he moved against your lips, demanding more after a few seconds. You felt like your blood was boiling over and grasped his arms in order to not faint and fall backwards.
That was when Anne and Ominis finally had enough.
“Oy,” Anne’s voice cut through the air rather loudly, “cut it out, you two, and pay more attention to me! I’m the healed one!”
Sebastian only pulled away from you marginally, as you tried to look over his shoulder towards Anne. Then he changed his mind and leaned closer again, nudging his nose against your temple, before coaxing your lips back to his and capturing them in another searing kiss.
But he kept it short this time and tucked you under his chin as he had before. His arms constricted around you, even as he turned towards Anne and Ominis.
His hold on you tightened as, unbeknownst to you, his eyes filled with tears as his gaze fell upon his sister, who was teasing Ominis about something or other.
“Thank you,” he murmured into your hair, closing his eyes again and silently thanking the stars for sending you to him.
Your eyes were closed as well, as you revelled in his tight hold on you.
“You are most welcome,” you murmured back into his uniform.
Everything was finally right.
And you would do anything in your power to keep it that way.
- The End -