The Secret War | Dramione

Chapter 15

"Salazar Slytherin was your brother?" Hermione asked in disbelief.

Sebastián nodded at her, and something flickered in his golden eyes, the echo of an old emotion he had buried deep.

Hermione stared at him, transfixed, as he prepared to tell her the story of his past.

"I was born into a wealthy family, one of the most prominent in Segovia. My mother died in childbirth. My father remarried when I was young, and shortly after Salazar was born. Salazar's mother seemed to be a woman of noble character, but I always knew there was a darkness in her. It didn't take me long to discover she was a witch."

Hermione waited for Sebastián to continue.

"I never told my father. She died of the plague three years after Salazar was born. I suspected God had punished her, and I feared her wickedness had damaged Salazar's soul. I did not want him to meet the same end. And so, I often took him to prayer and confession. He and I were inseparable for a time, but I always knew Salazar was different from the other boys. He would make strange things happen, things he couldn't explain. And I often saw him in the courtyard of our home, walking among the snakes that slithered out in the heat of summer. It was almost like he was speaking to them. Over time I couldn't deny what he was. He had inherited his mother's traits. And I could not permit him to ruin our family's good name."

Sebastián smiled bitterly at Hermione.

"You see, I had ambitions to join the church in Rome. I insisted that Salazar hide his true nature for the sake of our family, to maintain our high standing in society...and to ensure my future. But when he turned seventeen he grew tired of pretending. He began to consort with his own kind, and soon he learned of a group of wizards in the south of Spain...they were teaching the craft of sorcery in secret. Our father did not want him to go...I believe, over time, he came to suspect what Salazar was."

Hermione nodded.

"One day they argued and Salazar lost his temper. He'd oppressed his powers for so long that he could no longer control them. Without knowing how, he started a terrible fire. He was desperate to stop it, but he failed to do so in time, and our father was killed. Salazar and I were never the same after that. To me he was a demon that had destroyed our family. He begged me to forgive him. Guilt consumed him, and he asked me what I believed of his soul, and if I thought it could be saved. I answered that he had no soul, and that he would burn in hell for what he'd done.

Sebastián paused, remembering...

"I sent him away from Segovia, and kept our father's fortune for myself, threatening to expose Salazar if he fought me. I lied to our relatives and told them that Salazar had died in the fire along with my father. I became the sole heir of the Arévalo fortune, and Salazar left Spain altogether...fearful of my wrath.

"It was convenient for you then?" Hermione asked. "His departure?"

Sebastián nodded.

"I left Spain also, and traveled to Rome. Only the wealthy, the learned, could climb the ranks of the church. My uncle was a cardinal. He procured me a position as a deacon, and for a time I thrived. I was well-respected, I had my father's wealth, and I was surrounded by Rome's elite. My first few years in the city passed without incident..."

Sebastián looked at Hermione with an odd expression.

"But then one day everything changed. There was a scandal, a murder, involving one of Rome's wealthiest families, and I was caught in the middle. A friend I once trusted, blamed me for the crimes he had committed. And so, I was asked to leave the church, disgraced. Over time, I gambled away my fortune. Within two years, I was impoverished. I firmly believed that Salazar had placed a curse on me, and I was convinced that my failure in Rome was his doing, some kind of dark spell. I wanted revenge..."