Me and the Devil: Sebastian Sallow

Chapter ONE - Scriptorium

The world shifted slowly as the darkness twirled around my eyes. It wound its way through the loose strands of my braid and curled back against my cheeks - dancing, caressing, suffocating. The warm glow of the occasional wall hung torch danced steadily against my nose and down along my fingers that gripped tightly to the familiar worn wood of my wand. The space around me was utterly void of life save for the warm bodies of Sebastian and Ominis who's shadows clung close to my side as we moved down the staircase to what we hoped was the scriptorium.

Our boots clicked gently against the cold stone steps and I toed at a loose rock chip. It rolled quietly down ahead of me before stopping suddenly with one last tilt.

"Dark, ominous corridors. My favorite."

I stifled a laugh and realized how glad I was to have Sebastian's sarcasm in the moment - breaking up the thick turned anxiety and anticipation that nipped firmly at our heels.

"No comment." Clearly Ominis didn't feel the same.

"Come on, that was a good one!"

My heel slapped against the final step and I squinted, straining to see further into the room ahead. Ominis stepped up beside me, his wand raised. The faint red glow guiding him through the space.

Sebastian walked quickly ahead of the both of us, stepping closer to the far wall to inspect it.

"Looks like a locked door. Let's look around, there's gotta be something."

Stepping slightly to the left, a piece of faded, crumpled paper caught my eye laying on a shelf built tightly into the wall itself. I traced my fingers along its edges, contemplating if picking it up would trigger some sort of trap. This was Salazar Slytherin's making after all. After a moment, I gently lifted it from its bed and brought my wand closer to my face.

"Lumos." The faint white light illuminated the crumpled paper in my hands.

Scanning quickly over the letter, my lips traced silently over each word.

I must prove my point - we do not need to use the Dark Arts as my family instructs... I will find evidence that there's more to Salazar Slytherin than we realize... I accessed the corridor's entrance... its a maze...many challenges to solve... Noctua Gaunt

It wasn't a letter at all, more of a journal page.

"Ominis." He shuffled closer to my side. "A journal entry signed by Noctua Gaunt."

His hand reached out hesitantly in my direction and I placed the paper on his outstretched palm. I watched as he ran his thumb over the page, caressing each letter as if he could see and commit them to memory.

"Gaunt?" Sebastian turned to us then. His brows knit tight. "Ominis your family was here?"

"She was my aunt."

My mind wandered, and my feet followed suit, stumbling over some crumbled stones on the ground. The walls stretched a couple paces further and I noticed the door Sebastian had mentioned when we had first entered.

Holding my wand tip closer, I inspected the cold silver metal - a mess of twisting and turning lines and bumps decorated the door. I followed each one with my eyes and was no more surprised to see they each led to the head of a snake than I was to see that the door had no handle.

"Take a look at this." Sebastian called over my shoulder. "Atley I mean, not you Ominis." I could hear the eye roll and quiet tisk of disapproval at the blind joke. "Kiddingggg" He sung. "I think its a relief."

"What?" I paced closer and watched as Sebastian raised his wand to the wall and then down to the pile of broken stones I had nearly tripped over a moment ago.