Hogwarts Legacy: The Price of Power

A Familiar Face

"S-Sebastian?" Dracaena managed, struggling to find her feet. "Is it really you?"

"Who else would I be, Merlin?" he chuckled, stepping into the compartment, dragging a trunk with him. "It's... good to see- oof!"

Dracaena flung her arms around his neck with such force that they almost tumbled back out into the corridor. But he caught her, steadying them both, his arms rising to encircle her back. She clung to him, burying her face in his shoulder.

"Hey, what gives?" he managed another laugh, his voice gentle. "It's almost like you've not seen me for a year or so."

"Oh, shut up," Dracaena mumbled. She stepped back, gripping his arms, staring up at him. He looked so much older than she had expected, the thin lines around his eyes and across his forehead aging him beyond his seventeen years. But when he smiled, as he did when their eyes met, it seemed as though time melted away, and he was as youthful as she.

"How... how did... Sebastian, what...?"

"I think you owe us an explanation," Ominis said, coming to stand behind Dracaena. She moved aside, allowing Sebastian into the compartment. He stepped closer, half a head taller than Ominis, a full head taller than Dracaena, his shoulders dipping, his head lowering.

"I do," he said. "I owe you both a great many things, not least of which is a sincere apology."

"Well, I suppose that's a good start," Ominis said. His jaw was set, his face carefully neutral. But Dracaena could see how tightly his fists were clenched, the stiffness of his shoulders, the trembles that wracked his body. "Let's hear it, then."

Sebastian's smile was small and genuine. "Ominis, for everything I've done..." he reached out and tugged the other man into a tight embrace. "I am truly, deeply sorry."

Ominis stood rigid for a moment, before his hands rose, grasping handfuls of Sebastian's shirt, clinging to him as tightly as a lethifold. Sebastian closed his eyes, holding tight, swaying slightly with the motion of the train.

The three sat down, and suddenly, all seemed at a loss for what to say. Dracaena couldn't keep her eyes off Sebastian, taking in everything about her old friend. The way he was taller, his hair was a little longer, the way he had a shadow on his jaw, darker than Ominis' light moustache. The way he was stiller, too, no longer fidgeting or flipping his hair out of his eyes as he had before. He rested his elbows on his knees, leaning forward a little, staring at the floor.

"How?" Dracaena managed, after a long minute. "How did you get out of Azkaban?"

"I was released," he replied. Ominis made a small, disbelieving noise, and Sebastian smiled ruefully. "It's true. When I stood trial, they took everything into account. My age, Anne's curse... our parent's death, the way Uncle Solomon used to treat us..."

"He was a fair guardian," Ominis interjected. "He took you both in."

"And he salted the ground I walked on," Sebastian replied. "But that's not the point. You know he used to be an Auror, but he lost his job because he used an Unforgivable Curse against a Dark Wizard. They took that into account too. It was decided that I was a victim of a great many unfortunate circumstances, all of which led to my... my actions. Professor Weasley put it far more eloquently than I was able to, at the time."

He gave a single-shouldered shrug.

"I still had to be punished, of course. But my parent's reputation stood for something, I think. They said they didn't want such a 'bright young mind' to go completely to waste. Their words, not mine."

"Who?" Dracaena asked.

"The Wizengamot. The magical justice system," Sebastian explained. "They oversaw my trial. I was sentenced to a year in Azkaban, to then be returned to Hogwarts and given a second chance." He chuckled again, shaking his head. "Ah, I was unbelievably lucky. I get to go back to school, maybe get some NEWTs, and make something of myself."