Virtues and Vices

Unwanted Pain

Noctua was right. This wasn't welcoming at all; dark and lifeless corridors, locked gates, and those dial puzzles with serpents as their guard.

Four heads turned around in surprise as the gate closed right away the moment they walked into this corridor. "The gate– it's closed," Sebastian said as the fire torches on the stone walls lit themselves up, making it less dark.

Ominis sighed; he seemed just as nervous as Elliot. "Then Salazar Slytherin is not yet finished with us," he moaned. Eleanor understood very well how he felt about all this. Salazar wasn't a warm person— not to his own blood, and his place, his scriptorium, most likely needed Dark Magic to be found.

Sebastian wasn't paying much attention to the others as he kept staring at the stone door with the eerie carving of a screaming person. "There must be a way out, I can feel it," he mumbled to himself. His determination was honestly admirable, if not for this. If not for his obsession to find things he could use as a cure for his ill sister.

Elliot, however, looked paler than he usually was. He didn't find the previous dark rooms to be pleasant, but this was so much worse. Dark corridor with no obvious way out. His hand was holding tightly onto his sister's, Eleanor squeezed his hand in return. "It's okay, you're not alone. We're all here," she whispered.

She could feel the worried eyes of the other boys on her; she knew someday someone else needed to know about this. "Are you alright, Leo?" Her eyes glanced to her twin after Sebastian asked, silently asking if he'd allowed her to tell them why, and she got a small nod of approval, "He has a fear of dark rooms– I believe he'd tell you the details after we get out of here."

The other boys' faces didn't look good after hearing her explanation. "I– I'll find a way out, or forward," The brunet said, somewhat regretting the decision to bring Elliot along, although it was him who said he wanted to join them.

Elliot let go of Eleanor's hand as he walked to the stone door. "This should've been our way forward..." He said before his eyes noticed a piece of journal entry... and a skeleton on the floor. Curiosity took the best of him as he read the journal, there was obvious horror on his face by the time he had finished reading it.

"Ominis– it's your aunt's last journal entry. And a skeleton, I think... I think it's your aunt.." He glanced at Gaunt, "She mentions being trapped here, blocked by an Unforgivable Curse." Eleanor put her focus on the skeleton on the ground, her gaze saddened. She wished someone—or maybe even her—could've helped Noctua...

She took the journal from Elliot and read it. Her eyes went back to the strange carving after a moment, then something clicked in her head. It seemed like Sebastian thought the same as their eyes met. Hesitation was too visible in both of their eyes, they knew what to do to get them through and it wouldn't be easy. It would never be easy.

"This– this is where she died. This is where we'll die, I shouldn't have listened to either of you." Both of them looked at Ominis as he talked. His voice was full of regret. If only he knew what they would be facing, he'd never walk into this damned maze. "Ominis, we won't die here, I promise," Elliot knew how incredibly stupid he sounded, but if they must use the Unforgivable Curse, then so be it.

"Ominis, I'm truly sorry about your aunt. But I know what to do, it'll be difficult but I believe that's the only way for us to keep going forward." Sebastian sounded very determined and none of them were surprised by it anymore.

"What? What do we have to do? Cast the Cruciatus Curse?" Elliot gritted his teeth while he leaned against a wall across from Ominis. Furious wouldn't be enough to describe his gaze, this whole journey of finding Salazar's scriptorium had been madness.