Aftermath ✧ Sebastian Sallow

chapter forty-two

Father by The Front Bottoms

-✧-✧-✧-

Ominis' Perceptive

It was early in the morning, the rest of the manor still asleep as the sun was just creasing over the horizon. The study was normally off-limits as it was where my father spent most of his time at home. Sneaking into it while he was asleep seemed like the best solution. 

It would have taken too long to search through all of the books to figure out which ones included the mention of creating a horcrux, but thankfully the books involving the history of dark magic had their own place. 

If the legends were true that Herpo the Foul was the only person to actually create a horcrux, then it would be told how in history. 

The family library was like an extension of the restricted section. Only books with dangerous information were kept in their study. It didn't take long to find the set of books that I was hoping for, the rough spines of The History of The Dark Arts felt like needles against my skin and I pulled each volume off the shelf. There weren't many printed copies of the history, my father had boosted once about owning one of a few complete sets over dinner once before. 

The idea of using dark magic still worried me, but Anne was dying. 

If Amelia could take the part of Anne's soul that was cursed, it could prevent her death. Goblin metal was out of the question. Isadora showed the danger of that and how it didn't fully bond the soul to the metal. The rest of the soul just seemed to break around it. If the curse could be removed and bonded like a horcrux, then Anne might live. 

"Stealing from the family on Christmas now? That's not like you, little brother," spat the husky voice of Marvolo as I shoved the last book into my bag. My heart sank at being caught red-handed. "What are you looking for exactly?"

"Doesn't matter." I hissed, quickly closing the bag. My heart was racing in my ear. 

Marvolo's footsteps were almost silent as he moved closer across the study. He reached for a book off the shelf before pushing the weight of it against my chest, "Take this one with you too."

My fingers brushed over the edged-in letter of the cover, Secrets of the Darkest Art. 

"I have a feeling that you'll need that one," He insisted, "The histories are good. But this book will fill in some blanks."

He had been watching me steal the books if he knew which were already gone. But there was a twisting in my gut for why he wouldn't stop me. 

"Why are you helping?" I snapped before adding the book to the bag with the others.

"Can't I be glad to see my little brother finally living up to his name?" Marvolo joked cruelly. 

I didn't answer back. 

Marvolo must have just arrived at the manor as he hadn't been anywhere that I could sense the night before. He only appeared at the worst of times. Now he knew that I was taking dark arts books from home without permission. 

"I won't tell Father that you are stealing his book," Marvolo spoke up after the silence grew too much, "If you tell me something I want to know."

"If there is something I know that you don't, why not just use legilimency and take it from me?" I questioned.