Hogwarts Legacy : A Sixth Year Continuation

Chapter Forty : Cailleach

Sebastian,

Had to leave, hopefully be back before New Year.

Don't come looking for me.

Kitty.

I folded the parchment in half, leaving it on the coffee table where I knew he would find it. The lake outside the window was black, there was no sun in the sky to allow light to penetrate the water. I had left Evie snoring peacefully in my bed, only listening to the sound for around four hours, before I decided I had wasted enough time.

It all added up. Sebastian had made a point of saying he could hear what Ominis and Ruby were talking about. What he was unable to tell me was that he couldn't understand them. The question now, why could I understand them?

I had it in my blood. Could Mammy speak Parseltongue? She would have to be a descendant of Salazar Slytherin...I couldn't picture it.

Ominis' bottle of firewhiskey was half full, next to the foot of the sofa. I dropped my bag softly, reaching for the bottle, allowing myself a large gulp of Dutch courage before attempting to apparate across the country. I heard a soft cough behind me.

I span round to see Ruby, robe still wrapped round her, looking exactly the same as she had four hours prior.

I stared at her, and she stared back not speaking, simply holding her hand open to ask for the bottle of whiskey. I passed it to her, the silence in the room was palpable. She gulped from the bottle greedily before finally releasing the it from her lips, passing it back to me along with an envelope.

"What's this?" I finally said holding up the envelope, addressed "Kitty" In curly silver handwriting.

"It's a Christmas present." She hissed, my ears now recognising the soft shushing of our mother tongue.

"From who?" I hissed back, my mouth automatically switching away from English without realising. Had I spoken it before? Only not noticing because the truth hadn't been brought to light? It was like my mouth just knew what to do without any thought at all.

"Me. But wait till Christmas Day. I don't know where you're going or what you plan to do, and I don't want to. I just hope this can begin to make up for what's gone on between us."

Her lip trembled slightly as she spoke. Her face her own , not Sloan nor Gaunt, just Ruby. I nodded once, putting the envelope in my pocket, taking one more gulp of whiskey before handing the bottle back to Ruby, who polished it off.

"Tell me what this means. How am I talking with you like this?" I asked, swinging my bag over my shoulder.

Ruby shook her head and shrugged "We are still trying to work it out. Ominis thinks he knows but we have hardly any proof. You know what he's like, self righteous prick."She smiled and I allowed my face to betray me, stifling a drunken giggle.

I felt it in my bones as she spoke, a connection. One I had buried from her, not wanting to be involved in her dark lineage. But I felt as thought I was starting to come to the same conclusion as Ominis surely was...I remembered what Mr.Brooke had said about my mother and Omini's father.

"...After that they were joined at the hip..."

My spine tingled as the words echoed in my whiskey hazed mind. Ruby was examining me head to toe, before she spoke again.

"Be careful, whatever you're doing. Malachai Guant has decided I'm no longer of use, my brothers have been chosen instead. They'll be looking for you if you leave Hogwarts. If I were you I'd come back as quickly as you can. Their bloodlust exceeds that of Marvolo." She hissed in a low tone.

I nodded again, tightening my black coat round myself. Ruby bit her lip as she watched me prepare to leave. She obviously wanted to say something else but was deciding against it.