Life Goes On

Chapter 17: In the Darkness of the Mine

Before I really realized where I was headed, I'd made it to Clagmar coast. The sun was starting to rise, the ocean breeze felt chilly on my skin, it snapped me out of the rage and depression trance I'd been in.

I landed by the beach and sat on the sand, staring out at the waves. It had been almost two years since I'd last been in Clagmar. There weren't any happy memories for me here.

I took a deep inhale of the salty air. I could remember running around the beach with my mother and father before their accident. Thinking about them always brought tears to my eyes, the whole in my chest opening right up, as if I was still sitting on the school steps in great aunt Cleo's arms after they had died.

Professor Rackham mentioned the goblin mine, he said there, we would find the cauldron. Sebastian had been doing some research, trying to figure out exactly where we needed to go and checking to see if anyone else might've attempted this or written down any notes about this power source, but so far, he hadn't found anything specific.

I took a deep breath again and headed toward the mine.

The last time I was here, the place was full of Ranroks's Loyalist. But today, the mine was empty, quiet. It felt a lot more... eerie.

Perhaps, it was best that I confront this on my own. If I failed, it would be just me, no one else would need to get hurt. No one else would need to die.

I started descending into the mine. While I didn't have any clues about where to find this platform, I figured, starting in the places I had not been in before would be a good approach. As I entered the mine, however, I instantly heard a song again, like I had in the coast. The song sounded familiar. Like a memory I used to have.

"Lumos."

As I walked deeper into the mine, I could hear the song more clearly it was... a lullaby. My mother's lullaby. Tears started rolling down my face. I could still see her face so clearly when I closed my eyes. Sitting by my bed in the low light, combing her fingers though my hair. Her voice sweet and warm, wrapping me in her love. I kept walking down the tunnels searching for the source.

***

Quiet steps snuck into the Slytherin dorm. Ominis felt odd walking back into his old room. He had shared the space with Sebastian for so long. Now it smelled different, things were all over the floor. Clearly, Sebastian's new roommate didn't mind the mess, and Sebastian was all too happy to ignore it himself.

"Sebastian, Sebastian!" He whispered attempting to wake up Sebastian without disturbing his new roommate, but Sebastian continued to snore away, unfazed.

"SALLOW! For the love of Merlin, wake up you ogre!"

Sebastian jumped out of his bed, nearly hitting his face on his nightstand. "I'm awake headmaster!" He exclaimed, clearly still in the fog of a dream. "Ophelia did not return to the dorm last night."

"What do you mean she didn't return? Could she have stayed somewhere else? With Poppy or Natty perhaps?" Sebastian got up and started digging around the piles of laundry spread on the floor looking for his uniform. He sniffed a shirt and threw it back on the pile after making a disgusted expression.

"You really ought to do your laundry and clean up your dorm really. Who lives like this?" Ominis could smell sweat and dirt all over the place. He scrunched his nose in disapproval.

"I don't get a lot of free time, you know? This year has been kicking my ass." He exclaimed as he finally found a shirt that smelled acceptable. "So, have you checked elsewhere for Ophelia?"

"No, I mean, this is not like her, to storm off the way she did and not try to communicate. She usually comes back around, even if we've had a disagreement of sorts. She's never like this." Ominis leaned his back against the wall trying to rack his brain for any ideas of where she could be.