Legacy Disowned - Book 1

Chapter 16 - Someone Who Understands

Sebastian sat hunched over in the flickering firelight of the Undercroft, poring over the ancient tomes he'd found in Slytherin's Scriptorium. He'd spent weeks painstakingly translating the old english and trying to decipher complex magical formulas.

The books were an absolute treasure trove of lost knowledge that opened up a whole new world of charms and runes to him, but he had underestimated just how insidious and cruel mediaeval wizards could be. Some of the books contained techniques that descended to a level of darkness that he hadn't imagined possible.

"The Art of Disenchantment" had been one such book. The title had led him to believe it might contain methods of breaking spells and curses, but it turned out to be referring to disenchanting people. It contained detailed instruction on nauseatingly barbaric methods of permanently limiting another's magical abilities, none of which were remotely humane. The illustrations alone were enough to turn Sebastian's stomach.

"The Covenant of Control: Techniques for Mastery and Manipulation" had been even more disturbing. Sebastian had hoped it would hold the key to bending Anne's curse to his will, but instead, it contained various methods of magical compulsion so cruel they made the Imperius Curse seem kind hearted by comparison. The magic in these books was gruesome and brutal, leaving a bitter taste in his mouth.

He was sure if Ominis ever took in so much as a sentence from either of those two books, Sebastian would be in for the biggest "I told you so" of his life. But Sebastian wasn't giving up, he was determined to muscle through.

The cure had to be in one of these books, it just had to.

The vision of Darling doubled over in pain, her nails breaking on the stone floor suddenly flashed across his mind. He swallowed hard, trying to push the memory away. She was fine.

But even as he thought it, fresh guilt twisted his gut. She was fine, but he couldn't say the same about Ominis. The nightmares that had subsided since they first met seemed to have come back full force and Sebastian knew it was his fault.

Sebastian ran a hand through his hair, trying not to think about his own nightmares. It was almost lucky he had so much research material to get through. The later he stayed up, the less dreams he seemed to have.

He had managed to find a ray of hope though, and of course it had come from the journal Darling had found. It was vague, but if his translations were correct it might be just what he needed. And vague or not, it was the closest thing to a solution he'd found since Anne had been cursed.

"Sebastian?"

Darling's melodic voice rang off the stone walls and he turned to see her stepping through the gate. The tension in Sebastian's shoulders seemed to relax in an instant.

"You wanted to talk?" she said, her eyes full of a warm curiosity.

"You won't believe what I've found!" he exclaimed, beaming at her. She practically skipped over, mirroring his excitement.

"This book you found is fascinating! It seems Slytherin viewed dark magic differently," he said enthusiastically. "He believed students should fully understand it, not fear it. That's why we had to use the Cruciatus Curse to get into the Scriptorium– he didn't want anyone who was afraid to wield that power to access it."

"Well, I'm glad we got something good out of it," she said lightly. "We did what we had to do, but I'd like to avoid repeating the experience, if it's all the same to you."

"And, I'm glad we did it," Sebastian said quickly. "Because I also found something else in here. References to a lost relic which, from what I can tell, grants the holder the power to reverse dark magic curses."