Eternal Stranger | Sebastian Sallow + Ominis Gaunt

Chapter 1: Always You Three

The restricted section of the library was strictly off-limits for students to access without explicit permission from a professor. That, of course, didn't stop the numerous attempts from children looking to explore the unknown, break in on a dare, or search for something the adults had deemed 'too dangerous' for young witches and wizards to know about.

Ingrid wasn't even sure if what she was looking for sat among the shelves locked behind the steel gates but she was running out of options, patience, and time.

Under the disillusionment charm, Ingrid rose her blackthorn wand and cast the unlocking charm she had learnt back in her fourth year. "Alohomora."

The padlock on the gate shone bright blue, the anti-alohomora protection charm preventing it from being tampered with. Ingrid cursed under her breath. She had a hunch that breaking into the restricted section wouldn't be so easy but she didn't have very long before Peeves the Poltergeist came back around for his nightly sweep of the library, yearning to catch children out of bed and get them in trouble.

The only option now was to retrieve the lock's key, which was most likely kept under its own protection charm in the librarian's desk. One wrong move and Ingrid could blow her cover and possibly ruin her chances of ever locating the information she was so desperately looking for.

Creeping over to the desk, Ingrid located the only locked drawer of the bunch and drew in a steady breath. She started out small with Alohomora once more, which, much to her surprise, worked. The faint sound of the lock mechanism releasing filled her with both a sense of accomplishment and a feeling of dread. It seemed highly unlikely that the padlock itself would have an anti-alohomora charm placed upon it and the drawer containing the key wouldn't.

Reaching for the handle, Ingrid slowly pulled the drawer open inch by inch until she heard a frantic whizzing sound and slammed it closed. Heart pounding in her chest, she looked around to make sure she hadn't alerted anyone. The dark library was still as quiet and empty as it had been when she first arrived.

Pulling the drawer open just a crack this time, Ingrid used Lumos to illuminate the tip of her wand and take a peek inside. The whizzing sound had since stopped and the drawer appeared barren aside from a single golden key. When Ingrid opened the drawer a crack more, however, the key burst to life—two golden wings sprouted from the metal and the key began fluttering around in an attempt to escape.

"Sneaky." Ingrid grinned to herself. Placing her wand down on the top of the desk, she readied her now empty hand. Yanking the drawer open, she snatched the key out of the air before it had a chance to fly off and alert someone to her presence.

With the key struggling in her grasp, Ingrid rushed back over to the padlock and shoved it inside the lock. Immediately, the key stopped struggling and the wings disappeared. The padlock popped open and released its hold on the gates, finally granting access to the secrets and knowledge hidden in the restricted section.

Perusing the bookcases, Ingrid now faced a much more tedious task—she had no idea where to find what she was looking for. All she had was a name, Helvi Ronnette, and a faint idea of what she was hoping to accomplish before the night was over.

For a little under an hour, Ingrid searched the shelves, pulling out books that looked promising before quickly returning them when they didn't contain what she was looking for. Finally, just when it was beginning to feel as though her efforts were all for naught, Ingrid pulled a thick, dusty book down from the shelf.

The cover read Ancient Curses and the Curse Breakers Who Broke Them.

"Yes," Ingrid whispered as she carried the book over to one of the tables and flipped it open. Dropping her disillusionment charm, she scanned the pages briefly before recognizing the name she was searching for under a paragraph about the Calveti Crypt Curse.