Hogwarts Legacy : A Sixth Year Continuation

Chapter Sixty : Blackmail

"Okay, enough is enough. We've stayed for the bells, let's leave before we give anyone a chance to try something."

Ominis was trying hard to keep a civil smile on his face as he whispered in my ear, his eyes on our father who was laughing and shaking hands with the Minister. Ruby was clinging hard to Ominis' arm and tugging it anxiously.

"My brothers are over there, I'd like to leave now. I've not seen them since the...since Galway." She said looking away from me. I followed the direction her eyes had been in a second before. Zephyr and Killian were both leaning against the bar. The older of the two , Killian was urgently whispering in the younger's ear, both of their eyes staring into mine. Killian had been the brother I had met first, outside of the village church. Zephyr, the younger of the two had been the one I'd used the cruciatus curse on. His gaze was shrouded by booze , eyelids drooping and bow tie draped lazily around his neck while his brother seemed to be giving him a determined lecture in his left ear.

"I don't like the way they're looking at you, Kitty. Ominis is right, we are tempting fate and you two were fucking stupid coming here in the first place when you promised you wouldn't. We can't hope to gain anything from this." Sebastian growled draining his glass with a snarl on his lips as he kept his eyes locked with Ruby's brothers.

He was right. What had I gained really? Had my torture of Marvolo been worth it? The satisfaction of feeling his hot blood spatter across my skin was short lived to say the least. Not to mention the sheer waste of valuable potion, including the two bottles I'd kept for myself. What if I'd gone through with it and killed him? Would it have made a difference?

I felt Sebastian grip his fingers round my arm as the four of us shuffled past the bejewelled bodies. It was all a waste. I would be leaving the mansion with more daddy issues than I'd entered with and no further forward with discovering the location of the ring. There must be some way to rattle the Gaunt's. Violence hadn't worked. Nor had revealing the secret Malachi had hidden about his bastard daughter. They'd all already known, the only one who seemed ignorant had been his brother Obsidian who had fled with his family the second he'd found out.

What would rile them up, irk them? What did the Gaunt's care about more than anything? What would bring this family to its knees? My mind flicked through every single clue I'd been given as my gaze trailed to the grand stairway, where the eldest Gaunt, our grandmother, was making her way gracefully to her bedroom.

I felt myself ground to a halt at the exit to the ballroom, Sebastian coming to an abrupt stop beside me much to the annoyance of drunken party goers who shouldered past us. His eyes narrowed as he searched my face. I could just make Ruby out from over his shoulder as she anxiously looked behind me into the ballroom, then to me, then to the door. She was nibbling the skin around her nails as she tapped her foot impatiently.

"Kitty? What're you doing? Let's go." He urged, eyes flicking over my shoulder too.

I felt a warm hand wrap round my waist from behind, but I didn't really take in the touch of the unknown hand. My mind was racing as ideas suddenly sparked to life in my mind. It wasn't until a voice purred behind me that I finally blinked and turned away from Sebastian.

The hand had been Zephyr's, who was smiling drunkenly down at me. His eyes glazed from too much firewhisky, he leered into my face.

"Hello again, gorgeous. Come all this way just to see me did you? I just wanted to say I'm in to all that kinky torture shit, what's say you and I continue those games upstairs?"

I felt gooseflesh all over my chest and arms as the man leaned into my face. I could smell the fire on his breath, see the same flame mirrored under his drunk gaze. He scared me in a way that was different to Marvolo or Malachi. I wasn't sure how but there was weight to his words...something...committed..serious.