Of Cunning Minds: Sebastian Sallow

Chapter 8 - The Scriptorium

It was late the following day when Thea and Sebastian began their journey to Hogwarts. They had spent all morning and afternoon with Ominis, planning their excursion within the castle. Sebastian carefully mapped out the most discrete path down into the dungeons. Ominis was thorough in teaching them the correct Parseltongue phrases to allow them access to the Scriptorium passageway. If all went according to plan, they'd reach Hogwarts by midnight and be back at their campsite by dawn.

Thea tugged her jacket more tightly around her body as she trekked through the valley with Sebastian. The distant silhouette of the castle was barely visible through the fog. Her mind couldn't help but wander to visions of tortured screams and snapping snakes. She shivered and gripped her wand more tightly against her palm.

Although she had explored this part of the valley before, it felt eerie and unsettling. Sebastian seemed to be on guard as well; his head kept snapping towards the direction of any stray sound. They walked on silently as the fog around them grew thicker. Even with the brightness of the moonlight, Thea could no longer see the ground in front of her. She drifted closer to Sebastian. As capable as she knew him to be, he was also unarmed and she didn't like the idea of him being so exposed in this environment.

He must have sensed her trepidation as he caught her glance and gave a reassuring nod. "We're not far," he said. "An hour away, maybe less." Thea nodded back and continued forward, quickening her pace only slightly. She couldn't ignore the uneasiness in her stomach. Something wasn't right.

A twig snapped somewhere to the left. Thea had just pointed her wand in the direction of the noise when thick ropes shot forward and wrapped around her arms, knocking her to the ground. Sebastian shouted and ran to her struggling form only to be caught in a set of binds as well. His body fell just next to hers and a string of expletives poured from his mouth.

Through the fog, a masked figure appeared. He slowly approached their thrashing bodies, wand outstretched. Two more men came from behind them, pulling them up harshly from the ground. Thea was pressed firmly against a rigid chest and she felt a wand digging into her neck. "Well, well, well," the masked man sauntered closer. "What do we have here? Could these be the escaped prisoners everyone's been talking about? I bet the reward for finding you two will be much more than whatever we'd get from catching mooncalves tonight."

Rage bubbled in Thea's chest. These were poachers. She struggled more fiercely against the man holding her in place. A sickening crack came from her right. Looking over, she saw Sebastian's attacker sporting a bloodied, broken nose. "He headbutted me!" the man cried out as blood poured down his face. "You're going to regret that, kid." He shoved Sebastian to his knees and jabbed a wand between his shoulder blades. Sebastian twisted just as an incantation flew from the man's mouth. The spell sliced deep on his right shoulder; blood spurted from the wound. Thea screamed and jerked against her binds.

"Shut up!" The masked man roared. "Baxley, knock it off. We'll need him in one piece, a dead prisoner isn't worth as much as a living one." Sebastian was hauled back onto his feet, wincing as the man gripped his injured shoulder.

As Thea squirmed, she felt her foot touch something long and pointy on the ground. It was her wand. She couldn't see it through the fog, but it was there. If she could find a way to grab it, she could cut her restraints and stun the poachers. Her mind raced as the masked man spoke to his henchmen. He was saying something about contacting Aurors when he abruptly paused mid-sentence. This caused Thea to lift her gaze.

He was staring at her intently, head tilted to the side. In a swift motion, he pulled off his mask and strode over to where she was being held captive. His eyes were squinted as they trailed over her features. Thea's breath quickened when he roughly grabbed her chin, forcing her to look up at him. His cold, empty eyes suddenly went wide. "I know you," he murmured. "You're that girl who destroyed Horntail Hall."

Thea gulped. This wasn't good.

The man let out a sick, cruel laugh. "We'll turn the boy in, but I'm keeping this one to myself," he barked to his henchmen. He gripped her face even harder. "You ruined my business all those years ago, letting my dragon get away. I'm going to have so much fun cutting you open and listening to you scream." He extracted a knife from his pocket and tickled it across her collarbone.

"Don't touch her," Sebastian growled. Thea looked over and saw that he was twitching with anger. His blood-soaked shirt made her chest clench. She needed to get them to safety.

"Isn't that sweet?" the lead poacher cooed. "We have a pair of enamored criminals." He threw a malicious smirk at Sebastian before trailing his knife lower down Thea's body. It ran down the center of her chest, over the ropes that bound her arms, and paused just below her bellybutton. Thea concentrated all her might on the wand at her feet, ignoring the taunts of the poacher and the sounds of Sebastian seething beside her. Her fingertips stretched towards the ground and her mind focused on the simple incantation. Accio.

The poacher leaned in closer to her face. Accio. The knife traced over her right hipbone. Accio. Sebastian shouted. Accio. The poacher's hand dug into her cheek. Accio. Cold metal punctured her thigh. Accio. Sebastian screamed. Accio!

Wood met her palm. "Diffindo!" she yelled, springing free from her ropes. "Stupefy! Confringo! Incendio!" The spells fired from her wand and one by one the poachers collapsed. She rushed over to Sebastian, ignoring the sharp pain in her leg. She cut him free from his ropes and immediately guided him to sit on a tree stump so she could begin casting healing spells on his shoulder. It would need proper attention when they got back to camp, but for now she needed to at least stop the bleeding.

Sebastian sat quietly while she worked. She desperately hoped she wasn't hurting him; healing spells were never her forte. His eyes were focused carefully on her legs, but they didn't show any signs of pain. As she muttered the last spell, she felt a cooling sensation spread across her thigh. Using his good arm, Sebastian had taken a dittany leaf out of her pocket and pressed it against the stab wound.

His eyes glanced up to meet hers. From his seated position, his head only reached the tops of her shoulders, yet she still felt engulfed by his presence. His other hand snaked around her leg to allow him to put more pressure on the injured area. She winced and instinctively grabbed his wrist. They stared at each other for several minutes, and Thea wasn't sure what scared her more: the fact her heart was beating so quickly, or that his pulse was just as fast.

~~~

The poachers only delayed them an hour in getting to Hogwarts. Sticking to their plan, they entered the castle using the South Entrance. Sebastian used Thea's wand to cast themselves in Disillusionment Charms (he had always been better at those) and they quickly made their way into the dungeons. At this hour, the castle was practically empty aside from a few prefects roaming the halls. Had they not been injured, escaped criminals, or on their way to a foreboding chamber, Thea may have found the experience nostalgic.

Her face paled when they reached the correct corridor and she was relieved Sebastian couldn't see this under their charms. She paused only briefly before turning to the braziers and setting them ablaze. The entrance to the passageway presented itself.

Thea removed their Disillusionment Charms as soon as they entered the dark room. Sebastian approached the arched, snake-coiled door and whispered the phrase as Ominis instructed. The snakes slithered across the stone and the door creaked open, welcoming them further into the chamber.

The gates in the next room were sealed, only to be unlocked by correctly solving the corresponding puzzles. Thea made quick work of the rotating snake locks as Sebastian followed closely behind her. Within minutes, they cleared the final gate.

A chill ran down Thea's spine as they entered the next corridor and the door locked behind them. Her breath hitched at the sight of the skeleton at the other end of the room. She walked gingerly over to the door carved with tortured faces. It was in this room that she experienced the worst pain of her life. It was in this room that she first questioned her friendship with Sebastian. Slowly, she turned to him and swallowed.

"I'm ready," he whispered.