Hogwarts Legacy: The Price of Power

A Choice Made

"Sebastian, NO!" Ominis yelled as the Ashwinders cut the ropes binding Sebastian, hauling him to his feet. "Don't, please!"

Sebastian stood very still as the bonds fell away, his eyes fixed on Rathbone.

"Truly?" he said, his voice low. "You'll give me the cure?"

"I swear it," Rathbone said, his tone one of boredom. "It will save the damage to my soul, and I see no reason to kill the pair of you if you can avoid being a nuisance. It is only her that we must be rid of," he jerked his head in Dracaena's direction. "I don't care how you choose to do it. Consider the counter-curse a reward for your service."

One of the Ashwinders darted forward, taking Sebastian's wand from Rathbone and handing it to him. Sebastian took it, drawing a slow breath, seemingly deaf to Ominis' desperate cries.

"Don't!" he shouted. "Sebastian, think about what you're doing! Don't hurt her, please!"

Sebastian took a step forward, his expression unreadable as another Ashwinder grasped Dracaena's collar, yanking her to her feet, cutting her bonds as well. Ominis continued to scream until another of the brutes drove his fist into his stomach, pitching him forward to crash into the dirt.

Freed and wandless, Dracaena met Sebastian's eyes, shivering. She tried to hold herself still as she took in his cool countenance, his empty expression, the casual grace with which he gripped his wand.

She felt strangely calm, almost as though she'd known such a thing would come to pass. Her death had been written from the start, and all she'd done with her skill and her luck was prolong the inevitable. Sebastian stopped before her, a few feet away, his dark eyes locked on hers. She still couldn't get a read on him, but a large part of her didn't want to.

She knew as well as she knew her own eyes were the green of the forests of her home that she would always come second to Anne. The twin who had been with him since birth, the one he sought to love and protect above all others, the twin who suffered horribly through no fault of her own. Sebastian had been to Azkaban for her, and even after such a horrific experience, he just kept searching. He would never give up. Her life was nothing compared to the promise of curing his sister at last.

And that was okay. That was alright. She should have done more for him, she should have overcome her fear of her own powers sooner, she should have tried harder to take Anne's pain away herself. This was her own doing. It would make him happy, in some way, to have Anne cured at last, even if she, Dracaena, would no longer be beside him. Ominis would never forgive him, that was certain, but perhaps Anne would. She only hoped that someone else would come along to look after them both. They'd need it.

Sebastian's fingers tightened on his wand, his arm rising, the slightest tremor in his hand as he pointed it at her heart. He was still staring at her, seemingly gazing into her very soul, as if he was trying to impart some final message. Was it I'm sorry? Was it forgive me? Was it something else entirely?

She couldn't tell.

Dracaena forced herself to hold his gaze, the muted jeering of the Ashwinders the only sound above the pounding of her heart. She nodded, once, slowly and deliberately, hoping her expression told him of the forgiveness she gave him, knowing in her bones that this was the only way. She steeled herself, wishing she had just a moment more to tell him, to tell Ominis, just how much she loved them.

There was a flicker at the corner of his mouth, the tiniest pull of his lips, stretching outward, gone in a flash. His face tightened, and he readied himself.

"Duck," Sebastian said.

Dracaena dived to the ground as he lashed his wand, a length of flaming rope issuing from the tip and winding around his head as he spun it like a lasso. He stretched out, the blazing rope catching an Ashwinder around the torso and flinging him into his comrades, flames hurrying along his robes, before Sebastian yanked it back and spun, lashing it around them like a whip with a mighty, echoing CRACK. Three Ashwinders fell in as many seconds as Dracaena lay in the dirt, their robes licking with flame as stunned, pained shouts began to echo across the clearing.