Of Cunning Minds: Sebastian Sallow

Chapter 32 - Into the Dungeons

"The Basilisk is known as the King of Serpents," Sebastian read aloud from the book in his hand. "Instant death will be brought upon those who look directly in the creature's eyes."

"What a lovely pet, Ominis," Thea teased from his right.

"This has to be it," Sebastian offered. "I don't see any other snake-breeds in this book of monsters." He pocketed the book and took in the view in front of him. They were perched on a hill outside of Hogwarts. The castle looked remarkable basking in the bronze light of the setting sun.

"Can we go over the plan again?" Ominis asked nervously. He was pacing across the grass, mumbling to himself, and flexing his fingers.

"We wait until it's dark, break into the castle, find the snake, and escape," Thea said simply with a smile.

Ominis stopped pacing to throw her a pointed glare. "I'm noticing a trend in which all of our plans lack even the slightest bit of detail."

Sebastian lowered himself to the ground and leaned back on his palms. "Don't worry, I happen to be an expert on sneaking around Hogwarts. We won't run into any problems," he bragged.

"Oh Merlin," Ominis whispered.

Only a couple of hours passed until Sebastian declared it was dark enough for them to approach the castle. In reality, he was growing antsy and becoming far too aware of how close Thea was sitting on the grass next to him.

They slinked down the hill towards the west entrance of Hogwarts. With Disallusionment Charms in place they crept in through the castle's large wooden doors. Fortunately, due to the Easter holiday, there'd be fewer students roaming the halls. However, they'd still have to watch out for prefects and professors.

True to his word, Sebastian successfully led Ominis and Thea down the numerous staircases and into the castle dungeons with only one close encounter with Peeves the Poltergeist.

"Okay, so where is this secret chamber?" Sebastian whispered once they entered a dark, quiet hallway.

"Somewhere down here," Ominis whispered back. "That's all I know."

"You can't get more specific than 'dungeons'?" Sebastian snapped.

"How many times do I have to tell you—"

"Stop," Thea interrupted, pushing herself between the arguing pair. "This isn't helpful. We can split up and look around. I'm sure the entrance to the chamber will be marked somehow."

Sebastian admired the certainty in her voice. "Good idea," he declared. "I'll take the east corridor near our old common room. Ominis, you can check by the kitchens. Thea, you get the cellars. Sounds good?"

"We can meet back here in a half-hour. Hopefully, one of us will find something by then."

Unfortunately, that wasn't the case. Thirty minutes passed and Sebastian returned to their meeting place empty handed. He prayed to Merlin that either Ominis or Thea had better luck. He didn't want to spend more time lurking in the dungeons than necessary.

Thea whipped around a corner further down the hallway Sebastian was standing in. She was out of breath and her eyes were wide with terror.

"What happened?" Sebastia urged, moving towards her. She ran to meet him, grabbing his hand and pulling him further down the corridor.

"Professor Sharp," she breathed.

They moved quickly through the dungeons, twisting down its various passages. The uneven footsteps of their limping professor echoed through the dark corridors. When they suddenly found themselves facing a door at the end of a hallway, Sebastian wasted no time yanking it open and hurrying inside.

He was doubled over, clutching his chest as ragged breaths rippled through him. He hardly noticed Thea's faint gasp.

"What room is this?" she whispered.

Sebastian glanced up at the expansive space in front of him. The room was stuffed with ornate goblets, dusty mirrors, and century-old sets of armor. "I've been in this room before," he declared, taking in his surroundings. "I think it's used for storage."

"Most of these items are ancient," Thea commented while trailing a delicate finger over a silver helmet. "We should look around. There might be something related to Slytherin's chamber."

Sebastian squeezed through the aisles of artifacts until he reached a large mirror. Something about it looked familiar, but he couldn't quite place it. Thea was standing to his right; he studied her reflection as she too stared at the ancient object.

Her face had changed since their time at Hogwarts. He pointed that out the night she and Ominis broke him out of Azkaban. She looked different. All those painful years made her more tired, more broken, and although he knew the level of strength and power beneath the surface level, Sebastian saw just how thin and frail she had become.

His eyes connected with hers through the reflection and she gave him a soft smile. He was about to return the gesture when—

"Hey, Sebastian!" Thea's voice called out. He whipped around to find her standing several meters away amongst a collection of swords.

"What the—" He turned to the mirror again. Thea was still standing by his side, smiling at him. Suddenly, the familiarity of the mirror made sense. He had looked at it before, many years ago. Although, that time he had seen someone else in the reflection. "Anne," he whispered.

"Did you find something?" Thea asked, shuffling towards him.

Sebastian cleared his throat and stepped back. "No, it's just this mirror. I think the reflection is meant to confuse the user or something." Thea tilted her head and moved to stand in front of the mirror. While her back was turned, Sebastian put even more space between himself and the puzzling artifact.

"How does it work?" Thea asked. "I just see our reflection."

Sebastian snapped his head up. He wasn't exactly in line with the mirror anymore; he wasn't sure how Thea could have seen him. "I don't know, but we should get out of here. Ominis is probably looking for us."

They exited the room and carefully retraced their steps to the main corridor. Sure enough, Ominis was impatiently tapping his foot upon their arrival. "What took so long?" he seethed. "Did you find anything?"

"The cellars were empty," Thea explained. "What about the kitchens?"

"Nothing," Ominis groaned. "I'd imagine Salazar would have put his chamber entrance closer to the Slytherin common room." They both turned to Sebastian.

"I couldn't find anything," he shrugged. "I checked the classrooms, the common room corridor, the supply closet, and even the boy's bathroom."

"Not the girl's?" Thea inquired.

Sebastian made a face. "No, that would have been weird."

She rolled her eyes. "It's worth a try. In case you couldn't tell, we aren't having the best of luck."

"I'll marry a goblin if it turns out Salazar Slytherin built the entrance to this monster chamber in a little girl's toilet," Sebastian laughed.

They walked down the hallway until they reached the bathroom in question. Thea let out an exasperated sigh when she saw that she was alone in moving towards the wooden door. "Fine," she muttered. "You two wait out here. I'll let you know what I find."

Several minutes passed. Sebastian watched as Ominis played with his cuff links. It was hard to imagine such a sophisticated man controlling a murderous snake. He chuckled at the thought.

"What?" Ominis pressed.

"Nothing," Sebastian lied. "Just thinking about one of the greatest wizards of all time walking into a girls' bathroom."

Ominis raised an eyebrow and smiled. "It is quite absurd," he commented. "Thea is a smart witch, but sometimes her ideas are absolutely—"

The bathroom door opened with a bang. Thea was staring pointedly at Sebastian.

"Be sure to invite me to your goblin wedding," she smirked.