Hogwarts Legacy: The Price of Power

Catching Fire

"No," Ominis said, huddled on the sofa in the Room of Requirement. "That's simply not possible. I refuse to believe it."

"I'm right," Dracaena said, pacing up and down before him and Sebastian, having told them both what she remembered about the pages, and where they were. "I know I'm right, my magic's telling me I'm right, and Nott implied your family's in on it! Those pages are in your ancestral home, Ominis."

"Then we go and get them," Sebastian said. "Tonight."

"No!" Ominis barked. "Don't be ridiculous, Sebastian! Do you think we can just... just break into my parent's house? You'd be a fool to try! You need to be a Parselmouth to even get past the gates..."

"Blimey, where are we going to find one of them?" Sebastian said.

"There will be enchantments on every window, every door..." Ominis forged on.

"No problem for someone like me," Dracaena said.

"Dark enchantments," Ominis clarified, with a glower. "I doubt you'd have the kind of knowledge needed to get past them, dove."

Sebastian cleared his throat. "Um... two years self-taught study of Dark Magic over here," he said, waving.

Ominis glared. "No," he repeated. "It's not enough, it's far too dangerous. They'd kill the pair of you, and I dread to think what kind of torment they have in store for me for all I've done. It's not worth it. Forget the damn pages and let's please just go back to being normal students?"

"Ominis, we need to get them," Dracaena said, kneeling in front of him and taking his hands. "Once we know what's got the Ministry and the Ashwinders in such a tizz, we'll be better prepared to handle whatever they throw at us, and maybe even find Fotheringham to boot! And if it's nonsense, if it's a load of tosh like Professor Fig said, then we can leave it all alone. But we need to be sure."

"Mate, if you're worried about your family catching you, then Drac and I will go," Sebastian said. "I'm a fox, remember? I can sneak in to anywhere, and-"

"Sebastian, do you not think that my parents will now know to be wary of any foxes acting strangely after our little adventure at the Ministry?" Ominis snapped. "Dracaena can't hide either, who expects a panther to just waltz into a house?"

"We can disillusion ourselves," Dracaena said, glancing at Sebastian.

Ominis shook his head. "The Ministry was one thing, but my parents are quite another," he muttered. "If we were caught at the Ministry, perhaps some fast talking might have saved us, perhaps Professor Weasley would have stepped in, and there are rules they have to follow, regulations in place to ensure fair trial if we couldn't talk our way out of it, and we could easily pretend we'd been imperiused. My family operate under no such restrictions. I have no desire to see either of you tortured into insanity, thank you very much."

Dracaena shivered, a chill sweeping her as the echo of the agony of the Cruciatus Curse gnawed at her.

"Believe me, I don't want to go through that again," she said, gently. "But Ominis... we have to know. If you tell us what we can expect, we'll be in and out before you know it."

He shook his head. "I won't allow it," he said, stubbornly. "If either of you even think of attempting to break in, I'll never speak to you again."

"We need your help, mate," Sebastian said. "Just tell us what they're likely to have done to protect the Manor, and-"

"That isn't the point!" Ominis snapped. "What if you're caught? You won't be able to talk your way out of it! Dracaena, if they see you, they won't hesitate to kill you. I'll never forgive myself if that happens." He grasped her hands, his opal eyes seemingly boring into hers, a desperation flickering in the crystal. "Promise me you won't ever go near that place again."