Hogwarts Legacy: The Price of Power

1856 - 1863🌶️

Dracaena, Sebastian and Ominis loitered in the Defence Against the Dark Arts Tower long before their lesson was due to start, speaking in hushed tones about how best to approach Professor Hecat, what they would ask her, and how much they dared reveal about what they already knew.

"We could use Veritaserum?" Ominis said, his voice low, his wand continually sweeping the area. "Offer her a cup of tea, perhaps? We still have plenty left over."

"No," Dracaena shook her head. "We've never even hung back after class before, and to ask her to tea would seem strange. Besides, if she suddenly started telling us stuff she'd never tell another soul, she'll suspect something, and even if she can't prove anything, we've already all caused enough trouble this year for me to not want to risk it."

"True," Ominis said, looking a little put out. "I certainly don't want to give Black any reason to try and expel me again."

"Nor me," Sebastian said. "That said... what about Imperio?"

Ominis shot him a dark look, and he raised his hands. "I'm not saying we should, but if there's no other way? Just as a last resort."

"Not a good idea," Ominis said, firmly. "You know when you've been cursed, Sebastian, and as soon as it's lifted, she'd go straight to Black, and you'd find yourself back in Azkaban."

Sebastian shuddered. "Alright, good point," he muttered. "How'd you know that, anyway?"

"Marvolo," Ominis said, curling his lip. "I'd rather not go into detail."

"You don't have to," Dracaena assured him. "Look, subterfuge is all well and good, but Hecat's the Defence Against the Dark Arts professor for a reason, it's probably ingrained in her to look out for anything out of the ordinary."

"So it's hopeless, then?" Sebastian said, with a sigh.

"I don't think so," she said, running a hand over her face. "Fig wouldn't have suggested we talk to her unless he thought there was a way we could learn something. I just don't know how we'd do it."

They lapsed into silence as the Tower began to fill with students coming back from lunch. Her stomach growled a little, but it seemed unimportant in the grand scheme of things. How could they weasel information out of Hecat without her suspecting something? All their usual tricks would be out, they were only students after all, and no student should be involved in anything like...

She went still as an idea formed.

"Hang on..." she said. "We're only students."

"Yes?" Ominis said. "That's something I've tried to remind the pair of you about more than once."

"And you've got a point," she said, grinning. "We're only students, and therefore, don't know or care about much beyond Hogwarts and our studies, right?"

Ominis and Sebastian nodded.

"So, maybe we're only thinking as far as our NEWTs," she said, beginning to pace. "But this is our last year, so we've got to be thinking about what we're going to do once we've finished school."

"Yeah, and?" Sebastian said.

"And, being an Unspeakable is a career," Dracaena said. "All we have to do is pretend we're interested in joining, or maybe just one of us... probably you, Bassy, you've got the biggest hardon for knowledge I've ever known."

"Well, knowledge and you," he said with a smirk, and Ominis rolled his eyes.

She chuckled. "I'll handle that later, but-"