Hogwarts Legacy: The Price of Power

Forbidden Knowledge

Dracaena spun a quick circle, staring along the endless row of bookshelves, her hand held tight in Ominis'. There was a figure a way along the shelves, half obscured by the distance, and she bolted towards it, Ominis yelping as he was dragged in her wake.

"Sebastian!" she shouted, her eyes fixed on the open book in his hands, and the shimmering air around him.

"Yeah?" he turned to her, looking perplexed. He rolled his head from side to side. "Are you okay? Did something happen?"

"Don't wander off!" she snapped, slapping at the book in his hands. It clattered to the floor.

"Hey, I was reading that!" Sebastian bent and scooped it up. "It's A Christmas Carol, a bloody classic! Have a bit more respect for art, love."

"We're not here to read," she snapped, her heart pounding. "We're here to find those three books and get the hell out. We can't waste any time here!"

"Ah come on, what's the harm in looking?" Sebastian grinned. "I bet there's all kinds of things here, stuff even the Restricted Section doesn't have!"

"Which is all the more reason not to go ferreting about!" Ominis said, furiously. "For goodness' sake, Sebastian, we need to find those books and leave! You might be content with bathing once a week, but I most certainly am not!"

"Oi, that's not fair, I only missed a couple!" Sebastian said, then glanced down at the book in his hands. "I suppose you're right, though. Come on, I think Frankenstein will be this way. I reckon I'm starting to figure out the way it's organised in here, now."

Dracaena glowered at him until he put the book back, then took his hand.

"Bassy, something's not right in here," she said. "Ominis and I think we're not meant to read anything in this library."

"Libraries are supposed to have you read stuff," Sebastian said absently, gazing at the tomes around them. "It's not like they're only built to hoard books like a dragon, is it? I'd only be half the man I am if my parents never taught me to appreciate a good library."

"What are you expecting to find?" Ominis asked. "Sebastian, this place is likely cursed. We can't get distracted."

"I know enough about curses to know if it was," Sebastian replied, his tone far too breezy for Dracaena's liking. "Look, nothing bad will happen, alright? We'll find those books and open up whatever doorway we have to in order to get out of here, but once it's open, it'll stay open until we go through, right? It's not like I can't have an hour to browse a bit."

"Best not," Dracaena said, trying to keep her voice calm. "Bassy, Ominis is right, we can't afford to lose focus, not now. We're almost halfway through."

"Yeah, and then we've got your trial," Sebastian said, his hand drifting along the spines of the books they passed, longing in his eyes. "Merlin only knows what that'll be. We need to make sure we can rest, and what better place to rest than here? Don't you guys feel really relaxed?"

"On the contrary," Ominis grumbled. "My wand isn't working, I don't know where I am or what's around me, and you're treating this like a day out in Hogsmeade! This is a trial, Sebastian, for the bloody Source! This isn't supposed to be a walk in the park!"

"But it is," he said. "Don't look a gift hippogriff in the beak, mate."

He drew them to a halt.

"Ah, there we go," he bent down and pulled a neat book from a shelf, the cover identical to the copy Dracaena owned, depicting a man and a monster facing each other against a pale, mountainous background. He held it out. "Drac, you and Ominis take this back to the pedestal and stick it on the first one, I'm going to have a look for the others."