Hogwarts Legacy: The Price of Power

The Knowing of Things

In the quiet of the clearing, Sebastian shifted, rubbing a red eye.

"You said you're skilled, and you can do stuff I've never seen. Altering your magical records and leaving no trace is insane, to put it bluntly. The closest I've ever seen is the stuff Drac can do. Do you have some kind of Ancient Magic?"

Fotheringham shrugged as Dracaena muttered a low curse. Sebastian bared his teeth, and Fotheringham sighed.

"Dracaena and I share a gift," he said, and she narrowed her eyes at him. "Passed down in varying degrees of power from..." he paused, his brows drawing together in thought. "Merlin only knows when. My research and exploration of my abilities led me to learn more of it."

"You can't have Ancient Magic," Dracaena said. "Rackham said it only manifests itself when you hit fifteen, and you were at Hogwarts the full seven years."

Fotheringham's brows rose a fraction, but he seemed to decide against asking them how they knew.

"I don't know any Rackham," he said instead.

"You do," Ominis said. "You found the Map Chamber. The Keepers told us someone had been in there, asking about the Source."

Fotheringham frowned, then his expression cleared.

"Map Chamber?" he echoed. "That hidden blue room with those big portraits of stuffy old bastards?"

Dracaena snorted a laugh, taken aback both by his phrasing and the sound she made.

"He could use Ancient Magic as well," she said. "He set me trials to learn more of my abilities. You didn't go through that?"

"No," Fotheringham shook his head. "I've always been able to do what I can, but it took training to master. I taught myself." His beard twitched, a flicker of pride lighting in his eyes. "I simply stumbled on this... Map Chamber, in my exploration of the school, long after I left, when I was seeking answers. I thought the markers to find the cave might begin there. When I found the portraits, I thought that was it, but they were less than helpful."

"No shit," Sebastian muttered, and Fotheringham chuckled.

"Your powers are much stronger than mine," Fotheringham said, turning to Dracaena. "It seems, if what you say is true, they have manifested in a purer form than mine." He leaned forward, clasping his hands, his eyes fixed on her, and they gleamed. "I've never seen a power like yours. It saturated the very air when you used it before. What can you do?"

Dracaena blinked. "Not much," she said.

"Bullshit," Sebastian said. "You made yourself invulnerable to curses and called down a fucking dragon, Drac."

"I don't know how!" she exclaimed, exasperated. "It just happens, it does things I can't predict, and I can't control it!"

"You need to learn how to," Fotheringham said, and she curled her lip at him.

"Don't you start," she snapped. "All I ever hear is how I have to learn to control it, and no fucker will tell me how!"

"Discipline and self-control," Fotheringham said. He huffed a soft laugh. "Easier said than done." He leaned back a little, then got to his feet, summoning his pack and drawing out a large frying pan, settling it on the campfire and pulling out meat and vegetables.

"In my time searching for information about what I could do, this magic that was stronger than my fellows at school, I stumbled upon the Source," he said, dicing an onion on a flat rock. She was surprised to see he did so manually. "I discovered much about this particular branch of magic. Would you like me to tell you?"