Hogwarts Legacy: The Price of Power

The Eldest Brother

Silence hung in the Room of Requirement, a strange heaviness in the air, as if Sebastian's words had taken the form of a large cloak that had settled on them all. He was bright eyed, panting a little, the edges of a grin hovering at the corners of his mouth.

Dracaena began to laugh.

It started as a little chuckle, her chest twitching with each breath, then it began to swell to a splutter. She tried to suppress it as Sebastian's brows lowered, but in doing so she snorted like a piglet, and the dam burst, sending her pitching forward to fold in half, clutching her middle as she cackled like a woman demented, until her sides burned and her face ached.

"What?" Sebastian said, sounding decidedly put out. "Drac, don't you see how important this is? The eldest Peverell brother, the key to the Source! It's you!"

"That..." Dracaena managed, wiping her streaming eyes, trying to catch her breath. "That was amazing, darling. I can't remember the last time I laughed like that! Me, a descendent of the Peverells! I was muggleborn a few months ago!" She dissolved into peals of helpless laughter once more.

"Ominis, help me out," Sebastian said, turning to him. "You know what I mean, don't you? Powerful names like that don't just disappear, no matter how much someone might want them to!"

Ominis rubbed the back of his neck.

"While it's true that ancient names have significant power, I do think it's a bit of a stretch," he said, carefully. "There's no record at all of Antioch having any heirs, he was supposed to have died only a few days after receiving Death's wand."

"Cadmus' girlfriend was dead," Sebastian countered. "Yet here you are."

Ominis made a face. "Yes, but my name isn't connected in the same way. If what you're saying is true, then my family and anyone else that holds a connection to the Peverells, or Slytherin, would have a hint in the name."

"Antioch was more powerful," Sebastian said, irritation plain on his face. He ran a hand through his hair, rumpling it. "Your name got married out, mate. Drac's didn't."

"How the hell can you possibly know that? We know nothing about the paternal side of her family aside from her father!" Ominis responded hotly. "You're grasping at straws."

"I'm not," Sebastian said. "Look, I get you're twitchy about incest mate, but you've got a higher chance of being related to me than Drac!"

Ominis' jaw tightened.

"Shockingly, I understand what several thousand years of diluting blood in different family branches means," he hissed.

"Oh, good," Dracaena said, still giggling. "If it was true, I'd hate to think I couldn't sleep with you anymore."

A line of colour appeared on Ominis' cheeks, but the insinuation didn't seem to cheer him up as much as she hoped. She stopped laughing, and brushed a hand over his arm. He folded them.

"Well, I'm glad to know that's all I'm good for," he grumbled.

"Oh, for-" Dracaena rolled her eyes. "Really, Ominis? You know I love you besides that."

"We're getting off topic," Sebastian said, taking her by the elbow and pointing at his parchment again before Ominis could sink further into a sulk. "Drac, I know it sounds mad, but something's telling me this is true. Think about it! All Fotheringham's research said only someone with a specific blood connection can get in, and he confirmed it was the Peverells!"

"Yeah, but-"

"So we found the markers, and found the cave," Sebastian talked over her. "We thought it was any old Peverell that could get in, but Ominis set off the traps! So that rules out Cadmus." he grinned. "Remember the first time we met Fotheringham, he looked really worried when we told him the Gaunts were descended from the Peverells, and the first thing he wanted to know was which brother it was!"