The King of Curses

Chapter Five-The Gaunt Library

"And this whole wall is filled with the original manuscripts of Phyllida Spore's One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi and right next to it is the Highlights of Captain's Herbology collection by Elladora Ketteridge. My mother used to read me this book when I was sick as a small child," Ominis holds up a very well-loved book adorned with small magical forest creatures dancing on the cover.

"The Happy Forest Frolic? Never heard of it. Is it a common book that magical children read?"

Ominis' brows furrow together in confusion. "What do you mean...oh, um that's right, you were raised away from the magical world..." He rubs his hand at the base of his neck and mutters a bashful laugh.

"It's a children's book from my parent's time. Pretty boring but colorful to a child. You can read it if you would like. Almost every magical kid has read it."

Ominis hands her the fading yellow book, wand hovering over the shelves of books lining the wall in front of the two. The faint glow of red stemming from his wand highlights the words adorned to the spines of the novels. A few older books fly from their resting place and float around the room. She stares at the many collections of literature whirling about. One in particular catches her eye. A dark velvet cover adorns the book, the spine has She reaches up to pluck it out from its aerial dance but it swishes away and out of her reach. Magdalene sighs in defeat and turns her attention back to the books within her range of reach.

A flick of his wrist, Ominis motions towards the book Magdalene was previously trying to reach. It gracefully dips down and presents itself to Magdalene, cover glowing with the same red hue coming from Ominis' wand. She smiles up at him and voices her thanks. She can see a small smile spread over his lips as he continues to search the shelves for something. He reaches out and selects a bound grouping of pages, held together with twine and faith.

"You might like this," he hands her the raggedy old book, "It's one of the oldest in the library."

Magdalene sets the other two works off on the small reading table near the bookcase and carefully accepts the tattered collection. No title appears anywhere on any of the surfaces. A few pages fall from the entangled mess and freefall to the shiny wood below. She leans over to grab it from the floor but a blur of light races past and collects the parchment before she has time to collect it. The pages soar to the skies and turn themselves to black doves, twirling around the room and perching on one of the floating light fixtures.

"Whoa..."

"That is Horona Slytherin's personal diary from when she attended Hogwarts during her last year of schooling. She is one of Salazar's many children by an unknown woman. The family rumor is that she is the love child between Helga Hufflepuff and Salazar. Personally, I find it rather gossip heavy but she has some wonderful secrets between the pages about charms you might enjoy."

"Are you sure this should even be open? Ominis this book must be hundreds of years old! What if it falls apart?"

"That book has been lying dormant in these shelves for hundreds of years. About time someone other than I read it this century." He waves off her worries and finally retrieves two books with charred marks along their covers, held in pairing with a large leather strap.

Ever so gently and with all the anxiety she has in her body, Magdalene sets Horona's diary next to her growing collection of books to read.

"Pray tell Ominis, what would those books be...and why are they burnt?"

"These, my dear," He unfastens the strap and gingerly lifts the books to the ceiling, allowing them to hover in front of him. "These are the Gaunt history books. At least the most recent 236 years to be exact. The others are at my uncle's residence."