Magicis Par // Sebastian Sallow

22. Ranrok

            Chasing Sebastian through the catacomb was worse than trying to wrangle a toddler. Anytime I got close to stopping him, he'd threaten to jinx me and continue on his way. I was only there as supervision at this point. I had to let him get the relic.

I wasn't expecting Ominis to catch up to us. He was floored when I let Sebastian take it, but I convinced him it was necessary. Sebastian was too far gone to be stopped. We had to let him learn the hard way and be ready to intervene. There were guidelines he had to follow in examining the relic. It could only be done in the Undercroft, and either Ominis or I had to be present. Someone also had to be clued in on any and all research and findings. Sebastian wasn't fond of it, but Ominis threatened to go to the headmaster if he didn't agree to our terms.

It felt like babysitting, honestly. It went on for two weeks. It was my turn to sit with Sebastian in the Undercroft while he poured over books he nicked from the Restricted Section. I was completing my Fourth Year Charms assignments when what felt like an explosion shook the whole school.

Sebastian's head snapped up from his book. "What the bloody hell was that?"

My stomach dropped. It could only be one thing.

Ranrok.

"I-I have to go. Get back to the common room," I demanded. Sebastian opened his mouth to dispute, but I didn't give him a chance to. "Please go back." He nodded obediently and followed me out of the Undercroft.

I took off for Fig's office. The hallways were pandemonium—terrified students fleeing their classrooms, prefects trying to keep order and direct students back to their common rooms, and professors offering calm words while trying to figure out what's happening.

Fig was guiding students out of his classroom when I found him. "It's him, isn't it?" I asked. Fig just nodded. As soon as his classroom was clear, we rushed for the Map Chamber.

The Keepers looked equally as horrified. They told me I had to defend the repository at all costs, that I had to keep the magic and our secret safe, and then they opened up a doorway for me to access the repository.

They knew where it was the whole time.

I had to stow my anger for now. All of this could have been avoided if they would have trusted me enough to tell me where it was, but it was too late for that. "I sent word to the professors as I was gathering my students. They have been made aware of the situation and should be on their way to aid shortly," Fig hollered over the sound of more explosions and crumbling rocks.

Before we even made it around the corner, we were met with an onslaught of Loyalists and trolls. It was a battle unlike anything I'd seen before. It may have been worse than the Battle of Hogwarts. The number of possessed and darkly powered trolls was terrifying. The goblins were less of a threat, especially knowing that Sebastian and I took on so many on our own. However, even the number Sebastian and I faced was miniscule compared to what Fig and I found beneath the school.

The other professors were there to aid us every step of the way. Each new cluster of goblins we met, a professor was there to guide them off track and allow us to race towards the repository.

I was in awe at the sheer size of the repository when we finally found it. It was far larger than the depleted one in Rookwood Castle. "All this time, and it's been under the castle."

"There's no safer place than Hogwarts," I mused. "Typically, anyways."

Fig turned to me. "What do you intend to do with it?"