Run Away ✧ Hogwarts Legacy

chapter forty-three

Like A Villain by Bad Omens

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By the next day, Antheia was beginning to feel more like herself again. Being home had been the needed change to reflect on everything. She hadn't turned and run off to sulk in her room as she had for days prior. The rest of her time at home she helped her mother around the shop, running errands with her father, then helped cook dinner like she would have normally. It felt peaceful to be home as if she had reconnected with herself. 

For the rest of the trip, the hat remained shoved under her bed and out of sight. Even if it had just been temporary, Antheia Wynters didn't let the weight of life press down on her shoulder, she wasn't a Keeper of Ancient Magic, she didn't belong to anyone, she was simply herself. She wandered around the house like she had her whole life. All of the self-doubt and sorrow she had left on the floor of the shop downstairs along with her hair.

Antheia wasn't sure how she felt about returning to Hogwarts to take on the role of a Keeper. Whether or not it was possible to find a role among the staff wasn't clear. She was no scholar, she was smart enough but had never been driven by academic glory. There were non-teaching positions although they interested her even little. 

All Antheia knew was that despite her desires, she had felt a responsibility to protect the Repository. There had been blood spilled already for its power. There would always be someone like Ranock or Marceline Elm who would challenge its power. Many had given their lives to protect the dangerous magic from being absorbed, to keep control in the hands of people that proven themselves to be of sane mind. She only hoped that there was a way to put its magic into trusted hands.

There was still another day before her leave from school would end and she'd have to face the possibility. She wanted to enjoy the day for as long as she could.

Being home had refreshed her spirits and she had felt lighter. After dinner, she helped her father with dishes then joined her mother in the den as she stitched away at a project. Antheia should have been studying or doing anything productive with her time, but instead, she just sat watching her mother work. They gossiped about news around town for some time until her father entered.

"Attie," He called nervously, "There is a bird here for you."

"An owl?" Antheia attempted to correct him.

It was a habit of her father to simplify things that he didn't understand. And flying around owls with messages was one thing that he had never fully become comfortable with all of his knowledge of magic.

Mrya Wytners laughed from her chair, "It won't bite you dear, most owls are friendly. Did it have a letter?"

"It did," Phillip confirmed, "But it won't let me take it."

Antheia smiled at her mother, both had come to the same conclusion with speaking it. They had assumed that he had simply been afraid of the bird.

After a moment, Antheia dragged herself lazily off the couch in the den and made her way to the kitchen window that stood open. Once she had seen the bird waiting at the sill her father's curiosity made sense. The large black feathered owl sat menacingly awaiting her with a letter in its beak. Its elegant black and gray feathers were spotted and the dark feather made up the horns at the top of its head. Its eyes were like molten golden. It wasn't an owl that she had seen often, but she remembered it perfectly.

"That's Ominis' owl," Antheia muttered.

The bird was much more gentle when she approached it, allowing the letter to fall into her hands gently. An intelligent owl only delivers directly to the owner and this one was no exception. There was no name addressed on the outside yet she was sure it was meant for her.