The Legacy of Our Love

Chapter 22*

ASRA

***Mature Content Warning***

The school was buzzing with the results of the first Quidditch match of the season. With Slytherin managing to beat Gryffindor by fifty points, the common room was electric with lingering excitement and satisfaction as I wove my way through the groups of students. I was on my way to meet Sebatian in the Undercroft while Ominis was finishing up in a meeting with Professor Weasley.

He had sent a message stating he had found something in Slytherin's spell book, and it was urgent that we discuss his findings. I unlocked the entrance to the Undercroft with a flick of my wand, and stepped inside to reveal Sebatian sitting hunched over a desk. He had one hand laced through his chestnut curls, the other flipping through the pages of the large book. He wore a look of concentration I found utterly beautiful, so engrossed with his research that it took the sound of me clearing my throat to catch his attention.

He smiled brightly when his gaze met mine, and rose to his feet a bit too hurriedly, nearly tripping over the leg of the chair.

"You're here! You'll never believe what I've learned." He exclaimed with excitement, meeting me on the other side of the desk.

"Can it help Anne?" I questioned eagerly.

"That's exactly what I hope." He smiled brightly before continuing. "It was a little difficult to interpret, but fascinating. Evidently, Salazar Slytherin encouraged teaching dark magic at Hogwarts. Neither the Imperius curse nor the Killing curse were unforgivable in his time."

"Really?" I exclaimed, shuddering to think of a time where such curses could be cast without consequence.

"He believed that students should be prepared to use dark magic when necessary, not to fear it." Sebastian explained. "That's why we had to use crucio to gain access to The Scriptorium. He didn't want his knowledge shared with anyone who was afraid of the power of dark magic." A look of guilt spread across his expression as he mentioned our time in The Scriptorium. He was still struggling to justify how we achieved our results that day, conflicted by the goal of seeing his sister cured and seeing Ominis and I hurt. There was a small part of me that was beginning to grow concerned that if we didn't find something that produced results soon, he was only going to get more desperate.

"I suppose that makes sense, for an obsessive man such as he." I sighed with a small shrug. "It was an absurd challenge, but we did what we had to in order to survive."

"And I'm grateful we did, because I found something else in the book. There are references to a lost relic which— from what I can tell— grants the power to reverse dark magic curses!" Sebastian added with excitement, his mood shifting considerably at the prospect of being able to help Anne.

"You think we could use this relic to remove Anne's curse?" I felt a flicker of hope at the idea, knowing just how much that would mean to Sebastian and Anne. I had been writing to her over the last month, and her condition was far from improving.

"Precisely. I plan to search for this relic, and I would love your help if you're willing."

"Of cou–"

"But I don't think we should tell anyone." Sebastian interrupted before I could agree, that flicker of guilt returning to his expression as he continued. "Especially not Ominis...he wouldn't understand."

"But we need to tell him, Sebastian." I countered, tilting my head in confusion. "Anne is important to him too, he needs to know if we have a chance at helping her."