Run Away ✧ Hogwarts Legacy

chapter twelve

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A slender band of goblin metal sat in Antheia's palm. She folded her fingers over it with stern concentration and let the magic heat her palms until they grew dewy with sweat. The moment the heat became too much, she stopped. The fear of her fingertips turning black haunted her every second.

"I think it's working," Sylvie pointed out as Sebastian nodded in agreement.

The three had hidden away in the grand estate that the team of Aurors was staying at until it was decided to go back to England or see if there were any other signs of Desmond Esper in the countryside. Their leads had gone dark three days prior without any news. They had been using that time to figure out how to create their own amplifier; if they were going to figure out a new way of undoing them, then they needed to possess one.

There were too many that she didn't know about, and the sickening, heavy scent of iron still burned her nose from all of the blood days prior. It had taken a few failed attempts already, but they were getting closer.

Antheia and Sylvie sat on the floor with Sebastian on the bed above them, all of their collected notes spread across the sheets as he wrote down the details of that day's attempt. How he managed to see so much worth writing down was beyond Antheia's knowledge.

"Why goblin metal?" Sylvie asked.

"It seems to be the only material capable of retaining that much magic," Sebastian explained gently, a tone she had come to refer to as Anne once fondly called it, 'his teaching voice'. It always came so naturally to him that when she heard the switch in his voice, it made her heart ache. Life seemed twisted and cruel, she often worried that his life was robbed of his true fate when he picked up the relic. "I mean, only non-living material, at least." He amended. "It may have something to do with the process of how the metal is smelted, but it's been difficult to find information regarding it. I've made a few requests through the Ministry in hopes of learning more."

"What about the painting?" Sylvie raised.

Antheia silently flinched at the image of the blood-soaked canvas flooding her mind. The once golden sunflowers bleached over with a rusted red made her stomach flip.

Sebastian dropped his pen against his notepad, speaking unnecessarily with his hand instead. "There are a lot of metals that are used in paint. I'd put money on it that goblin metal may have been used to create some of the oils. Emery thought so too, so he wants to send a sample back to the Ministry with his report to Marvolo to have tested."

"And so do you always carry goblin metal with you?"

"Given everything we know so far, it seemed like a good idea to keep some on hand."

"No other reason?"

"No other reason."

"So why in the shape of a ring?" Sylvie raised her brow at him. "Why not a watch? A locket? Maybe a hairpin?"

"It was the first piece of goblin metal I found."

"How much did it cost?"

"That is none of your business," Sebastian insisted.

"Mhm," She hummed back, "Sure."

"Please, quiet down," Antheia cut in, "This is difficult enough without you both talking."

The band of metal had turned to a glowing blue in the center of her palm. A little black circle was beginning to develop under her skin until she stopped imbuing her magic again. It felt like she was doing everything that she was supposed to in creating her own amplifier.