At the beginning of the week, Sebastian informed me that he was going to visit his sister at Feldcroft after classes on Friday. Just as well... time for me to make good on my debt.
The week itself passed by uneventfully. As soon as Transfiguration let out on Friday, he and I ran for the castle's main entrance. Once outside we got on our brooms, and he led the way as we flew southwest. It was about a half-hour's journey, Sebastian pointing out various landmarks as we passed by, and the two of us trying to outdo each other with aerial maneuvers and laughing off the adrenaline.
Finally, we made it to Feldcroft. The village sat about a mile from the ocean, situated on a hill surrounded by farmland. Most of the town's residents were out in the fields harvesting the last of their crops, while a few children too young for school ran and played about in the center of town, around an old well. The land to the north of the village was foothills leading up towards a small mountain, with ruins dotting a couple of the summits. One particularly large ruin lay over to the northwest, looking like it used to be a minor castle. Sebastian and I landed our brooms atop a watchtower overlooking the fields, and I took a moment to take in the sights. Next to me, however, he sighed deeply.
"Something wrong?" I asked.
"Hm? Oh, no..." his lips thinned. "Feldcroft... just isn't what it used to be."
"How so?"
"You see that castle over there?" He pointed to the large, ruined castle to the northwest. "That's Rookwood Castle. No one has felt safe here since Ranrok's Loyalists took a peculiar interest in it nearly a year ago."
Rookwood Castle, you say... like Professor Charles Rookwood? It can't be that common of a last name...
"Really? There's goblins over there?" I tilted my head. If I squinted, I could just barely make out some tents and goblin machinery hidden by the castle's walls. Sebastian nodded.
"My uncle Solomon is a former Auror, but refuses to look into it. Even after Anne was cursed by one of them... possibly with a wand, no less."
"Really?" I repeated myself, my head drawing back in shock. "But... if he was an Auror, he should've been able to clear them out no problem. That just makes him seem suspicious, or supremely lazy."
"It's infuriating, is what it is... which is why I'm on the hunt for answers. If I'm to cure her, I need to understand what happened to her."
"Ahhh... okay, that makes sense," I nodded. There were some magical afflictions that could be cured with a simple spell, but a specific countercurse was necessary for a more complex curse. I'd learned that long ago.
"Anne was always the most mischievous of the three of us... which is saying something, knowing me and Ominis." A faint smile graced his lips, only to falter again a moment later. "I'm hoping a visit from the two of us will help lift her spirits. Bring back the Anne I used to know."
Hope. Tenderness. Love. Dread. The adoration he held for his sister was plain to feel in my heart, but the last emotion gave me pause. It was so... negative compared to how he'd described Anne. This uncle of his must be a real piece of work.
"Come on... I'll take you to my uncle's." Sebastian began his descent from the watchtower, myself taking a moment to try and shake the emotions out of my system before following him. Once we were on ground level, I realized that although there had been plenty of people around while I was flying overhead, the entire village seemed almost deserted now. The tall grasses of early autumn veiled the farmers from view, and the children had seemingly vanished. Everything was eerily silent. "With Ranrok's lot wandering about all the time, everyone stays out of sight," he seemed to knowingly answer my forming question.
"It's... kinda creepy," I frowned, stifling a shiver. A minute later we had stopped in front of a quaint stone house with a thatched roof. Vines and flowers stretched upwards towards the roof, halves of barrels held tomato plants that were just starting to yellow and wither, and a fenced-off area to the right held a few practice dummies.
"Here we are," Sebastian sighed as he took hold of the doorknob. I watched him swing the door open and followed him in. The house was quite a bit larger than it had appeared from the outside, with a comfortably-sized living area adjoining the kitchen, and the bedrooms and bathroom doors to the left and right. Sebastian's attention was focused squarely on a young woman sitting at the kitchen table beside a smoldering hearth, her back facing us. He tiptoed up to her and suddenly grabbed her shoulders with a laugh.
"Sebastian!" Anne shrieked with glee as she turned from her book and stood up to greet him, grabbing his hands in hers. A wide smile spread across her face, somehow growing even wider when Sebastian suddenly produced a Shrivelfig from his pocket dimension and held it up to her. "Ooh! Is that for me?" she asked with seemingly reverent awe.
"It is," he smiled. "I thought you-"
"We've been over this, boy!" A large hand suddenly yanked the Shrivelfig out of Sebastian's grip. The hand was attached to a very stern-looking older man, his face grizzled with wrinkles and eyes sunken inward. He appeared exhausted and grumpy, carrying himself like our presence was a great inconvenience.
"Hey!" Sebastian protested, repeating himself as the older man Vanished the fruit right in front of him.
Whoa. My mouth hung open in shock. Rude.
"Shrivelfigs cannot reverse a curse! ...Nothing can," he glared at Sebastian before relaxing his gaze on Anne. "The sooner you accept that reality, the better." He turned and walked away towards the bedroom he'd come from. Sebastian sighed with a groan.
"But we haven't tried everything!" he argued. Solomon whipped back around and stomped towards him.
"There is. No. Cure!" he shouted. "When will you accept that?!"
"Never!" Sebastian glared at Solomon dead in the eyes. "I can never accept that!" Suddenly Anne doubled over, first grunting, then crying out in pain. Sebastian gasped and immediately turned towards her, gently guiding her back towards her seat.
"Now look what you've done!" yelled Solomon, simply standing there while Anne sat back down, her forehead slamming against the table in agony.
"Anne, are you alright?!" worried Sebastian. "I'm sorry-"
"Leave!" Solomon ordered, storming over to the front door and brusquely opening it. Sebastian blinked at him for a few moments before his face contorted in anger and he stomped outside. Feeling extremely awkward, I followed him out, flinching as I heard the door slam shut behind me.
"I'm sorry you had to see that," Sebastian grumbled.
"You... were not kidding about your uncle," I gaped at the shut door. "Wow."
"And that's when we have company over... If you don't mind, I just need a moment alone." He stared angrily at the ground. I didn't need his emotions forcing their way into my heart to know just how sour he felt. I watched as he wandered off a few feet, kicking at a pebble... I felt like I should've said something, but... what? Just then I heard the door open again, and glancing over, Anne was beckoning me back inside.
"I'm sorry about earlier... those bouts of pain are difficult to bear," she sighed sadly as she gestured for me to sit. I sat down at the table, glancing at her textbook before she set it aside. Now that I could get a good look at her, I figured the two were fraternal twins rather than identical - Anne resembled Sebastian in only a few features, and even those were difficult to discern due to the state she was in. While her brother had ruddy, vibrant skin, hers was almost as pale as Ominis'; even her freckles had lost most of their color. Dark circles lined her eyes as though she hadn't had a good night's sleep in weeks. The main difference between them, though, was her long, dull brown hair tied neatly in a bun, her bangs covering her eyes.
"Are you alright? That didn't look very good," I frowned.
"Yes, I'm alright," Anne replied even as she winced from a lingering ache. "The pain from this curse comes in bouts, and often suddenly. It's not anyone's fault."
"That's what I thought," I muttered to myself, my nose wrinkling in distaste. Even worse that Solomon would try to blame the sudden onset of a symptom on her brother.
"It's nice to meet you, by the way. You must be Sunset Shimmer. Sebastian's told me all about you."
"That's me... Has he, now?" I raised an eyebrow with a smirk. "Hopefully he hasn't understated my greatness... We met in the Slytherin common room my first day."
"Oh, the common room!" Anne smiled wistfully. "I adored teasing first-years about spotting mermaids through the window."
"So does Ominis," I chuckled. Anne glanced down at the floor, a slight blush on her face.
"I do miss Hogwarts," she sighed. "I wouldn't mind being in Feldcroft, really... if it wasn't so dreary now. Between the goblins at the castle, and my uncle fighting with Sebastian whenever he's home... it's not the cozy retreat it once was."
"Riiiiight..." I grimaced, watching as Solomon exited his room and walked outside. "That was... eye-opening. He used to be an Auror, right? Why doesn't he go kick the goblins out?"
"Uncle Solomon is frustrated-" Anne paused for a moment to stave off a twinge of pain, "-by what happened to me... and by Sebastian for thinking he can fix it. They both mean well... I know they do. But my uncle is right, this curse cannot be undone. I can feel it."
That's... not really a reason. "Well, not with that attitude, it can't," I bristled. "There's always a counter to a curse. And Sebastian's been spending all his free time trying to think of something."
"Sebastian cannot take away my pain," Anne shook her head sadly. "I know he would give anything to do so... I can only hope he realizes the futility of his search for a cure soon."
"Maybe he can't take away your pain, but maybe he can at least try to find something that will improve your condition," I shifted in my seat. "Was that what the Shrivelfig was for?"
"Oh, no... I mentioned in my last letter to him that I really missed the red wine-braised Shrivelfigs served for dessert at the Three Broomsticks sometimes," said Anne. "Because of my condition, Solomon and I aren't able to go to Hogsmeade very often."
"Is that so?" I blinked uncomfortably. Solomon's behavior was becoming more inexcusable by the minute. I reached into my pocket dimension and brought out three Shrivelfigs of my own. "In that case, here. Take some of mine."
"Oh, no Sunset, I couldn't-"
"You can. Besides, I've grown enough of the bloody things, anyway, I don't know what to do with them all," I waved my hand as I set them on the table.
"...Thank you," Anne smiled gently. "I can see why my brother speaks so highly of you."
He does? I began to open my mouth to reply-
Adoration. RUINED. Love. AGONY. Trust. DESPAIR. Sympathy. PLEASEMAKEITSTOP.
I flinched, barely able to hold back a gasp. Though I only felt a mild discomfort in my abdomen, it wasn't hard to imagine the true extent of what Anne was feeling, how it must've been magnified exponentially on her. My jaw clenched as I thought to myself about how her uncle had handled the whole situation.
There had to be a cure for this. To spend the rest of her life living with this pain was simply intolerable... if it were me being afflicted, I'd stop at nothing to find the cure myself. Did she really have no hope left?
"I'm getting tired..." Anne exhaled weakly, standing up with some effort. "...I should probably rest. Thank you for stopping by."
"Sure. It was nice to meet you," I nodded once as I stood up, watching as Anne retired to her room. A sigh passed my lips as I watched her flop on her bed, her body barely moving as she drifted off to sleep.
I replayed the argument in my head, between Sebastian and Solomon. As I recalled what happened, I couldn't help but get more and more angry. Not only did he seem adamant in refusing the possibility of a cure, he had given up on even attempting to lift Anne's spirits. Not even Celestia would have done the same to me, and she wasn't even related to me! To forsake his own niece, his own kin... just the thought made my blood boil. That was not what a guardian, an adoptive father was supposed to do!
I tried for Anne's sake, but I only barely restrained myself from storming out of the house. Solomon was tending to a patch of courgettes a few feet away.
"That boy will fray my last nerve," Solomon snarled to himself, though the harshness of his face mostly vanished as I approached, and he stood up straight to face me.
"So... I take it you're Solomon?" I asked, almost unable to hide the snideness in my voice.
"Oh, yes... you must be a friend of Sebastian's," he replied with a grimace. "I apologize on behalf of my nephew. He doesn't know when to stop."
"He's just trying to help his sister," I groused, crossing my arms.
"He thinks he can help Anne, but... nothing can be done for her." Solomon's eyes narrowed slightly as I shook my head.
"I don't agree... and how do you know that? There's always a counterspell to a spell, you just haven't found it yet." Solomon's eyes turned viperous, and his lip curled.
"Bah! You sound just like him! Thinking you know better than the healers at St. Mungo's!" he spat.
"Aren't the healers trained in recognizing other fields of magic? I'm sure even they would say the same thing, that they just need to discover the countercurse first!" Unable to hide my disdain for this man any longer, I outright glared at him. "Hell, I could probably find the countercurse myself after a thorough diagnostic charm!"
"Arrogant, aren't you?" he growled. "Some sort of Dark magic cursed Anne, and the goblins aren't likely to explain themselves anytime soon."
"Oh yea, about that... didn't you used to be an Auror? If I were you, I'd be tearing those goblins apart joint by joint until they gave me the countercurse! And then I'd explode that one for good measure!"
"...You give me far too much credit," Solomon paused, sighing and shaking his head. "Giving her hope is cruel. The only thing to do now is keep Anne comfortable and stay out of the Loyalists' way."
"Giving her hope is what a father figure is supposed to do!" I shouted. An icy shiver rattled down my spine... it felt like I was arguing with Celestia all over again, trying to reason with her why I deserved to know ever stronger spells, more powerful and dangerous magic... to learn more about the mirror she had shown me and then refused to elaborate on. I could almost see her narrow eyes sneering at me, deeming me unworthy for no good reason... It was kind of like having a carrot dangled in front of me, just out of reach and unable to be affected by magic to be brought closer, yet whenever I reached out and was just about to grab it, the carrot was snatched away by her with a cruel laugh.
But instead of me being denied my right to power and knowledge... this "guardian" was not only failing in his duties, but going against them outright. He refused to use the vast resources at his disposal to restore the health and safety of his own niece, instead electing to blame and chastise his own nephew for trying his best to do his own damned job. And even when a third party was telling him to his face that he was wrong, instead of seeing reason or at least reconsidering his stance, he simply doubled down and kept on wallowing in his ignorance.
So disrespectful... so infuriating... how could I possibly abide by such arrogance? To do so would be utterly pathetic, shameful and humiliating in my eyes... and I was better than that. I knew I was better than that, without a shadow of a doubt in my mind.
"How dare you argue with me?! I know what's best for Anne, and Sebastian!" the grown man roared.
"Do you?" My eyes glared until they were nearly shut. I could almost see Solomon's face merging with Celestia's.
"They are my stubborn brother's children... especially Sebastian," he hissed. "And if you really want to be a good friend to him, you'll make sure he does what he should do, not what he wants to do! He's no idea the harm he could do if he doesn't stop!"
"And you seem to have no idea the harm Anne will suffer if you give up on her," I retorted. I was done with this insolent hayseed, there was no way I could ever respect someone with so little love for their adopted children. I ignored whatever incensed words he was yelling at me and left to find Sebastian.
And you know what? To hell with you. I'll find the cure and make you beg for my forgiveness.
~
I found him a couple doors down, muttering to himself. "Why will he not listen to me? She's my sister," he asked the wind.
"Because he's a bastard," I snapped, startling him. "I can't believe the utter rot that came out of his mouth! You'd think he wants her to stay cursed!"
"You got a first-hand glance at what I'm dealing with," Sebastian glowered back at his house, before easing his gaze onto me. "I apologize for my uncle."
"Pfft, don't apologize for that waste of breath," I held up a hand. "He's an angry little man taking his frustrations out on his adopted children. It's simply unforgivable!"
"Oh, he's always angry. He's been angry since our parents died," Sebastian shook his head. "After Anne was hurt, he only grew worse... It's as though he blames me somehow, always calling me 'my father's son'. As if that's an insult," he scoffed. "I'm the one trying to help her... He's simply given up."
Always angry since his parents died...? The more the thought repeated itself in my head, the stronger I felt an ice-cold hatred blooming in my chest. What a wretched excuse for a parent! And remembering how complacent Anne seemed about her fate, how she'd probably had such a bleak, hopeless future drilled into her mind...
"Solomon seems hellbent on believing nothing can be done for her... even worse, she believes him," I frowned.
"I refuse to believe that! Anne's pain is more than physical... it has changed her entirely!" His voice began to break as he wiped his eyes with his cloak's sleeve, the sight of which made me blink uncomfortably. A subconscious shiver resonated within me as I remembered her emotions, and realized how incredibly accurate he was, likely without realizing it. "I miss my sister... and I'm going to get her back!"
Determination. Desperation. Devotion. Love. I closed my eyes as the emotions stabbed me in the heart and flowed through my body. Strangely, they attached themselves to my own emotions, and I felt my entire being, body and soul, heating up as though I was thrust into a fire.
How dare he.
How dare he!
"...I'm helping you," I opened my eyes and glared with bold resolve. "Goddesses as my witness, I will help you find your cure, and I will make him eat those words." My gaze nearly faltered as I realized what I was saying, but looking at Sebastian made our shared emotions flare up within me even stronger. He blinked with disbelief a few times before a timid smile spread across his face.
"Thank you," his breath hitched. "That means a lot to me... really." I paused, and merely nodded in return. His words seemed to fully cement what I had just promised in my mind... and I wasn't fully sure I agreed with myself anymore.
Well... it's not so much for Anne's sake... I just want to prove that sorry excuse for a father wrong. The more I tried to reaffirm the thought, however... the more I felt it wasn't quite true.
"Come with me... I need to show you where it happened," his expression hardened. He set off on a path up one of the surrounding hills, and I quickly followed a step behind. "Ranrok's Loyalists are capable of so much more than people realize, they should not be underestimated."
"Only fools underestimate their enemy," I commented, punching a fist into my other hand. "That's why you go straight for the throat in a fight... don't even let them have a chance to prove you wrong." Sebastian nodded in agreement.
"All the debris you'll see is from whatever's going on at that abandoned estate," he pointed up to the ruins at the top of the hill as we passed by a hunk of crumbling stone wall. "They've been digging for something."
"Digging for something?" I parroted back, now thoroughly intrigued. Is there something valuable underground? ...Does it have to do with that Rookwood Castle? I pondered on that for a while, until he eventually spoke again perhaps five minutes later.
"Up there... on that plateau," he pointed again, "...is where they cursed Anne." I glanced upwards, finding the plateau covered with tents and supplies. Goblins had taken it over. The path we were on would take us right through it...
...I grinned darkly. "Whaddya say we get a bit of revenge in?"
"I think I like that plan," Sebastian smirked as well. Almost in sync, we cast Disillusionment on ourselves and sneaked up the rest of the path, where a number of goblins were going about their business. Some were digging up the ground in random spots while others supervised.
"How much longer are we expected to dig through this rubble?" I heard a goblin grumble.
"Ranrok knows what he's doing," another goblin argued back. "It's an honor to be a part of it... only good wizard is a dead wizard, in my book."
"Is that so?" I taunted slowly and deliberately, my wand pointed at the goblin's throat. I applied force and clamped down on his trachea, leaving him unable to breathe as I whipped him into one of his buddies and finished by flinging him over the side of the cliff.
"Intruder!" one of them cried, his open mouth a target for a Confringo from Sebastian. He was already casting Depulso on another goblin before its head exploded, sending a few of them into a panic. I swung my wand at them with Levioso in mind, and they hovered a few feet in the air, unable to move while I spun around and cast Diffindo. Ripples in space screamed out from my wand and slashed the goblins clean in half. Meanwhile, Sebastian grabbed a goblin with his magic and slammed him face first into a boulder, Transfigured the body into a barrel of unstable gunpowder and hurled it at another goblin, then Transfigured the pieces of that goblin into more explosive barrels that rocketed off towards the rest, blowing them all up in a shower of gore.
I blinked, then I grinned at the sight of our handiwork. "And I thought I was vicious in a fight," I chuckled. Sebastian let out an amused huff.
"I confess... that was a bit more than I'd bargained for," he sighed as he smoothed down his hair. "But that was fun."
"Isn't it? Only good goblin is a dead goblin... ha!" I mocked.
"Couldn't agree more." He looked out over the now-empty goblin camp, the smirk on his face gradually falling. "...This is where it happened. We smelled smoke in the middle of the night. When we looked outside, flames were shooting from the estate. Before my uncle and I could stop her, Anne rushed out... racing towards the fire, worried someone would be hurt... She came face to face with a horde of goblins frantically trying to stomp out the flames."
"That's... pretty brave of her," I swallowed.
"There was so much smoke by the time we reached her that we could barely see each other, let alone the goblins. Suddenly, an icy voice drifted out from somewhere in the smoke... 'children should be seen and not heard'... A blinding blast followed. They didn't even give her a chance to run," Sebastian shivered angrily.
"I see..." I stared down at the ground. Revulsion of my own feeling took root in my gut as I imagined how the scene played itself out. "And she was just trying to help... they must've been hiding something big that they didn't want anyone stumbling upon."
"My thoughts exactly," he nodded. "It may be grasping at Billywigs, but I keep thinking that there might be something here that could lead me to whoever cursed Anne. Might be the only way to learn what type of magic harmed her... which could help me find a cure."
"Makes sense... although we're definitely not getting a cure out of these guys," I gestured around to the destruction we'd wrought. "But if they're still digging around, that means they haven't found whatever's hiding here."
"And at Rookwood Castle," he added. "Shall we have a look around? They seem to have set up camp here for a specific reason, they have stations for everything."
"Let's," I quipped, already poking through a rack of weapons. We wandered around the campsite for a while, looking for any sort of clue. Sebastian mentioned that there were goblin dig sites like these popping up all over the region. Inwardly, I wondered if this area had anything to do with the ancient magic both Ranrok and I were seeking... it had to be, if they were digging in specific areas. I glanced upwards from the bellows I was investigating towards the ruins nearby. It appeared to be the burnt out remains of a stone house, the only thing left intact a nearby well...
...Suddenly I felt a sense of déjà vu. "...Whose house was this?" I asked, unsettled.
"Been abandoned long as I've lived here," he shrugged. "Rumor was a Hogwarts professor lived here once, centuries ago... but that's all I ever heard."
A Hogwarts professor... centuries ago...? A pang of realization rippled through me, and I dashed towards the house. Sebastian followed after me in confusion as I glanced at the ruined house, then the well, and then the view from the edge of the cliff.
It hit me at once. "Wait... I've seen this place before... I've seen this view before!"
"What do you mean? When?" I opened my mouth to reply, but closed it again after considering how long it'd take to explain. Not to mention I wasn't really supposed to tell him, but... at this rate, with him always being around when I discovered these things, it was probably for the best I just let him know. An outside opinion on things never hurt, after all.
"Ooh... I'll explain that one later," I sighed. "For now, let's just keep looking."
"I'm going to hold you to that," he remarked. We ducked beneath the broken threshold of the ruined house and looked around. It had been totally ransacked, black ash coating every possible surface...
...But something stood out. There was a large portrait laid aside in one corner, the chipped and cracked frame covered in ash and dust. The image of whoever it was had been warped by the fire, the paint bubbling and scorched. I could only barely tell it was of a woman, but the face especially had been destroyed.
Something about this portrait called out to me, made me look at it. I couldn't tell if it was my imagination or not, but I felt like I could see the faintest, barest traces of ancient magic on it, slivers as thin as an atom winking in and out of existence. "Hey, Seb... over here," I called, hearing his footsteps a moment later. "Do you think this was damaged by the fire that night?"
"Could be..." he scrutinized. "...But it looks to me as though it was intentional."
"Then that settles it," I nodded. "This house did belong to a Hogwarts professor, centuries ago."
"Who? What do you-?"
"That night in the Restricted Section, besides that book I also found a Pensieve," I cut him off. "There was a memory of this house during a drought, and the little girl who lived here eventually became a professor at Hogwarts. Her name was Isidora Morganach... she and some of the other professors were known as the Keepers."
Sebastian blinked uncomfortably. "...The Keepers? Like in Quidditch? And you found a Pensieve in the library? ...I'm not following you."
"Wha- no, not like Quidditch," I shook my head with a sigh. "Look, this is probably one of the longest stories I've got, so I'll try to keep it simple for now. They call themselves Keepers because they're 'keeping' the knowledge of ancient magic, and it's all connected to that thing I found at Gringotts."
"So... let me see if I've got this straight," he drawled. "You have Ranrok and Rookwood after you because of something you found at Gringotts, where you ended up via a Portkey, and now you've been witnessing memories left by 'Keepers'? Oh, and this house belonged to a Hogwarts professor, who was one of these non-Quidditch Keepers... hundreds of years ago."
"...Yes?" I smiled awkwardly.
"If I didn't know you, I'd think you were pulling my leg," his eyes narrowed.
"Well... I'm not," I shrugged gormlessly. "At any rate, I think we should both be quite interested in this house... you for answers about what cursed Anne, and me for my ancient magic stuff."
"You do have a point," he admitted, his wandering eyes coming to rest on a pile of haphazardly-stacked boards held up by large rocks. "...What's that over there?" he pointed. Upon further examination, I could see that the rest of the house had been blocked off by whoever had put these here.
"Something interesting," I replied, blowing up the blockage with a Confringo. We ducked beneath the remaining support beams and found a staircase leading into a basement.
"Why bother blocking a stairwell?" he asked. I shrugged as we descended, finding the basement pitch black with darkness. A quick Lumos fixed that, and it was a good thing I had cast it, because the bulk of the basement was covered in Devil's Snare.
...I couldn't help myself. I sniffed the black, scraggly vines that seemed to have a mind of their own. Wet and mildewy... would taste like a soggy mouthful of stale moss.
"Seriously?" Sebastian chuckled as I recoiled in disgust. "With how often I catch you sniffing plants, I'm starting to think you're part-pony or something." The joke snapped me to attention, the hairs on my neck and arms standing straight up.
"Uh, n-no! Now t-that's just ridiculous," I stammered. "I just... like the way plants smell, alright?!" He laughed again as we resumed our search, growing quiet as we waved away the light-averse tendrils. Unlike the ruined house above, the basement was relatively untouched, though still destroyed. Papers, books and glass containers had been scattered everywhere, and most of the larger furniture items had been smashed to bits. The ones that hadn't formed a misshapen wall that cut the basement in half.
"They've left all of this simply strewn about. Tells me they're after something bigger," he hummed. I picked up a sheet of parchment and turned it over - it appeared to have been a journal entry. It detailed a refugee camp overwhelmed by villagers that had fallen victim to a plague, and the writer seemed to feel remorse over not being able to heal their emotional wounds, noting that they had the power to do so.
A glimmer of light flashed from the written words. I blinked, and I gasped. Sebastian rushed over.
"This... I think this is from a journal of Isidora's," I breathed.
"She must've had one here, I think this is another entry," he said as he handed me a second piece of parchment. This one talked more about her experiences at the refugee camp, and how she wished she could help more... but though it would further her research, it would also be a "fortuitous consequence of doing something good with her ability". The words flashed again, and I was left certain.
These were definitely Isidora's journal entries, and she was talking about ancient magic. Maybe there were more on the other side of the basement? After examining the shelves that blocked my way, I Vanished them and walked into the other half of the room, finding an elaborately decorated mirror that stretched from the floor to the ceiling. As I approached it, I noticed that the room it was reflecting was not the basement, but of somewhere quite familiar.
"Uh, Seb? I see the Undercroft."
"What, a daydream? Because that happens to me, too," he snarked.
"No, seriously. I can see the Undercroft in this mirror," I insisted. He walked over to my side and stared at the mirror, first a look of dumbfounded confusion spreading across his face, then a look of resigned acceptance.
"Honestly? Nothing you say sounds strange to me anymore," he grumbled.
"I've seen this before... it's related to ancient magic. It always turns out to be a portal to wherever it's showing me," I explained.
"A portal- ...Wait, so we can get straight to the Undercroft from here?" Sebastian laughed incredulously once. "Ominis will be floored!"
"We can," I smirked. "Well, I think we've seen everything there was to see down here... Anne went to bed and I have nothing civil to say to your uncle. Ready to go back?"
"Invisible, secret ancient magic passageway, here we come," he shrugged. I cautiously pushed my hand into the mirror, the glass parting for me like water. Uncertain about how it'd react to Sebastian, and not particularly wanting to strand him here, I grabbed his hand before leaping through, taking him with me as he let out a surprised shout.
~
Just like I'd predicted, the portal spit us out near one of the Undercroft's empty walls. We took a few steps forward to regain our bearings.
"Why would the mirror lead us here?" Sebastian wondered out loud. Before I could think of an answer, my eyes were drawn to a sudden burst of silver swirls on the opposite wall.
"Whoa," I muttered. Sebastian followed my gaze and caught the last of the swirls before it seeped into the cracks between the stone blocks, which spun and shrank in response. The wall slid back a few feet to reveal a hidden alcove, within which a sharply-angled wooden closet was embedded into the wall. We approached it with apprehension, and when it did nothing else in our presence I grabbed the two handles and swung open the doors. The closet was actually a ruined triptych - two of the three panels had been torn out, only the one on the left remaining. In the center, however, was a piece of parchment covered in runes. We shared a glance and shrugged in confusion.
"I... can't read this," I frowned as I grabbed the rune-covered parchment from the center and held it up. Upon further inspection, however, I could pick out symbols that resembled the wisps of smoke or flares of flame that had reoccurred on various ancient magic-related motifs... the Portkey container, the double doors, the Pensieves. "Oh, wait, I've seen these before. It seems to be... a symbol for the Keepers," I theorized.
"I've been thinking," said Sebastian, "...a 'Keeper' lived in that house centuries ago, and Ranrok and his lot have been searching there. You said that goblins may be wielding some form of this ancient magic... do you think Anne was cursed by ancient magic?"
I thought back to when I had spoken to Anne, and soon shook my head. "I... don't believe so. If it was the same red-glowing magic I've seen on Ranrok, then I would've seen it if she had." Sebastian's shoulders slumped.
"Hmm... very well. But that doesn't mean it's not ancient magic. There's still so much we don't know about it."
"Very true," I conceded. "Maybe this triptych has some answers, if we can find the other two pieces of it."
"Then we'll have to unravel what this all means," he replied, shaking his head with a groan. "I had no idea our visit to see Anne would unfold into all of this... my head's an utter mess. But I'm glad you told me everything you did."
Appreciation. Affection. Hope. Curiosity. I could feel my heart swell with these foreign feelings. The more I felt them, the less terrifying they were to experience... it felt almost enjoyable.
I still wasn't very familiar with these feelings, though... but as I watched Sebastian leave the Undercroft, I felt myself almost missing them. It was like a tiny part of my very being had gone with him... a ridiculous thought, I knew that.
But... why?
~
The next Tuesday was filled with Halloween festivities. Herbology was spent carving pumpkins into Jack-o-lanterns, and we brewed anti-nausea potions in Sharp's class, as he'd seen many a student overdo it on the sweets during the feast. Professor Onai simply let us spend her class chatting or doing other work, as most of my classmates were growing too excited for the evening to focus. After the school day was over, many of the other students spent their time playing tricks on each other with Zonko's products, and others conjured themselves costumes of various beasts and monsters to scare the unsuspecting. No one had any idea what my Nightmare Moon costume was supposed to be, but once I'd hit a few underclassmen with spells that simulated their worst nightmares they were rightfully terrified of her.
The Halloween Feast definitely lived up to my expectations. While barely anyone picked at the proper food that appeared, the entire Great Hall burst into raucous excitement when the cauldrons and platters of candy, cakes and other endless sweets materialized onto the tables, accompanied by flagons of pumpkin juice and Butterbeer. As we all stuffed ourselves sick, the various ghosts that inhabited the castle flew out from the walls and performed an aerial show for us, gliding in tight loops and rolls.
When the hour grew late and the Feast ended, Sebastian and I grabbed a couple goblets of Butterbeer and as much leftover candy as we could and made for my Room, deciding to continue the party on our own. For a while we simply talked about whatever came to mind, casting Refilling Charms on our Butterbeers a couple of times over the hours. Feeling the loosening effect of the drink's slight alcohol content catching up to me, a thought entered my mind and lingered, and after mulling it over I nodded to myself and held up my hand to interrupt Sebastian's blathering about whatever a Holyhead Harpy was.
"Look... it seems like every time I find out something more about this whole ancient magic business, you're right there with me even though it's supposed to be a secret. So how 'bout I just get it out of the way and tell you about the whole thing?" Sebastian's eyes lit up like stars as he played off his interest with a cool nod.
"Finally," he grinned. He listened intently as I went over everything that had happened since the day I first traveled to Hogwarts; from the Portkey to the dragon attack, from the cliffside ruins to Gringotts, briefly recapped our trip to Hogsmeade and the Restricted Section, then spoke about Scrope's scavenger hunt that led me to Richard Jackdaw, which led me to the Map Chamber and the Keepers. I explained that the four Keepers had trials I would need to pass in order to learn their secrets, and that I had already passed one of them. I went over what I had seen in that trial's Pensieve... and finally informed him of my new ability to sense other's emotions as a result.
"Wait... you can actually sense what others are feeling?" Sebastian recoiled. "...What I'm feeling?!" He suddenly glanced away, embarrassed, his face flushing bright red.
"I can," I smirked devilishly before letting it drop. "...Though I'll admit, sometimes I still don't really know exactly what it is you're feeling."
"You... don't?" he turned back towards me, a desperate hope in his voice.
"It's... not really an emotion I've felt myself, before," I tried to explain. "It's, uh... I dunno, but it always happens around you. Whatever it is, I just suddenly start feeling like my entire upper half fell asleep, all fuzzy and tingly." He was silent for a moment, with an unreadable expression.
"...Is that so?" he finally said, a hint of a grin on his face. "It's not... unpleasant, is it?" My lips thinned as I recalled the feeling.
"No... not really. Actually it's... kinda nice. I like feeling it." I stared at the floor, feeling my cheeks heating up. The grin on his face widened.
"Well, then... I'd say it's nothing to worry about. Now, tell me more about the trial you faced... what did you have to do?"
"Eh... I had to fight an illusion of my... former mentor... to the death." Technically the truth, minus the fact that my former mentor was an Alicorn.
"Your former mentor?"
"Yea... she's actually the princess of my homeland," I spoke slowly. "She taught me practically everything I know about magic... she's, uh... extremely powerful, even for a witch."
"Is that so?" Sebastian sat up straight with renewed interest. "Which princess would this be? Which country?"
Uh...
This was going to be hard to explain. My mind went into overdrive coming up with as many convincing half-truths and outright lies as I could think of... while I did feel as though I could tell him about where I'd come from, I knew damn well he'd never believe that I came from a country of talking magic horses, let alone I myself was one.
Thankfully, I'd noticed that while wizards and witches were often sharp-witted and astute, they were also surprisingly non-curious and easily convinced of things... sometimes to the point of gullibility.
"Well... it's not gonna be one you're familiar with. The country was... hidden from the world centuries ago."
"Try me," he shrugged. Inwardly, I couldn't help but chuckle.
"Alright... it's called Equestria." Sebastian's face screwed up in confusion, the gears in his head clearly trying to turn but jammed into place.
"...Equestria? You're right, I've never heard of that one before... do tell me about it."
"It's a peaceful country, our people are largely pacifists... which is why it was hidden so well," I continued, recalling details about home and twisting them into something not quite so far-fetched for a human with zero context to believe. "Everyone has access to magic, but everyone also has a specific talent that they're especially adept with. Some people are good with plants, for example, or animals, or building and creating things, or giving speeches and teaching... and some of us, of course, are just plain especially talented with magic itself," I preened, a hand on my chest. "Our capital city is called Canterlot, where Princess Celestia rules from her castle."
"Celestia..." The name danced on his tongue. "A name befitting a princess, I suppose... Canterlot, though, that sounds vaguely familiar for some reason..."
"There's other cities, too... Cloudsdale, Ponyville, Manehattan, Baltimare, Fillydelphia, Trottingham-"
"Hold on... I'm sensing a pattern, here," he held up a hand, blinking in disbelief. "These city names, they're all... horse puns."
"Yea, uh... the horse is... seen as an auspicious symbol. Not quite everything and everywhere is named for a horse, but... well, most things are," I cringed. Sheesh, when you put it that way... Equestria does sound kind of ridiculous.
"Strange..." Sebastian hummed. I could feel a sense of mild confusion radiating from him, though it was largely overshadowed by sheer enraptured interest - so far, he believed me. "You say Equestria was hidden from the world centuries ago... would you be able to point the region out on a map?"
"I can try," I bit my lip as I conjured a world map, casting a Levioso so it hovered in midair. Looking it over I considered the basic geography of Equestria, and eventually settled for pointing at an area in northeastern Russia, in the middle of Siberia. "I'd say around there, I think... Canterlot is near the summit of a mountain."
"I see," he nodded, convinced. "How large a country would you say it is?"
"Hmm..." More consideration, more carefully-calculated white lies. "...Maybe half the size of Japan?" He nodded again.
"A decently-sized country... and what is Princess Celestia like?" I blinked uncomfortably, the words and the memories they spawned unexpectedly cutting through me like a Diffindo. I paused for quite a few moments while I searched my thoughts.
Well, she lied to me... unfairly banished and disowned me for trying to figure out what the deal was about that mirror...
"She's... a fine teacher. Extremely powerful - some of the populace is convinced that her magic is so strong, she can move the very sun and moon through the sky at her whim. But she's well-beloved by the people... seen as benevolent, merciful and compassionate." I didn't mean to trail off into silence... but Sebastian, sharp as he was, caught it easily.
"...But you've seen her behind closed doors, I assume? You've seen the true princess... the true her."
...
"I... sure have," I agreed hollowly. "I was her personal student... her protégé."
"Huh... well, I suppose that explains why you're as skilled with magic as you are," he smirked. "Trained by royalty... lucky girl."
Yea... lucky... The memories of our fights - both during the trial and in reality, and of the words that were exchanged - seeped into my mind. "...It wasn't always as grand as you'd think it'd be," I glanced away, grimacing.
"Ah... sorry to have brought it up," he replied with a frown. "...We can set that aside for now if you'd like."
"Sure," I nodded stiffly. "Maybe another time."
"Understood." Without missing a beat Sebastian began talking about how he, Anne and Ominis had spent past Halloweens, and soon I'd forgotten all about my own past. We talked late into the night, eventually conjuring up a couple of couches to sit more comfortably on before dozing off.