//------------------------------// // In Which Our Favorite Slytherins Find a Different Chamber of Secrets // Story: Hogwarts: Sunset's Legacy // by witegrlninja //------------------------------// A week went by in the blink of an eye. Thursday evening, I was studying alone in my Room, albeit not very well. I was... distracted. Sebastian wasn't around, likely reading or hanging out with Ominis somewhere else, as he was wont to do. It was odd, but the dead quiet of the room was starting to get to me. As much as I liked studying alone and in silence, this was just too silent for my tastes. Then I realized - if this really was my own palace, then wouldn't it make sense to have a band at my beck and call to perform for me? Some music would definitely liven the place up. Of course... the only music I'd heard in this world so far was strictly classical in nature, no pop, hip-hop, rock or electronic music to be found. If I wanted to recreate the songs I'd grown fond of in Equestria, and sorely missed... Immediately I set to work. First I conjured everything I would need - instruments both conventional and improvised, a phonograph, blank records. Then I reached into my pocket dimension for a couple particular reagents that would help with the process - multiple pieces of clear quartz. The largest one was flat in shape, with two seven-sided facets and triangular faces between them in a geometric combination of three and seven, and the rest had one large seven-sided face opposite a smaller triangular face. Such crystals were used back in Equestria to assist in enchanting various objects - nearly every unicorn had a set of their own, seeing how easy gemstones were to come by. I bound one of each of the smaller crystals to each instrument, then magically tethered each of those crystals to the phonograph and placed a blank record under the needle. Then I set the largest crystal atop the phonograph. After this I sat down for a moment, sipped a Memory Potion from my collection and meditated, focusing on the music I wanted to remember, trying to recall every single little note, pitch, effect and lyric I could. Once I had a song in my mind, I pointed my wand at my temple and extracted the memory from my very brain, infusing the essence into the large tabular crystal. A few seconds later the record on the phonograph began to spin, and the instruments began to play all on their own. I grinned with satisfaction as the song I'd remembered was etched into the record's grooves - sure, it wasn't a perfect match, having to rely on the primitive instruments of the current era, but a classical version of the song was better than nothing at all. After it had finished etching I played the record to test it out, smiling again as I found that it worked perfectly. I took another sip of Memory Potion and thought of another song, and repeated the process. It was a strange sensation, removing a memory from your own brain... it felt somewhat like pinching a section of dura mater, or perhaps even a gyrus of my temporal lobe, then pulling gently as it stretched like taffy before eventually breaking away. The immediate absence of the knowledge of a song was jarring to experience, yet as soon as I heard the song being recreated by the instruments it was somehow like it had never left. Before I knew it I had filled up two records with music, and was working on the third when I heard the door to my Room open and close. "Ah, I was hoping to see you... spare a moment?" Sebastian asked, walking towards me. "Sure, one sec," I held up a finger as I extracted another song from my mind and infused it into the crystal. He watched with curious interest as the recording process repeated itself for me. "What are you doing?" "I was missing some of the music from my homeland... so I thought I'd recreate it to play again if I wanted." "Interesting... I had no idea you knew so much about musical instruments," he hummed as a Sapphire Shores tune blared itself from the phonograph. "Didn't you tell me you don't even know how to play one?" "That's right... it's more of a memory thing, if I'm honest," I shrugged, gesturing towards the crystals glowing with magic. "A memory, you say? So your contraption works a little like a Pensieve... intriguing," he trailed off as he eyed the glowing crystals, watching them for a brief moment. "Hm, I can't say I recognize any of these melodies or rhythms, and I'd like to think I'm quite knowledgeable about the classics... how have I never heard of these before?" I hesitated as I considered the true reason, and pondered for a moment the best way to explain it to him... A tangentially-related truth was the best I could come up with on such short notice. How else was I going to explain that Equestrian music was so incredibly advanced compared to this world, and we had things like autotune, electronic synthesizers and dubstep? "...This is going to sound really stupid," I prefaced, "but where I come from... I dunno, it's like the entire country was cursed so that sometimes, one or more people will randomly break out into song and dance, with music playing out of nowhere and everything. And as annoying as it is... some of it was rather catchy." "You're joking," Sebastian huffed in disbelief. "I wish I were... not a single day went by without someone I knew suddenly singing a song and dragging the rest of us into it... Hell, it's even happened to me once or twice, and can you imagine me bloody singing?! You can also imagine how annoying it would be when you're in the middle of something important! Sometimes, I think the best part about being here is that nobody ever starts singing for no reason, unless they were hit with Cantis first." "Well... can't argue with that," he agreed, placing his hand on his chin. "I doubt I'd appreciate suddenly being dragged into someone else's musical fantasy myself." "I sure don't... Anyway, you said you wanted something?" "Right. I tried talking to Ominis again about that scriptorium... I think I may be getting close to convincing him to tell me, but..." "...But you still think you're a long way off," I finished the sentence. "What'd you tell him?" "Well... I told him none of us will be able to avoid Dark magic forever, so the more we know about Salazar Slytherin and the Dark Arts, the better prepared we'll be in the future," he explained. "Hmm... logical," my lips curled in approval. "And definitely true." "I thought so. Unfortunately, only a Gaunt knows the location of the scriptorium's entrance, and he still won't tell me," Sebastian pouted. "You'll never get him to spill at this rate," I groaned, rolling my eyes. Then I closed them while clearing my throat to refocus my mood, and the next time they flashed open it was with a devious grin. "Maybe he'll be a little more willing to share with me." "You?" he blinked, silent for a moment. "...Well, I suppose it's worth a try, but don't get your hopes up. Ominis is annoyingly stubborn." "Oh, believe me, Sebby, I can be... quite persuasive," I smirked, lacing my fingers together and latching on to his shoulder with my full weight. His cheeks burned a bright red as he cleared his throat nervously. "I know where he is... he's wandering about the dungeons. I'll lead you to him, and then leave you to it," he replied. "Come on." I nodded, following Sebastian out of the room. Since it was just past 9pm, we cast Disillusionment on ourselves to avoid any early prefects patrolling the castle, only canceling the charms once we'd reached the dungeons - they were almost always deserted, as though nobody else liked being down here. "Keep an eye out... never know who's watching. Although that hasn't stopped us before," he grinned. "Well, I mean... if you want to get technical with it... you were totally caught red-handed," I grinned back. Sebastian let out a huff of laughter as he shook his head once. "Damned poltergeist... Such a nuisance." We walked past the bathrooms and stopped when we saw a flash of pulsing red. Ominis was just down the hall, facing an empty wall. "There he is... good luck." I nodded once before quietly walking over to him, while Sebastian kept watch for any random wanderers. Ominis turned towards me as I approached, his eyebrows raised in surprise. "What are you doing here, Sunset?" "Ominis, hi," I replied with just a touch of cheerfulness - not enough to sound suspicious. "Do you have a moment?" It didn't work... Ominis' cloudy eyes narrowed. Damn those enhanced senses of his. "What is it? What have you and Sebastian been up to, now?" he drawled with a sigh. My carefully-calculated grin faltered for a split second, but only just. "Nothing! I just... haven't seen much of you lately. We don't talk often, and I, uh... wanted to change that." "Oh... I suppose that makes sense," he sighed heavily. "It's just that Sebastian's been pestering me lately about something, and I'm frustrated with him." "Ah, I see..." I nodded knowingly. "He's still trying to get you to tell him where the scriptorium is, huh?" Ominis suddenly stood up stock-straight. "He told you about that?!" "Just the one time... we were talking about our House founder and he mentioned it. Wouldn't tell me much more, though," I lied. "Yes, well... he seems to think it contains the answer to saving Anne." He paused for a moment to swallow uncomfortably. "...I think it's likely full of Dark magic that is better left untouched." "You've never actually been inside?" I cocked my head. "Of course not!" he recoiled. "I only know about it because of my favorite aunt, Noctua. She thought like I do... didn't agree with the family on the use of Dark magic. In fact, she'd hoped to convince my family that there was more to Salazar Slytherin than worshipping pureblood status. She'd heard of this scriptorium and thought its contents might shed some light on him... she even found the secret entrance, in this very corridor!" I couldn't help but blink a few times. Wow... that was easy. "She wrote regularly to my father about her efforts to gain access... and then she simply vanished. No one else ever tried to enter," Ominis sighed, his voice growing quiet. This was my chance... while magic could solve many problems, sometimes carefully-chosen words were what you needed to get results. "I see... I'm sorry about your aunt," I frowned exaggeratedly, trying my best to emphasize the nonexistent empathy I felt for him. "But don't you want to find out what happened to her?" "Aunt Noctua went down this path with good intentions and lost her life... I don't want the same to happen again," he shook his head, squeezing his eyes shut. "Well, now, we don't know for sure that she lost her life... Besides, you said your aunt thought like you. Going in there could honor her memory, get you answers about Slytherin, and Sebastian answers for Anne. It seems to me that your aunt pursued this alone... but we'll be together, and I won't let anything happen to any of us." C'mon... I'm running out of inspirational things to say. Ominis hummed in thought, his scrunched face gradually loosening. Then, finally, he let out a hollow chuckle. "I see what you've done, here... and, I confess, you've convinced me... I didn't think it possible." "So you'll tell him?" I smiled slightly. "Yes... I shall tell you what I know. Fetch Sebastian, I'll wait." "Cool," I muttered before briskly walking back down the hallway. Once I turned the corner I gave Sebastian a thumbs-up. He just stared at me and the gesture, confused, until I rolled my eyes, grabbed his hand and dragged him with me back to Ominis. "I hope I- we don't regret this," he sighed as we approached. "These braziers grant access to the scriptorium." "Now you'll share?" Sebastian frowned. "You wouldn't tell me when I practically begged!" "It wasn't you who told me what I needed to hear," Ominis replied. "Now, opening the entrance has something to do with threes." "Well, three heads are better than one." "...It's 'two heads are better than one'." "And by that logic, three is better than two," Sebastian quipped. "Simple mathematics, Ominis." "You guys could quit flirting with each other and help me light the braziers all at once," I spoke up, having already located the three unlit braziers that sat just around the corner from each other, sticking out like a sore thumb. "I can see why you fancy her so much," Ominis muttered as he cast a Confringo at one of the braziers, while Sebastian and I cast the spell at the other two. As soon as they were all lit a grinding noise came from behind me, and I turned around to see a segment of wall sliding away, revealing a hidden staircase going down. "I hope we're ready for this." "We'll be fine," I reassured, glancing down the staircase. It didn't go down very far, ending in a hallway to the right. Sebastian smirked as he led the way. "Dark, ominous corridors... my favorite." "...No comment." It took me a second before I got the joke, but once it hit me I couldn't help but giggle. "Damn it," I hissed, shaking my head. Sebastian laughed too, but Ominis remained silent. "Oh come on, that was a good one!" Sebastian argued, still snickering. The hallway was short, ending in a locked door. To the left was a ruined mural of some sort, most of it in pieces on the floor. Behind me I heard the wall slide back into place, the corridor immediately plunging itself into total darkness. Sebastian and I cast Lumos so we could look around; Ominis, of course, didn't. A prickling dread crept down my spine. It wasn't so much that we were trapped inside some oubliette within the castle that made the hairs on my arms stand on end... it was the eerie silence of the room. If I'd thought my own Room was quiet before, then this was like one of those experimental anechoic sensory deprivation chambers back in Equestria. Everything seemed to sound muffled, throttled by the oppressive darkness, but if I focused for too long on trying to hear anything my ears began to ring, and I could hear my own heart beating. The air was damp, and cold, too... like the dead of night in the middle of winter. Reparoing the mural uncovered a scrap of parchment that had been hidden under a piece of stone. Sebastian grabbed it and looked it over while I focused on the spell until it finished. "Gaunt...? Ominis, your family was here," he breathed. I glanced over to him when he didn't respond - he was facing the door, barely breathing. My lips thinned, and I turned back to the mural. "Hmm... it's a mural of a person and a snake facing each other," I said out loud, mostly to let Ominis know. He bristled. "That must be the voice I hear," he exhaled, his voice trembling. I held my breath as I tried to focus on the sounds I could hear in this hallway... but other than the breathing of my companions, I heard nothing. It had to be due to his remaining senses, enhanced by his blindness. "You hear something?" I asked as I walked over to him. Ominis turned to me, his face paler than usual. "The voice is ancient... sinister," he swallowed. "It started when you repaired that relief... I hear a whisper saying 'speak to me'." I listened closely again, and now could pick up on a faint hissing noise coming from the locked door. I couldn't explain why, but once I heard it... my blood ran cold. My human instincts tried to reassure me it was nothing, but my pony instincts were begging me to run. "Th-That hissing means 'speak to me'?!" I shivered. "I'm a Parselmouth," Ominis spoke quietly. "I can hear and speak to snakes... nearly all known Parselmouths are descended from Salazar Slytherin." "I s-see... so that's a snake we're hearing," I tried my hardest to get myself together. "...Charming." "It's not an ability I'm thrilled to have... Parseltongue is often associated with Dark wizards. I haven't spoken it in ages, but I'd wager if I speak it now, the door will open... I'm hoping you're having second thoughts." "Second, third and fourth thoughts," I groused as I shook my head so quickly I could hear a rumbling in my ears. "But we should keep going... I can take care of a little snake if there's one hiding behind the door." Ominis barked out a hollow laugh. "It's ironic... when I left home, I vowed to leave the Dark Arts behind... and yet, here I am. Stand back." I quickly scooted behind Sebastian while Ominis began hissing at the door. It wasn't like normal hissing sounds, however... it had a strange reverberation to it, like another voice was speaking with him. I shivered again. "You alright back there?" asked Sebastian, glancing back at me. "That hissing... it just doesn't sound... right," I whimpered. The locked door glowed with a sickly green light for a brief moment, a pair of metal snakes twining themselves upwards and forming a circle that swung itself upside down. The door swung open... thankfully, there were no snakes behind it, but another corridor. "...At least it worked," I sighed, moving out from behind Sebastian and through the door. "Between the two of you, I'm starting to feel left out," Sebastian pouted as he moved forward. "...Between the two of us?" questioned Ominis, looking back our way. Before he could open his mouth again I shot Sebastian the dirtiest glare I could muster. "I- ...never mind," he quickly said as he caught my gaze. Once we had all entered the next corridor the door closed itself and locked behind us. Our only hint at continuing on was a set of stone discs set on a dais next to one of the walls, thankfully with an unlit sconce beside it. Once I'd lit it, I saw that there were markings on the discs. The sconce also illuminated the rest of the area, where there was another corridor to the left with two openings, one blocked by a fully-closed portcullis. Another one blocked the way forward. "Hmm... a puzzle, and no clear way out," I mused. "Like a maze... Salazar Slytherin most likely wanted this to be difficult to solve," said Ominis. "The door we came from... it closed. And there's more than one gate ahead," Sebastian remarked. "Then look closely at each gate for clues," replied Ominis. I wandered around for a few minutes, checking the gates and memorizing the symbols engraved into the cold metal. I realized that they matched the markings on the stone discs. "Ah, I got it, this is actually really easy," I grinned smugly. I returned to the stone discs and pushed them into the correct position, the markings matching those on the closest gate. I heard a portcullis rising and clinking into place, and I set off to investigate. There wound up being a couple more sets of stone discs to move into place to make the other gates rise out of our way - while I solved the puzzles, Sebastian and Ominis followed close behind, bantering with each other to keep the unnerving silence at bay. Sebastian also seemed to find more scraps of parchment Noctua had left behind. They detailed the sense of dread, loneliness and distress she felt as she worked through the puzzles; she hadn't been quick enough to solve the stone dials, and had an effigy of a snake strike her more than once. Throughout it all, however, she remained resolute in her goal - to prove that old traditions should be left in the past. As he read them out loud for us, I could feel a faint sense of gratitude and sympathy coming from Ominis whenever he drew near... but also a sense of estrangement and anguish. Finally, I set the last stone dials into place, and I heard the last portcullis scrape open. "Piece of cake," I smirked. "Excellent work," Sebastian clapped me on the back. "We're another step closer to the scriptorium." As the dial had been positioned in a dead end, we backtracked to the gate that had opened. Suddenly, a hint of a foul stench graced my nose. It was faint at first, but grew slightly stronger the closer we moved towards the gate. A cold chill shot down my arms as I, on some subconscious level, realized what it was. It was confirmed once we reached the open portcullis. There was another corridor, a straight shot thirty feet down towards another locked door, flanked by marble statues of coiled snakes and unlit torches, thick cobwebs splayed between each and every one of them. And at the very end, to the right of the door, was a black mass. "This looks troubling," Sebastian frowned as he stepped into the corridor, Ominis and I right behind him. "This whole place is troubling," replied Ominis, his voice wavering. "But for my aunt's sake, we cannot stop now." No sooner did he finish his sentence that the torches flared to life, bathing the hallway in a sickly glow. The open portcullis slammed shut behind us. "The gate! I think we're locked in... again," groaned Sebastian. "Then Salazar Slytherin is not yet finished with us," Ominis gulped. We had no choice but to go forward. As we approached the door, the stench of death grew stronger. It wasn't until I was nearly stepping in it that I realized who it once was. The mass was black from years of decay. Bones jutted out from it as though reaching upwards to the sky, for help that would never arrive. A skull sat at one end of it, the eye sockets nibbled on by rats or insects. It stank of rotting meat, of rancid fat, of mold and filth and dried, tangy blood. And yet, a piece of parchment endured. With a grimace Sebastian used his wand to pull it free from the mass; a quick Scourgify cleared away the decomposition so we could read it. I've lost hope. I'm locked in. I heard a scream and saw the tortured faces. The only way forward is with an Unforgivable Curse. Even if I wanted to cast it, I have no one upon whom to do so. Salazar Slytherin created a malicious challenge indeed. In my last correspondence to my brother, I'd invited him here. Now, if he looks for me alone, I'll have led him to his death. Despite our differences, I wish him no ill. I wish we had parted on better terms. There was no mistaking it. This was... what remained of Noctua Gaunt. Just then, a piercing scream echoed throughout the corridor. I whipped around to face the door - the blackened faces carved into the stone were screaming in silence, their mouths gnashing and wriggling in absolute agony. A single word had been carved into the stone at the foot of the door... ...Crucio. "This... is where she died... This is where we'll die!" Ominis wailed, taking multiple steps backwards away from the door. "I shouldn't have listened to either of you!" I didn't need ancient magic to know how desperate, how disgusted he felt. "Ominis... I'm truly sorry about your aunt," Sebastian nearly whispered in a monotone. "...But I know what to do. It's going to be difficult." "If you're thinking what I'm thinking... I hope we're both wrong," I frowned, glancing at the door before turning towards him. Nobody exactly wanted to be subjected to sheer excruciating pain, after all. "Tortured faces on the door, and Crucio is etched into the stone..." he paused, swallowing hard. "My guess is that if we cast the Cruciatus Curse, the door will open... That's why Noctua died. She had no one to cast the curse on." "Yep, I was afraid you were gonna say that," I sighed. Sebastian was silent for a moment, thinking. "...Ominis has the most experience with this. He should cast it." "You think he actually will?" I glanced over to him. "Given his whole 'my parents cast it on me as a child' backstory?" "Will you ask him about this? I... admit I haven't been quite right to him, as of late." Despite the question, the look in Sebastian's eyes told me that this was likely a futile effort. I glanced back over to Ominis again, watching him pace nervously back and forth across the corridor, and sighed. "Alright... but I really don't expect him to say yes." "Neither do I..." Sebastian trailed off, glancing back to the door. I quietly walked over towards Ominis, who immediately whipped around to face me. "All of this could have been avoided!" he cried. "Ominis... I don't think any of us were expecting this," I held my hands up in front of me. "Salazar Slytherin did... he's to blame for many unimaginable things," he glowered, then lifted his head towards me. "I overheard you and Sebastian, and I won't do it. The Cruciatus Curse is pure torture! ...I would know." I felt a pang of guilt, my own among the hopelessness and fear Ominis was experiencing. "Sebastian... told me a little about that. What happened when you were a child." Ominis let out a heavy, frustrated sigh. "I should've known he would've told you." "Ominis... that wasn't your fault, it was either cast the curse, or face it again... maybe they would've cast something worse on you next time!" I begged him to see reason. "You had no choice!" "One always has a choice," he shook his head, a tear dripping onto the ground. "I'm as guilty as the worst of my family." "You are not guilty! You were forced to do it!" "Unforgivable Curses won't work unless you really mean them! I had to want to cause pain! ...And for that, I shall never forgive myself." Growing more harried by his stark refusal, I wracked my brain for ideas. Maybe if I phrase it right, he'd be willing to cast it on Sebastian, as revenge for getting us all into this mess? As soon as the thought entered my mind, however, my stomach curled into a painful knot. No, no... that wouldn't do. For a brief moment, I considered using the curse on Ominis - he'd suffered through it once before, surely he could do it again! But I kicked the thought out of my mind almost as soon as it had appeared - how unbelievably evil and depraved would that be?! I might not be what I'd consider a paragon of virtue, if I was being completely honest with myself, but even I had my limits! My little heart wasn't quite that black! ... ... ... ...Not yet, anyway... ...No. That wouldn't do, either. But something had to be done. If one of us didn't cast that spell...! "Ominis..." I whimpered. "...If one of us doesn't cast it... we're all going to die here." A sob wracked through his body, and he inhaled sharply through his teeth. "...That spell's the reason I have no family left. You and Sebastian will need to sort out another solution." I sighed in resignation... there was truly no convincing him to cast one curse to save us all. Although I could understand where he was coming from... I also felt like I'd lost a bit of respect for him. Those two warring emotions would have to be set aside for now. I wanted to live, damn it. "...Fine." I left him to his frantic pacing and walked back to Sebastian. "Told you he wouldn't go for it." "It was worth a try," he sighed, shaking his head as he turned to face me. "Ridiculous... as if dying in here is a better option than casting a damned spell." "Hey, the poor guy had it cast on him by his own family, by people he should've been able to trust would never hurt him like that... It doesn't do us any good, but even I can see why he won't do it." I blinked at the sudden protective urge I'd felt, but quickly set it aside. There were more pressing matters at hand than an acquaintance's personal trauma. "I know that..." he bowed his head guiltily. "...I just don't yearn to follow in Noctua's footsteps." I agreed, nodding halfheartedly... he was right. There was only one option left. Well, two technically, but they were equally wretched. Sebastian let out another sigh, much deeper than the last. As much as I knew it was necessary... I wished it weren't. Refusal. Bleakness. Horror. Remorse. Sebastian's emotions perfectly mirrored my own. The worst part about it was that I couldn't quite figure out why... they just did. "...It's up to us. I can teach you Crucio... or I can cast it on you." "You can teach me that?" My initial thoughts of pleasant surprise at the opportunity to learn an Unforgivable were immediately tamped down by the gravity of the situation, to the point I almost felt guilty about it. Normally I'd leap at the chance to learn a forbidden spell, and in this case, normally I'd cast it on him without a second thought! But... the more I pictured myself doing just that, the more I found myself hating the idea. I found myself hating the idea of hurting him. Even though I would be right there to counter the effects as quickly as possible, and return him to perfect health... It made just as much sense as it genuinely puzzled me. "I... don't know, really. You have to have true intent behind it in order for it to work... and frankly, I'm not sure I can muster up that intent." A pained look spread across his face. "Me either..." I admitted. "I want to learn the curse, but... I don't really want to use it on you." "I don't want to use it on you, either," frowned Sebastian. "But one of us has to take it. I will teach you, however... I trust you with this knowledge." A blossom of flame enveloped my heart. It felt like a beacon of hope, however small. "Alright... teach me." "Watch my wand movement," he instructed, drawing the tip downwards in a zigzag. Just a little more time was all I asked, time that neither of us would have to be subjected to pure agony. More time, so I could gather the inner strength to do what needed to be done. My hand shook as I copied his movements, but I felt that I had it down after a few tries. All I had to say, now... was Crucio. ... ... ... We stared straight through each other in silence for what felt like an eternity. No matter how hard I tried to reason with myself, no matter what logic I used to convince myself that it was better he suffered the curse than me... it just felt so wrong to cast it on him. Sickeningly, shamefully, unforgivably wrong. And yet, it had to be done. There was no getting around it if we wanted to survive. The rational part of my brain was getting irritated with my indecision, my unwillingness to commit. Finally, I grunted in frustration as I vigorously shook my head. "Cast it on me." "Are you sure?" Sebastian recoiled suddenly, blinking in disbelief. I looked away to the left, finding myself unable to meet his gaze for some reason. "I... can't do it to you. So just... before I change my mind." His lips disappeared into his mouth as he inhaled sharply, then nodded in return. "I shan't forget this," he grimaced. I hummed out a reply, then braced myself. Damned brain, damned emotions... This was going to suuuuuck. "Ready?" he asked. I nodded stiffly, the dreadful anticipation gnawing at my heart like a trapped rat. A sourness formed within my throat. My mouth began to fill with saliva. Though he hesitated for a few moments, looking as though he'd suddenly become deathly ill, Sebastian closed his eyes in concentration and remained still for nearly a minute. His eyebrows slowly but surely knit together as his face twisted into a pained sneer. He raised his wand- "NAAAH!" I flinched. His eyes snapped open. "I... didn't even cast it yet!" "I know, I know... I'm not exactly looking forward to this, you know!" I snarked back in fear, then took a few moments to take the deepest breaths of my life to calm back down. "Alright... alright. Do it." "Are you sure about-" "Do it!" I shouted, clenching my teeth and squeezing my eyes and fists shut. Hesitating for a moment, Sebastian closed his eyes again. Another eternity passed by... the frigid, stale air full of tension, coiled springs that none present were able to see. Finally, I couldn't keep my curiosity in check. I opened my eyes a sliver. "S-Sebast-" "Crucio!" Red flashed in my eyes, and I keened. It felt like every single bone in my body had split in half lengthwise. I lost all control over myself; the one shred of conscious thought left in my mind knew that falling to the floor would hurt even more, and it did. The world exploded anew in utter agony. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" I curled into the fetal position like a dead spider, thrashing, banging my head on the floor, screaming until there was no breath left in my lungs. The pain was somehow even worse than when I had transformed into a human - far, far worse. MAKEITSTOPMAKEITSTOPMAKEITSTOPMAKEITSTOPMAKEITSTOPMAKEITSTOPMAKEITSTOPMAKEITSTOPMAKEITSTOPMAKEITSTOPMAKEITSTOPMAKEITSTOPMAKEITSTOPMAKEITSTOPMAKEITSTOPMAKEITSTOPMAKEITSTOPMAKEITSTOPMAKEITSTOPMAKEITSTOPMAKEITSTOPMAKEITSTOPMAKEITSTOPMAKEITSTOPMAKEITSTOPMAKEITSTOPMAKEITSTOPMAKEITSTOPMAKEITSTOPMAKEITSTOPMAKEITSTOPMAKEITSTOPMAKEITSTOPMAKEITSTOPMAKEITSTOPMAKEITSTOPMAKEITSTOPMAKEITSTOPMAKEITSTOPMAKEITSTOPMAKEITSTOPMAKEITSTOPMAKEITSTOPMAKEITSTOPMAKEITSTOPMAKEITSTOP "Are you alright?!" I barely heard Sebastian cry out over the searing pain. It was all I could do to suck in a single breath. "DO I LOOK ALRIGHT TO YOU?!" I shrieked, immediately regretting opening my mouth. My teeth felt like they had all been shattered with a hammer. My own voice threatened to make my skull explode. Even closing my eyes felt like my eyelids were being torn off. My face was wet with tears, snot and saliva, all pooling and congealing on the floor where I was unable to move, except to scream... ... ... ... ...I don't know how long I laid there, waiting for the pain to abate, in too much agony to even blink. I couldn't remember when my vision had become so blurry and dark, nor could I hear or even feel myself breathe. At some point in the hazy limbo I felt something rolling me onto my back, a line of cold upon my lips, and something poured into my mouth. My jaw was closed and my throat was rubbed, the instinct to swallow too strong to ignore. It was only then that the pain finally started to weaken into a more full-body numbing sensation, and I could taste again. "...glad I had some on me..." My hearing and vision returned, but I could only bring myself to move my eyes. Ominis and Sebastian were on their knees on either side of me, Sebastian holding another bottle of Wiggenweld potion. "Sunset... can you hear me?" It took a few seconds for the words to register, but I nodded... barely. Sebastian and Ominis both sighed in relief, the former slowly administering the rest of the potion while the latter lifted my head up for me so I wouldn't choke. Even with a couple of potions, it took me a few minutes to recover enough to sit up. That had hurt so bad... no wonder Ominis had been so reluctant to cast it. The empty numbness that spread throughout my body slowly but surely heated back up into a simmering rage. A few months ago, I might've returned the favor... hell, I was awfully tempted to do so even now. But the feeling of something warm wrapping around me banished the thought from my mind. I blinked a couple times, unsure of what I was seeing. The sensation was coming from Sebastian's arms. I sat there for a few moments, letting him hug me, completely befuddled. He said nothing, only breathing quickly and heavily... but I could feel what he would've said otherwise. REGRET. REGRET. REGRET. REGRET. The emotion rang painfully in my ears, and didn't begin to fade until I weakly, gingerly raised an arm and patted him on the back, each pat setting off pins and needles in my palm. "I'm... alright... you can... get off me now..." "I'm so sorry," he gasped as he let go... I found myself strangely missing the warmth. "I should've taken the curse... that looked absolutely ghastly!" "Now you know why I'll never cast it again," Ominis replied plainly, quietly. His eyes were cast downwards, full of guilt. I willed myself into standing up - still feeling a bit woozy, I pulled out some Wiggenweld potions of my own from my pocket dimension and gulped them down. It took three more of them before I was feeling close to 100% again. "...What's done is done," I spoke as I wiped off my face. "It worked, I hope?" "It did... the door melted into the floor," Sebastian gestured. The door of screaming faces had indeed vanished, revealing a circular-shaped room inside, filled to the brim with dusty books and scrolls. There was a large crest of an old, bearded man hanging over a desk, set over a background of snakes. "We've made it... we found Salazar Slytherin's scriptorium." "Ah... fantastic," I exhaled, a smirk returning to my lips. "Let's go inside." "Are you sure you're alright?" Sebastian asked as I walked through the threshold. "I'm fine," I reassured, staring perhaps a little harsher than intended into his eyes. "...We did what we had to do." He hesitated, but ultimately seemed convinced, nodding once before breaking off to explore. "I can't believe we're here," Ominis breathed as he waved his wand around. The scriptorium was of a decent size, with twin staircases leading upwards to a smaller room. We wandered around for a few minutes, I myself reading the spines of various books and spiriting them away to my pocket dimension. Such knowledge that had been forgotten about for Celestia-knows-how long... I'd be a fool not to take advantage of this opportunity! But one book I came across stood out in particular. This book was well worn, not from age but from use. It was covered in a threadbare green velvet, with a black leather snake stitched to the front. As I picked it up, I felt a strange sensation emanating from it... something dark and mysterious. Books that radiated energy like this... they held the most interesting magic of all. "Ooh... now this book seems interesting," I mused. "You found something?" Sebastian poked his head out from the upper floor. "You two go ahead, let me know what's in it," Ominis said as he continued examining the room with his wand. "May I have a look?" I leapt up the stairs two at a time, and handed the book to Sebastian. He opened it and began thumbing through the pages, his eyebrows raising until they were nearly off of his face entirely. "Well?" "Looks like a spellbook of some kind... this is incredible!" he beamed. "A Hogwarts founder's possession! What an honor!" "What'cha gonna do with it?" "Psh, what I do with every book... read it," Sebastian waved a hand. "Having professors as parents ingrained that habit early on." "Professors, huh?" I grinned. "Nerd." "I... don't know what that means?" he raised an eyebrow. "I'm going to assume that it's a good thing." "...Never mind." I shook my head in annoyed resignation. Evidently, it would seem even simple slang terms and gestures hadn't been invented in this world yet. "At any rate... I can do that later. For now, I say we explore this room. It's breathtaking!" "Uh, I've been getting an uneasy feeling about this place," Ominis drawled from the stairs, coming to join us. "We shouldn't linger here... let's find a way out, please." "What? But we just got here!" I argued back, growing more than irritated by his cowardice. "I didn't get hit by a Crucio just to leave this place after five minutes!" "Please... I-I can't really explain what it is I feel, but... it's not good," he insisted. Sebastian let out a half-groan, half-sigh. "I don't want to leave... but I owe you. Both of you," he smiled at me. "Without either of you, we'd never have made it this far." "We were lucky! We could have died! We must swear never to do this again!" exclaimed Ominis. Sebastian and I exchanged a look, which quickly grew smug. Like hell we weren't going to do this again. "...Sebastian? Sunset?!" "Fiiiiine..." I groused. Ten minutes of searching later, after I had looted every single book I cared to from the shelves, Sebastian discovered that a strange clay figure in the back of the upper room could spin around, opening a section of the wall behind it. I recognized the hallway beyond immediately, being straight across from the Slytherin common room entrance. As soon as I'd said so, Ominis went through it without a second thought. Sebastian and I followed after him, finding him pacing wildly in front of the common room's doors. "Ominis... about your aunt-" "Please, Sebastian..." Ominis sighed wearily before raising his voice. "I meant what I said before. We swear, right now, never to engage in anything to do with Dark magic again!" Sebastian and I exchanged another glance... though his face was serious, I could see the rebellion in his eyes. He was absolutely going to do this again. And so was I. This was where the good magic could be learned, after all... who knows what secrets the darkest of the four Hogwarts founders had kept for himself? "Fine," I stated, holding up my crossed fingers while grinning. A smile broke out on Sebastian's face for a second before he willed it away. "Understood... I'm truly sorry about your aunt, Ominis," he spoke calmly. Ominis was silent for a few moments before bowing his head. "...I suppose after all this, I'm grateful to know what happened to her. Thank you," He smiled sadly. "...Now, if you two don't mind, it is time for me to retire for the night. Please, stay out of trouble." And with that, he moved towards the wall that held the common room's entrance, spoke the password and disappeared through the doors. "What a shame," Sebastian sighed, glancing back at the wall where the scriptorium lay. "Although I did see you take a number of those books. I'm sure they'll come in handy." "I was thinking it'd be good to take them, in case we never got the chance to return," I shrugged. "I'd rather not have to suffer that curse again if I don't need to." "About that... are you sure you're alright?" he slumped a little, face fraught with as much worry and guilt as I could feel. "The Cruciatus Curse seemed to affect you far more than I'd hoped... I-I've never once wanted to harm you-" "Save it," I shook my head, holding up a hand. "I know you didn't want to do it. We didn't have a choice." Despite my words, Sebastian didn't look at all convinced... and strangely, I didn't like how it made me feel. It hurt seeing him like this. "...Alright," he finally agreed, staring at the floor. I grimaced as I looked at him, feeling my own sense of guilt worming its way through the bottom of my heart. Though we'd accomplished what we'd set out to do, it came with a rather uncomfortable price... to each of us, it seemed. Hopefully it'd seem less distasteful after a good night's sleep. Speaking of which... "Hey... you should probably go see if Ominis is okay," I suggested. "Reliving the disappearance of his aunt, finding her body... the whole Unforgivable curse dilemma... he could probably use a kind word right about now." "You're right," he nodded sadly. "I never meant to cause him such anguish... But I needed to know if there was anything inside the scriptorium that might help Anne. I- ...I will apologize to him." "I get it," I faintly smiled. "I'll start going through what I grabbed and see if any of it will help us. You two have a chat and make nice with each other." "Right... thank you, Sunset," he looked up at me, a strained but genuine smile across his face. "I suppose I'll see you tomorrow... goodnight." "'Night, Seb," I replied with a little wave, watching him turn around and disappear through the doors to the common room. As they closed and vanished I let out a heavy sigh, weighted down by intangible emotions. "...See you tomorrow."