//------------------------------// // In Which Hope and Despair Isn't Just for Black and White Bears // Story: Hogwarts: Sunset's Legacy // by witegrlninja //------------------------------// The days passed, and our hearts grew heavier. Our experiments with the gnomes Sebastian had captured were going even worse than they had with the doxies. It seemed we'd reached the limit of what the relic could do outside of the catacomb - it could barely affect the weakest of curses on the afflicted test subject, with the sacrificial subject often becoming maimed or dying for little to no accomplishment. Until one such test ended in an anomaly. The sacrificial subject died, as usual, but the cursed subject suddenly dropped dead as well. Sebastian and I stared at the gnome in shock before hurriedly writing down our findings. We almost didn't realize the relic's magic hadn't fully abated yet in our excitement. A tiny groan brought our attention back to the deceased test subject, our quills falling from our hands as we realized it was now sitting up. Slowly it opened its eyes, which were now glowing a faint red and were entirely devoid of any form of sentience. It rose from the table and unsteadily shambled over to the sacrificial subject, staring down at it motionlessly until I trapped it inside a stasis spell. Multiple diagnostic spells were cast upon both subjects. In the end, it was determined through an analysis of their simple emotions that the two subjects had been a mated pair. I quickly searched through the emotions of the rest of the gnomes in the Vivarium, but unfortunately the ones remaining had no such feelings. Perhaps we'd inadvertently separated those paired gnomes already... though Sebastian admitted he could only get so many of them from each garden he visited. Still, we were finally on to something... except that something was not a good sign for the relic's purported ability to dispel curses. The passage whose translation we'd disagreed upon flashed into my mind, and I swallowed down the thick revulsion that... my translation might've been right all along. But Sebastian refused to accept defeat, insisted that what had happened was an anomaly and nothing more. It was still possible that the relic could dispel any Dark curse with an acceptable sacrifice, without harming the cursed subject. For his sake I went along with it. I knew we needed to be realistic and accept that our hypothesis might've been faulty... but every time I looked at him, felt the pain of his emotions tearing at his heart, I couldn't bring myself to tell him. I too wanted to hold on to the hope that it really was just an anomaly, just as badly as he did. Eventually it turned out he'd collected an odd number of gnomes; one was still digging through the Vivarium's meadow by the time we'd finished with them all. While Sebastian busied himself with tidying up our equipment, I reflected on what I felt as I watched the creature root through the ground, seemingly oblivious to the gradual disappearance of its companions. An idea came to me, half-formed, half-baked. I raised my wand and pointed it at the gnome, closing my eyes in concentration. Blue-white light spilled from my eyes as I summoned the ancient magic deep within me, and tried to extend it outwards to wrap around the simple emotions of the gnome. I tried to visualize them in my mind, seeing the emotions as a pulsing, undulating cloud of energy within the creature's body. It was a small target, but then I tried to imagine a thin tendril of my magic reaching out and wrapping around an even smaller part of that cloud, then gently pulling away. A shrill squeak that abruptly stopped startled my eyes open. The gnome had been dragged from its hole in the ground, its body maimed in a horrific manner: its still-beating heart had been pulled through its throat until it stuck partially out of the gnome's mouth, its jaw distended and broken. ... ... ... ...So much for trying to extract emotional pain on my own. ~ The next morning I went down to the Map Chamber myself to try to wheedle out any more information about ancient magic I could from the Keepers. Again I was met with silence or a refusal to elaborate, even after I had explained why it was so important that I learned as quickly as possible. For whatever reason, now that I knew the full potential of what the magic could do for a person's emotions, they were now entirely unwilling to tell me anything more about it. Discouraged and irritated, I later commiserated with Sebastian about their reservations, their sudden refusal to teach. I'd already told him about the memories I'd seen in the Pensieve (though I heavily edited what I'd experienced in the trial itself), but by the end of it, I wasn't sure which one of us were more upset about that bit of news. It was imperative to the both of us that I reach the largest repository before Ranrok found it, even without the help of that missing journal. I stewed on it until Friday evening. I was finally willing to admit we needed to start considering other, more drastic options if we were to find Anne's cure. It took nearly a half hour of convincing to get Sebastian to agree... the results we were getting from the relic simply weren't pointing in the right direction anymore. While in the middle of writing down some notes on how an infusion of liquid from the lost Cup of Jamshid might offer some relief, however, Sebastian suddenly jumped in surprise with a shout. "What?!" I half-snapped in concern, casting a spell to suck out all the ink I'd spilled on my other pile of notes about the Langgan Efflorescence due to his outburst. "It just came to me," he breathed. "What if we complete that triptych? It clearly belonged to Isidora... perhaps if we find the last piece her portrait will appear, and then you can learn ancient magic directly from her!" "I guess," I blinked, surprised. "Do you know where the scenery from the second panel is located?" "Close to Marunweem, I know... and if Ranrok has taken over the mines in the area, then it must be because he's searching for something related to ancient magic. It'll only be a matter of finding their largest campsite and poking around there for answers." "Hmm..." I nodded. What he was saying certainly made sense, and it was certainly possible that Isidora might be more willing to teach me what the Keepers refused to. But was this really the best time to take a break from finding a cure for Anne's curse? "Well, I'm willing to go check it out, but-" "Yes, let's go!" Sebastian emphasized as he pulled at my hands, practically dragging me from the desk. I was stunned speechless until we were halfway through the castle, wondering why he was suddenly so interested in completing the triptych. Searching through his emotions proved to be a total mess, however... desperation and fear blended together with hope and excitement in equal measure. It wasn't like my ability to sense other's emotions was a perfect equivalent to telepathy. For a moment I wanted to try and pry further, to sense his exact emotional state... but then the image of the gnome with its heart in its mouth shot into my mind. That was the last thing I wanted to do to him. Once we were out of the castle and past its walls, Sebastian asked for my hand so he could Apparate us to the distant hamlet. Almost as soon as I gave it to him I felt the tug of teleportation, and a mere blink later our surroundings had changed. Marunweem was a town close to the coast to the far southeast of Hogwarts, on the shores of a brackish lake with the same name. The weather was slightly warmer and drier in the region - there was hardly a patch of snow to be found, the bare ground marred with patches of tall yellow grass. He quickly pulled out his broom from his pocket dimension, spurring me to do the same. I followed him into the air, and together we scanned the hills surrounding the town, searching for any sign of goblin activity. Finally, about fifteen minutes later, he pointed out what appeared to be a massive camp just outside of the entrance to a cave that had stone steps leading up to it. It was well-fortified by natural cliffs and canyons, and all of the surrounding trees had been clearcut - they'd see us coming from miles away if we approached them head on. There was, however, a path at the bottom of the hill that carved upwards towards the camp, still camouflaged by a dense layer of trees that would allow us to land unseen. Only a few goblins were currently traveling along it, but we still landed as stealthily as we could, gazing upwards at our destination. "Still one step ahead of us," frowned Sebastian. "But they can't possibly know about the triptych... can they?" "I can't imagine they do," I shook my head in agreement. "But Ranrok does know that Isidora was involved with the Keepers in some way. That's probably why they're searching here, this mine had something to do with her." Beside me, my dearest friend sighed, shaking his head. "It's their fault we have to resort to this," he muttered bitterly. "Hm?" "These 'Keepers' are playing games with you. After all this time, after besting each of their trials you've faced... but why?" he asked as he glanced back up the steep, small mountain. "I dunno, but by Celestia, is it aggravating," I nodded, growling through my teeth. After another minute of waiting for any sign of movement to cease, we stood up from our hiding spot and started our ascent. "Quickly, before we're spotted," he murmured, breaking out into a quick jog up the mountain path. I hurried after him, mildly surprised at his pace. "Keep a close eye out... I saw some of Ranrok's crew moving off the path just ahead." "Off the path? That's weird," I mused. "Why?" "Raiding, I imagine. This mountain used to safeguard local hamlet valuables, but I've heard it's been abandoned ever since Ranrok took hold of the coast." "Damn... don't suppose he left anything good behind for us?" I shrugged. But Sebastian seemed to ignore my quip; as we reached the first of multiple switchbacks that led upwards, the tops of some tents beside a large, dormant piece of machinery came into view. A goblin was reclining in a chair, doing a poor job of serving as a lookout while the others readied themselves for bed. More annoyed by their presence than anything, I pointed my wand in their direction, channeling only a small amount of ancient magic to empower my spell. A silent Deprimo crumbled the ground beneath their entire camp, forming a crevasse stretching a couple hundred feet straight down. The lookout jumped in his seat at the sudden screams of his companions and gaped helplessly as he watched them fall to their deaths. A Depulso pushed him into joining them. Beside me, Sebastian chuckled once darkly as the scream abruptly cut off. We continued our hike upwards in silence. Past the third switchback, a strange, guttural whinny caught my attention - looking upwards, I saw a pair of thestrals fly past into the night sky. "Thestrals overhead... some consider them a bad omen," I heard him mumble. "Not everyone does," I replied. "Natty doesn't." "Is that so..." he replied half-heartedly. When he hadn't spoken again for about a minute, I started to feel slightly uncomfortable. "...You okay?" "I'm fine," he affirmed rather harshly. "I'm making small talk... I'm not going to trek up this mountain in silence." "Oh." I bristled at his tone... now, I could understand why he was particularly touchy at the moment, what with his animosity for goblins, his frustration with the Keepers and his disappointment in the relic's potential, but he knew taking it out on me was less than a wise choice... too much sass and I wouldn't refrain from smacking him. But almost as quickly as he'd said it, he sighed and shook his head. "Sorry... I didn't mean to come off so cross. I'm just... not in the best of spirits." "I know," I tilted my head and frowned in sympathy. Half of a smile briefly appeared across his lips before blowing away in exertion. We walked further up the mountain, again in silence, until reaching the beginning of one of the canyons that flanked the pathway. Once we'd passed the next switchback I heard another whinny, louder than the last. "I bet the thestral nest's close by," Sebastian hummed. Sure enough, there was a crack in the cliff's walls that led to an outcropping on the edge of the mountain. The thestrals' den overlooked the coastline below, hidden amongst a blanket of barren bushes and dried weeds. They largely ignored our presence, but one of them seemed especially curious, and timidly approached me. I flashed a welcoming smile as my pony instincts took over and let a reassuring nicker pass over my lips. The thestral closed the distance and nuzzled my shoulder, allowing me to stroke its leathery neck. It snorted happily in response and soon left to rejoin the others. I glanced over to Sebastian after watching it for a few moments - a flicker of curiosity passed over his features, but it quickly fell as he stared at the ground and sighed. I could feel a dull ache within him... full of regret, and wishing. I bit my lip as I considered why he felt that way, and why he could see the spectral creatures. Yet another intangible pain that ailed him. "...I'm sorry we can both see thestrals," I spoke quietly. He blinked as he straightened up a little, his jaw clenching. "It's certainly not something I'd hoped we'd have in common," he replied, his eyes closed. We let the beasts be and continued up the path. Finally we picked our way through the canyon that led to the goblins' main camp. A number of tents had been set up, and a blazing fire roared underneath a turnspit loaded with pots of boiling stew. Huge machines of unknown function lay motionless all around in the background, though I could imagine their purpose had to do with finding ancient magic deep underground. Most of the goblins were gathered around the fire, chatting and drinking, but a good number of them were patrolling around the camp. "Kill any who trespass," I heard one goblin hiss to another. "There they are... let's go," rumbled Sebastian. I nodded and raised my wand in preparation to cast Disillusionment, but stopped as he walked right past me, still perfectly visible to the world. This was new. "Uh... isn't this the part where you ask me how we'd like to handle this?" I blinked. But he simply continued forward, his wand already burning with a Confringo and murder in his eyes. "I'm through planning." He approached the two goblins and fired, his spell splitting in two and striking them each in the face. Once the others whipped around and realized his presence, Sebastian disappeared in the blink of an eye, reappearing behind one of the goblins and severing its head from its body with a Diffindo that spread outwards and slashed those in front of it. Then he teleported again, this time reappearing by a loaded weapon rack and animating them to attack their owners. My mouth snapped shut as I got over my shock and joined the fight, but despite my desire to get involved there was actually not much for me to do. Sebastian's rapid use of teleportation made it seem like he was everywhere at once, the entire camp lighting up with spellfire. Goblin after goblin fell to his attacks: slashed and shot by their own weapons, burned with fire, ripped apart, frozen solid, launched into the air, driven into the ground, thrown off a cliff, blown to pieces, slammed headfirst into boulders and machines. Even those that Apparated in mid-fight were struck down as quickly as they appeared. His usual demeanor, composed and confident, had been replaced with a wild, almost feral bloodlust. He had quit using the flourishes he usually punctuated his wandwork with, and his eyes were dark with rage and malice as he fought. He barely flinched as one particular goblin's blood spattered across his face, seemingly wearing it like warpaint. I could only gawk in surprise watching this side of him being unleashed upon the world. ...To be completely honest... seeing him so focused on making these goblins pay for their mere existence was... kind of hot, in a dangerous, macho-masculine sort of way. It never really struck me before how ruthless he could be. The last goblin collapsed limply to the ground, a Diffindo having cleaved him in half almost perfectly vertically. Sebastian paused for only a brief moment to Scourgify the blood from his face before setting his glare on the entrance to the mine. Finally I found my voice again. "Excuse me... what the hell was that?" I gestured to the mass of dead goblins, watching him already begin to stalk up the stairs. "Hey, don't just ignore me... wait!" "Wait?" He finally stopped and whirled around. "For what? Ugh, why are you suddenly so cautious?!" "Cautious...?" My head drew back in confusion. "...No, warn me next time you're gonna charge in like that, wands-a-blazing! I would've been fine with rushing them. Now I'm just mad you got a head start!" Now it was Sebastian's turn to blink. "...Oh. Erm... alright. Sorry about that." I let out an exaggerated sigh and shook my head, though a chuckle soon bubbled forth from my lips. "Eh, doesn't really matter to me either way... it's clearly cathartic for you and it's fewer goblins for Ranrok to use against me. But, now that I know how you want to play with your quarry this time... let's have some fun," I smirked viciously, raising my wand. He looked at me in surprise for a few moments before matching my expression. "I do love how you and I think so alike." "That's why we're best friends," I quipped, walking alongside him up the stairs. Once we'd entered the mine, we wedged our way through an assortment of digging machines before the path opened back up and the interior narrowed. Soon we'd reached a spacious cave within the mountain... unfortunately decorated with giant spider webs. "Ugh, not again," Sebastian groaned. "Yet another labyrinthine cavern, likely full of giant spiders, because why the hell not?" I muttered. He grunted in agreement just as one of the foul creatures crawled up from a chasm in the floor. Though I blasted it with a Confringo, more began billowing up from all around us. "You just had to mention spiders, didn't you?" he sighed, already preparing to cast a wide arc of Incendio. A minute or so later we'd dealt with them all, and as their bodies crackled and burned we set off again down a natural tunnel in the mine. "Can't these things hunt some other kind of prey? Like maybe some more goblins, or mongrels, or... I dunno, just not us!" I whined. "I'm sure we taste better than a goblin dinner," he shrugged. The tunnel proved to be long and narrow, winding through the solid rock like a maze. We trudged upwards and slid downwards, carefully peeking around blind corners in case something was just ahead. One of the additional spells I'd taught Sebastian, forming Lumos into a sticky projectile so it could be cast towards a wall and used as a stationary source of light, proved very useful... because you couldn't keep Lumos going on your wand while you were in a fight. We came across a group of spiders feasting on the webbed remains of some goblins. No sooner than we dispatched them did more burst out from all around us, flooding the narrow tunnel with their squealing bodies. Large chunks of rock crumbled down from above, being knocked loose from the spiders' tunneling, which only added more obstacles to avoid. I cast Protego on myself and Sebastian almost as much as I cast anything offensive, using the shield bubble itself to bounce enemies away from me when they got too close- Something ripped into the back of my shoulder. An explosion of searing hot pain bled into me, quickly radiating outwards and throbbing into my ears. A strangled scream bubbled out of my mouth as I cursed and whipped around, nearly losing my balance as I shot the offending spider in the face with ancient magic, tearing its head off in a gooey blast. But my movements were already growing sluggish. Dull, pounding heat had overtaken my right arm and made it numb. I could feel it creeping into my chest, clouding my mind and making it harder to breathe. I tried to ignore the dread and impending doom I felt as the venom pulsed through my body, tried to stay calm and slow my racing heart, tried not to think about the flesh immediately surrounding the wound beginning to melt and denature. The numbness stretched down my arms and legs, making them heavy and exhausting to move. As much as I knew it would mean my death, I just wanted to lie down and rest, maybe even take a nap- "Antivenenum!" Within moments the hot pain began to recede, and feeling returned to my arm. My mind cleared in time to hear Sebastian cast Ferula on me, bandages materializing from thin air and pressing against the wound to stop the bleeding. Sucking in a deep breath, I pushed through the pain and incinerated the entirety of the tunnel from which we came with ancient magic-laced Incendio, the blue-white flames pouring over every exposed surface with so much heat it melted and fused the stone solid. The unbearable, dry heat caused the entire tunnel to glow a shimmering red, so I followed it up with an augmented, superchilled Ventus to cool the surfaces while Sebastian's Depulso forced the rest of the spiders down the other way, their limbs snapping as they scraped along the walls. He stepped aside so I could perform the same two spells on his half of the tunnel, effectively sealing away anything else from attacking us for a while. Now that we were safe for the time being, I sat down with a heavy sigh. Sebastian cast another Magelight behind me as he maneuvered around to my back. "Are you alright?" he panted as he canceled the Ferula charm. A small amount of blood poured out as the bandages fell away, tinged with a metallic green from the deactivated venom. "I'll survive," I growled, inhaling through my teeth. He hummed in concern as he pushed away the torn fabric to expose the wound, conjured a bit of cloth to wipe away some of the blood, then pulled out a Wiggenweld potion from his pocket dimension and conjured a puff of clean cotton to pour it onto. "Hold on... I shan't let death come for you," he murmured quietly, gently pressing the cotton to the wound. I sucked in another breath as it tingled sharply, the deep puncture beginning to heal from the inside out. His free arm snaked around my side and his hand fell open; I grabbed it and squeezed as the potion did its job. I tried not to focus on anything else while I waited for the pain to subside. Every so often Sebastian would rewet the cotton with Wiggenweld and apply it again in a slightly different position, the pain flaring anew until that part of the wound was healed. Though I was deeply irritated that I'd allowed one of those wretched little bastards to get a hit in on me, I did have to admit it was nice to have such a thorough, caring healer by my side. Although, I thought, it's not exactly a great reason why he's so good at this. He shouldn't have had to be... not at his age. And certainly not any younger. My hand softened its grip on his, opting to caress it gently instead. "...There we are. Episkey. Scourgify." I felt my skin knit itself closed and the sticky, cold dampness of spilled blood and venom leave my body. "I... am going to devote my entire 6th year... to exterminating every single giant spider in this entire Celestia-forsaken valley," I swore. "Annoying little beasts, aren't they?" he offered, a final cast of Reparo mending my clothing. I stood up and flexed my arm and shoulder, finding the pain to be completely gone. "They are... thank you, by the way," I smiled with a bit of exhaustion. "I might not've been able to get to that in time by myself." "Of course," he nodded once as he rose to his feet. "I have my uses." I hummed out a single brief chuckle, unable to look away from him immediately. He really was quite wonderful. The rest of the way through the tunnel proved uneventful. After a few minutes of walking it widened out into a massive cavern, holding an incredible secret. Far below the ground was a small castle ravaged by time, slowly crumbling into ruin. "Ruins... all the way down here?" I blinked. "I don't think anyone's been here for ages," Sebastian sighed, his eyes darting around. Some mostly-intact stairs led upwards into a corridor blocked by a minor cave in, the boulders covered with more spiderwebs. A controlled Confringo easily blew through the rubble, revealing that the rest of the corridor was being used as a breeding ground by the spiders that lived here. Disgusted, I began my arachnid genocide immediately, torching the pulsating sacs as we made our way through. Moments later we entered the underground castle's courtyard, and I gasped in awe. The cavern proved to be truly palatial in size, the lowest of stalactites only barely dragging along the roof of the tallest tower. Moonlight streamed in through a chasm high above, reflecting off the glossy leaves in a patch of greenery that sat in the perfect position to reap what little sunlight reached these depths. Ancient, tattered banners fluttered in a weak breeze, hinting at the former grandeur of the castle during its time. Just looking at it was starting to give me ideas for my very own castle, once I'd gained enough power to build one myself, or wealth to have one built for me. Beside me I felt Sebastian's arm brush against mine absentmindedly as he took in our surroundings. "Look at this place," he breathed in amazement. "...Not really my style. A bit much, if you ask me." "Really? This coming from the guy who wants a sacrificial altar full of bones in his tomb?" I chuckled. "Well, at least with all those bones it felt a little more lived in, you know?" he replied, grinning. "Nice and cozy." "I guess you have a point," I shrugged. We wandered around the ruins for a while, searching for anything that might point us towards the final triptych piece. Three familiar glowing runes had been carved into the walls around the double doors leading inside the castle in an upside down V shape. "We've seen rune symbols like these before," he pointed out. I nodded, readying my wand. "Means we're on the right track. Help me out here, would ya?" After a brief countdown we both fired an angled Diffindo at the runes, our attacks joining together on the topmost rune. Doing so caused some sort of chime or gong to resound in the distance, perhaps a sort of ancient security alarm. Whatever it was, the vibrations caused more spiders to come crawling out of the castle's long-since-broken windows, eliciting another groan from the both of us. "Perhaps you're on to something with exterminating these things from the valley," he shouted over the flames of his Incendio as we burned the last of them to ash. "Already thought of a way to implement it, too," I said as I Depulsoed a path through their remains. "Once I've created the poison I can Apparate to the highest point in whichever direction the wind is blowing, cast a couple Geminio spells, aerosolize it and let the wind carry it all over the valley." "Aerosolize, hmm?" He mulled it over for a moment, the word seemingly unfamiliar to him. "...Yes. If it'll work like I think it will... that's a brilliant idea." "I'm a magical genius, remember?" I grinned smugly. Suddenly I heard the squeak of a still-living spider, and I whipped around to blow it apart with a Confringo. "Ugh, let's get outta here. This place has lost its charm for me." "Right. Can't get out of here quick enough," he grumbled in agreement. Thankfully the doors were still unlocked from when we'd struck the runes. Pushing them open led not to the interior of the castle like I would've guessed, but instead to another long, twisting hallway. Any doors or passageways that might've led to a side room had been caved in and torn down long ago, but casts of Revelio revealed there was nothing important past them. In fact, the entire hallway looked as though something large had stumbled clumsily through it - parts of the walls were pushed inwards, with shallow craters here and cracked stone there. Towards its end the ground suddenly dipped downward, flattened into a slope by something heavy. We prepared ourselves and slid down it into another large chamber, where a mountain troll had made its lair. Upon seeing our intrusion it stood up from a pile of stinking, flattened animal corpses and roared, smashing its wooden club into a column supporting the wraparound walkway of the room's second floor. The column shattered to pieces from both the impact and falling to the floor, as did the staircase to and a large portion of the second floor moments later. "Well... at least there's some variety in here," I smirked, welcoming the challenge. "Fighting a troll... it'll be just like the day we met." "Except this time, it won't score a lucky hit on me," added Sebastian. The troll charged at us, and in perfect sync we teleported out of the way, letting it smash face first into the opposite wall. While it turned around I set to picking up boulders in my magic and hurling them at the creature while he kept its attention, teleporting back and forth while blinding it with Confringos in its face. Now that we knew how to deal with it, it was rather fun whittling down its stamina until it was weak enough to finish off. The troll quickly grew frustrated and began swinging wildly, club flailing and bashing into boulders and walls, breaking off pieces of stone and flinging them everywhere. Unfortunately for him, one of these pieces rolled right underneath Sebastian's foot as he reappeared, causing him to trip and fall backwards. He cursed to himself as he kicked it away, then cursed again as the troll reared up and readied itself to bring the club swiftly down on his head. But this time, I would save him. Within a split second I was standing right in front of him, ancient magic already leaking from my eyes. "Protego!" I shouted, holding up my wand like a shield. The troll's club came smashing down atop Sebastian but rebounded as soon as it hit the magic, bouncing as though made of rubber directly back into its own face. While it was stunned my enhanced spells were strong enough to lift the troll into the air with a mere Levioso, and just before it ended I thrust my wand upwards - a huge spike of stone that resembled my horn shot out of the earth, impaling the creature straight through the chest. It gurgled loudly before going limp, its club falling out of its grasp and thudding on the ground. "Nice teamwork," Sebastian grinned as he stood back up. "Wasn't it? Besides, only I get to beat the tar out of you these days, you know," I snarked, matching his grin. He broke out into a jovial laugh, fondly remembering all our friendly sparring during Crossed Wands and our own private practice duels. "Thank you," he finally said after his laughter died down. "I wasn't looking forward to being pummeled again." The smile on my face gradually fell as I glanced around, seeing how much damage the troll had done to the room while living here. There was a large, rough tunnel nearby with a breeze blowing through that likely lead back outside, while if we wanted to go further into the underground castle, we would need to fix the ruined staircase and walkway. "That troll certainly made a mess of things... debris everywhere!" he complained. "Tell me about it," I grumbled before closing my eyes, focusing ancient magic into my Reparo spell. Within moments every little piece of rubble floated slowly into the air and began to spin as though caught in a tornado, gradually slotting themselves back into the spaces they used to occupy. Dust and pebbles melded together and solidified to fill in the cracks, rendering everything safe to walk over. However, once all the material had run out and the spell had ended, the bottommost segment of the staircase had failed to reform itself, leaving a ledge about eight feet tall above the floor. Perhaps the troll had moved that particular bit of stone away somewhere. "Hmm... we'll have to help each other up over that," I shifted on my legs as I scanned the room for the missing chunk. "Very well... Step on me." Wha- "Eh?!" I blinked, my head whipping around. Sebastian had already moved towards the ledge and had his fingers laced together, ready to boost me up. "Oh... that kind of 'step on you'. I get it." "What other kind is there?" he raised an eyebrow as I carefully stepped into his hands and let his strength push me up to the edge of the ledge. "...I'll tell you later," I replied, swallowing down an impure thought while reaching down to grab his arm. He jumped at the same time I pulled as hard as I could, helping him climb up the ledge with ease. We ascended the rest of the stairs and moved across the walkway to a bare threshold, finally finding evidence of anyone having lived in this castle. The room we had just entered was full of dust-covered supplies and scattered papers. "Alright, finally." We began rifling through the room, searching for anything useful; I kept an eye out for the faintest trace of ancient magic that would denote the final triptych piece. It soon became apparent, though, that this room was simply used for storage. All I did manage to find was another one of Isidora's journals, only one entry still legible after centuries of exposure. Such joy I felt helping my father after all these years. To hear his voice again - I cannot begin to describe how much I've missed it. I confess I was wholly stunned by the Keepers' reaction. I should have expected it. How can they stand by and do nothing when they have the power to do so much good? Who is Professor Rackham to tell me what I can and cannot do with my ability? The audacity of all of them - judging my work without any real understanding of all that I've accomplished. I do have some hope - the Headmistress seemed somehow to understand what I was doing. When the time is right, I shall go to her. She may be able, and willing, to help. Until I know otherwise, I must continue my work alone... for now. But I will find someone to help me. I will find someone else who understands the gift that we've been given - and our obligation to use it. I will store what I learn safely away for the moment. One day, I will be able to share it with another who is like me. I gasped, shocked by the implications, my own realization. "Did you find something?" asked Sebastian. I handed over the journal and let him read it. "You're right... it's looking like the triptych might be the key to learning from her, after all," I said. "And I already know she went to Headmistress Fitzgerald, and she wasn't willing to help her out." "You haven't found the last piece yet, have you?" he asked, and I shook my head. "It must be deeper within the castle." Curiously, there was a staircase leading to the third floor at the opposite end of the room, but there were even more steps missing from it than the previous one. Only the top two steps remained, about fifteen feet above our heads. "Time sure hasn't been kind to this castle," I frowned. "We couldn't jump high enough to reach that ledge if we tried," Sebastian chuckled once. An idea came to me. "Who said anything about jumping?" I smirked, pointing my wand at him. "Alarte Ascendare." He screeched out a rather unmanly noise as his body was suddenly propelled upwards, just barely managing to grab onto the edge of the stairs on the way down. He pulled himself up as I cast Ascendio on myself, gracefully floating up and landing next to him while he rolled over onto his back to catch his breath and calm his heart. "You... y-you madwoman...!" he coughed. "What? I thought you liked how mad I was," I flashed him a smile. He let out a hollow laugh as he sat up. "Warn me next time you decide to surprise me like that!" "And miss out on messing with you? Never," I grinned as I helped him up. The third floor turned out to be another suspended walkway along the sides of a large chamber, with only broken furniture in a pile at the bottom. We crossed over it and climbed up a long staircase to the fourth floor, which led us back to the troll's lair but much higher up. From here there was a view of the upper reaches of the cavern the entire castle sat within - in one corner, water dripped down from thin stalactites of slick, white stone into a perfectly still pool, with small cave-dwelling fish at the bottom of it flitting about. Their bodies had a subtle bioluminescent glow to them, somewhat like aquatic will-o'-wisps. Another corner had a patch of glowing mushrooms growing along the floor, likely once kept as a tidy garden but now allowed to spread freely. "I'm out of breath after all of those stairs... but the view...!" Sebastian gasped as he looked around. "...Well worth it!" I nodded in agreement as we followed the walkway to its end in another room. "This can't be a dead end... must be another floor above us," he hummed. "I think you're right," I nodded as I channeled a bit of ancient magic into a Revelio, blinking rapidly when the spell seemed to radiate outwards from me for at least a thousand feet in every direction. It was far more powerful in this form, and above us and to our right, three objects glowed a light blue for a few seconds before disappearing. I also became acutely aware of a draft blowing out from a section of wall to my left; there was another hallway behind it. Another controlled Confringo cleared the blockage. The hallway became a short, curved staircase that snaked around another large, thick stalactite and emptied out into what once must've been an opulent bedroom. The sheets and curtains on the four-poster bed were ragged and threadbare due to sheer age, and the liquids in the carafe and teacup on the nightstand had long since evaporated. Dust and dirt covered the rest of the furniture in a thick layer, nearly making the text in an open journal illegible. I feel more and more capable each day. My sense of purpose - knowing that what I am doing is precisely what I was meant to do – has never been clearer. The number of souls I have been able to help grows by the day. So much pain. And I have discovered that this magic itself somehow confirms that what I am doing is right. Each time I breathe in the haze, even a little, it's as though I become more capable. I am being rewarded for my courage... Rewarded for using this magic the way that it was meant to be used. I fear, however, that I must find a way to store what I cannot use in the moment. I do not yet understand its power and do not want to leave it to chance. I have an idea. It is not without risk, but I feel that the risk is worth it. "How many diaries did this lady keep?" I wondered out loud, carefully turning its pages. The last entry appeared to have been torn out. "For all her research on ancient magic, you would think she would be a little more organized in her personal life," Sebastian agreed. We spent a few minutes looking around in case there was anything of use, but the things I'd seen with the Revelio spell were still further upwards. Another hallway at the opposite end of the bedroom led us to the final floor in a gentle slope, where we were greeted by a final set of heavy doors reinforced with metal. Multiple glowing runes lined the small antechamber, my eyes darting between them all as I considered the best, fastest way to strike them all. "Hmm..." I smirked, appreciating how the puzzle was stretching my mind. I closed my eyes to summon more magic from within, then focused it into a Diffindo that split into tens of different tears in the fabric of space, each striking out in a different direction and colliding with a rune. The doors unlocked with a stiff click. "Impressive," mused Sebastian. "Say... do you think it's possible for me to learn to wield ancient magic, even if I can't see it?" "I think so," I replied as I pushed one of the doors open. "In those memories, I remember that Rackham and Isidora were the only ones who could see it, but the other Keepers could wield ancient magic, too. So it's gotta be possible somehow." "Ah..." he trailed off, a dreamy expression on his face. "...Of course, I also have to hope the Keepers won't deem that a bad thing for me to learn too, otherwise you're gonna be waiting quite a while for your chance." At this the expression on his face fell, becoming more pensive, and he sighed in resignation. "Well, some things are worth such a wait." I turned my head from looking over at him, and my breath left my throat. Through the doors was a space nearly as big as my own Room - filled to the brim with furniture and bookshelves crammed full of ancient tomes, potion-making supplies, dried food and other goods. Half-completed experiments and ancient scientific equipment took up nearly every flat surface not on the floor, the forgotten results congealed at the bottoms of glass test tubes and beakers. "Could this be another area Isidora created?" Sebastian gaped. "Judging from the looks of this place, this must've been her main research center," I hummed. The other two glowing objects I'd sensed were in this room, if my sense of direction was correct. One of them was likely the final triptych panel; I kept an eye out for it, but the entire room seemed to be glittering with threads of ancient magic winking in and out of existence. So many experiments half-performed... so much research, so much knowledge... lost to time. "Sunset, look at this!" my companion called out as he jogged over to me, holding a piece of parchment. Judging from the frayed edges, this was the missing entry in the last of Isidora's journals. How could I have been so terribly wrong? The Headmistress won't help me. I tried to make her understand... She, like the others, is blind to the possibilities of what I can do. I have come to learn that I can rely on no one. But I am a more powerful witch than I have ever been. And I know that it's due to the work I'm doing. I shall not allow my magic to lie dormant, as the Keepers do... How I despise that ridiculous name. As if "keeping" power all to themselves is something to be lauded. I confess I have begun to wonder if I will ever find another in my lifetime with whom I can share this work. If I do not, then I shall find solace in the knowledge that I have left them a trail to follow... A path from which they can learn. Perhaps they will do what I cannot - heal the world. Heal the world...? I quickly pushed the thought from my mind. "She really did mean for the triptych to teach someone else about ancient magic," I breathed in, a smile spreading across my face. "Oh, to finally learn something useful about this magic from someone like-minded!" "Indeed... Isidora should not have had to keep all of this secret," lamented Sebastian. "No... in all the memories I've seen, the Keepers disagreed with her on the potential uses she discovered at every turn," I shook my head in disdain. "It's like they were afraid of learning something new and exciting... I can see why she chose to research in secret and hide it from them." "I wish you could see one of her memories," he shrugged. "Perhaps completing the triptych will shed more light on all of this." "It has to at this rate," I reasoned, holding up my lit wand to better illuminate a dark corner, bookshelves arranged around it as a sort of barrier. Within that corner was another large, ostentatious mirror that seemed quite out of place in the research lab, until the familiar view of the Undercroft rippled on its surface. I made a note of it for later and started poking through the bookshelves themselves. And crammed behind some of the old, dusty tomes was a piece of canvas, pages falling out as I pulled them out. Normally I would have cringed at the state of the books, but the excitement of finding what we'd been looking for completely overrode it. "Yes... finally! The last triptych piece!" I cried. "Brilliant. I knew we could find it," he sighed in relief. "I can't wait to meet this Isidora for myself." "Me either," I grinned, already grabbing his hand. "C'mon, I found the way back." ~ Moments later we were back in the Undercroft, breaking out into a jog as we approached the unfinished triptych. "Well, this is it," I breathed, unfolding the piece of canvas. "I cannot believe the journey this triptych took us on... Well, don't keep me in suspense! Go on, place it!" Sebastian goaded, nearly bouncing from excitement. Without further ado I held up the piece of canvas to its frame, and it left my hands as it attached itself to the wooden background. We took a few steps back in anticipation, watching and waiting for anything to happen... ... ... ... ...But nothing did. We shared a confused glance; after a couple more seconds of nothing happening I tentatively slapped the triptych's frame a few times. Suddenly I heard a rushing noise behind us, and to our surprise a Pensieve had materialized itself. The same silvery swirls I'd seen before floated above the liquid inside, but this one also sparkled with blue and white lights. "Another one of these," I mumbled. "This is what we've been chasing?" he asked. I glanced back to the finished triptych, wondering why Isidora's portrait wasn't showing up, wasn't instructing us on how to use ancient magic, or even telling us why she'd done what she did. "Hmm..." I reached out to the silvery swirls, my hand shrinking back as they froze and dripped down into the Pensieve at the slightest disturbance. "What is it?" I looked back up at him with a grin. "Looks like we're going to see a memory of hers, for once." Out of the corner of my vision, I saw Sebastian following my lead and lowering his face into the Pensieve along with me. I felt myself being pulled in through the familiar black smoke. Once it had cleared I saw Isidora inside her home at Feldcroft. She walked into her father's room where he sat on the edge of his bed, staring listlessly into a roaring hearth. She sat down beside him and gently took his hand, prompting him to slowly look up at her. Hope. Compassion. Love. Sympathy. The emotions hit me like a train, and I clutched at my chest as I recoiled from the sensation - Sebastian moved towards me in concern, but I waved him off with a shake of my head. If this also happened with Rackham's memories, and both he and Isidora could sense ancient magic... then this must be a side effect of viewing their memories specifically. It's what they were feeling at the time. "...I cannot bring my brother back, father... but I can give you peace," she said. Her father simply stared at her for a few moments before turning away, back towards the fire. A maelstrom of emotions flashed across her face, and she stood up and left the room with determination. The scene changed slightly - we were still in her house, but now the four Keepers were walking in through the front door. I recognized it as when Isidora had been hired on as the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, and she'd invited them all to her house to show them the culmination of her research. Again, she invited them to sit down. Again, she picked up her wand and the glass jar, and called out to her father. Again, did he enter the room with all the presence of a ghost and sit in his chair. And again, she performed her spell. I felt the intense despair and depression as she removed the tainted emotions from his heart, overshadowed by her own excitement, passion and love. Though I tried to focus on how she accomplished such a feat, I couldn't glean a single helpful bit of information from what I saw. Beside me I could see Sebastian leaning in closer, his eyes fixated on the strange red glow. "Isidora..." Rackham breathed. Her father gasped as the light pulled itself free from his chest, blinking a few times as she held up the magical specimen for all to see. A proud smile spread across her face. "...What have you done?" "I took his pain," she answered simply, gazing at her father. He looked over to her as she dipped the tainted magic into the glass jar, and graciously reached out to her. She took his hand in hers, and my heart was drowned with foreign emotions. Gratitude. Adoration. Euphoria. Compassion. Exhilaration. Relief. "...Thank you," he smiled. Isidora smiled in return as he rocked gently back and forth. The scene changed again. This time, the front door to her house opened, and Isidora looked down to see a well-dressed goblin. Sebastian and I both gasped in surprise. "It worked?" the goblin asked with a confident grin. "It did, indeed," replied Isidora. "Of course it did," the goblin nodded. "It's goblin silver!" "I need something much bigger," she instructed. The goblin nodded again as he sauntered into the house. "Alright... it would help if you could tell me more about what it is you're storing-" He trailed off as Isidora briskly moved toward a counter covered in glass jars, each with a bubbling swarm of tainted magic within them. Looking closer, I could finally see that each jar was lined on the inside with the thinnest, most intricate threads of metal I'd ever seen, almost like lace. She grabbed one of the jars and held it in her hands as she approached the goblin, cradling it as though it were a precious bottle of vintage wine. "Magic... left over from a spell I devised to remove pain," she answered proudly. "But, if used correctly, its power can be used to do even more good." "Why would you store such magic away?" the goblin asked. "I only need to keep it safe until I can convince my colleagues of its worth. Magic like this... unnerves some," she explained, a hint of bitterness on her lips. The two moved back towards the open front door, the goblin seemingly excited to get to work on his new commission. "Not everyone is ready to wield such power," he remarked. Confidence. Determination. Ambition. Pride. "Perhaps not... But someone will be," Isidora affirmed. She turned back towards the counter with a smile as she and the goblin parted ways, and suddenly I felt myself being pulled from the memory. I gasped as I lifted my face from the Pensieve, and glanced back towards the triptych. I had just witnessed Isidora commissioning the ancient magic repositories from the goblin Bragbor! Beside me, Sebastian was cradling his head in his hands, his eyes wide with shock. "She took away the pain...!" he wheezed, a crazed grin spreading across his face. "I knew it... I knew there was another way to help Anne!" While he began to pace wildly, lost in his newfound hope, I continued to stare at the triptych. Despite her wishes, despite her willingness to work with someone who would use the gift of ancient magic like she would... she still hadn't appeared. Surely after assembling all of the pieces and viewing her memories, she would take that as her cue to move into view! ... ... ... Unless... It hit me all at once. A deep pit suddenly formed in my stomach, feeling like the ground had suddenly fallen out from underneath me. "Wait, Seb," I held out a hand. "...Something's not right, here." "What do you mean...? You saw what she did!" he exclaimed, ceasing his pacing to move to my side. "No, not the memories, the portrait," I clarified. "We found all the pieces, and she said that she'd hoped to be able to share her knowledge with another like her... but if that's the case, then where is she?" Sebastian glanced over to the empty portrait. "...I don't follow." "That view... we've both seen it before. That's her house in Feldcroft. And when we went there, we found that burned portrait..." I swallowed, not liking where my thoughts were leading. "It... it was probably a portrait of her." "So someone destroyed a bit of enchanted canvas-" "You're not listening to me!" I grabbed his shoulders. "Don't you know how portraits work?! If the one of hers was destroyed while she was still in it, then that means she can't enter the triptych! I can't learn anything from her!" "Right, but we found the memory!" he pointed to the Pensieve, then to me. "We saw what she wanted us to see! We saw what she could do, what you can do!" "I don't know how to do what she did!" I shouted. "You saw what happened to that gnome when I tried! And I still don't know anything more about it! That was the whole point of this whole stupid mission!" But he was entirely nonplussed, disturbingly, delusionally so. "Well then, you shall learn. The Keepers can teach you!" "Sebastian..." My hands slapped over my face, my fingers clawing at the skin. "...The Keepers were terrified of this kind of magic! They refused to help her with her research or even humor her, what makes you think they know anything about how to do that?!" Was this... was this why he wanted to find the last piece of the triptych so suddenly? Was he this desperate for a cure? This desperate to save his sister? We already knew this was such a longshot of a chance! I felt horrible crushing his hopes like this, but we had to be realistic. His gleeful Cheshire smile began to falter - I was finally getting through to him. We couldn't afford to blindly fumble around anymore, hoping stubbornly that ancient magic was the answer... because it wasn't. "They were afraid of the knowledge. They were afraid of what ancient magic could do to a person's emotions, and so they refused to look into it! And if I can't speak with Isidora's portrait to learn how she did it, then I'm all the way back to square one! Not to mention it only seems to take away emotional pain, not physical! And the bulk of Anne's afflictions are physical!" "But... you can wield it. You have the ability!" he gaped, breathing harder and heavier as reality set in. "Not right now, I don't," I shook my head, my voice weakening. "And who knows how long it'll take me to figure out, even if we went out and tried to emulate it on every single poacher and Ashwinder we could find." "But... but Anne..." "I know, Seb, I know," I sighed pitifully, grabbing his shoulders again but much more gently this time. "But I'm not going to promise you something I can't keep. I'll try my hardest to figure out how Isidora did it... but in the meantime, we need to think of something else. You and I can come up with something much faster together." And just like that, the optimism and hope within his heart fizzled out and died, like a torch plunged into a bucket of water. He stared at me in silence for what felt like an hour, his eyes lowering to the floor. "...Y-You're right. I'm sorry," Sebastian bowed his head. A pang of guilt kicked me in the soul to see him so miserable. "I was just... I truly thought that this would work, that this was the answer I'd been searching for..." "No, I get it," I grimaced in sympathy, reaching forward to give him a hug. "I thought we were on to something, too... I'm just sorry I don't know how to do it." Sebastian returned the gesture and squeezed tightly. Desperation. Helplessness. Appreciation. Love. "...Please, don't start with that. It's not your fault that you can't," he reassured, his fingers snaking through my hair. "We'll just have to think of something else... and I know we will." Despite the storm of cold negativity that swirled around him, it was that last emotion that truly made me freeze. My eyes slid to the left as though I could see his face through the side of his head. I wondered if I was mistaken about what I'd felt lie in his soul. Compared to the other happy emotions I felt from him, it had been so much brighter, so much warmer than the rest. It made me feel as though my entire being was wrapped within a rainbow. Love. ... ... ... ...Yea, that had to be it. He was thinking about his sister... and of course he loves her. Not- I mentally slapped the thought out of my mind. If I was going to help Anne, help Sebastian, then I'd be a fool to ignore this revelation. I knew where that burned portrait was, and hoped that no one had thought to move it since I'd last seen it. Maybe it wasn't as damaged as I thought... maybe it was possible to repair it. And if I could repair it, then I could learn from Isidora herself how to remove pain. It was better than nothing at all. "...I need to get that other portrait of her," I proclaimed, letting go of him. "Immediately." "Do you need me to come with you?" he asked hesitantly. I shook my head, taking his emotions into account. It could really either be a good thing or a bad thing if he happened to see Anne while we were there... unless Solomon was around, too. Then it'd be just plain bad. "You don't have to if you don't want to. I'm just teleporting to those ruins and back real quick." "I'll wait for you in your Room, then," he replied, nodding once. We left the Undercroft together before parting ways. ~ The hamlet of Feldcroft was completely dark when I appeared on the ruin-dotted hill above it in a flash of light. I couldn't help but gaze downwards for a moment, smoke lingering in the air above the building's chimneys, blending with the fog forming from the ocean's mists. My eyes fell upon Sebastian's house... or what used to be his house, anyway. That horrid uncle of his had so cruelly thrown him out, after all. A simmering rage boiled beneath my skin just thinking about it, how he'd treated him all his life. He'd finally felt comfortable enough with me to tell me a little more about his past. Starting in his third year at Hogwarts, Sebastian and his uncle fought and argued with each other increasingly worse... angst and hormones on top of having that utter bastard for a guardian. Sometimes it got so bad that Solomon would actually throw him out of the house for the night or two, or Sebastian would leave on his own accord. There was a shed nearby that no one in the hamlet laid claim to... over time he'd made it as comfortable as he could with a makeshift bed, some various magical apparatuses and copies of his favorite books. It had no insulation from the cold, and rain always found its way inside through a new hole in the roof, but it was still better than having to be around his uncle. But Anne always worried about him whenever he stayed there, and would visit everyday with whatever food she could sneak out of the house for him. I shook my head with a disbelieving grunt. Even after everything that had happened... he was still so attached to this place. Still so desperate to cure his sister. To see her happy and healthy again, even if he had to drag her kicking and screaming to see it through. Why go through such effort when she didn't even seem to appreciate it? If it were me in her position, I'd appreciate any help I got, even if it wasn't successful in the end. Just... like Sebastian, actually... ... ... ... ...It struck me suddenly, why Celestia had deemed it so important that I learn psychology as her personal student. For many years, Anne was the only one in the world who cared about him... the only one who loved him. And for that simple kindness he was willing to put on a brave face and remain optimistic, enduring the crushing anger and pain and loneliness he felt, stoic as he held up the metaphorical weight of the world on his shoulders... biting back quiet, bitter sighs whenever he thought of his parents and the life he once had. Despite the odds, despite how impossible his wishes seemed... he wanted nothing more than to preserve that little bit of his past, the good still left in his life. That little bit of familiarity, of family, of love, of safety... of hope. He would not give up. He refused to. He was willing to do whatever it took to find her cure, no matter what it cost. A lot like how I was willing to lose my old self in my quest for ancient magic. I'd mostly come to terms with having emotions foisted upon me - quite unwelcome and unwanted at first, I disliked being made to care about others when originally I'd have no reason to. I'd always relied on myself because everyone else was so pathetic, so inferior to me in every way, shape and form, so why would I ever bother with such mediocrity? But now, feeling what I did was like a second nature to me... I could hardly remember what it was like to have my heart so quiet, so... empty. Vacant. Barren. Hollow. And even I had to admit... most of it was definitely for the better. It was surprisingly nice not having to do everything by myself. The words I'd often spoken before I could stop myself - realizing they'd been influenced by that magic - had led me to some fascinating places, given me experiences I wouldn't have had otherwise. And it was especially nice to have someone that not only met my expectations in one I could deem a friend, but exceeded them entirely. I... never would have realized that if it weren't for the ancient magic, and the sometimes-wretched but often-enjoyable emotions that came with it. And I never would've cared about any of this without them. Not a single thing. ... ... ... Heh. I guess this is what happens when you force a sociopath to feel. Finally, I reached the burned-out ruins of Isidora's manor, as soot-covered and abandoned as ever. The scorched portrait was still there. I knelt down to examine it more closely, frowning at just how much damage had been done to it. More of the paint had flaked off and laid in crumbles at its base, and the wooden base of the canvas was beginning to warp. I could only just make out the edges of Isidora's hair, from which the faintest, barest winks of ancient magic glimmered like a distant, dying star. I wondered if repairing it was even possible. I pointed my wand at it and cast Reparo... nothing happened. Figures. I cast a stasis spell on the painting to prevent any more damage before tucking it into my pocket dimension, then teleported back to Hogwarts. ~ Sebastian was waiting for me in my Room, true to his word. I pulled out the painting and set it gently down on a table, the both of us sharing a grimace. "Ugh, it looks terrible," I groaned. "You think there's any hope in repairing it? My Reparo did absolutely nothing." "I'm not sure," he frowned. "I don't know much about magical art restoration. But even if it could, I'm certain it will cost a gorgeous Galleon to do so." "Right. Well, I have no idea where to start looking... find me someone who can fix it," I sighed as I pulled my purse out of my pocket dimension and tossed it to him. "I don't care what it costs." Curious, Sebastian peered inside the purse, and his eyes widened. "Merlin... it's like you've the entirety of Gringotts in here!" he mouthed. "All from Celestia's Royal Treasury, I take it?" "Where else?" I shrugged. "Not like she was using it for anything special." He nodded firmly as he pulled the strings closed. "Alright... I'll try to find you your portrait repairman. I do believe there's a shop in Diagon Alley that specializes in enchanted paintings." "Good," I mumbled while staring at the portrait. Even now, I could swear I saw the very edges of it move, as though Isidora was trapped within some kind of prison and desperately calling for help. "...Of course, even if it can be repaired, I'm sure it won't be completed any time in the near future," he frowned. I blinked and looked back at him, sighing as I saw and felt his despair. This little venture had proved fruitless in finding an answer to Anne's curse... just like so many other things we tried. Even he was beginning to lose hope. I moved over to him, grabbing on to his arms, gazing into his eyes. They seemed dull and lifeless... I missed the sparkle within them when he was excited... happy. Wordlessly he copied my gesture, staring back at me despondently. For as much as the ancient magic had given me... I hated feeling this pain, this dull, burning ache inside my heart. I hated knowing Sebastian felt it, too. I wanted to be rid of it... I wanted him to be rid of it. And there was only one way to achieve that. "We'll find her cure together, Seb... I promise. No matter what we have to do to find it."