//------------------------------// // In Which Our Heroine Tackles the Trial of Ambition (and Sebastian Has Some Questions) // Story: Hogwarts: Sunset's Legacy // by witegrlninja //------------------------------// Professor Fig, Sebastian and I hurried to the Map Chamber as quickly as the old man's legs would take him. When we finally burst through the doors I allowed my pace to slow to a power walk, adopting a scowl as the four Keepers moved into their portraits at the noise. "You four. We need to talk, now," I emphasized coldly. The Keepers turned to face me, but their impassive gazes quickly fell upon Sebastian. "Ah, your friend," Charles sighed, his lips thin. "Have you returned to... ask for our assistance once again?" "Our answer still hasn't changed, I'm afraid," Fitzgerald shook her head. "We do not-" "This isn't about him," I interrupted before Sebastian could respond, his face already twisting into a resentful frown. "The bone I have to pick with you is even bigger than that... Ranrok knows exactly where the last repository is! And unless you guys want a wizard-hating goblin to have access to that much ancient magic, then I need to start that last trial right this second!" The Keepers recoiled in shock, turning and murmuring to each other in low voices. "This is grave news, indeed," sighed Rackham. "We had hoped for more time to discuss the best path forward." "You've already had months to discuss the best path forward!" I rolled my eyes. "The world doesn't move at your glacial pace!" "Ranrok is a monster! We need to know where the final repository is!" pleaded Fig. "He has the last of Bragbor's journals!" "But... we Obliviated Bragbor!" Bakar recoiled in shock. "He kept journals? Why would he have documented all of this?! He didn't know what we were containing!" "...What 'we' were containing?" I drawled suspiciously, narrowing my eyes. "Because thanks to your ridiculous refusal to teach Sunset anything useful about her ancient magic, we had to try to seek out Isidora ourselves!" growled Sebastian. "She told Bragbor about the magic when she commissioned him to create the repositories for her, spoke of the good it could do! We saw her memories!" "Isidora... left memories for someone to find?" Bakar gasped. "...You know what she did?" "Yea... she helped her father with his complicated grief!" I retorted. "Just like in Charles' Pensieve... seriously, I don't know why you guys wouldn't be thrilled to explore her research with her! Don't you realize how useful her abilities could have been to so many people?! Even Bragbor agreed with her!" To my surprise, the Keepers winced and drew in on themselves painfully. Rackham in particular let out a deep sigh. "...Based on the memories she has seen, I believe Sunset is well aware of the grave circumstances in which we find ourselves," he frowned to the others. Each of them nodded in agreement - I didn't care what his sentence could've possibly meant as an area on the starlit map at my feet suddenly glowed. Wherever it was, it was deep within the Clagmar Coast. "The next trial will involve an exceptional level of magical skill... and a nuanced ability to interact with beasts." "Is that all?" I grinned, finally satisfied that the final trial was now within my grasp. "Perfect." "Find a face of stone and tendrils," Rackham continued, pausing for a moment as he gazed pointedly at Sebastian. "I should advise you that you must engage with any beast that is part of the trial... on your own. Professor Bakar will meet you in his Pensieve room." "Yea, yea, whatever... let's go," I motioned to Sebastian and Fig, already headed for the closest exit from the castle. They jogged after me, only daring to speak after we'd exited the chamber. "An exceptional level of magical skill? Nuanced ability to interact with beasts?" Fig hummed to himself in thought. "And a face of stone and tendrils... ah, I believe I know of the area the map was indicating," Sebastian snapped his fingers. "There's a shallow cave near Bainburgh, just past Marunweem on the Cragcroft Shore. A bust of a graphorn was sculpted into the rock there long ago, and nobody knows who created it." "Honestly, what would I do without you?" I smiled at him appreciatively, catching the slight blush on his cheeks. "Can you Apparate us close by?" Sebastian nodded with confidence. ~ We Apparated to Bainburgh, then traveled for another half-hour by broom in search of the cave - well, Fig had a flying carpet to sit on rather than a broomstick, as it was far easier on him and his old bones. A couple of signs helpfully pointed out the landmark to us, as it was apparently a somewhat-famous curiosity among the locals. The cave was more like a crater in the surrounding hills, flanked by tall stone walls. The graphorn sculpture, covered in freshly-sprouted ivy, was far larger than I expected: at least thirty feet tall in addition to being twenty feet off the ground. In the shadow of the sculpture were three flat, stone circles carved into the ground, each with an outline of a beast etched in the center. The largest in the middle was of the Graphorn, while the one to its right bore a resemblance to a Hippogriff, and the one on the right was an image of a Unicorn. "...I believe I know what must be done," Fig mouthed after we'd examined the carvings for a few minutes. "What'cha thinkin'?" "This is a carving of a graphorn... and the images carved into the ground lead me to believe that not only a graphorn, but a hippogriff and a unicorn will somehow open the way forward," he explained patiently. "Ah... so that's what Professor Rackham meant when a 'nuanced ability to interact with beasts' was required," nodded Sebastian. "Makes sense to me," I hummed, considering the task at hand. Poppy had Highwing, and I was sure I could talk her into borrowing the hippogriff for a few minutes, but where was I gonna find a graphorn and a unicorn around here? "It would seem so... I do know that the last of a long dynasty of graphorns lives nearby," said Fig. "It does?" I blinked. That's extremely convenient. "They call him 'The Lord of the Shore'," my mentor nodded once. "I suspect you'll need to bring him here... what happens next, I can't say." "...Bring him here?" I blinked again. If memory served me correctly, graphorns were gigantic, lumbering beasts that rivaled the size of some dragons back in Equestria, and equally as temperamental. "Uh... any advice you might have for me on how to do that? Have you ever subdued a graphorn before?" "I have, yes," Fig replied almost fondly. "Years ago, at Stonehenge, of all places... the Ministry still owes me for that favor. It can be difficult, of course - they are massive, after all - but it's not impossible. It's my experience that many spells will have no real effect... you'll need to wear him down." "...I have to beat the crap out of it?" I blinked thrice with a grimace. "For lack of a better explanation... yes." "Oh," I frowned in distaste. I had researched Professor Bakar before in my search for information on ancient magic; he had been a Beasts professor. It kind of... really rubbed me the wrong way that this was how I was supposed to complete his trial. I didn't want to hurt the poor creature, even if it could take the punishment. "Well... alright. Do you know where he might have his lair?" "I have heard it is near the remains of a large sea creature," replied Fig. "Now, Professor Rackham made it clear that you must engage with any beast that is part of the trial on your own... but I do believe that stopping Ranrok is a far more important task than completing the trial to the letter of the law. I shall return to Hogwarts and see if I can borrow the required hippogriff and unicorn from Professor Howin." "Awesome," I grinned, thankful that my mentor was as willing to bend rules as I was. I had a better idea about how to get the hippogriff involved, however. "You don't need to bother with the hippogriff, though, I... believe I saw a couple sunning themselves on a nearby hill when we were on the way here," I fabricated. "Very well. Good luck, Sunset," he nodded before Apparating away with a pop. "Did you? I figured you were just going to go fetch Poppy and Highwing," Sebastian shrugged. "That's exactly what I was thinking of doing," I replied. "Just thought she would like as few people as possible to know about her hippogriff, ya know?" "Excellent point... would you like me to go fetch her, then?" "Would you? But do try not to reveal the real nature of this trial to her, it'd just take way too long to explain right now. Oh, and ask if she knows of any unicorns... it's a longshot, but if anyone would be friends with one, it'd be her." "Of course. Be back in a flash," he smirked, just before teleporting away. I chuckled to myself over his silly pun and sat down to wait, trusting him to come up with a good enough... alternate reason for them to accompany him back while thinking of the best way to catch myself this graphorn. Something that hopefully didn't involve a concerning amount of animal abuse. ~ About twenty minutes later Sebastian returned in a flash of light, with Poppy beside him atop Highwing. The hippogriff reared up and squawked in surprise at her new surroundings, but calmed down quickly as Poppy stroked her neck. "There, there, it's alright," she cooed, sliding off her back. "Hello, Sunset... so what's this all about?" "Good to see I could tear you away from Natty for a while," I smirked as I stood up, gesturing to the carvings behind me. "So there's this... puzzle here that we want to solve. We need a hippogriff to stand over there, and there's a graphorn roaming around nearby that we can have stand in the middle. We also need a unicorn... you wouldn't happen to have one of those at your beck and call, would you?" "Ah, sorry..." Poppy rubbed the back of her head. "I've seen plenty of them in the Forbidden Forest, though... and there's Horace and Clarabelle in the pens back at Hogwarts." Damn. "I see... alright, that's okay," I shrugged. "Well, now that you're here... wanna help us find the graphorn? He's supposed to be near the remains of a large sea creature, so I figured we could just fly up and down the coastline until we found it." "Ooh! I would love to!" her eyes lit up. Considering Poppy's love for fawning over beasts that could kill her in less than a second, this was certainly payback enough for letting me use Highwing for whatever purpose she'd need to serve. "Great. Let's start looking." Sebastian and I grabbed our brooms from our pocket dimensions as Poppy got back on Highwing, and we took off into the sky together. From our vantage point I could just barely see what looked like the ribcage of a Dragon Lord on the horizon, and waved for my companions to follow me. We landed not even five minutes later. I wondered what creature could possibly have a barrel that wide... the ribs dwarfed even the largest sea serpent, horned serpent or kelpie ever recorded in our Beasts textbook. It could've been a blue whale, perhaps, but even then it'd have to be twice the size of a full-grown adult. "You don't suppose the Lord of the Shore felled this massive creature?" Sebastian whistled as he stared up at the tips of the ribcage. "Graphorns aren't that big... it's more likely this beast washed up on the shore some time ago, and it's been feeding off the carcass ever since," replied Poppy. "This thing must be huge, then," I frowned. "Uh... I don't suppose you've ever tried taming a graphorn before, Poppy? Is there any... nice way to go about it? Maybe they have a favorite food, or if you scratch them in a certain spot behind their ears-" "Oh no, you'll have to beat him in a fair fight," Poppy shook her head. "Graphorns are terribly vicious and impervious to most spells, but if you do manage to defeat one in battle it will generally come to respect you and yield, accepting you as its superior." Damn it. "Really? But I don't really... want to hurt the thing," I sighed. "Believe me, if I knew any other way of subduing one of those, I would happily tell you," she shrugged. Suddenly the ground began to shake with heavy footsteps - Highwing cawed and reared up, requiring Poppy to shush and calm her down again. And a few seconds later, the owner of those footsteps made himself known. The Lord of the Shore definitely lived up to his name - this graphorn had to be twenty feet tall at the shoulder, and twice the length with a hunched, muscular back. Its purple-gray skin glistened with mud and moisture, from beneath which glinted its golden horns the size of a horse. Its muzzle was a mass of thick, prehensile tentacles, dripping with what I hoped was just drool and not blood. As soon as it saw me, the grand beast's body glowed a bright orange from within, and its tentacles flapped as it unleashed a loud, deep bellow from its throat. "...Do you really have to fight this thing all by yourself?!" scoffed Sebastian as even he took a few steps back. "That's what I was trying to avoid," I muttered, swallowing. I began waving him and Poppy away to safety. "Get back... I'll be alright." "Are you sure?" Poppy whimpered, despite her awe-stricken expression. I only nodded in reply; reluctantly the two retreated to a safe distance as the graphorn approached. I went over my strategy once more in my mind, hoping to Celestia that it wasn't immune to what I had planned. The Lord of the Shore began to quicken his pace, breaking out into a trot. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, summoning up the ancient magic within me, letting it flow throughout my body. Blue-white light began to shine from my eyes as I reopened them, the graphorn now running towards me at full speed. I focused on my spell; as I pointed my wand at the beast's forehead, the light shifted from two colors to three. "Imperio!" The green sclera of my eyes flashed brightly, matching the small but intense light that shot from my wand and struck the beast between the eyes. His eyes suddenly glowed green, and his thundering footsteps quickly ground to a halt. Soon he stood only ten feet away from me, waiting patiently as I calmly closed the distance. It wasn't like the Unforgivables were unforgivable against animals, after all. Was it really so bad to use this curse when it would prevent a needless fight? I never wanted to harm the poor thing. Controlling his mind instead would let me use him for my purposes without the need for beating him into submission first... which seemed much more like the "right" thing to do. Hell, it wasn't even really controlling his mind, per se... more like giving him gentle suggestions on what to do. I sure wasn't telling him to get on his hind legs and start dancing or anything cruel like that. The graphorn offered no resistance, lowering himself to the ground and extending a single muzzle tentacle towards my hand as if to kindly shake it in greeting. "Well... that spell got my attention," remarked Sebastian as he and Poppy cautiously approached. I turned to explain myself to Poppy, but to my surprise she didn't seem the least bit aghast at my choice of spell. She regarded me as simply as though I'd just conjured the beast a treatsie-treat instead. "I see someone's not afraid of the Dark Arts." "Wait... you're not horrified I just used an Unforgivable?" I raised an eyebrow. "I've seen all three of them being cast plenty of times before. The shock wore off for me long ago," she casually waved a hand. "And I can understand why you chose to use that spell on the graphorn, this way there's no need for a fight!" Well, that was quite the pleasant surprise, I could definitely appreciate such open-mindedness in a friend. Maybe Poppy and I weren't quite so dissimilar after all. "I... yea," I replied, a small smile forming on my face as she beamed. "You understand perfectly!" "...You what?!" Sebastian took a step back from her. "Long story," I replied to him. "Anyway, I've got myself a graphorn... let's get him to that cave while the spell holds." ~ The trip back to the carvings was three times as long as the trip to the carcass, but far more enjoyable. Sebastian and I rode atop the graphorn's back as Poppy flew beside us on Highwing, laughing excitedly as the beast waddled and lurched down the roads. We passed by a couple of leftover poacher camps that seemingly hadn't gotten the message their boss had been arrested - Poppy gave me the idea to send the graphorn through their camps and trample everyone inside, which worked beautifully. While Sebastian could appreciate their screams of terror as they were squashed underfoot, he couldn't help but side-eye Poppy after that. Finally we arrived back at the shallow cave. I gently guided the graphorn to stand in the largest circle in the middle, the carvings of which began to glow with blue-white light as it stepped on top. Seeing this, Poppy guided Highwing over to the hippogriff carving, which also began to glow. "That's two beasts down," offered Sebastian, sliding off the graphorn's back. "Now what about that unicorn?" "I guess we'll have to wait for Fig to come back with one of the unicorns from the castle pens," I shrugged, dismounting as well. "I fear you'll be waiting a while," frowned Poppy. "The materials one can collect from a unicorn are highly valuable, so Professor Howin treats the school's unicorns as though they were qilin, she hardly ever lets them out of her sight. Professor Fig will need a grand excuse to convince her to let him borrow one." "Oh..." I cringed, suddenly worried this trial would take a lot longer to complete than I'd hoped. And I needed to finish it as fast as possible if I was going to somehow get to the final repository before Ranrok. I glanced over to Sebastian, who could only offer me a sympathetic shrug. Merlin, was I getting sick of hurrying up and waiting! My entire body felt like it was twitching for action as I stupidly stood there, my ears pining for the faintest pop to ring out. But all I heard was the wind rustling through the cracks in the stone all around us. ... ... ... ...Wait a minute. My eyes drifted to my wand... my horn. My old unicorn horn. I turned it over in my hand a few times, wondering if it was just crazy enough to work. I was a human now, but... I was a Unicorn back in Equestria. And I still had a few pony-like mannerisms... ... ... ... ...I swallowed nervously. This would come awfully close to revealing my true self to the both of them, if it worked. Poppy would probably be elated to figure out that I was actually a pony, but Sebastian... ... ... ... ...No. Our relationship would survive this revelation. I knew it without a doubt in my mind. And I desperately wanted to get to that final repository and claim all that ancient magic, my ancient magic, for myself. If I wanted to do that, then I had to beat Ranrok there. I had to complete the trial. I took a deep breath and strode to the final circle with the unicorn carving, staring down at it for a moment before stepping inside. To my relief and to my terror, the carving lit up with the same blue-white light. "What the-?" Sharp as he was, Sebastian noticed immediately, but the ground began to shake before he could form a full sentence. The light from the circles traced themselves up the cliffsides in arcane spirals, and the graphorn carving's eyes began to glow as well. The light seeped out from every crack, every chiseled groove in the old sculpture, draining down to the space below it and melting into the stone until it formed a doorway. It formed a spiral shape that split apart with a loud crack, shards of rock blowing past us as it revealed a hidden cave within. Highwing reared up from the noise in a panic, screeching loudly. "It's alright, Highwing, please calm down!" Poppy soothed as she struggled to keep the hippogriff from flying off. "...It worked." I let out a breathless chuckle as I stepped towards the cave. I could see the looming statue of Bakar and his Pensieve all the way from here. That likely meant I didn't need Highwing or the Lord of the Shore any longer. I turned back towards the graphorn, still standing there impassively. I gave him a mental command to return to his home, and as he turned and walked away I let my hold over his mind break. Feeling our connection being severed was much like being hit in the face with an invisible pillow. Then I turned towards Poppy with an appreciative smirk. "Thanks, Poppy, the puzzle's been solved. You can come in if you want, but... I kinda don't think the end goal will make much sense to you." "Don't worry about it," she huffed in exertion, trying to get the hippogriff beneath her back under control. "That explosion really frightened Highwing... I think we'll be returning to Hogwarts if you don't need us any longer, she'll feel a lot more at ease when we leave this place." I gave her a confident nod, and she clicked at her mount to order her into the air. A few flaps of her powerful wings later, both Highwing and Poppy had left. "Well? Professor Bakar's waiting for us." I looked back to Sebastian, who was still staring at me in confusion. "But... h-how did you...? You're not... I thought we needed a unicorn to open the way forward..." he stammered as he followed after me. "Uh, I dunno," I shrugged helplessly, my mind racing for an appropriate coverup. I glanced down at my wand and hoped it would be enough. "Maybe I tricked it somehow... my wand is a whole-arse unicorn horn, after all." "I... well, I suppose that might explain it, but... i-it's only a single part of a unicorn! Surely the trial would've required an entire live unicorn to open the way to the Pensieve chamber?" "Like I said, I have no idea. The velvet on the horn is still alive... maybe that was enough to count?" "Perhaps, but- ...oh, never mind," he finally sighed as we entered the cave, shaking his head in defeat. "Merlin, magic is so strange sometimes." He remained silent as we walked down a long hallway to the other end of the chamber, the gears in his head clearly smoking as he tried to make sense of what he'd seen. Upon reaching the end I saw Bakar's portrait to the right, overlooking his statue and Pensieve. "Perhaps Professor Rackham was right to have had faith in you," he remarked as we drew near, regarding us with a look of suspicion. "He was. I did it all by myself, too," I groused, jutting a thumb back in the direction of the entrance. Something told me that the sarcasm would fly right over his head. "I still have my reservations," Bakar sneered. "Isidora, as you will see, was not who she seemed... I can only hope that you are. My memories should answer any questions you may have about the power you will need to protect." I bristled at his tone and glared as he left his portrait, but couldn't help but wonder what he meant by that accusation against Isidora. Just why were they all so against her use of ancient magic? Why were they so adamant against learning something new about their rare ability? We walked quietly towards the statue and the Pensieve. The glowing light formed along its eyelid and gathered in the inner canthus, dripping down into the waiting basin. Something was spit out from the liquid within, which I instantly recognized to be the other half of the cherry wood wand. With all four of these wand pieces in my possession, they could now be assembled and used for... whatever came next. "Fascinating... I wonder what we're going to see," Sebastian mumbled. We dipped our faces into the Pensieve at the same time, and I felt its familiar pull through the dark mist. When it finally cleared, we found ourselves outside Isidora's manor on a moonlit night. Bakar was slowly approaching the front door, one hand behind his back as the other gripped a shimmering moonflower. He wore a gentle smile on his face... suddenly my instincts were telling me that perhaps he and Isidora had once been rather close. But as he reached the front door, the smile on his face fell away. The flower dropped from his hand in favor of his wand, holding it at the ready as he pushed the ajar door fully open. "Hello? Isidora?" he called out cautiously, but there was no response. Sebastian and I shared a glance as we followed him in. Bakar walked carefully and quietly as he examined his surroundings, jumping in surprise as his foot accidentally kicked an empty glass jar on the floor. Watching it roll away, I noticed the thin, lace-like metal intricately woven inside. ...One of Isidora's prototype repositories? The jar rolled towards a chair facing the dying fireplace, nearly nothing but embers from inattention. At first I thought it was just padding and cushions, but the silhouette was unmistakable - Isidora's father was sitting in the chair. He was facing away from Bakar, who jumped again as he realized his presence. "Oh... Mr. Morganach," he sighed in relief. But the old man didn't acknowledge him, nor did he even move a muscle. Instead he just sat there, still as a statue. Bakar apprehensively tiptoed towards him, his hand shaking as he placed it gently on his shoulder. "...M-Mr. Morganach...?" The old man finally shifted in his seat, prompting Bakar to let go. He slowly turned to face him... ...His eyes were empty. It was as though he had become a living Inferi, it was as though his entire essence, his being... his soul had been removed. Sebastian and I both gasped at the sight as Bakar recoiled in terror, unable to drag his eyes away from the soulless face. But he eventually did, and he stumbled as he ran from the house as fast as he could. Mist clouded my vision, and the scene changed. Now Bakar was walking quickly and purposefully into Professor Rackham's office in Hogwarts. The elder Keeper seemed deeply worried about something, speaking in hushed whispers. "San... I'm glad you're here." "Isidora was not at her home," Bakar frowned, fidgeting nervously with his hands. "I know," the Seer replied. "But her father... oh, Percival..." "What is it?" "...It is as though he was stripped not only of his pain, but of all emotion," he answered. A quiet hum escaped my throat in surprise - what reason would Isidora have to use the ancient magic on her father again? Why would she remove all of her father's emotions? She was perfectly successful in removing his emotional pain the first time! Then I remembered Fitzgerald's memory... Isidora had inhaled the little wisp of emotional pain she'd extracted from her, seemingly drunk on the power it gave her. Had she now grown fully addicted? Did she leach too much from him? "Everything is much worse than I feared," sighed Rackham as he moved from behind his desk. "Niamh was right... Isidora hasn't stopped. I have just learned that she has been wielding that magic on students!" A creeping dread rolled down my spine as Bakar recoiled in shock, his mouth opening and closing uselessly as he tried to think. "...We must gather the others," he finally said. Rackham nodded curtly in agreement, and the two men briskly left the office. The scene changed again, and this time Sebastian and I gasped loudly. We found ourselves in what appeared to be a massive cavern deep underground, atop a thin walkway of stone and enchanted metal high above the ground. At the end of the walkway was a gargantuan orb of twisted metal pulsing with blue-white light, contained within a tornado-shaped cage of jagged stone. The cavern was dimly lit by lanterns shaped like swirls... lanterns I had seen many times before... ...In the castle. This was it. This had to be the final repository. And all along, it was right beneath my own feet. The four Keepers stalked down the walkway with their wands drawn, quickly coming upon a Hogwarts student approaching from the opposite direction. Judging from the hat and the colors of her uniform, she was a first-year Hufflepuff. Bakar was the first to rush forward and grab her around the shoulders, seemingly breaking her out of a daze. "I need you to return to your common room, alright?" he asked in an almost begging tone. The student nodded wordlessly and hurried down the walkway, leaving the Keepers to continue forward. As they drew near, I saw the orb of goblin silver twisting and spiraling within another, moving almost like it had a life of its own. Even though this was merely a memory... I could feel the warmth caressing my skin. I could hear its whispers in my ears. The power within so desperately wanted to be unleashed. The Keepers halted their advance as I saw movement from behind the repository. Isidora stepped out from the shadows, her eyes wild and her smile deranged. "What have you done?" Rackham breathed as she raised her hands in exultation. "Take a breath..." she droned dreamily. But the eldest Keeper wasn't having any of it. "Students, Isidora?" he breathed in disappointment. "Everyone feels pain... and why?" she asked as her expression hardened. "Because of your arrogance... your obsession with secrets. They won't suffer any longer... not my father, not my students... no one." "Isidora... set down your wand," Rackham warned as the Keepers each took one step forward. "Professor, you taught me to hone my power, not throw it away!" "...I did not teach you this." He struck first with Expelliarmus. In a flash of red light Isidora effortlessly blocked the Disarming Charm, shaking her head as she realized they were going to try to stop her at any cost. Her wand burned with crimson as she flung an augmented Bombarda at the Keepers, the spell flying so fast I could barely keep track of it myself. The spell exploded with such force it sent all of them backwards, tumbling uncontrollably along the sharp ground for several feet. Headmistress Fitzgerald in particular flew the furthest, the back of her head slapping against a wall of stone. She rolled limply onto her side, unconscious as her wand fell from her hand. Rackham stared in horror of his fallen colleague as he and Bakar stood back up. He covered the latter as he stumbled towards Fitzgerald, keeping Isidora's attention by firing a jet of Incendio at her. Isidora smirked as she simply cast her own to counter his, the blue-hot flames easily engulfing his as she boldly stepped closer. By this point Charles had recovered, and joined in the attack with an arcing bolt of lightning from his wand. But Isidora's Incendio blocked this, too. Her eyes narrowed as she moved ever closer, the force of her spell pushing the others back as it absorbed their power. The heat began to singe the ends of Rackham's beard and Charles' cap, and I could see them both gulp in fear as they realized they were clearly outmatched. Off to the side and seemingly ignored, Bakar sighed in relief as his hand fell from Fitzgerald's neck. He glanced back towards Isidora and the others, seemingly in disbelief that it had all come down to this. His features hardened after a moment's fleeting thought. He blinked uncomfortably as he raised his wand, eyes narrowing in focus... ...And what happened next sickened me more than anything I had ever witnessed in my life. His eyes glowed green as his wand flashed with crackling jade lightning. "Avada Kedavra!" Without hesitation he fired the Killing Curse at Isidora, striking her in the chest. The light died from her eyes as she took her last breath, her mouth twisted into a grotesque smile as she collapsed to the ground. Rackham and Charles stared in shock at Bakar, then at Isidora's corpse as a storm of emotions roiled over his face. Relief. Guilt. Disgust. Sorrow. Eventually he turned away to render aid to Fitzgerald, who weakly stirred. Charles joined him, sighing in relief as he too realized she was still alive. Rackham, in the meantime, stumbled over to Isidora instead, kneeling down by her side. He picked up her still-warm wand and examined it as I felt myself being pulled from the memory, back into reality. ... ... ... What... What the hell...? What in the absolute, god-forsaken hell were they thinking?! A rage darker and more high-minded than I had ever felt before boiled within my heart, coursing down my veins and heating my entire body until it burned. They didn't even try to understand what she was doing, but just immediately jumped to conclusions like fools, like... like a pony! A simple, stupid, infuriating pony! I tried to push past my revulsion and think critically about what I'd seen, how Isidora had advanced her research to the point she was helping her students with their emotional pain... but the Keepers saw it as falling into the depths of depravity. How did they know that Hufflepuff student hadn't asked for her help, hadn't asked her to remove their pain?! But I also couldn't ignore the emptiness in Isidora's father's eyes. Did she really remove all of his emotions, was that really the reason why he'd wound up like that? It only begged the question... why? Why would she do that to her own father? My previous thoughts on the possible side effects of removing emotional pain returned, and I wondered which, if any, of them were sound theories. Or... maybe Isidora really had become addicted to the power inhaling the negative emotions gave her. Maybe she'd gone overboard and drained her father dry when the cravings became too much. Maybe it was then that she turned to her students for her fix. But unless I could get her portrait repaired I would never know the truth... the Keepers had seen to that all too well. Refusing to help and learn alongside her, telling her that trying to do more with her ancient magic was wrong, hiding her research from the world... and it had all culminated in Bakar outright murdering her! "Keepers", indeed... keep all these secrets to ourselves, keep the rest of the wizarding world ignorant of magic that could improve the lives of millions, keep your mind stagnant and never improve on your own abilities, and keep your damn mouth shut or else! "My god..." Sebastian breathed, wide-eyed as he stumbled backwards from the Pensieve. I looked over to him, simultaneously wanting to say something, anything to him... but also far too furious to speak. My entire body trembled as I tried my hardest to contain the anger within me, to stop myself from running back to Bakar's portrait and destroying it in a blaze of fire. Let's see how he likes being erased from history when he had his chance to claim his place! A distant rushing noise entered my ears. When I looked again, swirls of light appeared on the wall... a portal back to the Map Chamber had appeared opposite of Bakar's empty portrait. Taking one last breath to compose myself I trudged slowly towards it, Sebastian following close behind me. I almost couldn't bring myself to cross the threshold... I couldn't promise I wouldn't just start screaming and accusing them all of murder and treachery. They never really intended for me to learn ancient magic from them... not in the way a teacher was meant to teach their student. They would only stifle my ideas and desire to learn until I was browbeaten into doing as I was told, and I was far too proud for that, far too hungry for knowledge and advancement to settle for anything less. I would rather learn how to use the magic on my own, without any help or guidance. But I had to know what to do next. I had to know how to get to the repository beneath Hogwarts. And unfortunately, I would likely need their assistance, their "permission" to access it. I desperately squeezed his hand as we walked through. These Keepers had much to answer for. ~ "Ah, you have returned... and rather quickly, I might say," Charles commented as soon as we stepped out of the portal and onto the black starlit map on the floor. Sebastian gazed upwards at them with barely an expression on his face, while I couldn't bring myself to look at them. "Never underestimate the capabilities of a Hogwarts student," Fitzgerald raised her head proudly. "I suspect the both of you have seen Bakar's memories? You must have many questions," said Rackham. "I... er..." Sebastian trailed off as he glanced at me, unable to form a full thought. My fists tightened at my sides. "Now you have seen the truth for yourself... and now you see why this magic must be protected at all costs," said Bakar. "The risk it poses to others is too great to see it unleashed upon the world." Something deep inside me snapped when my brain registered the slightly smug tone of his voice. My first words were barely a whisper. "...Ignorant fools." "What?" Rackham blinked, leaning closer as though the constraints of his portrait would allow for it. I could only speak through tightly-clenched teeth, my words seething out like magma in a volcano, the billowing pressure about to make it blow its top. "You... you killed her... you killed her... you k-killed her..." "Miss Shimmer," Fitzgerald spoke up, seemingly the only one showing any amount of concern. But my words gradually grew in volume until I could control myself no longer. "Her blood is on your hands... all four of you! You killed her for your own mistakes!" I snarled. The Keepers were taken aback by my outburst; I could already see Charles and Bakar's faces twist in anger at being called out, and Fitzgerald let out a mournful sigh. Rackham, on the other hand, remained impassive. "Sunset-" "How dare you call yourselves professors?!" I shrieked angrily. "Your duty to the world is to research magic and enlighten your fellow wizards and the next generation, not censor new knowledge and murder anyone who tries to learn more about it themselves! You monsters are like the Solar Inquisition from the history books of my own home; so content to wallow in your own ignorance, so afraid of the possibility that your 'perfect' way of thinking might've been wrong all along!" "Silence, child!" demanded Charles. "What gives you the right to lecture your elders?!" "Shut up!" I roared, hurling my wand at him like it was a massive index finger. "It's your fault she had to resort to the measures she took, because all of you refused to help her! All of you refused to guide her when she asked for assistance, all of you turned your backs on her because she dared to dream of using her magic to benefit the world! It could have helped so many people... wars, famine, plagues, any situation where there was unfathomable loss!" "Ancient magic is not to be used in such a careless fashion!" argued Bakar, shaking his head fanatically. "I understand what you're saying: I, too, once considered the possibilities it may have... all of us have! But the world simply wasn't ready for such revelations during our time... it is likely still not ready in yours!" "Careless?" I laughed. "Is that really what you think it would be to reveal this magic to the world?! Well news flash, you old farts: times change! There have been incredible discoveries in both the Wizarding and Muggle worlds since any of you were still alive, and those could have been even greater if wizardkind knew about ancient magic! My people collaborate with each other, combine their accumulated knowledge... we have entire cities on clouds and total control of the weather, but the world out here does not! And all because of people, of cowards like you who refuse to understand that the march of progress is eternal and inevitable! This magic was meant to be unleashed!" "Not at the cost of so many soulless bodies, so many empty husks!" Fitzgerald shook her head in horror. "What she was doing was unthinkable! She was performing experiments on living human beings!" "So? Someone always has to be the first human test subject. You can't just experiment on rats and pests forever!" "Enough!" Rackham finally barked, stunning his colleagues into silence. I wanted to argue further, but closed my mouth as he turned his gaze onto me. "Regardless of what you believe, and regardless of what you think of our actions, it is foolish to quarrel about it now. The past cannot be changed... and we have more pressing matters at hand." It took me a moment to realize what he was talking about, and another moment to will away my frustration at the subject being changed... but he was right. I was in the middle of a race against time and luck, I couldn't afford to get into a likely fruitless dispute at the moment. "...Right, the final repository. I saw it was in the caverns beneath Hogwarts... but it seemed to be very deep underground," I put a hand to my chin in thought. "It is... you see, we could not destroy the strands of emotion Isidora had stolen from so many, so we did all that we could to keep them safe," said Rackham. "We also realized that until they could be destroyed, the magic used to create them was a danger to wizardkind. Hence, we became Keepers... Keepers of an unfathomable secret. We knew that some day, one with the ability to see traces of ancient magic might be seduced by its power. We built the trials to lead that person to us... to allow them to prove themselves worthy of the knowledge we'd kept hidden, and the responsibility that accompanies it." "And I've proven myself several times over," I glowered. "I'm ready to take on the responsibility... this power is my birthright! Besides," my mouth shifted into a sinister grin, "the way I see it, you don't have much of a choice. Either I get to the final repository first... or Ranrok does." "Indeed..." Rackham bitterly sighed. "...Very well." "But Professor!" Bakar gasped angrily. "She will certainly release the magic we've labored for decades - centuries - to keep sealed away! She does not deserve such power!" I bristled at his words, growing even more furious with him for suggesting such a stupid notion. But he was silenced with a wave of the elder Keeper's hand. "And neither does this Ranrok. If he gains the magic from this repository as well... I foresee only death, and the destruction of the wizarding world as we know it." The Keepers were silent for a few moments as the gravity of their choice weighed upon them. "It would seem our hands are tied," Fitzgerald's lips thinned as she nodded grimly. Receiving no further resistance from Charles or Bakar, Rackham exhaled uncomfortably as he turned back towards me. "...The repository is protected by powerful ancient magic. To enter, you must craft a special wand from the four artifacts you found above our Pensieves." "Powerful ancient magic, huh? Except Ranrok has a hefty bit of it himself," I grumbled. "Yes... I fear that if he is, as you suspect, capable of using the power of the other repository, then he will be able to breach our defenses." "Craft a special wand? Then we'll need to head to Ollivander's in Hogsmeade immediately," Sebastian commented to me. "There's no better wandmaker in the country." "Another Ollivander? I am not surprised," Rackham acknowledged him. "As I am sure he will tell you, this wand may be used for only one purpose. Return with the wand, and we will open the way forward." "You'd better," I hissed under my breath as I whipped around and headed for the exit. I didn't want to spend another second listening to them talk more than I had to. Sebastian walked alongside me quietly, evidently still thinking about all he had seen in the past few minutes. "They were considering not allowing you into the caverns," he spoke eventually, shivering. "I'm glad they came to their senses in that regard." "Just goes to show how short-sighted those idiots were," I snorted. "They don't deserve to keep any of that power to themselves any longer, not when they're so willing to let that knowledge wither and die instead of grow and flourish! I can't stand it... and look what they did to Isidora for trying to share it with others." "I... Honestly, I'm not sure what to think," he shook his head with a sigh. "There has to be an explanation for what we saw. She was only trying to help her father in the beginning, I just can't believe that Isidora would drain all of his emotions from him like that. And what they say she did to her students..." "It's unsettling, I know, but unless that portrait of hers can be fixed we'll never know for sure," I shook my head. "I can't believe they just... killed her like that, without even letting her try to explain herself." "It's always sounded as though they were hiding something... holding back from you," he said. "But if the reason why is because it all went terribly wrong..." I hummed in thought as he trailed off. What if the same thing happened to me when I took all of that ancient magic for myself? What if I could no longer control myself, what if I let the power go to my head? I might have all that magic under my command, but if I did something stupid with it like, say, immediately try to take over the country or something... well, I might be able to decimate an army or two before eventually being taken down. But full-blown wars like that tended to destroy everything that a would-be conqueror wanted from a country in the first place. Now that I was thinking about it... what would I do with this power once I'd taken it? Ever since the trial involving Celestia's lesson, I hadn't really given it any thought. At first I wanted to return to Equestria and rub it in her face, and demand she let me rule the country... well, on my own, if I was being honest. Sure, I'd offer to rule it with her side by side, but... back then I was still furious with her. I would've stabbed her in the back and banished her to some far-flung celestial object the first chance I got, just to tear out her heart as she had torn out mine. But now... now I wasn't sure. I wanted that immense repository of beautiful, tantalizing, intoxicating ancient magic for myself, but... I didn't want to lose control like Isidora might have. Nothing good ever came from letting something that powerful control you instead. My will had grown strong over the years as a result of taking all those precautions against the seductive influence of Equestrian Dark magic, but for this, it had to be iron-clad. Yes... I could do it. I can do it. I will do it. "...Whatever it is, I'll just have to stay in control of the magic. And I know I can control it... I'm not stopping now, not when I'm so close." Sebastian glanced over to me, still concerned at first but pushing it aside to give a determined nod. "If it helps, I truly believe you deserve this power... all of it. And I believe you can wield it." I smiled at him gratefully, feeling my heart warm to see him smile back. "Thank you." The muscles in my face relaxed, no longer screaming in pain from being twisted in anger. At least there were some people in the world who believed in me... who didn't doubt my greatness. Knowing he in particular believed in me, though, was all the encouragement I needed. "We should find Fig first. Let him know we've finished the trial, and that we need to have a wand crafted as quickly as possible." ~ We ran straight for the Beasts pens. I cried out for my mentor as I saw him walking dejectedly away from the stable where Professor Howin kept the school's unicorns. Fig jumped in surprise at my voice and jogged over to meet us. "Sunset? You've both returned... have you completed the trial already? How did you-" "That's not important right now!" I shook my hands. "The final repository is in the caverns beneath Hogwarts! And that means Ranrok's probably gonna show up real soon with his entire army, to try to drill beneath the school to get to it!" "Underneath... Godric's heart," Fig gasped, his face paling in an instant. "Hogwarts sits atop multiple cave systems... that monster will destroy the entire castle if he's successful!" "But before we can access the caverns, we need to get to Ollivander's and have him craft a special wand for Sunset," said Sebastian. "It's the only way through all of the ancient magic protections on the castle and the surrounding grounds." "I see... Then you'd better leave right away," his lips thinned as his eyes swept back and forth in rapid thought. "Whilst the both of you are visiting him, I'll ensure the safety of our goblin guest and reach out to Professor Weasley." "Professor Weasley?" I parroted back in surprise. "Yes... I may have made an error in judgment by not informing her of Ranrok's intentions earlier," he looked away guiltily. "I only hope it's not too late... if that terrible goblin really is going to try to drill below Hogwarts, we'll need all the help we can get." Suddenly the images of my friends flashed through my mind; though the castle was largely empty of students now that it was the Easter break, Natty, Poppy and Ominis were still inside. Sebastian and I could definitely handle whatever Ranrok threw at us, but the three of them... ...No, don't start with that, Sunset. If you get this done fast enough, you won't need to defend them from much at all. "Alright... then we'll be back as soon as we can," I nodded. "Hopefully before anything happens." And so we went our separate ways, all three of us running as fast as we could. As soon as I was outside the castle walls I grabbed Sebastian's hand and teleported us to Hogsmeade. Ranrok will not get to the final repository before I do. He's not gonna get the chance to steal that ancient magic, not when it would only bring destruction and subjugation in his hands. No... It belongs to the world... ...It belongs to me.