Hogwarts: Sunset's Legacy

by witegrlninja

In Which Sunset and Sebastian Go Tomb Raiding

The days that followed after Christmas passed slowly and leisurely. It wasn't until Wednesday that anything of note happened.

Finally, Sebastian had a breakthrough in his research to find that relic he'd mentioned - to our extreme convenience, he determined that it was located inside an ancient underground catacomb just a few minutes away from Feldcroft. It'd be no problem at all to put aside some time to go looking for it.

Ominis was also hinting at wanting to visit Anne - he had received a letter thanking him profusely for his gift of a silver and emerald locket, but he wanted to see- hear and feel her joy for himself. With everything coming together like this, Sebastian and I hatched a plan.

We'd all go visit her together - it'd be a delightful surprise for her, and hopefully Solomon would be in a more agreeable mood... or, even better, not around. But while we all agreed to head out at around noon tomorrow, Sebastian and I would sneak out at around 8am to go search for the relic. No time like the present, after all - four hours would surely give us enough time to find it, then after checking to see if his uncle was around I would quickly teleport us back to the castle, where Ominis would be waiting none the wiser.

Indeed, after scarfing down our breakfasts we hastily made our way through the castle. I asked him about how he'd come across this information to find the relic, he said there had been a couple of old pieces of parchment stuffed inside the spellbook's pages.

"I believe one of Slytherin's students stumbled upon the relic during an assignment to study sarcophagi in this catacomb," he said. "From what I read in a report by that student, they weren't permitted to take it with them, so I must assume it's still there. Here, have a look," he handed the pieces of ancient parchment to me, charmed against falling apart due to the ravages of time. "Unfortunately, there's no name on it... but I suspect if it was important enough for Slytherin to stash it in his spellbook, it's worthy of further study." I glanced over the report, finding not much else Sebastian hadn't already mentioned.

But as I recalled his words in my mind, something rather stupid suddenly hit me, and I blinked. "Wait... what did you say?"

"What? ...I said that Slytherin's student found the relic within this catacomb, but they weren't allowed-"

"You mean... 'catacomb', right?" I tilted my head. Sebastian recoiled slightly in confusion.

"Er, yes... don't you have catacombs where you're from?"

"A couple, I think? I'm pretty sure I know what you're saying, but it's not pronounced that way."

"Then how do you pronounce it?"

"...Catacomb."

"That's what I said!"

"No, no, comb as in 'comb', not 'coomb'."

"Bah, semantics," he flicked his hand as he opened the castle's double doors. "Come on, let's just get going."

We passed through the walls and slinked behind a small but strange wooden shack before I teleported the both of us to Feldcroft, the only object inside being a black telephone. Once he regained his bearings, Sebastian led me to the catacomb, a fifteen-minute walk away from the hamlet. We stared impassively at the heavy stone slab that covered its entrance, dead vines sealing it to the hillside it leaned against.

"This relic... if it's still here, I have to find it... for Anne. I need to see her," he exhaled with determination.

"We'll visit her when we're finished here... hopefully, Solomon isn't around."

"I hope so, too," he nodded, a frown already threading through his face. "...It's always so much more pleasant when he's not around." Itching with exploratory anticipation, I smirked over at him.

"Welp, let's get searching... hope you're not scared."

"I'm not, but you're more than free to cower behind me if you are," he grinned back. "Oh, by the way, Ominis was asking about you this morning. You... didn't tell him what we were doing, did you?"

"Pfft, what kind of tattletale do you take me for?" I groused, shrugging with one hand. "Of course not. Last thing I want to hear is his whining."

"Good... because he would be livid if he knew what we were about to do." Sebastian turned towards the heavy stone door with his wand out, and moved it aside. The vines ripped and snapped apart like chicken bones as they strained to hold the slab to the hillside. "I'll be interested to compare what lies inside to what I've read about this catacomb."

"How often was this place used?" I asked as we walked inside together. The light of the day began to fade as we descended some stairs dug into the ground, sinking deeper and deeper beneath the earth. The air grew damp and stale, with a musky odor that reminded me of the hallway before the scriptorium... but not quite as strong.

"Hasn't been touched for a hundred years or so, I think." He glanced over, noticing the slight grimace on my face. "I'm sure that foul smell is the scent of success... try not to lose your nerve just yet."

"Oh, please..." I huffed, "some of the things I've seen would make you soil yourself in fear." He made a neutral noise as we continued downwards; the corridor we were in emptied out into a chamber full of crypts carved into the stone walls, their contents sealed away by thick slabs. Everything was covered in spider webs, and said spiders skittered towards us as soon as we'd entered.

I turned up my nose in disgust. Why were spiders so damned big in this world? Nevertheless, we made quick work of them. "Least we know we're not alone in here," I frowned as I used magic to toss the corpse of one aside towards the distant wall.

"Perhaps that was it, and the rest of the tomb will be insect-free," he remarked, clearing away the webs with a Confringo.

"...Spiders aren't insects," I corrected him. Sebastian groaned.

"Don't start."

We continued deeper into the catacomb. It appeared to be a network of tunnels that connected each room full of sealed crypts, many crawling with spiders and covered in webs. Other than exterminating them all and burning away the webs, our descent was largely uneventful. At one point in our exploration, Sebastian nearly slipped in a thin sheen of water dripping down and made sure to warn me about it - at another point I could've sworn I heard a third pair of footsteps, but glancing back the way we came I saw nothing. This particular tunnel led us to a part of the tomb that had caved in - light streamed down from above and warmed a patch of grass, glittering in the sun.

"All this grass... it no longer feels like a tomb," he commented. "I've read about catacombs that underwent expansion efforts and ran into problems... often cave-ins."

"And then they were abandoned?" I mumbled, figuring that such a reason was why this place had been sealed away, now infested with giant spiders.

"Exactly. We'll be fine, though," he handwaved. "Besides... you've got me with you."

"Right... Mr. Trips-In-Puddles," I snarked. He chuckled as we backtracked to the last room of crypts we had come from and took a different path. After a walk down a short tunnel, we found ourselves at the entrance of a large, circular room. Besides more of the same sealed crypts, there was a stone table - an altar in the very center, a pile of crumbling skulls atop it. A few feet away was an opening that had been blocked off with a massive pile of human bones, flanked by two poles decorated with bones from a ribcage and topped with skulls.

"Now this is the sort of Great Room I want to be buried in," Sebastian smirked as we moved down the stairs, towards the altar.

"What, buried with all your earthly possessions in a massive tomb full of grandeur?"

"Grandeur, and then some. Even an altar with a pile of bones... Lovely." I mulled the thought over in my head... it reminded me of the funerary customs of the ancient Somnambulans.

"Yea... I can dig it," I nodded. "What are these bones doing here, though?" We were silent as we examined the altar... I wondered if the bones were sacrificial in nature, or simply decorative. Sebastian hummed in thought, then something must've caught his eye, as he suddenly bent down and reached beneath the altar. He stood back up holding a scrap of parchment, covered in dust and dirt and nearly illegible. He carefully cast a Scourgify on the parchment before squinting to make out the words.

"It looks like... this is from that same student who wrote the report. They hid the relic behind two barriers, using the bones of those buried here," he bit his lip. I peeked over his shoulder to read the report myself... finding myself drawn to its final paragraph.

The student mentioned learning one of the Unforgivable Curses... the Imperius Curse. This one let you control both the body and mind of its target, allowing you to force them to do or say whatever you wanted them to. Unlike the other curses, however, a person with a strong enough will could learn to resist, or even overpower the curse and break free from its influence. Inwardly, I wondered if my own mind was strong enough to resist.

"They mentioned bones as the key," Sebastian mumbled, interrupting my thoughts as he turned towards the two skull-topped poles beside the sealed door. "Therefore... bone piles must be what we need. The student's summary referenced a space beyond the Great Room, which means this can't be a dead end... and look! Bones stacked oddly on either side of this archway."

"Hmm... leave no stone unturned. Or, in this case, no bone-"

Something made a noise back down the tunnel we'd come through, interrupting my clever pun... it sounded like a pebble being kicked, or perhaps becoming dislodged and falling from a crack onto the ground.

"Did you hear that?" Sebastian whipped around towards the noise.

"I did." I turned as well, my eyes carefully examining the walls. I couldn't see anything out of the ordinary, though. "Probably just another spider, the place is infested with them."

"...Right," he eventually said as he turned back around, though he didn't seem fully convinced.

"Or... it could be a spooky, scary skeleton or something," I grinned darkly at him. "Maybe even an Inferius... Don't tell me that big, brave Sebastian is scared, now."

"Of course not... I'm just looking out for you, my dear," Sebastian shrugged as he casually pointed at me with his wand. "You're but a fragile, delicate flower in a tomb full of ancient corpses, after all."

"Ha! Delicate flower," I snickered derisively. "You make me laugh."

"Someone has to keep our spirits up," he smiled, handing the piece of parchment to me. "Hold on to that diary entry. There may be more to it."

"Alright, though I'm surprised you didn't see the bit about the Imperius Curse at the end," I shrugged as I accepted the parchment. "It was supposed to be their next assignment."

"Really? Interesting..." he hummed, putting a hand to his chin. "...We do need to focus on moving beyond this room, but... let me think for a moment. There's more to this than even I imagined."

"'Kay... so, I need bones," I trailed off, glancing around at the crypts that surrounded us. They've been dead for how long? You guys don't need them. I pointed my wand and began tearing off the slabs that sealed the final resting places of so many ancient humans. Most of the dusty, decrepit bones had decomposed slightly with time and were in large pieces, but some of them were perfectly intact. One of the crypts contained a spider, its mandibles chewing on the remains of a femur before I blew it apart with a Confringo. Once I'd amassed a large pile of bones I levitated the mass over towards the two poles, and watched with curiosity as the bones assembled themselves into a macabre arch over the blockage that kept us here.

"Ah, you've done it!" Sebastian grinned as the blockage crumbled away. "I knew we'd get through... I felt it in my bones."

...Goddamn it. I couldn't help but chuckle as I shook my head. "Nice."

He strutted proudly into the corridor the blockage had been hiding, and we followed the path until finding ourselves in yet another room strangled by spiderwebs. Before I could begin casting, however, Sebastian held out an arm to stop me.

"Before we trudge on further, I've just realized something."

"What is it?"

"That parchment mentioned the Imperius Curse... I wouldn't be surprised if we're going to need it here," he frowned.

"Possibly," I agreed. My mind traveled back to the scriptorium, where we'd had to use another Unforgivable... but the sudden realization of what he might be implying broke through any lingering feelings of unease. "Hang on... are you saying you know this curse, too?" I tilted my head.

"I... do. I can teach you, if you'd like," he offered.

"When you'd learn to do this?"

"I taught myself after you told me about the legend of King Sombra and the Crystal Empire... don't tell Ominis that I've told you," he glanced away guiltily. "It's not exactly something I can brag about... but it may come in handy. I think you ought to know it."

"Oh, I'd absolutely love to know it," I smirked. "Something like that definitely has its uses." You continue to surprise me, Sebby... I can't help but say I'm impressed.

"I couldn't agree more... a spell that could save your life shouldn't be Unforgivable. You have a lot at stake, after all... what with your quest for mastering ancient magic." He turned his head away in an unsuccessful attempt to hide a blush. That damnable twinge made itself known as the words floated through my mind.

He wanted to be sure I could protect myself. I had no doubt in my mind that I could, of course... but I appreciated the thought. While he looked away I placed a hand on his shoulder, and smiled as he looked back at me.

"Thanks." Sebastian smiled in return, grabbing my hand and squeezing it for a moment before letting go.

"Of course." He then turned to face me, holding his wand in front of him. "Ready? Focus your wand movement... it's not an easy spell to master." I watched as he moved his wand in deliberate motions, and copied him until I was sure I had it down. Out of the corner of my eye I spotted movement - the spiders were stirring.

"Ugh, more of these wretched things," I grumbled. It took no time at all to exterminate them and burn down their webs... it certainly didn't warrant the use of my newly-learned curse.

"We've rid the world of another spider... I shall sleep better tonight," Sebastian grinned as he kicked away one of their broken bodies. The path cleared, we pressed on into the next room, where another doorway blocked by a mass of bones sat before us, flanked by those poles. This time he helped in tearing apart the sealed crypts around us for bones, and soon we'd gathered enough to form another arch. "We are head and shoulders above these bones," he chimed proudly as the blockage disintegrated.

"You are so ridiculous," I gently elbowed him in his side as we walked through. This next hallway had a different aura to it than the rest of the catacombs had... the walls bore deep scratches and gouges, as though something had tried to claw its way out. The spiderwebs were nearly collapsing under the weight of the dust that settled on them... if these spiders weren't long-dead, they would be ravenous.

"I see why Slytherin's student was so entranced with this place," Sebastian breathed as he looked around. I opened my mouth to reply, but I caught a glimpse of movement and stepped aside as a blob of venom sailed past my head. Spiders crawled out from all over the walls as the venom landed on the ground, bubbling as it burned a crater into the stone.

"I'm getting sick of this..." I sighed angrily, closing my eyes in focus. Deep within my soul, I felt ancient magic roiling like a pot with a half-inch of boiling water. Sebastian covered me as I built upon the feeling, letting it blossom into my heart like a strong, proud tree. My wand waved through the air as though I was conducting an orchestra of arcane whispers, even as I heard the booms of Confringo and rips of Diffindo echo off the walls.

"Oh dear, that's a big one!" he whined in shock, the matriarch of the spiders leaping down from the ceiling and causing the ground to shake as she landed. Blue-white light began to shine from my horn, and I opened my eyes, that same light pouring from them.

"HAAAH!" I screamed as I heaved my wand at the largest spider. A bolt of lightning snapped through the air and struck it, then rebounded off of her and chained across every other spider in the room. Sebastian ducked as it came dangerously close to him - he had nothing to worry about, the lightning would never strike him. A shrill noise leaked from their carapaces as my power coursed through their bodies, their insides boiling and steaming.

Mere moments later, they were all dead. Roasted from the inside out.

"Merlin... for a moment there, I thought that'd never end," Sebastian muttered as he stood up. "You're more powerful than you let on."

"Yea, well... I hate spiders," I shrugged as I took a few deep breaths. Now that everything else was dead, I could look around the room we'd found ourselves in. It had seemed that we'd finally reached the bottom of the catacombs - there was nothing in here other than a table against the far wall, covered in centuries of dust and clutter.

"Dead end... lovely. All that for nothing," he sighed, disappointed.

"Now, now... there has to be something in here," I chided, casting a silent Revelio. Something on the table, underneath all the dust, glowed a deep, sickly green. I swept my wand across the table with a Scourgify, uncovering a number of old books and scrolls too decayed to even pick up, let alone read. One piece of parchment, however, had an illustration of what appeared to be four corpses, their spines bent at an impossible angle and their arms raised to form a four-sided pyramid.

The parchment was leaning against something. I moved it, and gasped.

Underneath sat the dark relic.

"T-That's it! That's the relic!" I pointed. Sebastian jogged over and bent down to look more closely.

"Could it be...?" he breathed.

"It looks exactly like the drawing on this piece of parchment... it has to be it! I mean, look at it!" A smile broke out on my face, and a few seconds later one broke out on his, too.

"I can't believe it... After all this, it lines up! We've really found it!" We shared an excited glance, but when I looked back, I spied something else.

Another piece of parchment. This one contained a warning.

...The relic contains abundant potential. Its possibilities could benefit not only wizardkind, but the world... But the Dark Sacrifice involved to realize its intent may be too great. Until we know more, please, do not remove this relic...

"Oh... look at this." I carefully floated the parchment in my magic over to him. "It says it needs a dark sacrifice to work." His eyes flickered over the warning, reading it in silence.

"...I see," he spoke after a few moments of contemplation, frowning. I set the parchment down as he hummed in thought, though he quickly waved it away. "Well, we're here for the relic. I'm taking it."

"Wait a second." I held out my arm to block him. In our excitement and eagerness, I had nearly forgotten to take the necessary precautions one should always implement when working with an unknown relic of questionable magic. "We should at least make sure it's not going to curse us on contact or something first." At first Sebastian shot me an uncertain glare, but it quickly melted away as he saw reason, and he nodded in agreement.

"Good thinking." The both of us cast every single curse-detection charm, diagnostic charm and anti-Dark magic charm we knew at and around the relic. I regarded the object with sterile scientific interest, doing my best not to let my own emotions, my impatience to learn more about it - sway me into taking shortcuts.

After all, I had studied quite a bit of Dark magic on my own without Celestia's knowledge - she never would've let me mention such things around her, let alone taught me. And I was certainly smart enough not to be a victim of my own hubris... studying on my own, running my own experiments meant I had to use the utmost caution when dealing with such magic, as there would be far too many questions I'd have to answer if my illicit studies ever blew up in my face. When nothing at all had happened by the time we'd finished, I let out a small sigh of relief and gave him a nod.

"All yours." He happily scooped it up in his hand and held it reverently like it was a priceless jewel.

"We were meant to find this... for Anne's sake," he smiled, spiriting it away to his pocket dimension. "Now... let's get to Feldcroft."

"Are you going to tell her about this?" I asked as we turned back the way we came. Sebastian shook his head.

"No... I must keep this relic secret. Especially from my uncle." Suddenly, I heard footsteps echoing down the hallway we'd arrived from. We froze as a familiar friend strode into the opposite end of the room, his body tensed in anger. "Is that... Ominis?"

Oh, no... the crybaby's here.

"Ominis? More like omniscient! What the hell is he doing here?" I blinked. Ominis quickened his pace slightly as he came near, breathing heavily through his nose. His runespoor was coiled loosely around his shoulders, Clotho's tongue flicking wildly while audible hissing emanated from Atropos' head.

"The sounds we kept hearing... it was you," Sebastian breathed. Ominis bristled.

'You gave me no choice... I had to follow you," he replied coolly. "Sebastian, please... leave the relic alone. We can find another way to help Anne." Sebastian's face slowly hardened.

"...I'm sorry, Ominis. But I'm taking it."

"No, you're not," Ominis scowled. "If you won't put it back, then I will." Sebastian took a step forward, glaring daggers at his friend.

What a spoilsport... well, I know how to handle this.

"Whoa, hey," I grabbed Sebastian's shoulder, feeling just how tense he was - the muscles beneath were coiled and solid. "Let's be reasonable about this... let me talk to him," I lowered my voice to a near-whisper. I felt him exhale, and his shoulders relaxed as he took a step back.

"Fine, but Ominis knows... I won't step back from a fight," he rumbled, turning his back and walking back to the other end of the room. I sighed inwardly, glad that we weren't about to have magical fisticuffs break out just yet.

"I can't believe this," Ominis shook his head as I moved towards him.

"How much did you hear?" I asked quietly.

"Everything... I heard you encourage Sebastian to take the relic, although I'm glad you at least have the sense to ensure it won't harm him by simply touching it," he hissed. "Please, we need to stand together... convince him this is wrong!"

"And... if nothing will change his mind?"

"Something has to!" His voice warbled as he began to pace nervously back and forth. "I need your help!"

"Well, you're not going to get it from me," I crossed my arms. Ominis stopped his frantic pacing.

"What?! Why?!"

"Because even if we both try to stop him, he'll just go behind our backs." As there was no need to hide it, a thin, crooked smile broke out across my face as I began spinning my web, every word carefully considered before it was spoken. I had done this flawlessly so many times before, it was almost a second nature. By the time I was done I'd have my way, and there would be no opposition or argument.

Besides... I made a promise. A good friend keeps that promise.

"You heard him, when we were first discussing the relic back in the Undercroft? He simply found a loophole in your words, lied by omission and continued his research. What makes you think he'd stop now, even if the both of us had to pry that relic out of his grasp? But more importantly... what if it works? What if the dark sacrifice is something as simple as brewing a dangerous potion, or collecting a hard-to-find reagent? You and I both know he's more than capable of doing either of those safely."

"Wh... Wh-What are you suggesting? That we just let him stray down this path?!" cried Ominis.

"Not exactly," I shook my head, though I wasn't sure whether he could sense it or not. "I say we... supervise him. Watch what he does closely. Keep him honest. If it turns out the sacrifice is something horrible like... I dunno, drowning a baby in a bucket of unicorn blood or something... then we can stop him, beat some sense into him if we have to. Even better, if we're there as he's researching it, we could even see that coming, and stop him long before it comes to that. I think you'd agree that it's a far more reliable method to make sure nothing truly terrible happens, rather than letting him lie to us and hoping for the best."

And nothing bad will happen... he's got me working with him, after all.

Ominis exhaled a shaky breath as his head dipped downwards. It's working.

"Sebastian's desperate to cure Anne... aren't you, too? If this works, he'll be forever grateful to you for not standing in his way. However, if you argue with him every step of the way, trying to stop him... don't you see that it will only drive him further away? I mean... you're best friends, right?" I grinned deviously. "Friends are supposed to help and support each other."

Ominis didn't speak for a few moments, but my grin never faltered.

This had never not worked.

"...Fine," he sighed heavily. "If I'm trusting him on this, I'm trusting you, too. The Dark Arts seem harmless until it's too late."

Hook, line, and sinker.

"Go, then... leave with the relic. I'll not say a word more."

I glanced back to Sebastian and nodded, smiling. His face lit back up, and he raced over to us. Ominis simply stood there in silence, ignoring our attempts to get him to leave with us, even as Clotho and Atropos seemed to hiss in agreement in unison. Sebastian cast him a worried glance, but eventually he shrugged it off, and we began our trek out of the catacombs.

"He'll be alright, everything's dead in here... and he won't stop us anymore," I smirked, though my voice still low in case we were being followed again.

"Really? How in the world did you convince him to change his mind?" he blinked in disbelief.

"It was quite simple, really... you used clever wording to get around your promise. I just did the same."

"You did...?" Sebastian frowned.

"Yep. I told him we ought to give you this chance, and we'll study the relic together... In fact, I've probably even convinced him to help you out too if you need it." I glanced over to him, expecting him to be pleased with my deception, but my smirk fell as I saw an unreadable expression on his face.

Suspicion. Guilt. Hesitation. Envy.

"...There has to be more to it than that! Tell me!" he ordered, a scowl forming.

"Uh... no, there really isn't," my lips thinned. "I convinced him to let you keep the relic and keep researching this, under the guise that he'll be the first to stop you if everything goes pear-shaped. I wouldn't lie to you."

"But you'd lie to Ominis... straight to his face," he remarked slowly. I pinched the bridge of my nose and half-sighed, half-groaned.

"Look, I fixed your problem. Are you happy or not?" I grumbled, shooting him a look. Sebastian glanced over to me, then closed his eyes as he shook his head.

"Sorry... you did. And I do appreciate that," he sighed. "I'm just... I don't know."

Regret. Humility. Yielding. Perplexion.

I'm being stupid... I'm letting my feelings get the better of me.

I blinked, my head slightly recoiling. Sebastian sighed again.

"I never wanted to keep all this from Ominis, he just... doesn't understand. And I didn't want to worry him all over again... As we were leaving, he wouldn't even acknowledge me! ...That's not like him." A pang of guilt slapped me in the heart.

"He's just... worried about you. Even though we agreed to it all, he still wasn't happy about it," I frowned, my eyes cast upon the floor.

"I thought he understood... he knew we couldn't give up! All of this is too important... for Anne."

I could only nod in response. We walked for a few minutes more in silence until the entrance to the catacomb came into sight. I squinted to readjust my eyes to the sun, and took in a deep breath of fresh air.

It tasted... strange.

"When we get to Feldcroft, I'd rather Anne not know what had to be done to get this relic," he said quietly. "She thinks like Ominis... it'd only upset her."

"Fine with me," I shrugged. Something didn't seem right, but I couldn't quite place what it was. A gust of wind blew a speck of something black onto Sebastian's cheek.

The wind... it smelled... hot. Thick. Smoky.

I blinked. Without thinking, my hand reached up to his face, and my finger touched the black speck. He blinked in surprise, blushing slightly as I wiped off whatever was on his cheek and stared at it.

I rubbed it between my fingers. The speck fell apart into powder. Sebastian took notice and stared, too.

It was soon joined by a few more on my outstretched palm.

Ash. There was a fire somewhere... a large one. Almost simultaneously, we looked in the direction the ashes had flown in from.

In the direction of Feldcroft, black plumes of smoke were rising. My heart dropped.

"Oh, no... this isn't good!" he gasped.

"Feldcroft... it's on fire," I breathed in disbelief. Sebastian gasped again, even louder.

"Anne... ANNE!" My blood ran cold as my stomach boiled. This could only mean one thing... someone was attacking the hamlet for whatever reason.

"C'mon!" I shouted as I grabbed his hand, immediately teleporting us behind his house. My ears filled with a cacophony of voices, my nose and mouth with the smell and taste of fire and blood. We peeked around the corner...

...It was utter chaos. Goblins had flooded the fallow fields, shrieking with glee as they slashed and shot at anyone they could see, the townspeople fleeing in terror. Supplies were being looted and destroyed, the nearby traveling merchant's cart had been smashed, and a few houses had been set on fire. Out in the middle of it all, Solomon was fighting fiercely, desperately trying to drive them away singlehandedly.

Or so I thought. Another blast of magic flared outwards as he cast at a different goblin.

Anne was fighting with him.

"Damn it!" Sebastian yelled as he ran out to join them, wand drawn and already burning with an uncast Confringo. I raced out right behind him, my magic catching an axe in midair as it sailed uncomfortably close towards his head and flinging it right back at the goblin who'd thrown it.

"Sebastian! Sunset!" Anne cried out as we reached them, standing defensively in front of her. "Where did you two come from?!"

"We came to visit, but it seems we're gonna be doing a lot more than that!" I yelled as I sent a Diffindo ripping through the air, catching a pair of goblins that were running by.

"Anne, what are you doing out here?! You need to run!" Sebastian shouted, firing another Confringo at a goblin, the explosion sending it tumbling swiftly backwards and into a wall.

"I'm fine! I'm not helpless, you know!" she retorted as she blasted another goblin with her own Confringo.

"Stay back! Keep out of the way!" Solomon roared, casting a shockwave Depulso over our heads. More goblins Apparated in all around us, and all semblance of panicked conversation was thrown out the window. I nearly lost track of Sebastian and Anne as I slammed goblins headfirst into the ground, picked up rocks and dropped weapons and torn metal and flung them as hard as I could into their bodies, lit them on fire with Confringo, tore them to pieces with Diffindo. The only way I knew they were both okay was through hearing their occasional incantation, mere feet away.

"Ghh-! Ugh... aaaaaAAAAAH!" My head whipped around to see Anne suddenly clutching her stomach - what a fine time to be afflicted by her curse! Both Sebastian and Solomon redoubled their efforts as she sank to the ground, unable to even cast a Protego on herself... Time seemed to slow to a crawl as I turned back to face the goblin horde.

The fact they would so brazenly attack this poor village... harm Anne, before Sebastian even had a chance to see her... a fire blossomed in my soul, and it screamed for their blood. I felt the ancient magic within me, saw it shine from my horn as I raised it into the air, my eyes bleeding with excess energy.

"I will end you all!" I shrieked as I brought down my wand. Lightning burst forth and chained between every single goblin I could see, wrapping around the four of us in a wreath of plasma. The goblins screamed in agony, their bodies convulsing as the lightning fried every last nerve into uselessness. The spell ended a moment later, and they all fell to the ground motionless.

But even more of them Apparated in from nowhere, this time in a group to the left. I screamed as I swept my wand in a circle, tearing blades of grass from the ground and Transfiguring them into shards of metal, and fired. Each shard that found their target nearly punched all the way through, and most of the goblins fell dead where they stood. Two fortunate ones had only suffered glancing blows, and as they watched their friends die all around them, they screamed and fled.

"Get back here!" I commanded, running after them, my rage at a boiling point. I lifted an entire segment of stone wall nearby and Transfigured it into a massive snake. The goblins screamed even louder as it slithered towards them, darting forward with its unhinged jaws and biting into the one on the right with fangs as long as my arm. His pained gurgles as blood poured out of his mouth satisfied me in a way I had so rarely felt before. The snake swallowed it down easily, never breaking its sliding stride as it hounded after the final survivor.

And then suddenly, I felt the ground rumble. I looked back towards the others, a troll even larger than the ones I had faced in Hogsmeade lurching out from behind a house. The armor it wore glowed red like fresh blood.

But the others weren't in my immediate sights. I glanced around frantically for either Sebastian or Solomon, finding the both of them a distance away from Anne. Seeing this the troll seemed to smile sadistically, and it began lumbering straight towards her.

That thing was far too big to fall to ordinary spells. This would need ancient magic to defeat.

"Seb! Stall it!" I called out to him, already focusing on building up my magic. He nodded breathlessly and began firing everything he had at the troll. Solomon joined him a second later, and the two of them ran together towards Anne. She too saw the approaching troll, and feebly tried to roll away.

No, no! I need to save her... I need to save her! As the magic boiled up inside me, I could hear Solomon casting Glacius while Sebastian cast Depulso. Solomon casting Flipendo while Sebastian cast Confringo. Solomon casting Levioso while Sebastian cast Descendo. In a rare act of selfless cooperation... they were working together.

But it was not enough. The troll shrugged off their attacks like they were flies buzzing around its head. They began focusing on spells that might halt its approach while my magic flared into my horn, and I raised my hand...

Their spells were having no effect. And my magic would take too long to cast.

But I had to try... I had to save her!

"Anne, run!" I shouted. "Get up and run!"

She tried to get up, but immediately crumpled. She screamed in fear for her life, in despair as the troll raised its club over its head.

"Anne!"

"Imperio!"

...

...

...

Suddenly, the air grew still. It took me a moment to register what had happened.

The troll had stopped dead in its tracks, its club mere inches from Anne's head. Though it was breathing, it didn't move a muscle. Anne stared in silent terror at the creature, which finally, slowly lowered its club. A few feet away, Solomon was frozen in relief, in shock... in anger.

My eyes traveled over to Sebastian. His wand was pointed squarely at the troll, his face frozen in an enraged distress. But his eyes...

...His red-brown eyes, the color of rich wood, of chocolate, of auburn skies...

...They were glowing a frightening green.

I didn't know why, but seeing his eyes like that made my heart feel like it had become an empty void.

"Sunset... hurry," he blinked, his voice raspy with effort. I gasped and grasped desperately at the ancient magic that threatened to sink away, quickly finding it again. My fear was overridden by vengeance... righteous vengeance.

"DIE!" I roared as I heaved my wand. A blast of purple light shot out and enveloped the troll, howling as the magic ripped it to shreds from the inside out and burned it away into ash. Sebastian blinked rapidly, the green glow vanishing like mist in the wind.

Afterwards, he ran over towards Anne. He sighed in relief to see she was unharmed, and offered her his hand to get up.

But Anne didn't move a muscle... she simply stared at him, a violent, confusing mix of gratitude, shock and fear in her eyes as well as her heart. I blinked uncomfortably as I realized the fear was directed towards her own brother.

The smile on Sebastian's face fell.

"Boy... what have you done?!" Solomon glowered as he all but yanked Anne away from him. Sebastian turned towards him, his face awash with pain, confusion... and outrage.

"Saved my sister!" he hissed through clenched teeth. "I-"

"With an Unforgivable Curse!" Solomon bellowed as he pulled Anne to her feet. His voice dropped deadly low, nearly silent. "...Your father would be ashamed. You've gone too far. Stay away from her... from all of us," he growled as he pulled her away towards their house. Sebastian watched in disbelief as their forms grew smaller and smaller, and I moved to his side.

But... I saved her... I...

"Talk about ungrateful..." I muttered under my breath with a scowl.

"What did my uncle expect me to do?! Nothing else we were using worked!" he finally shouted. "The Imperius Curse saved Anne's life... that troll was going to kill her!"

"I know, I saw it," I nodded. "No need to convince me... you bought me just enough time to use my ancient magic. You did what you had to."

"If I have to keep proving that to my uncle, I will," he half-growled, half-warbled, unable to control the volume or cadence of his own breaking voice. "He cannot banish me from my own home, from my own twin sister!"

...He... what...?! I gasped as the true weight of Solomon's words finally hit me.

Sebastian had just been thrown out from his home... the only home he'd known for much of his life. By a parent that was supposed to love him, supposed to care for him... and just like that, he had been discarded.

Banished.

Disowned.

Betrayed.

He was, to my shock and horror... just like me.

Just like me...

...

Ugly, bubbling rage made my entire body feel hot. I snorted as I whipped around and ran after Solomon, ignoring Sebastian's worried voice. I caught up to him just as he'd ushered Anne inside their house. "What is your problem, you ungrateful arse?!" I shouted as he turned to face me, already staring at me with disdain, with derision...

...Just like Celestia. The two of them would get along very well... and the thought disgusted me to my core.

"What Sebastian did was inexcusable!" He met my gaze with equal fury. "You cannot possibly be about to defend him!"

"Well, I am! He stopped the troll and saved Anne when no other spells were working! It was going to kill her!"

"This family does not resort to using Dark magic, even against our enemies! What Sebastian did cannot be undone," he snorted. "That you are defending his behavior at all tells me everything I need to know... you are just as guilty as he is!"

"Oh, really?! I would have done the same, if it meant the difference between her life and death!" I threw out my arm. "If the magic exists and it's the only way to save someone's life, then you'd be an idiot not to use it! Why can't you see that?!"

"Enough!" Solomon roared. "Neither of you are to come anywhere near Feldcroft! Nowhere near Anne! Unforgivable Curses are so named for a reason!"

Oh, please... like you have any say over my life. "Hmph, by milksops like you," I sneered.

"If I hear that either of you continues down this path, if either of you uses Dark magic... I will notify the Headmaster immediately!" he retorted. Now that was a threat that actually gave me pause, though I did my best not to let him see it affect me.

Getting expelled again... being thrown out by those who were supposed to love me, supposed to care for me... again.

And having the power I wished for more than anything... denied to me.

Again.

Do that... and it will be the last thing you ever regret.

A murderous blind rage pulsed through my veins, the ancient magic within me threatening to unleash itself on instinct and annihilate this insolent fool. Anne would be better off without him, Sebastian would definitely be better off without him, hell, the entire world would-

...

...

...

No... I needed to calm down. Despite how horrible he was, I couldn't harm him... besides promising Sebastian that I wouldn't, taking him out wouldn't do Anne any good. It took a couple of deep breaths, but I managed to restrain my wrath and form it into words instead.

"...I don't think I could possibly have a lower opinion of you. With how stubborn you are, I wonder if you're the one who really cursed Anne," I spat. Solomon inhaled sharply as I turned around and stomped away, back to Sebastian.

The look on his face was pitiable, to say the least. "I see you've been banished as well," he frowned.

"He can't tell me what I can and can't do," I snorted, glaring as Solomon disappeared into his house. "Of all the pigheaded, mulish, most insufferable fools I've ever met..." My muttering only stopped once my eyes drifted towards his - I blinked when I realized he was on the verge of tears.

In an instant my heart was crushed into powder.

Heartbreak. Regret. Bitterness. Uselessness.

It hurt so much seeing him like that... not just a physical ache in my chest, but his emotions twisted around my own like strangling weeds. They... reminded me of how I felt during my last few minutes in Equestria. The shock, the scorn... the inner pain that felt like it was burning me alive, and nothing could ever put it out.

That... had really been what hurt the most.

...

...

...

We couldn't stay here... and not just because the both of us were theoretically banished.

"...You want to go back to Hogwarts?" I asked softly. Sebastian took a deep, shuddering breath before shaking his head.

"Not really. But I don't wish to remain here any longer... I know when I'm not wanted." As he glanced away, I felt something inside me break. In that moment, I would've done anything to stop the pain.

So I did the only thing I could think of.

"C'mon... let's get out of here."

~

It was only a ten, maybe fifteen minute flight to Keenbridge over the mountain, but it was far away enough that we could no longer see any sign of Feldcroft. The cold wind rattled the old wooden beams and loose shingles of the town pub as we ordered some of the house special - ginger-spiced Butterbeer. The both of us seriously needed a drink after everything that happened today.

After paying, Sebastian and I moved to the farthest edges of the pub's dock that overlooked the marshlands and the nearby small lake that fed them. Neither of us spoke a word for a while, other than Warming Charms to keep the chill of winter out of our robes. Even without hearing him speak, I could feel his dejection and turmoil lighting a fire of indignant, righteous anger within him. He snorted through clenched teeth as he suddenly kicked the railing, startling me.

"I had to stop that troll from killing my sister!" he seethed. "He had no right to banish me from my own twin! If he thinks banishing me means I'm going to give up on Anne, he's sorely mistaken."

"He absolutely is," I agreed wholeheartedly. "I can't believe how utterly ridiculous he's being... it's not like the Unforgivables are illegal to use against nonhuman targets! Would he rather have let her die?" I shook my head in disbelief. "And he has the gall to go snitch on us to Black if he thinks we're using any more Dark magic... who does he think he is?!"

"He's... well, my guardian," Sebastian answered matter-of-factly. "But that relic, Dark magic or not, is the key to saving Anne, to reverse that curse... I will not lose her for good. Now I'm more determined than ever to learn what power that relic has." I nodded in agreement, though a moment later my forehead smacked the railing in annoyance.

"...I'll probably have to figure out a way to keep getting the potion to her without Uncle Grumpy-Face realizing it's from me. Merlin's sake, what a pain."

"Just say it's from Ominis," he waved his hand. "He's likely the last of us still welcome in Feldcroft... if I had to guess, he's probably there trying to smooth things over with them." A beat of silence passed before his face lit up with a spark of inspiration. "That's right... I can always send the crest to Anne. She'll know that we'll need to meet!"

"Crest?"

"It's-" He paused for a moment as I felt a pang of tender nostalgia bleed through him. "...We just lost our parents, and we were packing up to go and live with Solomon... we couldn't take everything. She was carefully organizing her prized possessions, a box of artifacts she collected to do with our family: jewelry, cards, old photographs... She got to her favorite, a handmade crest, and without a second thought she handed it to me... 'This will keep you safe', she said." Another pause as he allowed himself to smile at the memory, which somehow made me smile too. "It holds no enchantment, but I've kept it with me since... that's how I can reach Anne. I'll get the crest to her with plans to meet."

"Sounds good," I replied. "Better make sure Solomon doesn't intercept it somehow, though... something tells me we'd both be getting Howlers for the rest of the year if he did, and I'm not even the one sending it to her." Sebastian simply shrugged.

"Even if Ominis is upset with us, he has no love lost for his family. He'd use their connections to the Headmaster if we needed his help."

"Ah, good... it's good to know a Gaunt, huh?" I grinned, though my voice quickly grew dark and low. "Saves me the trouble of simply Obliviating his arse if he tries anything."

"You'd do that? He's a former Auror, you know," he said, an expression of both surprise and amusement on his face. "He'll see you coming from a mile away."

"Psh... And I was the personal protégé of royalty. He'll be lucky if that's the only spell I cast on him," I growled, my knuckles whitening as I grasped and wrung at the railing. Before he could remind me that I'd promised I wouldn't blow up his uncle, the barkeep arrived with our drinks. Taking a warm, welcoming gulp of the spiced Butterbeer instantly put the both of us in a better mood. Sebastian let out a halfway-contented sigh after draining half of his tankard.

"I'm glad I have you to talk about this with. I... I can't imagine how I would be faring alone."

"Hey... what are friends for?" I smiled, looking over at him and raising my own tankard. He chuckled lightly as he tapped his against mine, and we fell into a pleasant lassitude as we sipped our drinks and stared out into the frozen marsh.

My mind wandered, rehashed everything that had happened. So much had transpired within a few hours - breaking into the catacomb, learning Imperio, finding the relic, laying waste to a bunch of goblins...

...

...

...

...Wait.

Thinking about the assault on Feldcroft made me think about Anne. And then I remembered that her curse happened to flare up while we were all fighting. My blood suddenly ran cold as I remembered how strong it had been.

That should not have happened.

My Umbrum potion was flawless... I'd gone over the calculations several times, always trying to improve on the formula. There was no possible way it should've allowed the curse to sap her like it did then.

Damn it... now I needed to run a diagnostic charm on her, to find out what went wrong. And I had just gotten my arse banished from visiting her... in a public setting, anyway. Hopefully Sebastian could get that crest to her sooner rather than later.

Or... I could just Imperio Solomon into leaving us the hell alone-

Another chill wracked me, harder than the last as soon as the memory of his eyes hit me. Why did it bother me so much? My own eyes changed and glowed with Equestrian Dark magic whenever I harnessed it, so why was this any different?

"Sunset."

"Huh?" I blinked rapidly as I glanced over to Sebastian, slightly confused to see him worried.

"You haven't spoken much... is something on your mind?" I hesitated for a moment before speaking...

...I'd tell him about needing to see Anne myself once we were back at Hogwarts. He already had enough to worry about right now.

But he also wasn't going to accept "no, nothing," for an answer.

"It's... well..." I stared down into my tankard of Butterbeer and took a breath. "...When you used Imperio on that troll, your eyes..."

"Oh," he mumbled. "Yes... I've heard that when you cast an Unforgivable curse sometimes, they'll change as a result of the Dark magic being channeled." He hesitated for a moment before continuing. "Did it trouble you?"

"...Kind of," I admitted. "When I saw them... I don't quite know how to describe it, but it made me feel... empty. Hopeless."

"Hopeless?" he blinked, a pained look on his face. "I... well, I don't remember feeling hopeless in that moment-"

"No, no, that was all me. All my own emotions," I clarified, shaking my head. "I just... don't know why that was my gut reaction." PTSD from Crucio? Though I didn't see that glow in his eyes then...

No... don't be ridiculous, Sunset. You're stronger than that. You'll get over it.

"I see..." he trailed off, turning away. We stared out at nothing in particular for a few minutes, not saying anything at all. I shook my head at myself - a part of me felt guilty bringing it up... I'd never meant to make him feel bad or anything. My mouth opened, but it was a couple of seconds before I could force out any words.

"Don't... stop yourself from using it again if you need to, because of me-"

"No... I see how much it's bothered you," he shook his head. "I don't mind refraining from such magic if it makes you uncomfortable."

"It doesn't! ...Well, most of it doesn't. It's just that one, I guess." I really didn't like the feeling in my heart at the moment, shrinking inwards on itself with guilt and disappointment. "Really, Seb, don't change what you're doing on my account... besides, we still have to find out if that relic will cure your sister, you know? And we can't do that without more Dark magic, and a lot more research."

"...You're right," he nodded, though he didn't sound convinced. "But I also don't wish to scare you again."

"Oh, stop... I'm a big girl, I can handle it," I reassured, almost grumbling in offense. But since I was thinking so much about that particular Unforgivable, I was suddenly struck by inspiration. "...Actually, it's good you taught me the curse - the Umbrum Crystals I've been making have been passable so far, but with a bit of Imperio influence, I think they'll become even more potent. Maybe the potion will even be able to block the pain entirely."

...Hopefully, I frowned to myself. That flare-up never should've happened in the first place. I hope it was just a one-off thing, perhaps because she was suddenly straining herself with so much magic use...

He smiled optimistically. "Well, at least some good came from that curse today."

"Eh, don't sell yourself short," I grinned, putting an arm around his shoulders. "Your uncle might not've appreciated your choice of spells, but I'm sure Anne's happy to still be alive."

It was evidently the wrong thing to say; the smile dropped from his face.

"Right..." His head bowed. I groaned at myself inwardly.

Damn it... that was stupid of me.

"...Sorry, that was-"

"No, I know what you meant," he raised his head back up again, a little too quickly for my comfort. Before I could say anything further, though, I felt his arm wrap around the middle of my back, gently pulling me a little closer. "Thank you... I very much appreciate you standing by me through all of this."

I held my breath as I felt the whirlpool of conflicting emotions within him, only managing a nod in return. I elected to remain silent as we stared out over the frozen landscape together for a while longer.

Author's Note:

This quest... oh, this quest. It really could've used some work. This might've been the beginning of the various plots of the game starting to roll downhill.

Comments

[Booster Spice]

If Sebastian is having problems with Imperio when Sunsets having problems lifting the ground up and throwing the Troll into a volcao or orbit whatever, then whats he going to do when going off the current progression, he will have to use the third curse, and in doing so its whats needed to create the demonic sumoning thats powered by it and is centered on Anne?

[witegrlninja]

11682919
I'll tell you right now... Sunset's learning of Avada Kedavra is going to be drastically different from what happens in game.

Sebastian's having problems because he only ever practiced on bugs or other small creatures, never anything as big as a troll. Also, he's self-taught so his technique isn't quite perfect yet.

[Moonlight Tome]

I'm glad that you've been able to iron out one of the wrinkles in the game by having Sunset convince Ominis to let them go without needing to give up the artifact. I always disliked both options presented in the game. However! You still managed to keep it uncomfortable, which is very good for this quest.

As for Anne's flare-up... heh. Seems someone paid Feldcroft a visit after seeing Anne out and about a few too many times.

[witegrlninja]

11683026
Yea, either a very "meh" method of convincing him, or the nuclear option of straight up Imperioing him where even Sebastian is like wtf O_o

Not to mention the way he killed the goblin... like, I get why he did what he did, but did he really have to make it slit its own throat right in front of Anne? At least move it behind a rock or something first!

We're finally getting into the real bulk of the changes I'm making.

[not-so-anonymous]

Sunset's potion seems to be fluctuating. off the bat, I'd guess that the curse might be adapting to counter the potion's influence, but that makes this curse seem more like a living thing, maybe not sentient but something intent on carrying out its purpose by any means no matter what's thrown at it to stop it. it's more likely something in the potion is having diminishing returns due to continual exposure to Anne's systems. I will admit that someone recasting the spell on Anne might have merit, but only if there was a reason to do so: pride or personal motivations such as leverage over someone.

using the Imperius Curse, likely imbedded in the Umbrum Crystal itself, is dangerous, since we don't know what effects combining two different dark spells, or even two dark spells from two different universes will do. plus, the Imperious will need to be done without forcing Anne to do anything against her will; Sunset will have to distil the curse into its raw magic form without tying commands to it. and, to be honest, it's a likely stopgap measure if Anne's curse really is adapting.

[not-so-anonymous]

Next Unforgivable, the Imperius Curse. since it can be used on any human or animal, magical or muggle, the curse likely does not control a person via one's magic but by somehow high jacking the neural threads inside the body, redirecting or outright overwriting the electrical impulses the subject's brain sends out. there might be similarities between the Imperius and the Cruciartus in how their effects are in their target areas to suggest a common origin, however it could also be a coincidence.

in book 7, it is mentioned that it feels as though threads connect the wand and hand of the user to the target they are using the curse on. in theory, it seems magic creates these 'threads' from their own magic to make an artificial neural network unseen between user and target, albeit mostly one sided: I don't think you can hurt the caster by attacking the target, for example. just enough connections are made to take command of a subject.

if I remember right, some people can remember being under the curse while some don't. in the most obvious example, Harry Potter himself was able to remember being under this curse. the way it is described is a 'blissful' form of 'uncaring', a likely part of the curse itself to make a subject more willing to do whatever the caster wants, which could imply that it could 'infiltrate' the mind through a section of the brain responsible positive emotions or possibly the areas that affect decision making. the fact that the effects seem to linger in some subjects leads some small credence to this theory.

because the only person I can think of to have their point of view to totally throw the curse off is Harry Potter himself, I'm not sure if sheer force of will, magic or a combo of both are required to break this curse or that only magicals can throw it off; there's no mention I can remember of a muggle throwing it off.

[not-so-anonymous]

as for the Dark Relic recovered, every inch of it should be examined. what it's made of, what it's attuned to, what magic it holds within. and, above all, the fact that the words 'Dark Sacrifice' are included in its operation means that every single step of this research must be taken with care. especially Sebastian should have this beaten into his head or, more effectively, having Sunset beat this into his head. not that she will yet; this Dark Relic is also tempting her with dark power and, for now, her academic mind tainted with her desire for power is leading the charge. still, if Sunset's really had experience with other dark artifacts, then she will be able to have something over Sebastion and use that to keep him somewhat in line by her side.

[witegrlninja]

11683101
I think there was a point in which Snape talks about how a potential Death Eater Imperioed a Muggle to be initiated into Voldemort's circle, but they were able to resist so Voldemort killed them both? Either that, or I'm getting book canon mixed up with Leo Inter Serpentes canon.

But you're right on the money about the potion. Are you looking at my notes?

[herobrins mom]

WOO.....wait....did the guy flicking actually curse her then take the bottles??

Thats....the only way that makes sense to me......he eill probably dymie by sunset once she find out if this is true...being her guardian be dammed

[Shadic Midnight Blitzer]

I'm so sad (and angry) that Sebastian got disowned by Solomon! For someone having the name of the most wisest man from the Bible, Solomon has been anything but! >:0

[SWEETOLEBOB18]

"Bah, semantics," he flicked his hand as he opened the castle's double doors. "Come on, let's just get going."

We Yanks pronounce "zebra" with a long E = "she bruh"

Brits typically pronounce it to rhyme with "Debra"