Whispers of the Past
The crackling embers in the Slytherin common room's fireplace had long since dimmed by the time Astoria drifted into sleep. The exhaustion from the day's events—Quidditch bets, butterbeer with friends, Sebastian's irritable yet comforting presence—had weighed heavy on her, but sleep did not bring rest.
Instead, it brought something else.
A vision.
She stood in a grand, ancient chamber. The air was thick with energy, the kind that sent ripples through her very being, tugging at something deep within her core.
Torches burned blue along the towering stone walls, casting eerie shadows that stretched and shrank as though they were alive. In the centre of the room, a woman stood—her presence both commanding and sorrowful.
Isidora Morganach.
Astoria had seen her before, in the memories of the Keepers. But this was different. Isidora was not a memory confined to a Pensieve. She was here, standing before her, watching.
Astoria stepped forward, her boots echoing against the stone. "Where am I?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.
Isidora did not answer. Instead, she raised her hand, palm facing the grand marble floor beneath them. As she did, glowing lines of Ancient Magic appeared, weaving intricate patterns of gold and blue across the surface, revealing a hidden mechanism. A vault.
The energy crackled, surging outward, filling the chamber with overwhelming power. The very same power Astoria had felt time and time again. It hummed in the air, in her veins.
Then, Isidora turned to her. For the first time, she spoke.
"The key is choice. Power is neither good nor evil—it is merely shaped by the hands that wield it. The question is... will you?"
Astoria tried to respond, but before she could, the vision collapsed around her. The torches flickered out, the vault disappeared, and she felt herself falling—
She gasped awake, her body jerking upright. The dormitory was still, the only sound being the rhythmic breaths of her sleeping roommates. Her fingers clutched the blanket, heart pounding.
She had seen glimpses of Isidora's past before, but never like this. Never so... personal.
Astoria exhaled, rubbing her temples. There was only one place that had ever given her answers when she needed them most.
The Restricted Section.
Slipping on her robes and tucking her wand into her sleeve, Astoria crept out of the dormitory, through the dimly lit common room, and out into the halls of Hogwarts.
She moved carefully, relying on the glow of the moon through the high arched windows to navigate. The castle was quiet, save for the occasional distant creak or the shifting suits of armour. She paused at a corner, casting a silent Disillusionment Charm over herself before pressing forward.
Sneaking into the Restricted Section was practically muscle memory at this point. A fond smirk played at her lips as she recalled the first time she had done this—with Sebastian, of course. He'd been so determined, so sure of himself. She supposed she had been the same.
The library was dark, the rows of towering bookshelves stretching endlessly. Astoria slipped past the wooden counter where Madam Scribner usually stood guard, carefully descending the staircase to the Restricted Section.
As soon as her feet hit the lowest floor, a whisper called to her.
She froze.
The whisper was not in her mind—it was real, curling through the air like an unseen tendril of smoke.
"Come..."
Astoria's breath hitched. Her eyes flicked toward the shelves, scanning the room for the source. Her gaze landed on a tattered old tome resting atop a stone pedestal.
She approached cautiously, reaching out to graze the cover. The moment her fingers made contact, the book snapped open of its own accord. The pages fluttered wildly before settling on one.
A map.
The map depicted a network of underground tunnels, winding and weaving beneath the very foundations of Hogwarts. At the centre of it all, a circular chamber was marked with the symbol of Ancient Magic.
The book pulsed.
"To find what was lost."
A surge of energy thrummed beneath her palm. She could feel the pull of the magic, the way it called to her like an unfinished sentence begging to be completed.
Just as she took a step forward—
"Astoria?"
She spun, wand at the ready, only to find herself face-to-face with a very familiar figure.
Sebastian.
His brow arched in amusement, though there was something sharper in his gaze as he glanced between her and the glowing book. "What a surprise. You, me, in the Restricted Section. At this point, it might as well be our date spot."
Astoria felt an unexpected warmth rise to her cheeks but quickly masked it with a scoff. "You wish, Sallow." She folded her arms, feigning indifference, though the slight upward curl of her lips betrayed her amusement.
Sebastian's smirk widened. "Oh, come now. Don't tell me you've never considered a bit of candlelit reading in the depths of the library to be romantic."
She rolled her eyes, though the flutter in her chest was harder to ignore. "Right, I'll be sure to enchant a violin next time—nothing sets the mood quite like dusty ancient tomes and the looming threat of detention."
Sebastian chuckled "Now you're getting it."
Astoria narrowed her eyes, lowering her wand. "And what exactly are you doing here?"
Sebastian leaned against the nearest bookshelf; arms crossed. "Research. A bit of light reading. The usual." A smirk played at his lips. "Though I can't help but notice you seem particularly absorbed in whatever that is."
Astoria hesitated, glancing at the still-open book. The glow had faded, but she could feel its magic still lingering in the air. She wasn't sure how much she wanted to say—how much she could say.
Sebastian's expression shifted slightly, reading her silence as he always did. "Astoria," he said, softer now, "What is it?"
She let out a breath. "I... had a vision."
Sebastian's smirk vanished. He straightened, suddenly alert. "A vision?"
Astoria nodded. "About Isidora Morganach. And I think... I think she's trying to lead me to something."
Sebastian was quiet for a long moment, studying her. Then, with a resigned sigh, he shook his head. "You really can't go a week without running head first into something dangerous, can you?"
Astoria gave him a pointed look. "Says the boy who practically lives in detention."
He chuckled. "Fair enough. So? What's next?"
Astoria glanced back at the book, then at the map within its pages. "I think... I need to find these tunnels."
Sebastian's eyes gleamed with curiosity. "Then it looks like you're not going alone."
A flicker of something warm settled in her chest, but she smothered it quickly. Whatever she was about to uncover—it felt like the beginning of something much larger than either of them.
And something told her that she and Sebastian were about to venture into uncharted territory once more.