Cui Bono?
‘Good for Whom?’
‘I pressed Ominis about Salazar Slytherin’s scriptorium, but my efforts were in vain. Meet me outside the common room. We need to talk.
Sebastian Sallow’
Morgana watched the owlfly away, a strange feeling settled in her chest. It felt like a warning from her magic. It screamed at her as she began descending the steps from the astronomy tower. The girl had been in the room of requirement studying for a history paper regarding Merlin. She knew plenty about the man, enough to know he had left a number of trials scattered about, and was trying to learn more about his bloodline. It seemed he had possessed a similar magic to the girl. Walking past many of her friends she greeted them on her way down, Garreth and Natty stopping her and inviting her to join them to Hogsmeade for butterbeer the next day. Poppy walked past with a wink as she held up a small bag of treats, presumably going to the vivariums.
The dark haired girl arrived at the top of the stairs leading directly to the common room and there stood Sebastian. He was pacing slightly in a small circle muttering to himself. She smiled as she saw him and quickened her pace down the steps. He noticed her as she came down, green eyes sparkling looking at him, her hair falling almost entirely from the bun she had flung it in, bouncing around her head, and the smile that only grew as she turned his full attention to her. “You came!” He grinned at her as he stopped his pacing.
The girl looked at him with a bashful smile, “you called. What happened with Ominis?”
Sebastian sighed as though he was reminded of his annoyance. “I told him none of us will be able to avoid dark magic forever.” That sinking feeling grew in Morgana’s chest, feeling like someone might be squeezing her heart. Sebastian continued, “So the more we know about Salazar Slytherin and the dark arts, the better prepared we will be. Unfortunately, only a Gaunt knows the location of the scriptorium's entrance and Ominis won’t tell me.”
“Maybe I can try having a chat with Ominis?”
“You? I suppose it’s worth a try, but don’t get your hopes up. You know how stubborn he is. Are you two even speaking again?” He looked at the girl incredulously, his brows furrowing slightly and his mouth downturned.
The girl gave a sigh, “we still haven’t really spoken since the night I came out of the undercroft. It can’t hurt to try, I have yet to actually apologize to him and this could be a good opportunity. Do you know where he is?”
“He’s this way. I’ll take you over and leave you to it.” He began walking heading down the hallway to Morgana’s right and she followed. He stayed two paces ahead of her not sparing a glance back.
“Keep an eye out, we don’t want anyone following us if you manage to convince him.”
The girl just gave a small nod. The dread dragging heavier on her chest, feeling like bricks stacking. The two continued the trek until Sebastian stopped in front of her. “There he is. Good luck.” The boy had a sarcastic bite to his words, leaving the girl with a frown as he walked around the corner.
Ominis was pacing back and forth much like Sebastian had been. He raised his wand slightly in her direction. “Emery. What are you doing here.” His words had a sting in them, the girl flinched at hearing her last name.
“Hello Ominis. Do you have a moment to talk?” She kept her tone steady, stepping in front of the boy. She made sure to refrain from fiddling with her hands or grabbing hold of her robes. The boy looked down at her his sightless eyes tearing into hers. “What is it? What have you and Sebastian been up to now?”
Her nerves get the better of her with him staring as though he can suddenly see her. She begins fiddling with her fingers, running her thumb over the middle finger on her left hand, bringing her right to tuck a loose strand of hair behind her ear. “I wanted to apologize to you.” Her voice shook slightly looking back into his eyes. “I truly am sorry about The Undercroft. If you don’t want me to go in anymore I understand and I will never step foot in again.” The girl dropped her hands to her side and resigned with the decision he would make.
The boy sighs and brings a hand to his chest. “I wasn’t angry with you, it’s just Sebastian has been pestering me lately about something and I’m frustrated with him.” The girl felt tension ease from her shoulders, glad he wasn’t angry with her.
“He’s still going on about the- what was it- Scriptorium?”
“He told you about that?”
“He did. I don’t want to lie to you again, Ominis. He’s asked me to try to convince you to tell him the location.”
He sighed once again “he seems to think it will hold a cure for Anne. I think it only houses dark magic. It’s better left untouched.”
Morgana paused for a moment thinking over her words. “I agree that it is best left untouched. Truthfully when we’ve spoken about it I feel a pressure on my chest that is telling me to go the opposite direction. Sebastian is stubborn, as you said, he won’t give up pursuing this Ominis. He would find a way in with or without us. Is it not better to be with us so we can keep him from the dark magic?” The pressure in her chest grew tighter as she spoke.
Ominis fell silent for a pause. Finally he spoke quietly, “I only know about it because of my Aunt Noctua. She was my favorite.” His words but a whisper in the corridors had her hanging onto every word the boy spoke. “She thought like I do. Didn’t agree with my family on the use of dark magic. In-fact she hoped she could convince my family there was more to Salazar Slyhterin than his pure-blood worshipping. She came here, to this very corridor,” Morgana’s heart felt like ice as someone grabbed hold and began squeezing. “She wrote to my father about the entrance, but then she vanished. No one else ever tried to enter.”
“Going in is your choice Ominis.” Her tone was gentle, a whisper above what his had been. “We could get answers about what happened to your Aunt, and protect Sebastian from the contents inside. Your Aunt did this alone, with the three of us we can do it, history won’t repeat itself. I promise I won’t let anything bad happen to either of you.” Her last sentence came tumbling from her mouth before she could stop it, barely even a whisper but Ominis had heard and smiled lightly. The feeling in her chest settled as it accepted she wasn’t going to turn away from this.
“Very well. I suppose you’ve convinced me, I didn’t think it possible. I’ll tell you what I know. Fetch Sebastian.” Sebastian came darting from behind a corner a smile taking his face.
With an exaggerated sigh Sebastian began, “Oh so now you’ll tell. You wouldn’t tell me when I practically begged!”
“It wasn’t you who told me what I needed to hear.” Ominis bit back to him with a glare. “Opening the entrance has something to do with threes.”
“Well three heads are better than one.”
“It’s two heads are better than one Sebastian.”
“And by that logic, three is better than two. Simple mathematics Ominis.”
Morgana chuckled lightly at the banter between the two boys and looked around. “There are three braziers. Maybe we should try lighting them?” Ominis hummed, “someone was actually listening.”
“I do that– occasionally.” Sebastian threw back at him.
“Confringo!” Morgana blasted at the brazier farthest from them and it caught fire, almost glowing green at the base as the fire roared. She shot the same spell at the other one, it bounded off and hit the third and final brazier.
“Somethings happening.” The wall behind Sebastian and Ominis shook as it opened to reveal an entryway. The stone scraping made Morgana feel uneasy once again. “I hope we’re ready for this.” She heard Ominis say faintly as she stared into the now- doorway.
Sebastian stepped inside, followed by Morgana, and finally Ominis. They began down the winding staircase, “dark ominous corridors- my favorite.” Morgana laughed lightly at Sebastian’s joke, casting lumos to see a bit better as they reached the final steps.
Ominis retorted “No comment.” with humor touching his words.
“C’mon that was a good one!”
Morgana rounded the corner and looked around. Sebastians words were correct, it is dark and ominous. Cobwebs covered the corners and everything sat in a layer of dust. An inlay in the wall looked shattered and pieces were scattered about on the ground. A small nook sat beside it and held a piece of paper with neat writing scrawled over its once start white page, now aged with brown lapping at its edges and the ink faded but still readable. ‘Noctua Gaunt’ She vaguely heard Sebastian suggest they look for a door and she called out for Ominis.
“I found a note, Ominis. It’s signed by your Aunt Noctua.” The girl approached him holding the note, “would you like me to read it to you?” She asked gently and placed a hand on his arm. He tensed under her touch and she removed her hand quickly.
“Maybe another time, thank you Morgana. I’d like to hold onto it though.” She handed him the note and he thanked her once more. Sebastian then asked, “Gaunt? Your family was here, Ominis?” Ominis gave a solemn nod. They began conversing quietly to each other as Morgana began studying the broken inlet.
“Reaparo.” The blue light drifted from her wand and she watched it encapsulate the pieces that lay on the floor, it began to swirl around and lift them back onto the wall. A picture began to form, a woman made of stone looked down upon a snake with swirls filling the empty spaces. Her wand trembled in her hands as if singing and the girl glanced down to it confused.
“The rubble formed a relief of a person facing a snake.” Sebastian told Ominis while stepped next to Morgana for a closer look.
“That must be the voice I hear.” Ominis stepped toward the door to the left of the newly formed picture. He crossed his arms looking uncomfortably at the empty space around him and leaned slightly against the wall. “The voice is ancient– sinister.” The terror was clear in his voice and Morgana walked over to him.
“You hear a voice?” The girl felt the crushing weight begin weighing on her chest once again, begging to go no further, screaming to stop, and pleading to get the three of them out of there.
“It started when you repaired the relief. I hear a whisper saying, speak to me.” The boy in front of her dropped his head slightly looking ashamed. “I am a parselmouth. I can hear and speak to snakes. Nearly all parselmouths are descendants of Salazar Slytherin.”
“I’d like to be able to talk to snakes, or any animal for that matter.”
“You might not want the ability to talk to snakes. It’s often associated with Dark Wizards.” He kept his gaze down, refusing to meet her or Sebastian’s eyes.
“I can’t see how it’s associated with dark wizards. It’s a rare ability, and you Ominis, are the opposite of a dark wizard. You shouldn’t be ashamed of having something special– something powerful on your side.” His head lifted at her words and he looked as though he was going to retort back but decided against it.
“I haven’t spoken it in ages but, I’d wager if I speak it now the door will open.” Ominis sighed, “I hope you’re having second thoughts.”
“Trust me I am. Second and third but I’m afraid that the entrance closed on our way in. We couldn’t exactly turn around if we wanted to.”
Sebastian walked up to join them, the smell of old books and citrus grabbing her in and holding her in comfort. She smiled to him but he kept his eyes forward on the door. He was waiting for Ominis to open it, not sparing a glance at either of them. Ominis began to emit a hissing sound, it was truly enchanting. Her wand continued its song. Seeming to relish in the words the boy was saying, delicate yet sharp and powerful. It was commanding and sent a chill down Morgana’s spine as she listened.
The door in front of the three of them began to shift. The snakes that formed a helix rose and shuffled up the door, their eyes lighting green and they formed a circle at the top of the door. The green glow settled as they stopped moving around the stone. The top came apart from the rest of the door and spun facing the snakes to the floor, it went back into place and the glow dissipated as the door swung open. The song from her wand ceased as the door completed opening.
Sebastian looked between Morgana and Ominis from his spot in front of the newly opened entrance. “Between the two of you I’m starting to feel left out.” He chuckled a bit but Ominis looked confused. “Between the two of us?”
Morgana stared at Sebastian shocked as she struggled with a response. “I- nevermind.” Sebastian dismissed the conversation and walked through the doors. Morgana and Ominis followed and as she went to cast lumos she was faced with a gate that had strange symbols on it.
The three looked around the new room and realized it was a puzzle for them to figure out. They had found two more notes from Noctua Gaunt that Morgana had handed to Ominis to be read later. Soaring through quickly with Sebasian reading the symbols off the gates, and Morgana twisting the dials, they came to another doorway.
The torches gave an unsettling light, casting onto the doorway. A large arch stood above it with snakes in a helix above. The stone stood off the walls. Her chest once again tightened. It was worse this time, she felt she couldn’t breathe. Her heartbeat was echoing through her ears, breaths were shallow, her spine was tingling, and her eyes stung. Sebastian stepped up to the door and she followed. The door itself was swimming, much like she had seen her magic do but it was– different. It felt dark, evil.
She stared at the door and took a step closer. “Are- are those faces?” Her brows furrowed, fear completely took over her body as she looked and the door stared back. The faces were in agony, they were screaming. She stumbled back and her fit hit something solid on the ground. Biting back a scream as she looked down to see a skeleton. The bones were all close together. Whoever this was it seemed they had curled into a ball in their last moments. Bringing their knees to their chest and laying still as they took their first breath. There was a note beside the skull. She bent down careful to not touch the body as she grabbed the note, bile rose in her throat as she picked up the note. ‘Noctua Gaunt’ was signed at the bottom of the parchment.
Her shoulders dropped and she held back tears. “Ominis.” She paused, “there’s a note and I- I’m so sorry Ominis. There’s a skeleton. She must have been trapped in here.” Tears began to steam silently down her face as he twisted into anger. She approached him with the note and he snatched it from her as if she were tainting the parchment.
“This is where she died. This is where we’ll die! I should have never listened to either of you.” He spat his words at her and Sebastian and began to mutter to himself.
“Ominis, I’m sorry about your aunt but I know what to do.” Morgana looked back to him from her spot beside Ominis. “It’s not going to be easy.” He said more to himself.
She walked over to him and saw him staring intently at the ground in front of him. “You said you know what to do?”
“Tortured faces on the door and the word crucio is carved into the ground.” Morgana winced as she thought how hard it must be to carve into stone with nothing but a quill. “My guess is if we cast the cruciatus curse, the door will open.” Sebastian cast his eyes to Morgana, “Ominis has the most experience with the curse. He should be the one to cast it.”
Ominis, hearing them, snapped his head toward Sebastian and opened his mouth, “Sebastian you cannot seriously be asking Ominis to do that!” Morgana snapped at Sebastian, hot tears swelling in her eyes seething with anger. “I may not know much about Ominis’ past but he has spoken against the dark arts too many times to count. How dare you Sebastian?”
Ominis stood silent, his face shocked. “I would rather learn the damned spell than force Ominis to cast it. Asking him to do it is cruel, Sebastian.” She finished looking fiercely at Sebastian. The boy stared back at her his gaze shrouded, “very well then, you want me to teach it to you? So that you can cast it on me? One decent conversation with Ominis and you’re willing to sacrifice anything for him?” His gaze darkened as he spoke, more and more.
“Would the both of you please stop?!” Ominis screamed, broken from his shock and facing Sebastian. “I will not cast that spell Sebastian, Morgana is right, it’s not fair for you to ask me to. You know more about my past, what I had to do.” He turned his attention to Morgana. “Thank you, for not asking me to do that, and for defending me. You deserve to know why I won’t cast it. I was forced to cast the spell when I was a child. I tortured a muggle woman to save myself. I’m not proud of it. Dark magic leaves a stain on your soul when you cast it. I can’t and I won’t.”
“Ominis, it will be different this time. Whoever you cast it upon will have agreed to it first. It won’t be an innocent ‘victim.’ We have to open the door.” Sebastian took a step toward the boy trying to reason with him.
“The spell won’t work unless you mean it. That’s the case of all unforgivables. If it must be done, it has to be one of you.”
Morgana listened to the two speaking, Sebastian turned back to the girl. “Ridiculous. As if dying here is a better option than casting a damned spell.” His words stung at her chest adding to the weight of dread she was feeling. Her mind was made however, she would not be casting this spell.
Sebastian sighed. “It’s up to us. I can show you how to cast the spell or I can cast it myself.”
“Wait, you didn’t say you know how to cast it. Why even ask Ominis then?”
“I don’t really know how. I know the basics, the wand movement but I’ve never actually casted it.”
“I’d like to learn but I will not cast it on you.” Morgana whispered, hoping Ominis wouldn’t hear her learning the spell. She copied the wand movement Sebastian showed her and nodded when she got it. They stood facing each other in front of the door, Morgana did her best to hide the shakes threatening to take over her body. They each stepped away standing across from each other. She remembered the last time they stood like this. Their first meeting, the duel, ‘time to show you a proper Hogwarts welcome.’ Her heart ached and she tried to calm herself. Clinging to these memories to ease the panic in her chest.
Sebastian took a deep breath and looked at her. His eyes snapped shut and his face screwed up for a moment. His eyes opened and she saw them flash a murderous red. “Crucio”