#Jonthia

[melodymidway]

Lileas the Accidental Magic Reversal Squad Employee

1973-????

Lileas MacFusty is the daughter of Martin MacFusty and Ottilie Lovegood. She is the younger sister of Radley MacFusty, the younger twin of Leathan MacFusty, and the older sister of Adair and Clyde MacFusty.

Born on May 11th, 1973, she is a Pureblood witch and a Gryffindor, though her biggest fear is her House's element - fire.

Lileas is compassionate and fiercely loyal to her family, particularly her twin brother. While she has her traumas and anxieties, she is brave enough to face them. Her friendliness and sense of responsibility result in her appointment as a Prefect alongside Charlie Weasley. Lileas is particularly interested and talented in Charms, so she chooses a career related to them.

She is married to Ben Copper. Together, they have two children, Christina and Craig Copper.

[helenadurazzo]

Slytherin’s Scriptorium

Sebastian Sallow, Ominis Gaunt, Phineas Hearst, and Esther Hitchens all head deep within the scriptorium of Salazar Slytherin to learn more secrets about the past and find a possible cure for Anne. However the venture turns out much darker than they could have expected and they meet an unexpected resident of the Scriptorium.

Esther Hitchens belongs to @melodymidway

Phineas Hearst’ POV, January 1897

Despite its dark and murky interior, Phineas always thought that the Slytherin common room, and in extension, the dormitory for the snakes as a whole, felt like home, although he assumed others may come to the opposite conclusion. The room was always lit by lamps that admitted green lights and the water that bordered the common room where one would occasionally spot a fascinating underwater creature if luck was benevolent to them.

Tapestries decorated the walls depicting the stories of medieval magic of the past, it all fascinated him. Who were the figures depicted? He may never know but one could always wonder. Perhaps Professor Binns had already covered the adventures of these wizards and witches of the past, if he had, Phineas figured he must have fallen asleep during the dull class. He was not quite sure what some of his peers like Marie and Amit, saw in the ghost’s class, but guessed an innate fascination with magical history certainly helped keep their attention

He walked into his dormitory to observe Ominis and Sebastian in some sort of argument, he did not think much of it and figured it would be best to just quietly walk by to his bed and let it pass. After all, it hadn’t been their first disagreement and they always managed to work it out in the end. Luckily, Cantankerus was not there at the moment or else Phineas would have known he was in for a long night

“Finn,” Sebastian suddenly called out before the black haired Slytherin could make it past the two of them, “Help me out here.”

“What is it now?” Phineas found himself queried with unexpected interest as he walked, sitting down on his bed.

Ominis responded before Sebastian had a chance to state his argument, and rather quickly, “He believes that learning more about the dark arts and about Salazar Slytherin is a beneficial idea to further our studies.”

“We can’t avoid dark magic forever.” Sebastian argued, “Especially with those gangs full of nothing but trouble wandering about. The more we know about dark magic and Salazar Slytherin, the safer and more prepared we will be.”

Phineas nodded with intrigue, lost information had always fascinated him, and he knew Sebastian had a similar opinion, always having his nose in books almost as much as a typical Ravenclaw, “and what exactly is your plan to get more information? Sneaking into the restricted section again? You were caught by Peeves last time we tried that.”

“This is different and won’t require sneaking into the library.” Sebastian revealed with a clever smile plastered on his face. “There is a rumor that Slytherin’s Scriptorium is within this castle’s very corridors, I believe there are untold secrets there that could benefit us all. However, only a Gaunt would know about its possible location, and Ominis refuses to tell me.”

“It is better left untouched.” Ominis hissed at Sebastian like a ferocious viper. “Dark magic corrupts the soul.”

“So you do know where it is.” Phineas realized with wide eyes, neglecting Ominis’ prior statement for the sake of gaining more lore about this mysterious study, “Have you been there before?”

“No!” Ominis snapped so quickly that Phineas nearly jumped from his seat on the bed, “Of course I haven’t been there!” eventually calming down a little bit later as he talked more somberly, “I only know about it because of my favorite aunt, Noctua, she thought like I do and didn’t agree with partaking in dark magic, even believing there was more to Salazar Slytherin than worshipping pure blood status.” He continued to explain cautiously, “she learned about this so called ‘scriptorium’ and thought it would hold the answers she desired, she got quite far in her search according to the letters she sent my father, even found the secret entrance. However, the letters stopped coming one day and unfortunately I’m sure the worst happened, no one else tried to enter and I don’t think we should risk it.”

“I suppose such caution is reasonable.” Phineas admitted, “however aren’t you curious about what’s inside or what happened to your aunt? This could provide some long awaited answers to her fate, perhaps put you more at ease?”

“Exactly what I am saying!” Sebastian commented with glee, “Come on Ominis, this is a brilliant opportunity to further our knowledge!”

“No” Ominis sternly repeated with furrowed eyebrows and narrowed eyes, “Aunt Noctua went down this path with good intentions and lost her life. I don’t want the same to happen again, no one deserves such a fate.”

“But history doesn’t have to repeat itself.” Phineas gently pointed out, “I’ve spent enough time around Marie and her history books to know that much. You said your aunt thought like you, this could honor her memory.”

“You can get your answers about your aunt and Slytherin, I can get my answers for my sister, and Phineas can learn about magic from the times of the Hogwarts founders.” Sebastian concluded, “Everyone wins in the end.”

“Plus, your aunt pursued this alone.” Phineas assumed based on the story he had heard, “You’ll have me and Sebastian by your side.”

Phineas watched as Ominis contemplated for seemingly forever. However, he eventually gave in, “You’ve convinced me.” He confessed as he stood up, with his wand in hand to guide his way, “Now come on, before I change my mind.”

Ominis was right when he said that the entrance to the Scriptorium, or rather, hidden entrance, was not far from the Slytherin common room. In fact, Phineas nearly bumped into Ominis by how sudden it was. He analyzed the surface that clearly looked like it could become an entrance given the right spell perhaps, but what. Since other than three peculiarly unlit pedestals with torches, there was nothing.

“So how do we get in?” Sebastian glanced at Ominis.

“I am not entirely sure.” Ominis admitted, “All I know is that the entrance to the Scriptorium is-"

“What are you three looking for?” A female voice asked without any of them detecting someone was so close by to them. In fact, Phineas feared it was some strict prefect or the head boy or head girl, until he saw Esther Hitchens standing a few paces behind them.

Phineas had to admit he still did not know Esther Hitchens all that well, other than the fact that she came from Beauxbatons that way in a similar way that Natty came from Uagadou the previous year. He imagined it must have been a challenge for her to fit in since she arrived after Anne was no longer able to attend Hogwarts due to her curse, although he did not know all of the details or how true that theory was. What he did know for sure was that despite being the niece of the headmaster, she could care less about what he thought, but still evaded trouble like the plague, likely fearing he would expel her if she made the wrong move.

“Nothing.” Ominis quickly tried to cover up everything, however Phineas, and he felt Sebastian to, could see that Esther knew full well they were indeed looking for something, and was not going to be fooled so easily. “Everything is fine.” He attempted adding in a friendly, assuring tone.

“Don’t act like I didn’t hear you.” Esther confirmed his suspicions yet she herself didn’t seem overly offended to Phineas’ surprise, perhaps she figured Ominis was only wanting to protect her, “You were saying something about a Scriptorium?”

“Salazar Slytherin’s Scriptorium to be precise.” Sebastian confirmed to Ominis’ annoyance, seeing no point in lying. “It is likely to hold powerful magic and secrets, answers about the past. Say would you like to join us?”

“Sebastian!” Ominis hissed, “Don’t get someone else involved it’s dangerous. And I don’t want Esther to get hurt by whatever secrets lie in that cursed scriptorium.”

“This scriptorium does sound intriguing.” Esther admitted although she still looked rather uneasy, “but what if we get caught, I wouldn’t want any of us to end up in a bad situation with Professor Black.”

“We won’t.” Sebastian confidently assured her, “After all, only a Gaunt such as Ominis would even know about its location so the Headmaster will be none the wiser.”

Phineas pondered the idea for a moment, “You are skilled in potions right?” He recalled, “Perhaps you could help if the dangers do get perilous.”

Ominis sighed, “I hate to admit it but you might have a point Phineas.” He then turned his head to the sound that Esther’s voice came from continuously. “But I don’t want you to get hurt, none of us have a clue of what could be in there.”

"I think I will come along, Phineas is right after all as you said" Esther smiled, albeit with a bit of nervousness, “I just so happen to have a few healing potions on me, they could come in handy. So what do we need to do?”

Ominis cleared his throat, “Well what I was saying is that I know the entrance is somewhere around here, and to access it has to do something with threes.”

“Shouldn’t be a problem.” Sebastian shrugged with his usual smug look of confidence, “We have four people and four heads are better than one.”

“It is two heads are better than one.” Ominis corrected Sebastian as Phineas felt his eyes being drawn to two unlit torches with snake like designs at their bases, down the hall they had passed while coming from the common room

Sebastian folded his arms, “and by that logic that, four heads are better than two, simple math really.”

“There are two torches down there.” Phineas interrupted motioning down the hallway, casting Incendio to light them. “But I don’t see a third.”

“Wait.” Esther had a revelation as she looked back at the own path she went down. Her eyes lighting up before Phineas could even acknowledge her discovery, “Incendio!” She called out as she lit the final torch, just before the two that Phineas lit somehow managed to lose their flames on their own. Luckily it was just in the nick of time as the secret door did finally reveal itself by showcasing a swirling staircase

“Suppose it is now or never.” Phineas gulped as he and Ominis followed the energetic Sebastian inside.

“I hope we are ready for this…” Ominis mumbled.

Suddenly, Phineas noticed Esther out of the corner of his eye gently holding Ominis’ hand, “Don’t worry, we are in this together.” Which did seem to reassure him somehow

Meanwhile, Sebastian seemed to relish in their setting as the walked down a winding staircase, “Dark, ominous corridors, my favorite.”

“No comment.” Phineas barely heard Ominis mutter behind him which almost made him incorrectly cast the wand lighting charm from chuckling and Esther seemed to not have any qualms with joining in at the playful use of words.

~~

The journey was certainly more confusing than Phineas could have expected, and the numbers of dials and locks that had to be solved with only gates with mysterious symbols as references to their answers were only the start. To put it as simply as he could, it was practically a labyrinth. The most peculiar of the challenges was a door decorate with snakes with emeralds for eyes that glowed eerily as if it was a menacing glare. Luckily for Phineas, Esther, and Sebastian, Ominis was able to determine that he was required to use parselmouth to open the door, something he did so reluctantly, being convinced to do so with Esther’s gentle and compassionate words. Even though Ominis explained that it was a talent that many dark wizards possessed, Phineas had to admit to himself that the ability to talk to snakes was certainly a fascinating one. Then again, Sebastian had always seemed to be equally impressed by his own ability to see traces of ancient magic. Perhaps it was always alluring to see the gifts that you never possessed yourself

However, the door they stood in front of now looked like it would be much harder to unlock and would take more than a few mere words in a rare language that allowed one to speak to snakes. Unlike the previous door, this one was decorated with the faces of tortured victims, the sight made Phineas’ stomach flip and Esther looked horrified judging by her widened eyes and paused pace. Phineas decided not to ask why as it certainly wasn’t his place. Especially since he assumed that the words of the torture curse etched into the cold stone floor which glowed red like blood unsettled her just as much.

Sebastian seemed to be the least concerned of the four of them, but even his tone seemed to radiate his own kind of uncertainty, “Dead end, again.”

“Looks like Salazar Slytherin isn’t done with us yet.” Ominis’ voice trembled as he did not get any closer to the door, standing back next to Esther behind both Phineas and Sebastian.

Phineas’ interest was peaked when he saw Esther finally break free of her seemingly petrified state to pick up an old fashioned and dusty journal off the ground, “What is that?”

“A journal, looks like it’s from Noctua Gaunt.” Esther deciphered as she flipped carefully along the delicately antiquated pages.

“What does it say?” Ominis cautiously asked

Esther slowly flipped through the journal and stopped, before proceeding to read the writings of Noctua out loud, “I must prove my point. We do not need to use the dark arts as my family instructs. When I reach the scriptorium, I will find evidence that there’s more to Salazar Slytherin than we realize. I have written to my brother. He now knows how I accessed the corridor’s entrance and that there’s no straight path to reach the scriptorium. It’s a maze with many challenges to solve. I hope that my brother will follow my lead and we can study our ancestor’s legacy together.” She then turned her head to after flipping a couple more pages and continued. “I failed the dial, and it struck my face as if it were a real serpent. But I must find a way forward for my family’s sake. We should not require children to conform to old traditions. This scriptorium must have proof that there’s more to our legacy than meets the eye.”

“The writing certainly sounds like Aunt Noctua.” Ominis smiled, “Is there anything about this door?” He added cautiously

“Let’s see.” Esther said as she flipped through the pages again stopping when she reached the final one, causing her face to fall as she scanned the contents silently, not daring to look up at any of them when she finally did speak, “Here is something… I’ve lost hope, I’m locked in. I heard a scream and saw the tortured faces plastered on the door. The only way forward is with an unforgivable curse. Even if I wanted to cast it, I have no one upon whom to do so. Salazar Slytherin created a malicious challenge indeed. In my last correspondence to my brother, I’d invited him here. Now, if he looks for me alone, I’ll have led him to his death. Despite our differences, I wish him no ill. I wish we had parted on better terms…”

“Does that mean…” Phineas began to remark before being interrupted by Ominis.

“This is where she died…” His friend’s voice breathed speechlessly in a stunned tone yet quickly turned to anger. He found it curious how it seemed mostly directed at Sebastian, a little at Phineas himself, but nothing at all to Esther. He supposed it made sense, it was Sebastian’s idea to come in the first place, directly facing the brown haired Slytherin as he continued. “This is where we will die. I should not have listened to you!”

“Ominis…” Sebastian spoke in what seemed to be an attempt at a comforting and apologetic tone, at least at the start of his short speech. “I’m truly sorry about your aunt, but I think we know what we need to do to get pass this door, Ominis do you think you could-“

“I will have no part in it.” Ominis folded his arms. “This won’t work anyway.” He insisted, “Unforgivable curses won’t work unless you really mean it. I never can forgive myself for that and it’s for that reason I have no family left. You two will have to sort this on your own, I’d prefer to die here, than cast it, because if you do, you will regret it. Forever.” He finished before storming off, although he couldn’t go far, with Esther following him slowly with a desire to comfort him with a gentle grasp of his hand, her gaze was sympathetic even if he couldn’t see it.

“Two?” Sebastian raised his eyebrow, somehow managing to ignore Esther’s clear discomfort, “Can’t Esther help-“

“Forget it!” Ominis snapped at Sebastian making the Slytherin jump nearly hitting the cursed door that was the source of all their current sorrows, speaking boldly for Esther who remained silent as a statue, now looking away from Phineas and Sebastian. “I will not let you pull her into this Sebastian. You will leave her out of this.”

“You should have known that wouldn’t work.” Phineas quietly scolded him once Ominis and Esther were on the other end of hall, barely out of earshot when they whispered. Phineas desperately hoped to not upset his other friend, “You know just as well as I if not more so that Ominis despises dark magic, and the unforgivable curses even more, and Esther certainly shares his strong beliefs.”

“I know, I know.” Sebastian raised his hands as if it would help him ward off guilty accusations. “I just figured he would have the common sense to cast a damned spell that ensures our survival. I know both him and Esther have their respective bad stories with the cruciatus curse, like what happened to Esther’s father and what Ominis had to go through with a family like the Gaunts, but this is a matter of survival more than ethics at this point. He has completely accepted the idea of dying here and dragged Esther into it as well, it’s ridiculous. However, if neither of them will take part” Sebastian gulped with nervousness “then one of us will need to, if we want to live. It can’t end like this… I can’t let Anne down… or the rest of you.”

Phineas sighed at their cursed luck and horrid circumstances, before finally turning his head towards Sebastian once more, “I hope you recall that I don’t know the curse and I doubt Ominis is fond on the idea of teaching us.” Crossing his arms as he thought.

“I think I can figure out how to cast the curse.” Sebastian hesitantly spoke, his voice trembling as he tried to find a way to get all four of them out of this mess, “and I feel like I can certainly manage so we don’t have to following in the footsteps of Noctua Gaunt. I think I can cast it if I have to, it seems like we have reached our ultimatum. Ominis is right… it is up to you and me to get us out of here… but-“

“Very well” Phineas accepted his fate as he straightened his posture. “cast it on me.”

“Phineas-“

“You said it yourself.” Phineas pointed out. “Only you and Ominis know the curse and Ominis won’t cast it and frankly I see his point. And I won’t let you cast it on either of them.” He motioned his shoulder over to the direction of where Esther and Ominis were, continuing to quietly comfort each other rather than pay attention to Sebastian and himself at the moment. “I can handle the pain if it means that the four of us will be able to escape this scriptorium with our lives.”

“I don’t want to hurt any of you though.” Sebastian confessed. “And I worry that my curse could fall because of that.”

“You are going to have to act like you do.” Phineas bluntly informed him, “You heard Ominis, the curse will only work if you really mean it.” He stopped for a moment as an idea came into his head, “Pretend that you just learned that I was the one who cursed Anne, pretend that it is not me you are looking at, but the one who brought Anne such pain.”

Sebastian only sighed, seeming to accept Phineas’ proposition, “Alright, I shan’t forget this.” He then stepped back and pointed his wand at Phineas as firmly as he could, “Are you ready.”

Phineas took a deep breath and looked at his friend as fearlessly as he could muster, this was for Ominis, he thought, for Esther, for Sebastian, for their collective freedom, “I am ready.”

Sebastian muttered some words to himself yet none were audible to Phineas until he cried out firmly and forcefully, as if the word had been stuck in his throat, “CRUCIO!”

The pain was excruciating and caused Phineas’ thoughts to be drowned out by the sound of his screams, although even he couldn’t seem to hear them as his mind only seemed to focus on the burning and piercing through his body. It was as constant as a roaring river, yet, it wore off, much sooner than he expected, yet not soon enough. His blurry eyes first saw Sebastian with a look of concern on his face as he helped Phineas stand up on his wobbly legs, although he certainly did almost stumble over a few times.

“Are you alright?” Sebastian suddenly asked as Phineas attempted to catch his breath. His eyes felt like they were forced to still be in their widest state. “Phineas?” He repeated with even more concern by his silence.

“Phineas!” Esther called out as she started to support him on his left side while Sebastian supported him on his right. Ominis meanwhile remained S silent as ever. “I- I can’t believe you did took that curse… just so we could escape…”

“I-I’ll survive.” Phineas stuttered, watching as the door started to melt away as if it had been an ice cube in summer, revealing a curious study behind it, “Let’s just go, before we are trapped again.”

“If you say so…” Sebastian sighed as the four of them entered the darkly lit room, and Phineas slowly followed his lead, now only being supported by Esther as he entered, while his right hand instinctively lingered over his side from one of the many places where the pain pierced him like one thousand and one freshly sharped knives. “We should have a look around.” Sebastian turned to the three of them.

“I’ll join you.” Phineas gave a weak smile. “There’s bound to be many tomes on ancient magic is this place was formerly the study of Salazar Slytherin.”

“No you won’t.” Ominis shook his head, “I have taken that curse before and you can’t simply just walk it off. You need to rest.”

“You don’t need to worry about me Om.” Phineas chuckled but found himself wincing from the pain that still lingered in the aftermath even though he was no longer an active victim of an unforgivable curse.

“Come on.” Esther gently helped Ominis in his argument and guiding Phineas to a chair as she pulled one of the small vials with a green liquid from her belt, “I know it’s probably not strong enough to fully get you back to normal, but hopefully it can put you more at ease…”

Phineas did not waste any time with taking the lid off of the vial and consuming its contents as quickly as he would down a long awaited glass of butterbeer at the three broomsticks. With the trials of the keepers and his chaotic arrival to Hogwarts that year, he had his fair share of Wiggenweld potion that year alone. Almost always carrying some on himself when he could prepare the potion, yet since this was such a last minute expedition, he was simply glad Esther was there to provide the potion he lacked stock of. Yet when he looked up to take a better look at his surroundings in the study, he was quite an unexpected sight amongst the ancient books, artifacts, and scrolls.

Up on the landing that the twin staircases led to, he saw a ghost of a woman who looked at them rather intently and curiously. However while she seemed not entirely pleased by the presence of others, she appeared rather surprised by the rare sight of visitors rather than furious as if they were intruders. Ghosts were not an unusual sight of Hogwarts but something about the mannerisms and facial expressions of this ghost made it seem like this was no random person’s ghost. As she floated down without the assistant of stairs like a living person would, a new thought finally came to Phineas, something Sebastian had said back in their dormitory. No one but a Gaunt, as they were descendants of Salazar Slytherin, would know the location of the Scriptorium.

“You’re-“ Phineas broke the silence, addressing the ghost, “You’re Noctua Gaunt aren’t you?”

“I am.” The woman’s ghost confirmed as she continued to study them closely, “You four should not be here, why have you come to this blasted study.”

Phineas turned his head upward at his friend as Sebastian stepped forward, “It was my idea. My sister is ill and is turning into a more bleak version of her once lively self by the day. I fear for her future and would do anything to see her as happy as she once was again. I hoped something within Salazar Slytherin’s scriptorium could enlighten me, and my friends came along for support… and I suppose they are the reason we made it here in the first place.” He smiled gratefully at the three of them and Phineas tired to get over his tired and weak state to attempt to give Phineas a kind smile in response, yet Phineas felt more disheartened as he silently recalled the price paid for them to get into this impressive study.

Noctua Gaunt’s ghost slowly nodded her head as Sebastian made his reflective speech, proceeding to stay silent for a few moments after he concluded, sighing before she finally spoke, “I suppose you are right that your friends are indeed the reason you all are alive. Such a dangerous mission alone can be deadly… I should know.”

Phineas turned his head towards Ominis and Esther who were standing on his opposite side. Esther stood close to him holding his hand as emotional support. At some point it seemed she must have handed Noctua Gaunt’s journal to him since now he held it with his other hand with the upmost security. Even though he was blind and couldn’t see the ghost in front of them, his facial features of surprise made it almost seem as if he could see what they could.

“It’s…” he finally managed to speak, Esther giving him a comforting smile as he hesitated, “It’s beyond wonderful to hear your voice again.”

“You’ve grown so much.” The ghost remarked with a warm smile, not even questioning who Ominis was, recognizing him immediately. “Though I wish we were seeing each other on different circumstances. I see you have made some friends.”

“Aunt Noctua.” Ominis spoke again after a few brief moments of silence. “This is Esther Hitchens, Phineas Hearst, and Sebastian Sallow.” Motioning relatively close to where each of them were as he said their names in the formal introduction.

Out of the three of them, Noctua Gaunt seemed to linger on Esther the most as if she knew of her, despite himself and Sebastian having arguably more recognizable names, “Hitchens… Hitchens…” she pondered for a moment before she seemingly figured out why the name seemed so familiar to her, “Ah, I remember now, one of my closest friends eloped with a Hitchens despite her family’s wishes.”

“You knew my mother?” Esther’s eyes widened as she connected the dots, but then proceeded to clarify, “Iola Black?”

“She was a few years younger than me so I did not know her much outside of the pure blood alliance and meetings the Gaunts had with families like the Blacks.” Noctua explained gently, “However I could always tell she was one of the good ones who was aware of how corrupted dark magic and pure blood supremacism is to the people around us. Now that I look at you.” She looked at Esther carefully “You do resemble Iola a lot, both in appearance and personality.”

“Thank you” Esther smiled shyly, her facial expression changing slightly as she continued, “Although you would have to tell my mother that since she does always say I act a lot like my father. I believe my sister has more of my mother’s spirit, but ironically has our father’s looks.”

Before Noctua could respond, Sebastian awkwardly coughed, and all heads turned to him, “If you four don’t mind, I would like to explore this scriptorium.” He then looked directly at the lady’s ghost while ignoring Ominis’ worries mumbling. “Do you know what Salazar Slytherin kept in here?”

“No.” Noctua’s ghost shook her head. “After my physical form became my spectral form, I finally came into the Scriptorium that I had desired to enter and find answers to my own queries. Yet I could not read anything or look at the other contents of this room if it wasn’t already opened. Despite everything though, I have felt attached to this room. I was not quite sure what I would do if it happened, but for all of the disagreements I had with my brother, I did not wish him to meet such a horrid fate. But I must warn you.” She floated closer to Sebastian, wanting to ensure he heard her words, “I have no doubt that the contents here could easily corrupt the reader, regardless if it is slow or fast, the consequences can be grave. If you choose to look at these lost tomes, you must be cautious, as you and, my nephew, and your friends have discovered in getting here is that Salazar Slytherin has always had many gruesome secrets up his sleeves, and likely more that we are unaware of.”

“Of course.” Sebastian gave off a trustworthy grin before smiling at them, “I owe them after all.” walking over to Phineas and patting him on the shoulder, “I’ll let you know if I find anything that could be of interest to your studies.”

“I can look around with you.” Phineas proposed once more.

“Absolutely not.” Esther sternly interjected, “You shouldn’t be moving around too much, after all, crucio can be bad in the aftermath if you overdo anything and it can be surprising what can trigger lingering bouts of pain.”

“Esther.” Ominis softly spoke making her head turn towards him, “Maybe you should check on him again, you know how reckless Finn can be. And if you don’t mind… I would like sometime to speak with my aunt… in private if that’s alright.”

“Of course, don’t let us intrude.” Esther smiled gently as Ominis gratefully nodded and went to a more secluded corner of the Scriptorium as she walked back over to Phineas and handed him another Wiggenweld Potion, “It’s my last one but hopefully it will help you be well enough to return to the common room.”

“Thanks…” Phineas took the vial and consumed its contents before looking off to the side.

His face must have looked somewhat concerning judging by Esther’s worried tone, “Are you alright Phineas, other than the pain of course.”

“I was just thinking about something Ominis said.” Phineas admitted, “The part about how you have to really mean and want to cause pain to your victim if you want the curse to succeed. I know he was cautious at first and I had to encourage him to think I was someone else, but I keep worrying it was just all an act and…”

“Sebastian may act before he thinks but he isn’t cruel.” Esther quietly reminded him with gentleness, “I’m sure he simply did what he had to in order for us all to survive, although I do understand your qualms. Perhaps we just need to wait until things return to normal.”

If they ever did, Phineas added only to himself. With all the trials, dark wizards, and goblins, he almost forgot what normal was. Perhaps it was normal to Esther, considering she had just come to Hogwarts back in September. “Don’t tell Sebastian I told you this…”

“I won’t.” Esther gently smiled as the made her promise. “You deserve to talk together when you are ready and if you choose to do so.”

With that the scriptorium returned to a state of peace, with the only sounds being Sebastian steps and flipping through pages and quiet whispers of the conversation Ominis was having with his aunt. Phineas was not one to eavesdrop but it was hard to do when the words become more audible and understandable as he tried to relax. Suddenly their conversation turned to be about the Black Family and Esther, with the ghost speaking quite approvingly of the latter. It seemed that Esther also took notice judging by her slightly pinkish red face and embarrassed look to the side.

“Is something going on between you and Ominis?” Phineas questioned.

Esther sighed, “I guess it would be right to tell you considering Sebastian knows. Although I am surprised you took this long, I figured I was being quite obvious. But the truth is I have a crush on Ominis, have for quite bit of time actually now that I think about it.”

“Obvious how exactly?” Phineas raised an eyebrow.

“Only in private around people I can trust, like you and Sebastian for instance.” Esther admitted. “I fear being much more outright about it in fear of my uncle finding out about it. He is friends with Ominis’ father after all and would for sure tell him if I was even close to having a romantic relationship with him, the Gaunts are more strict about blood purity than anyone.“

“Does Ominis know?”

“I’m sure he does but he has the same fears I do if not more so, after all, he knows what cruelty his family is truly capable of.” Esther quietly revealed as he face seemed to restrain emotion as she continued. “The Gaunts target muggles they have little relations to and relish in their torture and murders. I don’t want to know what they would do to anyone who was not a proper pure blood who wanted to be with one. It’s best for now to keep it as secret as we can.”

“Of course.” Phineas nodded.

“Look what I found!” Sebastian’s loud voice broke through the stillness as he hurried down the stairs like a child at holidays excited to unwrap presents with a book firmly in his hand.

“What is it?” Ominis stepped forward, seemingly having finished his conversations with his aunt.

“It’s a spell book of some kind.” Sebastian revealed, seeming to be in disbelief of his own discovery. “I can’t believe I am holding a possession of a founder of Hogwarts… it’s an honor.”

“What will you do with the spell book?” Phineas cautiously wondered.

“What I do with every book.” Sebastian grinned happily. “Read it. Having professors as parents ingrained that habit early on. But I can do that later.”

“Perhaps we should find a way out sooner rather than later.” Ominis’ voice shook with nervousness. “It is getting late…”

“Don’t worry, there is a way out.” Noctua gave her nephew a reassuring smile, “and a much less treacherous one than the one you took to get here, follow me.” The ghost instructed as she floated back up to the landing.

“That’s the best news I’ve heard all day.” Ominis smiled as he followed his aunt up towards some sort of old statue that screamed Slytherin by the snake and old face. Sebastian followed rather reluctantly while Esther smiled, as if Ominis’ own was contagious. Meanwhile Phineas himself stood up from his own chair to follow them. While he certainly was not up for quick movements, a leisurely walk to the exit of the Scriptorium was luckily not a trouble.

“Just step towards the statue and it will turn. You can enter one by one.” The ghost explained, “I believe it will take you back to the entrance of the Slytherin common room, additionally, if my suspicions are correct, the four of you can come back to this room using that method. It appears that door is only visible to people who went through the Scriptorium the other way first.”

“Thank you Aunt Noctua.” Ominis expressed gratitude as they each went through the exit as she had instructed. The ghost giving them a friendly smile and a heartfelt farewell as she chose to stay within the Scriptorium. It made sense, most ghosts did always pick a place to linger like how the Bloody Baron always seemed to reside in the Slytherin dormitory on the dungeons.

“Never thought I’d be this happy to see the castle again.” Ominis remarked, being the last one to leave the Scriptorium, pausing with the others outside of the entrance to the Slytherin dormitory. “But Sebastian.” His voice all of a sudden sounded the upmost stern and serious, and while he looked at him, it was clear he also referred to Phineas himself and Esther. “We should all swear right here and now to never engage with anything dealing with the dark arts again, we nearly died!”

“Understood.” Sebastian solemnly accepted for the three of them. “Let’s get back to the dormitory… I think we all need some sleep after this…”

[melodymidway]

The Hitchens Family

This post is dedicated to Esther and Miranda Hitchens, the daughters of Bob Hitchens and Iola Black. It also contains quite a few headcanons about Beauxbatons and the Black family.

Julius and Phineas Hearst, as well as the Elysians, belong to @helenadurazzo

Cygnus Black, Ella Max, and their four children: Sirius, Phineas Nigellus, Elladora, Iola

Don't mind Phineas Nigellus's Picrew, I tried to make it as similar to his HL look as possible, lol

Iola Black was the daughter of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black, which automatically meant much drama and trouble for the entirety of her life. The youngest child of Cygnus Black and Ella Max, born in 1851, she had no memory of her father, who died mere months after her birth in some reckless adventure of his. Neither did she know her brother Sirius, whose seemingly innocent cold turned into a full-fledged fever and took his life when the boy was barely eight. However, Iola grew under the watchful eyes of her grandparents, mother, Aunt Misapinoa and Uncle Arcturus, who later became her stepfather.

The marriage of Cygnus and Ella took place when both were very young, and was a part of a deal between the Black and the Travers families. As there was no Travers bride of the suitable age, the choice fell on the daughter of a Travers lady, who had married a Max. The union was entirely loveless, but produced four children. Ella's particular favourites were Sirius and Elladora, yet she didn't quite like Phineas Nigellus and cared little for Iola. Cygnus's death brought her no despair, save for the one of losing the position of an heir's wife; however, the fate of her eldest son scarred her for life.

Several years later, Ella married her deceased husband's younger brother Arcturus, whom she liked way more and who allowed her to remain in the Black family circle and wield some influence. It caused considerable indignation among the Blacks, as Arcturus was supposed to establish new connections with his eventual marriage. In 1860, they had a son, Rasalas, yet Ella never loved any of her living children as much as she did the ghost of her dear Sirius, with only Elladora coming close.

Rasalas was the only sibling Iola was genuinely fond of, and she often helped to nurse and educate him. Phineas Nigellus and Elladora were too cold and haughty for her taste, and out of her three Blishwick cousins, she only liked the youngest, Hadrian. Like the vast majority of the Blacks, Iola became a student of the Slytherin House. However, her best friend was a Ravenclaw by the name of Walter Ellington. Some even expected them to wed eventually, yet their friendship was entirely platonic, and Walter soon announced his engagement to Lorna Lovegood.

Iola was aware that her mother placed all her hopes of a successful match on her, as she liked keeping Elladora near too much to encourage her to join another family. At first, she tried to avoid matchmaking at all costs, claiming to be occupied with her career in Healing and Potion-making, as well as making lengthy visits as far from her relatives as possible. Yet, she couldn't hide forever, so she began to consider potential suitors. Those who pleased her family inevitably disgusted Iola, and those she could hope to like turned out taken or weren't interested or were of too lowly an origin for the pride of the House of Black.

One day, Iola ended up attending a muggle ball with Walter as her partner, as the Ellingtons were among the families that didn't reject such invitations out of arrogance and sense of superiority. There, she accidentally stumbled upon a crying child. Iola loved children and was rather skilled in dealing with them, so she was able to soothe the boy, Hugh Hitchens, with relative ease. It was how she ended up meeting his father.

Robert Hitchens, or simply Bob, was a well-to-do landowner of a noble lineage, being the grandson of a baron on his mother's side. Being the only child of a good family and having lost his father quite early, he managed the affairs of his estate, which was located near Bath, as well as the surrounding land. To aid his ailing mother and make the house less gloomy, he took a wife, who gave birth to Hugh. However, both of the women soon left him, his mother dying of a disease and his wife not surviving a carriage accident.

Iola was charmed by him and his son since that very first meeting and seeked new opportunities to cross paths in the months to come. Various events allowed them to spend much time together, and they fell in love, deciding to get married. Bob, an intelligent and courteous man, was determined to ask for her family's blessing, yet Iola dissuaded him, knowing that it would end very badly. She left the Black residence discreetly and without any regrets. Her suitcase contained only her most precious possessions, including a golden crown with stars and onyxes, her uncle's present. Bob searched for a perfect ring for Iola meticulously and eventually found one with an intricate crest, believing she would love it. Iola was flabbergasted to recognise it as the Black family crest. The ring turned out to be an heirloom, previously in possession of Apollonia Black and considered long lost.

Only Rasalas, the Ellingtons, Hadrian, and Noctua Gaunt, a good acquaintance of Iola's with whom she shared many grievances about their families, were present on the wedding on the bride's side, though Rasalas did so secretly as not to face repercussions. Phineas Nigellus, officially the head of the Black family after the death of his grandfather Licorus, personally disowned Iola and burned her portrait off the family tapestry, passionately renouncing her as his sister. Ella was completely disappointed, saying that instead of heirs, Iola's children would be pathetic Half-Bloods by the whim of their thoughtless mother. Elladora proposed to cut off the heads of Iola's husband and any children they would have, the practice she often used on the old house-elves.

Together, Bob and Iola had two daughters: Esther Emma Hicthens, born on September 1st, 1880, and Miranda Hannah Hitchens, born on June 7th, 1886. The first names were chosen by Iola and continued the star thematic of the Black family while Bob picked the middle names to honour his mother. His own name alluded to his mother's maiden name, Robinson. Emma was the lady's first name, and Hannah was the name she had wished to give her daughter, the one she never ended up having. The girls were affectionately called Essie and Mira by their family and friends.

Esther looked like a Black through and through, with her grey eyes and black wavy hair that was, fortunately, more manageable than her mother's unruly curls. Miranda's appearance mirrored her father's, her hair being straight and brown, and her eyes likewise brown. Hugh's features and clear blue eyes gave him a stronger resemblance to his mother's family. His hair was also a lighter shade of brown than Bob's and Mira's.

The relationship between Hugh and his father's second family proved that it was, in fact, possible for one man's children by different wives to get along. Iola treated Bob's son as though he were her own, and was warmly respected in return. The children never perceived each other as only half-siblings. Hugh was fond of his sisters and, having inherited his father's kindness and good humour, often indulged their games and antics. Thanks to the input of his stepmother, whom he grew used to call mother, Hugh knew quite a lot about the wizarding world. Being particularly interested in art and photography, he was fascinated by the moving portraits and pictures Iola got him.

In 1888, Iola's favourite brother Rasalas got married to Marthe Auclair, the younger sister of Maurice Auclair. The Auclair business had previously experienced a crisis, which forced the head of the family to arrange a match between his heir and Adele Lefebvre, the daughter of a less prominent but wealthy family, to get financial support and provide political standing to the Lefebvres in return. Marthe's marriage into one of the most prestigious British pureblood families was believed to be a blessing which would recover the reputation of the Auclairs completely. Rasalas, not quite as progressive and enthusiastic about the non-magical population as his sister, as well as mindful of his image, didn't invite Iola and her family to the wedding. While Iola understood his reasons and, frankly, didn't much wish to see her relatives and sister-in-law Ursula Flint (who, in her opinion, was almost as unpleasant as Phineas Nigellus), she couldn't help feeling offended and hurt.

Rasalas Black and his daughter by Marthe Auclair, Alcyone Black

Bob and Iola's marriage was very happy, but rather short. In 1889, Bob went to a different town on business and was unlucky enough to encounter the Gaunts, who resided there. Fond of torturing Muggles for the fun of it, the heavily prejudiced family made Bob their new target. He was hit with the Cruciatus Curse multiple times, and his cries for help were so horrible that Ominis Gaunt begged his relatives to show the man mercy. The next spell Bob received after the boy's words was Avada Kedavra, for the only mercy the Gaunts were capable of was death.

Iola, worried about her husband's long absence, came to the town herself and found his body. Though the Muggle doctors stated that he must have taken a bad fall and had brain hemorrhage, the witch knew what the death by the Killing Curse looked like and put two and two together quickly. Moreover, Noctua herself came to apologise for her family's actions and offer her sincere condolences, briefly meeting both of Iola's girls during her visit. It was the last time the two of them had seen each other, for Noctua soon departed to the Slytherin Scriptorium and never returned. Another loss that quite shook Iola, though it happened a few years later, was that of her cousin Hadrian Blishwick. He was an Auror and perished in the same battle where his colleague, Aesop Sharp, got his injury.

The news of Bob's untimely demise shook the family badly. Hugh, only seventeen, was forced to take over his father's work. Usually quite open to communication, he closed off and hardly ever left the estate for some time, even losing his enthusiasm for the things he had previously loved. Iola didn't tell him the truth about Bob's death, fearing that he would come to loathe magic, as well as not wishing to add another burden on his shoulders. Esther, a girl of nine at that time, was utterly devastated, for she adored her father. She was the only person whom Iola told about the magical nature of Bob's passing, without any details. Mira was only three and preserved few memories of Bob.

Phineas Nigellus thought that Iola would crawl back to the Black residence after the death of her husband due to not having anything to live on. Needless to say, Iola never did. Unlike Hugh, she didn't lock herself away in her grief, but applied for a more active job at St. Mungo's instead of selling potions from home in order not go mad within four walls. She also preserved her place as the mistress of the house, doing her best to help her stepson.

Since Iola was now often away, Hugh looked after the girls, playing an almost paternal role in Miranda's upbringing. Esther was often put under Rasalas and Marthe's guidance in France, as Iola wanted to prepare her for the future while also placing her in safety. Hearing how particularly anti-Muggle Hogwarts became during Phineas Nigellus's time as the Headmaster (the appointment Iola had once laughed at and called absolutely idiotic), she decided to send Essie and her friend to Beauxbatons.

Said friend, Wilhelmina Dallimore, whom Esther tended to call Mina, came from a neighbouring family, was discovered to be a Muggleborn witch at some point of their acquaintance, and thus taken under Iola's wing. The girls were close as children, and going to the same school in a different country made them only closer.

Mina Dallimore

Potions and Alchemy were always considered to be the main specialisation of Beauxbatons, which suited Esther perfectly. Having watched her mother make brews and learned many a particular, she was curious about these sciences since her very childhood. She also excelled in Herbology and was good at Transfiguration. Still, it was Alchemy that she felt particularly passionate about. The subject was compulsory at Beauxbatons, and Esther learned everything she could about the experiments with genuine fascination. In particular, Spagyric, the plant alchemy, piqued her interest, especially since there were few studies on it, undeservedly so. As Nicolas Flamel was the benefactor of Beauxbatons, he sometimes gave lectures on Alchemy there, and Essie attended them all.

Beauxbatons was usually associated with elegance, which was an accurate description, yet few of the outsiders cared to remember that such an appearance was created by strict order and discipline. A student's looks must be neat, and their manners refined and pleasing. The freshmen even had special classes dedicated to the rules of conduct in the wizarding society, as well as the traditions of various beings. Beauxbatons also paid a lot of attention to the classical aspects of education, particularly music and languages. Most of its students were well-versed in dancing, Esther being one of them and enjoying the process very much. She also took singing lessons, and her naturally lovely voice helped her become quite good at it.

In addition, the grounds of Beauxbatons were famous for their organised lawns and labyrinths of shrubberies, as well as enormous flower beds. Roses were the particular pride of the academy, and Essie even took a couple of them with her, charming them so that they preserved their beauty. She really liked her school despite some of its faults.

As Esther often said, Beauxbatons wasn't only about the duels of wands, but also the duels of words. The French Academy of Magic had an insane competition due to the huge amount of students from various countries, and many did their best to fight for their place under the sun. Some chose to do so with hard work and patience, as did Esther, others attempted flattery, certain individuals gladly made their rivals trip to promote their own chances. Esther quickly learned that if she wished to achieve something and stand out, she must prepare to be always vigilant. Though she and Mina made some good friends, particularly Bernadette Auclair, the daughter of Maurice and Adele whom Esther also knew since childhood, as well as their other roommate Carmen Reyes, there were way less friendly students in their year. Renard Tremblay, the cousin of Falco and Clarisse Tremblay, was a prominent example. Coming from a noble French family, he felt superior to the non-Pureblood girls and happened to mock them, not without receiving a hex in return.

Beauxbatons taught Esther equanimity, restraint, and shrewdness. It wasn't too hard a lesson since her demeanour was naturally calm, and she possessed innate intelligence. Essie even jokingly claimed that she was lucky not to inherit the Black fierceness, which sometimes turned into madness. She preferred to take things slow, disliking rush and abrupt change. Though she was unfailingly polite and kind, with all the gentleness of the world reserved for her loved ones, some considered her unfeeling due to her self-control and mostly rational approach. In addition, her sense of humour could be quite wry and biting. Esther had a pet, or rather, she took one of her mother's pets with her to school. Being allergic to owl feathers, Iola used her ravens, Huginn and Munnin, for communication. Since Essie inherited her allergy, she made Munnin, her favourite of the two, her own familiar.

In contrast to Esther, Mina was outspoken and quite reckless, seeking excitement rather than peace. She quickly became very fond of flying and Quidditch, playing in school matches as a Chaser and even dragging Essie along to a professional one. Nowhere near as enthusiastic about Potions and Alchemy as her best friend, Mina still sometimes kept her company during her practices and witnessed quite a few of her experiments. During one of them, her intervention actually saved Esther from harm. Mina pushed her friend away from the explosion, sustaining mild burns herself, much to Essie's horror. After this accident, she developed the habit of automatically conjuring a shield the second something seemed suspicious.

Esther and Wilhelmina studied at Beauxbatons for four years. Since the number of children who were willing to enter it exceeded the school's capabilities, the management decided to only accept those who belonged there by birth and couldn't be transferred closer to their place of residence. Two English girls, whose place was, by default, at Hogwarts, were on the top of their chopping list. Esther made sure Professor Weasley was contacted rather than the Headmaster, knowing that they wouldn't be accepted otherwise, and Matilda took great pleasure in welcoming Phineas Nigellus's Half-Blood niece and her Muggleborn friend at Hogwarts for their fifth year behind his back.

The witches were introduced to the Headmaster on the first day of the studies. Phineas Nigellus first wondered if Mina was a relative of the Weasleys, with her red hair and freckles, but quickly forgot about her when Esther was announced. Not unexpectedly, Professor Weasley received a lecture about letting such unworthy individuals into the school, which ended with a warning to Esther: should she make one wrong movement, she would be expelled. Such behaviour confirmed all of her mother's snide remarks on the Blacks, and Essie found herself heartily disliking the Headmaster. Alas, she would have many more reasons to loathe him in the future.

During the sorting ceremony, Mina became a student of the Gryffindor House. However, this option was immediately excluded for Esther, seeing as she was too careful and cautious to be a lion. Having briefly considered Ravenclaw, the Hat hesitated between Slytherin and Hufflepuff. Essie would have preferred the latter, as the former was famous for Pureblood supremacy that she didn't want to deal with, yet the decision was made in favour of the snakes.

Surprisingly, most of the Slytherins in her year were quite friendly. Essie co-lived pleasantly with her roommates, growing particularly close to Violet McDowell. Being the Slytherin Prefect of their year, Violet helped her a lot with her transfer troubles. She encouraged a slightly competitive friendship between Imelda and Mina since both were great flyers, all while using her purely Hufflepuff compassion to help Nerida and Grace in their respective quests. Esther also rather liked Sebastian and eagerly accepted his invitation to the Crossed Wands, however, his dark inclinations eventually led them to go separate ways.

As for adapting and meeting more people, Essie received eager help from Basil and Farrah Ellington, the latter more than the former, as they knew each other since childhood due to the friendship their parents shared. Esther also bonded with Garreth Weasley over their shared passion for Potions, and with Natsai Onai over their transferring experience. She would also grow closer to Georgiana with time, and the two would work together on the projects connected to Healing.

Still, her payment for having nice classmates was the simultaneous existence of an extremely nasty one. Cantankerus Nott was obsessed with blood purity and family lineages, so he immediately classified Esther's family situation as "dirty Muggle blood spoiling such an impeccable Black heritage" and caused unrest on multiple occasions. For instance, he once closed Esther in the Owlery, all while being fully aware of her allergy to owl feathers. One day, Cantankerus would create a list of noble Pureblood families, known as the Sacred Twenty-Eight. However, his choice of them wouldn't be entirely impartial. For instance, Georgiana Wotton and Phineas Hearst wouldn't find their surnames there due to being in conflict with Nott.

Given Esther's enmity with the Headmaster, her cold head was still very much needed. Ever since their distasteful first meeting, she decided to preserve her place at Hogwarts by being quiet, respectful, and mindful of the rules. She put a lot of effort into her studies and paid particular attention to Potions and Herbology. Professor Garlick quickly warmed to her, appreciating her help in the greenhouses; Professor Sharp wasn't against letting her practise her brews in his classroom, with their comfortable silence sometimes interrupted by small conversations.

The absence of Alchemy baffled and upset her immensely, and she tried to compensate it with books and new experiments, eventually collaborating with Julius Hearst to get a sufficient number of students to be able to take Alchemy as an elective course. The eventual list included the two of them, Stanley Midway, Garreth Weasley, Cressida Blume, Georgiana Wotton, Sebastian Sallow, Zsuzsi Shröder, and Adelaide Oakes. Professor Sharp was selected to give Alchemy lessons, and he wasn't very fond of the prospect, but with time, the so-called Alchemy Club grew on him. The students also became united among themselves. Esther received the nickname 'Lady Alchemist'. Her friendship with Julius strengthened, and his brother even believed they were a couple.

Esther's newly-found balance was destined to be ruined rapidly, though. At some point, she happened to get caught in the crossfire of a fight against the goblins, which led to her closer acquaintance with Phineas Hearst. While Essie did well at DADA, she wasn't an extremely talented dueller and could hardly stand her ground in a serious battle. Phineas proposed her to join him on his trainings, and Esther came to aid him in his researches, especially since she knew quite a bit about the goblins. Yet, the activities she found herself involved in often differed from what was allowed, so she did her best to stay unnoticed. It didn't prevent Phineas Nigellus from voicing his often ridiculous suspicions. For instance, he even claimed that Esther's loyalty to Hogwarts was just an act, and she was, in fact, helping the goblins. Essie couldn't quite understand if he genuinely believed it was so, or simply wanted to damage her reputation.

In spite of all the issues Esther had to face, Hogwarts granted her an unexpected ally. He was watching her intently ever since she first entered the Great Hall, and upon looking at him more closely, Essie recognised the boy she had met and briefly talked to during one of her visits to the Diagon Alley. When she got lost on one of her first days at school, he offered her help and introduced himself as Phineas Black. Esther was suspicious about his intentions at first, believing that he only meant to mock her, yet Phineas was completely sincere.

He was a year older than her and the only one of Phineas Nigellus Black's five children who didn't believe in the Pureblood supremacy. Thus, he didn't consider developing a good relationship with his Half-Blood cousin, whom he was very curious about, below his dignity. Esther was surprised at how easily they got along, and how quickly she began to feel the sort of intimacy that very few inspired with him. However, they had to be discreet about their friendship, as Phineas Nigellus was very likely to do everything to prevent it. Arcturus, Phineas's younger brother, noticed their interactions and tried to dissuade Phineas from ever talking to Esther again. Still, young Arcturus loved his brother enough not to report his every step to their father.

Phineas Nigellus Black, Ursula Flint and their five children: Sirius, Phineas, Arcturus, Belvina, Cygnus

Phineas had an imaginary scale of his siblings' awfulness. Arcturus was the least problematic of them, followed closely by Sirius, who had already graduated. He was often irritated by Phineas Nigellus, but not due to his glaringly unfair conduct as the Headmaster, but because he was overbearingly controlling and tended to ruin the fun Sirius was trying to have. Belvina and Cygnus were almost equally spoiled, having inherited all the arrogance and pompousness of their parents. Belvina was particularly attached to her father and proud of his position as the Headmaster. In the future, she would name one of her sons Nigellus. Cygnus's own behaviour greatly resembled that of his descendant, Draco Malfoy. His prejudice and disdain would reach their peak in his horrible treatment of his son Marius, who would be born a squib.

Phineas played in the Slytherin Quidditch team as a Seeker and was furious at Phineas Nigellus for banning Quidditch. However, his attempts to persuade his father to lift the ban alongside Imelda were fruitless. Still, even though Phineas was no favourite son of his, Phineas Nigellus proposed to make him a Captain the following year, when the students' restlessness forced him to let the season happen. The Headmaster saw no problem with using his position to give his children more influence. For instance, he had pushed Sirius to become a Prefect, though he was clearly not qualified for it. Phineas refused with indignation, defending Imelda's right to be the Captain. She was a good friend of his, and he admired her drive and enthusiasm to bring victory to their team. Esther had little fondness for flying, but she sometimes accompanied her friends to the Pitch, pleased to see a blooming friendship between Phineas and Mina that would eventually turn into something more.

Though Phineas was done enough with his family not to mind being disowned, Essie resorted to various tricks to undermine their closeness in the eyes of their fellow Slytherins to avoid consequences. For example, she used the identical names of her cousin and friend to her advantage and made it seem like she always referred to Phineas Hearst. Among her trusted fellows, Essie could call him Finn, a nickname that would soon get glued to him. She also enjoyed addressing him as her cousin since she grew up with no cousins, her father being an only child, and so treasured their bond very much.

On the summer after her fifth year, Esther invited Phineas to visit her family's estate. He gladly accepted, telling his parents that he would go to a friend's place. Iola embraced her nephew with all of her characteristic warmth; Hugh found an intriguing interlocutor who was extremely interested in the Muggle world; Mira made him her playmate. It was easily the most carefree summer in Phineas Black's life.

Another bond that changed Esther's life quite a bit was the one she formed with Ominis Gaunt. Their relationship had a rocky beginning due to Sebastian inviting Esther to the Undercroft without Ominis's permission, but they soon got along and gravitated towards each other in an almost unconscious way, going from exchanging small comments to getting engaged in long conversations. They had the same values and beliefs; Ominis loved the sound of Esther's voice. From the very first months of their acquaintance, they started developing feelings for each other.

By the end of Essie's first term at Hogwarts, the two of them were already close enough to open up quite a lot to each other. It was when Esther spoke about her father and his early death. Ominis was horrified when the few particulars she knew gave him a clear understanding that the murder had been committed by his own relatives. He confessed his guess immediately and tried to beg for her forgiveness, but Esther, though shocked and pained, insisted that he was in no way responsible for the crime and had even attempted to help. She needed time to process the truth, but she never held Ominis accountable and proceeded with their communication as before.

During her winter holidays, Esther convinced her mother to reveal everything to Hugh and Mira. Hugh wasn't a revengeful sort and knew he could hardly oppose the wizards, but he was rather offended by the former concealment of truth. He asked if any measures had been taken to punish the guilty. Iola's answer was that she had made an attempt, yet the Ministry was unwilling to anger such an influential Pureblood family as the Gaunts.

Ominis told Esther many stories of his Aunt Noctua. His genuine attachment to her made Essie quite curious about the witch, who reminded her of her own mother. In the Scriptorium, she had a chance to meet Noctua's ghost and interact with her. Only then did she learn about the friendship between Iola and Noctua and remember her own short encounter with the latter. In the end, Esther overheard the ghost telling Ominis that she thought the two of them would make a great couple.

Their relationship officially began during the second term of their fifth year. When it came to the Christmas ball during their sixth year, Esther attended it with Basil Ellington, considering it a safe option since she needed cover while Basil didn't want to invite anyone after his breakup with Georgiana Wotton. Still, she managed to steal a dance with Ominis when Phineas Nigellus was sufficiently drunk, and Cantankerus had a tiny accident, organised by their friends.

While they were secretive about their relationship, with only the trusted friends knowing and their dates being very private, the situations that could make an onlooker suspicious did happen. For instance, Ominis once defended Esther against the Headmaster's accusations, automatically squeezing her hand in process. Phineas Nigellus didn't like it and made a scathing comment about the Gaunts never letting him take a mere Half-Blood for a wife.

While the Headmaster only meant to mock in that particular case, he soon began to consider the possibility of Ominis and Esther being together in truth. What fed his disagreeable conclusion were the quite transparent hints of one observant Cantankerus Nott, whom he even summoned to his office to question. Upon receiving all the confirmation he needed, Phineas Nigellus contacted the Gaunts, who in turn gave Ominis a violent lashing out, threatening to subject Esther to her father's fate if he didn't break up with her.

As hard as Ominis and Esther tried to find a solution, their options were few. They were yet schoolchildren, both dependant on their families, so running away and living separately was out of their reach, and frankly, too early and abrupt for Essie's sensibility. Staying with the Hitchens family was also considered uncertain since they could be opposed to it, given Bob's story, even if her and Ominis's romance resembled Iola's quite a bit. Still, she feared that should the Gaunts find them, their wrath would be unleashed on her mother and siblings, and she must protect them at all costs.

It was what eventually convinced Esther that what she had with Ominis for more than a year at that point had to be put to an end. The circumstances forced a difficult and painful breakup on them. While Esther was pretty good at putting a brave face, she still went to Phineas, Mina, and Julius for comfort. She also tried to soothe herself by repeating that it was the most optimal thing they could do, but she wasn't quite able to keep herself from tearing up as she did that.

Even though Esther did her best to keep her feelings to herself and insisted that new assignments would make a good distraction and lift her spirits, she did snap at Cantankerus, who made a nasty comment about her and Ominis within her hearing. Though her attack was only verbal, she had the misfortune to be overheard by Phineas Nigellus, who wasted no time in assigning her detentions. Professor Sharp, who was also present, suggested that Esther serve them in his classroom in an attempt to give her a less bothersome task at least, since the situation was as unfair as could be, but the Headmaster insisted that she clean the dusty rooms. In one of such rooms, Esther stumbled upon the Mirror of Erised, where she saw herself and Ominis as adults, with two girls that could only be their daughters.

It was in such troubled times that Hugh announced his engagement, albeit sorry that when he found his happiness, his sister lost hers. His fiancée, Saraswati Byrne, whom everyone called Sara, was the only daughter of Suscrita Shah. Much like her mother, Sara attended Cambridge under the disguise of a gentleman, reversing her name to call herself Aras Byrne. However, unlike her maternal family, she studied literature instead of astronomy. Being particularly fond of poetry and knowledgeable about languages, Sara worked as a translator and was glad to find an equally creative husband, with whom she could move in the circles of their fellow talented individuals and build a loving family.

Hugh Hitchens and Saraswati Byrne

They got married in the summer of 1898, with Sara's aunt Satyavati Shah and Phineas Black among the many guests. They would soon have two children: Sullivan, born in 1899 and given the middle name Robert, as well as Hillary, born in 1902. Surprisingly, Hillary would one day become the mother of Myrtle Warren, a Muggleborn witch who, much like her great-grandfather Bob, would become the victim of the Gaunts, or rather, their descendant Tom Riddle.

Though Iola said that the estate had a new mistress, therefore she and the girls must move out to let Hugh and Sara build their lives as they saw fit, Hugh insisted that they stay at least for some time, especially since he and his wife would go to their honeymoon. Iola, Esther and Miranda liked Sara very well, and the former took up teaching her daughter-in-law how to manage a household. It was to Sara that Esther often went for advice while in doubt.

They didn't have to wait too long for another drama to occur, though. Phineas Black, freshly graduated from Hogwarts, started working in the Ministry of Magic, as his family wanted. However, it was soon discovered that he had chosen the Muggle Liaison Office of the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes, which enraged his father. Still, Phineas Nigellus held hope that his second son could yet be influenced and transferred to a more respectable position. It lasted until young Phineas began to publicly support Muggle rights. Such behaviour, in the eyes of the Blacks, warranted disinheritance.

Esther was on her seventh year when it happened. She found out from the Daily Prophet, along with a letter from her cousin that came with it. Determined to help Phineas, she and Mira immediately contacted Hugh, asking to let him stay in the estate at least before he found himself his own accomodation. Hugh was amenable, and Iola basically adopted her nephew, treating him as a son. Phineas Nigellus, furious as he was, accused Esther of twisting Phineas's beliefs and demanded that she not aid him in any way, which she chose to ignore, as controlling her life outside of school was nowhere near his rights or obligations.

Esther's last year at Hogwarts brought her reconciliation with Ominis, as they valued each other's friendship too much to part ways completely. They would keep in touch after graduation as well. The time before her finals was spent on preparation and musings about her future. Esther initially entertained the thought of becoming an Unspeakable, but the prospect of joining the Centre for Alchemical Studies in Egypt outweighed the previous plan. Since entrance control was required in the centre, Esther undertook the preparations with utmost diligence, agreeing with Professors Sharp and Garlick to act more like their apprentice than a regular student during her last year.

Professor Garlick treated her more as a friend than an apprentice; they called each other by their first names in unofficial settings and promised to keep a correspondence. Her closer interactions with Professor Sharp let Esther discover more about him and his past, which made her appreciate him even more, a feeling that was completely mutual. Her attachments made it quite difficult for her leave Hogwarts, the school she once had to get used to because of unfavourable circumstances but eventually grew to love.

Esther's graduation was notable for Iola's presence and thus her first meeting with Phineas Nigellus in two decades. Unlike her daughter, Iola had no reservations against calling her brother out in a harsh and mocking manner. Moreover, Phineas Nigellus noticed the ring with the Black family crest on her finger, accused her of stealing it, and wanted to take it away from her, believing that it belonged to his line. Only Esther's intervention saved the party from a scandal.

That summer, Iola decided to move out of the estate at last, and Phineas found them a nice house on the Diagon Alley. He didn't live there for long, though, as he soon got married and relocated to Hogsmeade, where Mina worked as an assistant at Spintwitches. As passionate as she was about Quidditch, Mina had no aspirations to play professionally, but Georgiana Wotton's tales of wood for brooms made her very interested in their crafting. She would eventually get a job in a company that produced brooms. Upon their marriage, Phineas changed his surname to Dallimore, and his name to Finn, as his full name reminded him too much of his father.

Esther enjoyed herself in Egypt, diving deep into her researches. There, she met Ryder Prewett, Leander's older brother and the second son of the Prewett family, who worked in the local branch of Gringotts as a Curse-Breaker. They became friends, and Esther joined his Curse-Breaking group for her alchemic practices, helping them with the tasks connected to her field of study. Eventually, they tried to have a romantic relationship, but for all its shine and cheer comparing to the secrecy and calmness of her and Ominis's romance, it didn't last long. Perhaps Esther intentionally didn't let it be long since she had an unpleasant experience with the Purebloods of such rank and waited for the time when his family would forbid their union. Ryder didn't take the breakup well and was angry at Esther for a while. Ironically, he would one day marry Violet McDowell, her close friend, and they would be able to have a good-natured communication once again.

Returning to little Mira, the girl began her education at Hogwarts when her older sister was on her sixth year. She had none of Esther's natural tranquility, being way more spirited but no less cunning, so she entered the school with all the drive and boisterousness of many a Black, Iola among them. While Mira had no Beauxbatons to teach her the intricacies of social ties, she was forced to learn them at Hogwarts, and very quickly. Though the Sorting Hat seriously considered Gryffindor for her, Miranda eventually ended up in Slytherin, greeted eagerly by her sister and cousin but not by her classmates. Where luck had smiled upon Esther, it didn't spare much for Mira, as the snakes of her year were mostly convinced Purebloods. Belvina Black was the absolute worst of them.

Since their very first days at school, Belvina proved that she was nothing like her brother and sneered at Miranda constantly, calling her a filthy Half-Blood. Never the one to tolerate such attitude, Mira declared war and used every trick to make Belvina's life miserable in return. Their shared dormitory gave much room for action on both sides. While Mira adored being in the centre of attention and gathering people around herself, she didn't succeed with the Slytherins, as they either supported Belvina or kept quiet in order not to be bullied.

There was one Slytherin who remained unfazed by Belvina's threats, though. Valerian Lovegood, Basil and Farrah's cousin, was a rare snake among the eagles of his family, notable for minding his own business in his perfectly acceptable loneliness and only watching the people around with mild curiosity at best and annoyance at worst. Despite their obvious differences in temperament, Mira decided to approach him, and they made a great pair of friends.

The students from other houses joined in, forming a united circle. Caitlin Sparks, a Hufflepuff who came from a huge family, brought all the kindness of her House and much fun; Severn Macmillan from Ravenclaw, the heir of the Macmillans, was the most collected and witty person of their company; Demetria Weasley, mostly called Demie, was way more well-behaved than her brother Garreth, and her cuteness masked her fierce protectiveness of her friends.

Valerian Lovegood, Mira Hitchens, Caitlin Sparks, Severn Macmillan, Demie Weasley

Mira was a skilled flyer and played for the Slytherin Quidditch team as a Beater. Her favourite subjects were DADA and Beasts, for she was a more talented dueller comparing to Esther, and the creatures, particularly big and epic ones, fascinated her. However, all the gift for Potion-making ended up in Iola's and Esther's hands, with nothing left for Miranda. She also intentionally ignored Astronomy due to the associations with the Blacks. She was disgusted by the vast majority of them no less than Essie, yet she couldn't conceal it as well.

Some were surprised that Gryffindor hadn't been chosen for Mira in the end, as she was considerably more inclined to the fire element. Even her Patronus was a Fire Dwelling Salamander. Meanwhile Esther loved water and could swim very well, so her own charm took the form of a seagull.

Sometime on the second term of their fourth year, the Slytherins were going down the staircase after the Charms class to attend Herbology a few floors below. Belvina, deep in her inner plotting, accidentally tripped and fell all the way down. Her first instinct was to cover her embarrassment and accuse Miranda of pushing her. When the news reached Phineas Nigellus, he summoned Mira and the other students to his office, all while Belvina lay in the Hospital Wing with a sprained ankle and some bruises. She decided to go along with her lies, as it allowed her to save face and get rid of Miranda simultaneously. The witnesses repeated her version of the story, some eagerly and others fearfully, with the only exception of Valerian, who had walked right near Mira at the time of the accident and tried to give truthful testimony, but to no avail. The Headmaster saw his chance to cause trouble, and did just it.

Miranda was supposed to be expelled, and Valerian, as he was Pureblood, to be given detention for slander. As soon as it was known, Mirabel Garlick wrote a letter to inform Esther. Iola was abroad at that time, and there wasn't much time, which meant that Essie had to resolve the problem on her own.

Though it happened in the middle of her own school year, she was in London, as the Centre for Alchemical Studies was temporarily closed down due to an accident. Esther's acquaintance from Beauxbatons who also entered Alchemy trainings, Odile Perrot, blew up her experiment and sustained serious injuries. As she came from a high-ranking Pureblood family, her parents demanded an investigation. Odile was an overconfident and assertive witch who cared more about people's intelligence rather than blood status, which allowed her and Esther to form an alliance. Essie was concerned about her well-being, yet she couldn't write to the Perrots, as they wouldn't approve of their daughter's association with a Half-Blood.

Esther was very exasperated at first, thinking that her sister had really done something that warranted expulsion. However, when Mira explained the situation, her sister believed her and was resolved to prove her innocence. Professor Sharp helped her revise the school rules, and the information about a student in danger of expulsion having a right for a trial was found.

Of course, Phineas Nigellus denied Esther's request and dismissed her almost instantly. Still, Mira pointed out that they were no less Slytherin than he was, and so could use their connections to achieve their goals, as it was, apparently, the only force the Headmaster would bow to. That gave Esther an idea to contact Walter Ellington, who was not only a family friend, but also a member of the Hogwarts Board of Governors. Mira's close friends also wrote to their parents. Quite a decent group was collected at Hogwarts afterwards, and if Phineas Nigellus didn't want to anger the influential families, he had to comply.

Miranda was given a small portion of Veritaserum and spoke the truth, which removed all the accusations from her, and Valerian's detention was transferred to Belvina. This case caused the questioning of Phineas Nigellus's methods in general, and though many Purebloods would have liked for him to stay where he was, the majority made a decision to fire him from his position as the Headmaster.

Such news could evoke nothing less than a huge celebration. Only the Slytherins from the highest families were upset to lose a professor who always judged in their favour. As Phineas Nigellus held other Houses in varying degrees of contempt, to say nothing about the non-Purebloods, a large number of people was gladdened by his resignation, his own son among them. Mira and her friends had their own feast with butterbeer; Esther joined the professors and drank her vine with the sensation of unexpected triumph.

Matilda Weasley became the headmistress of Hogwarts and remained in that position up to 1925, when Armando Dippet took the lead. She was determined to restore Muggle Studies, a subject Phineas Nigellus had cancelled and replaced with Magical Theory. Esther advised the her as to the perfect candidate. In the end, Finn Dallimore became a professor, much like his father, yet the subject he was passionate about was nothing Phineas Nigellus could ever approve of.

Esther returned to her researches and wrote an article that caught the attention of the wizarding community. For the first time in a while, Alchemy was actively talked about, and a fair number of students wanted to take the class on their sixth and seventh years. Right after graduating from the Centre for Alchemical Studies, Esther received an offer of a job at Hogwarts, with the promise of being able to proceed with her scientific studies. She consented, especially since Hogwarts and its surroundings housed some of her favourite people in the world.

It wasn't only Mira's willingness to take up Alchemy to please and support her sister, or Finn's steady and comforting presence on her side, or Mina's cheerful suggestions for pastimes, or Mirabel's sweet smiles that made Esther's time at Hogwarts special, though. Close as they were during her time at school and afterwards, with all her esteem for him, she hardly ever entertained the thought of romancing Professor Aesop Sharp. Yet, as the time passed, something in their dynamic shifted. Their easy conversations, mutual assignments, and readiness to help each other gained a tender undertone. Esther's new job threw them together again, closely and constantly, placing them on equal ground and finally making them drop the formalities. Before they knew it, Esther bitterly regretted the impossibility of dancing with her former professor on a ball, and none of Aesop's new assistants understood him and their tasks anywhere near as well as Esther had done.

Esther enjoyed teaching, especially since she had few classes and could concentrate on her scientific activities, yet her profession had its drawbacks. One of her seventh-year students, Barron Bletchley, was intent on flirting with her and winning her favour. Though Esther did her best to gently dissuade the young man, he continued approaching her. Aesop didn't like it in the slightest and was harsher to Barron during his own lessons.

When the traditional ball descended upon Hogwarts in the end of the first term, Esther finally had proper fun with no Phineas Nigellus around to spoil it. It was only slightly dampened by her meeting a past admirer of her mother's, one of the Headmistress's guests, who called her Iola and expressed his regret about the lady's marriage to a Muggle. Still, Esther danced a lot, particularly with her cousin, and drank her favourite wine freely. Mira was also enjoying herself immensely. She had borrowed her mother's Black crown for the occasion, not due to any fondness for her maternal family but rather to rub it in Belvina's face.

Esther and Aesop circled around each other the entire evening. After their duties were completed, they were walking to the dungeons together. Their conversation took an unexpected turn, and in one of the dark empty corridors, they shared a passionate kiss. However, Aesop left immediately after breaking it, feeling ashamed and believing it to be the result of alcohol. Esther wasn't impressed by this decision, confronting him afterwards and saying that she had been nowhere near unwilling, in case he hadn't noticed. Aesop proposed her to meet at Hogsmeade after the winter holidays to talk, giving them time to think about it.

Needless to say, a disaster interrupted it all. Belvina never forgot the slight to her family and, disgusted by Esther being made a professor, decided to take her revenge. Her fury made her bolder, so simple humiliation or resignation was no longer satisfactory for her. Instead, Belvina came up with a complex plan.

Though she and Cygnus meticulously ignored their disowned brother, Belvina pretended to want to mend their relationship. She and Finn met in his personal rooms for tea, which gave her an opportunity to study the protective spells that the professors used and find a way to enter Esther's own rooms, as she wanted to make the attack completely unexpected. She did succeed, stunning and immobilising Esther before casting multiple Crucio curses on her. It was when Aesop came to collect her, and Belvina, scared due to being discovered, accidentally dropped the spells, which allowed Esther to finally scream from the immense pain that hit her with full force. Belvina panicked and didn't manage to find a quick way to escape, so she was caught when Aesop broke into the room.

Finn overheard the noise and came out of his quarters, only to witness Aesop, face pale and angry, with a faint Esther in his arms and Belvina dangling in the air helplessly from the sheer power of his wandless magic. He was left to deal with his sister while the Potions professor went straight to St. Mungo's. Iola and Julius were on a shift at that time. Hearing about her daughter's state sent Iola into hysterics, as she was acutely reminded of the way her husband had died. She insisted on taking care of Esther herself, especially since the latter spent quite a bit of time unconscious and trapped in her agony. Julius used all his knowledge and skill to save his dearest friend.

The Healers feared that the amount of Crucio Esther had received would result in permanent damage and make her suffer chronic pain, something Aesop in particular found horrific and triggering due to having lived through a similar experience. Still, much to the relief of Essie's family and friends, Iola's capable treatment minimised the risks. Anytime Aesop came for a visit, Mira went with him, staying at her sister's side as much as she could. Iola took notice of the Potions professor's constant presence and worry, deciding to have a serious conversation with him.

When she found out, Mira was livid, pouncing on Belvina and actually tearing some of her hair out by the time they were forcibly separated. Belvina faced a trial that ended with her expulsion and sending to Azkaban, as she was already a legal adult at that time. A few years later, her family got her out and married her off to Herbert Burke.

Esther gradually recovered and returned to work. She and Aesop talked and made a decision to try to have a relationship. Some people gossiped about the inappropriate age gap and expressed their discomfort or disapproval, as did Nerida Roberts, Esther's former roommate. Still, it was the first romance of Esther's that proceeded relatively smoothly, and in 1904, she happily changed her name to Esther Sharp. Two years later, she achieved phenomenal success in her Spagyric experiments, managing to find a way to revive some plants that had previously been considered extinct. They were proven to be safe to use in potions, which opened many new paths in fighting the diseases and even some curses. It was one of her inventions that finally healed Aesop's leg. Knowing her to be a passionate dancer, he promised her to make up for all the dances they missed.

They continued teaching at Hogwarts, sometimes staying in Aesop's house near the sea. In 1909 and 1913 respectively, their sons, Castor Hadrian Sharp and Aramis Nathaniel Sharp, were born. Following the tradition of her own family, Esther chose the first names, weaving star theme, Greek mythology and even Herbology in Castor while honouring a French region where she lived and grew so much as a person in Aramis. Aesop named his sons after his late Auror partner and good friend, as well as his father. Thus, Esther never got the two daughters she had seen in the Mirror of Erised, yet as her notion of happiness changed, it caused her no distress.

Ominis managed to move on and fall in love for the second time in his life as well. His beloved, Evangeline Elysian, was also a Half-Blood, and the one raised by her Muggle mother no less. Yet, Ominis was now an adult and independent man who could get and protect a house of his own, separately from the family that had as good as disinherited him, so this relationship faced considerably less obstacles comparing to the one he had shared with Esther. Upon their marriage, Ominis and Evangeline had two daughters, Leila and Gilda, born in 1910 and 1916 respectively. Leila had the middle name Cornelia in honour of Evangeline's mother while Gilda was named after Noctua Gaunt.

Since Esther and Ominis maintained a friendly relationship, the former was made Leila's godmother. Feeling no bitterness due to their past, they were more than capable of being genuinely fond of each other's children. Said children, particularly Castor and Leila, also spent much time together.

Still, the Gaunts, namely Ominis's brother Marvolo, searched for his family. Marvolo's intention was to kill his non-Pureblood sister-in-law and nieces, as well as to potentially rob Ominis's house, since the descendants of Salazar Slytherin were sinking further and further into poverty. Esther was drinking tea with Evangeline, having agreed to babysit the girls for the evening, when the attack eventually did happen. To find out the location of the house, Marvolo had used Imperius on Sebastian.

While Ominis and Evangeline tried to make Marvolo leave peacefully, Esther discreetly apparated Leila and Gilda to her own house. When she returned, Marvolo was nowhere to be seen, but Evangeline lay dead on the ground, and Ominis was seemingly unconscious, a wound in his head bleeding dangerously. The Aurors arrived shortly afterwards, summoned by Sebastian the minute he had come to his senses, and the Healers took Ominis to St. Mungo's. In her horror and pain, Esther couldn't help thinking that if she had married Ominis, she would have been the one murdered.

While Ominis recovered, Esther took care of the girls, and Leila departed for her first year at Hogwarts alongside Castor under her guidance. When he was out of St. Mungo's at last, Ominis chose an even more secluded and protected house to keep his daughters as safe as he could.

Sebastian felt immensely guilty about Evangeline's death and tried to perform a dark ritual to return her back. The ritual involved a human sacrifice, and Sebastian chose to murder a Muggle. The man turned out to be Ross Livingstone, the brother of his classmate Hamish. Once his crime was discovered, Sebastian was sentenced to several years of Azkaban.

Castor and Aramis Sharp, Leila and Gilda Elysian

While Mira behaved in a bolder way comparing to Esther, there was no other situation that could result in her expulsion, and so she graduated from Hogwarts without any problems. As she wasn't opposed to danger in her career and was very fond of creatures, she decided to become a Dragonologist. The head of the MacFusty clan that took responsibility for the population of the Hebridean Blacks for centuries hired her to help him, as his own children, save for one son, all chose different jobs and left home. So, Mira moved to the Hebrides, and Valerian followed her, as their friendship had long since taken a more romantic turn. Despite her usual yearning for big company, Mira found a pleasing occupation and good friends on the islands, while Valerian was thankful for their calmness and quietness.

In 1913, Mira gave birth to their only son, Blaze Lovegood, a name she adored due to its association with dragons and Valerian agreed to rather begrudgingly. While the boy looked a lot like his father, his temper was very reminiscent to his mother's, and so Blaze eventually entered Gryffindor. Both of his cousins were Slytherins, and he often invited Aramis to the lion's table, as the latter was quite exasperated by his roommates.

Later in his life, Blaze would have three children, two daughters and a son. The eldest of his daughters, Elmira, named after his mother, would marry into the McKinnon family and become the mother of Marlene and Mason, dying alongside the majority of her family in a Death Eater attack. The younger daughter, Ottilie, would end up with Martin MacFusty, becoming the part of the family that her father and grandparents so loved. The son, Xenophillus, would publish his own newspaper and live a quiet life, only caring for his wife, Pandora McNully, and daughter, Luna, until the former's untimely demise.

Coming from the family of five children, Finn wanted a similarly big bunch of his own ones. Mina wasn't extremely excited about the idea, as she was very immersed in her job as a broom maker, so she limited the number to three at most. In 1903, Agnes Esther Dallimore was born, named after her godmother. She was closely followed by her brother Alan, born in 1905. As they were still young and two children were enough responsibility, Finn and Mina took a break. Only in 1919 did they have another daughter, little Antonia.

Agnes and Alan, both determined and ambitious, ended up in Slytherin like their father; Antonia took more after her mother and joined Gryffindor. Agnes had a relationship with Ogden McKay while her brother dated Violet Baudelaire, a romance that would eventually come to nothing. Antonia was the target of quite a few attacks from the pureblood supremacists, particularly Thelma Fawley. Yet, she had undying optimism and drive, which helped her move forward.

Blaze Lovegood; Agnes, Alan, Antonia Dallimore

The friends of Valerian and Mira, Severn Macmillan and Caitlin Sparks, also got married. They had three children: Melania, born in 1906, Shannon, born in 1915, and Nyle, born in 1931. Much to Mira's unpleasant surprise, Melania expressed a desire to be betrothed to Arcturus Black III, eventually becoming the mother of Lucretia and Orion, as well as the grandmother of Sirius and Regulus. Being much saner and way less set in the Pureblood ways comparing to her in-laws, Melania was one of Sirius's favourite relatives. Shannon was briefly considered as a potential husband for Reina Rosier, but it didn't happen due to her engagement to a Carrow, much to his relief. Still, he continued his family's lineage, being the ancestor of Ernie Macmillan. Nyle married Georgiana Baudelaire, and they had two daughters, Alice and Kathleen, the latter named after his mother.

Melania, Shannon, Nyle Macmillan

[helenadurazzo]

Jonthia Masterlist

Jonthia is a series of stories that initially started as an AU but have developed to be much more between me and @melodymidway asking the question of how things would change if Jonathan Midway and Cynthia Hearst got together. This started on amino and has developed over the years but now we are planning on moving it over to tumblr. While this story initially started focusing on Hogwarts Mystery characters, stories range from the Hogwarts Legacy and Magic Awakened generations

This will take some time with different posts needing edits due to recent changes. However everything that is listed here and does not have a link is either on the Hogwarts Mystery amino still or is in either mine or Melody’s drafts.

Hogwarts Legacy MC -> Phineas Hearst (1880 - 1953)

Hogwarts Mystery MC -> Melody Midway (1973 - ????)

Magic Awakened MC -> Genna Raleigh (1996 - ????)

Aesthetics

HPHL Parents

Iola (née Black) Hitchens

HPHL Aesthetics

HPHL Kids Aesthetics

HPHM Parents Aesthetics

HPHM Aesthetics

HPMA Aesthetics

Hephaestina’s Curse

Canon Characters

Orion Amari

Rowan Khanna

Skye Parkin

Erika Rath

Ismelda Murk

Years

Phineas’ Year

Jacob’s Year

Jackie and Renée’s Year

Melody’s Year

Genna’s Year

Info Posts

Mariam x Zacharias

Jonathan x Cynthia

Garrett x Olivia

Alessandro x Liza

Facundo x Fauna

Jonathan’s Friends

Jacob Durazzo

Rex and Ru

Georgiana x Gladys

The Livingstone Family

The Scandal

Genna x Elma

Lady Hephaestina’s Curse

Hazel Wotton

Hearst Succession

The Hitchens Family

Stories

1890s

Ancient Magic (Sept 1892)

The Wedding that Never Was (June 1895)

Every End is a New Beginning (Sept 1896)

An Eventful Hogwarts Arrival (Sept 1896)

Peculiarities in Hogsmeade (Sept 1896)

Professor Onai’s Prophecy (Oct 1896)

A Fellow Alchemist (Oct 1896)

No Time To Waste (Nov 1896)

A Visit to Feldcroft with Friends (Nov 1896)

Slytherin’s Scriptorium (Jan 1897)

Trouble At Rookwood Castle (Jan 1897)

Within the Pages (Mar 1897)

Taming the Graphorn (Apr 1897)

The Final Repository (May 1897)

The Cowardly Lion and the Uncertain Snake (May 1897)

The Weight of a Feather (Dec 1897)

Silenus Hearst’s Announcement (Mar 1899)

1900s

A Life Together (Mar 1903)

1910s

An Extended Stay (Aug 1917)

Stating the Obvious to the Oblivious (Oct 1917)

Becoming Whole (July 1918)

1920s

Reaching Out (Mar 1925)

1930s

From the Darkest Corners of My Soul (Oct 1931)

Unconditional Love (Jan 1932)

Waltzing in the Undercroft (Dec 1932)

1940s

Upholding Traditions (Jan 1943)

The Witch and the Soldier (July - Aug 1943)

Soothing Words (Jan 1945)

1950s

Howlers in the Hall (Sept 1950)

Opportunities and Rejection (Apr 1957)

Consequences of Confrontation (Sept 1957)

Once Upon A Time (Oct 1957)

Betrothal Negotiations (Nov 1959)

1960s

Love Amongst the Bookworms (Mar 1960)

The Eventful Evening (Apr 1960)

Meeting Again (June 1960)

Happiness and Unrest (Aug 1961)

At The Edge of the Forest (Jan 1962)

Light At The End of the Tunnel (June 1962)

The Midsummer Ball (June 1962)

Trials and Tribulations (Aug 1962)

The Turning Point (Dec 1962)

The Holidays With the Tremblays (Dec 1962)

Stings of Jealousy (June 1963)

Long Awaited Moments (Aug 1963)

The First Page of a Married Life (Nov 1965)

Celebration (July 1966)

1970s

Playground Bully (Mar 1975)

A New Midway (Nov 1976)

Two Sides of the Same Coin (Apr 1977/Aug 1984)

Clouds Over the Manor (June 1977)

Disturbing Dragons (June 1979)

Murky Waters (June 1979)

1980s

Turbulent Times (May 1981 / July 1981)

Beach Day (July 1981)

Spreading her Wings (Sept 1984)

Revelations of Love (Mar 1988)

The Howler (June 1988)

Fire with Fire (July 1988)

Dwindling Flames (July 1988)

Smoldering Ashes (July 1988)

Summer Days and Quidditch (July 1988)



Just a Little Encouragement (Mar 1989)

Lottie Midway and the Cursed Vaults (Dec 1986/June 1988/Mar 1989)

An Unlikely Pair (Apr 1989)

The Love Potion (Apr 1989)

Curse Breaking Apprenticeship (Apr 1989)

In The Depths of Greenhouses (July 1989)

Discovery and Disagreement (Oct 1989)

Sisterly Advisement (Oct 1989)

Reconciliation (Nov 1989)

Words of Support (Dec 1989)

1990s

The Last Lesson (Jan 1990)

Facing Looming Threats (Jan 1990)

The Fateful Night (Jan 1990)

Hardships to Endure (Jan 1990)

The Curse of Cypress (Sept 1986/Jan 1990)

A Fresh Start (Jan-Feb 1990)

Foggy Future (Jan 1990)

A Knife in the Back (Jan 1990)

An Old Friend (Feb 1990)

A Little Birdie Told Me (Feb 1990)

One Step Forward, Two Steps Back (Mar 1990)

New Day, New Fight (Mar 1990)

Mind Games (Mar 1990)

The Night Before The Battle (Apr 1990)

Comfort Among the Owls (May 1990)

Dwindling Hope (May 1990)

Reflected in the Stars (June 1990)

Deserved Reunions (July 1990)

Dried Tears (July 1990)

The Wonders of Family Dinners (Aug 1990)

The Days of Respite (Aug 1990)

Twin Trouble (Mar 1991)

The Backstage of Quidditch (May 1991)

Arriving in Manaus (June 1991)

Succession (June 1991)

Suspicious Intentions (May 1992)

The Lost That Went Unmourned (Dec 1992)

Acceptance and Trust (Aug 1994)

Accidental Apparation (Mar 1996)

The Herbologist and the Beater (Dec 1996)

2000s

An Unexpected Visitor (2001)

Loss and Love (Feb 2003)

Found Family (Sept 2003)

The Orphaned Scurlock (Dec 2003)

A Beater’s Bat (Nov 2004)

The Surprises of Fate (May 2007)

Entering the Magic (Sept 2008)

The Search for Ivy Warrington (Sept 2008)

2010s

Strengthened Bonds (Nov 2010)

McGonagall’s Announcement (Sept 2011)

A Holiday Surprise (Dec 2011)

The Puppeteer of Hogsmeade (Dec 2011)

Quaint Cafe (Nov 2012)

The Lords of Wotton Manor (Aug 2013)

Grandmother’s Necklace (Nov 2015)

Farewells and Welcome Backs (Aug 2018/Dec 2018)

[melodymidway]

Hyacinth the Seer & Unspeakable

1887-????

Hyacinth Ellington is the daughter of Walter Ellington and Lorna Lovegood, as well as the younger sister of Basil and Farrah Ellington.

Born on March 9th, 1887, she is a Pureblood witch and a member of the Ravenclaw House.

Hyacinth is taciturn and timid, but also highly intelligent and observant. Having inherited her maternal family's inclination for providence, she masters it under the guidance of Mudiwa Onai. While she is capable of making prophecies, her abilities are more intuitive. They often cause people to feel uneasy, especially if what she predicts isn't positive.

As an adult, Hyacinth decides to work for the Department of Mysteries, taking care of the Hall of Prophecy.

Hyacinth can foresee both casual details and important events, including a person's fate. For instance, she tells Aurelia Hearst that her curse will eventually be put to an end, however, not by Aurelia herself. She also senses darkness when she first holds her niece, Mariam Ellington, which enrages her brother and causes a rift.

She is married to Archibald Bickle. Though her marriage raises many eyebrows, including her own family's, as Archie is a Half-Blood and not a wizard of high standing, she cares more about love and understanding than social status. They have a son, Alfred Lorin Bickle, named after Archie's father and Hyacinth's mother.

Aurelia belongs to @helenadurazzo

[melodymidway]

Beynon the Astronomy Professor

1106-1148

Beynon de Braose is the fourth of the five sons of Alphonse and Maude de Braose.

Born on February 20th, 1106, he is a Pureblood wizard and a member of the Ravenclaw House.

Named after Eirlys Eynon, his great-great-grandmother, Beynon inherits both her curse and her extreme love for Hogwarts. Reserved and studious from his very childhood, he dedicates himself fully to Astronomy, eventually becoming a professor and also the Head of Ravenclaw. While the birth order places him far enough in the line of succession, his brothers all die early with no legitimate sons on their own, which forces Beynon to leave Hogwarts in order to lead the family. His natural melancholy turns into a full-fledged depression, and his brothers' voices drive him insane. One day, he returns to Hogwarts, presumably for a short visit, and ends up throwing himself off the Astronomy Tower. He is buried near the school and becomes a ghost.

He is arranged to be married to a lady by the name of Petronilla, and they have two sons, Dinadan and Homer de Braose. The boys are both at Hogwarts when their father commits suicide and catch a glimpse of his body.

[melodymidway]

Stanley the Healer for the Auror Office

1880-1977

Stanley Midway, also known as Stan, is the only son of Ignatius Midway and Sylvia Dunbar.

Born on July 31st, 1880, he is a Pureblood wizard and a member of the Gryffindor House.

Stanley is a good-natured and sincere wizard with his own sort of bravery that, however, is often hidden behind insecurity. While he receives the traditional Midway training in duelling and is quite good at it, he prefers calmer activities by the likes of reading and brewing potions. It is a source of disappointment for his father who, despite not pushing him for the position of the Midway heir, still has high expectations. Stanley feels obliged to choose Auror for a career, but when Aesop Sharp recommends him to try Healing instead, he decides to give it a try and ends up working as a Healer for the Auror Office, and as a Mediwizard during the war against Grindelwald. He is one of the Healers who attempt to save Archibald Midway's life when he is cursed during a battle, but fail.

He is married to Cressida Blume, and they have two children, Elliot and Euphemia Midway.

[melodymidway]

Harper the Hit Witch

1877-????

Harper Midway is the daughter of Edgar Midway and Tamsin Bones. She is the younger sister of Griffith and Autumn Midway, as well as the older sister of Mabel Midway.

Born on December 27th, 1877, she is a Pureblood witch and a member of the Gryffindor House.

Harper is famously bold and ambitious, doing her best to excel in all the Hogwarts disciplines. She is the only Midway of her generation to play Quidditch. Her confrontational nature, competitive spirit and sharp tongue result in her being disliked by many, including Crandall Scurlock. Even her relationship with her future husband is initially based on rivalry. Harper is a brilliant dueller and enjoys risk, which results in her becoming a Hit Witch.

She is married to Isaac Blishwick, and they have two children, Loriel and Jago Blishwick.

Crandall Scurlock belongs to @helenadurazzo

[helenadurazzo]

An Unlikely Pair

Helena finds herself teaming up with Ismelda to help the latter confess her feelings to Barnaby Lee. Not only is it awkward due to Helena and Ismelda not getting along in the past, but also because Barnaby is Helena’s ex boyfriend

Theme: Unlikely Duo

Characters: Helena Tremblay (OC) and Ismelda Murk

Note: Part Two of this story (The Love Potion) is coming out tomorrow for those who are interested in a continuation

The Midways belong to @melodymidway

@hphm-fandom-events

Helena Tremblay’s POV, April 1989

Helena expected a calm walk as she headed outside with Andre after their transfiguration class with the Hufflepuffs. Classes weren’t the same without her brother but she kept motivated with the truth that they would free him, they had to. And with Melody heading over to practice her dueling with Bill, it was just her and Andre. Her eyes traveled over to quite a large crowd gathered in a corner of the courtyard. Normally, she would avoid such crowds, especially when she had better things to do, but her ears heard something that caught her attention.

“If you won’t say sorry I’ll make you.” An individual who Helena couldn’t put a name to taunted.

“Give it back you git!” Helena heard Ismelda demand with a growl.

Helena turned to Andre who had also was looking at the scene, “What do you think is going on?” She asked in a hushed tone.

“I’m not quite sure to be honest.” He shrugged. “But whatever it is it’s drawn a crowd, come on.”

As they approached and weaved their way through the crowd, it gave Helena more context. Emily Tyler, dressed in her fancy pink clothing rather than her school robes held a book, a diary of sorts, and was gleefully flipping through the pages. She had cornered Ismelda Murk who stood rather helplessly. Normally Helena would have expected Ismelda to fight back yet something seemed to stop her and Helena was perplexed on what that would be.

“What’s this?” Helena heard Emily’s voice once again, “Don’t tell me it’s a love letter!”

Ismelda clenched her fists, “If you read one more word, I swear-“

“Oh please.” Emily smirked confidently, expressing her superiority as a seventh year over the fifth year. “You can’t stop me. And you know it. Now let’s see.” Emily cleared her throat as if she was about to give an important speech as she started to read out the love letter for all to hear. “*I watch you from afar, wishing for the day you finally look my way. For your eyes are a forest I’d willingly lose myself in, your smile a beacon of light in the darkness. I’ve yearned to tell you how I really feel, to stop hiding behind my poisoned tongue. Because I love you, Barnaby*. This is hilarious!” Emily exclaimed. “How daft are you? To think Barnaby, or anyone for that matter, would like someone like you? I mean look at you! A greasy haired, spotty faced toad who smells like she never bathes. Give me a break.”

“Ismelda has a crush on Barnaby?” Andre whispered to Helena as her eyes seemed glued to the scene in front of her. “That’s a pairing I couldn’t have predicted. Though I thought the way she teased him seemed suspicious.”

Helena didn’t look at him, only listening to Emily as she continued on. “This is undoubtedly the most pathetic thing I’ve ever read! I’m almost embarrassed for you! It didn’t even rhyme! Aren’t the weird ones supposed to at least be ‘creative’. Honestly you should be thanking me. You’d make a fool of yourself if you actually gave this to him”

Helena broke her daze with a shake of her head, “I can’t watch this anymore.”

“Helena, wait-“ Andre attempted to stop her, but Helena was already walking towards Emily and Ismelda. Standing firmly in between the two of them, facing the Seventh Year Gryffindor with all the confidence she could muster.

“That is enough!” Helena glared daggers. “Give Ismelda her book back, Emily.”

“Excuse me?” Emily seemed rather appalled by the proposition. “Who do you think you are defending that piece of filth! She was rude to me! And why should I? Last time I checked, you two aren’t friends, though I doubt she has many friends at all, not like me.”

“Because you have gone way too far.” Helena narrowed her eyes, she disliked Ismelda as much as the next person, but no one deserved such public embarrassment.

At long last, Andre came to her side, standing confidently next to Helena, “We aren’t afraid to report this to the professors. But I suppose if you hand over the diary we could just sweep this under the rug”

“Whatever.” Emily rolled her eyes, “I’ve done my day’s work, she can have her lame book back.” She added, and rather than handing it over, she threw it on the ground like a piece of rubbish. She then turned to her so called friends, like a ridiculous queen commanding her delusionaly loyal subjects, “Let’s go”

Helena shook her head with distaste. Once Emily was out of her sight, she picked up the diary and gestured it towards Ismelda, “Here you go.”

“I didn’t ask for your help.” Ismelda gritted her teeth as she snatched her diary back. “Or your pity.”

“But Ismelda we just-“ Andre attempted to explain.

“I SAID I DIDN’T NEED YOUR HELP!” Ismelda yelled so loud Helena swore the creatures in the forbidden forest could hear her, “Just leave me alone!” Ismelda demanded before making a swift exit, not giving them another glance.

Helena sighed as her eyes followed Ismelda as she left. She didn’t follow her, she didn’t want to be on the other end of a curse after all. But that vulnerability wasn’t what she had expected, and it was rather peculiar.

~~

Helena walked into the Great Hall alone for an early dinner. She planned to study for her Transfigutation exam the next day, especially since the subject wasn’t her strong suit. As she looked over towards the Ravenclaw table to find a suitable seat that could ensure her quick meal. An unwelcome voice caught her off guard.

“Tremblay!” Merula Snyde called out loudly causing Helena to flinch.

Helena sighed, knowing she couldn’t avoid what was to come, “What is it now Merula?” She asked in as kindly and patient of a tone she could muster.

Merula suspiciously narrowed her eyes in an accusatory fashion, “What did you do to Ismelda?”

“I did nothing!” Helena insisted, “I swear!”

Unluckily for her, Merula was clearly not convinced, “I know it was you or Midway who did something! She’s acting even stranger than normal”

Helena could tell Ismelda didn’t tell Merula of what happened in the Courtyard, and it puzzled her. They had always seemed to be friends since their early Hogwarts Days, yet it seemed Ismelda refused to be honest to her, perhaps it was for the best. “Merula, please, it was-“

“Don’t lie and push the blame.” Merula threatened her causing Helena to instinctively take back, not wanting to start a duel. “I know the truth will come. It is only a matter of time.”

Helena sighed with frustration as Merula stormed out of the Great Hall. Though she did know such behavior was in character. Merula had always antagonized her, her brother, and especially Melody. Everything that went wrong, Merula always placed the blame on them. Merula acted like she was strong and powerful, yet if Ismelda wasn’t being honest with her, how strong were Merula’s alliances truly were?

“Helena?” The voice of Ismelda broke Helena out of her own mind’s questions, causing Helena to turned to look at Ismelda who sat alone at the corner of the Slytherin table.

“Yes?” Helena asked as she hesitantly walked over, hovering over Ismelda, secretly hoping for a quick discussion. Yet it was rare for Ismelda to be like this to anyone, and it made her curious.

“I wanted to say…” Ismelda gulped. “for standing up to Emily for me… th… tha… than… look don’t make me say it”

“It’s alright.” Helena accepted Ismelda’s peculiar expression of gratitude. “I get the point and you’re welcome. But I thought you said you didn’t need anyone’s help. Or rather, yelled”

Ismelda sighed, was she regretting that? “I suppose I say a lot of things that I don’t mean”

After a few moments of silence and flimsy eye contact, Helena awkwardly cleared her throat. “Well… if that’s all you want I-“

“Wait!” Ismelda called out as Helena was about to head towards the Ravenclaw table.

Helena turned her head. Ismelda looked quite embarrassed, still not looking at her directly, as if she was trying to figure out what she wanted, “Yes?”

“I hate to admit this.” Ismelda started as Helena took a seat across from her, not bothering to stand when she knew this encounter would be longer than she initially planned, and at the very least, she wanted to act like a decent person who wasn’t in a rush. “but I’m desperate. The truth is… I need someone to talk to. And I was hoping that could be you”

“Me?” Helena was flabbergasted, why her out of everyone? “Why? It’s not like we are friends. Wouldn’t you rather talk to someone like Merula”

Ismelda only shook her head. “I can’t talk to Merula about any of this, not truthfully. She’d only mock me. Although I did try asking the Bloody Baron but he refused to comment. You’re the only one who’s really approached or talked to me recently. And if anyone could help me with Barnaby, I suppose it would be you”

The whole situation was awkward and the fact that Helena had once dated Barnaby herself had added to that. Barnaby was a nice guy, and Helena could see why someone would fancy him. She wondered how long Ismelda had felt this way, perhaps it went even back to when she herself was dating Barnaby, was she jealous? Maybe? But eventually, while Helena enjoyed her time with Barnaby, she found herself not being fulfilled and initiated for them to go their separate ways, Barnaby deserved someone who could love him truly without hesitation, the way she currently loved Erika. And now Ismelda pondered if Ismelda could be that person for him

While Helena was confident she knew what was being implied, she had to be sure, “Is this about what happened in the courtyard with Emily?”

Ismelda shyly but honestly nodded, “The more I thought about what she said, the lore I realized she is probably right. The only way Barnaby would like someone like me is if he was forced”

“Wow…” Helena breathed out, and upon Ismelda’s glare she was quick to apologize, “sorry, it’s just, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you talk like this before.”

“Yeah, well don’t get used to it” Ismelda rolled her eyes, but then putting her hand to her face as she sighed. “Ugh, that came out wrong. It’s just… ugh can we talk or not?”

“I suppose I can hear you out at least.” Helena shrugged not seeing why she should reject. As much as she disagreed with Ismelda, she couldn’t help but feel for someone who was showcasing vulnerability, even if that was going to be a rare, once in a life time occurrence. “So… you want to confess to Barnaby?”

“I guess I have to try.” Ismelda attempted to muster some confidence but it quickly faded, “but what’s the point. You heard what Emily said about me… and it’s all true. Why would anyone love me?”

“If you confess.” Helena pondered out loud, “You will finally know if he feels the same. And perhaps he will, you two have been friends for a while… I think.”

“I suppose you could say that.” Ismelda weakly confirmed, supporting Helena’s own uncertainty, “I hate to say it, but you make sense. I won’t know how Barnaby reacts until I confess. I just don’t know how. I’ve fancied him for years. But I’ve never been able to tell him, and he was dating you for the longest time. How did you get him to date you?”

“I guess I just tried to be myself.” Helena admitted to answer the difficult question. Yet she wasn’t even sure if it was true, for it was also trying to figure out who she was which led her to break up with Barnaby in the end, it was all still very confusing, but all Helena knew was she was happy with where she was now, truly loving Erika. Helena sighed, it wouldn’t be like her if she stopped someone from trying to figure out who they were and what they wanted, especially if it could change them for the better, “Fine, I’ll help you. We might not be friends but you shouldn’t be sulking around”

“Really?” Ismelda’s eyes - or eye rather since one of her eyes was blocked by her bangs - widened with pure surprise, “Guess I won’t need that im- never mind”

“The only problem is this might be too big of a job for me to do alone.” Helena told herself it was for the best that she didn’t think too hard on what Ismelda was originally going to say. She was Ismelda after all. And upon thinking of it further, a plan did come into motion, one she knew she would need assistance with, “Luckily, I know just the wizard for the job”

Ismelda shuddered and muttered under her breath, but Helena heard her, “Please don’t tell me it’s Egwu.”

“Don’t be like that.” Helena did her best to reassure her, “Andre is the most confident and stylish person I know. He has helped me with my relationships and I’m sure he can help you to. If anyone can raise your self esteem it’s him”

“He seems pretty shallow…” Ismelda admitted, “but I guess he was kind to me back in the courtyard, and it does seem like he knows what he’s doing. And if he’s willing to help me, I guess I’m willing to listen”

~~

Helena was quick to organize a meeting for the next day. Luckily with no classes that day, the places to meet drew exponentially once you made sure to not pick places where big crowds of people would be. Many classrooms would be freed up as Professors tended to stay in their quarters or offices and wouldn’t have known the difference. Even more so that the History of Magic classroom which was where her meet up with Ismelda and Andre would occur. And to Helena’s delight, he was already there, as fashionable as ever but surprisingly not fashionably late

“Thanks for meeting us here Andre.” Helena expressed her gratitude and she and Ismelda joined him at the round table. “Lucky for us Binns is out, so we shouldn’t be disturbed here”

“No need to thank me.” Andre insisted. “I’m always up for a makeover. I’ve been wanting to brush that hair out of her face since we were first years. This might be the toughest case I’ve yet to face but I am determined to succeed”

“I suppose that could help.” Helena quickly spoke before Ismelda could threaten Andre for her fashion choices, causing her to slump back in her chair, “But I was hoping you could also help Ismelda work on her confidence so she can confess her feelings”

Ismelda sighed, her dark green eyes directed towards Helena, “You are lucky he overheard everything in the courtyard or I’d place a silencing charm on you Tremblay with that blabbering mouth of yours.”

“Don’t be embarrassed Ismelda.” Andre soothingly assured her, “I think it’s nice that you have a crush on Barnaby. You two have the potential to be quite the couple, especially with the right outfits.”

The Slytherin’s eyes narrowed at the Ravenclaw guy, “Give me one good reason I shouldn’t cast a Memory Charm on you right now”

“Because I can design you a fancy dress for your first date?” Andre patiently pointed out, “I have had plenty of happy customers, take Helena here as an example. I designed her outfits for her dates with Barnaby and now with Erika.”

Imelda pondered the thought in silence for a few moments. Eventually her own words interrupted the silence she created, “Could it be the color of blood and have skulls all over it?”

“I guess?” Andre confirmed with a puzzled look on his face. Helena guessed he was trying to sketch out an idea in his head, something that he was struggling with greatly. “If that’s what you want I could make it work…”

“Deal.” Ismelda gave a rare smile.

Helena took a sigh of relief as things were going much smoother than she initially worried they wouldn’t, perhaps helping Ismelda wasn’t the worst thing in the world. And now there was only one thing left to do, “Now that that’s settled, let’s get a plan in order”

[helenadurazzo]

Words of Support

Chiara is heartbroken after a misunderstanding and bad timing causes a rift to form between her and Leathan. It is something that Leathan’s twin sister, Lileas notices, and knowing her brother didn’t mean any harm, tries to close the distance by telling Chiara some long awaited information.

Theme: Girls Supporting Girls

Characters: Lileas MacFusty (OC) and Chiara Lobosca

@hphm-fandom-events

Lileas MacFusty’s POV, December 1989

Lileas MacFusty walked through the castle’s cold corridors and a particularly chilly winter day. She wore heavy winter clothes and her Gryffindor scarf to relax by watching the snow fall, perhaps it was just what her racing mind needed. She had to figure out how to help her brother and Chiara after that horrid misunderstanding.

Lileas knew her brother, and knew exactly why he reacted the way he did when he found out she was a werewolf. The death of their older brother Radley never faded from either of their minds, witnessing the tragedy when they were just six years old. They both carried different fears and were changed after it. Lileas was always petrified in the face of fire, especially when it was uncontrollable flames that burned anything and everything in its path. But for Leathan he feared beasts such as dragons, it was quite ironic as the MacFustys were known by the wizarding world as being a dragonologist family. Leathan never took Care of Magical Creatures, claiming that the small and calm creatures weren’t worth having to study dangerous magical creatures. And in his eyes, werewolves reminded him of that destructive dragon that took Radley away from them.

Suddenly Lileas spotted the silvery haired Hufflepuff sitting alone in the cold. She work a grey winter coat, a Hufflepuff scarf and a winter hat. She seemed to be doing nothing in particular, like being stuck in a daze while try to contemplate everything. Lileas couldn’t imagine her struggle, having to live with such a secret, fearing to share it for this very reason. She likely felt hurt, even though it wasn’t Leathan’s intention. Both of them deserved happiness, one that a misunderstanding wouldn’t snatch away from them.

Lileas breathed to retain her confidence as she got over her hesitation and walked over to Chiara. She had to say something, she couldn’t just let her peer suffer in silence. Chiara was no monster, and Lileas knew that.

“Hey.” Lileas started, trying to stay firm in her mission as Chiara looked up at her with her bright blue eyes, but they seemed dimmer than usual. “Could I sit with you?”

Chiara was silent for a long few moments and Lileas was sure she would reject her request, but luckily for her it wasn’t the case, “Sure.” Chiara gave in, having already turned her head back to the sky and the falling snow.

Lileas looked at the silvery haired Hufflepuff. She seemed lost, confused, and hurt, even if she tried to hide it in the presence of others, “You know you have people who care for you.” Lileas gently reminded her, “right?”

“So you know.” Chiara’s eyes widened as her face turned to Lileas, she gave a mixture of a sigh and a groan, “Leathan told you didn’t he? I should’ve known…”

“He told no one else.” Lileas assured her confidently. “I actually might have pushed it out of him. I couldn’t stand his sulking, it’s hard to see him struggle. Look, I know it’s hard to believe but-“

“He loved me didn’t he?” Chiara interrupted her, “Or… I suppose he used to. But now everything has changed. I didn’t think I would be able to feel loved, but Leathan gave me hope, I shouldn’t have let it take so firm of a hold of me. I shouldn’t have known he would have turned away the second he found out the truth. I am… a monster.”

“Don’t say that!” Lileas exclaimed. “You are not a monster and you know that. You can’t let the voices in your head or those of others who want to mock you tell you that. It isn’t true.”

“Then why.” Chiara firmly pressed. “If I am not a monster why would Leathan flee and ignore me as if I was one?”

“You need to trust me.” Lileas softly insisted, “It’s not you that Leathan is afraid of. It is what it reminded him of in the moment, and that brash memory is causing his distance. You deserve to know.”

“W-what do you mean?” Chiara’s eyes flickered like a diminishing flame of a candle. “What could he be afraid of it not me? It would be a simple explanation. Many are prejudiced against werewolves, it’s so common I wouldn’t have questioned it.”

Lileas closed her eyes and sighed as she braced herself for the story that was so hard to tell. “It happened when we were six years old. We used to have an older brother… his name was Radley, and he was two years older than us and the best older brother we could have asked for. Radley was with two of his friends outside when it happened, two muggle girls his age. We were inside with the rest of the family, Mum was preparing dinner, our maternal grandparents had even came to visit us, it was supposed to be a happy time, but it wasn’t. Radley showed his friends a dragon, not telling our parents his plan, but the dragon, it became rogue and attacked them with fierce flames. Grandmother stayed with us inside - she couldn’t have helped with even if she wanted to due to the smoke - while Dad, Mum, and Grandfather rushed out to try and save them. Yet Leathan and I, we just couldn’t look away. The dragon took Radley and one of his friends, his other one only survived because of our grandfather’s his sacrifice being symbolized by the burns on his body. From that day on, Leathan feared dragons, or anything monstrous really.”

“And he’s still scared…” Chiara realized.

Lileas nodded with gentleness. “But I think he is starting to realize that you are not like the dragon. You are more so a victim of your circumstance. One that he wouldn’t be able to protect. I believe he is afraid of losing you but is having trouble with communicating that. If you trust me on one thing, it’s this, don’t feel like he fears you, he doesn’t and he never has. He just needs time to take everything in. But deep down, he truly does care for you, and I want you both to be happy.”

Chiara shook with uncertainty. Her eyes looking down at the ground and her hands fidgeting as they rested on her lap. “Maybe that is true. But how would other people react? This is something I have to live with, something I have been living with. People like me have trouble achieving things, so many werewolves have to live in dark alleys and on the edges of societies, facing rejection at each and every corner. People see me as a monster, like Leathan initially saw me when he witnessed my transformation, it’s why I tried to hide it from him, I wasn’t ready to tell him, but bad timing forced my hand. All my life I have wanted to be a healer, but who would hire me if they knew the truth? How much longer do I need to wait until Leathan feels comfortable again?”

Lileas put her hang on Chiara’s in an attempt to comfort her. “I don’t know how long he will take but trust me, he will come around. He cares about you, I care about you. As for the rest of the world…” Lileas pondered on what to say and eventually formulated her words into coherent sentences, “People will always fear what they don’t understand and often won’t make an effort to understand it. But you should always fight for what you want, you deserve the chance to prove the world wrong. And I will certainly stand by your side, I am your friend after all.”

“Your loyalty would make me think you were a Hufflepuff.” Chiara attempted a lighthearted laugh to try and comfort herself, “But I am afraid it is easier said than done.”

“Perhaps.” Lileas partially agreed. “But always remember that the people who care about you will come around. They may take a while to show it, but they will come to your aid when you need it, and will show their support. Give Leathan the time, and he will come around as well. I know it.”

“I want to believe that.” Chiara expressed, “I wish I had your confidence.”

“You’ll see soon enough.” Lileas smiled, “The way you carry this makes you strong, stronger than a lot of people. It may be a secret strength, but it is strength nonetheless.”

Chiara suddenly hugged her and Lileas hugged her back, “Thank you.” Chiara whispered in Lileas’ ear, “For being a friend. I needed that.”

[melodymidway]

Eclipsa the Noblewoman & Dark Witch

1359-1423

Eclipsa de Braose is the daughter and only surviving child of Xystos and Nicola de Braose. She is the great-granddaughter of Burgess de Braose.

Born on December 2nd, 1359, she is a Pureblood witch and a Slytherin.

Eclipsa has the misfortune of living in the time of her family's downfall. The de Braoses play their cards wrong, and the financial frivolity of her parents worsen their standing further. Eclipsa, passionate about dark magic, secretly carries out assignments and performs rituals for money.

She manages to charm Cepheus Black and marries him, hoping to use his reputation and resources to restore the de Braose family to its former glory. As her husband is pliable and talentless in ruling, she succeeds, wielding the power on her own. However, she doesn't manage to give birth to a male heir, instead having four daughters: Braose, Vindemiatrix, Aquila and Helidora Black.

Eclipsa becomes the only cursed person whom Hephaestina is vaguely fond of. The voices barely bother her; instead, she and her family's tormentor discuss the dark arts. Eclipsa grows more and more obsessed with them as the time passes. Hephaestina encourages her to try new rituals, each more brutal than the last. One day, one of them backfires, killing Eclipsa.

Since none of her descendants eventually takes her surname, she is considered the last magical member of the de Braose family, with their manor becoming the property of the Blacks. However, her eldest daughter marries a distant Black cousin, continuing the line that would one day become noble and most ancient.

[helenadurazzo]

Hephaestina’s Curse

Lady Hephaestina

Pollux Gossamer

Mordecai Montague

Aglaia (née Montague) Delacour

Maëlys (née Delacour) Lunneaux

Auberon Lunneaux

Maximilian Lunneaux

Alodia (née Lunneaux) Orpington

Marcelin Page

Agrafina (née Finch) Delaney

Mortimer Delaney

Aurelia (née Osborn) Hearst

Melody Midway

Eirlys (née Eynon) De Braose

Beynon De Braose

Elfreda Cadwaladr Volant (née De Braose)

Burgess De Braose

Eclipsa (née De Braose) Black

[helenadurazzo]

Auberon the Plague Doctor

1340 - 1406

Son of Lambert and Melisende Lunneaux. He is a French wizard with a skill for medicine and healing. When the plague hit, he strived to help who he could. But he failed to stand everything as more of his patients succumbed to disease.

[melodymidway]

Farrah the Theatre Actress

1880-????

Farrah Ellington is the daughter of Walter Ellington and Lorna Lovegood. She is the younger sister of Basil Ellington and the older sister of Hyacinth Ellington.

Born on December 18th, 1880, she's a Pureblood witch and a member of the Ravenclaw House.

Eccentric and lively, Farrah is the one for easy smiles and friendly gestures. Another activity she manages to do effortlessly is donning the masks of various characters for her performances. Upon graduating from Hogwarts, she enters the Wizarding Academy of Dramatic Arts.

She is married to Amit Thakkar, and they have two children, Kavindu and Nainika Thakkar.

[helenadurazzo]

Trouble at Rookwood Castle

Odds are not in the favor for Phineas Hearst, his mentor, and the keepers. Previous professors, Percival Rackham and Charles Rookwood are convinced that the trials need to be hurried up. For his second trial, Phineas sets off for Feldcroft, but finds Rookwood Castle in a much worse state than it was even a few months prior.

Georgiana Wotton, who is briefly mentioned here, belongs to @melodymidway

Phineas Hearst’s POV, January 1897

Professor Fig must have sensed him the moment he walked into the Map Chamber because before Phineas knew it, his mentor turned to face him. His expression was warm, with a mixture of feeling quite relieved that he remained in one peace. Phineas admitted he was rather lucky for that, “There you are.” His professor remarked with a kindly smile

“Sorry for my tardiness.” Phineas apologized as he walked down the stairs to join his mentor in front of the four portraits of the keepers, “But I received your owl and was able to speak to Lodgok, he was the goblin I told you about before”

And luckily one who seemed to be genuine and trustworthy who was also brave enough to help him fight against Ranrok. Even though he had come across kind goblins plenty times before from his time in the surrounding area, many wouldn’t have dared to take a stand. Phineas couldn’t blame them though, not after all Ranrok, his loyalists, and allies did. But Lodgok, Lodgok was diffferent.

“Excellent.” Professor Fig remarked, “Did you learn anything?”

“He mentioned that he and Ranrok were close once” Phineas recalled, “but they had a falling out. Lodgok hasn’t elaborated much more than that but I feel like he will with time.”

“Do you believe he can be trusted?” His mentor gave him a concerned gaze, “I’d hate to see you get hurt if any part of this.”

“Yes, he is trustworthy.” Phineas firmly assured his professor with confidence, “He seems sincere and Sirona Ryan trusts him, that’s all I need to know. She has a way of knowing who is genuine and who is not. And she is part of the reason Rookwood and Harlow didn’t round me up at the Three Broomsticks a few months ago. I trust her judgement.”

“Very well.” His mentor nodded, giving him a nod that implied he was giving him his blessing to continue forward, “Do you think he can help us get to Ranrok?”

“I retrieved a stolen helm that he hopes to return to Ranrok to regain his confidence” Phineas replied, “It will be a good start if all goes well.”

“Sounds like you have been busy.” His mentor remarked with wide eyes, clearly Phineas had been up to more than he could have guessed, “Let’s hope these efforts are successful in helping us learning more about Ranrok’s plans”

“Likewise.” Phineas agreed “I hope Lodgok will soon be able to tell me what Ranrok, and Rookwood, are searching for.”

“They are searching for something?” The voice of a keeper sounded but it was not Percival Rackham. Upon turning from his mentor, Phineas observed the form of a new keeper, he recognized him though from his previous memories and looking at penseives. It was none other than Charles Rookwood, “I feared as much. I’ve heard an unusual amount of activity, goblins and wizards alike, when visiting my portrait at my castle”

“Rookwood Castle?” Phineas assumed.

“Yes” Professor Rookwood nodded in confirmation before continuing, “my former residence. That castle is also the location of your next trial”

“It seems like you know where that is.” Professor Fig observed as he looked at Phineas. “I suppose we don’t even need the map.”

Luckily it was a location Phineas was familiar with, at least more so than he was with San Bakar’s tower, and it was clear that Professor Fig noticed the recognition on his face. “Yes, Sebastian showed it to me once a couple of months ago when I visited Feldcroft with him and Georgiana. I know the path since it’s not too far from the main area of Feldcroft. Although when we had gone there we had to get through quite a few goblins. I expect something similar in a return to the castle.”

“I wish I could tell you more specifically but it is good you are aware.” Charles Rookwood lamented, “Back then, I couldn’t make myself known, if they did know my presence, my portrait could have been destroyed, severing my access to the location. I only recently returned there and did not recognize or trust anyone that I heard. I’m afraid we have no time to waste. Despite the obstacles that clearly await you, you must get to Rookwood Castle immediately. Not only is it the location of the next trial. It is home to a source of power that would be devastating in the wrong hands. I do wish we had the luxury of time, however I do not doubt your abilities thanks to what Percival has told me about you. Find my portrait there as soon as you can”

“Very well sir” Phineas agreed, “I will see you there”

As the figures of Percival Rackham and Charles Rookwood dismissed themselves, Phineas felt more determined than ever. But the look of his mentor’s face made him falter. “What is wrong professor?”

His mentor sighed regretfully, “I wish I could go with you, but I can’t reschedule my classes for the afternoon. At least not for enough time that would be needed to make it to Feldcroft. I’d hate for you to go alone if the accounts of Rookwood’s allies and Ranrok’s loyalists presence are true.”

“I can handle it.” Phineas confidently assured his professor, “And besides I’m done with classes for the day, I can handle this. I will see you soon Professor”

“Very well.” Professor Fig reluctantly allowed him, “Be careful.”

~~

Venturing through the Scottish Highlands, particularly the hamlets that were so close to Hogwarts was always so freeing. Luckily there was no trouble along the way to Feldcroft. Although Phineas figured if he had strayed too far off the dirt path than that would have been a far different story, and one he didn’t want to read. Yet upon getting to Feldcroft, after narrowly avoiding any suspicions gazes, Phineas set his eyes on the ruined castle and continued onward.

He cast a disillusionment charm on himself as he got closer. It was no invisibility cloak, but it was the best way one could sneak around without being noticed. And it would provide him enough time to figure out a plan, along with casting Petrificus Totallus on a few unsuspecting enemies.

“Absurd isn’t it?” Phineas overheard a goblin remark, causing him to stop to eavesdrop to see if he could gain any useful information, “Ranrok wants us to find the child, but which child? This area is filled with ‘em! Especially with that school so close by.”

“We could take every child we find to Ranrok.” Another goblin suggested, “Eventually we may get to the right one”

“Sounds like a lot of work.” The first goblin replied with disinterest, “Perhaps we just tell him we looked but didn’t see them. If he asks.”

“But what if he finds out?” The second goblin asked.

“The key word to that statement is-“

Phineas skillfully cut the goblins off by casting Petrificus Totallus on them both. He quietly chuckled at how ironic it was. The so called ‘child’ they needed to bring to their master could swiftly bring them into submission. It was almost too easy.

He carefully observed the main entrance into Rookwood Castle. Phineas quickly confirmed that it wouldn’t be a wise choice to enter that way. Not only were there many other goblins present there, but there was no way to tell how many were inside. Sure, he was a skilled dueler, especially when it came to stealth and offensive spells, but he could still easily be overwhelmed if there were too many opponents.

Phineas’ eyes gleamed with satisfaction as he identified his way into the castle. Not too far up was an open hole in the wall, likely broken from a previous duele or just age and mismanagement. While maintaining the disillusionment charm on himself, Phineas discretely levitated a few crates to help him climb up into the castle. Yet his satisfaction from his achievement didn’t last long as his guard went back up as he heard the sound of another unwelcomely familiar voice.

The timbre of the voice belonged to none other than Victor Rookwood, and it was clear he wasn’t alone, “If I’d known your plan was to dig up half the country-“

Ranrok gritted his teeth in annoyance, “I wouldn’t have to dig if you could simply bring me the child. Is that too difficult of a task for you once again?”

“We wouldn’t need the child if you hadn’t sent a dragon to retrieve the container.” Victor Rookwood pointed out.

“You let them board the carriage with that container.” Ranrok firmly fought back, his words like sharp blades, “My options were limited once I knew it would be inconveniently beyond my reach at that infernal school. There was no other way.”

“Have you not acquired enough power here?” Victor Rookwood almost pleaded, it was clear that they were digging for something, something powerful. “I allowed you to tunnel under my family home-“

“Allowed me?” Ranrok glared “You are here only because you are descended from a keeper and may at some point inadvertently become valuable. Now, unless you want another demonstration of my power, one that you will never reach, bring me the child. Come now, it is time to send out another search group. The child is near, I know it.”

Phineas finally felt able to take off the disillusionment charm once Victor Rookwood and Ranrok went back outside of the castle. Hopefully they intended to stay out there long enough to give him the time he needed. The quicker he could find Charles Rookwood’s portrait, the sooner the second trial could commence. He strived to keep going, even though the sight of what seemed to be a place that stored some sort of power caught him off guard. It glowed an unsettling red, like the collar that was on the dragon that attacked him at the beginning of the school year. It was clear that it was too late to preserve what remained.

Suddenly a far more comforting voice broke Phineas out of his stupor, “Ah, I hoped that was you”

Phineas’ eyes lit up as he looked in the direction of the voice, it was indeed Charles Rookwood, and relief flooded his body as he made his way over to the portrait frame, but there was still no time to truly relax. And as much as he hated to be the bearer of bad news, it needed to be done, “Professor Rookwood. The goblins and dark wizards who have overrun your castle are digging for sources of magic. And they broke open some sort of large container. It looked nearly empty”

“No!” Professor Rookwood exclaimed horrified, apparently it was a worse outcome than Phineas had initially assumed, “Things are more dire than I could have imagined”

“And I fear it only gets worse.” Phineas regretfully continued, “They know you are a keeper. I overheard Ranrok talking with Victor, your descendant. He said to him that it was the only reason he was tolerating him. There is most certainly an alliance, but it is intense. And likely could shatter at any moment if either of them makes the wrong move against the other.”

Professor Rookwood appeared baffled as he tried to think of an explanation for everything, “This makes no sense. How did-? We shall discuss this later, we are only wasting our own time. Right now you must complete the next trial”

“Very well Professor” Phineas obeyed, “tell me where I need to go”

“Just over there. Charles Rookwood motioned. “Command the traces of ancient magic like you did for the previous one back at San Bakar’s Tower”

Phineas nodded and did as he was told. Upon using his wand, he allowed the traces of magic to swirl and reveal a new path, indeed it was quite similar to the previous trial. He didn’t look back, there was no time. And luckily the door into this hidden away would close behind him, preventing him from being followed by anyone who might be watching him. He looked over his shoulder, and luckily there was no one who had gotten inside.

Phineas recognized many of similar techniques that were placed in this trial that he observed in the previous one. Considering how Charles Rookwood did help Percival Rackham in creating Vault Number Twelve at Gringotts, it made sense that they borrowed techniques from each other in the design of their trials. Like how both had the moving platforms and those peculiar arches that caused the rooms to shift depending on which way you entered it. With it being simple enough to figure out which orientation was which and how to summon it since one side of the arch glowed blue, and the other glowed red.

Unfortunately, there was also about just as many of those knights as there were in Rackham’s trial. It wasn’t that Phineas couldn’t handle it, it just got quite a bit repetitive. Luckily he was able to recall the methods and spells that worked so well against the knights in the past, typically having a fiery element to them like Incendio, Bombarda, and Confringo. And of course it was always wise to be ready to use a charm to create a shield around him to defend himself against the knights if they striked him unexpectedly.

After facing the final and largest knight. The new room was much more calm, almost serene. Similar to the previous trial, the main feature of this room, that ensured it was the final one, was the present of a penseive. And it was certainly one that would enlighten Phineas further of the story he was learning.

~~

Phineas found himself looking at a Scottish Hamlet, likely Feldcroft. Percival Rackham, Charles Rookwood, and the other two keepers were making their way into the quaint dwelling. Night was falling on the Highlands so it made sense that they were all traveling in a group, although they could most certainly all handle themselves if conflict were to arise.

As they approached their desired location, Charles Rookwood spoke which gave Phineas the context he needed, “I must say I’m curious to hear more about Isadora’s travels”

Isidora Morganach must have been sensing their arrival since she immediately opened the door to greet her fellow professors, “You made it! Do come in.” She motioned towards a table, “Please have a seat”

“Isidora” Professor Rackham started after clearing his throat. “we are all most intrigued to hear- Isidora?” He repeated upon noticing that she wasn’t looking at him, or any of the group of four for that matter. Instead, she was looking into another opened door, one that likely led to a bedroom of the house.

“We’re ready” Isidora informed the person beyond the doorframe before turning back to her colleagues with a proud smile, “I’ve something to show you.” She explained as a man walked - or rather limped - out of the room, and rather emotionlessly at that. Isidora Morganach turned to the older man with a fond smile, “Father, these are my colleagues from Hogwarts, Percival, Niamh, San, and Charles.” She introduced each but her father didn’t seem to acknowledge her words. And while Isidora did seem saddened, she didn’t seemed surprised, and she enlightened her colleagues on why, “Father hasn’t spoken since my brother died. On my travels, I confirmed that which I’ve already believed. That we have the power to take away pain”

“Isadora…” Percival Rackham breathed as Isidora went with her demonstration, pointing her wand at her father’s chest and extracting something from it, some sort of magic that had an ethereal look to it, one unlike Phineas had ever seemed before. Although it did remind him of some of the traces of magic he had seen before, “what are you… what have you done…”

Isidora didn’t respond at first. Only commanding the magic with her wand and placing it within a jar, carefully sealing it. Looking at the trapped magic with a satisfied smile, “I took his pain”

Yet Professor Rackham didn’t seem impressed given his stiffened posture, “This is uncharted magic Isidora. You can only see what has been sealed in that jar. And we do not know what power that may hold. But the traces of that magic are different that what I have seen before”

But Isidora didn’t respond, she didn’t even look at them, at any of the keepers. Instead her gaze was set on her father. And he finally spoke for the first time in the vision, a simple “Thank you” which caused Isidora to break out into a grateful and relieved smile.

Upon that final scene. Phineas found himself back in the real world. It was quite perplexing, and was clear that there were multiple perspectives to be explored. He had wished there was a way to learn more about Isidora and her intentions, she seemed genuine, and didn’t want to cause harm. But for now, he would have to suffice with the words the keepers gave him.

~~

“You’re back!” Professor Rackham greeted Phineas energetically as he made his way back into the map chamber.

“And in one piece no less.” Professor Rookwood acknowledge with pride, “It is good to see you again.”

“Professor Rookwood told me about what happened at Rookwood Castle” Professor Rackham revealed. Phineas supposed it was for the best, he didn’t have the energy to elaborate on that in great detail to the keepers’ portraits anyways.

Professor Rookwood’s proud smile didn’t fade when he resumed his words, “In light of the dire circumstances in which we find ourselves. It is most fortunate that someone so competent is following this path”

“Thank you Professor.” Phineas smiled as he accepted their compliments.

“Now” Professor Rackham interjected politely but with an urge to continue “are you ready to move on”

“Yes” Phineas nodded, “but first, what was that glowing strand that Isadora pulled from her father’s chest?”

“It was a manifestation of pain.” It was the answer Phineas had expected, but his eyes widened anyways, “It is hard to explain but you will learn more during the trials”

“Very well then.” Phineas suppressed his frustration and internally told himself to be patient.

“In that case” Professor Rookwood continued, “introductions are in order. Allow me to introduce former Hogwarts Headmistress, Niamh Fitzgerald”

Phineas recognized the headmistress from the visions. She was a proud woman who likely led Hogwarts quite well during her days despite her relatively young age, “How do you do?” The headmistress greeted him, “I must say that I was not entirely surprised to learn that a student has been completing the trials. I’ve always believed Hogwarts students are capable of anything they set their minds to. Anyone who underestimates and cross them, will find themselves sorely mistaken”

“Thank you Professor.” Phineas smiled politely, “It’s a pleasure to meet you as well”

“I am certain that you are more than capable of completing my trial.” The headmistress expressed with confidence, “However, I must first - how shall I say - prepare the location”

“We trust your judgement Professor Fitzgerald.” Professor Rackham assured her, “You should know better than anyone how to manage the inconvenience of, well…”

“That vainglorious and exasperating headmaster?” The headmistress finished with a knowingly raised eyebrow, “Indeed, I should. Now, I shall confirm everything is in order immediately”

[helenadurazzo]

No Time to Waste

Phineas returns to the Map Chamber with the book and learns the truth of the room. After being trusted by the first keeper, he receives the first of four trials

Phineas Hearst’s POV, November 1896

“Professor Fig!” Phineas rushed into his mentor’s office with a smile with little restraint, “You’re back!” He cheered as the anticipation finally was over

“Finally.” Professor Fig was exhausted by the looks of it and his tone, “Minister Spavin talks more than he listens. He Ranted on and on about rogue dragons but would not listen to a word about Rookwood and his accomplices. Speaking of which-“

“Listen professor.” Phineas interrupted him abruptly, “So much happened while you were away in London. Firstly, Scrope wanted me to help him find a ring belong to the Black Family”

“The Headmaster’s House Elf?” Professor Fig raised in eyebrow in surprise.

“Yes, didn’t find the ring but I did find something else.” Phineas rapidly nodded as he continued explaining, “Initially, Scrope figured I could also find the missing pages in Apollonia’s grotto but then I ran into the ghost of Richard Jackdaw, who was in love with Apollonia Black when he was alive.”

“Who on earth is Richard Jackdaw?” Professor Fig was utterly confused, as if he was hit by oblivio or stupefy.

“He was a student here long ago.” Phineas added simply, “Anyway, he told me about a secret cavern. I went there, and right next to Jackdaw’s skeleton I found the missing pages from the book we found in the restricted section.”

It was the first time Phineas saw Professor Fig smile that day, “Splendid!”

“And that’s not all.” Phineas fueled his inner fascination, “I was also able to use them to find the location on the map. Believe it or not, it’s in a room below Hogwarts. I can show it to you, but we need the book.”

Professor Fig chuckled, “Why am I not surprised. This school is full of secrets. Shall we?”

“I was hoping you’d say that.” Phineas beamed.

~~

“To think it was beneath us all this time.” Professor Fig looked around with wide eyes as they entered the Map Chamber, meanwhile Phineas was glad they were able to find a less, giant spider-filled way to get to the hidden room. It would surely come in handy if he needed to come to the Map Chamber again.

“We need to place the book here.” Phineas motioned to the pedestal, which conveniently glowed as he instructed his professor.

“It certainly looks promising.” Professor Fig followed along, carefully placing the old book when the light was shining on the center of the surface of the pedestal, which create similar symbols of swirling, liquid-like magic with beams that went towards the circular floor, creating an image, Phineas looked with eyes that surely got to the size of galleons, it was a map of Hogwarts and areas beyond it seemed from that distance of the low balcony.

Professor Fig rushed down the stairs with a surprising amount of speed as Phineas followed him, albeit more slowly, “A map…” he looked around, pointing to various parts, “There’s Hogsmeade. And over here the Forbidden Forest. And of course Hogwarts. It’s magnificent.”

Suddenly Professor Rackham appeared in his frame again and Phineas rushed over to the frame, the map splashing around like invisible water as he did, “Hello, Professor Rackham.” He politely greeted with a slight bow, “We have placed the book on the pedestal as you asked.” He then motioned to his favorite Professor, “I’d like to introduce you to someone. This is my mentor, Professor Fig.”

“Wondrous.” Percival Rackham smiled as he looked carefully at his mentor, “How do you do Professor Fig?”

“Very well.” His mentor exclaimed, “This chamber is unlike any I’ve seen.”

“That it is.” The portrait chuckled before turning to Phineas, “Now young Hearst, do you now see why you needed to return with the book?”

“I do.” Phineas proudly declared. “I also see why you refer to this place as the Map Chamber, the book truly did explain this room’s secrets.”

“The fact that you have come this far tells me that you possess an extraordinary affinity and ability for magic.” Professor Rackham went on, “The potential and power of which will unlock, should you prove yourself worthy. The location of each four trials will, in time, appear on the map. They will test you and your abilities, while simultaneously giving you access to invaluable knowledge to place you on a right and just path. Trials, that you must complete on your own.”

“I should have seen that coming.” Phineas muttered to himself.

Luckily, the painted figure did not appear to hear his words, “Do you recall the Pensieve memory you viewed in my vault in Gringotts?”

“If I remember it correctly.” Phineas began, “You and your friend Charles… Rookwood.” It has been the first time he truly realized the surname matched with a certain infamous dark wizard, Phineas shook his head to let the thought escape, he was probably paranoid, he hoped, surely Professor Rackham would not trust a bad man, “you two spoke of the portkey, and of trials that you had created for one who could see traces of ancient magic.”

“Precisely.” Professor Rackham gave an impressed glance, “You will meet Charles soon, he is another one of the Keepers. A designation we gave ourselves centuries ago, in light of the knowledge that we have been bound to keep hidden. Until, perhaps, now.”

“So…” Phineas pondered as he connected the dots, moving his hands as if he was directly looking at a map like the one on the ground, “The passage from your ruins to Gringotts, everything in the vault. The restricted section. Finding this room, none of these was a trial?”

“They were an important part of your journey.” Professor Rackham defended the so called not trials, “Like a preliminary test, but you are correct, they were not trials themselves. As I have said, the fact that you have come this far however bodes well. The trials were designed to ensure that the power and knowledge we have kept secret for so long does not fall into the wrong hands. They will test both your innate and learned abilities. But of equal importance, everything you witness as you complete the trials will inform what you choose to do with all that we share. You will need patience, the trials have much to teach you and it will take time.”

Professor Fig was quick to speak up, “I’m afraid we don’t have the luxury of time.”

Professor Rackham furrowed his eyebrows, “We have waited this long, Professor Fig, surely a few more-“

“Respectfully sir.” Professor Fig interjected, “While I do not know the secret you keep. I do know that Phineas here has seen traces- traces of a powerful dark magic being manipulated by a gang of dark wizards and goblins that are tormenting the Scottish Highlands as we speak. And we have encountered a few of their primary leaders.” He spoke vaguely, likely making the same connection Phineas had earlier, “we have not seen them use the magic directly but we assume they are planning out ways to use it for destructive consequences, as we prepared to leave your vault at Gringotts. We only escaped because of the defensive measure you and your colleague installed.” He sighed, “We may already be too late.”

Professor Rackham took a few moments before speaking again, “This… this is grave news indeed. Phineas Hearst, do you trust Professor Fig.”

“I do sir.” Phineas assured him, “I would never have gotten this far if it was not for him.”

Professor Rackham seemed satisfied enough, “Then, in light of your considerable skill and all you have already accomplished, we shall begin. You will find the location of the first trial marked on the map below you. Whilst Professor Fig may assist you in locating the trials, they may be completed only by one with our ability.” And with that, he took a swift leave to the world beyond the visible portions of his large frame in the Map Chamber.

“Shall we have a look?” Professor Fig asked with a motion of his shoulder towards a map.

“Of course.” Phineas nodded once.

Professor Fig examined the glowing blue image of the location on the map, “I know that tower… it’s not far.” He then turned to Phineas taking away his sights from the map, “You may have seen it yourself.”

“I don’t visit the hamlets much other than Feldcroft a few times.” Phineas admitted, “But it looks familiar, there seems to be many ruins with that architectural style in the area.”

“Which is why we should double check it to make sure it is the right area, or rather I should go.” Professor Fig corrected himself mid sentence.

“But you heard Professor Rackham-“ Phineas interjected.

“Do not worry I am not going to do something as daft as perform the trial that was set up for you. After all, you my pupil are quite talented and this will be a perfect chance to put those mysterious abilities, along with the lessons you have learned at Hogwarts to good use. It is just as your mentor, I would like to at least go ahead and make sure that the area is safe, we don’t want to be running into any dangers if we can avoid them, or at least prevent them from becoming worst case scenarios. Yet, despite this, we should be able to set out tomorrow once your classes conclude, since it will be a Friday we will have plenty of time without needing to worry about making a return so quickly.”

“I can work with that.” Phineas emerged with a smile, “So you said that you know that tower. What can you tell me about it?”

Professor Fig sighed, “Not much I’m afraid. I have passed it dozens of times. It’s north of Hogsmeade, my recollection is that it seems abandoned. Clearly, however, the tower conceals more than meets the eye.”

“I will await your owl then.” Phineas promised.

“Until then.” Professor Fig bid farewell, “Be careful and do not tell anyone where you are going tomorrow if it comes up in conversation.”

“Understood Sir.”

~~

“Professor Rackham!” Phineas called out as he tiredly made it up the stairs with Professor Fig right behind him after encountering that goblin camp, getting in front of the portrait of Percival Rackham on the highest level of the tower, “Sorry for the delay but we finally made it!”

“Do not fret young one.” Professor Rackham assured, “Welcome to San Bakar’s Tower.”

“San Bakar’s Tower?” Phineas raised an eyebrow, “Are we supposed to know that name?”

“Professor Bakar is one of the keepers you have yet to formally meet.” The professor explained with a gentle smile. “I am glad to see I was still correct in presuming that we would meet again soon after our last encounter. Though I suppose based on the commotion I heard that your delay was caused by having a difficult time getting to me.”

“We did not Professor.” Phineas shook his head tiredly, not even remembering the flurry of spells he had to use on the goblins just to get into the tower without a worry of being ambushed themselves. “We encountered dark wizards outside of the tower.”

Professor Rackham only sighed, “The fact that there are others aware of my vault is disheartening enough. But if they have also made a connection to this tower then the threat may be great than I thought, all the reason to move forward. Downstairs, near the entry is a reservoir of ancient magic, like those you have seen before, has been unlocked. You will need to command it to access a doorway. And as Professor Fig cannot join you, the two of us, in time, shall see you again in the Map Chamber to discuss your discoveries.”

“Wait-“ Phineas called out but the Professor Rackham had already left the frame. “And he’s gone.”

Professor Fig looked alarmed, “What’s the matter?”

Phineas turned to his mentor, “I was going to ask him a question about Victor Rookwood. Since one of the Keepers also bears the same surname, I fear there is some connection.”

“A reasonable thing to be concerned about indeed.” Professor Fig nodded solemnly, “When we are together in the Map Chamber I’ll ensure it does not go untouched in our next series of conversation points. Perhaps it is why they knew about the location of a tower that once belonged to a keeper. But for now, you have more important things to set your mind to, a reservoir of ancient magic? How fascinating. I shall leave you to it, your hands are getting increasingly capable and I could not be more proud of you.”

“Thank you Professor.” Phineas gave a slight bow of his head in respect, “I will not let you down sir.”

“I know you won’t.” Professor Fig gave a reassuring smile, “Now, be careful.”

“We shall meet again.” Phineas nodded as his mentor apparated away just as he was heading back down the many stairs to the ground level of the tower.

At first he did not see anything on the ground floor, and was simply being cautious as he passed the entry way out of fear that more dark wizards had arrived. Yet whisps started appearing once again around his feet as he continued to step, leading him to yet another stone wall, and using his wand to investigate, the wall felt rather inclined to reveal a passage of another set of downward steps.

Phineas gulped in his inner nervousness, “It is now or never… Lumos.” and then headed down the dark passageway.

The first room he encountered was lit by torches which allowed him not to need his trusty wand providing light any more. Yet it had that same peculiar archway he had seen many times before. Passing through its alluring blue light led him to what seemed to be a dead end before he turned his head to the right and saw that the path continued onward.

He should have expected nothing less than knights appearing to guard the next hallway. He was simply tired of them but supposed they were not as creepy as the spiders that launched themselves at them. Now, Phineas would never say he had arachnophobia, only that any reasonable person would not like a spider launching themselves at their faces in an attack. Spiders were meant to be small after all, and Acromantulas were meant to be stayed away from.

“Expelliarmis!” He called out repeatedly to remove the large weapons in the knights hands, “Accio!” He followed with to fling them to the other side of the room, ducking so they would crash into the wall that had formed behind him as the path he was previously in closed up, only way to go was forward it seemed.

“Glacius!” Phineas called out to the largest knight once the assistants were mostly taken care of, followed by “Incendio!” To prove to be a rather devastating blow to bring the knight down to its knees. Yet the final blow turned out to be when he used that peculiar spell of his again, fueled by those light blue sparks he almost always found when he dueled such peculiar enemies, yet Phineas shrugged it off and headed further deeper into the vault, only glad that it was not further cursed outside of these knights and enchanted archways that shifted the rooms in curious ways.

Phineas absolutetly despised the bridges more than the puzzles that required him to use accio to pull his platform to the other side so he would not fall into an abyss belong him. They rolled like waves and had steps on them like stairs, did the Keepers want him to twist an ankle? What other purpose did this peculiar bridge even have?

“Don’t like the look of this.” Phineas muttered as he entered yet another room that felt like an arena as he faced a trio of statues in front of him.

“Incendio! Confringo! Bombarda!” He repeatedly called out every fiery spell he knew. It seemed as if these knights were made up of some material adjacent to ice given the cold chills they always brought with their attacks. In fact, it did seem that the fiery spells always brought him the most success in duels like this to bring them to a swift end, Sebastian would be pleased.

Luckily he did finally noticed after almost being blow off the platform itself that it was seemingly floating in midair. Perhaps those columns kept it securely intact with the ceiling but he did not care as he casted a series of “Depulso!” To knock the rapidly appearing knights off the edge.

Yet the next enemy he faced that emerged from the ground was much too large to knock off with a simple cast of Depulso. In fact it was the largest knight he had seen who could create blasts of magic of his own. And he formed magic unlike the previous ones, the first being a yellow orb that looked familiar to the one to the barrier they were working with when reviewing the Levioso charm, out of instinct, he aimed his wand at the growing orb and casted the simple charm, allowing the orb to combust just before it was about to be launched.

Phineas smiled with confidence, it was his cheat code that he could use to prevent himself from using up his small supply of wiggenweld potions. He had observed previously that each time he blasted an orb apart, he had a few opportune moments to cast his own spells at the knight before it started to form another one, a perfect time for a devastating slew of every spell he had learned thus far and then some. Along with yet again; that finishing spell of his that he still had no idea of how he was able to cast it, perhaps it was a form of harnessing traces of ancient magic like Sebastian proposed? He did not know and let himself be satisfied with the fact that his enemy was vanquished again.

“What a relief.” Phineas could not help but smile as he headed in deeper towards the doors that opened at his command, celebrating his success in a sense as he saw another penseive, what secrets did this one possess? He pondered to himself as a drop of liquid fell into the basin.

~~

His sight was greeted by an imagine of two people standing in an area in the Scottish Highlands. Percival Rackham being one of them as he quickly tried to identify the figures, with the other looking like Isadora Morganach given her young, student-aged, appearance.

The Professor smiled, “Your ability to transfigure the world around you is remarkable.” He applauded as he watched the young Ravenclaw perform quite impressive wandwork as she manipulated a series of incredibly tall pillars of stone. “What is it?” He asked when he noticed her growing expression of uncertainty.

“My… my father is not getting any better.” She revealed with her head lowed, not bearing to look her professor in the eyes. “I don’t think he will ever recover from the death of my brother… it feels as if I have lost him too.”

Professor Rackham solemnly sighed, “It is agonizing to see those we love suffer.”

“The drought was years ago.” Isadora reminded him. “But his pain seems just as deep now as it did when we lost him.” She glared angrily at the pillars and turned like a tornado towards her divination professor, “My father doesn’t need pretty pillars! He needs peace! Isn’t there anything I can do to help him Professor?”

“You do so much for your father already.” Professor Rackham pointed out, “You-“

“I have seen with my own eyes that it’s not enough!” Isadora winced her eyes at her own words and feelings of what seemed to be uselessness, “I want to take away his pain and sorrow.”

Professor Rackham silently gazed at her, “It is tempting I know, to use this magic to transfigure more than the physical world. But, Human emotion is a potent form unto itself. Even the most well meaning and competent witch cannot possibly know the consequences of manipulating it.” As he spoke directly to her yet did not name her in the same manner, and Isadora took noticed, her anger bubbling inside her visibly.

She looked horrified, “So I am to watch as my father’s pain destroys him?”

“It is not your pain to take.” Professor Rackham spoke with little emotion, not even compassion it seemed. “Pain is natural and shall run its course.”

Isadora looked at him intently but did not say a word, proceeding to walk away from him in silence. Not even taking the chance to look back at him.

Soon enough, the atmosphere changed to one of the Professor’s offices. Percival Rackham stood near a fire place while Charles Rookwood rested in a golden arm chair. The divination Professor’s voice began to sound, “Every year a student sees something sillier than I could imagine in their tea leaves.” His head turning at the sound of the door opening, “Ah, Miss Morganach, welcome back to Hogwarts Professor.” It seemed like such a sudden transition that Phineas viewed the memory felt whiplash.

Isadora simply playfully smirked, “Suppose that is going to take some getting used to.” As she turned to acknowledge the other Professor in the room, “Professor Rookwood.”

Charles Rookwood stood up from his chair, “I was so pleased to hear that you accepted the position of Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor.

Professor Rackham motioned to another empty chair, “Sit, sit Isadora, tell us about your travels, your letters surely do not do them justice.”

Isadora fidgeted her hands, “I was actually hoping that you and the others might join me at my home this evening, I want to give you a proper demonstration of my discoveries that I could not do justice in this moment.”

“That would be delightful.” Professor Rackham smiled. “I shall let San and Niamh know immediately.”

“Very well.” Isadora beamed proudly, “I shall see you all soon.”

~~

Phineas must have been drawn to another passageway as he was adjusting back to the real world. Usually he was better with pensives but this one put his mind in a complete mess compared to the last few he had witnessed, and somehow, he had wound back in the Map Chamber. It was probably for the best, certainly as easier travel that from the tower, and Professor Fig was already there waiting for him, as if he was expecting him

“Good to see you in one piece.” Professor Fig smiled as Professor Rackham materialized in his frame, followed by Charles Rookwood who appeared in the frame to Professor Rackham’s right.

“Who might we have here?” Professor Rookwood pondered.

“My name is Phineas Hearst.” Phineas introduced himself, “I am a student at Hogwarts, and this is my magical theory professor and mentor, Professor Fig, you must be Professor Rookwood.”

“Indeed.” The new professor confirmed, “Professor Charles Rookwood at your service. I presume you must be related to Professor Nemesia Hearst, she was the Herbology professor during our time.”

“She is the sister of the founder of my family ancestral home, Ozias Hearst.” Phineas nodded, recalling his family tree

“Is she really?” Professor Fig exclaimed with widened eyes, “when did you figure all that out?”

“I exchanged owls with my brother Atticus.” Phineas explained, “He knows all about our family history but I felt he would be more approachable than my father on the subject, and he swiftly provided the answer. Even told me next time I come home and he is there he would introduce me to her work. Perhaps it could help my lackluster Herbology marks.” Phineas laughed.

“I presume you have completed the first trial” Professor Rookwood interjected, “How remarkable.”

“Your assumptions are correct Sir.” Phineas nodded.

“So you are the one who found the Portkey to access Professor Rackham’s vault and you deciphered the map within the locket you found floating above that Pensieve?” Professor Rookwood commented with a tone of being impressed.

“Yes.” Phineas nodded, “and I found a peculiar artifact floating above the last Pensieve at the end of the trial.”

“Ah yes.” Professor Rookwood didn’t seem surprised. “You will find a similar artifact in each trial. You must take care to keep them safe. You will need them to complete the journey we have set forth for you. Once you have them all, we will tell you what to do with them.”

“Very well.” Phineas agreed, “Are you able to tell me anything about the next trial.”

Professor Rackham was quick to interrupt before Phineas could gain any form of enlightenment, “Before you proceed I would like to speak with Charles regarding the urgent situation involving those dark wizards you continue to face who are after this ancient magic.” He turned to Professor Rookwood who was simply speechless, “Phineas and Professor Fig not only encountered them lurking outside of San Bakar’s tower. They also encountered their leader in my vault at Gringotts.”

“I’m afraid it would be wise to halt the trials until we know more.” Professor Rookwood advised.

“But there is something else.” Phineas alerted them, “the name of their leader is Victor Rookwood, I know it might be a bad time, and we don’t know if there is any significance but we felt it was good to let you two know.”

“A descendant of mine?” Charles Rookwood jumped on the connected by blood route rather quickly, “Well we must speak immediately Percival, that could explain how they discovered such locations.” He then turned to Phineas, “We shall meet again soon.” Before departing along with Professor Rackham.

“What did you see in the Pensieve.” Professor Fig inquired as they departed the Map Chamber.

“The witch from the last Pensieve, Isadora Morganach, became a Hogwarts Professor.” Phineas recalled cautiously, “She argued with Professor Rackham about using magic to remove pain.”

“How peculiar.” Professor Fig remarked, “Perhaps we need the next Pensieve to provide more context. For now, we should learn what Victor Rookwood knows, especially since even the keepers fear that Charles Rookwood’s relation to him could be the reason they seem to be a step ahead.”