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embracetranquilityson · 2 months

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A Duellist's Redemption

Summary: A comfortable life, a well-paying Ministry job and a loving family— you would have had it all, had you never met Victor Rookwood.

Instead, blood fills your days and nightmares haunt your nights.

The rise and fall of an Ashwinder Duellist, whose conscience finally caught up with them.

[Y/N-You POV, gender neutral.]

TW: Blood and violence, emotional abuse, emotional manipulation, gaslighting, physical abuse, implied/mentioned child abuse, implied/mentioned animal (magical beasts) abuse.

Chapters: 11 (fully published)

Full fanfic:

First chapter: Act I - The beginning

You didn't really know how you got where you were.

Once, you were a regular, naive, boring student and now… now you could hardly look at yourself in the mirror.

It all started in the Defence Against the Dark Arts class, after a mock duel like many you had fought before; but that time your opponent was a boy named Victor Rookwood. You had seen him around before, strutting in the hallways like he owned the place but you didn't really know him, nor did you know any of the boys who seemed to escort him wherever he went.

Not that it mattered. You fought, you won, Victor got mad and threw a tantrum, the lesson was over and your life would go on the same as always, or so you thought.

You couldn't have known that day would have been the beginning of the end— of your end.

As mad as he had seemed in class, Victor Rookwood actually approached you a few days later, all smiles and arrogance, complimenting your skills like nothing had happened. He invited you to the Three Broomsticks for a butterbeer and, Merlin knows why, you accepted.

Now, you cringed at the memory. You cringed at how much fun you had had that day with him.

Days and weeks and years blurred together and while life went on, you and Victor were always at each other's side. You knew everything about each other, about your families, about his father’s… business. Even that didn't deter you.

You, a regular no one from a family of regular no ones, didn't mind that your friend was the son of a gang ringleader. On the contrary, you found it fascinating, alluring even.

Man, you were dumb.

The first crack came in the middle of a summer night, when the air was warm and the fireflies danced under the moonlight.

You were twenty-two years old, doing odd jobs to make ends meet while you waited for a response from the Ministry; just a few days before, you had applied for a job in the Beast Division, with a stellar recommendation from your beasts Professor. You were hoping to end up in Troll Patrol or Werewolf Capture Unit but anything was fine really.

Victor had hated the idea since the beginning and tried to discourage you in any way he could but you hadn't budged.

You still remembered what you had told him the day he found out you had applied, and the words now felt like venom in the back of your throat: “Victor, I love you and I will always be there for you, but my future is at the Ministry. And if they reject me, I'll become a Dragonologist or something.”

Heh. Jokes on you. Jokes on that placid summer night. Jokes on your dreams and your future.

A tenday had passed since your fight with Victor— if you could even call it that, since he had stormed off without a word.

The night was warm and you couldn't sleep, worried about the long silence from the Ministry.

As you tossed and turned, a knock on the door was bound to change your life.

You had never seen the man in front of you, nor did his name mean anything to you, yet it only took a sentence for you to follow him into the darkness: “Victor sent me. He’s in trouble.”

Your heart raced in your chest as you took the stranger’s arm and, moments later, you were outside the Rookwoods’ mansion.

You had been there thousands of times during the years but the faces that haunted its hallways that night were all but familiar to you. Dozens of people stood watch, as still as statues, as you were escorted into the dining room, into a future that you would've never thought for yourself.

Your friend, Victor Rookwood, stood next to the dining table, his face bloody and raw and his clothes ripped and stained. He smiled a crooked smile when he saw you.

“Good, you're here. We're all here, then.” He growled, his voice hoarse and strained.

You noticed a few known faces in the room: old mutual friends from school, a couple of people Victor had met during the years and that you had gotten familiar with, and… Mr. Rookwood sat on a chair, slouched over the table with blood pooling under his head. He was mumbling something but you couldn't understand him. You couldn't understand anything.

Your heart rate sped up again, as your mind tried to come up with a reasonable explanation.

“See, father? Even [Y/N] came to say goodbye.”

Goodbye? Why would you…— Mr. Rookwood spat a bloody drool and Victor slammed his head —again, apparently— against the wooden table.

You froze. It was as if time itself had stopped.

“Now, now, where are your manners, boy?” he laughed as he quoted what his father used to tell him time and time again, usually before beating him bloody.

Was that what it was? Was that Victor finally snapping? If so, why were so many people there? Why were you there? Why did he send for you?

It took you years to realise what had happened that night, the manipulation and coercion that he used to get you there.

But you didn't know then. All you knew was that your friend needed you and that no matter what your bleeding heart thought, his abusive father deserved everything that was happening to him. Or at least that was what Victor had told you after. After his father was dead, after he had become the new Mr. Rookwood, leader of the Rookwood gang, and he needed you.

Your skills in a duel were unmatched, he said.

He didn't trust anyone else to watch his back, he said.

The Ministry will never hire you now that you're an accessory to murder. He didn't say that, and it took you years to realise that that was the reason why you were really there that night.

He wanted you: your wand, your skill, your loyalty… your dreams were a hindrance he could no longer tolerate.

So you pledged yourself to him; to keep him safe, you said to yourself as you laid awake that night, Mr. Rookwood’s death mask seared into your mind, as guilt and fear and horror bubbled in your guts like a cocktail of poisons.

“My closest friend, my Ashwinder, my Duellist.”

You still remembered his smile while he said that, his hands, still smeared with his father's blood, cupped around your cheeks.

You felt bad for him, then. Now, you wished you had punched him right to daddy dearest.

#hogwarts legacy #hogwarts legacy oc #ashwinder #natsai onai #poppy sweeting #professor fig #professor garlick #professor sharp #professor weasley #sebastian sallow #victor rookwood #hogwarts legacy fanfic #hogwarts legacy fandom #gender neutral y/n #reader pov #y/n #hogwarts legacy fanfiction #ashwinders #theophilus harlow

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helenadurazzo · 1 year

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Chasing the Relic

This story is a rewritten version of both In The Shadow of Discovery and In the Shadow of Time, it is also a continuation of the rewrite I did for In The Shadow of the Study

“I am worried about Sebastian.” Ominis admitted, “You see him in the dorm room each night, ever since we escaped the scriptorium, his nose has been buried in Slytherin’s spellbook. It doesn’t help that he seemingly raced out of here, claimed he needed to head to Hogsmeade and then after that visit Feldcroft for the weekend, the suddenness is suspicious.”

“He just wants to read through it to see if he can find a way to save Anne and I’m sure he just wants to tell her about his findings.” Phineas assured him. “Sebastian is a smart guy, he knows what he is doing, we don’t need to control his every move.”

“He’s not being smart by looking at that spellbook.” Ominis argued back, “He is being reckless and irresponsible. Curiosity is only good until one takes it too far, and I am worried that he has gone to the point of no return.”

“It’s not like he is chasing after dark wizards and relics.” Phineas reminded him.

“I am worried he is.” Ominis expressed quietly. “Whenever he reads, he often whispers the text out loud, he thinks I cannot hear what he reads but it’s almost as clearly as if he was giving a speech to a crowd at an event.”

“I suppose you just have better hearing than me.” Phineas realized, then again, he assumed Ominis naturally had to as magic could only guide his way so much. “Is there something in particular he is researching that worries you?”

“Well if you ask me the entire spell book is no good.” Ominis stated, “I should have told him to leave it in the scriptorium but I couldn’t bring myself to order him to do so, it was cowardly. Everything to do with Salazar Slytherin seems promising from his spells to his relics to his past, until it is too late. I’ve heard Sebastian talking about one relic in particular that is extremely worrisome.”

“Do you recall overhearing anything about this dark relic?” Phineas asked, “I’ve skimmed through the book so I can’t say I know every detail about each relic accounted for in the spellbook, but I might be able to help you figure out if it is bad or good news and if we should check in on Sebastian and make sure he isn’t getting into any dire trouble.”

“Well, I know he said something about finding a relic that would be able to heal Anne, although he mentioned quietly something about it being hard to locate as it’s been lost for centuries and that a sacrifice would most likely be needed in order for it to be a success.” Ominis recalled slowly, moving his hand as if he was tracing Sebastian’s steps on a map that was in front of him.

“Perhaps it was the Inferian Pyramid?” Phineas determined after a few seconds of thought, “I remember reading about that artifact more throughly than the others. Something about how it had been made at the beginning of some kingdom in Northern Africa but eventually made its way to Hogwarts, most likely by a variety of traveling wizards.”

“Do you recall if it said anything else?” Ominis inquired.

“Well it could produce and summon inferi at will.” Phineas commented, “Honestly I remember it more than that for its healing properties, such a peculiar combination.”

“Perhaps not.” Ominis theorized. “Perhaps this artifact summons inferi in order for the wielder to make the ‘proper’ sacrifice in the form of a victim’s death. Then maybe the relic consumes that person’s life force and can transfer it to the person the wielder wants to heal.”

“Sounds gruesome.” Phineas remarked.

“Yet a likely reality.” Ominis replied uneasily, “We need to stop Sebastian before he gets himself hurt, I think I know where he is.”

“Lead the way Ominis.”

~~~~~~~~~~

Phineas had been to Feldcroft once before with his family as they tended to visit a variety of pure blood Slytherins across the area. Yet it seemed more dreary in the Scottish hamlet than anything else. Quite surprising considering it didn’t take too long to get to the hamlet from the school and it seemed much sunnier than this. Was it reflecting the dark energies circulating around? Phineas certainly hoped that it wasn’t the case.

However, during his previous visit, he had not visited the catacombs that were within walking distance from the hamlet. As a young child, the idea of even exploring this area gave him an uneasy feeling as it seemed to be nothing but trouble.

The dark catacombs that were located in a hidden area required Phineas to cast lumos to illuminate the stoney path “Do you hear him yet?” Phineas asked his friend as they ventured into the catacombs.

“Not yet.” Ominis sighed, “I should have expected this from him, Sebastian always has a mind of his own and when it comes to Anne, he throws reasons and morals out of the window.”

“He’s been studying that spellbook nonstop for ages.” Phineas exaggerated but it seemed quite close to the truth. He rarely ever say Sebastian without Slytherin’s spell book and whenever he was without it, he was either reading something related to it, or reviewing the notes he took about the ancient spellbook’s contents. “I am sure he knows what he is doing.”

“And if he doesn’t?” Ominis asked, “I feel like we have already lost Anne because of her curse, we can’t lose Sebastian either.”

“You’ve known Sebastian longer than I have.” Phineas reminded him, “Do you really think he’d betray either of us in such a matter?”

Ominis signed, “I don’t know, I don’t really know anything anymore. Sebastian doesn’t like being told what to do you know, it’s why he doesn’t get along with his uncle, he’s quite a stickler to the rules being a former auror and rightfully so. Sebastian has believed dark magic could hold the answer to a cure for Anne, however he knows well from that spellbook that it simply isn’t that simple and he’s going to have to pay the price.”

“Still, your Aunt said in her journal there was a chance there was more to Salazar Slytherin than obsessing over pure blood status and using dark magic.” Phineas recalled. “Perhaps she was right and some of the artifacts and spells Salazar Slytherin documented don’t involve torture or dark magic.”

“I suppose an optimistic person could declare that.” Ominis admitted, “Still, everything about Salazar Slytherin seems too good to be true, and that’s because it typically is. Records show that he was quite cunning and charismatic, it’s how he became such a powerful wizard on top of his natural skill with a wand. However, it also meant that he could deceive anyone he deemed unworthy, it is why we were practically lured into searching for Slytherin’s Scriptorium, and why you had to end up on the receiving end of an unforgivable curse.”

Even hearing Ominis recall the events of their search for the Scriptorium and entering it made Phineas feel like he was once again victim to the cruciatus curse. The feeling of practically one thousand knives stabbing him all across his seemingly burning body was an unbearable sensation that he wished never to become victim to again, especially by someone who would enjoy in his suffering. He assumed that while Sebastian did mean it so they could survive, it was only a weak version of the curse, as he had heard some people who had terrible side effects and medical conditions following the curse.”

“I think I hear him.” Ominis quickly said which brought Phineas out of his own mind, “Come on.”

Phineas hurried behind Ominis who was strangely fast considering the careful steps needed to be taken in order to not slip or trip on the rocky pathways. He recast his wand to produce another lightening charm, this time, one stronger than his previous one so he could spot Sebastian easier. He did relatively quickly after turning the third corner. Phineas observed how Sebastian seemed to have left straight from the school, without stopping to change, as he still wore the robes of the snake house.

Phineas watched as Sebastian turned, his dark eyes having a mixture of emotions as the brown haired Slytherin spoke, “Ominis? Phineas? Did you two follow me?”

“You left us no choice.” Ominis assertively confirmed, “We know why you are hear Seb, you can’t take that relic and you know it.”

“You two don’t understand”Sebastian attempted to explain.

“I understand plenty.” Ominis continued in a cool tone, managing his internal anger while also somehow getting Sebastian to be quiet mid sentence. “We don’t need to resort to dark magic to heal Anne, you know full well she wouldn’t agree to it.”

“Ominis is right Sebastian.” Phineas contributed. “If we use dark magic there is going to be a price to pay, and we can’t lose you, there has to be another way”

“And if you won’t put the relic back.” Ominis added, “we will.”

“Would you two stop talking and listen to me!” Sebastian yelled, his voice echoing throughout the tunnels of the catacomb to the point where Phineas could faintly hear Sebastian’s sentence for a while after he said it, “the thing is-“

“Accio Relic!” A voice called out, forcing the relic that Phineas somehow neglected to notice Sebastian had in his hand and into the hand of another wizard.

Phineas felt like he recognized the man before and assumed it was a member of that dark wizard gang who had been plaguing Hogsmeade and surrounding wizarding villages and on top of that, torturing a variety of magical creatures. The man was bald and paled skin, yet hid his lack of hair with a black bowler hat, which matched the rest of his dark attire. Phineas noticed a couple of more people who emerged from the shadows, yet there was only one who Phineas knew for sure he recognized as he graciously accepted the artifact from the man with bowler hat, Victor Rookwood.

Rookwood smirked in the three of them’s direction, “I suppose I should thank you boys as much as I should thank my own loyal comrades, you certainly did us a favor with leading the way to this little relic.” He tipped his top hat charmingly as he spoke smoothly.

“What do you want.” Sebastian viciously sneered.

“Oh nothing much other than this relic.” Rookwood replied with a sense of dismissiveness. “Now a boy with an interest in the dark arts and desire for freedom, a boy with a talent for seeing ancient magic, and a Gaunt, all with potential, you three could certainly make a fine addition to our team.”

“Never.” Ominis spat at him, stepping in front of both Phineas and Sebastian, “Get lost!”

“It wasn’t a request.” Rookwood growled.

“Well here is our reply.” Phineas responded, “Leviosa!” He shouted, using his wand to lift Rookwood off the ground and slam him against the rock wall and fall to the ground, certainly still breathing, but unconscious for the near future.

Sebastian and Ominis helped him out, with both casting a variety of spells as the gang tried to close in on them. Sebastian seemed to have noticed that someone was trying to grab the relic from Rookwood, which had miraculously stayed in one piece, yet Sebastian managed to quickly retrieve it with a simple cast of Accio.

Once the number of dark wizards decreased, Phineas felt a hand grab onto his arm tightly and before he knew it, he was apparated away from the catacombs. His new surroundings were much more serene, it seemed to be the ruins of a castle overlooking Feldcroft, certainly not as grand or impressive as Hogwarts. Phineas wondered if this was perhaps what the famed school of magic looked like to any muggles who happened to stumble upon it. As much as he loved his magical ability and wouldn’t trade it for the world, he had to admit that living one day as a muggle, and exploring the locations he visited on a regular basis to see how they would appear to him, would be extremely fascinating.

“Are you both ok?” Sebastian asked.

“Yes.” Ominis replied first, brushing on the dirt from his robe.

“But we are only alive thanks to you.” Phineas expressed his gratitude.

“I was trying to warn you back in the catacombs.” Sebastian explained, “Yes, I will admit I was looking into the artifact in hopes that it could heal Anne. Even found a guy in Hogsmeade who could analyze the artifact and see what it could do safely without anyone getting hurt. However, while I was there, I overheard rumors that Rookwood’s gang was planning on retrieving a relic near Feldcroft. Since I had determined that it had to be the location of this particular one, I put two and two together and went to retrieve it before it was too late, I didn’t tell you both because I figured it’d be too risky.”

“At least you haven’t lost all common sense.” Ominis admitted, “Still it was very dangerous, you can’t be doing this, you are going to get yourself killed.”

“Then again.” Phineas pointed out, “If that artifact got into the hangs of Rookwood, we could be dealing with far worse.”

“I suppose so.” Ominis admitted before turning to Sebastian, “I’d normally say go and return the relic, but I think even I can admit that it will not lead to the safest outcome, take us to the man in Hogsmeade, we will see what we can do from there. However, I’ll have you know that I am against using this artifact to help Anne, it’s bound to posses dark magic.”

“Still it is worth a shot.” Sebastian stated.

“We should probably get going before Rookwood and his gang wakes up and finds us.” Phineas stopped their arguing, “Let’s see if we can get to Hogsmeade before the sunset comes.”

#Sebastian Sallow #Phineas Hearst #Ominis Gaunt #hphl #Hogwarts Legacy #Harry Potter Hogwarts Legacy #Hphl mc #Victor Rookwood #Theophilus Harlow

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