In the Shadow of Azkaban

Volume I: XXI

Ominis took my hands in his. His eyes wavered in my direction as he said, "I think Anne is still cursed."

My forehead raised for a moment but fell as my brows drew together. "Well, I have never had the power to sever curses. It was not something I considered feasible. Why do you think she is still cursed?" My face was tense waiting for him to answer.

Ominis' hand moved to his chin as he spoke, "Anne has never been this overbearing. Sebastian could partake in this behavior and I would not bat an eye, but she is normally much more mild and well-mannered than she has been since you cured her." Ominis sighed.

Ominis looked toward the ground as he said, "I am aware of the contention between you and her. However, since Sebastian is gone, I have felt it is my duty to take accountability for her." My jaw locked as my teeth pushed together. I inhaled deeply and relaxed. I reminded myself that the Sallows cared for Ominis when his own family did not.

"Alright. What do you propose we do to sever the curse?" I held my cheeks in my hands. I was already defeated. I knew this was impossible.

Ominis' breath was shallow. He sucked in a big breath of air and exclaimed, "The catacomb!" His eyes widened and a smile formed on his lips.

He continued, "I have a feeling that if we return to the catacomb, the Inferi will still be present there. They are technically cursed corpses. We could practice on them!" Ominis' excitement persisted. He began laughing with delight.

I looked at him. His smile was wide as his eyes and teeth glistened against the candlelight. "You know? You're starting to sound a lot like Sebastian." I smiled crookedly at him.

He pushed my arm playfully, "I am not!"

I mimicked Sebastian's voice and mannerisms as I placed my hand to my chest, "For Anne." Ominis and I laughed. At least now that she was not in pain, we could joke about the situation.

Ominis became serious once again and said, "My father tried to sever a curse before. It was for his mother. The process failed miserably." He admitted.

"But with your ancient magic, I believe we will succeed. We need to bring Anne with us to the tomb for the ritual." He seemed hopeful. Ominis pressed his hands together and leaned forward. He bit his bottom lip in distress.

"Why would Anne need to tag along?" I asked curiously.

Ominis said carefully, "We need the blood of a virgin."

...

Nightfall was approaching soon. The stars were scattered across the orange sky. The moon and the sun were facing each other. I could see that the moon overtook the sun after some time, and the cicadas began their song.

"I cannot believe you two are going to go explore this nasty cave once again," Anne complained.

I could not seem to bear her childish behavior any longer. At least now that Anne was stronger, she was able to perform magic to the best of her ability. She grabbed mine and Ominis' hands and apparated us to the tomb.

The entrance to the Feldcroft Catacomb was looming. We all crouched down and walked slowly in case of an attack. As we entered the main area, it was dim. Anne shouted and aimed her wand at each of the braziers, "Confringo!" She repeated the spell until the room was illuminated.

We kept walking straight down the multiple sets of rocky stairs until we entered the smaller room with the skeleton staircase. I walked slowly on them as the bones crunched beneath my feet.

I stepped inside the opening where Sebastian and I defeated Solomon. An intense cold brushed against my shoulders and down my spine. My mind was preoccupied with Sebastian. When we were here before, I had never seen someone with a look in their eye like his. He was deranged.

Ominis spoke after some time, "We made it. I have a feeling there were some Inferi we had missed the last time we encountered this catacomb. If there are, they will be able to track us via our scent. They prefer the living," he warned.

He looked worried as he continued, "We will need to complete the ritual fairly quickly," He looked toward us as he directed, "You will need to pull their feelings out with ancient magic. Then, Anne will slice her palm with a knife and squeeze the blood out over the cursed magic entering your wand." He rubbed his face as if he needed to sober himself.

His brow furrowed slightly as he said, "Once the blood intertwines with the magic, I will perform the severing charm, Diffindo, and the curse will break. If all goes to plan, the Inferi should fall to the ground and become a corpse once again."

Anne and I both stared at him in awe. He was so knowledgeable about dark magic, but he refused to wield it unless absolutely necessary. Ominis' restraint was truly a gift.

Just as we were planning to move, a shriek bellowed from the entry to the tomb. I turned around to see a body. Flames were brewing on the inside of the silhouette as the stench of death filled the room.

It raised its arm toward Ominis. I aimed my wand and pulled out the magic from my core. A strong line of blue fire made the Inferi scream louder. I looked toward Anne. She seemed hesitant.

"Do it. Now!" I yelled. She looked from me to Ominis.

Ominis could sense the worry on her face. He grabbed her hand and took out his wand. The fiery end of the wand etched a gash into her palm. Ominis nodded at her to approach.

Anne begrudgingly complied. She came over to me, and her eyes met mine. It felt as if she was staring into my soul as she pressed her palm open over my ancient magic.

I winced. Her blood dripped into the pool of blue. The heated beam meshed into a deep violet and burned against my magic. Ominis raised his wand and lunged forward. His voice echoed as he yelled, "Diffindo!"

The Inferi grew larger for only a moment until it turned to dust. The smoke settled gently against the floor and revealed a skeleton that clanked against the stone.

Ominis' eyes widened. We had severed the curse with blood magic. I turned to Anne. Tears were in her eyes, as she looked up to us and asked, "Do you believe it will kill me, or was that just because it was Inferi?"

Ominis and I faced each other. We did not have the slightest clue as to what kind of magic we just dabbled in, but we needed to save both Anne and Sebastian.