In the Shadow of Darkness | Sebastian Sallow

Restricted Topics

The next day, we visited Anne, and much to my surprise, she was doing better than she had the previous week. The nurses seemed cautiously optimistic, but she was still very weak and unable to stay awake for long periods. Ominis insisted it must have been the phoenix tears, and though I had my doubts that more would do her any more good, I promised to bring him more to give her.

This time, Ominis sat in a chair at her bedside, her fingers clasped in his. Sebastian had lain down beside her, his arm around her waist, softly humming a tune I recognized as a lullaby. He told me later that their mother would sing it to them as they drifted off to sleep as small children, and even after she was gone, they'd often taken turns comforting the other with it on the bad days. "My earliest memory is the sound of her heartbeat and my mother's voice," he said.

I hugged him tightly, knowing there were no words for what he was feeling and unable to imagine myself what he was going through. I had never known any twins before meeting the Sallows, but if his relationship with Anne was any indication, it was closer than any other kind of brother or sister could be.

As we returned to Hogwarts, my thoughts strayed back to Isidora's words and those of the Keepers. I remembered how I had poured everything in me into restoring the repository, and began to wonder what would happen if I did the same with Anne's curse. What if I added the magic instead of taking it?

When I asked the Keepers later, they all seemed intrigued. Isidora, whose portrait now sat in the Map Chamber with the Keepers, was reluctant to consider it, saying there may still be a risk of corrupting the magic into something dark like she had. All of the Keepers except for Rookwood seemed very uncomfortable with her presence, but even they agreed that more research was required before they could advise me one way or the other.

Professor Rackham pointed me to a book that, he said, should reside in the Restricted Section and contained all of the knowledge in existence about Ancient Magic. I promised to use it to gain as much information as I could before trying to use my abilities on a person. I left feeling better about Anne's condition than I had in weeks, but promised myself I wouldn't tell Sebastian or Ominis anything until I knew more. That meant getting into the Restricted Section without any help from my friends.

--

"What was the title, Miss Jerome?" Professor Weasley asked from across the aisle.

I ran my finger along the spines lining the shelf in front of me. "'Harnessing the Ancient Arts,'" I told her.

"Ah," she exclaimed, pulling a text off the shelf, "I believe this is it."

I turned to face her. Sure enough, the title matched, and as she opened the cover, I saw a familiar wisp dancing on the pages. I sighed in relief. "Yes, Professor. That is it."

She handed it to me with a smile. I paged through it eagerly, seeing more of the blue wisps indicating traces of Ancient Magic.

"I do hope it serves you well."

I looked up at her then. "Thank you for your help, Professor. I couldn't have done this without you."

She raised an eyebrow, a small smirk on her face. "Of course, Miss Jerome. I'm sure Mr. Sallow would say the same thing."

Heat crept up my cheeks, but I knew better than to say anything. Professor Weasley was skillfully perceptive, and I was not the greatest of liars.

As we began walking back toward the main library, she asked, "Are there any other books you need while we are down here? Perhaps for your extra studies with Professor Hecat?"

"No, Professor Weasley. Thank you for the offer." I wasn't surprised she knew of my sessions with Hecat, considering she had a habit of discovering far more secretive activities with ease.