In the Shadow of Darkness | Sebastian Sallow

Fiendfyre

A/N: Now that you all despise me for making you wait for a new chapter, here it is! Be aware that we are past the fluff part of the story. Stuff's about to get real in the next few chapters. Also, Hitchhiker's Guide reference ahead--couldn't resist!

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Christmas came and went quietly that week. Though my friends had all sent me gifts, I didn't much feel like opening them. I visited Anne on the day itself, knowing she would appreciate the company, and though we also exchanged gifts, we were both very subdued without her brother there.

Another four days passed before any clue of Sebastian's whereabouts materialized. Professor Hecat, who I'd been working with since the day after his disappearance, notified me that the Sallow house in Feldcroft had burned to the ground during the wee hours of that cold Tuesday morning. We both headed there to seek out anymore information, since we both agreed it could not be a coincidence. The villagers knew very little—only that they'd woken to the building already consumed by fire. The flames, they said, had almost looked like monsters in the night and seemed resistant to even water. They'd worked for hours to put it out, but all that remained were ashes and partially-collapsed walls.

"Fiendfyre," Hecat commented quietly as she examined the ruin with me.

I turned from the metal skeleton of the Sallow twins' old potions set to look at her questioningly.

"It's powerful and dangerous Dark Magic," she explained with a sigh. "Feldcroft is very lucky that whoever cast it chose to spare the hamlet and its residents by containing the flames."

I took stock of my surroundings, realizing she was right. Only the cottage and a few bits of vegetation around it had burned. "Do you think they were here? The entire time?"

"Most probably, but it's odd that no one would've seen them," she affirmed. "I don't think we will find much of anything here. Fiendfyre will destroy most anything it touches. If anyone wished to conceal evidence, this would do it."

I let out a breath. She was right. There wasn't much left at all. "But why? Why Sebastian's house?"

Professor Hecat gave me a gentle look, but changed the subject. "We should consider going back to the castle."

I nodded, but as I moved toward her, my foot caught something, throwing me off balance enough that I fell to my hands and knees. Slightly disoriented, I looked toward whatever the offending object must be only to find nothing. Professor Hecat appeared in front of me, offering her hand, but something caught my eye as I started to look back up at her. On the remains of the a wall, barely discernible on the charred stone, was a fresh carving: 42.

Professor Hecat followed my gaze, kneeling down to examine it, while I looked over her shoulder. "I don't suppose you know what this might mean?"

I shook my head. "No, Professor." Truthfully, I had no idea.

We headed back to Hogwarts, feeling no closer to solving this mystery than we had days before.

---

The next three days passed quickly, and on Saturday, students began filling the halls once more in preparation for the second half of the school year. Natty, Poppy, and Ominis joined me in the Great Hall for dinner that evening. As I described the state of the Sallow cottage in Feldcroft, they all looked on glumly.

"How horrible," Poppy said sorrowfully. "We must find who is behind this."

I sighed, tears of frustration welling up in my eyes. "No one knows anything. The last person who remembers even seeing Sebastian was Sirona and he left the Three Broomsticks to meet me. No one saw who set the Fiendfyre. Everything is a dead end."

"Perhaps not. That number you found must mean something," Natty encouraged, as always.

I shrugged. "Professor Hecat hasn't found anything so far."

Ominis, who had been quiet up until this point, spoke up, "In arithmancy, we talk of 42 as one of the seven magical numbers, representing a stable balance and symmetrical completeness."

"In Numerology, it could represent things like family, home, nurturing..." Natty added.

I scoffed. "So, it could simply be a number one of them carved into the wall years ago?"

Poppy seemed thoughtful. "You said it looked new."

"It did," I told her. "The stone was blackened, and the number looked like it had been carved after the fire."

"Wait a minute," Poppy wondered, "the caves!"

At our confused looks, she pulled out a piece of parchment and lay it on the table in front of us. On it, a carefully transcribed map of the Forbidden Forest and its caves showed all of the places we'd already visited and the ones we had not. Poppy had painstakingly labeled all of them with a number, 1 though 57, and the ones we'd already explored had been marked out. Cave number 42, near the south portion of the Forbidden Forest, had not been crossed off yet.

"Of course," I exclaimed. "Sebastian and I had planned to explore at least half of the remaining caves during the holidays."

Poppy nodded. "He should have a map just like this one. I gave it to him before the Yule Ball."

"We have to go there," I started.

"And we shall," Ominis agreed, "tomorrow morning."

"No, we need to go tonight!" I could barely breathe, a panic settling into my chest. He had been gone weeks, he may not have the hours to wait until the morning.

"Ominis is right," Poppy maintained. "We'll do better in the daylight."

I looked between the three of them. A lump had formed in my throat, and no matter how many times I tried to swallow it, I couldn't. They couldn't be serious! My ears began to ring as heat crept up my cheeks. How could they leave him out there for any longer?!

Natty's hand on my shoulder grounded me slightly. "Please, Eleanor. We must have a plan before we go into that cave. For all we know, it could be a trap."

I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to control my breathing as my heart tried to beat its way through my ribcage. Finally, I covered my face with my hands, nodding. "You're right."

But on the inside, I had made my decision. I was going to rescue Sebastian tonight, with or without their help.