Echoes of Emotion (Sebastian Sallow x OC)

Chapter 17 - The Second Relic

Sebastian and I spent the rest of the night coming up with a plan.
I told him what Sage had said earlier, and since I had agreed to talk to the keepers with Natty in the morning, we decided that now we would all go together, and learn about the next relic.
Isidora had given me hints in the dream, mentioning a Gaunt, forest and a challenge.
But that was barely anything to work with.
The only thing that really concerned me was why she mentioned Gaunt.
Especially since there was only one relic that could really be linked to...

As soon as the sun rose, we agreed to inform Ominis and Poppy of this decision, not really giving them much of a warning.
When we left the undercroft, we both left in our separate directions, with him going to get Ominis, and me to get Natty so I could explain what happened, then get Poppy.

I quickly spotted Natty in the Bell Tower, bright and early just like we'd said.
She gave me a smile, but I just grabbed her arm, quickly pulling her in the opposite direction, towards the Hufflepuff common room.
"Where are you going?" she asked, struggling to keep up.
"We need to get Poppy. I'll explain on the way." I said, bursting back through the doors, heading back in the direction we came.

Once we made it to the Hufflepuff common room, Natty was still processing what I told her.
However, I was more concerned with the task at hand, getting Poppy out.
I stared at the entrance, my face twisting in thought.
I really should've just sent an owl.

Suddenly, a voice behind us made me jump, causing me to spin round.
"Hello. Can I help you?" they said.
It was a tall boy.
Blaine Thornberry.
I had seen him around, but never really spoken with him.
He seemed to keep to himself quite a bit, but I knew he was in our year.
It was quite hard to miss him, with his bright orange hair.

He looked between Natty and I with innocent eyes, curious as to why a Slytherin and Gryffindor were just lingering outside his common room.
"Is Poppy there?" I asked quickly, pointing towards the common room entrance.
He seemed confused for a moment, before realisation seemed to cross his face, a small smile appearing at her mention.
"Oh, yes! I'll go get her for you!" He replied enthusiastically, brightening up as he raced inside.
Natty and I exchanged a surprised look as he passed us, before a grin covered both our faces.

Poppy left the common room seconds later, greeted by the mischievous looks on our faces.
"What's with the grins?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Oh, nothing..." I shook my head, trying to conceal my expression, but Natty made no such effort.
"He's cute." She commented, nodding towards the common room.
Poppy turned to the entrance in confusion, before she finally realised what we meant, shock covering her face as she went red.

"Oh shush." She grumbled, crossing her arms to try and mask her embarrassment.
"What did you guys need?" She continued, changing the subject.
Natty and I's expressions dropped as we looked at each other, remembering why we came here.
I looked back at Poppy, gesturing for her to come with us.
"Come on, I'll explain on the way."
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Once we got there, Ominis and Sebastian were already waiting outside the door, to which I let out a sigh of relief, glad he hadn't taken things upon himself again.
We all quickly entered the map chamber, making our way down the stairs, with the keepers quickly appearing in their portraits.

"Please tell me you have located the next relic." I started, not interested in niceties right now.
Rackham nodded, which caused me to breathe another sigh of relief, thankful everything was going okay so far.

"We need to find it as soon as possible, Isidora is beginning to make her move, and I have reason to believe she knows where the relics are." I quickly explained, not seeing the need for further details.
We just needed to get the relics as soon as we could.
However, I wasn't expecting the lack of surprise.

"Have you noticed any difference in your magic as of late?" Rookwood asked, acting as though I hadn't said anything.
"Did you not hear me? We need to find the next relic!" I cried, not sure they understood the severity.
"Yes. But first we need to know how you're handling the last change." He elaborated, causing me to roll my eyes.
"It's fine. My abilities have been enhanced, but its not like my abilities haven't changed before." I shrugged.
This did seem to pique their interest.

"What do you mean?" Rackham asked.
"A few months ago, I managed to turn myself invisible, as well as those I touched." I explained, recalling the day with Poppy and Natty.
Rackham seemed to pause for a moment, before Fitzgerald spoke up.
"What were the circumstances? Was there something happening when this change occurred?" She asked, to which I nodded.
"We were running from poachers. We were about to be caught, and then it happened." I answered.

"Your magic adapted." Rackham said, earning a confused look from me.
"When the wielder experiences strong emotions, the magic can adapt. It's how Isidora's magic was able to take pain." He continued.
I couldn't help but look back at Sebastian as he said this, feeling guilt begin to build inside me.
He looked at me too, and I could imagine him thinking the same as me.
If I wanted it bad enough, maybe I could help Anne.

I turned back to the portraits, nodding in understanding.
"If you have adapted to the magic, I see no reason to keep the information from you." Rackham continued, the ground beneath us moving again.
"I had imagined Isidora would know of the relics' locations, since she seeks out power. And it was only a matter of time before she began building her strength in retaliation." He said as the ground began to settle, showing the next relic
The Slytherin Locket.

"However, we cannot rush this much more. It takes time to locate them. And each one becomes more challenging to obtain." He explained.
"What's so difficult about this one then?" Sebastian spoke up, looking at the image below us.
"Well, just like the cup, this locket has been passed down to the descendants. Unfortunately, they take quite a bit of pride in their heritage, so obtaining it will be difficult-" Rackham started, but Sebastian cut him short.
"Descendants of Salazar Slytherin?" He reiterated, earning a short nod from Rackham.

I slowly turned, as did the others, to look at Ominis.
He stood there, a slight look of fear on his face.
"The next relic is with the Gaunt's..." I breathed, realising what that meant.

"Yes. Is there something wrong?" Bakar asked, not amused at our reactions.
"I'm a Gaunt." Ominis answered bluntly, a slight bitterness to his voice as he spat out the name.
"Can you get the locket then?" Bakar continued, ignoring the obvious distaste Ominis held.

Ominis didn't answer for a while, his face twisting as he pondered the answer.
I wracked my brain for ways to get him out of this, for ways I could save him from this.
But as much as I hated to admit it, he may be our only chance of actually obtaining the locket.
And I think he knew that too.

"Yes." He answered, a defeated tone taking over his voice as he lifted his head.
I wish I could do something, anything.
But all I could do was hope that whatever plan he was thinking of, it avoided any kind of interaction with his family.

Now I knew why Isidora had mentioned the Gaunt's.
She knew where the locket was.
She knew what Ominis would have to face.
And she knew it was because of me.