In the Shadow of Power - Hogwarts Legacy

Chapter 17

The interior of the home was just as cozy as the outside. A one story home with a large open living space and kitchen. To the left was a curtained room where Alayna assumed the bedroom was. She wondered if Sebastian and his family all slept in one room then and couldn't imagine living in such a situation. She and her sister had been lucky enough to have a small loft bedroom that they shared.

A fire roared in the fireplace near the back of the cottage and sitting at a round table was a young girl their age. Sebastian motioned for her to be quiet as they entered and he snuck up behind his sister, poking her in the sides. She turned around in surprise.

"Sebastian!" Anne stood up from the table with a big smile on her face. It was clear to Alayna that they were twins. She had the same hair color as Sebastian with bangs across her forehead and hair pulled back into a bun. They had similar facial features too although her eyes had dark circles under them as if she had barely been sleeping lately. She appeared malnourished too which made Alayna wonder about the manner of the curse she now bore. Sebastian hadn't told her much about it.

Out of his pocket, Sebastian pulled out an object. "Is that?" Anne asked as she looked at it. It was a shrivelfig fruit, Alayna saw. A useful potion ingredient she knew, but not the best thing for eating she didn't think. But as Anne reached for it, a man snatched it from Sebastian's hand appearing seemingly from thin air.

"We've been over this boy, shrivelfig fruit does not reverse curses. Nothing can." The man, whom Alayna now assumed was their uncle, waved his wand so that the fruit shriveled and turned to dust. It was a rather cruel way of dealing with the problem, Alayna thought. "The sooner you accept that reality, the better."

"But there has to be something that will work," Sebastian responded as his uncle moved to walk away.

"There is no cure. When will you accept that?" His uncle shouted, turning back around and walking up to Sebastian.

"Never. I can never accept it," Sebastian shouted back. Meanwhile, Alayna's eyes turned to Anne who had begun to hunch over before making the most painful cries she had ever heard.

"Now look what you've done," his uncle told him as he stood by Anne to make sure she was okay.

"I'm sorry."

"Leave." Alayna watched as Sebastian walked past her and back out of the house. She turned awkwardly to Anne and her uncle as she was now left by herself in their company. What on earth was she supposed to say or do after that? So she followed after Sebastian outside.

"I'm sorry you had to see that. If you don't mind, I just need a moment alone." Sebastian sounded absolutely distraught and Alayna could now see why. Hearing his sister in pain like that...she couldn't imagine what she would do if it was her own sister. Alayna watched him walk away from the house and heard the door open and close behind her again. Their uncle had exited the house to work on some of the gardens around the home. 

Alayna slipped back inside the house to find Anne sitting once again at the table in the room. She figured the girl could use a friend when the rest of her family was fighting over her curse.

"Um, hello." Alayna walked softly up beside her. Anne raised her head as she sat down next to her at the table.

"Oh, hello. I'm sorry about that. Those bouts of pain are difficult to bear." Even despite her condition, she was doing her best to be friendly, which Alayna found admirable.

"I can only imagine..." Alayna looked away for a moment before returning her attention to the girl. "Are you alright now though?"

"Yes, I'm fine. The pain from this curse comes in bouts and often suddenly," Anne sucked in a breath. "It's no one's fault, truly."