In the Shadow of Power - Hogwarts Legacy

Chapter 18

On the wall across from them, Alayna pointed to a wood panel that had appeared. She knew that had not been there before. Going through the portal from Isidora's house must have revealed it like the way the rooms had changed in the first trial. Sebastian and her walked over to it and as they grew close noticed that there was a split in the wood panel down the middle. Taking the initiative, Sebastian stepped forward and pulled on the wood panels that once swung to the side revealed...an empty triptych.

"I think..." Sebastian glanced back at her, "there's supposed to be three pictures here."

"It looks like they've been torn out." Alayna pointed out a few scraps that still clung around the edges of the panels. "And this here. Is it a clue?" Pinned in the middle panel was a scrap of paper with a drawing on it. It looked like a sketch of a particular place, but she had no idea where it might be or what it meant.

"You know...I think I might recognize this place," Sebastian said as he peered at the drawing.

"Really?" Alayna was a bit surprised he could tell where it was just from the sketch.

"I think. I could be wrong, but it wouldn't hurt to go take a look. I can go and see if it matches," Sebastian offered.

"Thank you, I'm not sure what this is but it must be important." Percival Rackham hadn't mentioned anything about this. Perhaps it was meant for a later trial and she'd accidentally stumbled upon it? Wouldn't that be something? Alayna grinned to herself thinking how impressed they would have to be if that was the case.

"Well, I guess it did save us the trip back to Hogwarts. As trippy as that was..." Sebastian unpinned the sketch so he could take it with him for reference. "Thanks for coming with me to Feldcroft. It was nice to have a friend by my side."

"Of course. I'm glad I was able to meet Anne." Alayna hesitated for a moment before stepping forward and wrapping her arms around Sebastian. "I'm sorry about what happened to her...and about your uncle being a jerk." Sebastian was silent for a moment and she was afraid maybe hugging him had been a bad idea. But then he wrapped his arms around her as well and she felt his head press into her shoulder.

"Thank you, Alayna. But there's still more I haven't tried." Sebastian pulled away with a smile. "Speaking of...I wondered if maybe the goblins used ancient magic to curse Anne?"

"Hmm...I don't think so. I didn't see any traces of it around her. The Dark Magic I've seen the goblins use is something different I think."

"Alright, I guess at least it's one more thing I don't have to look into," Sebastian said, trying to make light of it. Alayna sighed, wishing she had better answers for him. If it was ancient magic, she probably could have helped, but as luck would have it that was not the case.

"If you need anything, I want to help. I can't bear to think of anyone suffering at the hands of Ranrok and his followers, least of all my friend's twin."

"In that case, I do have something in mind. But I need to talk to Ominis first. I'll let you know what I find out and what we can do from there." Sebastian's smile turned into a smirk. Alayna had a feeling this was going to end in another argument with Ominis. She was starting to get a good feel of the boys' relationship.

"Okay, just let me know when you need help." Which would probably involve talking to Ominis she had to guess. He was definitely the more level headed of the two and didn't exactly approve of Sebastian always sneaking off to find potential cures for Anne. Alayna was sure that he cared for her too, but he wasn't as...reckless as Sebastian. So whatever it was he was planning, she had to guess Ominis would object.

She surprised herself with how well she knew the two already, but she was also glad to have made such fast friends. Even if those friends frequently argued with each other. Outside of the Restricted Section incident, she'd been caught on the sideline of a number of other smaller arguments between Ominis and Sebastian. None of them ever ended in bad blood, of course, but Alayna still found it so unusual. They really were like brothers.