In The Shadow Of His Love (Reader vs Sebastian Sallow)

Chapter 58 - Helping Anne

Riley was not expecting to hear from Professor Weasley or anyone in the next few days, but to her surprise, the day after their conversation the Patronus with a message arrived. Profusely apologizing to her Graphorn for not going for a run, Riley is now heading towards the deputy's office. She hasn't mentioned it to anyone, not even Ominis. Knocking on the door, she can hear a voice inviting her in.

"Riley?" She can hear Anne's surprised voice.

"Hello, Anne," Riley smiles, but there is a bit of tension in the air, and Riley is unsure why.

"Is this something to do with Sebastian's efforts to find a cure?" She asks worriedly and Riley shakes her head.

"No. I spoke to Victor Rookwood and discovered he used a curse on you that makes it worse when you speak and are heard," Riley says and the tension is gone, as Anne smiles back.

"Why would no one think about this before?" Anne asks and Riley smiles sympathetically.

"Because everyone was under the impression it was goblins. But it was not..." Riley starts to explain everything, how Rookwood snatched her and how she put two and two together when he said that sentence. And how she then visited him in Azkaban and got the information from him.

"But he never confirmed it, the curse," Anne says, slightly confused.

"He didn't have to. He unwillingly and unintentionally gave it away because he's a moron," Riley says and just then she notices all three Professors are quietly listening to them, without any interruptions. It feels weird.

"So what's happening? Professor Sharp did not explain a lot when brought me here," Anne looks around and Riley does the same.

"It is a curse that was most likely invented by Victor Rookwood himself. I cannot reverse it, but we can ease it. It will never fully go away unless we discover the exact curse, but with a bit of help from me and Aesop Sharp, you will barely feel any pain if it works. But to make that work, we may need to experiment a few times to find the best combination. It is all up to you. As you do not have a guardian, you are now sadly, and luckily, responsible for everything in your life and all the decisions. I can assure you it will not get worse, but it may take time. And time is a mysterious thing. It can be done within a few minutes, but it may also take months or years," Professor Hecat says and Riley is standing there, trying to notice with her peripheral vision if Sharp reacted to the comment about the guardian, and she can feel and see his eyes on her. 

"What if it does not work?" Anne asks and Professor Hecat smiles at her.

"It will not get worse. If it doesn't work, it simply stays the same. But I do believe with our expertise we can help you to ease that pain."

"But why no one did that before? Why just now?" Anne says and she looks a bit upset and Riley quickly runs to her as the pain is back and she can see Anne almost falling to the floor, clutching her side.

"Goblins magic is not to be messed with," Professor Hecat says and smiles, while Professor Weasley helps Anne to sit down.

"Drink this," Professor Sharp gives Anne a potion, but Professor Weasley sceptically looks at him. 

"What is it, Aesop?" She asks before Anne has a chance to drink it.

"Pain reliever," He says simply but Riley has a feeling it is not just a simple potion, and so does Professor Weasley.

"I am not sure if experimenting on a child is a good idea," She says and scornfully looks at Sharp.

"I'll take it," Anne says and drinks the potion. She stops clutching her side and Riley looks at her, hoping it helped.