Kindred | Hogwarts Legacy

Chapter Thirty-Five : The Keeper's Legacy

The Hogwarts castle seemed eerily still as Sabrina rushed down into the Map Chamber. Her adrenaline was still running wildly, but as soon as she approached the door to the chamber, she felt her feet stop as the gravity of everything finally hit her.

This is it, she thought. All of this work... I have to be strong. I can do this.

Sabrina walked inside and met with Fig standing near the staircase. "Professor," she said. "I have the wand. Rookwood has been arrested. He confronted me as I left Ollivanders with the Keepers' wand. I had to defend myself."

"Godric's heart!" Fig exclaimed. "Are you all right? I know you're well able to defend yourself, but Rookwood himself?"

"He destroyed so many lives and he wouldn't have stopped," Sabrina spoke, feeling her disdain for him begin to rise. "He'll be put away forever. I'm glad I was able to help."

Fig released a relieved sigh. "You're right. He wouldn't have stopped. I'm glad you were able to help send him to Azkaban."

Sabrina took a deep breath and felt herself stand straighter. "I'm ready for what's next."

The pair turned towards the four large paintings before them. Sabrina was beginning to feel her nerves prickling her skin as her anxiousness rose within her.

Pervical Rackham's voice echoed loud and almost thunderous. "You have completed all of our trials. And you have done so under circumstances even I did not foresee. You understand now why all of this was necessary – the portkey, the vault, the locket, the book, the trials. To ensure that one with the ability you and I share would make the same choice that San, Niamh, Charles, and I did."

Sabrina almost felt bad.

"Now that you have witnessed my memory," San Bakar spoke. "You understand all that is at stake. Not everyone is what they seem."

"As you know," Niamh Fitzgerald's gentle voice rang out. "Light does not exist without shadow nor shadow without light. Simply because you can eliminate darkness does not always mean that you should."

"Even the most well-meaning and competent among us cannot possibly know the consequences of manipulating what should be beyond our reach," Charles Rookwood finally added.

"What lies in the repository must never be released," Rackham continued. "Resist the temptation to destroy or control it."

Sabrina's heart beat hard against her chest.

"The magic that you have so carefully honed must now be used only to protect the secret we keep. You have the wand. You will know when to wield it. We leave our legacy in your hands."

As soon as Professor Rackham was finished, the floor of the Map Chamber began to ripple. What was once a black pool with stars was now moving in waves as it began to sink. The water drained to reveal a new set of stairs and a large ornate door glowing in warm light and light magic.

Sabrina's stomach was turning and her feet felt heavy. She looked over at Professor Fig, who nodded to her in silent determination before the pair walked down the steps. "We can only hope that we're not too late, and that we find nothing but a repository undisturbed beyond this door," he told her. Fig stopped suddenly at the door and turned to Sabrina, acting as if he wanted to say something.

Sabrina looked back at him. "What is it?" she asked him.

Fig closed his mouth and looked up at her. "I'll tell you when we come out."

The girl nodded in silent understanding, then she reached over and opened the door.

–

They walked inside and began rushing through the caverns. "I should hope that the enchantments protecting the castle would protect against an incursion from below," Sabrina told Fig, trying to be hopeful.