In Pain's Shadow //Hogwarts Legacy//

The un-healable

Darkness. That's all that surrounded Aya. It was cold, winter was fast approaching. She could feel a blanket resting carefully on top of her. The material she laid upon was soft and relaxing. Her head ached, and she was terribly weak. She somehow managed to open her eyes, finding herself in the Sallow household.

She was resting on Anne's bed. Her hair fell in her face, having been let down from its usual braid. Aya cautiously lifted herself up in an attempt to gather her bearings. Anne was quick to her side, a glass of water being pressed against her lips. She obliged, taking a large drink. She felt dehydrated. Anne turned to look at her uncle, who rested at the dining table, arms crossed.

"You scared me." Anne stated. She noticed Aya shivering and undid her scarf, wrapping it around her.

"What happened?"

"You tell me." Solomon spoke up. "How did you do whatever that was? What was that?" He asked.

"Where's Sebastian?" Asked Aya. Anne pulled back the curtain separating the two beds apart, revealing Sebastian resting on the other. He was pale, shivering from the cold. Aya was quite surprised Solomon hadn't started a fire. She supposed he and Anne weren't feeling as cold. Sebastian's school uniform was bloody, a hole still torn in the center where he'd been stabbed.

Aya tried to stand, but dizziness overcame her and she had to grab onto Anne to keep herself from falling. "Rest!" Anne whispered. "You're too weak. You'll get hurt."

Solomon stood from his seat, making his way to his nephew. He placed a hand on the boy's forehead and frowned. "He's not running a fever. He'll be okay in a few days. I wrote a letter to Hogwarts explaining what happened, he can rest here while he recovers." Aya heard Anne let out a sigh of relief. Solomon then turned his attention to Aya, eyebrows raised. "So tell me, what did you do?"

Aya looked to Anne before she began explaining to Solomon everything that had happened. The Ancient Magic, the Keepers, Isidora, Ranrok, Rookwood, every single detail. Something about explaining everything to Solomon and the parts she hadn't told to Anne was comforting. It felt like she finally had someone to listen to her, to listen to her complaints.

When she was done explaining the house was quiet. Anne finally spoke up. "You have an extraordinary gift, Aya." She stated. Aya nodded somberly, looking back at Sebastian. "You saved my brother. I owe you so much."

"You owe me nothing. Let's just focus on getting him recovered." Aya responded.

"This power of yours," Solomon finally spoke up. "It seems very... potent; strong. Many would kill for a gift like that." He looked between her and Sebastian. "Which is why I would advise you to never use it again."

"What?" Aya breathed, barely comprehending what Solomon had told her. "Not use my powers? But you saw what they could do. They saved Sebastian's life! What if... what if I could cure Anne with them?"

Anne gasped silently. The thought hadn't occurred to her about what Aya could truly do with her powers. If she could save Sebastian, then she could possibly cure her. Anne's face lit up, she grinned widely as she looked at her uncle. He seemed to be contemplating Aya's words.

"As hopeful as that is, we do not know what side effects these powers have. This is uncharted territory and you are merely a child. If word gets out that you're using some power to heal the un-healable, Merlin knows what could happen. If I hear of you using these powers again I will go straight to the headmaster!"

"Uncle!" Cried Anne.

"With all due respect, sir, I need to learn how to hone these powers. Throwing them away would be a waste. If I hadn't used them Sebastian wouldn't be with us." Aya could feel her anger rising. She clenched her fists and stood carefully, beginning to pace the floor.

"And I am grateful that you did use them to save Sebastian." Solomon's voice rose. "But you will not use them on Anne!"

"So it's okay to save one and not the other? How hypocritical!" Aya retorted.

"Had I known what you were doing-"

"You would've stopped me and let Sebastian die?"

A soft sound stopped them in their tracks. A weak voice calling out. "A...ya?" Sebastian was stirring from his sleep. Quickly, Anne and Aya rushed to his side. His eyes opened, locking onto Aya's. She gripped his hand in hers. He looked around, still dazed from the attack.

"Hey you." Aya whispered. Sebastian winced, grasping at his wound. Aya took his hand and moved it to the side, frowning at the sight in front of her. The gash was poorly stitched together, likely Solomon's work, and was already showing signs of infection. She bit her tongue to keep from yelling at Solomon, who obviously hadn't cleaned the injury before stitching it up. Aya took out her wand and waved it, using a spell Professor Weasley had taught her to clean it up. She smiled at her work as Sebastian relaxed finally. She could tell he had been uncomfortable.

"Is... Anne-"

"I'm right here, Sebastian." Anne sat next to him, smiling softly. "Thank Merlin you're okay. You scared me and Aya."

Sebastian had never felt so small before. He was weak. It comforted him having Aya and his sister there with him but yet he was still overwhelmed with fear. All that had just happened. The catacombs, the attack, him being stabbed. It was all too much. He turned to his uncle, looking for some kind of help. Any form of sympathy. However, his uncle frowned and crossed his arms.

"What were you thinking, boy? Risking your life? Do you know how much trouble you could've caused?" Solomon asked.

"What was I thinking? I was thinking about my sister. Who would've been killed if- agh!" Sebastian grabbed his wound as he sat up. "Who would have been killed if I didn't get to her in time."

"Uncle, Sebastian saved me." Anne said, trying to defuse the situation. "If not for him then I wouldn't be here."

"You used to be an Auror, Mr. Sallow. You know how dangerous it can be. Sebastian and I have encountered Ranrok's Loyalists before and Anne is right. That goblin would have killed her." Aya added.

Solomon squinted his eyes, glaring at Aya and Sebastian before he caught sight of something in Aya's bag. "What is that?" He asked as he walked towards her. Aya removed the pyramid shaped object and held it tightly. She looked at Sebastian with worry in her eyes.

"It's a relic. It has the ability to reverse Dark Magic." Sebastian said as he looked at it. His eyes were bright with amazement.

"It's a school project!" Aya quickly added. Lying, in hopes to keep Solomon from taking and destroying the relic. "It's not the actual relic, it's mine and Sebastian's recreation of it. We thought it was neat and we wanted to show Anne." She quickly stuffed the relic back in her bag.

"That book has been teaching you Dark Magic hasn't it, Sebastian?" Solomon asked. Sebastian tried to stand but Aya and Anne were quick to grab him and sit him back down. The last thing they needed was Sebastian hurting himself any worse than he already was.

"So what if it has? How is it so bad? As long as I'm not using it. Fearing it will only make you weak to it!"

"Sebastian!" Anne cried in shock.

The four of them were interrupted by an owl flying into the home. In its beak it held a letter. Anne reached up and took it, patting the owl on the head. She handed the letter to her uncle as she walked over to the cupboard and grabbed a handful of feed for the owl. She smiled as she fed it. Solomon opened the letter and read it.

"It's from Professor Weasley. She says she's glad Sebastian is okay and has notified the others. They'll send his schoolwork here until he returns to Hogwarts." Sebastian frowned at the news. "It's getting late, Aya. You should return to Hogwarts before sundown." Solomon walked to the door and opened it for her. Aya gathered her things, giving Anne her scarf back as she hugged her and Sebastian. She began the long trek back to Hogwarts.