You Cannot Put a Fire Out // Sebastian Sallow [Book Three]

Chapter Twenty-Three: Fear Is the Mindkiller

The repository loomed ahead of Damien in all of its glory, all of its monstrousness. As Damien peered at it in the distance, a shiver ran down his spine. He now knew how much power lay within its depths, and with great power came immense responsibility.

When Damien wielded the magic contained within as a boy, he hadn't grasped the sheer raw energy pulsing through him, the terrible and wonderful things he could do with it. It gave him pause to harness the magic once more, especially after that fateful summer in 1891, the one that he did, while hazy, remember bits and pieces of... not that he would ever tell Sebastian that. But, like always, he buried the disquieting memories deep within himself and prepared for what he was about to do.

It was a necessity that he take the magic now, wasn't it? Someone needed to save Sebastian. And if not Damien, who?

He reminded himself of the new process, preparing to cast Deprimo as soon as he reached the repository. He would make a bigger hole in the goblin metal this time to speed up the process, now that he was going to take it all.

Or, so he thought.

For the closer Damien got to the repository, the clearer it became.

The repository was, in fact, empty. The magic stored within was gone.

Someone had beaten him to it.

All of the breath left Damien's lungs, like someone had punched him in the gut. His legs turned to jelly beneath him. It took every ounce of his strength to remain upright.

There could only be one explanation for this. Only one person who could, theoretically, have seized the power for themselves... for himself.

Jack.

Damien needed to find Jack. His son.

***

Damien knew exactly where to go.

Damien had, naturally, visited Sebastian in the Slytherin Common Room countless times in their last two years at Hogwarts. If Slytherins had been a more friendly lot, he likely would have been deemed an honorary one, but alas, the only Slytherins who welcomed Damien in with open arms, besides Sebastian, of course, were Ominis, Henry, and Rupert. Imelda didn't seem overly bothered by Damien's presence either, but she was never vocal about her love for anything outside of Quidditch, although Damien thought he'd seen her brushing hands with Poppy once, but it happened so quickly that he easily dismissed it as a figment of his imagination.

Disillusioned, he crept through the halls of Hogwarts, recalling the many nights he had done so alone before he and Sebastian became friends and eventual lovers, and especially the ones in which they'd explored together. Those memories of shared nights haunting alcoves where they would steal away kisses were much fonder. They warmed him now, despite the dire circumstances.

Arriving in the dungeons, he settled down on the chilly stone floor, pressed his back against the wall, and waited.

He didn't have to wait long.

Moments later, the door materialized. A cloaked figure emerged. The hood of their robe was up, obscuring their features, but a weathered knapsack hung from their back, making them easy to identify. It was Jack. Damien rose and trailed after him, careful not to make a sound.

Very soon it became clear where Jack was headed. And where else would Jack go but the Forbidden Forest? It made a peculiar sort of sense.

Oddly, Jack hadn't Disillusioned himself. Was Jack that confident he wouldn't be caught? Damien had been much more cautious when he was a boy, ever mindful of curfew and Peeves the poltergeist, who could easily rat on him to anyone he wished. Damien's mind drifted back to his youth, the many times when he worried about getting expelled. He couldn't be! Not after discovering he was magic. Not after discovering his attraction to the same sex wasn't considered a crime—wasn't even frowned upon!—in the wizarding world. He could never go back to the Muggle world permanently after those miraculous revelations. Never ever.