An active, character-driven Hogwarts experience set in the early 2000s. Unique items, plots, and features. Non-canon; this isn't Harry Potter's story, it's ours.
Post by Ezra Ashworth on Feb 7, 2023 7:11:45 GMT 10
Ezra had just about heard his siblings call for him to wait, but it came too late to stop him from making contact with the chest. Instead he was left with the word echoing in his head as magic washed over him.
He had the passing thought that maybe he should be scared, but he could not manage to summon up the feeling. Not when the magic that held him felt so comforting.
When the magic faded he slowly blinked his eyes open to stare down at the chest. That-.. What was that? It had felt warm and safe and familiar somehow. Like a comfort that he should recognise.
Was-.. was that his dad? Was that what Not-Uncle-Marcus had talked about when he said that Conrad had loved them? That feeling was his love?
“Oh,” he whispered, his eyes watering as he wished for the feeling to come back.
“It’s okay,” he said to his siblings eventually, unwilling to take his eyes off of the chest but wanting to reassure them too. Even though he was not sure what they seemed so worried about. "It felt like a hug.” That was the only way that he could think of to explain it.
"I think it was him. Conrad.. Dad." He could not explain why he was so sure about that either, only that it felt right.
He still wanted the feeling to return. Maybe if he opened it...
It would be no surprise that, even with his siblings telling him to go slow and to be careful, as soon as the idea popped into his head he once again reached to open the chest with no hesitation.
At Reena's words, the projection shuddered like a poorly-tuned radio for a few seconds.
'Knowledge is dangerous,' he repeated in a strange voice. And in sync, one of the cabinets sealed its door, as if something erased the split that allowed it to open.
Reena's question went unanswered, as attention was too closely placed on Ezra and the chest. When he opened the once-cursed chest, Marcus vanished in an instant -- though without reaction or concern.
The first thing to notice was that a leather journal was attached to the underneath of the lid. A modified variety of a sticking charm only allowed Ezra to remove it, but they could see plainly see Conrad Ashworth engraved in gold along the bottom.
The contents of the chest were an assortment of objects, mostly buried under many important-looking books, and countless ribbon-bound scrolls. It was a bit vague, as they were protected under a shimmering blue layer of magic. It was rather beautiful, almost like gentle water reflecting a sun's rays -- it meant them no harm whatsoever, but was an impenetrable barrier even for Ezra.
It seemed familiar to Reena, as if magic like this may have been mentioned in one of her classes over the years. It was something simple, yet powerful. Whatever the contents of the chest, perhaps the timing wasn't right for Ezra to discover them.
Post by Kody Ashworth on Feb 7, 2023 20:58:46 GMT 10
Kody let out a soft sigh of relief - okay so the chest wasn't going to blast his little bro into non-existence. Normally, he'd be all gun-ho for the dangerous stuff but this... Yeah, this was next level.
And Reena was here too, so it wasn't like Kody could get away with his usual foolishness.
He glanced at his sister and nodded, a small smile on his lips and he left it to Ezra to check out the chest. He turned to talk to Not-Dad again but... He was gone? Had the chest caused him to disappear? He frowned, disappointed.
Instead, he looked around for a stool or something to sit on so he could wait for Ezra to finish poking around. Kody wouldn't force him to show off anything since it seemed kinda private. He knew if his dad had left something for him --
Kody frowned at the thought and wondered if he had left anything, for any of them?
There was a flicker of something in his chest. Quiet and small but still there. Kody did his best to ignore it and push it down. Reena would keep an eye on Ezra so he didn't have to. Kody gravitated towards the table and wiped a hand over it.
Maybe he just had to be okay with the Not-Dad-Not-Ghost and the fact this busted up laboratory used to belong to their dad (and maybe mum to).
Post by Ezra Ashworth on Feb 9, 2023 11:44:33 GMT 10
Ezra sagged slightly as the chest opened easily without a repeat of the magical feeling. He had hoped, just to reassure himself that it had been real.. But no, the chest opened like it was just a normal chest. How sad.
At least the contents of the chest offered an interesting distraction in the form of another book. A book that seemed stuck to the lid and, once again, held that name. It looked a lot more fancy engraved on the new book though.
Ezra reached towards the book, but his fingers only succeeded in brushing over the engraved name before he finally noticed the blue shimmer that hid the rest of the chest. That was weird. Beautiful but weird.
Why would the rest of the chest be barred?
By such a pretty barrier too. Ezra thought that it looked kind of like water. He very much wanted to poke it to see if it would burst.
His fingers twitched down as if he was about to do that, only to pause in thought. If it was like water then maybe it would splash too.
He reached back to the engraved book to try to pull it off the lid, then turned back to the barrier in an attempt to squint through it. Was that more books that he could see, hidden away underneath?
Would poking the barrier damage the books? He did not know, not when he had no idea what kind of barrier it could even be. That meant that there was only one way to find out. Well, maybe two, since his siblings were older and probably knew more than him, but he was already reaching to poke as he asked.
Unfortunately for Kody, there weren't any stools. Unless a pile of wooden bits and pieces in a workspace corner used to be a stool? The pieces looked to be the right shape; it was possible.
Wiping his hand over the table, an action that was more for idle hands than an attempt to be productive, rather surprisingly revealed some old markings on the wood. A few notches, like something was being tallied, and the occasional semi-faded letter or number. Did it mean anything or was parchment simply in short supply at the time?
The journal came freely off the lid, now safely in Ezra's possession.
The barrier shimmered a little at his poking, but didn't harm him at all. It was simply a solid force of magic, preventing anyone from reaching the contents underneath. Nothing about it seemed ominous or even private -- it was exactly as it appeared: a barrier. Whatever condition it required hadn't been met, though Reena still had a sense that the requirement was time itself.
And whatever limitations were placed on the chest's contents clearly did not extend to the journal. Sticking out the top, like a makeshift bookmark for page 10, was a photograph of young Reena extending the rune outside (using chalk, of all things), which led to the very laboratory they were in now.
Post by Reena Ashworth on Feb 11, 2023 2:21:31 GMT 10
Reena had focused her attention on Ezra and the chest, and had not looked at Echo-Dad, even when he repeated her words in a weird manner. She was too anxious still, that the chest might be a trap after all, to hurt her little brother.
But it did not. It truly was an ordinary chest now.
And the 'Conrad Ashworth' on the journal did confirm her suspicions. It did little to clear up the timing of its placement, yet despite her best efforts to keep an open mind and give her uncle the benefit of the doubt, she felt almost certain that he had tohave been the one to trash the laboratory.
It was a scary thought.
Conrad breaking in here, having a complete meltdown into rage, and then meeting her dad at the Ministry for... whatever they had actually been trying to do there. Save people, somehow.
The scrolls and everything below the journal caught her attention and she wondered, with a shudder, if it was those that her uncle had stolen from the Ministry.
She did notice the shimmer of magic on the scrolls and thought it familiar enough that she was confident that too would cause no harm to Ezra.
Only then did she turn around again, to find the imprint of her dad had vanished into thin air. She threw a puzzled look towards Kody, who had started to wander around the laboratory, wondering if he might have seen what had happened.
Had she accidentally found the off-switch?
It had seemed strange when she had said that knowledge was dangerous. She just hoped Echo-Dad would return when called, as he had promised earlier.
Before she had time to call out for him however, Ezra had asked her a question and Reena turned back around to look at the contents of the (once) cursed chest.
"Yeah, a shield...", she said as she took a look at the journal her brother had managed to get out of the chest.
"I think it can only be broken when some requirement is fulfilled... Might be time."
Reena frowned when she noticed the photograph that was sticking out from the top of the journal. The scenery looked sort of familiar to her and she reached out to take a closer look.
"Oh, that's me!", she said, surprised.
Why would her uncle keep a picture of her in his journal?
She looked at what little her was doing in the picture, and she could feel her breathing stutter for a few heart beats. Little Reena was drawing on the rune, extending it with chalk, the rune that marked the entrance to the secret laboratory.
Reena picked it out and flipped it around, feeling her stomach drop.
Had she given away the secret laboratory to her uncle? Had she somehow caused its destruction?
"What did he write on that page, Ezzie?", she asked.
She was feeling light headed. Was the loss of her dad's research her fault somehow? Or was little her a different kind of key? Was she still the key?
Key to what exactly?
Reena reminded herself to breathe calmly as she tried to think about it. Her dad had told her that she would figure it all out. And apparently he had meant to leave the research for her specifically. Perhaps this caption on the photograph tied into that more so than into the destruction of the lab?
Her dad appeared to have placed high hopes into her. She suddenly, for the first time in her life, wondered if he might have been wrong. If she didn't figure this out, would she have failed her dad?
Post by Ezra Ashworth on Feb 11, 2023 11:43:50 GMT 10
Ezra leaned closer as the barrier seemed to shimmer the slightest bit at his poke, only to slump back in disappointment when that was the only reaction. Maybe Reena was right and the barrier would break in time.
It was a little bit disappointing though, if that was true. They just had to.. What? Go back to the upstairs world and try not to constantly think about the fact there was a mysterious chest below them that held who knew what?
How would they know when the barrier broke? Would they just have to keep checking? What if it broke while they were all at school and they never knew?
At least he had the book with Conrad’s name engraved on it. It looked to be some kind of journal, and with the name on it Ezra could only presume that it was his dads. That made it a special book, so maybe it was okay just to take his time savouring that.
It was not everyday that he held something that Conrad may have written in after all. Even if, weirdly enough, it may have happened twice already in the secret laboratory. First the schoolbooks and then the journal.
The schoolbooks!
Ezra’s eyes darted back to the cabinet that he had found the schoolbooks in, wanting to reassure himself that they were still there. Only to be immediately distracted again as Reena took something that had been stuck out of the journal.
What was-? A photo? Oh, a photo of Reena!
He thought it was nice that Conrad had kept a picture of his niece safe.
With Reena’s attention on the photo, and Kody having moved away from them, Ezra took his chance to flip the journal open. Though he had only just managed to turn to the first page when Reena spoke to him again.
He found himself torn between his need to please his oldest sister and the want to just.. read the journal. To see all that had been written in it and to understand it all.
Ezra bit his lip as he stared down at the first page, trying to take it in, before he finally slumped once more and turned sad eyes to look up at his sister.
Post by Reena Ashworth on Feb 11, 2023 16:20:04 GMT 10
Reena was struck by the sadness on Ezra’s face and she hesitated.
Of course. She had ignored the fact that this was his dad’s journal. The first real proof he had that his dad had been alive and thinking and feeling.
“Ah. Silly me. That’s not how journals work, is it?“ she said and reached out to give Ezra a hug in an attempt to comfort.
“You go ahead and read it page by page, okay? I was just curious about my photo, but I can wait, promise.“
She handed her picture to him.
“Put it back on page 10 for me?“
She took a step to the side, a show of good will, giving Ezra the space he might need to read at his own pace. Reena was still anxious to know about the meaning of her photograph and would love to read the journal herself, but this had been Ezra’s dad.
And there was no echo version of him to ask about him, this might be Ezra’s only chance to know about him.
Instead of pestering her little brother further, she turned around and leaned against the counter, trying hard to hide her anxiety about the key thing.
“Reena Ashworth,“ she murmured her own name, somewhat sheepishly. She cast a glance at Kody.
Her thumb was tracing the wood on a cabinet door, as she figured she’d give it a try to take the caption literally.
Today, I learned the truth. They finally told us the full story about what happened to our uncle. I have to make note of this. I don't care what it takes, I'm going to solve it. This ends with us.
Sitting here, watching my children sleep unburdened by their future, I feel sick to my stomach. A blood curse? Mama was foolish to believe the lengths she went to, to save Marcus and I from being the next in line, were enough to stop it simply because we survived thus far.
But no, all she achieved was an admittedly remarkable feat of skipping a generation. She should have told us all of this sooner. Marcus and I, always wanting families of our own... and she'd kept her secret, even when Aubrey and Sunniva were pregnant. We unknowingly cursed our children to the fate we ourselves escaped.
I don't know how I feel. All I have right now is anger. Yet to have spared them may also mean to never known them. My daughter is so full of life, and my nephew brimming with new ideas. It's as cruel as the original curser intended. If that person wasn't already long gone, I'd have ended them with my bare hands for what they have done.
So what now? This kind of magic, does anyone even truly understand it? There must be consequences for skipping a generation as well. Mama tried to cheat a very old and forbidden magic. How can we be sure it won't still try to collect?
Page 2
Marcus has found it in his heart to forgive. But I can't; I'll never forgive Mama for this... for keeping it from us until it was too late. We know why my nephew has been so sick, and my daughter is joining him. They were doomed from birth, and now the wheels are in motion.
Sometimes I find myself wondering what Sunniva would have done. Would she have blasted that vase, like Aubrey did? Would she got deathly silent for hours, like Marcus? Or would she demand answers and scream to the Heavens, like I had? I'll never know.
My daughter and nephew will live. And my son, his cousins... they won't be burying their sibling, like Mama buried her brother. I won't allow it. I won't rest until I find a cure. Marcus and Aubrey agree, and we've already started. Mama refuses to give us her own notes, convinced I'll do something "stupid" she claims.
This magic dates back to Merlin's days, perhaps older. It's ancient. Unbelievably powerful. The kind of magic people hide away and pretend never existed. I don't care. I'll find it. I will save them, even if it costs me everything.
Papa said that all roads Ashworths followed to find a cure led to the same conclusion: that the only way to end a blood curse is by the spilling of more blood.
Post by Ezra Ashworth on Feb 12, 2023 1:43:26 GMT 10
Ezra briefly snuggled into Reena’s hug before he took the photo back and slotted it back between the pages. He was relieved that she was going to let him just read on his own first.
“‘Kay. I’ll show you when I get to that page.” He could easily agree to that at the moment. It was probably only fair after all. If Conrad had kept a picture of Reena with it then he was probably talking about her, right?
With that and her having backed off, Ezra managed to properly read the first entry in the journal. Only to wish that maybe he hadn’t moments later.
He stared down at the first pages after he had finished reading them, flicking between the two as he tried to absorb what he had read there.
He wanted to be excited - that was his dad’s writing! - but what he had read.. A blood curse? He was not quite sure what that was, but it did not sound good. Not if it had killed Grandma’s brother and was supposed to have taken both Conrad and Marcus too. And made his sister and Jaxen ill.
And Grandma had known about it. She had known and.. What? Had not bothered to tell until they had been sick? Had even refused to help? Was she going to just.. let the two die? Surely not. She loved them, right?
It was a lot of information that he had just read, more than he knew how to deal with really.
“Ree? Kody?” he called, trying to get their attention. He did not think that he could keep what those journal pages said to himself. It was too much. Too important.
So as soon as he thought that he had their attention he read the two pages out loud, his voice stuttering over certain parts as he struggled to get it out - the previously unknown name being one of them.
Sunniva.. He did not think that he had heard of that name before. Was that.. Was that his mum? His Other-Mother. The lady that he knew even less of than his dad. Just that she had left his sister and him behind when he was a baby.
He did not know why she had left them, but a part of him could not help but wonder if it was because of him. Was he that bad of a baby?
“That’s it,” he said once he had finished reading, the journal still clutched tight in his hands. He wanted them to know what the journal said, and was slightly scared about what else it may contain, but he was still not quite willing to give up his hold of it.
“Are- are they going to die?” he asked after a pause. He did not want to think of the possibility of that. He wanted to live in denial, to pretend that they were all going to live forever.
But the last school year had proven that people died, including kids.
Post by Reena Ashworth on Feb 12, 2023 17:12:19 GMT 10
Nothing happened at all to saying her name and she shrugged to herself, feeling rather foolish, before trying to open the cabinet door she had traced a moment prior.
Not much time passed before Ezra called out for her and Kody and she got up from her crouch, feeling her brows crease in concern about her youngest brother’s tone. Something was off.
Before her mind could run wild, Ezra started reading out loud.
The crease of her brows vanished and she felt her face go blank as she stared past her little brother at nothing in particular, listening while he stuttered through the words his father had noted down.
Uncle Conrad, he- Suddenly he was no longer an adult man with anger issues. No longer a grown up wizard who’s intentions should be feared.
He was a parent who was terrified for his daughter. His nephew.
And he was a child of parents who had willingly kept him in the dark, had lied to him, for most of his life. A child who, although he surely understood, could not bring himself to forgive.
Reena had never related to anyone in her family this much. It scared her.
Her respect for her grandparents surely took a hit right then and there.
And this blood curse. She was certain it wasn’t over. Wasn’t broken.
Jaxen fainting that day in Diagon Alley made a lot more sense to her now.
There was a heavy weight on her chest, shock and sorrow freezing her into place, while her brain rattled on.
The shimmer of the magic barrier on the rest of the scrolls and papers in the chest was distracting.
They were all doomed. Their brother and sister were to die if they didn’t stop it from happening. And any plan the three of them right here might ever forge to have a family of their own was to be ignored.
No. Wait. No. If it was that simple, their bloodline would have ended centuries ago.
Their brother and sister, the firstborns, would die before they had even properly lived. When they, especially Jaxen, did not even get to have a proper childhood.
Nothing about that was fair.
And she would be terrified of losing them right now, feeling hopeless, useless - if it wasn’t for the numbness that was creeping into her.
The shimmer of the barrier, that hid away potentially vital information about this, it was mocking her.
About an ancient blood curse a combined effort of generations of her family had not managed to break. About a blood curse, which to break it, required the spill of more blood.
About a caption on a photograph of her, which called her the key. A horrifying implication.
‘Are they going to die?‘
“F*@% no!“, she snapped out of her frozen stupor.
Reena did not usually use such strong language around her siblings, yet she did not apologize.
“Not like that. Not if there’s anything I can do about it.“
She stomped over to the chest and shut the lid over the bloody barrier. Her numbness had been replaced by anger.
“Dad, if you’re still listening, this would be the perfect time to fill in some blanks!“, her voice almost sounded like a growl to her as she turned around and glared at the spot she had last seen the imprint of her dad.
“This blood curse should have been the first thing you told us,“ she continued.
Reena could feel bile rise into her throat, her face hot with anger.
This was betrayal.
Her dad was supposed to be the one who understood her. The one who didn’t keep things from her.
And yet she only found out such very vital information about her life, about all their lives, their entire bloodline, through her uncle’s journal.
“Ezra, keep readi - ngg…“
Her anger deflated as soon as she noticed the tears on her little brother’s face.
Reena cast a glance at Kody. Was he going to cry as well? Was she?
She was not good with this. Sorting through the emotional turmoil of others was Jaxen‘s area to shine. And now, this was about him.
Oh, how could she tell him that he was doomed? How would she tell her sister?
“No…“, Reena said softly, feeling her own eyes water.
She gently reached out with one hand towards Ezra, with the other towards Kody.
She wasn’t usually very physically affectionate but the topic of death, which seemed to haunt her lately, was really turning her into a cuddler.
“No, Ezzie. Your father knew something. Did you see the caption on the back of my picture? There’s hope. We just… need to keep reading.“
Reena wasn‘t certain who she was trying to convince more. Her brothers or herself.
Post by Kody Ashworth on Feb 13, 2023 9:08:28 GMT 10
Kody puzzled over the markings on the table at first, distracted from whatever Ezra and Reena were doing over there. He wished he had some parchment and some way to make an etching so he could study them later.
For now, however, he simply shrugged and looked around. There definitely wasn't anything like a seat or stool for him to sit on. If coming down here was going to be something they did more often -- well, they would need to figure something out.
Well, he could always cross his fingers something magically repaired itself by the time he was down here again.
He looked over when Reena said something and drifted back to his siblings, "What's you?"
Kody didn't notice the picture at first, his eyes landing on the journal Ezra now held. He blinked, owlish, as his mind tried to piece together what was going on. "Did you find that in the chest?"
This was his own fault, for wandering off instead of sticking by Ezra. Whatever malcontent he had felt before was washed away with excitement that something mysterious and fun had been uncovered. Was he worried? Not really. Kody could leave that to Reena (or Jaxen) and enjoy the wonder of it all.
"Nice find, Ezzie." He grinned at his younger brother. He would have offered a fist bump here but figured the lousy shield would get in the way. Man, lame. Kody wasn't magically gifted enough to figure out how to deal with it and he wasn't going to risk losing a finger by poking it.
He was impulsive, yes, not stupid.
Or so he hoped.
Kody noticed Reena glancing at him and he shrugged. It seemed he didn't fit into whatever she was worried about now. There wasn't anything here for him. Just a vision of his Not-Dad but that was little comfort. Was he an after-thought with all of this?
He leaned against the table as Ezra spoke.
He did his best to pay attention but it was a struggle. Not that his little brother didn't speak well but Kody needed something to keep his brain from wandering. His hands itched to touch and there was nothing for him to pick up or study or simply play with. He frowned, the face he always made when concentrating, and nodded.
Their uncle seemed pretty annoyed at something...
A blood curse? Kody looked at Reena, "Well... That's..."
Something.
He swallowed and looked back at Ezra, opening his mouth to assure him when Reena got there first. Kody gasped when she swore but soon grinned. "Yeah, exactly what Reena said!"
Kody gave his little brother a determined smile, "We're going to stick together and figure this out, whatever it is."
Seeing the hand his sister offered, Kody stepped closer to her and put out his own. Their fingers curled together and he gave Reena a small squeeze, "We're Ashworths right? We can do this. Fix whatever problem it is, as long as we have each other!"
Post by Ezra Ashworth on Feb 13, 2023 13:50:42 GMT 10
Ezra could not help but to startle as Reena cursed, the shock of it enough to jolt him from his upsetting thoughts.
The word may have been a shock, but the anger was actually somewhat of a comfort. If she said that it was not going to happen, that she would not let it, then he had to believe her.
That didn’t mean that he turned down actual comfort though.
He scrubbed at his eyes with the back of his hand, sniffled, and then dived over to accept her hand. He pressed close to her side as he listened to both of his siblings' reassurance.
“Right, yeah, together,” he nodded his head, only for his eyes to be drawn back to the journal after. “We’ve gotta know what he found out.”
If the first entry of the journal was about him finding out about the curse, then it made sense if the rest of it included him trying to find the answer, right? He hoped so. He did not know what they would do if the rest of the journal was more bad news.
Where else could they even look for answers? There was Hogwarts, of course. Maybe they would get lucky and its giant library would offer some information about blood curses.
But first, he had the journal. He just had to read more to find out what it held.
Ezra slowly let go of Reena’s hand so that he could turn the pages. His eyes flicked up to Kody and Reena once more, seeking their approval, before he let out a little sigh and settled in to read more of his father’s words.
With the chest shut, the imprint of Marcus reappeared. He seemed a bit annoyed by the whole thing, and took a moment to process why Reena's mood had changed so drastically. It clearly didn't know what happened or was said while it had vanished -- the chest's magic appeared to cancel him out somehow.
'I have very few memories or information about the curse,' he calmly answered Reena.'Those are not details he wished to pass on, as second-hand information can often be corrupted by emotion and personal opinion. I wanted you to find things out naturally, and form your own opinions. A fresh pair of eyes.'
He glared at the chest, as clearly Conrad's journal was the metaphorical spanner in the works. Yet he didn't discourage them from reading it, either. It was a lot of mixed reactions, like two thoughts warring with each other.
'The plan was a poor one regardless, I see,' Marcus added. 'As you should already know of the curse's existence. They agreed to tell you, should anything go wrong. Aubrey was adamant. I can't imagine what might have changed her mind since then...'
Meanwhile, Conrad's journal had more to say.
Pages 3 and 4 were a mess of words, circled or scribbled out phrases, sketches of various runes, and a few book section references -- all manner of a brainstorming session that became progressively muddled and fuelled by frustration.
A lot of it made no sense to them at all, but it read like someone's personal drafting and perhaps wasn't supposed to make sense to the reader. Only a few key phrases or runes really stood out. The words firstborn, Mirthwood, and DoM were repeated the most. The only runes with with an English translation written beside them were for blood, gift, protection, and water.
Not being much of an actual journal experience, the book itself seemed to urge Ezra to flip again...
Page 5
A month of research, and we're getting nowhere. Marcus says it'll take time, but how long do we have? If only Mama would hand over her own notes, but still she refuses. I know she showed Marcus something that gave him a few sparks of ideas, but all of my suggestions get shut down. She doesn't share any of it with me, but I suppose I've hardly said a word to her lately anyway.
Yes, I'm still angry and it only grows. I will do whatever it takes to find this cure. I think that's what they're so worried about, especially when I reached out to a bunch of contacts in Knockturn Alley. They had some... interesting things to say, on the kinds of magic we could meddle with that may go much further than Marcus' little potion theories.
Drastic problems require drastic solutions, they said. I'm inclined to agree.
Every generation of Ashworths has at least one naturally-gifted potion-maker. Surely, if the answer was at the bottom of a vial, then one of them would have solved this years ago? No, I refuse to believe that will be enough.
The more I read about the ancient magics of old, the more intriguing it all is. That kind of power just left to fade away? All the untapped potential, wasted. What if the cure lies within those dusty scrolls, stashed away under lock and key? Why are so many people afraid of the unknown? We're trying to save lives and correct a terrible wrong against our family, not take over the world.
Someone reached out to me about all of this, and seems to know his stuff. He said there's a stronghold of this knowledge at Hogwarts, but also much of it is stored away in the Ministry. The way he talks about this magic makes me more convinced that's where the answer lies. Just imagining that kind of power... no one would dare come after our family again.
Page 6
It was foolish of me to think Marcus would understand. He is against using the Sacred Magic, as I've learned it is called. He knew about it already, and he kept it from me. Like mother, like son. My daughter's life is on the line here!
No matter, I've met with my friend to discuss it further. He does not know about the blood curse or what I need this magic for, but he respects that it is of a dire need. He introduced me to a group who are far more open-minded than my family. I'm not afraid of Sacred Magic, like Marcus is. It could be the answer we're searching for.
And while I plan to take action, my brother has locked himself away with his cauldrons and whatever other research he keeps secret from me. Typical Marcus, getting all the praise for doing things the proper way... while I am shunned for finding alternatives. For daring to walk the path others cannot handle.
Everyone's so focused on their own projects that they don't realise something's going on with the kids. I know Marcus has shared things with Reena, at least. She's been drawing the rune for "water" on Jaxen's pictures. My daughter's been having bad dreams too, about an archway or a burning tree.
Perhaps they're the biggest clue of all? I tried to find out more, but got into a big fight about it with Aubrey. Her being a Slytherin, I thought she'd at least understand my methods. That perhaps the ends do justify the means, in this particular instance. Yet she's ridiculously overprotective of them. Her son and niece's lives are in danger; now is hardly the time to show restraint.
I need to find out what Marcus knows. But if he's going to take the risk of sharing details with his impressionable young children, then this journal shall be mine. If we succeed, it never needs to be known. If we fail, or fate catches up to us before we can finish... I'd like to think that at least my son will have answers.
Post by Reena Ashworth on Feb 14, 2023 16:16:12 GMT 10
Reena smiled at Kody and Ezra. She was touched by their trust in her and proud of their resilience in the face of this tragedy.
Still, she could not shake the feeling that she would have to solve this problem by herself in the end. That she was the only one willing to do what it took. That had to be why her uncle had called her the key, right?
Her real father’s words were still present in her mind: She would not let anyone stop her. Not even Jaxen.
When the imprint of her father reappeared, she got a feeling that she hadn’t caused his sudden disappearance earlier. She was somewhat surprised that he seemed annoyed, her dad really must have given his imprint at least parts of a personality.
Reena listened to what he had to say. Her anger had subdued but there was an underlying tension in her, that warned her about her anger flaring up again at any given moment.
However, she hadn’t let go of Kody’s hand yet, as it somehow felt like it grounded her.
Her eyebrows raised at the part where they were supposed to know already.
“The Aubrey you knew isn’t exactly the mother we grew up with,“ she said.
Her younger brothers surely had no idea, but she had met the real woman on Christmas. The real genius behind this room, the real partner who could fulfill her end of a pact.
Not this whimpering, unreliable mess that would shut herself off whenever things did not go her way.
“But I guess it may have been you who changed her mind?“, she continued hesitantly. “She told me that you said something while you… Do you know that you were murdered?“
She suddenly remembered that they never told Not-Dad about his demise. Dad obviously knew there was a big risk, however Antoninus had made it sound like the murder part had been surprise.
“Do you know who could have done it? That traitor in the ministry you warned us about? Who is that anyway? Antoninus couldn‘t tell me about it, he was bound not to somehow…“
Reena did not exactly expect a straight answer. It never was that easy and the only source of information that hadn‘t been frustrating so far was Conrad’s journal.
She nodded towards Ezra to continue with it and caught sight of some scribbles of runes and words, a brainstorming session.
DoM? Day of Month perhaps?
“Oh, Dad, there was a potion in your Gringott’s vault that made mum’s mind stay in the present for a while… Do you have the recipe by any chance?“
Last Edit: Feb 14, 2023 16:55:39 GMT 10 by Reena Ashworth: bolding
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