Part 14

Noah sat in the room until nightfall, until he remembered the scrolls. Perhaps he would find something related to the guardians or ancient magic there. Taking them in his arms, he sat down on the sofa and began examining them, throwing them on the floor.

As he expected, they turned out to be dummies, containing some dubious spells, architectural sketches, and drawings. Noah briefly considered burning them but decided against it, instead placing them on the shelves in the closet where he kept rare books he had found during his adventures.

"What a waste of time," Noah thought. His hope of using ancient magic as the keepers did was fading with each passing day. After the battle with Ranrock, when he was released from the hospital wing, his first instinct was to visit the keepers, but their paintings were empty. Noah then attempted to collect their second paintings, the ones that moved and opened passages to new challenges, but he found nothing there either. He ended up piling the empty paintings in the cartography hall, feeling betrayed that these so-called "guardians" had abandoned him. Determined to learn this magic through trial and error, he realized that each use of it only made him worse. It felt as if he was tapping into his own life force, which was fundamentally wrong. Noah didn't understand how it worked, and there was no one to ask or learn from.

Noah had never felt so depressed before; it seemed as though he had lost the meaning behind everything he had fought for. When he finally snapped out of his thoughts, he decided to check the paintings again in the cartography hall and take a solitary walk. As he exited the Room of Requirement, he immediately sensed someone's presence, his battle-honed instincts kicking in. Noah swiftly drew his wand from his robe and assumed a defensive stance.

"Whoa, take it easy, it's me," Sebastian removed his disillusionment spell and approached him.

"Sebastian? What are you doing here?" Noah, now calmer, put away his wand.

"I was looking for you. I couldn't sleep because I was worried," Sebastian lowered his head, feeling restless and fearing that Noah might disappear again, with himself being the cause.

"You have nothing to worry about. Go back to your room and get some rest; it's late," Noah didn't want to face Sebastian after what had happened today, or rather, he didn't want to see the look of horror on his best friend's face again. Sebastian grabbed his hands.

"I didn't mean to offend or anger you! Forgive me for today. I'm just afraid of losing you, so please don't distance yourself from me," Sebastian blurted out everything at once, realizing that it was practically a confession. He abruptly pulled his hand back and began fidgeting with the sleeves of his robe in excitement.

"So you're saying you're not afraid of me?" Noah asked. Sebastian looked at him and saw the sadness in his eyes, as if tears were about to fall.

"Of course not. I'm still the best duelist at Hogwarts. I'm not afraid of anyone," Sebastian began boasting. Finally, Noah managed to conjure a semblance of a smile and hugged Sebastian.

"Thank you. I was afraid that you and Ominis would start avoiding me," Sebastian didn't even have a chance to hug him back before Noah moved away.

"We agreed to support each other. I wouldn't leave you," Sebastian cleared his throat from excitement and began blushing again, though it was not visible in the darkness. Noah smiled and patted him on the shoulder.

"Go to your room. I'll see you tomorrow," Noah said his goodbyes, and Sebastian stayed behind, watching him with his eyes. He began to think that Noah would never see him as more than a friend. Meanwhile, Noah didn't even notice that his smile hadn't left his face all the way to the cartography hall. Communication with Sebastian seemed to give him strength. Before entering, he suddenly remembered their embrace in the crypt.

"He always smells like sunshine," Noah chuckled and opened the door. Inside, everything remained as before—empty frames. Noah descended and looked around.

"Are you going to ignore me?" he turned to the paintings, his eyes turning red in that moment. "If you don't come out now, by Merlin, I will burn this place to the ground!" He drew his wand and cast a confringo spell, causing one of the paintings he had brought from Rookwood Castle to burn. Only the sound of the painting crumbling to the ground followed. After standing there for another ten minutes, Noah realized he was simply wasting his time.

"Professor Fig, his wife, and my friend Lodgok died because of you. If you think your conscience is clear, COME OUT!" Noah shouted at the top of his voice, but there was no response.

"I thought so," he extinguished the fire with glacius and proceeded to the sealed chamber of ancient magic.