{15th July 1991}
{Rigel's POV}
Pain radiated sharply through my skull, and I fought against it as I tried to think of a solution to a problem other than blindly following along with my captors' demands. My thoughts spun wildly, a desperate storm trying to latch onto something, anything, that might free us from this predicament.
But I couldn't think of anything for one simple reason: my mana was sealed, which means all my sources of power were somehow gone. I couldn't even begin to tell how I couldn't access it, maybe it was because of whatever enchantments these chains carried.
With my ankles similarly chained, I couldn't even muster the leverage to forcefully tip the chair, let alone mount a surprise physical assault to try and gain any advantage. It was a thoroughly demoralizing realization: for the first time, I was utterly, completely trapped.
'Fuck...I don't think I can escape.' The thought was depressing, but I needed to confront it head-on to think past just escape.
My jaw clenched as I scanned the bare stone walls. A gentle whir occasionally whispered from the ceiling fan, breaking an otherwise oppressive silence. Everything in the room felt starkly mundane, except for the floating magical candle.
'Fuck fuck fuck...' I cursed as I kept drawing a blank.
Just as despair started to creep into the edges of my thoughts, a subtle ripple of mana stirred the air, pulling sharply at my senses. My head jerked right, and I felt the chair creak ominously beneath me at the sudden movement.
The wall beside me rippled like a pond invaded by a thrown stone as it faded into transparency, revealing another room as I took a sharp breath.
On the other side, bound like me and blindfolded on top, were Sirius, Harry, Ron, Fred, George, and Ginny. Each of them was tied to a chair identical to mine. Relief flooded through me, briefly alleviating one of my worries.
None of them appeared physically injured, so that was a plus. With whatever magic was suppressing their mana signature gone, I could better read their condition. Most of what I got was anxiety and confusion, but any signs of overwhelming pain and fear I had dreaded were absent. At least they hadn't been tortured, not yet anyway.
'Where was Parvati?' I thought. Perhaps they'd sent her home, her purpose fulfilled. My gut twisted uncomfortably at the thought. She'd tried to warn me, yet it was too late by then. We had already fallen into the trap.
'If only she had said something sooner,' I thought, then banished it for now. It wasn't going to help right now.
Before I could think further, another mana signature drew my attention back. Through the translucent wall, Mrs. Patil stood watching, a victorious smile tugging faintly at her lips, likely from seeing my reaction.
Our eyes locked briefly as I tried to mask my emotions. After a long moment, she turned smoothly and left the adjoining room, the wall solidifying once more and cutting off my view.
My mana senses remained, though. Even though I lost sense of others, I tracked her movements effortlessly through the corridors until the door to my room swung open once more.
Mrs. Patil sauntered into the chamber, alone this time, her husband conspicuously absent. A confident sway carried her forward as she raised one hand. Her focus ring glinted as she channeled mana into it, and her hand gracefully traced an intricate pattern through the air.
Her mana pulsed precisely, conjuring a chair, elaborately carved with a flowery lotus design, clearly meant to make an impression. And likely to remind me that although I was far ahead of my peers, I was still a kid in front of an adult wizard.
She sat elegantly, crossed her legs, and fixed me with an intense, appraising gaze. "Well then, Mr. Black," she began silkily, "do we have a deal?"
I leaned forward slightly but had to stop as the chain tugged at my bruised chest. I masked my wince behind an attempt at casual indifference as I began with the only play I have: "I'm entirely in the dark on what exactly you want from me. We can't exactly have a deal without it now, can we?"
A small smile curled her lips as she tilted her head thoughtfully, her eyes narrowed as if she were considering something carefully. But my mana senses detected no genuine hesitation as she was calculating. This was simply an act, a performance designed to unsettle me. She leaned closer, and her cleavage bulged slightly as the candlelight danced across her dark eyes.
"As I've said before, the final protections of the sanctum are sealed behind a bloodline lock, one that cannot be breached through brute force or deception. We require you... to bypass those protections and grant us access to Dhanvantari's legacy."
I felt my expression tighten subtly as I carefully challenged her, testing the limits of her patience. "And why do you assume I can do what countless wizards before me could not? Being able to read Parseltongue doesn't mean I can unlock a bloodline seal. Surely, you've already had capable wizards decode the text. You knew our interest in Allahabad meant we knew of the inheritance precisely because someone else deciphered its location."
A low laugh escaped her lips, its bitterness immediately apparent as she didn't fake her emotions this time. "It's ridiculous, isn't it?" she said softly, almost to herself. "For generations, my ancestors have chased after Dhanvantari's secrets. His powers, his legacy, only to repeatedly fail as they were stumped by the bloodline lock. And yet, you, who have stumbled blindly into this legacy, possess no real understanding of your own true heritage." Her voice dropped lower, colder, a darker note of bitterness creeping in.
"Parseltongue is more than just the ability to speak to serpents, Mr. Black. It is an ancient and revered bloodline ability, woven deep into the fabric of our culture. Even muggles worship those who once walked with your rare talent as gods, venerating serpents as divine symbols of creation and destruction."
She paused, eyes blazing passionately, her mana vibrating with barely suppressed emotion. "This gift you possess, marked as a sign of a dark wizard in England..." she spat with venom, "...was, throughout history, a trait of great power, born as a profound form of soul mutation. It appeared randomly, often signaling tremendous upheaval to get the wizard under their wings...Until Dhanvantari discovered how to harness it, how to pass it on to his descendants."
"Dhanvantari..." she continued a little reverently, her voice softer yet tinged with bitterness, "...was hailed as the God of healing, a wizard who had glimpsed through the secrets of the very soul itself. But after his death, his lineage was hunted relentlessly, his sons disappearing without a trace, likely victims of experiments seeking that very power. The power to peer into souls, to take something that is hidden in a person's very soul..." Her mana darkened further.
Bitterness coloring every word. "Centuries passed, fruitless and frustrating, until one day, a ripple in fate occurred. Every seer in the land felt it. Dhanvantari's legacy was opened again, but despite all efforts, no one could breach his protections."
"Then," she murmured intently, leaning closer, "strange rumors reached us that Salazar Slytherin, one of your founders, possessed Parseltongue, an ability previously very, very rare in the West and one that he hadn't revealed before the breach."
"And through Slytherin, his descendants somehow inherited Parseltongue, just like Dhanvantri. The bloodline continued without fault once again. From Slytherin to the Gaunt lineage, it eventually fell into ruin through inbreeding. But you, Rigel, you represent the resurrection of that pure lineage, the resurgence of a true Parselmouth."
My breath froze in my chest as everything finally clicked, my heart pounding wildly. Her eyes bored into mine, triumphant yet chillingly dangerous. "Isn't that right… Mr. Gaunt?"
'Well fuck... should I blame Slytherin for this?'
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AN: Finally bringing together the reason for everything. The seemingly innocent choice of choosing Gaunt at the beginning is coming back to bite Rigel in the ass... :P
P.S.- 55+ chapters on P.atreon: P.ateron.com/Light.novel.addict
P.P.S- Extra Portrait of Mrs. Parvati is free on P.atreon!