"Cassius. You are needed.”
It was spring break and the young Ravenclaw was studying an old tome on goblin treasures in the family library when his mother stepped through the entrance archway. “Of course, mother,” Cassius replied, marking his place in his book before closing it. He rose from his chair and approached; her striking blue eyes fixed on him. Livinia Eden was not a witch to be kept waiting, a truth Cassius was repeatedly reminded of.
“Follow me,” she said abruptly, turning and gesturing to the scion of the Eden family. Cassius followed her down a long corridor until they came to an aged oak door reinforced with dark iron bars. The door to the cellar storerooms. He had attempted to gain access to it numerous times, even with the use of the unlocking charm, all to repeated punishment but to no avail. The wards were stronger than anything he knew how to unlock.
Livinia withdrew a long wand made of reed from her sleeve and tapped the tip of it on seemingly random sections of the stone wall surrounding the door. She then whispered something and placed her hand flat against the wood. His mother winced and withdrew her hand. He could see there were specks of blood on the door which were quickly absorbed into the wood. With a click louder than he might expect of a door this size, the cellar entrance opened.
“Mother, why are we going into the cellar?” Cassius asked, curiosity and trepidation in his voice. She said nothing as the pair stepped through the doorway and began to descend a spiraling stone staircase. A wand-lighting charm cast by his mother illuminated the unadorned walls around them. He had long been told the reason why that door was locked was for his protection. What did he need protecting from?
The staircase let out into a large dark room with arched ceilings. With a swish of Livinia’s wand, torches around the room ignited in unison, illuminating hundreds of neatly stacked crates. Some crates were small, others larger than a carriage. Each was neatly labeled with what seemed to be random numbers giving no hint as to what their contents might be. He had seen crates like these but in London at their main warehouse. Unlike those crates which were branded with the logo and name of the family shipping company, these were unadorned.
“What is all this?” Cassius asked in slight disbelief. He was not sure what to expect after all these years but this was certainly not it. Not in his own cellar of all places.
“Your inheritance,” his mother said, already walking down one aisle towards an unadorned wooden door set into the stone wall. “One which you will receive in time when you are ready for the responsibility. This is the legacy of your father and generations before him. They were adventurers, archaeologists, and seekers of that which has been lost,” she explained, running her fingers along the edge of one large crate. “I show it to you now because I am beginning to see the same spark in you that I saw in your father when I first met him at Hogwarts many years ago. The ambition. The fervor for adventure.”
She turned and met his gaze. “I will not try to stifle this spark. I am not even sure it would be possible if I tried. It is in your blood as an Eden. However, I must provide you with caution. There are powerful and dangerous individuals and organizations that would be very interested to learn what is in these crates and harm us for having them. You will not and cannot mention it to anybody. Do you understand?”
“I understand,” Cassius said, nodding his head once. “But how? Why?” He had questions but Livinia said nothing more on the topic. This particular silence from his mother was one he was familiar with. It usually meant: I will tell you when you are older.
The unadorned door was unlocked and the pair stepped through into a much smaller chamber. Torches were ignited, illuminating a room lined with antique filled shelves. There were no nondescript crates here. There was everything from jewelry and ancient armor to rusted goblets and grotesque creatures preserved in jars. Cassius stood in the middle of the room taking in his surroundings. He barely noticed his mother briefly disappear and return with what appeared to be an ornate wooden jewelry box in her hands.
“You will be a target,” Livinia said, opening the box to reveal an ornate wand unlike any Cassius had seen before. “You will need a wand that will help you overcome the trials and tribulations yet to come. This is the wand of your grandfather, passed down to him after generations in the family. Silver lime with a Rougarou core. Powerful. Unyielding. You will be hard-pressed to find anything like it in the world. It cannot kill you but it will resist. Overcome it and it shall be yours. Let go and it will deem you unworthy.”
“I am ready,” Cassius heard himself say, not entirely believing it nor realizing he had said it. He eyed the wand with awe and trepidation, slowly reaching out with his right hand. How would it resist? As he took hold of it with a firm grip, he felt it… challenge him. In an instant he felt a searing pain as the wand burned him. He resisted the urge to let go, fighting back tears and screams of pain. It tried to bring him to his knees but the young Ravenclaw fought back. The pain coursed up his arm unlike anything he had ever experienced before, not even in the most violent of duels. His vision was clouding and he felt himself begin to lose consciousness.
Then, as soon as it had begun, the pain vanished. In its place was a comforting warmth. His legs no longer felt weak, nor did his arm feel sore. His eyes were still wet with tears but it was as if nothing had ever happened. He no longer sensed challenge from the wand. It was something else. A cautious curiosity? Discernment? He was not yet its master but it was a start.
