Beneath the Restricted Section...

As soon as Erebus saw the archway that had been activated utilizing Ancient Magic, his System announced that he had become part of the instanced event for a side quest called "Tomes and Tribulations" which had been apparently one of the main story quests within the Hogwarts Legacy game. When the notification popped up, Erebus put it off to the side as he rushed into the archway without hesitation-reading it at a glance while attempting to catch up to Alex.

Utilizing the Force itself, Erebus augmented his agility to increase his speed while keeping his senses sharp. This meant he was able to discern the subtle disturbances in the ambient magic within the instanced dungeon event and even track down Alex quite easily-finding him in a fight against tall guardians that the System notified him were made up of Ancient Magic.

'Just fucking perfect,' Erebus thought to himself as he tightened his grip on his wand. He saw these magical golems get destroyed rather easily by Alex-sometimes utilizing his own versatile type of Ancient Magic to finish them off-and even perceived their health through his System.

It had become rather obvious that Alex was just as skilled as Erebus was in magical combat, but he could feel that there was an aura of Fate around Alex. For some reason, Alex was important to the Wizarding World's history at the current moment in time and Erebus could feel that.

That didn't dissuade Erebus from attempting to help clear the instance with anything less than a 'Perfect' grade by the System. He was here to help keep an eye of both Sebastian and Alex so that they wouldn't get into trouble-which meant he'd have to deal with the librarian before Sebastian got into a mess. Even from the books, Erebus still despised the mischievous poltergeist though not quite as much as Umbridge (aka Pink Toad or Umbitch).

Unfortunately, until the Voidship returned, Erebus wouldn't use the Unforgivables until after Alex and Sebastian learned them later on in the year. He might not completely know the story of the game itself, but the System was surely dropping some vague hints about it through the quests and instanced events.

Thankfully, it didn't appear that Alex needed Erebus' help in defeating the Pensieve Sentinels (from what his System informed him), so he kept himself cloaked using the Cloak of Shadows skill. After the very last one had been defeated, Alex remarked that it had been a book he was looking for. Erebus was the only other person who heard it and it seemed like the last part of the instance was to collect the book which was floating above a pensieve.

Alex quickly went towards the book-which opened up and some ethereal silver liquid came out in a gentle stream into the pensieve below. Both Erebus and Alex recognized this as memories, so with the latter unaware of his presence, they both took a look at the memories.

The first memory showed Percival Rackham and three other professors utilizing Ancient Magic to restore a village from a draught by triggering a rainstorm overhead. Erebus knew that this was quite an amazing feat of magic, but it wasn't too long before the scene changed.

The second-and final-memory shown in the pensieve was the same professors greeting a young girl who was called "Isadora Morganach" who started in their fifth-year of Hogwarts much like Alex. Erebus could tell from the subtle sensation through the Force that young Isadora had begun traversing a dark path at this point-albeit unaware of her subconscious desires.

With him and Alex being ejected out of the pensieve, Erebus's System notified that there had been some progress in discovering the secret of the Keepers. This meant that the professors and Isadora were related to the secret being kept and it beared further investigation.

For the time being, Erebus decided to let Alex find his own way out of this place and get the book to Professor Fig. He had to deal with the librarian first.

<~[+]~>

In the main library floor...

Sebastian was chasing after Peeves in order to stop him from snitching to Madam Scribner (A/N: the librarian of Hogwarts at this point in time), but failed to notice that Scribner had already been informed until she shrieked.

"SNEAKING IN THE RESTRICTED SECTION AGAIN!" Scriber shireked to the stunned Sebastian.

'Oh crap!' Sebastian thought to himself as he tried to think of a way out of this.

"I had thought that we were through with this mischief. Clearly detentions are insufficient," Scribner continued. Neither Scribner nor Sebastian noticed that Alex was hiding just nearby behind a book cover hearing everything. "I'm afraid I must take this to the headmaster."

"But-" Sebastian began, but was interrupted by Scribner.

"That being said, Peeves informs me that you didn't come alone tonight. If someone has coerced you, I would have you tell me. You're a bright boy, don't waste this." Scribner finished-waiting for Sebastian to talk.

Before Sebastian could say the obvious lie he made up, it was when they heard a familiar voice interrupt them.

This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

"Apologies, madam," Erebus said with a small soft smile as he appeared out from behind the librarian-holding a random book. "I thought Professor Fig informed you that Sebastian brought me here to catch up on some reading?"

{You have decided to help spare Sebastian's fate. You have sufficient Charisma skill to circumvent this pivotal moment.} the System softly whispered in his ear.

"Hmm?" Scribner inquired as she turned to face Erebus who was holding onto a random book. Sebastian also looked at Erebus in slight confusion as he had never noticed him in the library at all tonight. "Is that so?"

Erebus nodded softly. "Its alright if you didn't get it. I just thought that since the professor had been called away by the headmaster earlier today, he might have forgotten to send you a notice. It was only now that I realized what time it was and before we could head back to our dormitory for the night, Peeves wanted to cause us mischief."

The way that Erebus had portrayed the entire situation was enough to sound extremely logical and reasonable to the point that even Alex and Sebastian who knew the truth of their situation were almost convinced that was the truth. Only Peeves-who was thinking he managed to get Sebastian into trouble when he caught the duo in the Restricted Section earlier-was dumbfounded at how this stranger managed to overturn it all with a few sentences!

Scribner was stunned with Erebus' reasoning for a moment like she had been targeted by a stunning charm before she recomposed herself in a huff. "Well, I see. Anyways, perhaps you should both get on your way back to your dorms. It is well past curfew after all."

Erebus and Sebastian nodded respectfully to Scribner-although both Alex and Sebastian were secretly nodding in appreciation towards Erebus for covering for their adventures. Unbeknownst to Erebus, this also happened to increase their curiosity about who Erebus truly was.

<~[+]~>

The next morning... In Professor Fig's classroom...

Only Alex and Professor Fig were in the room-talking about the book and its mysterious contents. Alex had explained that he had gotten into the Restricted Section while Fig had been held up by Professor Black, but was told to spare Fig the details of that particular mission. The only detail he wished to share to Fig was that somehow Erebus was there and had helped to cover for them both-gaining Fig's interest.

"This means that our mysterious friend likely surveyed you two and wanted to intervene at the right moment," Fig theorized-much to Alex's shock. "The only question is why. We know he has a System since he revealed it to us, so perhaps his System notified him?"

Alex didn't know the answer to that question either, but secretly wanted to find out more. "Professor, about the book..."

He then detailed the memories he found and gave the book to Fig-who saw that some pages were missing. This led Alex to also try to find out more about the missing pages alone since Fig had to go to London to explain about George's death to the minister.

They both had no idea that within the next few weeks, everything they knew would change.

<~[+]~>

Two weeks later... Between Hogsmeade and Hogwarts Castle...

It was nighttime for Erebus who was sure that no one was awake or tempted to go out for a midnight stroll. During the last two weeks, he had eagerly awaiting the time for when he could reunite with his Voidship which had been lost to him ever since leaving the Galaxy. He had learned a fair bit more about the spells he had previously learned-aside from the Unforgivables-and started to understand a few things about the Expelliarmus spell in particular.

Fortunately, he understood that the spell could be applied to other weapons that just wands. Even his lightsaber was affected although it was only for a moment since it was a soulbound weapon and couldn't be disarmed. This would prove useful in other worlds outside of the Wizarding World.

With a soft utter of Lumos under his breath, the tip of his wand light up just bright enough to act as a normal flashlight bought at a local store. This was enough to light his way since he was just outside of Hogwarts though not in the Forbidden Forest.

Using the minimap function, Erebus began to follow the path towards where his System said his Voidship landed. What was very slightly ironic was that it was just beyond the Quidditch pitch.

It didn't even take him half an hour to find a seemingly out-of-place red british telephone booth like the one found in twenty-first century Britain. The System notified him that this was indeed his Voidship although it was clear that it was disguised since its real form better fit an interstellar universe than a modern fantasy world like the Wizarding World.

Erebus slightly shrugged at the notice from his System and decided to simply enter into his ship.

The door opened to reveal the familiar clean futuristic interior of his Voidship instead of an actual telephone booth. Erebus smiled warmly as he crossed the threshold of his ship-stepping out of the Wizarding World and back into his more familiar place of residence-while feeling refreshed once again. Without so much of an issue, he stepped forward deeper into his ship while the door slowly closed behind him.

"Welcome back, Erebus," Arch welcomed as his holographic self manifested into the lounge area. Even Kreia looked at Erebus happily upon seeing him alive and well despite knowing he could respawn due to his System and his Voidship.

"It's nice to be back," Erebus returned the welcome greetings. "What the heck happened when we left into the Void?"

"A Voidstorm disrupted our travels," Arch explained. "The ship wasn't prepared for a Voidstorm on our first voyage across the Variant Timelines, so it caused you to go overboard and into the Void itself."

"How come I don't remember that happening?" Erebus inquired. "All I recall is us leaving the Galaxy then waking up inside of a damp cave."

Arch just shrugged.

"Perhaps there is a greater mystery to that than we know?" Kreia theorized.

"It's possible," Arch nodded lightly. "The Variant Timelines are not places we quite understand. The Void is even less so."

Erebus sighed in defeat since that would have to be something they'd have to learn more about later on. "Anyways, setting aside another mystery to solve, what do you know about the current time period, Arch? My System has been hinting quite a lot about what is meant to happen within this year."

Before Arch could explain further, Kreia and Erebus felt a disturbance in the Force in their ship. Akin to a warning which had signalled Arch of something gone wrong, he locked down the lounge area which helped to shock out a couple of wizards who were under a disillusionment spell from a nearby corner of the ship.

Kreia immediately reached out with the Force to disarm both of the wizards whose disillusionment spell had been broken-revealing their identities.

"Alex? Sebastian?" Erebus asked as he noted their familiar faces. "What are you doing here?"

Both of their wands had been set down gently on the table in front of Erebus, Kreia, and Arch by the Force itself guided by Kreia. It was at this moment that both of them were caught red-handed and a round of interrogation would begin.

<===+===>