Midnight indigo-colored eyes widen as Rowan pales and recalls the prophecy made by Cassandra Trelawney and her granddaughter, Sybill Trelawney. "Two stars have fallen, both equal in might," her eyes instantly dart back to the lyrics of the song. "The Stars descend."
Almost dropping the book in her lap, Rowan lets out a shaking breath. "Long forgotten, long thought gone, but not all things that are forgotten are ever truly gone..." That single line confirmed her worst suspicions.
Their once was an existence be it human, magical, or other once sought to be immortal and in doing so became a Horcrux. The ancient entity much like the second apprentice (Hydra) did not stop at one horcrux. But continued to absorb and grow until the very fabric of existence was threatened just as in the prophecy, "….and the world shall finally perish and fall away into utter darkness..."
"-Yet life and death will clasp hands in solemn accord, the Hydra must perish..." Life and Death will do all in their power to make things right. They did in Potter's time with the birth of Potter to destroy Voldemort. They must have with Apep and Herpo the Foul. And in any other instance where any other dark wizard or witch created a Horcrux for it was the ultimate transgression against Life and Death. An abomination, a Hydra, the "Latent seeds," referred to in both song and prophecy.
The final lyrics at that moment become abundantly clear. "Never hunger, Never seek, Lest wishes spring, And return the Beast." It was a clear warning to all magical beings to never hunger and seek out greater power lest their greed recreates the abomination of the past, Hydra, and commence the cycle anew. An abomination, the greatest of transgressions.
It also explained the reason why magical creatures could inherently sense the abomination. The Great Mother Snake had been able to clearly distinguish those possessed. However, she had been an ancient Great Horned Serpent among her kind. Not many magical creatures could reach that age and power.
Yet magical creatures in themselves were not entirely defenseless, they all possessed survival instincts. It was for that same reason that Rowan had requested and acquired the presence of a centaur at Hogwarts to teach. Most centaurs could not accurately detect Hydra except for the centaur tribe Shaman, and Shaman-in-training (Firenze). Yet all centaurs had a 6th instinct that permitted them to sense if there was something that went against nature and Hydra was no exception.
With Ronan present at Hogwarts teaching Divination, Hydra had to lay low or rather stay out of Ronan's way. That did not mean Hydra could not act just in out-of-way places. And neither did it mean that sooner or later it would not harshly move to remove the obstacle in its path.
Rowan let out a heavy breath from within her chest. She did not know who Hydra was, but she did have some clue as to where it had been. Considering the time frame, it was unlikely she would be able to find any clues from those that destroyed Apep and the prehistoric Hydra. However, she knew that the First Apprentice of Herpo, the Foul had been the one to betray and ensure the death of his master. If she could identify the first apprentice, she might be able to find even more clues. In other words, more research.
Rubbing her forehead, Rowan her ancestor's journal shut as the last trailing thought emerged. Hydra, the creation of a Horcrux is considered an abomination, but what if that term was not limited just to a Horcrux? There was one other existence that defied nature, an obscurus.
Normally, Rowan would have laughed the topic off except Salazar Slytherin had trapped an Obscurus and left it for her to find. She wouldn't lie, she had initially thought up until now that it was just one last vindicative action from her ancestor. Yet what if was a clue in its own way. And truthfully, she had yet to understand why her forefather had left such an existence for her to deal with.
Furthermore, thousands of years had passed since the death of Salazar Slytherin, and yet the obscurus trapped within the orb still lived. Secondly, the obscurial, the original host body had long perished, but the dark magical parasite still lived. And lastly, Credence Barebone, an obscurial proved that as long as a fragment of the obscurus remained the obscurial could return to life. And just like the tale of the Warlock's Hairy Heart grows in its own mind.
If just, maybe, Rowan had released the trapped obscurus, perchance it would have been able to reform its body. She knew it was a great deal of many ifs, but what she did know is that the obscurus craved and thrived in the shedding of blood. She would have released a monster into the world that would nearly be nigh impossible to kill.
Even now, there was also the possibility that the obscurus would and did in fact act like a Horcrux. Newt Scamander had preserved and successfully kept alive the obscurus of a young girl from Sudan within an enchanted bubble. And what just if, someone took a trapped obscurus and implanted it into another or permitted the obscurus to attach itself to another magical host? Would it not in fact be an abomination going against nature? How would its existence be any different from a traditional Horcrux? Would it not to be considered, Hydra!
In her search, Rowan could not deny that was a distinct possibility, but she had no intention to study the functions of an obscurial. It would be cruel and highly invasive to a magical child. An obsucial was formed by a young witch or wizard who had been psychologically and physically abused and as a consequence of their magic being suppressed, their magic formed a dark parasitical will of their own much like the Warlock's Hairy Heart did.
It would be cruel to even attempt such research on purpose. Maybe, if someone genuinely offered themselves, Rowan might just consider it. But she had no intentions of seeking the opportunity out on her own.
Letting out a weary sigh, Rowan rose from her seat to return her ancestor's journal to the bookshelf. She had tutoring to do, followed by dinner, and then patrolling the corridors. That and she was certain she had detention assigned to her by Professor Snipe for missing Gobbledegook. At least the weekend was in sight which was a rather dim comfort considering her weekend would likely be spent in detention.