Skirmish in the Feldcroft Catacomb

Skirmish in the Feldcroft Catacomb
Part of the plot to cure Anne Sallow
Date	1891
Location	Feldcroft Catacomb, Feldcroft, Highlands, Scotland, Great Britain
Result	Murder of Solomon Sallow Destruction of Slytherin's Spellbook Destruction of the relic
Commanders
Sebastian Sallow
Solomon Sallow †
Combatants
Sebastian Sallow's friend
Anne Sallow
Casualties
Solomon Sallow Inferi

This skirmish took place in the Feldcroft Catacomb in 1891. The confrontation was marked by the murder of Solomon Sallow, a former Auror for the British Ministry of Magic, by his nephew, Sebastian.

Background

A drawing of the relic by Salazar Slytherin's student

After the break-in of Slytherin's Scriptorium at Hogwarts Castle, Sebastian read in Slytherin's Spellbook about a student who had discovered a relic in the Feldcroft Catacomb – one with the power to heal cursed individuals with a required sacrifice. Sebastian was intrigued by this, as his sister, Anne Sallow, had been cursed by Victor Rookwood two years prior, and he had become desperate for a cure ever since.

Sebastian invited his friend to the Catacomb to scout for the relic. They defeated various waves of spiders before reaching and securing it. However, they were stopped by Ominis Gaunt, who had followed them and demanded they stop meddling with the Dark Arts. Sebastian and his friend refused, either persuading or using the Imperius Curse on Ominis to stop him from following them as they hurried out of the Catacomb.

After leaving the Catacomb, Sebastian and his friend found Feldcroft attacked by a large number of Ranrok's Loyalists. They fought off waves of goblins together before an unidentified goblin rushed at Anne, axe in hand. Sebastian used the Imperius Curse to force the goblin to kill himself – an act that his uncle Solomon was disgusted by, and evicted Sebastian from their house for.

Since that day, Sebastian rued that his sister Anne was forced to live with an uncle who he believed did not have her interests at heart. He sent Anne a coded message, using his crest, to invite her to the Catacomb, where he was determined to heal her curse once and for all.

Events

Arrival of Sebastian's friend

Sebastian brought Anne Sallow and Ominis Gaunt to the Catacomb to show them his newfound power to control Inferi via the Dark relic he had acquired. They left in distress, barricading the Catacomb and waiting for the arrival of their mutual friend.

Sebastian surrounded by loyal Inferi

When Sebastian's friend arrived at the Catacomb, they were greeted by Ominis and Anne, the latter of whom was pacing around, unnerved by the incident. Both were visibly distressed. Ominis claimed the entire Catacomb was overriden with Inferi that Sebastian had managed to control. He stressed that the whole village was in danger and that Sebastian had clearly gone mad with the power the relic had given him.

Ominis and his friend entered the Catacomb and fought off waves of Inferi. Meanwhile, Anne went to get her uncle, Solomon Sallow. As Solomon had promised to report any instances of Dark magic to the Headmaster, Phineas Nigellus Black, Ominis rushed off to tell Black that the incident was just an overblown family argument.

"I told you! The relic is the answer! I've been trying to reverse the Dark Magic that injured Anne, but this will allow me to control it – just as I can control the Inferi."

— Sebastian Sallow

Sebastian's friend found him in the Great Room surrounded by Inferi loyal to him, with Sebastian happily expressing how nice it felt to have so much power. Before their conversation could go much further, they were interrupted by the arrival of Solomon, who attacked an Inferius – much to Sebastian's surprise – before summoning the relic and nonverbally destroying it.

Duel of the Sallows

Solomon Sallow: "She cannot be healed, Sebastian. You must stop."

Sebastian Sallow: "Argh! I won't let her suffer. Avada Kedavra!"

— Solomon and Sebastian moments before his murder

Sebastian shot a nonverbal spell at his uncle and a three-way fight ensued, with Sebastian and his friend fighting the now free horde of Inferi and Solomon. The fight ended when Sebastian shot the Killing Curse at Solomon, ending his life. Sebastian dropped his wand at equal surprise and shock at what he had done.

The destruction of Slytherin's Spellbook

Anne Sallow arrived, aghast at the scene. In a rare demonstration of her magical power, she knocked Sebastian against the wall, incinerated the remaining Inferi, and destroyed Slytherin's Spellbook, much to Sebastian's horror. Anne then Disapparated away with Solomon's corpse. She was the only person present at his burial some days later.

Aftermath

After the events that took place in the Feldcroft Catacomb, Ominis Gaunt felt that they had to turn Sebastian in for his crime. If Sebastian and Ominis's friend agreed, then Sebastian would have been expelled from Hogwarts and faced trial at the Ministry. However, they might have also kept the event secret, with Ominis persuading Anne to keep quiet for Sebastian's sake. Regardless, Sebastian showed great remorse at his actions.

Appearances

• Hogwarts Legacy (First appearance)