A thunderous rumble shook the chamber as hairline fractures crawled across the massive seal in the stone floor. The runes flared: red, then blue, then an eerie violet, casting dancing shadows over the ancient carvings. Percy stumbled back instinctively, shielding his eyes from the pulsing magic.
"What's happening?" Harry shouted over the roar.
Lupin's face was grim. "It's awakening. We're out of time."
The seal split with a sharp crack, sending a burst of force through the chamber. Dust and loose stone rained from the ceiling. From the fracture in the seal, cold, shimmering mist began to spill upward, like smoke, but glowing faintly. And in the center of it all, something… moved.
Not quite seen, not yet fully formed. A presence.
A voice, not heard but felt, rippled through Percy's mind.
"The heir has returned. The blood has touched the root. The door is open."
Percy staggered, clutching his head. "What, what is that thing?"
Lupin turned to them both, jaw tight. "It's not just a creature. It's not even a spirit, not exactly. It's something far older, something sealed here by the Founders themselves. A being of chaos and instinct. Hunger. It was bound before Hogwarts was ever built."
Harry looked horrified. "And now it's waking up?"
Lupin nodded. "Because someone tampered with the runes. Someone broke the outer wards. The tree Percy found was the last anchor keeping it dormant."
Percy looked at his hands. "But I didn't—"
"No. You didn't awaken it. You freed it, accidentally, yes. But it responded to you because of your blood."
"What does that mean?" Percy's voice was tight.
"You're not just any wizard, Percy." Lupin looked at him carefully. "Your magic is old. Wilder. More ancient than even the founders could predict. There's something inside you that calls to it, and it to you."
The ground lurched again.
From the widening crack, a shape began to rise.
It wasn't a creature in the conventional sense. It looked like a coiling mass of shadows and glowing veins, limbs that shifted form, and a single burning eye that hovered in the center like a star in the dark.
The presence was suffocating. Percy couldn't breathe.
Lupin raised his wand. "Get behind me. Now."
Harry and Percy both obeyed, scrambling backward as the shadow-beast rose higher.
But the thing didn't attack.
It looked directly at Percy, and in his mind, it whispered again.
"Come closer, child of two worlds. You are the key. The seal can be reforged... or broken."
Then, it sank back into the floor, vanishing as quickly as it had come. The mist followed it, leaving the chamber eerily still. The seal glowed faintly… repaired, for now. But fragile.
"Why didn't it attack?" Harry asked, panting.
Lupin looked at Percy. "Because it was waiting."
Percy swallowed hard. "Waiting for what?"
A new voice spoke from the entrance of the chamber.
"For him to decide."
They turned to see Dumbledore, standing tall and solemn in the archway. His silver beard glowed faintly in the magic-soaked air, and his blue eyes were locked on Percy.
"You shouldn't be down here," he said quietly. "But perhaps… it's best that you are."
Percy stared at him. "You knew. About the seal. About this thing."
Dumbledore inclined his head. "There is much I've kept from you, Percy. Not to deceive, but to protect. I hoped this day might never come."
"But what is it?" Percy asked. "Why does it know me?"
Dumbledore stepped closer, glancing at the slowly fading glow of the floor. "Because long ago, when magic was young and untamed, a pact was made. A bloodline was chosen to be both warden and key. That blood runs in you."
Percy's heart dropped.
"You mean… this thing is connected to my family?"
"More than connected," Dumbledore said. "It is bound to you. And now that it stirs… the war that once sealed it away may be coming again."
Later, back in the Headmaster's office, Percy sat alone while Dumbledore and Lupin spoke in hushed tones.
He stared into the fireplace, mind reeling.
Warden. Key. Bloodline.
He thought he was just another orphan. A half-blood wizard trying to find his place in a new world.
But now… he was something more. Something dangerous.
Outside the window, the sky above Hogwarts darkened as clouds gathered unnaturally. A cold wind rattled the panes.
And far below, in the depths of the school, the seal pulsed once.
Just once, like a heartbeat.
Then, it stopped.
The fire cracked in the hearth of Dumbledore's office, casting flickering shadows across the walls. Percy sat still, his shoulders tense, fists clenched in his lap. Every breath felt too loud. The weight of what he had just learned pressed against his chest like a stone slab.
Dumbledore sat behind his grand desk, fingers steepled, eyes unreadable. Professor Lupin leaned against the bookshelf, arms crossed, watching Percy with quiet concern.
"You said it's bound to me," Percy said at last, breaking the silence. His voice was steady, but barely. "This… thing under the school. Why? Why my family?"
Dumbledore's eyes didn't waver. "Because your bloodline is not purely wizarding, Perseus. There is something older in your ancestry. Wilder magic, from a time before wands and schools and laws."
Percy frowned. "Are you saying I'm not fully human?"
Lupin cleared his throat. "Not exactly. You are human. But there is… an echo, you might say. Of something else. Something ancient that survived through bloodlines and surfaced in you."
"Magic like that is rare," Dumbledore said gently. "And often feared. That is why it was hidden. Forgotten. But the seal beneath the school, it remembers."
Percy looked away, staring into the fire. His thoughts spun. For years, he'd felt like an outsider, like something inside him didn't quite fit in with the world around him. Was this why?
"So what now?" he asked quietly. "What does this mean for me?"
Dumbledore leaned forward slightly, his voice low. "It means that what lies beneath Hogwarts, the entity that stirs, will reach for you again. It will try to speak to you, to draw you closer. You must resist it."
"But if I'm the key," Percy said, "then maybe I can re-seal it."
Lupin stepped forward. "Or you could unleash it completely."
Percy turned sharply. "You think I'd do that?"
Lupin hesitated, then shook his head. "I don't. But I've seen how power can twist even the best of us."
Dumbledore spoke again. "Which is why you must learn to control this part of yourself, Percy. Not suppress it, understand it. There are books, ancient ones, hidden even from most at Hogwarts. I will give you access."
Percy nodded slowly. "And the thing in the chamber, can it… leave?"
"No," Dumbledore said. "Not unless the seal is completely broken. For now, it slumbers. But the balance is fragile. If Voldemort or another dark force learns what lies beneath, they may attempt to use it."
Percy's chest tightened. "So I'm not just a student anymore. I'm a lock. A target."
Dumbledore stood, walking to the window. "I'm afraid so. But you are also something else, Percy."
Percy looked up.
"A protector."
That night, back in the Gryffindor dormitory, Percy lay awake in his bed while his friends slept soundly nearby. The stars twinkled through the tall windows, and the embers in the fireplace glowed faintly.
His mind churned with questions, doubts, and something else, an itch beneath the skin. Not fear, exactly. A pull. Something was calling him. From deep below.
He sat up, running a hand through his hair.
What did it mean to be a warden of ancient magic? Could he truly control it? Could he stop it?
And what if he couldn't?
A sudden noise interrupted his thoughts. A soft rustle of parchment.
Percy looked toward his nightstand and saw a letter, unmarked, sealed with a black ribbon. It hadn't been there before.
Heart pounding, he opened it.
Inside, in smooth, looping script, were the words:
"You are not the only heir.
The seal was just the beginning."
No name. No signature.
Percy's breath caught.
He wasn't alone.
Somewhere, someone else had a connection to the thing beneath the school.
And they knew he was awake.
To Be Continued... Next week!
hehe boi
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