It happened near midnight.
The stone stairwells in the Astronomy wing suddenly stopped moving.
Runes lit beneath the floor.
The torches extinguished themselves.
And when Filch arrived to investigate the pulsing beneath the castle walls—
He screamed.
And was never seen again.
The Awakening
Theo and Rowan tracked the disruption to the eastern archway — where a forgotten corridor led to the chamber of the Fifth House's relics.
No one had entered that corridor in centuries.
But tonight, the door had burned open.Its threshold was marked with flame.
Inside stood a shape.
Ten feet tall. No eyes. No mouth.
Etched in silver and scarlet.
It bore a mark on its chest: the broken ring.
But when it moved, its limbs cracked like dying trees.
It turned to Rowan.
And said one word:
"Potter."
Confrontation in the Hall
Harry arrived first.
It didn't attack him.
It knelt.
"You are the fire-returned. The seal-redeemer.""But memory is not enough."
Harry stepped forward.
"Are you a guardian?"
The creature replied:
"I am the First."
"Of Seven."
Its Judgment
The Guardian wasn't sent to protect Harry.
It was sent to test him.
It raised its hand — and suddenly, Harry's mark flared, pulling him into an echo of the past.
A scene long buried:
Ardyn standing before Kaelen.
A blade in his hand.
Tears on both faces.
And Ardyn whispering:
"It has to be you."
Then—blood.
Then—seal.
Harry fell to his knees.
The Guardian whispered:
"You made the choice once.Will you make it again?"
Final Scene – The Guardian Chooses
When the echo ended, the Guardian turned from Harry…and walked toward the Slytherin dorms.
Theo asked, panicked:
"Where is it going?"
Rowan answered:
"It's not done watching him.But it's going to watch Blaise next."