It began with a storm.
Not above the castle — beneath it.
Tunnels flooded. Ceilings wept blood-tinted water.The Slytherin common room pulsed with red heat.
The suits of armor in the halls bowed to nothing.
And then the fire in the Great Hall turned blue.
Dumbledore stood up sharply.
"It's begun," he whispered."The third has chosen."
Blaise Feels It First
In the observatory tower, Blaise fell to one knee.
Not from pain.
From weight.
A heat pressed down on his shoulders — not burning, but recognizing.
The Guardian of Flame had awakened.
But it did not stand with him.
"It sees Harry," Theo muttered."Even though you've given more."
Blaise's eyes burned.
"Because Ardyn's fire still lives in him."
"It doesn't care about sacrifice.It wants legacy."
Harry Draws the Flame
In the cavern, Harry raised his hand.
The glowing red mark offered by Netharien hovered, waiting.
He touched it.
For a moment, nothing.
Then—
A pulse of magic roared through the castle.Every lit corridor went dark.Every mirror cracked.Every portrait screamed.
The mark carved itself into Harry's chest.
Not a ring. Not a seal.
A serpent made of fire, coiled around a blade.
The Flame Guardian Appears
In the castle's central stairwell, before dozens of students and staff — it appeared.
Ten feet tall, robed in living ash, head crowned in ever-burning cinders.
It did not walk.It hovered.
Its voice was a chorus of burning trees and collapsing towers.
"The bearer has touched the core.""The flame knows its heir."
"And it does not serve mercy."
The Guardian turned — faced Dumbledore.
And said:
"You should not have taught him."
Final Scene – Hogwarts Tilts
As the Guardian vanished, the castle shifted.
Rooms rotated out of alignment.The Forbidden Forest pulled ten meters closer to the edge of the grounds.The Black Lake hissed.
And above the Astronomy Tower, a new symbol joined the sky:
A sword wreathed in fire, wrapped by a serpent,pointed down.