The Agony of Integration (Late 1989)
Returning to the Himalayan sanctuary with the grim prize, the entity—still mentally Alex, but soon to be Phoenix—prepared for the most dangerous, transformative act of his entire existence. He had the Dragon Heart, a massive, pulsating organ of pure, frozen energy, and the dragon's blood and bone dust. The ritual was the Dragon Heart Transfiguration.
This was not a spell; it was a ritual of forced, permanent biological integration. He smeared the foul, shimmering paste of dragon blood and bone dust over the body of Finnegan Rourke. He then—with a moment of pure, terrifying focus—ingested the colossal, raw heart.
The resulting agony was immediate and profound, a thousand times worse than the pain of the Soul Exchange. The pure, crystalline magic of the dragon violently clashed with the dark, usurped magic of the stolen core. It was a cellular war, where every nerve ending screamed as the very structure of the Rourke body was liquefied and reformed. Alex did not just endure the pain; he willed it. He forced the draconic essence to submit to his own consciousness, maintaining a single, absolute mental image of absolute perfection as his body was reconstructed from the inside out. He commanded the dragon heart to beat in rhythm with his will, forcing the circulation of his magical blood to superhuman velocity.
He spent months in this agonizing ritual state, cycling through fever, delirium, and moments of crystalline clarity where he commanded the very molecules of his form.
The Final Form (Early 1990)
When he finally emerged in the spring of 1990, the transformation was complete and absolute. The stolen, plain body was gone, replaced by a vessel forged in fire and ice. His hair was a brilliant, striking silver-white; his skin was pale, almost luminous, having integrated the dragon's crystalline flesh. His new eyes were the unmistakable mark of his supreme power—a swirling, terrifying amethyst purple, slit with a vertical, draconic pupil that pulsed with barely contained latent magic . The body's biological clock was fixed at a strong, imposing ten-year-old appearance, ensuring he would be exactly eleven and eligible for Hogwarts enrollment in September 1991.
The entity, finally complete and biologically supreme, stepped out of the chamber and formally claimed his new identity. The shadow of Alex Benjamin was finally and completely annihilated.
Phoenix Hellflame was born.
The Financial Anchoring and Island Acquisition (1990)
The first act of Phoenix Hellflame was to anchor his identity and secure his future. He used a long-range Portkey to travel directly to a highly discreet, Muggle-run conversion facility in mainland Europe. There, his vast Muggle assets—tonnes of industrial diamonds, gold bullion, and rare metals—were instantly liquidated and converted into a legendary sum of Galleons.
His second stop was Gringotts Bank in London. Phoenix walked into the lobby, his purple eyes meeting the curious, calculating gaze of the goblin tellers. They did not challenge him; they merely bowed slightly, recognizing the sheer magnitude of the raw, dragon-tinged magic radiating from the young boy. Phoenix accessed the Hellflame Family Vault, establishing his identity as the sole, ancient heir of a legendary, reclusive pure-blood line. The goblins saw the dragon-magic signature and the gold, and that was all that mattered.
Immediately following the Gringotts visit, Phoenix turned his attention to his base of operations. He used the remaining, non-converted Muggle funds to purchase a remote, unnamed island in the Outer Hebrides—a massive property so isolated it rarely registered on mundane charts. This island would be his final, impregnable fortress.
Building the Fortress (1990 – 1991)
Phoenix immediately began the construction of his castle, a project that would require immense, sustained magic but zero visibility.
He started by throwing up a powerful Permanent Self-Updating Muggle-Repelling Charm over the entire island, followed by a vast, intricate Disillusionment Veil woven into the weather patterns and sea mist. No living creature, magical or mundane, would perceive his presence.
The castle itself would be built using the most difficult and demanding form of Transfiguration: creation from elemental magic. He spent months quietly commanding dark granite from the island bedrock to rise, shape, and interlock into the design he held in his mind—a sprawling, modern fortress hidden behind a classical, imposing façade.
His most complex task was the creation of his staff. He used the earth and rock of the island to craft a legion of silent, tireless Stone Golems. These were not simple animated statues, but complex magical entities bound to his core, capable of managing the domestic running of the castle, from cooking and cleaning to ward maintenance. By the end of 1990, the shell of the castle was complete, the Golems were operational, and the island was his private, untouchable domain.