Daphne was worrying too much.
She didn't need to run off to inform Rhys—Rhys, sitting comfortably in the common room, could sense everything happening inside the Chamber. That expanse of water was his domain, after all.
Thus, when the clear water finally filled the entire main hall of the Chamber, the expansion stopped. Rhys had no intention of letting it spill out; cleaning up afterward would be a nightmare.
"Huh? It seems to have stopped?" Astoria was the first to notice the change.
"Sister… what if we…" Daphne shared her thought with her, and Astoria's eyes widened.
She understood very clearly that this pool of water was essentially a pathway toward the pinnacle of magic. If she could grasp its nature, she would practically be invincible.
In the future, the perfect partner for Rhys's magical adventures would naturally be her.
She could explore the limits of magic alongside Rhys, while her sister inherited the Greengrass family's estate and perhaps became Headmistress of Hogwarts or Minister for Magic. Wouldn't that be perfect?
Daphne had no idea what thoughts were racing through her little sister's mind—because if she did, she would undoubtedly dropkick Astoria straight into the lake below.
What Daphne had now was a bold idea.
If the water below them was alive…
Could it understand her words?
And if it could obey her—forget borrowing its power—even being able to restore it to its compact crystal form would be extremely tempting.
Once it returned to its compressed form, she could take it to Rhys and ask him to repair the crystal.
Daphne was a girl of swift action. Without hesitation, she called down toward the water beneath her feet:
"Mr. Water, could you please turn back to how you were?"
Astoria: ???
Sister… do you even hear yourself?! Rhys, please brew her some brain-tonic potions, quickly!
Up in the Slytherin common room, Rhys actually burst out laughing.
This child… her imagination really knew no bounds. But the funny part was—this time, it actually worked, because the water in the Chamber truly was under Rhys's control.
So Rhys complied with her request and began compressing the domain.
Daphne: (☆▽☆)
Astoria: ???
This thing… really listens to her?
Daphne turned around and flashed her sister a triumphant "V" sign, then began playing with the water beneath her feet.
Under her commands, the flowing water shifted into the shapes of various small animals, changing form again and again—until it finally compressed into a half-human-sized sphere.
The sisters descended back onto the floor of the Chamber. Daphne bent down to touch the stone tiles and discovered that the ground was completely dry—something quite unusual, since the Chamber's location meant it should normally remain damp year-round.
To Daphne's delight, her shattered crystal had been restored. It now floated at the center of the water sphere.
Just as she reached toward the sphere to retrieve the amethyst inside, the waterball rippled and twisted. A moment later, Rhys's upper body emerged from the sphere.
Astoria, Daphne: !!!
Both of them jumped in fright.
"Rhys… is that you?" Daphne asked cautiously once she recovered from the shock.
"It's me. And congratulations, Daphne. It seems you've already figured out how to use that brooch." Rhys first answered her, then turned his gaze toward Astoria. "And remember to repair the floor of the Chamber."
Astoria: 〒▽〒
After teasing the little girl for a moment, Rhys explained that her guess had been correct—the mass of water he stood in truly was alive, possessing the traits of a living organism. That was the nature of magic taken to its extreme.
"It's time I told you both properly. This type of magic is called a domain. It's an extremely advanced form of magic. Daphne, I've explained it to you before—hopefully you still remember."
"So this water sphere really is a domain!" Daphne exclaimed in delight. "I thought it looked like one, but I didn't dare assume…"
"Be more confident. Magic that behaves in this way is undoubtedly a domain," Rhys encouraged her gently.
Astoria, on the side, was completely lost.
It wasn't her fault. Unlike Daphne, Rhys had never talked much about domains with her—he felt children didn't need to deal with such advanced concepts so early. It was better for them to understand mana flow first. But Helga's example showed him that exposing talented children earlier wasn't necessarily a bad thing.
So Rhys gave Astoria a detailed explanation of domains while also reinforcing Daphne's memory.
"One major characteristic of a domain is proliferation," Rhys said. "It absorbs magic from its surroundings to strengthen itself—including magic from spells."
He glanced at Astoria. For her to have noticed that ability was impressive.
"And at the same time, a domain assimilates its environment. When operating at full strength, without interference, given time… it could turn a desert into an ocean."
"A wizard who masters a domain is almost impossible to kill. Even if their physical body is destroyed, they can create a new one at any time. For example, if the 'me' sitting in the common room right now were blown to pieces, I could simply regenerate a new body from within this water. And this water functions as my eyes, ears, nose, and senses—I can perceive everything within the area it touches."
Daphne and Astoria were deeply moved by Rhys's words. A powerful desire rose within both of them—an urge to master domains themselves, preferably in the very next second.
In her excitement, Astoria also realized something else: if this water was Rhys's avatar, then the "Mr. Water" her sister had spoken to earlier wasn't some living water spirit—it had been Rhys himself.
Once that thought hit her, Astoria nearly lost her composure. She glanced at her blissfully unaware sister, already planning how she would tease her once Daphne figured it out.
"Rhys, you possess a full domain… don't you?" Daphne suddenly asked, breaking the last thin layer of pretense.
It was a silly question—Rhys had literally crafted brooches capable of summoning fragments of his domain. Of course he had a domain. He simply hadn't stated it outright before.
"Yes," Rhys said calmly. "I possess the domain of water. And I hope the two of you can comprehend domains as soon as possible. That's why I separated a portion of my own domain and sealed it into those two crystals."
He looked at his two students with clear expectation.
"Since there's no point hiding it anymore… all four founders left behind inheritances. In terms of domains, Hufflepuff's successor is already far ahead."
Daphne and Astoria were stunned the moment they heard this.
It wasn't surprising that the other three founders had successors—but neither of them had expected Hufflepuff's heir to take the lead.
"For the glory of Slytherin, awaken your domains!" Rhys said, pumping a fist in encouragement. "Spend time observing the domain's form when it manifests. It will benefit you greatly."
Right after speaking, his figure vanished, and the sphere of water compressed back into the amethyst.
As the crystal drifted neatly back into the slot on the brooch, everything returned to its original state.
_______
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