The Elder of the sect was intimately familiar with the Hawthorne family and deeply loyal to them.
This reverence stemmed from Shenlian, who had revealed to the sect that she considered the Hawthornes her Lords. Therefore, there was absolutely no need for the Elder to seek the Sect Master's permission before performing the ritual for Draco.
Draco moved beside Aaric with steady steps, a confident smile playing on his face.
"I never asked you," Aaric began, glancing at Draco. "Why do you even wish to get a flame for yourself?"
"Well, ever since the cultural exchange... when some of the sect members came to Hogwarts, I have had conversations with many of them," Draco started, pausing with a hand on his chin. "And I have found out there are many uses for such flames. Combat, potioneering, and Alchemy, to say the least. So, I just have to have these options available to me. I will choose one path to pursue when I decide the time is right," Draco added in a low voice and shrugged.
Aaric nodded at the reasoning and took the wooden box from Draco to inspect the egg inside. He opened the box and saw a bright red egg that emitted a faint glow and a slight heat the moment the lid was lifted.
The divine energy within Aaric's body rippled as he took a sliver of it and infused it into the egg before closing the lid and handing the box back to Draco.
"Wicked, isn't it? Even though I requested Father for the egg only last evening, he did all he could and brought me this by this morning," Draco whispered with a fond smile.
"Well, you're a father's boy, so it makes sense," Aaric said with a grin and a shrug, getting a smirk from Draco in turn.
"Says the biggest mother's boy in the world," Draco retorted, his smirk widening.
Aaric accepted those words with a nod as if it was obvious; he was not ashamed of it, after all.
In front of them, the sect Elder chuckled at their banter. He opened the door of the ritual room and gestured for them to enter.
The room was located on the upper floor of the Fire Hall, the place where they kept the salamanders and took care of them. There was no roof on the room, allowing for the sunlight to pour in, making the runes on the walls shimmer with a golden light.
"You see, the Ashwinder eggs do not contain true life. Hence, they cannot bestow their flames upon someone naturally," the Elder began as he conjured his own flame and inscribed some precise runes on the floor within a small area.
"Therefore, we must give them an imitation of life through the power of the sun and have it test you for worthiness," the Elder added once the runes were complete. He extended his arm toward Draco, asking for the wooden box.
"I understand, Elder," Draco nodded with resolve as the Elder placed the whole box in the center of the little rune circle he had formed.
"Good lad. What is your wand hand?" the Elder asked, patting Draco's shoulder and instructing him to stand in a certain location.
Draco raised his right hand to indicate his wand hand.
The Elder nodded and took out some ink and a feather to carve a small symbol on the back of Draco's left hand. "This will allow for better control of your flame from your left hand and unhindered spellcasting from the right," the Elder explained as he drew the symbol.
"Yes, Elder. Thank you for this," Draco nodded respectfully toward the Elder, earning a chuckle and a pat on the head from the old man.
"I will start the ritual now. Do not falter or fear. If the ritual fails, it is not lethal... just painful," the Elder said, trying to reassure Draco.
"I am proficient in healing magic," Aaric chimed in with a grin and a raised hand.
"How about you reassure me it won't come to that?" Draco scowled at Aaric, getting a shrug from him in return.
"Just trying to be helpful," Aaric muttered.
The Elder shook his head at the kids' antics and stood beside Aaric before he started the ritual.
"Stand firm, child," the Elder said and nodded as Draco straightened his back and planted his feet on the floor firmly.
The runes on the walls shimmered and absorbed the sunlight coming from the sky, glowing brighter and brighter.
The runes then reflected the light in concentrated beams toward the magic circle where the wooden box was placed.
The magical circle shimmered in a gold and green light, and the wooden box disintegrated instantly, leaving only the red egg suspended in the green and gold glow.
The egg moved from side to side as if it was about to birth a creature.
However, instead of cracking, the egg melted and reformed into a red snake made of red and green fire. Its eyes were golden, peering deeply into Draco's own as it made a loud hissing sound. Draco did not flinch away from the snake's gaze and stood firm.
However, his mind swirled, and his surroundings changed violently as he found himself on his knees in a battlefield, with bodies scattered all around him.
He had forgotten how he got there and what he was doing as he looked around frantically for answers.
"Did I hit you too hard?" came a voice that hovered between a whisper and a hiss.
Draco looked ahead to see a golden-eyed Voldemort sneering in front of him. His gaze moved down to see the bodies of his friends and family scattered at the Dark Lord's feet.
"This is my design!" Voldemort shouted and spread his arms wide, relishing in the carnage around him.
Draco could not think; he only roared and lunged at Voldemort. As he lunged, he found that his legs did not seem to be working, and he fell face-first into the dirt, near Voldemort's feet.
Next, he discovered his arms were not working either. Voldemort's cruel smile widened as Draco discovered those things.
Draco did the only thing he could: he crawled toward Voldemort with all his remaining strength, his face a mask of pure fury.
"Is this your way of begging?" Voldemort asked with a cold laugh.
Draco did not answer. He simply bit down on Voldemort's foot just as he neared the Dark Lord.
At that moment, he just wished to hurt Voldemort in any way he could before he would died. Draco felt the taste of blood in his mouth before everything went blank again.
He stood in darkness as blood dripped from his mouth, the next moment the blood turned into bright red flames that surged around him in all directions.
Draco suddenly remembered he was performing a ritual, and he plunged his hands into the flames, feeling only comfort and familiarity.
The red flames gained a tinge of gold as they merged with Draco with a final swirl.
A moment later, Draco opened his eyes in the real world and sensed the new connection in his mind.
He turned to Aaric and raised his left hand in triumph, receiving a thumbs-up and a wide grin from Aaric.
A/n: Give me your thought on the chapter and reviews on the fic.
And.. you got any power stones? Well, hand em over then.