The flash of green light swallowed him whole.
Then—darkness.
Cassius gasped, his lungs filled with freezing air.
He blinked rapidly, his body jerking upright as if ripped from drowning.
The world was still spinning when the sound of laughter, cool and lilting, rolled through the mist.
Lady Draconis stood before him once again — or at least, the memory of her did.
Her hair moved like ink underwater, her smile sharp as starlight.
"You were quick to discover the ruse," she said, her tone equal parts pride and challenge. "And courageous enough not to fear death. Few would dare to cast a Killing Curse upon themselves."
Cassius's hand dropped from his chest, trembling.
He glanced down—his heart still beat.
He had acted wholely upon instinct since the minute he'd passed the exam, something about the world just felt... well wrong.
It was a feeling that made one wonder whether the real world was really just an illusion as well.
It was almost like back when he first woke up in this world, as his body and mind were still seperated from one another trying to come to terms with his situation.
If he were anyone else, he was almost positive that he'd have been trapped in that illusion world until either Lady Draconis took pity on him releasing him as a failure, or until his mind died in that world of old age only to leave behind his youthful body that was now effectively souless, like it'd received a dementor's kiss.
Her expression softened, almost wistful.
"You have passed the final trial, child of Serpents and Kings. But remember this: should you one day claim the Lordship, the test awaiting you will make these seem like a child's riddle."
Cassius inclined his head. "I will face it all the same... in time."
"Of that," she said, smiling faintly, "I have no doubt."
And with that, the sky shattered.
—
He woke again, gasping.
The marble of the Gringotts chamber was cold beneath his palms.
Hermione's voice broke through the fog in his mind.
"Cassius!"
Mrs. Granger was next, rushing forward.
"He's breathing, he's—thank God, he's breathing."
Cassius blinked, his eyes darting between them, then down at his hand.
The black ring — the Draconis heir's mark — gleamed like a void made solid, the silver veins pulsing faintly with inner light.
Where before he had been standing now he was on his hands and knees almost like he was kowtowing towards the container previously carrying the three founder heir rings.
The girls of course were afraid someting had happened to him when he'd collapsed.
He exhaled slowly. "It's over."
Hermione helped him get back to his feet while Mrs. Granger just watched on with a tender eye, almost looking like she might cry if something happened to him.
The goblin escort, who had remained stoically silent until now, gave a curt nod.
"So it would seem, Mr. Snape, heir to many houses."
Cassius's eyes flicked toward him, and the goblin seemed to shrink ever so slightly under the boy's gaze.
"As you've passed the heirship trial for the three houses, you are now entitled to access the heir's vaults for all three families, you'll remain the heir until you attempt to challenge the lordship, however if you fail the lordship you lose the rights of the heir, however you can repeat the challenge until you secure the lordship, or another comes along securing the heirship first."
As the goblin's voice echoed through the chamber, Hermione's eyes went wide.
Mrs. Granger, though utterly lost as to the meaning of most of it, was plainly intrigued.
"Three vaults?" she repeated softly. "Dear Lord…"
Cassius didn't answer.
His mind was already elsewhere — his pulse thrumming with visions of what might lie sealed in the depths of those vaults.
Ancient spellcraft, forgotten grimoires, artifacts of immeasurable power — enough perhaps to elevate his Arcanum beyond mortal reach, all while preparing him for the true test as he seeks to claim the lordship upon coming of age.
The power to seize the wizarding world by force was no longer a dream.
It was a matter of time.
He smiled faintly.
"Phew with this matter over and done with, how about we check out my new vaults before we head back?"
Cassius's business here was almost done with, save for checking out the vaults though he only did intend to check them out but investigate them in full during the summer break when he'd have even more time.
Though before deciding to go, he did stop to warn the accompanying grangers first.
From the movies he knew Hermione was not exactly a fan of flying, so how would she feel about an intense rollercoaster ride that would last for dozens of minutes?
"Uh... actually first... how are you two when it comes to rollercoasters or flying?"
Cassius tentatively turned round posing this question to the excited pair of grangers behind him.
Who were busy fantasizing about what might be in Cassius's vaults.
Even just seeing one of his regular vaults would be enough to shock them.
But after hearing his question they both wore a worried but dumbfounded expression.
"Uh Cassius? Why does that matter?"
Hermione asked.
"Oh well, the Gringotts vaults are deep underground so the method of travel is on a sort of mine cart that goes down just like a roller coaster, and well due to the depths the time it takes can be quite excessive."
The two blanched at this seemingly both being bad with intense motion activities.
"Uh i think we'll just wait for you here in that case."
Mrs. Granger admitted though a bit bashful for having to expose a weakness of hers.
Cassius didnt mind, and even pulled out a couple Galleons from his coin purse.
"No need to just wait for me here, here you two can go to Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour and grab a snack, afterall no sense waiting here, i mean just going to my own vault take around a half-hour, so getting to the even deeper founder vaults will probably take even longer than that."
Hearing the two nodded ever so slightly, though refusing to take his money, since Mrs. Granger still had a few Galleons and sickles leftover from purchasing Hermione's school supplies.
Seperating from the ladies, Cassius began to follow the goblin escort deeper into the bank, at first he thought they were going to the traditional mine cart track but as it turned out that was a later addition to the bank, one not origionally used.
instead they arrived at a door that opened to a small box, from there the escort asked Cassius to tap one of his heir rings on the panel before him.
'So its like an elevator then? Well not to surprising considering the ministry has them as well, but if so why not just use it for everyone?'