Cassius stared at the final ring for a long while, his reflection shifting faintly upon the obsidian surface.
Unlike the other two, this one watched him back.
A faint hum resonated through the air — a low, living vibration that thrummed in his bones.
The silver veins along the ring pulsed in rhythm with his heartbeat, as though it were alive and waiting for his touch.
Even the goblin standing nearby unconsciously took a step backward.
Cassius gave a faint smile.
His fingers brushed the cool metal.
The world vanished.
He awoke standing on a vast circular platform of polished onyx suspended in endless sky.
The horizon stretched in every direction, awash in twilight colors — deep purples fading into molten golds.
And waiting at the far end of the platform was Lady Draconis herself in what looked like the flesh.
She looked nothing like her ghost lingering at hogwarts.
Here, she was ageless — her long black hair rippling, her robes of silver and gold flowing in unseen wind.
Her eyes glowed faintly violet, ancient and piercing, like an Empress.
"Cassius Severin Snape," she said, her voice like music woven through thunder. "You stand before the house of Draconis — the legacy of balance, of will, of unity. You have proven wisdom, and courage. But to claim my bloodline, you must master all four."
He bowed slightly, hand over heart.
"I am ready."
Her expression did not change.
"We shall see."
She raised her hand — and the platform fractured into four sections that drifted apart, each glowing in its own hue: red for courage, blue for intellect, gold for loyalty, and green for ambition.
Cassius now stood at the center, the air alive with swirling energy.
"Four paths, four virtues," Lady Draconis intoned. "But only by balancing them shall you prevail. Choose wrongly, and you will be lost."
Seeing the option was left to him, Cassius turned and the trial began.
~
The First Path
The red section blazed to life beneath him, and he was thrown into a roaring inferno.
Stone walls cracked and splintered as he found himself in a burning fortress, smoke choking the air.
Screams echoed distantly — children, trapped behind a wall of flame.
Cassius ran forward without thinking.
Heat seared his skin, his lungs screamed for air.
He drew his wand, casting Aguamenti, but the water turned instantly to steam.
"Courage," whispered Lady Draconis's voice, faint but clear, "is not running into the fire. It is knowing what you risk to save others."
He gritted his teeth.
He could feel the magic of the place — old and cruel, feeding on his instincts acting as a polar opposite to his intent.
The door to the trapped children wouldn't yield to spell or strength.
So he stopped fighting.
instead he thought.
A flick of his wrist.
"Ventus Maxima!"
The gust swept through the corridor, pushing oxygen-starved air ahead.
As the flames drew away, he plunged through the smoke, grabbing the smallest of the figures — spectral, insubstantial children, their eyes wide with trust.
When he carried them out, the illusion shattered — fire fading to mist.
The red platform dimmed.
~
The Second Path
Golden light surrounded him next.
He stood in a stone courtyard beneath storm clouds.
Around him, a dozen spectral figures — faceless allies — were gathered, their voices raised in argument.
"He betrayed us!" one shouted. "We fight for him, and he abandons us!"
Cassius turned, realizing they were speaking of him.
Lady Draconis's voice echoed: "Loyalty is the rarest virtue — for it is not owed, but earned. Prove that yours cannot be broken, even by doubt."
The crowd's eyes turned toward him — filled with anger, betrayal, disappointment.
For a moment, Cassius felt the weight of every failure, every lie he had told, every plan he'd hidden even from his friends.
He didn't defend himself.
Instead, he stepped forward, drew out a vial from his robe, and unhesitatingly drank the contents within.
Veritaserum, as the clear liquid slid down his throat he found himself in a weird state, then without prompting he began to speak out, revealing each and every lie he ever told, but not just that he explained his reasons behind why he had lied.
Never was it due to malice, or the desire to harm, instead it was to protect, or to keep something that should not have been known from those it would harm just by the knowing.
"Believe me or don't," he said quietly. "But I will stand for you, even if you turn away from me here."
The figures froze.
Then, one by one, they knelt — fading into motes of gold light that spiraled upward.
~
The Third Path
Blue light took him next.
He stood in an ancient maze of glass corridors, every turn reflecting endless copies of himself.
Each path whispered lies — "This way leads to victory," "This way leads to freedom."
At the maze's center stood a pedestal bearing a single book: The Codex Draconis.
"Intelligence alone is not wisdom," the Lady's voice murmured. "Find the truth that cannot be seen."
Cassius closed his eyes.
He listened.
Not to the voices — but to the silence between them.
There — faint, rhythmic — a heartbeat.
He turned left, ignoring every illusion that tried to tempt him, following that steady pulse until the maze shimmered away.
When he reached the pedestal, he did not take the book.
He just simply stood there before it, before instead of grabbing it and reading from its contents began to recite the knowledge he himself knew.
Not taking from it but instead adding in his own knowldge, since true wit was making sure to pass along knowledge to the next generation/s
~
The Fourth Path
Green light flared.
He stood before a throne of black stone.
Upon it sat himself — older, colder, crowned in gold and shadow.
The older Cassius smirked.
"You've done well," he said. "But imagine what you could be. The power of four houses — the bloodlines of legend united. Take it. Rule. You were born to lead them."
Cassius felt the temptation burn through him like wildfire.
The ring pulsed on the throne's armrest — glowing with black fire, whispering in his mind.
Take me.
You deserve it.
He walked forward slowly.
Then, instead of reaching for the crown, he reached for the other him grabbing him by the throat.
"I am not your servant," Cassius said quietly. "Nor your shadow."
The doppelgänger snarled, lunging — but Cassius didn't raise his wand.
He simply placed a hand on its chest.
"Why would i settle to be king of the wizards when i can rule the entire world, both magical and muggle until there is only one."
The shadow cracked like glass and shattered into a thousand pieces.
The four colors converged — red, gold, blue, and green swirling together until they burned pure white.
Lady Draconis reappeared, her eyes gleaming with quiet pride.
"You have done what few could," she said softly. "Courage to face fire, loyalty to withstand betrayal, intellect to see truth, and ambition without corruption. You are my heir in full."
She extended her hand.
"Kneel."
Cassius did.
She touched her palm to his brow, and power like molten light poured through him — ancient, fierce, and unbearably vast.
"Rise, Cassius Severin Snape," she intoned. "Heir of Draconis. Keeper of the Four. May your will bind what time has broken."
When he opened his eyes again, he was back in the Gringotts chamber.
The Ring of Draconis gleamed upon his left ring finger, its silver veins now faintly pulsing with the combined light of the other rings.
Only he did not react.
As before Hermione and Mrs. Granger called out to him this time stating he'd been gone for hours but he barely cast a glance there way.
Instead he took out one of his wands before pointing it at his chest.
"Avada Kedavra!"