On Theo's System screen, two rewards he'd waited a full month for finally appeared in the rewards pane: Beast-Breeding Mastery and Smooth-Fire, At-Will. He let out a long breath. Perfect—everything he'd wanted to secure before Hogwarts term had begun was now in hand. Time to see what these gifts could actually do.
He closed his eyes and listened to his body. Nothing obvious changed.
"So these aren't the kind that show up on the body right away. They probably need the right targets to trigger."
His gaze fell to Warwick's creature-pouch, the little leather "Poké Ball" holding the pure-blooded Fire Crab. Theo focused on the pouch, imagining what he wanted to take out; a clear interior view bloomed in his mind, as if his eyes had slipped straight inside. The Fire Crab was eating. Sensing Theo, it lifted its claws and gave a pleased, breathy hoo-hoo sound. Tiny sparks flicked from its shell.
Theo arched a brow. A Fire Crab's temper was notoriously middling; even with his Beast Affinity he'd only gotten "mildly friendly" earlier at Warwick's shop—nothing like this instant warmth.
"Did Beast-Breeding Mastery also amplify Beast Affinity? If so, that's a welcome bonus."
He teased the little creature for a moment, drawing more cheerful hoo-hoos. Purebred Fire Crabs were essentially gemstone from head to tail—no rank oiliness like those mixed-blood ones Hogwarts students complained about. No wonder nobles kept them as pets.
"Since you talk like that, your name's Hoohoo," Theo decided.
He focused again, reading Hoohoo's condition. The feed inside was textbook-standard—enough to keep it healthy and growing. But…
"This won't push a bloodline breakthrough. Not if we want stronger flame."
A set of instinctive prompts surfaced in his mind, crisp as a recipe:
Beech—ideally beech—ground to sawdust will help Hoohoo attune faster to the fire in its blood.
Feeding phoenix and dragon-derived materials regularly increases the chance of mutation, even granting flame traits akin to phoenix fire or dragon flame.
Best effect: beech sawdust + phoenix tail feather + dragon heartstring used together. Flame growth accelerates sharply.
Theo's eyes lit. So that was Beast-Breeding Mastery—proper Beast-Taming pedigree. It felt like someone had slipped him the perfect breeding manual. He'd bet his staff no one in Britain currently knew this about Fire Crabs.
Time to test.
Beech was simple; wand-grade beech demanded age and terroir, but scraps were plentiful. Phoenix feathers and dragon heartstrings were expensive in whole pieces, but Mr Ollivander's workbench always had trimmings—cheap and expendable.
Theo pinched a sliver of beech. With a flex of Copper Skin & Iron Bones, the hard wood powdered between his fingers. He did the same to phoenix tail-feather scraps and a shaving of heartstring, mixing the powders into beech sawdust, then rolling them into pills the size of a classic herbal six-ingredient pellet.
He held one to Hoohoo's mouth. "Here you go—one golden pill down, and fate bends to me, not heaven."
Hoohoo froze, then trembled with a primal hunger. Without a blink it scooped several pellets in both claws and gulped—refining them in an instant.
Its gem-red shell grew glass-bright, as if flames were burning under the carapace. It hooted in shock and delight.
"What is this? Bloody brilliant—ten-treasures tonic?!"
Thin flame streamed from its nostrils on each breath. It couldn't hold the surge any longer—its jaws opened and a column of fire, thicker than a grown man's head, blasted out.
Good thing the pouch wasn't just Undetectable Extension Charm but also fire-proofed; otherwise the enclosure would have been charcoal.
Theo's eyes gleamed. The formula worked. Hoohoo's flame output had jumped sharply. Kept on this regimen, its fire might reach dragon-class—perhaps even beyond.
Now we're talking "Pokémon" logic: with expert raising, even a "common" creature could climb to terrifying tiers. And if he later trained legendary beasts of the wizarding world—Basilisk, Acromantula, Unicorn, Phoenix—then bred and raised them with this Mastery…
He might not need to lift a finger. His lineup alone could steamroll the Isles.
At that moment, watching Hoohoo continue to spew fire, Theo felt something… else. Those flames that would easily scorch a young witch felt friendly to him—obedient, almost expectant.
He crooked a finger. "Come."
Hoohoo paused. The fire it was vomiting suddenly ignored its will, arcing toward Theo's hand like courtiers prostrating before a king. The blaze pooled on Theo's palm—but there was no heat, only a silken weight. It became malleable, like warm clay. He kneaded it into ribbons, spheres, and blades, and it held shape at a thought.
Theo stared, awed. He'd assumed Smooth-Fire, At-Will would just mean finer control. He hadn't expected sovereignty—an effortless ascension to King in the Flame.
Then the reason clicked.
"In the old Investiture era, flames weren't just heat—they had lineage. The Forge Sect used fires that, even if not true Samadhi Flame, were spirit-fires or earth-fires, never mundane.
If this gift could command those, then of course the flames of the modern wizarding world would kneel.
Short list of exceptions: Fiendfyre, Gubraithian Fire, and a few other special flames might resist—but most should fall under my hand."
His heartbeat steadied. A bold new thought unfurled.
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