Sylas stood before the seven newborn eggs, each one glowing like a coal fresh from a forge. Their heat was so intense that simply touching them could set the chamber ablaze. With great care, he lifted them onto the stone platform of his workshop.

Behind him, the Fire Serpent, its strength drained by birthing, made no move to linger. Its body slithered back into the hearth, curling into the flames as though returning home. Sylas gave a long sigh.

'Wonderful. Not only have I created a monster, but one that leaves behind firebombs with every generation. The Fire Accumulator at least stayed put. This one roams, breeds, and could turn my tower into ash the moment I blink.'

Yet now that the eggs were here, he couldn't simply destroy them. With a flick of his wand, a thin film of frost spread over one of the eggs, halting its heat. He narrowed his eyes in thought. It resembles the Ashwinder eggs described in wizarding lore. Those are rare, volatile things, dangerous if left to burn, but priceless when properly harvested. Ashwinder eggs can brew Amortentia, Edurus Draught for resilience, even Felix Felicis with enough refinement… Perhaps these Fire Serpent eggs might serve the same role.

His musings were cut short when the six eggs cracked open. Flames burst outward, and from each fiery shell slithered a tiny serpent. Their scales gleamed gray-white, and their bodies shimmered as if etched with living embers. Instinctively, each one devoured the surrounding fire, growing stronger with every lick of flame.

Three of the hatchlings wriggled eagerly toward their mother's hearth. They nestled at her side, expecting warmth and protection. But the mother serpent's eyes flared with territorial fury. She did not recognize them as her children, only as intruders threatening her dominion. Her coils tightened, and though she refrained from striking, the way she hissed made clear her intent, to drive them out.

The other three slithered to the great fireplace itself, where the two Fire Accumulators burned steadily. The hatchlings fought one another viciously, snapping and striking with tiny fangs. Each one wanted to claim the heart of the fire as its own. Their struggle forced the Fire Accumulators to shrink back toward the edges of the blaze, shivering like bullied servants.

Soon the newborns bared their teeth and glared at each other, each determined to expel its siblings and reign alone over the fire. The hearth hissed and popped with their struggle, a storm of sparks casting shadows across the chamber walls.

Sylas rubbed his temple, exasperated. 'Wonderful. Not only have I conjured a serpent mother, I now have six quarrelsome offspring ready to burn my hall to the ground.'

Sylas pressed a weary hand to his brow. The sight of the fire-serpent hatchlings quarreling like unruly children made his head ache. If left unchecked, they would soon turn his castle into a furnace. Quickly, he conjured six flames and cast them into separate corners of the room. Each hatchling, distracted by its own flame, slithered away to feed, sparing him, for the moment, the disaster of sibling slaughter.

'This won't do', he thought grimly. 'I'll need a chamber just for them. Otherwise, one day I'll wake to find Hogsmeade in ashes and the whole forest below reduced to cinders.'

Acting at once, Sylas found an empty stone room deep within the keep. He stripped it bare of anything flammable and cast an Unmarked Expansion Charm, stretching the space far wider than the eye could see. Along each wall he conjured more than a dozen small hearths, kindling steady flames within them. Into this fiery enclosure he placed the mother serpent and her six troublesome offspring, arranging each by a separate fire.

The two Fire Accumulators, docile by comparison, remained in their own hearths. They could not survive without flame, and unlike the Fire Serpents, they posed no risk of running wild. Within the walls of Hogwarts, they would remain as peculiar, harmless decorations—unique ornaments of flame.

Sylas stood back, watching the glow of the many fires flicker across the stones. 'So… the shard of the Balrog's heart is the true source of transformation, while the blood only hastens the change, breaking down what resists it. The supply is not endless. Better to save what remains for something worthy, not squander it on more lizards and serpents.'

With that, he ended his experiment for now. There was a greater matter waiting for his attention, the petrified water guardian he had left sealed in stasis days ago. He would need a potion to restore it, to bind the creature to his will.

He climbed the winding stair and entered the herb garden chamber. At once, a rush of cool, moist air swept over him, carrying the scent of earth and flowing water. The place was less a garden and more a hidden world. Wisps of cloud clung to the high, unseen ceiling. Sunlight broke through in shafts of gold. A brook trickled down from the rocky slopes, gathering in a small, glassy lake that mirrored the false sky.

Here, the Royal Grass grew in profusion. Once he had tended a mere hundred roots. Now it spread like a living carpet, its white blossoms glowing faintly in the light. The air was sweet, heavy with fragrance, soothing to both body and spirit.

A smaller plot near the edge had been transplanted by Sylas himself. Though the vessel was hardly the plant's natural habitat, the herb had flourished nonetheless. What had once been a rare and precious medicine had become abundant under his hand.

And Sylas did not hoard it. If those living at the foot of the mountain came pleading for aid, Edward the steward would pluck the grass and offer it freely to heal the sick.

Sylas had not come for the Royal Grass this time. His steps carried him past the white blossoms to the lake, where the waters shimmered with narcissus blooms. These flowers had sprung from willow branches that once lay upon the river, still bearing the blessing of Goldberry, the River-maiden. Their healing power outshone even that of Royal Grass, a gift of river and song bound together.

Circling the lake, Sylas noticed a patch of broad-leafed plants at its far bank. Their roots curled deep into the soil, forming a strange ring. When he drew near, he felt it at once, the subtle murmur of hidden voices. Most of the plants froze, feigning stillness like common weeds. But a few panicked, tugged their roots free, and scrambled away in tiny, awkward steps.

Mandrakes.

Sylas's lips twitched with amusement. He raised his hand, and the swiftest of the fugitives was snatched from the earth by invisible force. "Running so fast? It must be you."

The Mandrake writhed in midair, shrieking a piercing cry that could have felled any unshielded wizard. But Sylas had already woven a silencing charm about himself, and his gaze remained carefully averted from the creature's face. With practiced ease, he drew forth a thin needle, pressed it into the root's body, and extracted a measure of shimmering green liquid.

When he had enough, he studied the weakened Mandrake, still trembling, still keening in its muffled way, then dropped it unceremoniously back to the ground. It scuttled off at once, burying itself into the earth until not a trace remained.

So much cleaner than the usual method, Sylas thought. 'Snape was right in his notes, no need to consume the entire root when the essence alone suffices.'

He turned from the lake and made his way to the potion chamber.

...

Several days slipped past as the cauldrons burned and the mixtures brewed. When at last the final ore dissolved into the shimmering liquid, Sylas leaned back with a rare smile tugging at his mouth. The potion gleamed with perfect clarity, its surface rippling like water touched by starlight.

He decanted the potion into several crystal bottles, setting most aside in his chilled cabinet. For though designed to reverse petrification, such a draught was broader in scope: it could undo cursed transformations, mend wounds inflicted by dark sorcery, and restore what had been twisted back to its natural state. Best to have it close at hand.

One bottle he kept. This was meant for the watcher he had left in stasis.

Carrying the flask, Sylas descended into the hidden chamber where the water monitor dwelled. Within the enchanted space, the creature loomed: a giant octopus-like beast, its massive body still locked in stone-grey rigidity. The curse that had struck it left it frozen, yet alive.

Without hesitation, Sylas pried open the guardian's massive beak and poured the entire draught inside. The effect was immediate. The stony surface softened, shifting back to deep green flesh. Tentacles, stiff as granite, began to quiver and curl. Even the limbs once severed, stirred, black magic sloughing away as new tissue knit and grew.

The guardian shuddered, breath and life flooding back into it. Then its many eyes snapped open.

With a roarless fury, it lashed out. Enormous tentacles struck through the water, churning waves as it hurled itself toward Sylas.

Sylas's expression never wavered. His staff swept through the air, and a torrent of fire (Protego Diabolica) roared forth. The flames struck the watcher's lunging tentacles, searing them into ash before they could touch him. The blaze did not stop there, it surged outward, filling the entire chamber with a world of fire.

And yet Sylas himself stood untouched. The flames curled gracefully around him, parting as if in worship. He looked as though enthroned, a king wreathed in living fire.

Across from him, the great water guardian writhed in agony. Its scream reverberated through the chamber as the flames licked its body. Though its surface showed no mark of burning, the heat pressed into its very essence, scorching it from within. Had Sylas willed it, the creature would have been reduced to ash in a heartbeat. Instead, he kept the blaze just shy of lethal, letting it suffer, letting it learn.

The beast thrashed in panic, tentacles curling tightly against its body, shrinking from the fire that surrounded it.

"I know you understand me," Sylas said coldly, his voice cutting through the roar of the flames. "I can overlook your defiance, but there is one law you must follow. You will submit to me, or these flames will consume you slowly. First your limbs, then your flesh, your organs, your very bones and mind. Choose."

As if to echo his words, the fire twisted into shapes, dragons of flame, serpents with burning fangs, towering demons of cinder and smoke. Their molten eyes glared at the guardian, promising to devour it at the slightest command.

The guardian quaked, staring at the advancing fire. Fear overcame pride. With survival instinct clawing at it, it bowed its head and gave a shuddering nod.

At once, the flames retreated, hissing with reluctant hunger, as though disappointed they could not feast.

Sylas flicked his staff. A drop of shimmering blue blood seeped from the guardian's body, floating into the air. He pricked his own finger, releasing a bead of red. The two drops met, merging into a single pearl of red and blue that glimmered with forbidden light.

He guided it into the guardian's maw. The blood pearl sank within, spreading through its veins, binding it with invisible chains. The creature stiffened as the magic took hold, then relaxed, its defiance broken, its will shackled.

This was no simple pact but a blood oath, the same cruel bond Sylas had once used on the serpent. It left no room for betrayal, the guardian could never harm him, could never resist his command.

The last tongues of Protego Diabolica vanished, leaving the chamber in a heavy silence. Sylas lowered his staff, eyes still cold.

"From this day forward," he declared, "you are no longer a mere water guardian. You are my pet Kraken."

The colossal beast dipped its head low, tentacles coiling in submission.