The Serpent’s Heir

When Harry returned from the seal-chamber, everything felt… lighter.

Not peaceful.Not safe.Just emptier.

As though the air itself had made room for what now lived inside him.

He stepped into the Slytherin common room.It was silent.

Draco and Theo stood by the hearth.Rowan sat cross-legged on the rug.

And one seat was empty.

Blaise was gone.

A Letter in Fire

On Harry's bed, a letter waited — written in ink that shimmered crimson, not black.

There was no name on it. Just a mark:

🔥

Inside, four lines:

You hold memory.He holds fire.But I've seen the third path.And I've accepted the gift.

Harry's fingers trembled.

Rowan whispered, "He said yes."

The Forbidden Ritual

Down in the forgotten catacombs beneath the old dungeons, Blaise Zabini had performed a mirror-burning — a rite only ever theorized.

He stood before a shard of obsidian.Spoke Kaelen's name.

And bled willfully onto the mark carved into stone.

The flame accepted him.

And in that moment — Kaelen did too.

"One will burn the seal.""One will guide him from the outside."

Blaise had chosen to be the second.

Harry's Response

At midnight, Harry found him.

On the far ledge of the Astronomy Tower, robe billowing, eyes alight with amber fire.

"Blaise," he said. "It's not too late."

Blaise didn't move.

"I saw the prophecy. All of it," he said."You're not the destroyer. But Kaelen… he finishes what the others feared to touch."

"Kaelen is chaos."

Blaise turned, smiling.

"And what has order given us?""Secrets. Blood. Tombs."

"Maybe it's time fire spoke."

Final Scene – The Pact Deepens

Blaise reached for his wand — not in aggression.

In offering.

"Join me.Let's tear the seal apart and rebuild the truth."

Harry stared at him — and for the first time, he didn't see his friend.

He saw a priest of flame.

And Kaelen, from within Harry's mark, whispered:

"He understands.""He believes.""Will you let him lead where you hesitate?"