Two months had passed in the second year at school, and the golden trio were returning from the feast when Harry felt a burning sensation, and Pyra in his arms became a little restless.
Pyra then jumped down from his arms and started walking in a direction, indicating them to follow through Harry's connection. The trio followed her silently.
When they reached a dim corridor, they found Filch's cat, Mrs. Norris, hanging upside down. She had black marks on her body and an expression of pure terror on her face—her mouth wide open and her eyes frozen.
The trio were horrified and completely paralyzed by the sight. A scream then came from behind as Filch came running forward and gathered Mrs. Norris into his arms.
Murmurs erupted from behind as some other students arrived, followed quickly by a few teachers.
Aaric was among the students who arrived, and he was immediately confused. 'The Basilisk is with me… so why is this happening? This doesn't even seem like petrification. Is this a curse?' His musings were cut short by another scream.
"You! You've killed her! I'll kill you! You were here before anyone else!" Filch yelled at the children and ran toward Harry to strike him, but Aaric stepped in front of him and pushed him back.
Pyra placed herself protectively in front of Harry, radiating heat and growling low. Filch stumbled back in fear, feeling as though he might be burned alive if he made a move.
"Calm down, Argus," came an elderly voice from the side as Dumbledore arrived. He moved closer and inspected Mrs. Norris with a few spells before speaking. "She is not dead, Argus… she is… in need of medical attention," he concluded, his words slow and deliberate.
Filch calmed slightly, too shaken to notice the hesitation in Dumbledore's voice. "He did it! He and his friends! She must've caught them doing something dark and they silenced her with this… this magic!"
Harry called Pyra back to him, or she might have scorched Filch on the spot.
Snape sneered from the side. "While I believe the boy must be up to something… he's far too daft and dimwitted to perform such magic."
Snape's words silenced Filch for the moment, though his glare didn't falter. It didn't bother Harry, who met his eyes calmly. He had learned a lot from Simon and wasn't easily intimidated anymore.
"The Chamber of Secrets has been opened. Enemies of the Heir, beware," read a troll-looking Slytherin from the wall, sneering.
"Shut up, Flint," Draco muttered from the side, silencing the idiot.
"Perhaps we should continue this conversation in my office, Professor," Lockhart suggested to Dumbledore, beckoning the trio, Aaric, and the teachers to follow.
Lockhart's office was exactly what one would expect. The man was clearly obsessed with himself, and even his portraits were busy grooming their hair. As the group entered, Dumbledore spoke first.
"Do not worry, Harry. You are not in trouble. Can you enlighten us on what you saw when you entered the corridor?" Dumbledore asked calmly.
Harry explained everything that happened, and Ron and Hermione quickly chimed in to support his version of events. Filch sat to the side, on the verge of tears, while Mrs. Norris had already been taken to the infirmary.
Snape eyed Harry with skepticism. "And why, may I ask, were you there at the exact moment this occurred? What are you hiding, Potter?" he said, stepping closer to intimidate him—only for Pyra to growl from Harry's arms.
"I believe Mr. Potter," Dumbledore intervened gently. "And I imagine he must be tired. Please go straight to your dormitories and to bed."
Snape backed off, although his eyes lingered on the boy.
Lockhart, of course, began implying that Harry had done it all for attention—jealous, perhaps, of his glorious presence. But everyone ignored him.
Later that evening, Harry and Aaric were in Hagrid's hut.
"What are you making?" Harry asked, watching Aaric stir something in a large cauldron.
"Here are the things you asked for, Aaric. Norberta was happy to help, knowing it was for you," Hagrid said cheerfully as he entered, carrying a small satchel.
Inside were some iridescent dragon scales and a sealed vial of dragon's blood—both from Norberta.
"Thank you, Hagrid. I'm making a broth for Pyra," Aaric answered, carefully adding the new ingredients.
Harry knelt beside him as the potion began to simmer with a faint red glow. Once it was ready, Aaric ladled some into a shallow dish and handed it to Harry.
"Feed her by hand," he said. "She'll like the pampering."
Harry did just that. Pyra happily accepted the warm broth, drinking it all before curling up on the floor beside the fire. But after a few moments, her body began to glow with radiant heat.
Even Aaric took a cautious step back from the intensity. But Harry felt nothing—he walked toward her instead, drawn by the connection between them. The mark on his left hand began to glow brightly.
As he scooped Pyra into his arms, her mark lit up too—and briefly caught fire.
The glow faded a few moments later, and Harry gently placed her down again. Pyra was now slightly larger, and her skin was tinged with faint red streaks beneath the usual blue. The transformation was subtle, but powerful.
Harry, too, seemed changed. He looked at his palm and focused, and a swirl of red and blue flame danced into existence above it.
"That went better than expected," Aaric commented from the side as Harry exclaimed, "Wicked!" and hugged him enthusiastically.
They experimented a little and found that Harry's flame could be used for offensive magic, and not anything else like beast flames and used for alchemy and potion making.
Not that it bothered Harry. He was not interested in potion making anyway.
They then went to the forest as after some time they met up with Norberta who was now as large as a small truck, it takes normal dragons 10 to 15 years to reach that size. Norberta started sniffing Pyra as soon as they appeared.
Pyra got down from harry's arms and the dragon and the salamander started playing as some other magical beings appeared too as they seem to be the underlings of Norberta.
A/n: Power stones guys, we need to climb the charts.