October 27, 1990, 5:15 PM, Defence Against the Dark Arts Classroom

"So," Ancile rolled his shoulders and adjusted his position behind the oaken desk. "What was it that you wanted to tell me last week?"

Gripping the armrest of the chair that the professor had so kindly transfigured for me, I paused. I could still blow him off and turn around without a care in the world.

'But having someone in my corner would be really useful.' I countered, expelling a warm breath from my mouth.

"Professor," I began, my voice sounding especially high-pitched. "I was wondering if you had any extra work that you could give me."

Ancile blinked, crossing his arms over his chest. "Is that so?"

Unfolding them, he simultaneously removed his wand from within his sleeve. He flicked his wrist, a luminescent orange trail snaking out of the end of his wand. It manoeuvred its way around the classroom and ensnared itself around a book.

The cord was solid, yet at the same time, it wasn't. It was almost… misty but could still exert its influence over the material world.

I shook my head. Better not to confuse myself.

Yanking his arm back, the coral haze of light shot back towards the wand with the book in tow.

Eyes widened in alarm, I ducked, feeling the book narrowly miss my head and part a tuft. A moment passed, and I only raised my head once I heard the thump of flesh against its hardback cover.

"Tell me, Mr Dovahkiin," Ancile said, graciously not commenting on my little show. "What spell did I just use?"

I sat up straight and cleared my throat. After this, there would be no going back. The question was whether or not I was truly ready for everything this decision would entail.

'Probably not.' I thought. 'But with great risk, comes an even greater reward.'

"The Seize and Pull Charm, sir."

He quirked an eyebrow and set both the book and wand down on the table. "Can you demonstrate it?"

A surge of relief flooded my chest. Although it was a Third Year Charm, it was one of the first spells I made sure I learnt. It was, after all, quite useful.

Standing up, I made sure to move my chair out of the way and turned back to the professor. "What would you like me to use it on?"

"How about that eraser over there?" he pointed towards the back of the class.

I swallowed and nodded my head. With a flick of my wrist, my wand was ready in my hand, and pulsed excitedly.

"Carpe Retractum." I chanted and twirled my wand overhead like a lasso.

Once. The mist began to coalesce into a circle above my head.

Twice. It spun faster and faster until it was no more than an orange disc.

And after the third spin, my right arm shot forwards. I watched the cord soar across the classroom and wrap itself around the eraser.

My shoulders relaxed and I let out a tense breath. 'Alright. Part one's complete.'

With squared shoulders and a solid posture, I pulled back the magical rope and readied my left hand to catch the eraser rushing towards me.

It collided against my palm, the speed at which it connected with it causing my palm to sting. Nevertheless, the challenge was complete.

Whirling around, I held up the eraser with a smile.

"Well done." Ancile said, returning my smile. With a wave of his hand, the chair I had moved to the side returned to its original position before the professor. He motioned towards the chair, and I took a seat.

"Would it be right of me to assume you've covered everything leading up to the Third Year, then?" he asked.

I shook my head. "Not exactly…"

He raised an eyebrow, prompting me to continue.

"I've covered everything for the First Year, at least in the wanded subjects." I said, pausing for breath. "Not to sound arrogant, but I'm just not interested in Herbology. And don't get me started on History of Magic. As long as Binns is teaching—"

"Professor Binns." Ancile interjected.

I stared at him pointedly before conceding. "Alright, Professor Binns. As long as he's teaching, I don't think anyone will ever be interested in the subject."

He nodded his head. His expression wasn't patronising, far from it really. It was one of understanding— something that I definitely appreciated.

"As for Potions, while fulfilling, isn't something I can see myself loving. Professor Snape makes that more than a little difficult."

This elicited a chuckle from the usually stoic man.

"Alright," he cleared his throat embarrassedly before his expression settled. "I understand where you're coming from…"

At this, the flame I called hope began to kindle from within me.

"...but I cannot show favouritism to one student."

The embers that were once my hope were now akin to ash— well and truly dead. I stared at him dejectedly. His stone-grey eyes met my own and he offered me a sad smile.

That was when inspiration struck.

"Professor?" my voice cut through the awkward silence like the horn of a car in the early morning. "Professor Snape's hair is quite greasy, isn't it?"

I looked up at him with a sly smile. 'Come on, take the bait!'

"Now, Mr Dovahkiin," his voice took on a lecturing tone that was unfortunately betrayed by his eyes. They twinkled mirthfully and I watched him battle the supreme urge to smile. "That will be a point from Gryffindor for insulting a professor. You will also be sitting detentions with me every Saturday morning until…"

He held his chin in mock thought. "Let's say until the Christmas holidays."

I lowered my head in what seemed to be penitence. "I'm sorry, professor."

"Not a problem, Mr Dovahkiin," he replied. "Just see to it that it doesn't happen again. Now, I shall see you for your first detention next week."

"Alright professor," I stood up, winked at him, and walked over to the exit.

Opening the door, I turned around and grinned at him. "See you next week."

He returned my grin with one of his own and it took everything I had and more to not break out into laughter right there and then.

Shutting the door behind me, I let out the laugh that I had been withholding and heard the professor do the same from within the classroom.

'Well, I think that went well!'

oOOOo

Seventh Floor, Room of Requirement, 6:02 PM

Sat at the desk before the comfortably warm fireplace, I pondered over the mystery that was the Dovahkiin— spawn of Akatosh and kin to both Mankind and the Dov… myself.

'Dovahkiin, meaning Dragonborn or Dov Ah Kiin: Born Hunter of Dragonkind?' I wondered before shaking my head.

Truthfully, it wasn't an either-or situation. The Dov used the name Dov Ah Kiin because that was what it was to them, my name. Whereas to mankind, I was the Dragonborn: protector of the innocent, nightmare to all evil, and aspect of Akatosh.

In the end, I supposed it didn't matter much. There were no dragons to hunt here. At least, not any whose souls I could consume to further my own power.

With a soft exhale, I shut the notebook and set it down on the table. 'Perhaps meditating on what I think it means to be a dragon will help. After all, I am one; at least in spirit.'

Circling around the table, I came to a stop before the fireplace and sat down, taking deep breaths.

Thanks to a few meditation sessions scattered across a period of two months, I had become quite adept at settling down into what I liked to call a zen state— complete calm.

As if the world and its many toils and troubles could not harm me whilst I sat. I began to take in shallow but calming breaths, though those soon began to deepen.

Inhale. 'What even is a dovah?'

Exhale. 'Immortal beings with the ability to bend the world to their will using their voice alone created by Akatosh… my… father.

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Inhale. 'They're eternal, immortal, unchanging and unyielding. They're not born nor hatched. They do not mate or breed.'

Exhale. 'They are, always were, and always will be…'

Something subdued stirred within me. As if it were finally beginning to wake.

Another inhale. 'Dragons have an innate desire for domination. An insatiable thirst for power. Then why do I not feel it?'

I paused. That was untrue. I felt the lust for power every day, the desire to become strong enough to crush the weak underfoot. It was that same sensation I felt in my chest when I would be challenged— one I suppressed viciously lest I do something I would regret.

It was a part of me that I had refused to acknowledge despite it making itself known to me the moment I awakened in the world. The black dragon with golden eyes that I saw was me.

And I, in turn, was the dragon.

'I think I'm finally starting to get this whole dovah sil thing.' I thought as the meaning of my words began to settle. 'It's like flipping over a coin. Both sides are different, yet still one and the same.'

That was when I felt it. As sure as I felt the need to drink and eat. The desperate, burning urge— no, need for power.

To take to the skies and look at it all from above.

Strong. Supreme. Sovereign.

A soft hum started to play upon my ears. It was in the wind itself. Tickling, whispering, growing louder and louder.

What was once a soft murmur had become a deafening roar. And though my eyes were closed, I could see a set of ethereal cloudy runes in my mind's eye.

They glowed and flickered before rushing towards me, branding three words into my very essence.

'Mul Qah Diiv. It shows itself at last…' I thought with barely concealed excitement.

Rolling out the cricks in my neck, I cracked my eyes open and squinted at the sudden presence of light.

Adjusting my sweater, I patted myself down and inhaled the cool air. 'This is it… here goes nothing.'

"Mul… Qah Diiv!" I barked, extending the first word of the shout. Wisps of fluorescent smoke escaped my lips. The wisps soon grew in size, bathing my vision in orange and blue light.

The misty smoke solidified into a ghostly armour, my hands wielding a frightening pair of ethereal claws.

It grew patterned scales along my body, forming ridged spikes along my back, a pair of curved horns above my forehead and long, sickle-like tail.

The most surprising of all was that I could feel my eyes lengthening into slits and glowing with an ancient power.

Then, as if a dam had broken, the dragon surfaced with an all-consuming roar.

oOOOo

Dov Ah Kiin

Dov Ah Kiin peered at his hands—and subsequently his body—with mild interest.

He was finally free, or rather, he was free to think without the constraints of emotion.

It wasn't that his emotions had disappeared.

He still felt them, and was aware of their presence, but they no longer filled his head like a roaring ocean.

Instead, they were akin to a peaceful river, surrounded by solid banks on each side.

The mind of a dovah truly was a wondrous thing. His desires functioned like a queue; each thing being handled one at a time. Even within his mind, the most important— the strongest one was handled first, whilst the other fell in line behind it.

He observed his surroundings with newfound glee, as if it were his first time gazing upon the world.

"Koraav… this is a new feeling." he muttered. Though his whispers summoned a soft breeze around himself.

Taking a few steps around a room, his gaze roamed upwards, and he sneered distastefully at the high roof above.

"Golt… room," he ordered. The walls flashed teal in surprise before darkening cautiously. Dov Ah Kiin chuckled, a set of sharpened teeth glinting from within his maw. "The vahrukt chalice… the Pensieve… bring it to me."

Not a moment later, a dais materialised rose before him, presenting to him the misty contents of the Pensieve.

He held a spectral claw to his temple and extracted a cloudy wisp from his head. Guided by his finger, it fell into the chalice, creating a series of ripples.

A moment later, his surroundings melted away, and Dov Ah Kiin stood in a lush field. The vegetation stretched far and wide, with nothing else in sight but the clear blue sky above.

He let out a light and airy laugh, an ethereal pair of wings sprouting from his shoulder blades. With a single leap, he took to the sky, feeling the earth relinquish the chains it used to shackle him to the ground.

'Stin…' he thought contentedly before voicing his thoughts aloud. "Indeed… I am free."

The wind ruffled his hair and his trousers fluttered about his ankles. It didn't matter to him. Finally, he was able to stretch his wings and enjoy his newfound liberation.

Soaring upwards, he let out a triumphant roar that echoed across the sky. He could see it all from above. The individual blades of grass, inconsequential yet still present all the same. He noted the lack of sun, and the unnatural aura to his surroundings. 'However, anything is preferable to slumber.'

Slowly, the flapping of his wings ceased, and he pressed them against his back. The effects of his action, or rather his inaction, were immediate as gravity began to act upon him once more.

Like a boulder, he began to plummet to the ground. His surroundings swept past him in smudges and blurs, the earth readying itself to embrace him.

Just as he was about to contact the ground, he let out a fierce yell, bringing his descent to an abrupt halt. "Feim!" As per his orders, his physical body faded away in a blue mist— though he could still feel faint traces of his body.

But not even one as powerful as himself could erase his existence from the world for long, and soon his body had returned to the material world.

He landed feet first— his hair wild and his pale-blue eyes ringed in orange runes.

'Krosis… this is not enough.' he lamented as he wandered around the field.

Despite the transitory excitement, he hungered for more. He knew that for all its boons, this field was not real. What he desired was to be free from that which shackled him and to take to the skies and rule.

Alas, he knew that his time was up. The flickering of his ghostly scales was warning enough.

At the very least, he would leave his mark before leaving, he thought.

Standing tall, Dov Ah Kiin squared his shoulders and readied himself. "Fus… Ro Dah!"

To describe the sound as earth-shattering would be inaccurate. It was thunderous, and deafened Dov Ah Kiin's own ears for a moment.

Though its effects were arguably even more so.

The field was torn up from its very roots, seeming as if vast swathes of it had been ransacked by some kind of natural disaster.

Dov Ah Kiin stared at his work with a prideful smile. 'Geh… this will do.'

The joor was stirring— he could feel it in his very being, and though he knew the futility of his actions, Dov Ah Kiin fought tooth and claw to keep control.

Unfortunately, it was not meant to be.

oOOOo

Asim Dovahkiin

I had left the Room of Requirement after the shout had worn off— it had lasted a good half an hour, maybe a little more or less, I couldn't tell specifically.

'I wasn't exactly timing its duration.' I thought amusedly.

Turning the corner, I walked out onto the mostly open hallway and raised my eyebrows at the lack of the usual crowd of students.

It's not that there weren't any people. Just a few minutes ago, I had walked past the ever-intimidating Professor Snape and as usual, the lower part of his abyss-coloured robes flowed about his ankles.

'Even from up close, the way his robes moved was something out of fantasy…' I snorted. 'Though when I think about it, this could all be one, hyper-realistic coma induced fantasy…'

I wisely chose to end that particular train of thought there.

Upon further thought, I realised that not many would be out and about after sunset on a Saturday.

Absentmindedly putting one foot in front of the other, I navigated the mostly empty halls. My mind was too preoccupied with the Dragon Aspect shout to care about my surroundings.

From what I'd gathered; it strengthened the dovah sil's influence over myself— which was both an exciting yet terrifying experience.

My very perception of the world was different on a fundamental level. As if I could understand the things around me not just for what they were, but for what they represented in the grand scheme of the universe.

'You know, I think I'm starting to sound like those people who preach about 'opening your third eye.' I snorted, thinking back to my previous life.

At my core, I was still myself, yet at the same time was not. Still human, yet at the same time, not. It was a truly mind-boggling existence.

Thanks to my recent breakthrough, I felt the call of the dragon even more so. Especially now that I was completely aware of its existence— not that I wasn't before, but now I was well and truly aware of its presence within me.

Though one thing was for sure: I would not repress its existence anymore. I would make sure to keep it in check, to monitor it, but definitely not to repress it like I had before.

Something told me that completely suppressing it would be bad.

Unfortunately, I was far too absorbed in my thoughts to notice the approaching figure of another person ahead of me.

I was brought back down to earth by our inevitable collision. "Hey what the f—!"

Looking up, I saw a familiar dark haired, grey eyed boy. "Eddie?!"

Eddie's eyes widened in recognition before he gave me a roguish grin. "Hello there stranger! Forgot about me, did you?"

I felt a twinge of shame at his question. In all honesty, I had. I was far too absorbed in my own depression to bother.

"Sorry about that mate," I said, offering him my hand. "What do you say we fix that then. What've you been up to?"

He grasped the metaphorical olive branch with both hands and a radiant smile.

"Well, I'm glad you asked!" he said. "Remember when I said I was interested in Charms?"

I nodded.

"Well, I've been going around and testing the things we've learnt in class." he paused and looked over his shoulder, turning around after a moment. "One night, I was wandering around after finding out that the Wand-Lighting Charm could repel ghosts."

'Oh boy…'

"I thought 'why not?!' and decided to find a ghost to test it out on." he began to snicker. "Here I am, right? I walk up to a ghost that I found and cast the spell. At first nothing happened. So, I thought, 'oh, my casting must be faulty or something' but that was when he zoomed away as if I were You-Know-Who himself!"

Eddie's shoulders shook with mirth, and his muted giggles soon turned into full blown belly laughs. Amidst this, I found myself chuckling at the sheer absurdity of the situation. 'By Akatosh, I'd forgotten how funny this kid was.'

He wiped a few tears from his eyes and turned to face me, the last vestiges of hilarity fading from his face. "So, Asim, what have you been doing these days?"

'How much should I tell him?' I wondered.

Telling him everything would be a no-no. Not only was it stupid, but even if I did, I doubted that he'd believe me. 'A series of half-truths it is then.'

Something within me baulked at the idea of lying— I seemed to be doing much of that these days. At least I had Lyst to be mostly honest to. I'd no doubt in my mind that if I had no outlet, the truth would eat me up from the inside.

That was just the kind of person I was.

"I've been doing things." I said ambiguously, enjoying the hint of annoyance pooling within his eyes.

"What things?" he pressed on curiously, taking care to not let any of his annoyance seep into his voice.

I could tell.

"Magic." I replied, revelling as his cheeks flushed in frustration. 'Maybe I should tell him now.'

I watched his expression shift from annoyance to interest and then cycle through several emotions. His face was a story— one that had me holding back laughter.

"Okay, okay," I said placatingly. "I've been studying ahead and researching useful spells. Did you know there are spells that can keep you warm?"

He tilted his head quizzically.

I fixed him with a stare and raised a singular eyebrow. "Meaning you'll have to wear less clothes…?"

He blinked owlishly at me, as if trying to decipher a complex equation. Eventually, he spoke, and though his words were brief, their effect was direct, brutal, and to the point.

"...That's it?"

There was something almost… disappointed about the way he said it. Prickles that I identified as embarrassment caused the hairs on my nape to rise. 'Why do I feel ashamed? It's not even true!'

"Of course not," I began with a vehement shake of my head. "I've also, well, let's just say that I'm pretty good with magic now."

Pride swelled in my chest at my claim— it wasn't baseless either. Though I was aware that my current level was nothing to grow complacent in, it didn't stop me from feeling content at what I had achieved.

"Is that so?" Eddie asked, flashing me an impish smile.

"Indeed it is." I said, folding my arms over my chest. "It will take you much toil to reach my level of skill, young one."

"But we're the same age." he deadpanned.

"Are we?"

I spun on my heel and began to walk down the hall.

"Where are you going?" he asked, jogging to catch up with me.

"It's time for dinner, Eddie." I said. "Don't tell me you forgot?"

He looked away, the tips of ears flushing. That was all the confirmation I needed.

I snorted, but didn't comment on his blunder.

The rest of our walk was spent in a comfortable silence that was disturbed from time to time by Eddie's questions.

'On the whole, I'd say today wasn't so bad.'