Sean turned the ruby necklace over in his fingers.
When he pinched the gemstone and held it toward the sun, the sunlight passed through the deep red crystal, turning into a beam of crimson light that shone directly into his eyes.
His Magic vision was still active.
For a brief moment, Sean thought he saw something inside the ruby—
A tiny shadow.
It looked like a bird.
Suddenly, a sharp pain exploded in his eyes.
Sean instinctively dropped the necklace and clutched his face with both hands.
It felt as if his eyeballs were about to burst.
The necklace fell at his feet.
A faint crack silently appeared inside the ruby, splitting it ever so slightly.
Tiny red specks of light drifted out of the gemstone and floated toward Sean's eyes.
They slipped through the gaps between his fingers and disappeared into his pupils.
Gradually, the pain subsided.
Sean rubbed his eyes and lowered his hands.
Blink.
For a moment, the faint outline of a bird-shaped shadow flashed across his vision.
When he bent down and picked up the necklace again, he discovered something strange.
The ruby had cracked.
And its once vibrant red brilliance had completely faded.
"What the…?"
Sean examined it carefully.
"It broke the moment I got it?"
"Did old Dumbledore give me a fake? Something bought off a discount site?"
He inspected it again.
The gemstone was definitely broken.
He wasn't imagining it.
"If I go ask him now, I wonder if he'll replace it."
Sean shook his head and dismissed the thought.
It had clearly been a magical item before—he had seen the white aura surrounding it through his Magic vision.
But now that glow was gone.
The necklace had become nothing more than an ordinary piece of jewelry.
Suddenly Sean felt uncomfortable.
His vision became slightly blurry.
He had experienced this once before—
When he was five and a half years old, the day his Magic vision first awakened.
"A second awakening of the Magic vision?"
"Could it be?"
Sean tried activating it again and looked toward the Whomping Willow.
The violent tree radiated a dazzling magical glow.
But aside from that, Sean noticed nothing different.
Just then—
A bird's cry echoed through the air.
Sean looked up.
No birds.
The sky was clear, with not a cloud in sight.
The cry sounded again.
Sean spun in a full circle, scanning the surroundings.
There was no one nearby.
Classes were still in session, so students weren't wandering the grounds.
"Great… am I hearing things now?"
"Is there a potion for hallucinations? Snape should have something for that…"
Sean muttered nervously.
Then suddenly—
"Huh? Fawkes?"
"What are you doing here?"
Standing in front of him was Dumbledore's phoenix, Fawkes.
"I get it. Dumbledore must've been walking his bird earlier."
"Come on, go back. It's dangerous out here."
Fawkes normally stayed in the Headmaster's office.
This was the first time Sean had seen the phoenix wandering outside.
Then Sean noticed something strange.
"Wait… something's wrong."
No matter where Sean looked—
Fawkes stayed within his field of vision.
It was as if the bird was moving along with his eyes.
Sean stepped forward cautiously and reached out to touch it.
His hand passed through empty air.
"…No way."
"I'm hallucinating visually now too?"
The phoenix in his vision flapped its wings occasionally.
Sean looked down at the cracked ruby in his hand.
A bold guess formed in his mind.
Earlier, he had seen a bird-shaped shadow inside the ruby.
Now the ruby was broken.
And that shadow had disappeared.
But now a phantom image of Fawkes appeared inside his vision.
Putting the pieces together—
"The shadow inside the ruby… was Fawkes?"
"So now Fawkes is inside my eyes?"
"My eyes are… raising a phoenix?"
Sean's mind raced.
"If that's true… can I summon it?"
When Sean's Magic vision first awakened years ago, he had thought he had some kind of eye disease.
He hadn't dared tell Old Tom or his uncle Hernes.
Only through his own experimentation had he gradually learned how to use it.
Now he would need to explore a new ability.
Sean raised his hand dramatically.
"Come out!"
"I choose you—Fawkes!"
A gentle breeze blew across the grass.
The sky remained bright and peaceful.
Sean stood there alone, posing like an idiot.
"…Not that way?"
"Alright, let's try something else."
He raised his hand again.
"Come forth, my guardian spirit—Phoenix Fawkes!"
Another breeze passed.
Along with a wave of awkward silence.
"…Okay. One more method."
Sean calmed himself.
He closed his eyes and focused.
In his mind, he pictured Fawkes clearly while calling out mentally.
The Magic vision flared with light under his concentrated will.
Then—
Something appeared before him.
Sean stared in stunned silence.
The creature he had summoned was nothing like he imagined.
Dumbledore's phoenix was majestic and magnificent.
But the one at Sean's feet…
…was basically a tiny chick.
Sean crouched down and gently picked it up.
He examined it carefully from every angle.
"This is just a bald baby chicken…"
Summoning the tiny bird had consumed nearly one-third of Sean's magical power.
He wasn't sure whether the magic he provided had been too little—resulting in a baby phoenix—
Or whether Fawkes simply needed time to grow.
Further experiments would be required.
At that moment, the Hogwarts class bell rang.
Students poured out of the castle.
From a distance, the Weasley twins spotted Sean standing alone in the courtyard grass.
They jogged over with their books in hand.
Seeing the chick in Sean's hands, they asked curiously:
"Hey, clever boy—where'd you get that chick?"
"Obviously it hatched from an egg," Sean replied calmly.
The twins exchanged a glance.
Fred grinned.
"How about chicken soup tonight?"
Sean glared at them.
"Get lost. Don't you have another class?"
George groaned dramatically.
"Oh no… next class is History of Magic with Professor Binns."
"Pure torture."
"I envy you. No classes at all."
"Talent," Sean said with a sigh.
"You two wouldn't understand."
The twins rolled their eyes at him.
Sean carried the tiny chick inside his robe and returned to the Slytherin common room.
Little Fawkes waddled across Sean's desk clumsily, swaying back and forth.
Sean watched nervously, afraid it might fall off.
A few minutes later, the chick suddenly dissolved into a wisp of smoke and disappeared.
From summoning to disappearance, it had lasted about ten minutes.
"Is this some kind of summoning magic?"
"Or manifestation?"
Sean pondered the phenomenon.
Once his magic recovered that night, he planned to try summoning it again to confirm his theory.
Sean sat at his desk, staring into the mirror.
His Magic vision reflected back at him.
There were still many secrets hidden within those eyes.
Back in the Room of Requirement, when he had nearly been tempted by the Ravenclaw crown, the Magic vision had activated automatically and awakened him.
"Maybe these eyes themselves can repel darkness?"
"If that's true, breaking Dumbledore's magical item shouldn't matter too much."
Sean glanced at the cracked ruby on the desk.
The gem likely contained Fawkes's blood, combined with additional magic cast by Dumbledore.
It was meant to protect the wearer's mind.
But Sean suspected his Magic vision might already possess a similar ability.
He wasn't completely certain.
And unfortunately—
This was not the kind of thing he could safely test.
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