Snake Venom

Changed

Falcon awoke the next day with a pounding headache. His muscles felt stiff and sore, and every breath he took caused him pain. His skin felt as though it were on fire. Kori slithered onto him, the coolness from her scales giving him relief. He managed to lift his hand enough to rest it on her, and gently stroked her scales. Kori shifted slightly, bringing her head to rest on his cheek. Finally comfortable, she drifted off to sleep, and Falcon felt himself doing the same, waking hours later feeling far better than he had.

Over the next few weeks, Falcon began noticing changes in his magic. Before, his magic would come when he cast a spell but would fade after the spell had been cast. Now, it seemed to be ever present, as though it bubbling just below his skin. Falcon could control his emotions better, and he was beginning to learn how to control fire. He could only make a flame twitch so far, but knew with practice he would improve.

Falcon was snapped from his thoughts with a gentle shove from Draco. "You know, we'll have to send you to the Ravenclaws if you keep drifting off like that." Falcon gave a sheepish grin and turned back to Binns' lecture. The ghost rambled on about another goblin rebellion, and Falcon wondered if the goblins would rebel again soon. The ministry had breached the treaties at least a dozen times since the last one was signed.

He sat in the library, mulling over the 'Chamber of Secrets'. He wasn't sure if it actually existed, it seemed fantastical. A massive secret chamber in the school, hidden for centuries, with a massive monster that no one had seen? Falcon pulled out Hogwarts: A History, and flipped to the last page, a rough map of the castle. He tried to find a possible spot it could be, but came up empty-handed. Falcon groaned in frustration, vowing to find a better map, or better yet, blueprints, at a later date.