Why Doesn't Your Fire Snake Have a Nose?

As Isaac's Summoning Charm took effect, the Diadem of Ravenclaw zipped toward him.

Mid-flight, Professor Vinda stepped out from behind Isaac.

She pointed her wand directly at the diadem in mid-air, and flames erupted from the tip.

These were no ordinary flames.

Standing right beside Professor Vinda, Isaac could feel the nature of the fire more acutely than anyone.

This fire was alive; it had a consciousness of its own.

Fiendfyre.

Fiendfyre is not a common flame; it possesses a degree of self-awareness and sensory perception, actively seeking out and pursuing all living things.

At the same time, the flames constantly shift and transform, taking the shapes of massive beasts like dragons, Chimera, serpents, and birds of prey, using fangs and claws to devour their targets.

Most importantly, once cast, Fiendfyre continuously consumes combustible materials to grow, its power increasing exponentially.

In the original timeline, Crabbe, a lackey of Malfoy, had used Fiendfyre in the Room of Requirement.

But that guy had absolutely no control over his own fire—generally speaking, ordinary dark wizards rarely liked to use Fiendfyre.

Because it was something even they could not control.

But Professor Vinda was no ordinary dark wizard.

She was the lieutenant of Grindelwald, and Grindelwald was a master of Dark Arts who could make Fiendfyre dance to his tune.

When Professor Vinda unleashed the Fiendfyre, it did not immediately begin to consume the surrounding environment to grow.

Instead, it condensed directly in mid-air into its "beast form."

The surging Fiendfyre transformed into a bird of prey soaring through the air, then viciously clawed and pecked at the falling diadem.

Just as the avian Fiendfyre was about to touch the Diadem of Ravenclaw, a shrill, vicious scream rang out in the ears of Isaac and Professor Vinda.

Immediately after, a large amount of dark, tar-like substance poured out of the Diadem of Ravenclaw like blood.

This was followed by a massive plume of black mist.

Isaac saw it clearly; the black mist seemed to be trying to form a human shape. Unfortunately, it had emerged a bit too late.

The screeching from the soul fragment of Voldemort did not affect Professor Vinda.

Hardly a surprise; she had worked for Grindelwald. When Grindelwald was sweeping across the European continent, little Tom didn't even know if he was in school yet.

Under Professor Vinda's control, the avian Fiendfyre dove straight into the black mist, eliciting a series of screams from Voldemort's soul fragment before it began to burn the Diadem of Ravenclaw fiercely.

A few seconds later, the screaming stopped abruptly, and the diadem, which had been hovering on its own, fell limply to the ground.

Once the diadem was incinerated, Professor Vinda had no time to inspect the wreckage; she now had to deal with the Fiendfyre she had conjured herself.

There was no helping it; that was the nature of the Fiendfyre curse. Its danger did not actually lie in the raw power of the spell.

It lay in the fact that it had its own consciousness, was uncontrollable, and most importantly, could expand its power infinitely by igniting combustible materials.

Grindelwald might have been able to manipulate Fiendfyre at will, but Professor Vinda could only manage to influence it to a limited degree.

Just like before, she had controlled the formed Fiendfyre to avoid consuming the surroundings and instead focus on devouring the life force belonging to Voldemort within the Diadem of Ravenclaw.

To put it bluntly, once Fiendfyre appears, it must consume the life force around it—this is its instinct.

Professor Vinda could make the fire bypass life force A and B to consume C—Voldemort—first.

But once C was consumed, the Fiendfyre would inevitably turn to consume A and B, namely Professor Vinda and Isaac.

At this point, the Fiendfyre would become increasingly difficult to control, and the will of the fire itself would constantly struggle with Professor Vinda for dominance.

Fortunately, after destroying Voldemort's Horcrux, Professor Vinda no longer needed to force her control over the fire.

She immediately ceased the spell, and the freed Fiendfyre instantly transformed from a bird of prey into a massive fire serpent.

Isaac couldn't help but feel that there was something wrong with the serpent's head; why did it look so round and featureless, lacking a nose?

Isaac's thoughts were fast, but Professor Vinda's actions were faster.

Having ended the Fiendfyre curse, Professor Vinda immediately pointed her wand downward, and for the first time, she shouted a standard incantation.

"Finite Incantatem!"

Professor Vinda's wand easily pierced the floor of the Room of Requirement, and a bright golden light erupted first.

Then, the golden light rapidly extended upward, forming a straight pillar of light reaching from the floor to the ceiling.

The noseless fire serpent was shoved directly into the air by the golden light, slamming hard against the ceiling.

The scattered sparks were blocked by the golden light.

Finally, the golden radiance spread outward along the ground, forming a massive circular golden ring beneath Professor Vinda's feet as a barrier rose.

The edges of the ring began to curve upward, gradually forming a hemispherical, transparent golden barrier that protected Professor Vinda and Isaac within.

The surface of the rising barrier was covered in complex alchemical symbols and ancient magical runes, which flickered as energy flowed through them.

Under Professor Vinda's constant manipulation, the barrier protecting the two of them expanded, eventually annihilating the fire serpent in mid-air.

Only at this moment did Isaac truly witness the terrifying scene of a powerful wizard engaging in actual combat magic.

Dumbledore's encounter with Voldemort's wraith doesn't even count.

Back then, Dumbledore fighting Quirrell was no different from beating a son... no, beating a grandson.

Therefore, in terms of visual effects, it wasn't nearly as spectacular as what was happening right now.

Professor Vinda's self-produced and self-consumed display made Isaac realize just what a powerful wizard could achieve.

At the same time, his wariness of the Fiendfyre curse deepened.

Originally, Isaac had been very interested in Fiendfyre; Grindelwald's gas stove was, after all, the annual best of Fiendfyre.

As long as one could cast magic, who wouldn't be desperate to use a Grindelwald-brand Fiendfyre gas stove after seeing such a scene?

But this thing was truly difficult to control; one slip-up and it would backfire on the caster.

Professor Vinda hadn't even let the Fiendfyre devour the surrounding combustibles recklessly, yet even the usually elegant Professor Vinda was already panting.

If Isaac were to sneakily practice this thing at Hogwarts and accidentally set the castle or the Forbidden Forest on fire, who would go to Azkaban if not him?

Most importantly, Isaac had always held the view that only spells that could be completely controlled by a wizard were truly one's own spells.

Perhaps when he grew stronger in the future, he could use Fiendfyre to show off as he pleased.

But for now, research into the Fiendfyre curse would have to be put on the back burner.

"Professor Vinda, are you alright?" Isaac asked softly, as Professor Vinda had finally caught her breath.

The two then walked over to the spot where the Diadem of Ravenclaw had just fallen.