The Fire Phoenix's Transformation

Sleepy. He was so sleepy, with a weariness that rose from the depths of his soul!

As his consciousness faded, he seemed to see his gentle mother chopping filling in the kitchen, smiling as she said she would make her son's favorite pork and shepherd's purse dumplings. He seemed to see his father, whose brow was always furrowed, holding a glass half-filled with hot water and using it to press the curled pages of a book flat, bit by bit. He seemed to see Pipi the tabby racing around the house with his red boxers in its mouth!

No, Luo Bin. You can't give in. As long as you're alive, there's hope of seeing them again. If your soul burns away, you'll have nothing left!

His will to survive flared up again. It surged stronger and stronger until it overwhelmed even the scorching heat. Luo Bin shed his "little red man" look, and his skin returned to normal.

"Where is this?"

One moment he had been in the middle of the altar; the next, he was in an endless white space. Luo Bin was baffled.

Suddenly, a red bird wreathed in flames flew up to him. "Child, congratulations on passing the trial. Whether you inherit my bloodline is now your choice."

A chicken's head, a swallow's throat, a snake's neck, a turtle's back, a fish's tail, multicolored feathers, and flames all over its body. "Are you... a Phoenix?"

The red bird flapped its wings, stirring up bursts of fire. "Obviously, am I not? Child whose soul shares my origin, the Dark Wizards are watching. We have almost no time left. Have you decided?"

The same origin?

Only then did Luo Bin realize that he had appeared in this misty space as he had looked on Blue Star!

The red bird's tail feathers turned to flame and vanished into the void. "Child, have you decided?" it asked anxiously.

He had a feeling that if he refused, the Phoenix would dissolve into flames and disappear forever, while he would likely die at a Dark Wizard's wand. Only an idiot would turn down the inheritance!

"I'll inherit it! That's my choice!"

Screech!

With a cry, the red bird became a ball of light and poured into Luo Bin. Vast Magic nearly burst him apart, while the burning pain in his soul was excruciating.

His fierce will to survive saved him again. Gritting his teeth, he tried to control the flow of Magic. If one attempt failed, he tried a second. If two failed, he tried a third... On his ninety-sixth attempt, he finally succeeded!

The vast Magic stopped crashing about and began flowing steadily according to his will. The burning in his soul receded like the tide. He collapsed on the ground and could not help laughing.

A Phoenix, reborn from fire. Now he was not only immortal but possessed tremendous Magic!

The white mist swiftly dispersed, and Luo Bin's consciousness returned to the center of the altar. He was once more a little boy with black hair and black eyes, though fiery wings grew from his back. He realized that everything just now had happened not on the altar, but inside his mind.

Luo Bin's transformation only excited the two Dark Wizards more. Their faces took on an almost crazed look.

The transformation continued. His arms disappeared, his feet became talons, and a Phoenix's cry pierced the sky. His transformation was complete: he had become a Fire Phoenix!

"Hendry, look at those beautiful flames! Our experiment worked!"

"James, I'm going to Romania to merge with a dragon's bloodline. We'll become Wizards stronger than Merlin! When that happens, even Voldemort will be fit only to serve us!"

Luo Bin could feel the immense Magic within him, all of it his to command. It seemed that merely opening his beak could unleash a sea of fire and burn everything around him!

Looking at their savage faces, he could not help remembering the laboratory!

Children were force-fed Potions, whipped, subjected to Dark Magic, and tortured to death. Their bodies were tossed into the gorge, and even their souls were denied rest!

Rage surged through him. He opened his beak wide and, with a shriek, spat out three rows of flames!

Before the Phoenix Fire, the Dark Wizards' Protective Barrier shattered in an instant. Flames engulfed them both. Stripping off their burning black robes did no good, for the fire burned not only their bodies but their souls.

"Argh!"

James, whose Magic was weaker, struggled for a dozen seconds before burning to a pinch of black ash!

"James! Damn you! Avada Kedavra!"

Writhing on the ground in agony, Hendry drew his Wand and cast the forbidden curse at the flaming Phoenix.

Phoenixes were perhaps the only creatures in the Wizarding World unafraid of Avada Kedavra. Luo Bin folded his wings, cried out, then spread them again. His powerful Magic reflected the green curse back. Hendry convulsed for five or six seconds before falling still.

Dark Wizards used sinister methods. Worried that their possessions might conceal some danger, Luo Bin spat out several more bursts of fire, reducing their bodies, Wands, magical bags, and the altar to ash.

Afterward, Luo Bin suddenly felt the Magic in his body retreat. It gathered three inches below his navel into a dim red sphere. An obscure inheritance also appeared in his mind. Then a wave of weakness and exhaustion swept through him. A flash of red light later, he was a child again—and stark naked.

The air still held some warmth, so he was not cold, but being naked felt awful. His soul was twenty-four years old, after all!

Suddenly, a black robe trimmed in gold flew over and wrapped him up tight. Turning his head, he saw a kindly white-bearded old man striding toward him.

"You poor little fellow. That must have frightened you!"

"Who are you?"

"Albus Dumbledore. I work at Hogwarts, a Wizarding School."

Dumbledore?

Hogwarts?

Recalling the Dark Wizards' mention of Aurors and Voldemort, Luo Bin realized he had crossed into the world of Harry Potter. "Mr. Dumbledore, can I go to Hogwarts to study magic?"

Hogwarts was one of the finest Wizarding Schools in the world. What young Wizard with Magic would not want to go?

"Of course you can, provided you learn to hide your Animagus identity!"

"Animagus?"

"A Wizard who can turn into an animal while retaining his magical abilities is called an Animagus. To date, fewer than ten registered Animagi exist, and not one of them can become a Magical Creature. Do you understand what that means, little fellow?"

Luo Bin had been a Harry Potter fan as a child. He had watched the discs until their labels wore away and read the books until they nearly fell apart. How could he have forgotten the basics of that world?

But Luo Bin in this world was an orphan who knew nothing!

"Yes, I understand. So how should I hide it?"

In the world of Harry Potter, Dumbledore was practically a saint. Luo Bin trusted him to help.

"You're still young, little fellow, and don't know how to use magic. Leave it to me!"

Dumbledore drew his Wand and was about to cast a concealment charm when Lucius Malfoy, with long pale-gold hair and gray eyes, appeared on the rocks with five Aurors.

"Mr. Dumbledore, I need an explanation."

Lucius glanced over the devastation at Kedrona, then fixed his gray eyes on Luo Bin.

"Fawkes has been in a bad mood lately and may have breathed a little too much fire. But... Wizards who experiment on people are easy to hate, aren't they?"

"Who is he?"

"A poor child!"

"Mr. Dumbledore, I hope you understand one thing: the Ministry of Magic has never found an experimental subject who escaped a Dark Wizard's abuse!"

"Lucius Malfoy, he is a living person, a young Wizard with Magic inside him, and the hope of the Wizarding World. Please don't call him an 'experimental subject.' It's terribly rude!"