Stormy gusts of wind blasted all faces, pulsating with a distinct rhythm.
There was magic in the air, all realized, their pupils reflecting a massive tree, glowing green. It was like stars had fallen from the sky and begun coiling around it, imitating its rustling leaves.
But that was not the grandest change everyone noticed.
It was the feeling that bubbled in their hearts as they saw the tree move.
It was the thought that echoed in their minds as they heard the magical chants.
Combined, the feeling and the thought gave them a wild experience, as if an ancient being were waking up, answering a call that slithered its way into the past… slowly.
Darcie Malfoy had seated herself cross-legged right next to the tree's foot, wielding her wand ornamented with golden-silver decorations and the wings of a Thunderbird.
Her hair was undulating like waves, unaffected by the powerful gusts of wind that originated from the tree.
They couldn't see her face, but they could hear a hum as she chanted the ancient spells, directing her magic toward the Snakewood tree.
Other than a few Professors, the Headmistress, and Madam Villanelle, no one knew what she was doing and what was happening anymore, including Harry Potter.
However, they all knew one thing.
Unlike Harry, Darcie knew what she was doing.
The question was — was bringing out such a majestic response from the tree enough for her to claim the ancient legacy?
That question resonated in all hearts.
In some cases, the question became the source of nervousness, the knuckles of Headmistress Whitethorn turning white as she made fists in anticipation of unexpected disaster.
In other cases, the question brought the thrill of seeing a miracle, Madam Villanelle recalling the curious girl she had met all those years ago.
Regardless of what form that question assumed, all knew that everything was going to change once Darcie was finished doing whatever she was doing — for better, or for worse!
…
Uncaring of the people, their thoughts, and their questions —
Uncaring of the threats plaguing the world and the responsibility on her shoulders —
Darcie had entered into a zone — had been forced to enter into a zone — with the help of her sudden omnipotent awareness.
This was a very delicate moment.
One wrong placement of a Spell and everything would be ruined.
The Core Aging Method of Wand Creation was already a highly complex process.
However, in this, the core of the complexity lay in the use of a Sealing Potion to awaken the Wand Core. The only reason that Core Aging was so difficult was that this Aging, or quenching of the Wand Core in the Sealing Potion, lasted anywhere between several weeks and a month, depending upon the age of the Wand Core.
All Wand Cores were nothing but a part of the Magical Creature from which they were taken. But, with time, they lost that connection which their parent body shared with Nature.
To reestablish that connection and awaken the Wand Core, the Wandmaker needed to constantly monitor the Sealing Potion ritual, accompanying it with proper Spells and astronomical alignment.
Still, Darcie had believed that with sufficient time on her hands, the Core Aging Method was achievable.
Core Resurrection, though, began from the very start!
It began with the proper use of Spells while grafting the Wand Core into a branch of a Wand Wood tree.
Then came the wait — decades — preferably a century or two — the more the better. Where the Wandmaker awakened the Wand Core while quenching it in a Sealing Potion to connect it with Nature, the same happened by itself during this enormous period.
In a way, the Core Switching Method was nothing but a compressed, suboptimal, and highly degraded version of the Core Resurrection Method.
But that's exactly why the enormous awareness told Darcie that she held an advantage in this case.
If she had started with grafting a Wand Core into the Wand Wood tree, then she would have had to use all those complex Spells that she had no experience with, while simultaneously finding a way to compress hundreds of years' worth of awakening in a few minutes.
No matter how omnipotent the awareness she had received was, she would have definitely failed because the connection to Nature couldn't be forced.
However, the Snakewood tree had grown out of a Wand that already had a Wand Core within it.
Not only that, but the tree was already centuries old — strengthening the Wand Core's connection to Nature that it had never lost.
In a way, there was no need for the complex set of Spells that Darcie would have needed in the grafting process.
All she needed to do now was to awaken the wilted Wand Core.
All she needed to do now was to remind it of the glory it had possessed and promise an even more glorious and grand future.
The Spells that hissed out from Darcie's mouth were not traditional.
They were promises and oaths — words becoming magic using the Ancient Magical Script.
Specific…
—I shall wield you to achieve power.—
Belief…
—I shall wield you to destroy my enemies.—
Intention…
—I shall wield you as the weapon you are… to become the grandest witch across time.—
Darcie opened her eyes, an image of a majestic twelve-winged Thunderbird Emperor manifesting in her right pupil.
Suddenly, thick bolts of green lightning lashed out of her, connecting to the massive tree.
The entire Snakewood tree jolted, tremors running across its massive trunk, spreading through its branches, and making every single leaf shake.
CRACKS and RUMBLES deafened the ears, the green flashes of lightning blinding the eyes. But the sight was so purely magical and overwhelming that it had petrified everyone, making them incapable of taking their eyes off it.
Then, something happened that shocked the living breath out of everyone.
Something happened that forced the Timeline and Death to arrive to experience it firsthand, the Order of the Immortal Lotus already watching the impossible happen from Avalon.
Slowly, but surely, another image began manifesting in Darcie's left pupil.
This image coiled, slithered, and hissed before taking the form of a massive serpent — the Basilisk!
Simultaneously, the entire Snakewood tree… bowed.
With that, one of its main branches lowered, coming right on top of Darcie, the green bolts of lightning still thundering out of her.
A feeling surged in her heart, forcing her to lift her left hand… to reach out to the branch.
It started with a bump.
Something pushed out of that massive branch.
It was another branch, much smaller, much lighter, and much thinner — with a definite shape to it, almost looking like a…
Darcie grabbed the free end of that branch and plucked it off.
And, with a loud CLAP of thunder, she levitated off the ground…
… the two wands in Darcie's hands crackling and hissing in a grand thrill!