The night sky was a vast canvas, and the flames were the paint—splashing, swirling, and pouring across the endless black with wild abandon.
The fire danced and shifted into countless shapes: enormous glowing hearts slowly spinning, twin arrows piercing a heart so lifelike it seemed to beat, and a flowing string of English letters unfurling across the heavens—
"Love Conquers All."
Lovers finally become destined.
The flaming words lingered in the night sky for a long time, a magical blessing branded forever onto the Hogwarts firmament.
On the lawn below.
The boys and girls who had still kept a careful distance earlier now found their fingers quietly intertwined without anyone noticing.
No one cheered. No one teased. Under the brilliant night sky they simply—very gently, very tightly—held each other's hands.
More eyes, however, were drawn to the magical creatures that had stepped out of the flames.
The fire dragon lounged on an empty patch of grass nearby, tail occasionally flicking, black-and-gold scales catching every glimmer of light. The Thunderbird occasionally preened its stiff feathers, tiny arcs of electricity crackling between the plumes. The unicorns stood in small groups along the lawn's edge, pure white coats glowing, spiral horns shining softly in the darkness. The flaming horses strolled across the grass, trailing ribbons of fire behind them…
Thanks to the Cupids' explanations, the young witches and wizards learned—they could take photos with these magical beasts.
At first, no one dared move.
After all, these were creatures most people only ever saw in books, each with their own distant habitats. It was hard to imagine them all gathered together like this.
Finally, a few bold Gryffindor boys couldn't resist. They crept forward cautiously toward the fire dragon.
The unusually massive dragon suddenly lowered its head, curious and excited.
When it saw the young wizards flinch, the dragon gave a loud snort, puffing out a small cloud of sparks, then struck a more dignified pose—as if deliberately helping them take the perfect picture.
"It didn't eat us!"
"Quick! Take the shot!"
The Cupids immediately flew over with their cameras, clicking away nonstop.
Once someone started, everyone else grew brave. Under the Cupids' careful direction, the crowd formed orderly queues.
The girls' favorite, without question, was the unicorns.
That pure, beautiful image had captured every girl's heart completely.
Besides, in ancient legends, unicorns were tied to blessings and love.
On Valentine's Day, who wouldn't want that kind of good fortune?
Soon a long line had formed around the unicorns.
The boys, meanwhile, gravitated toward the fire dragon and Thunderbird.
Come on—who wouldn't want a badass photo with one of the top predators of the magical food chain?
Such chances were insanely rare. Normally, getting even close to a dragon or Thunderbird could earn you a faceful of dragon breath or lightning.
But these ones were strangely… friendly.
As long as you didn't try to touch them, they didn't mind at all.
They would even cooperatively lift their heads, spread their wings, and strike fierce "I'm dangerous" poses, making the boys cheer wildly.
"Quick, quick! It's looking at the camera!"
"Merlin's beard—I'm hanging this one in the living room at home!"
Still, there was one thing the boys envied.
Even while posing, the dragon and Thunderbird absolutely refused to let anyone touch them. One brave boy tried to stroke the Thunderbird's feathers and was instantly blasted three meters backward by a gust of wind. Luckily two Cupids struggled to catch him before he face-planted in the grass.
Around the unicorns, however, a tiny handful of girls earned the special privilege of "close contact."
One Hufflepuff girl hesitantly reached out, and the youngest unicorn actually stepped forward to nuzzle her palm.
The girl nearly jumped with joy while envious squeals erupted all around her.
As for the boys…
One boy simply tried to get a little closer—without even reaching out—and the male unicorn's horn suddenly lit with cold silver light, clearly preparing to stab.
The boy immediately threw both hands up and backed away.
"Just passing by! Passing by!"
Good-natured laughter swept across the lawn.
…
Headmaster's office.
Dumbledore stood at the window, watching the celebration and joy unfolding on the grass below.
The firelight reflected on his face, making those blue eyes seem especially deep.
Fawkes perched on his shoulder and let out a clear, bright cry.
Dumbledore, who understood phoenix speech perfectly, heard:
"See? I told you the boy has a strange affinity with fire. Albus, your lessons weren't wasted—he's probably using that spell even better than you did at his age."
Dumbledore smiled without answering, eyes fixed on the boy slowly descending from the sky, watching the flames in his hands turn into blessings.
He felt deeply gratified.
This was exactly how magic should be used—not for conquest, not for killing, but to bring people joy and happiness.
"Fawkes," Dumbledore asked softly, "won't you go down and join them? It's rare to see so many rare magical creatures gathered together."
Fawkes turned his head and trilled:
"They're all kids. I'd look out of place."
Dumbledore glanced down at him, the corner of his mouth lifting.
"But with how you look right now, you could slip right in and no one would notice."
Fawkes froze.
He looked down at his still-immature wings—the feathers had begun to shimmer with red-gold light, but they were still soft and downy like a fledgling's.
Then he looked out at the majestic creatures on the lawn…
Fawkes let out a very human sigh.
Normally, after a natural death and rebirth, a phoenix grew back to adulthood very quickly.
But—
But before his last rebirth, hadn't he been startled half to death by two reckless little wizards?
The shock had hit the elderly phoenix pretty hard.
That "little accident" had slowed his regrowth a bit.
Fawkes sighed again and, for good measure, gave Dumbledore's shoulder a dissatisfied peck.
After a moment of silence, he suddenly trilled once more.
"Albus, didn't you say you were going to visit your old friend again? Not tonight?"
"Or… is this day not suitable for you humans?"
Dumbledore paused.
He gazed out at the night sky lit by flames and filled with laughter.
He did not answer Fawkes's question. He simply stroked the phoenix's feathers gently, his eyes turning toward the deeper darkness beyond.