Five years had passed.
Standing in front of the mirror, Ash stared at himself.
Golden hair - like Rose's - with blue streaks. The same blue eyes. He was five years old, but everyone was already talking about how clever he was.
He didn't like it very much, considering that he was sixteen in this case, accounting for his previous incarnation. Learning to read and write happened quickly.
Learning a language happened quickly. People saw a five-year-old kid doing what he couldn't do at that age and concluded quite logically.
He never disagreed with them.
He adjusted the coat's collar and examined himself one more time. A black coat with long tails that hung past his knees, trimmed with crimson.
Red patches with little silver clasps on the chest. Dark pants. Polished black boots, decorated with a flash of crimson at the ankles. He had chosen the outfit himself and he had chosen well.
There were two reasons why today was important for him.
Firstly, it was his birthday. In this world, birthdays happened once every five years. At the time, he considered it an unusual practice, but he was used to it already.
It simply meant that there would be fewer celebrations overall. And he liked that. He had never been particularly fond of attracting attention at parties.
Secondly, today was the day of his affinity test.
And for this reason, he felt differently about today.
He already knew what his affinity was. It was fire. He knew it from the very first moment when he managed to summon a flame from thin air while reading the magic books, at the age of three.
He remembered his face when he looked at his fiery palms and saw that a bright little ball of flame was comfortably settled between his fingers.
For two years he quietly practiced his affinity. Basic spells, not very complicated. But he was working on them as hard as possible. After all, if this was everything he had, he would make the best of it.
Nevertheless, he wondered.
Many stories he read before, during his previous life, involved people who tested one affinity and found out they had three, or their affinity was so deeply hidden in them that only a certain crisis could reveal it.
He did not count on this. He did not even expect such a thing.
Still, the thought lingered.
He gave himself one last glance at his reflection and readjusted his collar for the last time. Then he smiled.
"I guess it is high time I get going."
He turned away from the mirror and headed to his bedroom's door. Slowly opening it, just enough for his head to pass through, he looked left and then right.
The hallway was empty.
Sneaking out quietly, he closed the door behind him. Then he started moving. Quickly, but not running. Rather, fast walking, moving purposefully towards the kitchen.
He was about to reach it when...
"Ash."
He froze.
He recognized that voice immediately. He recognized it by the same token he recognized the sounds of the front door and smells of Rose's cooking.
That was something that had been accompanying him for five years now, and it rarely had pleasant timing.
He slowly turned around.
Ray stood at the other end of the hallway, arms crossed, blue eyes staring at him with that look.
A narrow one, saying that he knew exactly what was going on and giving him one last chance to say something convincing before stopping listening.
Ray was twelve now. He was tall for his age and carried himself in the same manner as Draco, with quiet confidence that made you somehow feel like he watched over you even in silence.
"Don't tell me," Ray said, "that you are going to that place today."
"No," Ash said. His voice was slower than expected. "I was just going to..."
He stopped.
No words were coming.
He was standing with his unfinished sentence and with every attempt to find a continuation, it became more obvious that he was lying and Ray kept looking at him with that expression, getting even more annoyed the longer it took.
He was never a good liar. He knew this about himself from the beginning. Ray had known this longer than anyone else.
"Everyone is there except for you," Ray said. He uncrossed his arms and stepped closer. "It is time to go to your own party, which you are trying to get out of."
He reached out and grabbed Ash's wrist.
"Wait," Ash pleaded immediately, trying to pull his arm free. "Just this time! I swear I will just watch from a distance, but I will not go anywhere near the fracture."
He dragged Ash along, not looking back and not paying attention to the protests of the boy, who was not strong enough to resist him.
"Last time, you also promised to do just this thing," Ray stated matter-of-factly.
"This time I mean it."
"You meant it last time too."
"Ray."
"Come."
Ash dug his heels in slightly. It made no difference. Ray was twelve and he was five and the physics of the situation were not in his favor.
His feet moved across the floor whether he wanted them to or not, pulled steadily in the direction of the very party he had been trying to avoid.
"Just give me one more chance," Ash tried again.
Ray said nothing and continued dragging him to the party.