A bone-chilling howl rang out across the woods.
Harry froze.
His stomach dropped, and he swallowed dryly. That... was close.
Very close.
His instincts screamed at him to run, but his feet moved the other way — toward the sound. Each step felt like it carried lead. His breath hitched. His wand-light flickered with his shaking hand.
"Get a fang," he muttered.
"Just a bloody fang, right?"
He slipped his other hand into his coat and pulled out a small silver knife. It wasn't much. It wouldn't stop a real beast — but it made him feel better. A little.
The trees opened slightly, and there in a small clearing stood—
A rabbit.
Well… not quite a rabbit.
Its eyes were red, its mouth full of needle-like fangs, and it gave a low, rattling growl. Some kind of forest beast. Dangerous-looking, but not what he was here for.
Harry let out a breath. Relief swept through his chest.
"Oh thank Merlin—"
The rabbit-beast exploded in a burst of fire and teeth.
Something had bitten down from above — no, pounced. A hulking shadow smashed into the clearing, scorching the air around it. Fur black as pitch. Three heads. A body bigger than a troll.
Cerberon.
It raised its middle head, smoke curling from its nostrils like a dying chimney. Its glowing eyes scanned the dark, sniffing the air.
Harry had already taken a step back, breath caught in his throat.
The beast didn't growl.
It didn't snarl.
It stepped back, mirroring him.
Harry blinked.
He hadn't made a sound.
Then he remembered.
To most eyes — human eyes — he was just a boy with a wand and messy hair.
But to magical beasts…
To creatures who could see souls…
He wasn't that.
The Cerberon saw a figure cloaked in thick, black smoke, with a body barely holding together — a swirling mess of shadows and wild, chaotic magic. Glowing green eyes like cursed emeralds. One arm — blood red— pulsing with an ancient hunger.
Beelzebub's arm.
Cerberon didn't see prey.
It saw a monster.
It screamed — all three heads howling in fear, rage, and primal instinct — and launched itself at Harry, teeth bared, fire erupting from its jaws.
"Yup," Harry muttered.
"There it is."
He spun, wand and knife in hand.
And he ran.
Harry crashed through the underbrush, lungs burning, branches slapping at his face as he sprinted.
Behind him, the Cerberon gave chase, snarling like a storm of flame and fury. Trees shattered as it barreled forward, fire licking at the ground, lighting dead leaves aflame in its wake.
"Stupid, stupid, stupid! Why did I walk toward the scream?!" Harry shouted at himself, ducking low as a blast of fire scorched past his head.
He dove behind a fallen log as one of the Cerberon's heads snapped at him, jaws crunching bark and sending splinters flying. The heat was unbearable. Its claws raked the earth, tearing trenches through the forest floor.
"I can't outrun this thing..." Harry whispered.
He turned his head slightly — and saw it.
A shallow cave, half-covered by roots and moss. Tight. Low. But maybe...
He bolted for it.
Cerberon roared and lunged again, fire erupting from one of its mouths. Harry flung himself into the cave just as the flame scorched the earth behind him.
The opening was too narrow for the whole beast to follow, but one head forced itself in, jaws snapping wildly.
Harry scrambled back, knuckles white as he gripped his wand and knife.
"Stupefy!"
The spell struck the Cerberon's left eye — it roared and pulled back, smashing part of the rock entrance as it did.
That bought him seconds.
Just seconds.
He pressed back into the cave wall, heart pounding. The red mark on his arm — Beelzebub's brand — glowed faintly in the dark.
Then he heard it.
"Kill. Eat. Burn. Ru̶n̶…? No… fight."
Not a voice in his ear.
A voice in his blood.
His vision blurred for a moment, the world bending unnaturally as the shadows near his feet slithered. His red arm twitched.
He grit his teeth.
"No. Not yet. I'm not… ready."
But Cerberon didn't care.
It was backing up — just enough to charge and bring the entire cliff face down if it had to.
Harry stood.
His wand in one hand. His silver knife in the other.
No escape now.
Just him.
And the beast.
And the voice inside him that whispered,
"If you won't become the predator, you'll die the prey."
The Cerberon charged.
Harry then rooled out way, as the Cerberon looked at Harry, Harry moved his wand.
"Leviosa".
One of the tree branches a big one hit Cerberon sending it back
"Leviosa"
This time it was rock, as the Beast looked at Harry, as Harry moved his hand.
"Luma"
The Cerberon snarled, stunned from the sudden flash of Luma straight to its many eyes. Its massive paws flailed, throwing up dirt and fire as it tried to locate Harry again.
But he was already behind it.
"Reverse Clockwork..." Harry whispered, his body twisting unnaturally as his shadow flickered and warped.
"Shadow Cut."
The shadows beneath the beast surged like black tendrils, snapping upward and slicing across its back leg. The Cerberon howled in pain, one head trying to twist around while another started breathing embers.
But Harry was gone again — and now on its back.
"You really shouldn't have tried to roast me, dog-boy."
He flicked his wand.
"Leviosa!"
A massive tree branch behind him, thick as a log and covered in sharp stubs, flew up.
Harry didn't even hesitate.
With all the grace of a man done with life's nonsense, he jabbed it upward, directly into the Cerberon's backside.
There was a brief moment of silence.
Then—
"YEEEEEAAAAAOOOOWWWW!!"
All three heads howled in synchronized agony, the Cerberon leaping straight into the air like it'd been struck by lightning. already casting another spell as the beast thrashed.
"Expulso!"
The blast detonated right under one of its heads, sending the Cerberon tumbling sideways. It crashed into a tree, rolling across the forest floor with flames bursting from its mouth uncontrollably.
Harry landed on his feet — barely — panting, bruised, and scorched, but alive.
The Cerberon lay twitching, growling in fury, steam rising off it.
Then he heard it again — that voice.
"Your instincts… brutal. Wasteful. But effective. I like it."
Beelzebub's presence pulsed for just a moment, then receded.
Harry glared at the twitching beast, wand still up, then muttered:
"Next time you bark at me, bring mouthwash."
Harry made another Luma, remember something. The forest flickered again in a sharp flash of Luma, and the Cerberon's three heads snapped shut in reflex, teeth grinding as the blinding light irritated its still-burning retinas.
Harry stood there, shirt half-burned, wand sparking, holding what looked like… cocoa beans?
He narrowed his eyes, voice deadpan.
"Daphne, I swear, you're both a genius and a menace."
He pulled the pouch open. Inside were a few dark, raw cocoa beans — a little "snack for energy," she had said. He now understood. They weren't for him.
"You're a dog," Harry muttered, walking toward the twitching beast. "And dogs are allergic to chocolate."
He raised a brow, then casually tossed the beans, one by one, right into each open mouth as the Cerberon panted.
Plop. Plop. Plop.
Each bean found its mark, swallowed before the beast could even register what it was being fed.
For a brief moment… nothing happened.
Then all three heads suddenly snapped upward, eyes wide, jaws shaking.
The Cerberon began to foam at the mouth, its paws kicking the ground like it was having a seizure — or a demonic sugar rush.
"Oh crap, I think I overdid it," Harry muttered.
The beast began convulsing, hacking, its breath going from fire to smoke, then to small sparks. Its tongues lolled out, tail twitching violently before it fell flat, groaning lowly.
Harry walked over and gave it a small poke with his wand.
Still breathing. Barely.
"Sleep it off, you flaming mutt." He turned away. "And tell Hades I said 'suck it'."
Behind a nearby tree, the white snake coiled silently, its eyes gleaming.
"Gluttony… clever. But still immature."
Harry blinked, staring at the pulsating, blackened blade now fused to his arm. Beelzebub had fully manifested—not just in aura, not just in his dreams—but in cold, solid, living metal that breathed with every motion.
It twitched, whispered one word, in Harry mind
"Hunger."
Before Harry could react, the blade lunged down of its own accord, impaling the downed Cerberon's chest with a sickening shunk.
The massive beast let out a wheezing groan, and then—
SSSKRRRRRK—
Its blood turned to mist, its magic was drawn out in streaks of red and gold, and something more—something deeper, soul-like—was wrenched from the corpse and consumed.
Harry stumbled back, arm glowing faintly as the sword retracted from the Cerberon's husk. A black crystal pulse spread up his forearm, then into his mind as text—not words spoken, but thoughts etched—burned into his vision.
[Main Skill: Gluttonous Fly]
A buzzing sensation hit the back of his skull as more information flooded in.
Skill 1: Burn (B+ Rank)
Cerberus Flame: Unleashes hellfire that ignites foes with intense, unquenchable flames.
(Note: This flame ignores most magical defenses and persists even in water.)
(Upgradeable with higher-tier fire cores or beast sacrifices.)
Skill 2: Hemorrhage Hellhound (B+ Rank)
Your blade causes massive internal bleeding even with the smallest cuts. Blood loss accelerates exponentially.
(Note: Particularly effective against high-constitution targets.)
Skill 3: High-Speed Regeneration (F Rank)
Minor wounds close faster. Bruises, scrapes, and shallow gashes heal rapidly.
(Warning: Prolonged use may cause hunger pangs or increased Gluttony corruption.)
Skill 4: Burn Injury Heal (B+ Rank)
Converts fire-based damage into restorative energy. Fire heals you instead of harms you.
(Note: Limited to specific types of flame until further upgraded.)
Harry stared at his arm. Still faintly glowing. Still alive.
"...That's. Creepy. But also..." he flexed his hand, watching a small cut on his palm stitch itself up in seconds. "...high-speed regeneration? How the hell—"
He paused.
Out of the corner of his eye, a crisp crunch reached his ears.
A dead rat—burned, crumpled—tumbled from the Cerberon's collapsed body. It must've been crushed when the beast fell. Or maybe eaten half-alive when the chocolate hit.
But that wasn't what made Harry pause.
What was concerning… was the way its body twitched.
Then rose.
The dead rat's eyes glowed faint red for a moment, before it slumped again. Beelzebub pulsed faintly.
Harry's breath hitched.
"…Did… did I just make zombie dog food?"
Beelzebub whispered in his mind again.
"Gluttony leaves nothing uneaten... not even death."
Here's a cleaned-up and polished version of your scene, with improved grammar, flow, and character tone, while keeping the spirit of your dark and quirky AU intact:
---
After several tense minutes, the clearing echoed with footsteps and hushed voices as the Slytherin Clan gathered once again. One by one, the children returned with their chosen kills—small magical beasts, serpentine creatures, or, in one case, a stunned Imp. Each house of the ancient clan clapped proudly, exchanging smug looks and whispered praise for their young heirs.
Then came Harry.
Dragging a massive, scorched corpse behind him.
The Cerberon.
Three-headed, charred, and unmistakably dead, its burnt hide still smoking slightly. Its massive form thudded with every tug as Harry walked toward the center of the gathering. His robes were torn, slightly singed, and coated in soot. Blood—some of it his—dripped from one sleeve. His hair was wild, green eyes glowing faintly with magic residue, and Beelzebub shimmered faintly at his side.
Harry scratched the back of his head, voice uncertain.
"Surprise?"
Silence.
Absolute, deafening silence.
Rosa blinked, stunned speechless.
The heads of the other Houses all stared in wide-eyed disbelief.
Lady Slytherin's gaze was fixed coldly on the charred Cerberon, eyes flickering once toward the still-glowing red of Harry's left arm.
Lord Slytherin, however, let out a slow, deep chuckle. There was amusement in it… and pride.
"Well, then," he said, rising from his seat with a gleam in his eye, "it seems we have a clear winner."
He looked around at the other children with a grandfatherly smile. "And it also seems that every one of our young heirs has proven themselves worthy. All of them shall be qualified to attend the magical schools."
There was a stunned pause, and then a wave of quiet cheers and claps from the various Houses. But everyone's eyes kept drifting back to Harry.
To the burned robes. The bloodstained arm. The demonic presence lingering just faintly around him.
And the fact that a Cerberon—a Hell-beast few adult wizards dared to face—was now very, very dead.
Harry gave a nervous grin, dragging the corpse a bit farther.
"So… do I get extra points for creativity or…?"
Lady Slytherin narrowed her eyes. "We'll discuss that later."
As the other children were either celebrating or staring at Harry like he'd grown a second head, Daphne Greengrass stood frozen, her blue eyes wide.
He actually did it.
He actually did it.
I thought he was going to run, maybe sneak in and grab a fang or something cool-looking for show—not… not use the cocoa beans I gave him to poison the bloody Cerberon!
She stared at the massive three-headed corpse now lying across the courtyard like some kind of grotesque rug. The faint smell of burnt fur and sulfur hung in the air. And there was Harry, awkward, soot-covered, and alive—scratching his head like he had just tripped over someone's cat, not killed a hellhound.
Daphne's mouth opened slightly. Then closed.
Did he seriously win a Slytherin Clan trial by… chocolate?
Her fingers brushed against her satchel where her extra beans were still tucked safely away.
I gave him those as a snack… I didn't think he'd weaponize them!
She finally found her voice, muttering just loud enough for Tracey beside her to hear, "I think I might be feeding a war criminal."
Tracey blinked. "Honestly? That was kind of hot."
Daphne flushed slightly, then turned away, arms crossed—but her eyes lingered on Harry.
He looked so clueless. So unassuming.
And yet… he'd faced a Cerberon alone. Out-thought it. Outmaneuvered it. Killed it.
Merlin's pants… what is he?
Among the stunned crowd of young Slytherins, three very different reactions brewed:
Theo Nott was the first to break the silence. Arms crossed, a confident smirk on his face, he nodded like he'd been expecting this outcome all along—even if he hadn't.
"Yeah," Theo said smugly, loud enough for everyone to hear. "That's my best friend."
Next to him, Blaise Zabini adjusted his collar with the elegance of someone preparing for an opera, not recovering from shock. He remained silent, but his thoughts betrayed him.
"Well… that was impressive. Strategic, efficient, mildly terrifying. I suppose I can finally allow him to call me Blaise now.
Once.
Only once."
On the opposite side of the gathering, however, Draco Malfoy looked like someone had just fed him a Blast-Ended Skrewt. His eye twitched, a muscle in his jaw clenched.
"No. No, no, no. He was supposed to lose!
Not die, of course. Maybe a little maiming. A broken arm. Something dramatic but not fatal! Just enough to prove he wasn't "Hydra heir" material!"
He tried to keep his cool, clapping with exaggerated slowness. "Well done, Potter," he said through a tight smile that looked more like he'd bitten into a lemon. "You… really charmed that Cerberon."
Harry blinked. "Uh… thanks?"
"Charmed?! Draco screamed internally. He poisoned it with cocoa beans and then probably lit it on fire! That's not charming! That's unhinged"!
Behind Draco, Pansy whispered to Millicent, "Did Potter… just win with snacks?"
Millicent shrugged. "He's either a genius… or an idiot who makes it work."
Meanwhile, Rosa and the older Slytherin heads looked between the corpse, the soot-covered boy, and the cocoa beans Daphne was now cradling like ancient relics.
Lady Slytherin finally spoke, tone flat. "So… chocolate. Not dark magic. Chocolate."
Lord Slytherin let out a booming laugh. "Oh, he's going to fit in just fine."
Meanwhile, in the quiet space of Harry's mind—deeper than thought, beyond instinct—a voice echoed. Low, ancient, and laced with hunger restrained by intellect.
"You remind me of the host before you..."
A pause. A hum.
"And no... I am not disappointed."
Harry froze. He hadn't felt the sword stir like this since the night he pulled it from the dirt.
Mentally, he replied, unsure how it even worked. "You're… actually talking to me now?"
No answer came. Just silence.
Thick. Weighty. Absolute.
Whatever connection had briefly opened, it had closed just as swiftly, as if the sword had spoken only on impulse… or perhaps testing him.
Harry's eyes narrowed slightly, mind racing.
So… I still need to prove myself.
But something lingered after the words faded. A presence. Like a dragon curled in the dark corners of his soul, sleeping—but watching.
Waiting.
To be continued
Hope people like this ch and give me power stones and enjoy this is the last ch for this Week enjoy