— — — — — —
[Ninth Trial: Phoenix!]
[Objective: The phoenixes of this world are masters of Apparition. Compete against a fully grown phoenix in a global Apparition race. The starting point is the North Pole, the finish line is the South Pole. The first to complete the round trip wins.]
[Rules: No potions or external aids allowed when the race starts.]
[Reward: Detected: Thunderbird bloodline present. Original reward—Phoenix bloodline—will instead fuse and ascend into the Bennu Phoenix bloodline upon completion.]
[Bennu Phoenix Bloodline: A divine lifeform, ruler of flame. Capable of rebirth from ashes. Purifies all negative effects, immune to curses of equal magical level, and completely resistant to corruption from dark magic.]
(A/N: The 9th trial started in ch 281.)
...
The fusion of Thunderbird and phoenix bloodlines, when traced back to their origin, brought a transformation more intense than any Tom had experienced before, almost on par with the golden apple.
But the feeling was incredibly comfortable. Like soaking in a hot spring during the coldest days of winter. Warm all over, wrapped in an overwhelming sense of safety.
Tom was enjoying himself.
Fawkes, on the other hand, was utterly confused.
In terms of bloodline purity, the Thunderbird couldn't compare to a phoenix. At most, they were distant cousins. Fawkes was the main line; the Thunderbird blood was a side branch. That was why he'd always seen Tom as the "little bro."
But now he felt pressure from above, something that could suppress him, yet at the same time it felt strangely familiar and close. Before he knew it, he wanted to move closer.
"Wuu—!"
A low dragon's roar descended from above. Usaki blocked Fawkes, blocking his path. Those large, imposing eyes were full of warning as she forced the phoenix to stop.
Usually, they were friends, partners even. But right now, Usaki wouldn't allow anyone to get close to Tom. Not Fawkes. Not even her two chubby pandas, or the three unicorns.
"Chirp?!"
Dragon and phoenix glared at each other. Fawkes felt deeply insulted. How could he ever hurt Tom? That was his mom… no, wait, his little bro!
Thankfully, Tom's transformation didn't take long. Otherwise, those two really might have come to blows.
When the bloodline fusion finally ended, a cool, refreshing sensation flowed out from the deepest part of his soul. The exhaustion from the extreme long-distance Apparition vanished completely, and at the same time, layer after layer of lingering marks were erased.
[Bennu Phoenix Bloodline: A divine lifeform, ruler of flame. Capable of rebirth from ashes. Purifies all negative effects, immune to curses of equal magical level, and completely resistant to corruption from dark magic.]
Tom suddenly understood. Those "marks" were curses left behind by the witches and wizards he had killed. Normally they were invisible, but their influence was real.
Creating Horcruxes through murder rituals, for example, was essentially amplifying those marks, forcibly cutting the soul.
But now, Tom was effectively holding a license to kill. From this point on, no matter how much blood he shed, it would have no effect on him at all.
"What are you two doing?"
Tom asked, just waking up to see Usaki and Fawkes locked in a staring contest.
"Wuu~!"
Seeing that Tom was back to normal, Usaki immediately abandoned Fawkes and flew over, circling him excitedly. Fawkes also fluttered down to land on Tom's shoulder.
"Chirp?!"
"I don't really know either," Tom said. "Maybe I just grew up. You know how it is, I'm human. People grow up and get stronger. Like Dumbledore."
"Chiiirp!"
"What? You're saying this isn't growing up, it's… mutation? You can't just throw that word around. Anyway, all you need to know is that I'm fine. Better than I've ever been."
Hm?
As Tom teased Fawkes and Usaki, a sudden disturbance rippled through the power of time. A glimmer of insight flashed in the boy's eyes, and he quickly understood what had happened.
"So someone saw us…" he muttered. "Makes sense. The Antarctic research station is right next to the pole. Fawkes and I weren't exactly keeping a low profile, and we made a pretty big scene."
In the future he glimpsed, the report from those two researchers caused quite a stir, especially since there was video evidence.
But now that he knew about it, it wasn't a threat anymore. Getting anything out of Antarctica wasn't something that could be done quickly, so there was no rush to wipe their memories. He could just drop by sometime in the next couple of days.
Stretching lazily, Tom glanced at the endless ice and snow. Even though his magical barrier blocked out the cold entirely, the scenery still made him uncomfortable. So he didn't linger, instead taking Fawkes and Usaki back to Hogwarts.
...
As soon as they returned, Usaki took off for the atmosphere. She needed to hunt for food—her stockpile of meteorites on Earth could no longer sustain her evolution. From now on, she had to rely on herself.
Fawkes, meanwhile, had grown even more attached to Tom. Just staying close to him felt comfortable. Under the influence of bloodline, he could even grow stronger, so he didn't bother returning to Dumbledore's office and followed Tom straight toward the dormitories.
But as soon as they entered the castle, Tom noticed people gathered by the stairs.
Snape was facing Lupin, Harry, and Ron. The two sides were clearly in an argument. Tom made no effort to hide his presence as he walked in, and all of them turned to look at him at once.
"Tom?"
"Riddle, what are you doing outside?" Snape asked, frowning.
Tom walked over, puzzled, and pointed at Fawkes on his shoulder. "Fawkes has been eating a bit too well lately. I took him out to burn it off."
That excuse sounded official enough. Snape and the others assumed it was Dumbledore's instruction and didn't press further. But Tom wasn't done. Curious, he asked, "Why aren't you all in bed this late? What's going on?"
"Hah! That's something you should ask Potter," Snape sneered.
"Thinking they can't be discovered just because they've got some little trinkets. Wandering around the castle at night. Who knows what kind of shady business they're up to."
"I wasn't!" Harry shot back immediately.
Lupin frowned as well. "Snape, I already told you. I asked Harry and Ron to come find me. Don't assume the worst of your students."
"They're not my students," Snape replied calmly. "They're just part of my teaching assignment."
Tom got the picture. Harry and Ron had been caught sneaking around at night.
As for why they were out… he didn't care.
Judging by how things were going, this could drag on forever. Tom stepped in to smooth things over. "No matter what, Harry and Weasley did break school rules. But Professor, expulsion's a bit much. Night wandering isn't that serious. How about we each take a step back and just deduct fifty points from Gryffindor?"
Ron opened his mouth.
Why did fifty points sound as cheap as five when Tom said it?
But no one here was asking for his opinion.
Since even Tom had said this much, and Lupin was backing them up, there was no point arguing further. Snape snorted and agreed. Lupin wanted to suggest deducting fewer points, but when he saw Tom's smile, the words stuck in his throat. In the end, he could only nod.
From somewhere nearby, the house point counter rattled noisily. Under Harry and Ron's devastated stares, Gryffindor's score dropped by a noticeable chunk.
"Perfectly resolved," Tom said, clapping his hands and yawning. "Alright, everyone, I'm heading to bed."
"Wait," Lupin called out.
"What is it, Professor Lupin?" Tom asked, turning back.
Lupin smiled. "That guild you set up is pretty interesting. I wanted to ask, can I register as a member now?"
He'd only agreed to teach at Hogwarts for one year. By the final lesson of the term, he would reveal his identity as a werewolf.
Lupin had been worrying about finding work after the school year ended. He couldn't exactly live off Sirius forever. Then the wizarding guild appeared. Taking missions for bounties, minimal contact with people, no need to worry about background checks. It suited him perfectly.
Especially after seeing other werewolves join the guild and successfully complete missions, his resolve had only strengthened.
Tom nodded with a grin. "Of course. Sirius is the guildmaster right now. Just have him let you pick the good jobs first. It's not even against the rules. That's basically what he's been doing anyway. You can even pick a mission together."
Sirius's role as guildmaster was mostly ceremonial. Who knew where he'd run off to on a mission now? Tom couldn't be bothered to manage him.
"Snape, Tom's more like a Head of House than you are," Lupin remarked casually as he led Harry and Ron away.
Snape was left standing there, his face flushed red.
What did he mean, Tom was more like a Head of House? He was respecting student input, that's all!
Just like back in school. Lupin always looked like the most honest one, but in reality he was the sneakiest of them all, the one who came up with plenty of bad ideas behind the scenes.
With an angry flick of his sleeve, Snape stormed off. He wasn't about to take that kind of mockery lying down. Just wait, Lupin. The next batch of Wolfsbane Potion would be unforgettable.
---
The Next Day
The change in Gryffindor's points was quickly noticed by students coming down for breakfast.
The Slytherins were delighted. As for Gryffindos… to their surprise, they realized they were already numb to it.
This kind of thing happened a few times every year. It really wasn't worth making a fuss over.
The only question was, which heroic idiot had pulled it off this time?
.
.
.