Chapter 174: Parent and Child Time
At the mention of that little gift, a trace of wariness flashed through Peritus's crazed eyes.
He straightened the collar of his worn suit with his mud stained white gloves and bowed slightly.
"Master, that monster is growing far too quickly, and its temper is extremely violent."
"Aside from throwing it a few wild boars every day, your servant does not dare approach within a hundred feet of it. It is nothing more than a pure killing machine."
"Useless. You cannot even tame a beast."
Tamara snorted coldly, her tone filled with disdain, and walked straight toward the enormous hollow valley at the rear of the camp.
The creature there was a Norwegian Ridgeback.
Norbert.
During her first year, she had packed up the newly hatched dragon overnight and secretly transported it to this camp in Albania.
It was a first class magical weapon of war.
And what the Dark Lord did best was force the most dangerous and brutal monsters to submit obediently at her feet.
Tamara had complete confidence in her abilities.
She still possessed the system's passive ability, [Magical Creature Affinity +20%], as well as Norbert's ten points of loyalty toward her.
Even after two years apart, Tamara did not believe she would be unable to tame a single dragon.
As she reached the edge of the hollow, a deafening roar erupted from below.
A behemoth more than twenty feet long stood at the bottom. Pitch black scales covered its body, and sharp ridges rose high along its back. Thick smoke filled with glowing sparks billowed irritably from its nostrils.
"Stand back."
Tamara ordered Quirrell and Peritus to retreat.
Then, alone and walking with composed arrogance, she descended the stone steps into the dragon's lair.
Hearing movement, Norbert suddenly turned its enormous head.
Its vertical pupils, burning like the fires of hell, locked onto the tiny black robed figure.
The dragon opened its bloody maw, revealing rows of vicious fangs. A deadly growl rumbled from its throat as flames rolled like molten lava between its teeth, ready to incinerate the intruder in an instant.
However, in the next second, the passive ability [Magical Creature Affinity +20%] and the faint impression of Mama branded deep within the dragon's soul took effect at the same time.
The fire in Norbert's throat abruptly went out.
Its fierce vertical pupils instantly widened, and the low growl that had been filled with killing intent twisted strangely into a joyful whimper that did not suit its enormous body.
The dragon, weighing several tons, flapped its wings excitedly and pushed off the ground with all four limbs, charging toward Tamara like an uncontrollable chariot.
It wanted to cuddle with Mama.
The composure on Tamara's face froze.
Since that idiotic system had yet to unlock defensive magic such as the Shield Charm for her, Tamara had no barrier capable of stopping a charging dragon.
Bang!
Norbert's affectionate pounce struck Tamara's slender body with full force.
The haughty Dark Lord was knocked directly onto the ground and firmly pinned beneath the dragon's massive body.
Although the impact did not cause any fatal internal injuries, the tremendous force still made Tamara's bones creak under the strain.
The barbs along Norbert's scales tore through her black robes, nearly knocked off her hood, and blasted her face with excited breaths carrying the suffocating stench of sulphur.
A chilling violence instantly erupted within Tamara's pitch black eyes.
Her fingers tightened around the holly wand inside her pocket.
She wanted to strike this disrespectful beast with a jinx immediately, or simply use Oppugno to drive every piece of gravel on the ground into its eyes and teach it the proper meaning of reverence for its master.
However, just as her magic was about to surge out violently, a familiar electronic voice interrupted her spell.
[Ding! Emergency alert! The system has detected an extremely adorable magical creature acting affectionately toward you without reservation!]
The cheerful electronic voice rang through her mind with celebratory sound effects.
[What a pure and touching love between species! As a future great person, please do not resist this warm emotion!]
[Forced Bonding Mission triggered: Please display your vast and gentle maternal love by hugging and stroking this affectionate dragonet. Duration: Ten minutes!]
[Mission Reward: Norbert Loyalty +20! Life +1!]
[Mission Failure Penalty: The system will forcibly remove all of the host's facial disguises and Confundus Charms, then control the host's body to deliver a one hour Wizarding World Peace and Friendship speech before every loyal servant in the Death Eater camp!]
"..."
Beneath the shadow of her robes, Tamara's hand stiffened around her wand.
Remove her hood, reveal the appearance of a twelve year old girl, and then deliver a speech about love and peace in front of Peritus?
That would be far more disgusting and humiliating than simply killing her.
She swiftly weighed the two choices in her mind.
Then the killing intent in her eyes vanished, replaced by a bottomless calm as cold as frozen water.
"Huff... huff..."
Norbert excitedly rubbed its enormous, spike covered head back and forth against Tamara's chest. It even extended a huge tongue as rough as sandpaper and licked Tamara's pale cheek.
Her situation was utterly pathetic.
But Tamara forcibly suppressed every trace of violence within her.
She slowly released her grip on her wand and forced a loving expression onto her pale, exquisite face despite the humiliation burning through her.
Reaching out with her slender hands, she slowly stroked the dragon's spiked scales.
"Such a... good child."
Tamara's voice remained steady and without the slightest tremor, but a coldness capable of freezing the soul lay beneath every word.
Ten feet away, Peritus secretly observed the scene from higher ground, and fanatical light erupted within his neurotic eyes.
That terrifying dragon, which would incinerate him if he came anywhere near it, was now behaving like a docile hound and obediently begging for its master's touch.
And the great Master had not even drawn her wand.
She calmly allowed claws sharp enough to tear through steel to rest upon her body while unhurriedly granting the creature her dark favour.
"Truly... a dark miracle..."
Peritus trembled from head to toe.
He pressed his crossed hands reverently against his chest, then bowed deeply toward the dragon's lair.
Tears filled his eyes as he murmured with morbid devotion, as though chanting a sacred hymn.
"Great Master... your composure and dominion over all things are truly the most captivating art in this world."
Inside the dragon's lair, Tamara could not hear her servant's heartfelt praise.
At that moment, she remained firmly pinned beneath the several ton dragon, every bone in her body aching faintly.
The system in her mind continued proclaiming that she was one of the greatest mothers of the twentieth century.
Time seemed to stretch as long as an entire age.
[Ding! Parent and child interaction goal achieved!]
At that moment, the electronic voice that usually threatened Tamara's sanity sounded almost like heavenly music.
[Congratulations, Host! Reward received: Norbert Loyalty +20! Life +1! Current Life: 36/100.]
[System Comment: During a child's growth, parents must provide positive responses to affectionate behaviour and emotional needs in order to establish a healthy bond!]
[Your accepting embrace has healed the dragonet's physical and emotional well being! Without question, you are becoming an excellent mother!]
Mother.
The instant that word emerged from the system's cheerful mechanical voice, Tamara's hand froze against the dragon's scales.
The pain throughout her body seemed to recede, replaced by a powerful wave of revulsion rising from the depths of her soul.
The temperature within her deep black eyes instantly fell to freezing.
During her time maintaining a disguise at Hogwarts, those foolish moments of warmth and those damned friendships had indeed behaved like a slow poison, corroding tiny cracks into her heart.
But precisely because Tamara had noticed that uncontrollable change, she felt an unprecedented panic and rage.
Healthy responses?
Emotional bonds?
Tamara laughed mockingly in her heart.
She did not understand such things, nor had she ever cared about them.
The Dark Lord believed only in the power and authority held firmly within one's hands.
"Huff..."
Norbert released a satisfied snort accompanied by glowing sparks, its golden vertical pupils filled with attachment toward Tamara.
Expressionlessly, Tamara reached out and heartlessly pushed away the heavy dragon's head.
She slowly rose from the gravel covered ground and brushed the dirt from her damaged black robes without the slightest lingering affection.
Then she reversed her grip on her eleven inch holly wand and pointed its tip toward her ruined hem.
"Scourgify."
"Reparo."
The two brief incantations followed one after the other.
A faint current of magic swept across her clothing.
The mud, dragon saliva, and suffocating smell of sulphur clinging to the robes instantly vanished without a trace.
The hideous tears left by the dragon's sharp scales rapidly knitted themselves together as though time were flowing backwards, leaving the fabric smooth and flawless once more.
Within two seconds, every trace of Tamara's humiliation and disarray from being pinned beneath a several ton dragon had been erased.
Tamara straightened her restored collar.
When she looked up again, no trace remained upon her pale, exquisite face of the humiliation she had suffered while being forced to display maternal affection.
Only an inviolable pressure remained.
"Keep your nauseating Muggle preaching to yourself."
Tamara spoke coldly within her mind, without the slightest emotion.
She looked toward the dragon, which was still wagging its tail, as though examining an expensive and deadly weapon.
"This is not some ridiculous familial affection, nor does it require any healthy body or mind."
"I told you. This is merely an investment, a minor sacrifice necessary to control the finest weapon of war in the wizarding world."
"The Dark Lord has no need for a weakness such as love."
She turned and walked toward the exit of the dragon's lair without pausing, leaving the system with one final warning.
"Furthermore, I remember warning you last year."
"Never use that word for me again."