Chapter 61: Feeding
Norbert grew fast. Outrageously fast.
In the span of two short weeks, the creature had mutated from a pathetic, crinkled black lizard into a fire-breathing menace with spiked wings and a staggering, bottomless appetite.
To ensure this future vanguard of her dark legion could be transferred out of Scotland without incident, Tamara found herself forced to make frequent, utterly degrading trips to Hagrid's stifling hut.
It was in the midst of this tedious chore that she finally received the long-awaited reply from Albania.
To... My Lord.
The parchment appeared blank to the naked eye, written in an exceptionally rare invisible ink that only bled into visibility when coaxed by a highly specific, dark incantation.
Tamara sat cross-legged behind the heavy velvet curtains of her four-poster bed, reading the sprawling script by the faint, ghostly luminescence at the tip of her wand.
When I saw that familiar mark upon the parchment, my hands trembled. It has been ten long years. I knew you would not abandon your faithful servant.
Peritus has been guarding this land. Although the only magical creatures left in these woods are a few blind Runespoors and a pack of temperamental Hippogriffs, I have kept the sanctuary ready. I have always been waiting for your summons.
Regarding the Norwegian Ridgeback you mentioned... what a perfect gift! I have already prepared a warm, secluded cave deep within the forest and eagerly await the arrival of this little fellow at any time.
Your most loyal, Peritus.
A spark leaped from Tamara's wand. The parchment caught fire instantly, curling into brittle black flakes. She watched the ashes dissipate into the cool dormitory air, a deeply satisfied, predatory smile playing across her lips.
Peritus.
That eccentric, filthy old madman who preferred the company of beasts over humans had not disappointed her.
'Very good,'she thought, her eyes gleaming in the dark.'As long as Norbert is safely transported there, that Albanian forest will become one of my greatest trump cards.'
However, before she could ship the beast off to the continent, Tamara first had to endure its explosive, thoroughly obnoxious temper.
Which brought her to this miserable afternoon at Hagrid's hut.
"Come on, Norbert, there's a good baby, eat yer meat!" Hagrid cooed, holding up a limp, dead rat by its tail. He dangled the rodent in front of the dragon, which had already grown to a menacing two feet in length.
Norbert was entirely unimpressed by the offering. The dragon let out an angry hiss, its jaws snapping open to spit a sudden, scorching burst of orange flame. The fire caught half of Hagrid's bushy beard, filling the cramped hut with the foul stench of burning hair. Unbothered by the giant's frantic swatting, the dragon whipped its scaly head around and lunged straight for Ron, who was shivering violently in the corner.
"Oh! Blimey!" Hagrid hurriedly threw his massive, oven-mitt-clad hands over the creature, pinning it to the heavy wooden table. "He's just not in a very good mood today, is all."
"He's never in a good mood!" Ron shrieked, his voice cracking in a total breakdown as he clutched his already bandaged, bleeding finger against his chest. "He's a bloody monster!"
"Now don't you go sayin' that about him!" Hagrid scolded, his beetle-black eyes flashing with genuine displeasure.
"Let me try."
Tamara stepped forward, her voice a picture of gentle concern. In her hands, she carried a heavy wooden bucket sloshing with a vile mixture of fresh chicken blood and cheap brandy.
"Norbert," Tamara called out softly, projecting an aura of absolute sweetness.
The temperamental beast paused mid-thrash. Hearing her melodic tone, it snapped its spiked head toward her. Narrow, glowing orange slit pupils locked onto Tamara, staring at her with innate, reptilian wariness.
Even though Tamara possessed the [Magical Creature Affinity +20%] passive buff, this was still a dragon. More specifically, it was a teething, highly aggressive, ill-tempered hatchling with zero impulse control.
She stepped closer, slowly reaching out to slide the sloshing bucket across the table.
Snap!
Without a fraction of a second's warning, Norbert lunged. Its jaws clamped down viciously on Tamara's index finger.
Though its razor-sharp milk teeth were not yet fully developed, they easily punctured her pale skin, sinking deep into the flesh.
"Hiss..." Tamara sucked in a sharp breath of cold air through her teeth. Blinding, white-hot pain shot up her arm instantly.
'Damn beast!'A dangerous, bloody flash of crimson flickered in the very depths of Tamara's eyes. Pure, unadulterated killing intent erupted in her chest. Her opposite hand twitched, instinctively dropping toward her sleeve to draw her wand. She wanted nothing more than to hit this ungrateful, overgrown lizard with a full-powered Crucio.'I'll skin you alive and turn you into a pair of riding gloves!'
[Ding! Warning! Host is detected to be developing violent tendencies toward a youngling.]
The System's sickeningly cheerful, damned voice chimed directly into her cerebral cortex.
[Please remain calm, Host. This is merely a child.]
[Only gentle motherly love can properly influence a growing mind. Please do not resort to force; use love to soothe the creature.]
[Mission Triggered: Dragon Mommy's Compulsory Lesson.]
[Requirement: Do not use violence. Soothe Norbert until he voluntarily releases his grip.]
[Reward: Norbert's Loyalty +10, Life +3.]
'Motherly love?!'Tamara's jaw locked so hard her teeth ground together. She could feel the dragon's jaws grinding against her bone, her finger on the verge of snapping entirely, and this idiotic interface wanted her to show motherly love?!, she had absolutely no concept of what that even entailed.'What do you want me to do, sing the damn thing a lullaby?!' she mentally snarled.
[If you are willing, that is certainly not out of the question! A musical approach is highly encouraged!]
'Get lost!'
Despite the murderous fury boiling in her veins, Tamara forced her muscles to relax, violently suppressing the urge to draw her wand and blast the hut to splinters. She took a slow, shuddering breath, forcing her facial features to soften as she looked down at the scaly menace still gnawing on her bleeding digit.
"...Good boy," she murmured. She squeezed the words through a tight, strained smile, her voice trembling slightly—not from fear, but from the sheer, agonizing effort of not strangling the creature on the spot. "Let go... there's a good boy..."
Rather than yanking her bleeding hand away, she raised her free hand. With excruciating slowness, she began to gently, rhythmically stroke the rough, scale-covered crown of Norbert's head.
It was a scene of deep, grotesque irony. The reincarnated Dark Lord stood in a cramped, smelly hut, her finger actively bleeding from a dragon bite, yet she was tenderly caressing the culprit. Her dark eyes were perfectly masked, brimming with a forced, sickeningly sweet 'maternal' affection.
"Good... now, drink this..."
She nudged the heavy bucket of chicken blood and brandy directly under Norbert's smoking nostrils.
The pungent, metallic stench of fresh blood mixed with the sharp bite of cheap alcohol finally overrode the dragon's aggressive instincts. Norbert slowly released his vice-like grip. Snorting a puff of smoke, he buried his snout deep into the bucket and began to gulp the foul mixture down greedily.
Tamara immediately withdrew her hand, cradling it against her chest. She stared down at the deep, jagged tooth marks oozing dark red blood, her usually flawless face pale and tight from the throbbing pain.
"Tamara! Are you alright?!" Hermione gasped, rushing over from the corner with a clean cloth, desperately wanting to help bandage the wound.
"Don't touch it," Tamara snapped, her voice slipping into an icy register for a fraction of a second before she caught herself. She quickly drew her wand and tapped her injured finger. "Episkey."
The torn flesh knit together instantly, the bleeding halting as the skin sealed itself back up.
"Goodness..." Hagrid watched the entire exchange from the side of the table, his beetle-black eyes suddenly welling with massive, glistening tears. "Tamara, yer just so wonderful!"
"He bit yeh right to the bone, and yeh could still be so gentle to him... yer just like his... his mother!" Hagrid pulled out a massive, polka-dotted handkerchief the size of a tablecloth and blew his nose. The sound echoed through the small cabin like a crack of thunder. "Before, I was the only one who thought my little Norbert was a good boy. Now someone finally understands me!"
The half-giant sobbed, wiping his eyes. "Yer my soulmate, Tamara!"
Tamara stared up at Hagrid's excited, tear-streaked, hairy face. Her stomach performed a violent, nauseating flip. She honestly didn't know which horrifying accusation to refute first—being called a dragon's 'mother', or being labeled this oaf's 'soulmate'.
"...I simply didn't want to waste a perfectly good bucket of brandy," she replied, her tone clipped and distant. She turned on her heel, utterly refusing to look at this grotesque display of 'motherly love and filial piety' for another second.
Reaching the heavy wooden door, Tamara paused, keeping her back to the room.
"Remember, Hagrid," she said, her voice dropping to a serious, commanding whisper. "Saturday night. Do not be late."
"And prepare more brandy for him. A lot more. I do not want him waking up mid-flight and burning someone to death."
"Don't yeh worry about a thing, Tamara!" Hagrid promised loudly, still sniffling into his handkerchief.
Stepping out of the stifling heat of the hut and into the cool evening air of the Hogwarts grounds, Tamara rubbed her freshly healed finger. A dull, phantom throb of pain still pulsed deep within the bone.
[Ding! Mission Complete: Dragon Mommy's Compulsory Lesson.]
[Reward: Norbert Loyalty +10, Life +3.]
[Current Life: 17]
[System Evaluation: How does it feel to be a mother?]
Hearing that final, perky inquiry echo in her mind, Tamara froze in her tracks.
'Mother?'
The word echoed through the darkest, most buried depths of her soul. It brought no warmth, no gentle light. Instead, it dragged forth a suffocating, hollow sense of absolute alienation. Her fingers twitched, instinctively brushing against the smooth yew wood of the wand hidden within her sleeve. It was as if only that cold, unyielding touch of magic could offer her even a sliver of security.
What did the concept of a mother mean to Tom Riddle?
It meant a pathetic, weak woman who had died on the bleak doorstep of a Muggle orphanage. It meant the ultimate, unforgivable shame of being abandoned. It meant... death.
It was the single concept she lacked most in her existence, the emotion she understood the least, and the vulnerability she instinctively wanted to obliterate.
In that fleeting instant, an unmatched, icy panic gripped her chest. It felt as though she had been violently shoved into a pitch-black abyss, drowning in a sea of viscous, suffocating emotion.
'...Shut up,'she whispered in her mind, the mental voice sharp and venomous.'Do not ever use that word on me again.'She took a long, slow breath of the crisp Scottish air, ruthlessly crushing the unsettling emotion back down into the locked vaults of her mind. When she opened her eyes, her gaze was as cold and hard as iron once more.'That is an excuse for the weak,'she told herself, her stride purposeful as she headed back toward the castle.'I do not need such a pathetic thing. And neither does that beast.'Before leaving the perimeter, she paused by the window. Through a grime-covered crack in the glass, Tamara's cold, calculating eyes swept over the scaly hatchling, which was currently hiccuping drunk bubbles of fire onto the table.'This is nothing more than an investment,'she concluded, a dark smirk pulling at the corner of her mouth.'Once he reaches Albania, I will have Peritus teach him exactly what true loyalty means.'
[Akarin's Note:
Enjoying the story? Dropping a quick review, comment, or Power Stone means the world to me and keeps these daily updates flowing!
Want to read 50 chapters ahead or just want to help keep a shameless translator alive? (My livelihood actually depends on this, haha 😭). You can support me directly here:
(P.S. Just remove the brackets and replace the [.] with a regular dot . to use the links!)
✨ Patreon (50 Advanced Chapters): patreon[.]com/AkarinTL
☕ Ko-fi (Support / Sponsor): ko-fi[.]com/AkarinTL
🔗 All My Links: linktr[.]ee/AkarinTL
Thank you so much for reading and keeping this project alive!]