He had slain a Hungarian Horntail — that alone had marked him with the aura of a Dragon Slayer. Back in the day, Andros had been the same way. After killing two fire dragons, his presence alone could send dragons fleeing hundreds of miles away.

As for why the baby dragon wanted to be close to him — that was because the Gubraithian Fire that hatched it had been conjured by Tom. That fire was infused with his magic, making him, in a sense… its magical mother.

The combination of these two opposing forces — slayer and surrogate — was exactly why the little dragon was caught between awe and fear.

Luckily, since Tom had only slain one dragon, and his body was already merged with dragon blood, the "slayer" aura wasn't particularly overpowering. In the end, affection triumphed over fear.

Meanwhile, Hagrid was already staring at him like he'd witnessed a miracle. If he'd read even a bit more in his life, his brain would've been screaming right now:

"It's real! There's a beast here! A true beast!"

...

After playing with the baby dragon for a while, Tom quickly grew bored. He offered it to Daphne and Hermione to hold, but both gave firm looks of distaste.

The novelty had worn off.

Daphne even took out her magical camera and snapped a few pictures. Once that was done, neither of them had much interest left in the dragon. So Tom simply took them with him and left the hut — leaving only Harry and Ron behind with Hagrid.

Only after the others were gone did the atmosphere feel less suffocating.

"Are you really not going to send the dragon away, Hagrid?" Harry asked, watching the hatchling devour raw beef after having already crunched down its eggshell.

Hagrid was still basking in the joy of getting his "beast" back. He wasn't thinking about consequences at all. He simply mumbled a few dismissive responses. Seeing that Hagrid had no intention of listening to reason, Harry could only sigh.

The following week was absolute torment for him.

The baby dragon — now named Norbert — was growing like a balloon pumped full of hot air. Every day Harry worried about Hagrid being found out, and at the same time, had to deal with Malfoy's threats.

Though Hagrid had told him that Tom had already warned Malfoy and there'd be no issues, Harry had no idea what kind of terrifying status Tom held in Slytherin. He couldn't bring himself to believe Malfoy would really back off.

Eventually, after a lot of pushing from Harry and Ron, Hagrid finally agreed to send Norbert away — to none other than Charlie Weasley, Ron's older brother who worked at a dragon sanctuary in Romania.

Tom, for his part, never returned to Hagrid's hut after the first visit.

He had something far cuter to keep him busy — the baby unicorn.

Now, Tom could play with the little creature in his arms, though the second trial still remained incomplete.

Maybe it was because the unicorn was too young to understand what "acknowledgment and following" truly meant. Or maybe, it was simply because the two of them weren't meant to have a master-servant bond at all.

Little Unicorn: Don't get the wrong idea. We're just… really good friends.

Too damn aloof, Tom growled inwardly.

Fuming, he gave the baby unicorn a very aggressive head rub.

"Uuuh~?"

The baby unicorn blinked her big doe-eyes in confusion, looking at Tom with a tilted head as if to say: What did I do?

Tom didn't respond to her. Instead, he turned to the adult unicorn nearby, calmly nibbling on leaves like nothing in the world could bother her.

The little one might not get it — but the big one had to be smarter, right?

And indeed, she was.

The adult unicorn already understood Tom's intentions. But that didn't mean she cared.

They had food, water, and decent relationships with other magical creatures in the Forbidden Forest. Why on earth would they swear fealty to a human?

So the mindset was simple: freeloading. If Tom brought treats, she'd eat them. If not? No problem. She wouldn't starve anyway.

What she needed, clearly, was a taste of the real world.

And soon enough, it came.

One Wednesday, a male unicorn was found dead in the Forbidden Forest.

By the time Tom arrived, the silvery blood had already dried. The adult and baby unicorn were both visibly shaken.

"You see that?" Tom said, pointing at the blood stains. "Still think the Forbidden Forest is so safe?"

"If you're gonna roam around here, you better have some protection. Some status. Some connections."

He stared down the adult unicorn.

"You two are out here alone. Just mother and daughter. What if someone else decides to come after you next, huh?"

"Uuuh~!"

The adult unicorn's cry was heart-wrenching.

"I've already placed a tracking spell on your daughter. If anything happens to her, I'll know instantly. But you? Who's gonna save you?"

Tom leaned in and unleashed his final move.

"Madam… you wouldn't want anything to happen to you and leave your little girl all alone in the world, would you?"

Unicorns were smart.

She understood every word.

Her expression turned hesitant.

In the end, survival instinct won over pride.

She slowly bent her front legs, lowered her head, and submitted.

Tom etched his magical mark onto the adult unicorn.

In his mindscape, the second palace glimmered faintly — not as brightly as the first, but it was a clear sign of progress.

There was now a seed of allegiance.

If a true crisis came and Tom stepped in again, he'd likely complete the second trial once and for all.

Pleased with his success, Tom returned to the castle.

Coincidentally, Harry was also in a great mood — because Hagrid had finally agreed to let Norbert go.

Charlie had replied to their letter. Though he couldn't come in person, some of his friends from the Romanian sanctuary would fly in to pick up the dragon.

In just one week, Norbert had undergone a drastic transformation. He was growing rapidly and becoming more and more aggressive.

Ron had even gotten bitten — his arm swelled up like an aubergine.

When Madam Pomfrey asked about the wound, Ron insisted it was a dog bite. But the skeptical look in her eyes said she wasn't buying it.

Still, she didn't press the issue. The bizarre ways Hogwarts students managed to hurt themselves were just too varied for her to keep up with. She simply handed Ron an antidote and some anti-swelling bandages before sending him on his way.

Finally, the day of the handoff arrived.

Under the cover of the Invisibility Cloak, Harry and Ron carried the crate holding Norbert up to the top of the Astronomy Tower.

Several broomsticks sliced through the night sky — descending silently before them.