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No way I can beat him!
It was noon by the time Draco finally accepted the truth.
No matter how hard he tried, a regular person could never defeat a genius.
Wizard's chess, wizard poker, even Muggle arcade games in New York—Draco got absolutely destroyed in every single one.
He never stood a chance.
Especially at the arcade. Tom turned into a completely different person, shouting stuff like "Hadouken!" the whole time.
Did they even have that kind of stuff at the orphanage?
"Want to keep going?" Tom asked, still riding the high.
"Nah, I'm done," Draco waved him off, suddenly finding all of it boring as hell.
"There's more to the wizarding world than just games, Tom. You can't spend your whole life glued to a screen—games will ruin you. Have you ever gone on a real adventure?" Draco's eyes lit up as an idea hit him. "Ever heard of the Alps?
I don't mean the Muggle version. I'm talking about the wizarding Alps. Never mind—you probably don't know about it."
"I do, actually," Tom said, nodding. "I've been there before."
That was where he'd gathered materials for his Christmas gift. The place had since been renamed the Momo Mountain Range.
"Pfft, sure you have," Draco scoffed, looking away. "If you're so tough, come with me. I'll show you what a real magical creature looks like.
Back at Hogwarts you were always hanging around Hagrid and his lame beasts. Those don't count. I'll show you the real deal."
He leaned in close and lowered his voice. "Up in the Momo Mountain Range there's this incredible magical creature. It's a… dragon."
Draco elbowed him. "Want to go check it out?"
"I'm down," Tom shrugged with a casual grin. "Magical creatures have always felt kinda friendly to me. But are you sure you won't get yourself killed?"
Draco puffed out his chest, hands behind his back. "Just follow me. Today I'm gonna show you what a real magical creature looks like. Dragons aren't like those puny lions or whatever you've seen before. They're massive, beautiful, and insanely powerful!
I can only take you close enough for a quick look, though. Whatever you do, do NOT mess with a dragon!"
Draco kept his voice low, looking proud. "My father showed me one once. I'll never forget it. My biggest dream is to tame a dragon and make it my pet!
First stop—Hogsmeade."
---
Momo Mountain Range.
Tom was back in familiar territory.
The mountains looked exactly the same as last time—thick snow everywhere. Their footprints broke the peaceful white blanket as they trudged along.
Draco led the way, legs sinking halfway up his shins in the heavy snow as they climbed toward the peak.
"You should be grateful it's winter," Draco panted, yanking his leg free with every step. "Yeah, the snow makes climbing harder, but it also cuts down on a lot of the hassle."
He gave another hard pull. "Merlin's beard! I hate this snow. It's so damn thick. All the magical creatures are hibernating. If a few were awake they could clear a path for us."
Tom walked like the snow wasn't even there. "They could also attack us. If something chased us in a place like this, you'd never outrun it."
"Whatever," Draco huffed.
He noticed Tom was staying ahead but constantly waiting for him, pausing every so often.
This deep snow was basically nothing to Tom!
Just how good was this guy's physical condition?
Looked like Tom had been right—maybe he really should start working out more.
Sure, Draco could've used magic to clear the entire snowfield, but that would drain his energy fast and he might not even make it to the top.
Halfway up, Draco finally hit his limit. He leaned against a tree, gasping for air.
"Forget it. Let's rest a minute, Tom. You must be tired too, right?"
Not even a little.
But to spare Draco's fragile pride, Tom nodded. "Want to find a ride the rest of the way? What do you think?"
"Where are we gonna find a ride out here in the middle of nowhere? Did you bring your Firebolt?"
Draco never imagined Tom would summon a magical creature as a mount. He figured the only possibility was that Tom had stashed the broom somewhere.
Getting a magical beast to carry them? Yeah, right. Impossible.
"Wait here."
Tom turned and let out a sharp whistle.
The sound made Draco jump to his feet. "What the hell are you doing?! You can't make that much noise out here! You'll attract other creatures! If we run into something with a bad temper we're both dead!"
Suddenly, snow cascaded from the tall trees ahead. Draco's nerves hit maximum panic. He spun around, ready to bolt back down the mountain.
"What are you so scared of?!" Tom grabbed his arm. "Chill out, you big baby."
"I don't want to die with you! I still have a life to live—Hermione's waiting for me back at Hogwarts! I'm not dying here with—wait, what the hell is that? Why does it look so familiar?"
A unicorn!
Draco stopped trying to run. "How is there a unicorn here?"
Unicorns were incredibly rare. There was no way one should be wandering around the Momo Mountain Range.
But there it stood, right in front of them, tossing its head.
"Hey, been a while," Tom said, stroking the unicorn's neck with easy affection. "We need to get up the mountain. Can you find us a couple of rides? Anything that's not hibernating and has a decent temper."
It was like the unicorn was an old pet Tom had raised for years.
The unicorn was that friendly with Tom?
Draco's jaw nearly hit the snow.
Weren't unicorns supposed to be terrified of wizards? Most of them bolted the second they spotted one.
Had this unicorn gotten kicked in the head by a donkey or something?
The unicorn whinnied twice, then trotted off up the slope.
The deep snow didn't slow it down at all.
"You know a unicorn?" Draco's mouth twitched. "Did Snape bring you here before?"
"Nope. I came here once for something else. This one's an old friend."
A minute later the unicorn returned—with a curly-horned goat in tow.
The goat trotted straight up to Tom at first, thinking it was getting ridden, and gently butted him with its curved horns. But when Tom nodded toward Draco, the goat instantly lost interest.
"What the—why?!" Draco's face turned red. "Why's it so nice to you and then gives me the cold shoulder the second it sees me?!"
"It says you're not as good-looking as I am. Magical creatures care about looks too, Draco. Hope you take better care of your skin in the future."
Draco was definitely a handsome kid.
Standing next to Tom, though? He might as well have been a firefly next to the moon.
The gap between good-looking and insanely good-looking was basically the same as the gap between regular wizards and Tom.
The goat finally gave in for Tom's sake. It walked over to Draco, bent its legs, and offered its back with obvious reluctance.
"Tch. Then what are you riding?" Draco asked—then immediately wanted to slap himself.
The unicorn was standing right there waiting. Why did he even ask?
Great. Now Tom got to look cool again.
The difference in cool factor between a unicorn and a curly-horned goat was night and day.
Who'd pick a goat when they could ride a unicorn?
Tom hopped onto the unicorn's back with practiced ease. The two beasts started moving up the mountain at a brisk pace—more than twice as fast as Draco had been struggling on foot.
At first Draco was a little grossed out by the goat underneath him. But after a while he had to admit… it wasn't bad.
At least it could run.
And it was pretty fast. The fur was soft too.
When they reached the upper slopes, the goat and unicorn let them down.
The goat wandered off without a word. The unicorn stayed, following right behind Tom.
If anything unexpected happened, it would grab Tom and bolt.
Draco? Who's that? Never met him.
The unicorn only had eyes for Tom. After all, Tom had once saved its life. Without him, it would've died at Voldemort's hands.
Tom patted the unicorn's forehead and kept his voice low. "You actually recognized me. That's impressive."
The unicorn's eyes curved happily.
It hadn't recognized the "Hermione" body—it had recognized Tom's soul.
"Draco, let's go. It says the dragon's hibernating down below. Be careful not to wake it."
The top of the Momo Mountain Range was a giant volcanic crater.
It wasn't erupting right now, so it sat there quietly like a big rock formation.
The temperature was still warm, though—there wasn't a speck of snow near the crater's rim.
By this point Draco was getting cold feet. "Uh, maybe we should just look from up here, Tom."
"What are you scared of? I'm not worried. The unicorn says there's a fire dragon inside. It's sleeping really deeply right now. As long as you don't do anything crazy it won't wake up."
Draco: "What if it does wake up?"
"Then the volcano erupts and we don't live to see tomorrow."
"On second thought, let's skip it."
Tom rolled his eyes. "Fine, stay up here if you want. I'm going down. If you run into any other scary magical creatures, try not to cry. At least you'll die with a little dignity. I'll burn incense for you later."
Without waiting for an answer, Tom cast a Feather-Light Charm on himself and floated down into the crater.
"Wait for me!!!"
Draco lunged forward, wrapping his arms around Tom, and the two of them dropped into the crater together.
Inside, the temperature was completely different from outside.
The dry heat made Draco yank his sleeves up.
Even so, sweat was already pouring down his face.
"Should… should I shut up now?"
Tom nodded and whispered, "Sound carries in here. Keep quiet if you can. Look all you want, but save the talking for when we're back outside."
The volcanic rock underfoot was scorching. Even Tom winced a little as he walked.
Strange, unfamiliar writing covered the walls.
In the center of the open space, a fire dragon lay curled up, its long tail resting beside its head. The deep, powerful heartbeat made Draco's skin crawl.
The dragon's fiery-red scales were breathtaking. Even Tom, with all his willpower, stared for several seconds before he could look away.
Man… I really want one.
But dragons had to be raised from hatchlings if you wanted them tame. Trying to bond with a full-grown one…
What if it got hungry one day and decided you looked like a nice snack?
Tom wasn't focused on the dragon, though. His eyes were locked on the weird runes covering the walls.
They weren't just symbols—they looked like some kind of writing.
He pressed his palm to the stone and traced the characters.
[You have successfully learned a new language. Proficiency: Poor. Ancient Script +3.]
[You have successfully learned a new language. Proficiency: Poor. Ancient Script +3.]
[You have successfully learned a new language. Proficiency: Poor. Ancient Script +3.]
Ancient Script?
No wonder it looked so weird.
Tom frowned and crouched down, studying the markings intently.
There were also little stick-figure drawings of movements.
It looked… like some kind of ritual?
Tom rested his chin on his hand, eyes narrowing in thought.
A ritual? A summoning? Or maybe a barrier?
Was this the other reason the Momo Mountain Range had become a forbidden zone? These things carved into the walls?
Could they be some incredibly powerful magical spell?
While Tom was still lost in thought, Draco slapped him hard on the back twice.
"Don't interrupt me," Tom said, annoyed, still staring at the ancient writing.
"Tom—Tom, stop looking."
"Tch." Tom clicked his tongue and turned around impatiently. "I told you not to talk down here—Fuck!"
It was the first time Tom had ever cursed in front of anyone.
He couldn't help it.
No wonder the air had been getting hotter and hotter ever since he started reading the runes.
He'd assumed it was just because they were near the center of the volcano, but actually—
The sleeping fire dragon's eyes snapped open.
It rose slowly to its feet and stared at the two boys with clear hostility.
Hot breath snorted from its nostrils. Its ruby-red pupils glowed with dangerous light.
"Bro… what do we do now?" Draco clung to Tom's shoulder, legs shaking so hard they were about to give out.
"You're asking me?" Tom swallowed hard.
For the first time, he felt real, crushing pressure.v