bert's small black bean-like eyes rolled curiously, and from time to time he let out a few childish, high-pitched "click" sounds.
Dylan raised his wand.
"Imperio!"
He whispered the words rapidly—so fast that Hermione and the others couldn't catch what he said. But in truth, he was silently casting the Imperius Curse.
A silent spell.
The invisible magical force instantly connected with Norbert's body.
It felt familiar to Norbert, like the energy he had sensed while still inside his eggshell. But unlike before, he didn't resist—it accepted Dylan's magic willingly. A mark was left on him.
—In fact, Norbert's soul had been shaped into Dylan's likeness even while still in the egg.
Norbert's shiny black eyes seemed to sparkle.
Dylan had just established a profound soul connection with the little dragon.
At that moment, he earned something rare—a dragon's loyalty.
[System Notification]: You have achieved a new achievement!
——————
[Achievement]: Dragon Master
[Description]: Becoming a dragon master isn't about control, but about taming the dragon's power!
[Requirement]: Gain the loyalty of a dragon by any means.
[Reward]: Pet slot +1, Pet power control unlocked.
——————
It worked!
A surge of excitement rushed through Dylan's heart.
He had successfully bonded with a dragon!
"Guess I should start calling myself 'Dragon Knight Dylan' now?"
It felt surreal, like taming a demon that had lurked on Earth.
He hadn't expected the Imperius Curse to be this effective.
Luckily, he had mastered full-level Soul Stealing and could cast spells ten times in a row! If one failed, he'd just fire off nine more. If ten didn't work, he'd try another ten! Even Voldemort wouldn't dare use Unforgivable Curses like that.
After all, even a dragon embryo's soul wasn't easy to influence.
If he'd only learned a weaker version of Imperius, he wouldn't have succeeded.
Dylan glanced at his status panel.
——————
[Name]: Dylan Hawkwood
[Magic Spells]: Fiery Curse, Flock of Birds, Cruciatus, Soul Stealing, Corpse Reanimation, Parasitic Possession, Avada Kedavra, Grinning Hula La—
[Features]: Spell Burst x10, Pet Ability Control
[Items]: Hiccup Potion, Love Potion, Nose-Biting Teacup, Vomiting Candy—
[Currency]: 52,100 Galleons, 1,314 Sickles, 5,000 Knuts, 200,000 Pounds
[Pet]: Coal (Black Shadow), (Slot to be unlocked)
——————
In addition to his ten-shot spell feature, he now had a new ability: Pet Ability Control.
And a new pet slot had appeared—ready to be filled.
No surprise there.
Obviously, he was going to add this dragon to his collection!
[System Notification]: You have captured a dragon as a pet!
[System Notification]: Your pet space has expanded to accommodate all current and future pets!
"Not bad at all—owning a dragon as a pet."
A funny thought popped into his head—if humans could be turned into pets, maybe he could "tame" Voldemort, too. Imagine having a dark wizard as a personal combat machine?
Plus, he'd get full access to Voldemort's dark magic repertoire.
Voldemort could handle the battles and money-making while Dylan focused on magical research. Perfect division of labor.
"With a dragon, I'll have an endless supply of potion materials—dragon scales, blood, meat, tendons. As long as it's raised well, it's a renewable gold mine."
A worthy trade.
He might've missed the chance to enslave Voldemort, but now he had command over dragon power.
Dylan slowly opened his eyes, snapping back to the present.
He looked at the people around him.
Hermione, Harry, and the others were wide-eyed, watching him in stunned silence.
Hagrid was the first to break it: "How was it, Dylan? Did you succeed?"
Ron squinted. "Doesn't look like anything happened. So... failure?"
Dylan didn't answer. He turned toward Norbert in Hagrid's arms.
Norbert raised his head to look at Dylan—the strange human who somehow felt deeply familiar.
Their eyes locked.
Suddenly, Norbert lunged forward, flapping his front paws wildly, his claws swiping the air and creating sharp whooshing sounds.
Hagrid staggered under the little dragon's surprising strength.
Norbert's tail thrashed like a whip, smacking Hagrid's arm and making him wince in pain.
But Norbert ignored him completely, twisting his body toward Dylan and growling anxiously, clearly wanting to get free.
"Norbert, shhhh! Quiet down!" Hagrid tried to calm the little beast.
Dylan reached out calmly. "Let me hold him. I've already bonded with him."
Hagrid hesitated.
But as Dylan extended his hand, Norbert stopped his frantic flailing—as if he didn't want to hurt Dylan.
Hagrid looked a bit heartbroken.
He handed the dragon over, and Dylan cradled Norbert steadily.
The little guy quieted instantly in his arms.
Dylan tickled his chin, and Norbert nuzzled his hand comfortably.
Then Dylan abruptly flipped him over and checked under his hind legs.
Norbert, startled, flailed helplessly but couldn't resist.
"Dylan, what are you doing?" Hermione asked, stunned.
"Checking if it's a boy or girl," Dylan said, eyes focused.
Norbert didn't resist anymore. He covered his eyes with his little paws in embarrassment.
"The features aren't obvious yet," Dylan muttered. "But I don't think it's male—there should be something, right?"
Hermione's face turned bright red. "Dylan! That's so inappropriate!"
She tugged her hair over her face to hide her blush.
"Oh? Sorry. Maybe that was a bit much?" Dylan chuckled and laid Norbert flat again.
Norbert curled into a ball, wings wrapped around his head, tail twitching in indignation.
Dylan laughed: "Alright, alright, I apologize. Since we're not sure, I'll call you Arnold for now, okay?"
He turned to Hagrid: "If Arnold turns out to be female, we'll switch to Norberta. If it's male, we keep Norbert. Fair?"
Hagrid nodded slowly. "Yeah… Norbert's not really a girl's name anyway."
"Alright then. I'll take Arnold with me for now. I can hide him in my pet space—no one will ever know. I'll visit and bring him to see you when I can."
Hagrid looked pained. "You're leaving already?"
"Of course. The longer we linger, the more likely Mafoll and his crew will notice. You want us all thrown in Azkaban for raising a dragon?"
"N-no, I wasn't thinking that!"
"Then it's settled. Don't tell anyone. If you do, we're all going down—me, you, Ron, Hermione, Harry."
"I promise. I won't tell a soul!" Hagrid thumped his chest solemnly.
Dylan scanned the others. They all looked serious—especially Ron, who shrank back guiltily.
Good. They understood the stakes.
"Take some food for Arnold too, so he won't go hungry," Hagrid said, disappearing into the kitchen.
He returned with a pile of misshapen meat cuts—big and small.
Dylan accepted them, placing them directly into his system panel.
"Where's your magic pouch?" Ron asked, curious. "I never saw you carry one."
"If you're advanced enough, you can do it without needing objects," Dylan said offhandedly.
He looked at Arnold: "Stay put, alright? I'll introduce you to a friend when we get home."
With a wave of his hand, Arnold vanished from his palm.
Hermione and Hagrid gasped.
Hagrid grabbed Dylan's hand. "You really stored him in your pet space? You didn't... harvest the egg white already, right? I heard you talking about that earlier!"
Dylan blinked, then glared at Ron.
Ron lowered his head quickly, avoiding Dylan's gaze.
Dylan sighed. "Relax. I didn't do anything. Just watch."
He summoned Arnold back. The little dragon appeared in his hand, head tilted in confusion.
"Here," Dylan said, feeding him a strip of meat.
Arnold eagerly bit down—but it was too big, and he started choking.
"Giggle!"
His paws flailed in panic.
"ThroClense!" Dylan cast a spell.
An invisible force massaged Arnold's throat, helping him swallow the meat.
"Phew…"
Arnold's breathing steadied. He looked up at Dylan with grateful eyes and opened his mouth again.
"You little glutton," Dylan muttered. "Back you go—you won't feel hungry in there."
With a flick, Arnold soared into the air and disappeared.
He'd thought about naming the dragon Heidou (Black Bean) because of his eyes, but ultimately respected Hagrid's name choice.
"Feels like I just kidnapped someone's daughter to win over the father," Dylan muttered.
He turned to Hagrid: "Satisfied now?"
"I trust you, Dylan. Arnold will be fine," Hagrid said sincerely.
Dylan grinned. "Of course. Luna's three times fatter than before."
He turned to leave. "Shall we go?"
Hagrid waved. "I won't see you off."
As they walked, Ron crept up awkwardly. "Sorry, Dylan… about the egg white thing. I didn't mean to spill it."
Dylan shrugged. "It's fine. I stand by what I said."
—Unless I absolutely can't, he thought silently.
Ron beamed. "I knew you were the best!"
"Don't get cheesy on me."
Dylan looked serious. "We still have one more problem to handle."
"Huh?" Ron blinked.
Harry and Hermione looked over.
"What problem?"
(End of Chapter)
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