Lucien stepped into the Gourd Space.
Norbert, who had been following Lumen, immediately ran toward him. Spreading his wings, he flapped a few times and took off.
"Mommy!"
The little dragon called out several times before flying straight into Lucien's arms.
"It's better to call me Daddy."
Lucien hugged the little dragon, holding him like a large dog, and spoke helplessly.
He really was a dragon. His growth rate was astonishing.
In just a few days, Norbert's size had already doubled.
"Okay, Mommy."
Norbert babbled, still unable to break the habit.
Lucien was rather helpless about it. Perhaps because Norbert was still young, the dragon's instincts were still in control.
Forget it. He could call him that for now if he wanted.
After all, no one else could understand him anyway.
Holding Norbert, Lucien examined him carefully, confirming that his development during this period was completely normal.
Unlike when he was first born, his wings no longer had many folds. Now they were broader and thicker.
The scales on his body had a healthy sheen. They were full and intact, and the golden lines running through them were far more distinct than they had been at birth.
Lucien softly called Lumen over. A fist-sized sphere of Net Fire floated in front of Norbert, who swallowed it in a few quick gulps.
"After the main course, it's time for some solids."
As he mixed the brandy and chicken blood, Lucien watched Lumen play with Norbert, a faint smile on his face.
He had only discovered during an inspection a few days earlier that Norbert was a female Norwegian Ridgeback.
Female dragons were usually larger than males and far more aggressive.
That made it even more suitable to raise Norbert into the Dragon King of the Norwegian Ridgeback species.
Hmm, the Norwegian Ridgeback population was relatively small to begin with, so the process of subduing them probably wouldn't be too complicated or drawn out.
As Malfoy had explained before, Norwegian Ridgebacks were extremely combative, especially toward their own kind.
It was almost like the way horned serpents would blow each other apart during mating, becoming a rare species through sheer strength alone.
Once the chicken-blood brandy was ready, the little dragon finished it in no time at all. After eating, she let out a satisfied burp, accompanied by a small puff of dragonfire.
Among dragons, the Norwegian Ridgeback's fire-breathing ability was considered to develop relatively early.
Lucien surveyed the Gourd Space, which was extremely spacious.
Aside from Norbert, there were no other magical creatures being kept there.
There was no helping it. Dragons had exceptionally strong territorial instincts.
Keeping Norbert together with other magical creatures would be no different from giving the child a buffet.
Even though the little dragon had only recently been born, his naturally powerful physique and developing dragonfire already posed a threat to gentler, weaker animals. A separate space was therefore necessary.
Lucien walked along the edge of the space with his wand, following Newt's personal guidance to continue expanding it, making Norbert's living environment more comfortable.
Before leaving, he conjured several toys for Norbert to amuse himself when bored.
As for the toys he had conjured earlier, they had already been "played" to pieces.
After leaving the gourd that housed the little dragon, Lucien arrived in another Gourd Space.
The creatures here were more varied, all harmless and friendly magical creatures such as Puffskeins and Diricawls.
He approached an unremarkable large tree. At about chest height, there was a small hollow in the trunk.
Bending slightly, Lucien peered into the hollow.
If the outside of the tree looked ordinary, the inside of the hollow was anything but.
Galleons, Sickles, and Knuts filled the hollow, with Galleons making up the majority, causing the space to glitter with gold.
A small, platinum-colored Niffler lay on its back in one corner, clutching a Galleon in each of its tiny front paws. Its belly rose and fell steadily—it was clearly fast asleep.
Jinji's adorable appearance made Lucien chuckle. He took a few more coins from his pocket and gently placed them into the tree hollow.
He scratched Jinji's belly with a finger, but it only tightened its grip on the gold coins and showed no sign of waking.
"In a few more days, I'll give you some other varieties,"
Lucien said softly.
He had already written to Aunt Penelope to have some jewelry and ornaments sent to the school. By his estimate, they should arrive soon.
Nifflers liked shiny, precious objects, and the more variety, the better.
According to Newt, this was related to a Niffler's psychological well-being.
Heh. Raising a Niffler really wasn't cheap. Fortunately, he was fairly well off.
"Whinny~"
A soft neigh, like that of a foal, sounded nearby, and Lucien felt his trouser leg being nudged a few times.
Looking down, it was Aurora.
Reaching out to stroke her forehead, Lucien led the golden young unicorn to an open patch of land.
He took out some lake-washed berries and Moonpetal leaves to feed Aurora and was just about to activate his Eye of Peering Magic to examine her magical circuitry.
Suddenly, Lucien noticed a wing-shaped pattern—on closer inspection, it also resembled a cloud—appearing on the golden fur over Aurora's shoulder blade.
He checked the other side, and sure enough, it was there as well.
It hadn't been there yesterday.
Asterion and Seleneia didn't have any similar markings on their bodies either.
A mutation?
Tiny whirlpools formed in Lucien's eyes.
With the enhancement of the Eye of Peering Magic, Lucien observed the changes in Aurora's magical circuitry.
A normal unicorn's magical circuit was almost a closed loop, and Aurora's had taken on the same shape after being repaired.
Now, however, her circuit showed subtle undulations, like gentle ripples on the surface of a calm lake, though they weren't very pronounced.
After recalling and searching through the contents of the Magic Weaving Technique, Lucien quickly concluded that this was a benign circuit mutation.
When truly modifying a magical creature's circuit, variations were inevitable—some beneficial, others harmful.
At the time, Aurora had only undergone repair, not true modification, so the degree of variation was minimal.
Fortunately, it was still a benign mutation, which put Lucien at ease.
Hmm, the magical circuit would likely be completely stable by the summer holidays.
Only then would it be possible to see exactly what positive effects this circuit mutation would bring to Aurora.
In fact, the Magic Weaving Technique was best used during a magical creature's growth period, when the body was stronger and the circuit's plasticity was high.
Although plasticity was greatest in infancy, it was also the most fragile stage, making the risks much higher.
Following the spells recorded in the Magic Weaving Technique, Lucien cast more than a dozen different spells, each with distinct effects, onto the little unicorn's internal circuit.
Finally, he took out two vials of potion—one to apply externally to Aurora's body, especially along her waist and back, and the other to feed to her.
"Good girl, it's all right. You'll recover faster after taking the medicine."
"B-but… it's really bitter…"
The little unicorn let out a soft whinny, and Lucien understood what she meant.
"How about a Lemon Snowdrop after you finish?"
As he spoke, Lucien flicked his wrist like a magician. A yellow hard candy wrapped in clear paper appeared in his palm, with a dusting of white powder clinging to its surface.
Aurora looked at the candy in Lucien's hand, then let out a few more timid whinnies.
"Can I have another one… that brown frog?"
Lucien immediately realized she was talking about Chocolate Frogs.
He took out a box of Chocolate Frogs but didn't open the lid, to keep them from jumping away on their own.
Aurora's eyes lit up, and she obediently drank the potion from the bottle.
After that, Lucien fed the Lemon Snowdrop and the Chocolate Frog to the little unicorn.
He hadn't expected unicorns to have such a fondness for sweets. Perhaps they even had something in common with old Dumbledore.
____
Lucien still referring to Norbert as 'he' in his thoughts isn't a mistake but a neutral or default term when referring to magical creatures like dragons in the Harry Potter world, regardless of their actual gender. This might also play into how Norbert will be raised as a tough tomboy rather than a girl.
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