Apparition?
Or perhaps Apparition that could bypass the very counter-curse he had laid himself?
That was... well, not entirely surprising, was it?
The student surpasses the master; it's only natural, isn't it? Dumbledore mused. He had been handily defeated by Tom, after all, so this little trick wasn't shocking.
Dumbledore set down the picture frame, a thoughtful, mysterious look in his eyes. "Tom, you know why I asked you here..."
Before he could finish, Tom ignored him.
Tom slightly raised his right hand, following Dumbledore's gaze. There, coiled on the back of his hand, was a tiny silver snake, no more than a finger's length. Its head was raised, its gaze lingering on Dumbledore before it turned back, looking up at Tom with expectant eyes.
"Where did this little thing come from? Tom, when did you start keeping pets of this size?" Dumbledore asked. He could tell this silver snake was no ordinary creature; it was most likely some extremely rare magical animal, so rare that he had never encountered one in all his years.
Moreover, he could tell the little thing was asking Tom a question, and a question about him at that, which piqued his curiosity. "It's rather cute, isn't it?"
Then he heard Tom say, "No, you cannot eat him."
"..."
Dumbledore fell silent.
He retracted his statement; this miniature serpent was anything but cute.
Slightly annoyed, Dumbledore composed himself. "It's alright, Tom. Surely its teeth haven't fully grown in yet? Besides getting me covered in drool, what harm could it possibly do?"
"..."
Tom glanced at Dumbledore impassively. Had the old man been living a life of leisure for too long? Why did he seem so childish?
The miniature World Serpent seemed to sense Dumbledore's mockery and immediately turned its head, opening its maw at him.
Dumbledore, however, was undeterred and continued to provoke it.
Then Tom's warning came, "Professor, cease your teasing. If it truly attacks, I will not save you."
"Damn it, Tom! When have I ever needed your help?!" Dumbledore retorted defiantly, "While I may be old, do not forget, I am a figure of great stature, not only in the wizarding world but also in the history of magic!"
Perhaps because his most prized student was present, the usually extremely low-key and indifferent Dumbledore suddenly felt compelled to prove himself.
At the very least, he had to save face; he couldn't let that rapscallion Tom look down on him!
Dumbledore continued his taunting, "Little thing, I won't take advantage of you. Let us spar. You aren't afraid of this old man, are you?"
"..."
When did this old man become like this?
"You are truly something, Professor, to seek a confrontation with a snake such as that one," Tom said.
Tom did not try to stop the confrontation between the snake and Dumbledore; instead, he chose to watch.
Just as Dumbledore approached "aggressively" with his wand, the miniature World Serpent revealed its ferocious power and hissed at him!
Its undisguised aura swept over him like a tsunami!
The pressure felt godlike; even legendary wizards could not resist, and even legendary wizards seemed insignificant under this terrifying suppression.
Dumbledore felt his heart skip a beat. In that instant, he seemed to see a colossal serpent, its massive body crushing continents, each scale comparable to a small mountain.
And this unimaginably terrifying being was now facing him, unleashing its malice with undisguised madness!
"..."
Dumbledore fell silent, stunned for a moment. He calmly sheathed his wand in his robes before casually returning to his seat.
Tom held the small World Serpent in his right palm, his thumb casually stroking the tiny serpent's head, observing his professor with amusement.
"Tom…"
Dumbledore ate a honey candy, pausing as he looked at Tom with undisguised disbelief behind his half-moon spectacles. "You have captured Jormungandr?"
In Dumbledore's understanding, and indeed, in the understanding of everyone else in the world, a serpent of that size could only be the World Serpent from Norse mythology, the one that coiled around Midgard.
Recalling the terrifying aura he had just felt, as if he were facing the entire world, Dumbledore was certain this little creature was indeed the World Serpent!
Otherwise, he wouldn't have been so helpless against it!
But if this is the World Serpent, then Tom... he is becoming more and more monstrous! Merlin is nothing! He cannot even defeat my prized student's pet! If you round it up, that means he's two levels stronger than Merlin! Thinking this, Dumbledore suddenly felt a little better.
Faced with Dumbledore's question, Tom did not answer, but instead, asked another question with a "smile," "Professor, did you not just propose a duel with my little pet?"
"..."
Me? Fight the World Serpent? Really?
Dumbledore looked at the little silver snake baring its fangs in a provocative manner, seemingly in agreement with Tom's words. Remembering what he had just said, he felt a twinge of embarrassment.
But asking him to fight was out of the question, even if he knew there was no risk to his life. It was the same reason why he would never fight Tom—because that would be utterly humiliating.
So, Tom saw Dumbledore's awkward yet polite smile.
Dumbledore skillfully changed the subject. "Tom, do you know why I summoned you here?"
"I do not wish to know. I merely wish to know if you can defeat my pet."
"...Ahem, actually, I called you here because..."
"To witness you fight my pet?"
"..."
Chase and kill, huh?
Dumbledore was immediately annoyed. Although he usually enjoyed telling others not to overestimate him, that he was just an ordinary wizard, and then effortlessly crushed his opponents with a smile, this situation was different!
Admitting in front of his most prized student that he could not defeat the student's pet?
Admitting it was impossible, absolutely impossible.
For some reason, Dumbledore suddenly remembered what Gellert Grindelwald had told him earlier, suddenly feeling that what the other man had said made sense. These monsters truly do not understand the rules! How can they treat us, these old folks, like wild monsters to be hunted down?!
...
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