"Bloody hell."
"I've eaten shit for so many years and still haven't killed a single British chef."
"I'm way too fucking kind..."
Satisfied sighs stretched long and dense as Tiger leaned back in the sofa, contentedly closing his eyes.
Nothing was more comfortable than a nap after a carb-heavy feast.
"Damn English. They must have sacrificed something to demons during the Age of Exploration."
"I really can't understand it."
"A country that colonized half the world for spices—why do they make food taste so bloody awful?"
Mumbled sleep-talk drifted intermittently.
"What's so good about this stuff?"
Venom's tone was full of disdain, its dark twisted tentacles stacking the messy empty fried rice plates aside, waiting for Tequila to clean up.
"..."
Tiger squinted slightly, shooting Venom an annoyed glance. He didn't want to comment on this idiot's chocolate frog fried rice.
If anyone else dared eat such food in front of him, he'd definitely break out all their teeth, mix them with chocolate, and stuff them up their damn ass...
(?_?)
Afternoon sunlight spread like gentle brocade across the Black Lake's clear surface.
Golden radiance penetrated the ripples, interweaving with the depths' darkness like scattered fragments of gold, drifting leisurely between Slytherin's dome and window frames.
In this tranquil, brilliant play of light and shadow, Tiger rested on the sofa, breathing shallow and even, the dormitory atmosphere peaceful and serene...
"Hey, bastard, stop sleeping!"
"You're on fire again!"
"Put out this damn thing!"
After who knows how long, accompanied by burning pain faintly spreading, Venom's alarmed cry suddenly rang out, jolting Tiger from distant dreams.
Tiger shot upright, instinctively shaking his wrist—he didn't want Mother Polly's hand-picked clothes burned to ash before he'd barely worn them.
At his mental command.
The scorching flames instantly extinguished, leaving only bone-white palms starkly visible.
Especially under the lake's floating light, the finger bones clenching and extending in sequence looked even more eerie...
Under Tiger's thoughtful gaze, sinews and flesh wove together with silk-like delicacy, as if time reversed—skin and fine hairs quickly emerged, the hand healing completely.
"Don't panic, Venom. I think this thing probably won't hurt you. Want to try?"
Tiger touched his perfectly intact cuffs and hem, surprise and amusement flickering in his eyes.
Unlike before.
This time the flames had spread to his forearm, but the shirt's cuffs remained completely undamaged.
[Don't even think about it, bastard.]
[The fire on you is wrong—I can sense great threat, especially to the soul!]
Venom completely retreated into Tiger's body, scared to death, its urgent tone full of tension and wariness toward unknown power.
As for Tiger's obviously malicious suggestion, it treated the bastard's words like farts.
[What about that book?!]
[That other damn book Tommy sent you—open it and look, dammit...]
Amid Venom's cursing voice.
Dark twisted tentacles lashed out like whips from behind Tiger.
The distant package was roughly yanked forward, its contents spilling out and scattering across the floor.
Metal knuckles gleaming with cold light rolled to Tiger's feet. He bent to pick them up, raising an eyebrow as he examined the ancient runes carved on them.
This was Uncle Martin's gift, his latest research achievement.
Including the Shelby family, wizarding world enchantments had always been passive defensive types.
However, this time Uncle Martin had focused his thinking on the broader field of active offense.
Spell-breaking, disruption, impact...
Under the ancient runes' backdrop, the five armor-piercing spikes at the knuckles' front seemed already stained with blood.
Tiger didn't hesitate, directly slipping them onto his fingers. The rough sandpaper texture pressed against his palm, inexplicably reassuring.
Whether the grip's curve or weight balance, everything perfectly accommodated his hand's contours and force distribution.
"I like this thing..." A vicious smile crept across Tiger's lips.
Just as he clenched his fist, preparing to test the new knuckles' enchanted power on the desk, Venom's tentacle presented a Winchester M1887 lever-action shotgun to his face.
"Hey, bastard, look at this."
"Arthur sent his baby too."
This was custom-made. Beyond the special alloy barrel, the grip was inlaid with intricate patterns of interwoven gold and silver wire, adding elegance to the weapon.
Tiger and Venom had deep impressions of it.
The year Terminator premiered, big brother Arthur was still young, obsessed with the robot governor.
To snatch this gun from a blood gang boss, Arthur's head caught three slugs.
To this day, Arthur hadn't dared tell Mother Polly about it—Tommy was furious then...
Stroking the cold, violent barrel, Tiger's eyes showed helpless yet deep amusement.
The Shelbys were full of wariness and disgust toward the wizarding world.
Obviously, big brother Arthur worried about him being hurt by wizards but was powerless to retaliate.
Several boxes of buckshot lay on the floor—no wonder the owl was exhausted...
Tiger cradled the trigger guard, expertly spinning it once around his forearm's inner side. The empty chamber's loading sound followed, as if urging him to bring ammunition...
"Hey! Take this!"
"This isn't playtime—look at this quick! I don't want to be burned to death!"
The black leather book engraved with the Shelby family crest was impatiently tossed into Tiger's arms by Venom, several tentacles immediately helping flip pages.
Tiger set aside the shotgun and knuckles, irritably swatting away the tentacles to examine carefully.
He was equally full of confusion and curiosity about his condition...
The Shelby family's second magical outburst was called "Enchantment," and the book's contents were enchantment experiences left by various Shelby ancestors.
Learning of Tiger's changes, Tommy had specially retrieved this book from Uncle Martin...
However, regrettably.
As time passed minute by minute, Tiger didn't see any situation similar to his own.
But he wasn't disappointed.
After all, after his first magical outburst, Venom's appearance had been completely different from family history.
He'd expected this, so he simply shifted attention to ancient rune carving—the Shelby family's special magic seemed born for this...
Tiger became increasingly absorbed.
Just as he prepared to find materials for testing, knocking suddenly sounded. Male prefect Atlantis Boasted's voice came from outside.
"Father, time for class..."
Including Hogwarts, Britain didn't have afternoon nap customs. Compared to morning breaks, noon was just slightly longer free time.
Tiger had to temporarily put away the book, grab his new wizard robes and Herbology textbook from the chair back, and leave the dormitory...
~~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~~
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