Mother Polly once told Tiger.
Shelby children didn't need to be better than others, but whatever they did, they had to do it to the extreme.
Want to fight? Beat the shit out of your opponent before stopping. Want to shoot? Pull that trigger with everything you've got.
When eating, enjoy it like it's your last meal. When seeing your lover, cherish it like it's the last time you'll meet. Only then can you experience life's beauty.
Life is unpredictable.
Relax, enjoy—that's enough.
Who cares anyway?
Yeah, who cares? Every Shelby family member understood this principle, yet they still spared no effort sacrificing themselves for the family's glory and future.
Mother Polly, Aunt Manny, Cousin Hill, Uncle Martin, Salaman, Michael, Cousin Linda...
Familiar, warm faces flashed through Tiger's mind like old slides—initially colorful and vibrant, they gradually faded, transforming into silent black and white scrolls, each frame bearing life's darkness.
For the family, some buried their lovers, some their marriages, some their dignity.
Some buried their lives, some their futures, some their children...
Since Tiger's birth, every step the Shelby family took was drenched in blood.
Tommy never spoke of these things.
But Tiger saw it all.
Late at night, Tiger sat quietly by the floor-to-ceiling window, watching lake creatures occasionally swim past, silent for a long time.
His thick knuckles rubbed Uncle Martin's hand-enchanted protective charm, anger gradually rising in his fierce, dark eyes.
"Damn bastards."
"Don't let me find you..."
Every Shelby's eyes held hatred and madness for past disasters, but when discussing too much, they'd all tactfully choose silence.
Sensing Tiger's emotional fluctuation, Venom's tendrils quietly extended, linking the dozen or so protective charms in his hands, weaving them into two primitive bracelets, then coiling them around Tiger's wrists.
[Tiger, this isn't your fault. Shelby no longer needs anyone to sacrifice.]
"But they already have." Tiger closed his eyes, tilting his head back slightly. "Like lemmings..."
The tragic deaths of fathers and brothers—like recurring nightmares.
For family, for the younger generation, the Shelbys willingly walked the path of self-destruction. They saw this as liberation...
[You can stop them!]
Venom roared in his mind. It hadn't expected enchantment failure to hit Tiger this hard.
Actually, it wasn't pure devastation—more disappointment. Tiger's disappointment in himself.
Family expectations, elders' attention, brothers' love—all seemed to be falling into an endless abyss.
[Hey, listen, bastard.]
[Arthur! Tommy! John! They're all stopping it in their own ways.]
[So forget the damn enchantment!]
Dark tendrils caressed Tiger's cheek, forcefully turning his head to face Venom's pale eyes.
"Fuck the protective charms!"
"Having a symbiote is enough!"
"This is the magical world—food everywhere. Symbiotes have unlimited possibilities here."
"You can stop everything!"
The low, hoarse voice was filled with greed, desire, and barely perceptible worry.
Tiger fell silent for a moment.
"You need to brush your teeth..."
Venom: "(???) What did you say?!"
"I said you need to brush your teeth, idiot. Your drool reeks—you're giving me a headache!"
Tiger spat expressionlessly, saliva splattering on Venom's head like raindrops, just as Venom had roared at him moments before.
"I have bad breath?!"
Venom stared in disbelief.
This bastard was like stinking dog shit disguised as a cactus—not worth holding with both hands!
"Damn bastard, symbiotes have self-cleaning functions. I don't have bad breath—you're clearly just..."
"Bullshit! Then where's this stench on my face coming from!"
Fierce arguing erupted. Within moments they were wrestling, sweeping books and cups off the table...
The cursing and noise gradually subsided.
Tiger lay sprawled on the floor without dignity, his chest heaving with rapid breaths, sweat soaking through his pajamas.
Venom's large head lay beside him, its crimson, fierce tongue hanging limply from its mouth.
Chaos surrounded them.
In the dim room, laughter gradually rose—sometimes hearty and free, sometimes hoarse and low.
"Shut up, idiot. Your laugh sounds terrible!"
"Hey, is something wrong with your ears?!" Venom protested indignantly.
"Your laugh is terrible!"
Tiger: "Yours is terrible!"
Venom: "Yours is worse!"
Tiger: "Shut up, you..."
Venom's protests suddenly stopped. It opened its mouth, mumbling somewhat aggrievedly:
"That's really dirty language."
"You need to apologize to me..."
Tiger smacked his lips, looking apologetic.
"Alright, idiot, sorry. I shouldn't have compared you to them. I'm sorry."
"Mm-hmm, I accept your apology." Venom happily retreated into Tiger's body.
"Time to sleep, bastard."
"Good night, idiot."
The next morning.
Sunlight pierced through mist, spilling onto the Black Lake. The dark underwater world was once again given life.
Outside the dormitory window, sleeping sand and stone, swaying water plants, and leisurely lake creatures became vivid and alive in the crisscrossing beams of sunlight...
Tiger was awakened by Venom at this time.
"What? Running?!" Stunned light flickered in his sleepy eyes. "Are you serious?"
"Of course!"
Venom manifested its head, delicate small tendrils like arms akimbo on either side of its head, looking very "I'm responsible, you should listen to me."
"Come on, bastard."
"Your negative emotions last night were like throwing a party—your whole body nearly became a zombie paradise!"
Venom mysteriously leaned close to Tiger's ear.
Its suddenly lowered voice sounded like dealers outside Surrey pushing white powder.
"You need something to get you 'high,' like..." The dark little tendrils swayed back and forth energetically. "Running!"
Given Tiger's state last night, Venom responsibly concluded that this hopelessly foul-mouthed bastard had expended too much energy and emotion in recent research, desperately needing support from various human hormones like dopamine, serotonin, endorphins...
Humans were really troublesome.
So, urged by Venom, Tiger left the castle and jogged along the Black Lake. Faint mist occasionally echoed with the whoosh of combination punches...
As sunlight rose, in the Quidditch pitch, Oliver Wood's excited shouts could be heard even outside. The Weasley twins' cheers rose and fell.
Clearly, they couldn't be more satisfied with their secret weapon, Harry Potter.
The fragrance of earth and grass drifted on the breeze.
Tiger shook his head and grinned, sweat soaking his back, a sense of freedom and exhilaration arising naturally.
Had to admit—Venom's suggestion was very effective.
After returning to the Slytherin common room, Tiger's good mood was almost visible to the naked eye.
"Father, you've been..."
Seeing Tiger's figure, in the common room, early-rising Slytherin students and male prefect Atlantis Boasted all stood up.
"Bad mood, went out to exercise." Tiger didn't hide anything from his right-hand man.
The recent depression had indeed made him extremely frustrated and irritable. After venting his troubles, his mood had cleared considerably.
"I see..."
Male prefect Atlantis Boasted nodded knowingly, then stepped aside to recommend:
"Father, would you like some Elixir to Induce Euphoria?"
Magic was idealistic. Many healing spells and advanced white magic required positive emotional guidance and resonance.
So in male prefect Atlantis Boasted's eyes, Tiger's situation was quite common among wizards.
This was precisely why Slytherin's common room needed to keep Elixir to Induce Euphoria on hand.
Little snakes dwelling in dark dungeons indeed had difficulty achieving resonance when learning advanced white magic.
"Elixir to Induce Euphoria?"
Tiger raised an eyebrow, looking at everyone in the common room. "When you encounter this situation, you all handle it with potions?"
Everyone nodded subconsciously, some first-years even showing proud expressions.
You know, poor kids from other houses could only eat chocolate to solve such problems.
"That's not the same."
Tiger shook his head, patting Atlantis Boasted's weak, thin shoulders seriously:
"Potion effects are very targeted. Elixir to Induce Euphoria isn't omnipotent—you're being too careless..."
Elixir to Induce Euphoria could bring emotional relief, but couldn't provide physical release and exhilaration.
Tiger understood this clearly. He paused, extending his pinky finger disdainfully:
"Look at your bodies—worse than red-light district girls. I could crush ten of you with my pinky..."
"..."
The Slytherins' faces darkened.
We accept your insult—please retract the Obscurus behind you first.
"Alright, enough talk." Tiger waved his hand, his tone brooking no argument:
"Starting tomorrow, boys and girls alike—you're all exercising with me. Any objections?"
"As you wish..."
The Slytherins' smiles were awkward but polite.
~~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~~
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