Racing the Thunderbird

Tom silently retorted in his heart that excellence wasn't in him, but in the strengthening potion, a recipe passed down from an ancient secret realm.

"The Greengrass family Blood Curse is peculiar," Albus Dumbledore explained. "First of all, it is only inherited by female members of the family."

Tom raised an eyebrow. "No exceptions?"

"If changing one's surname counts, then there are many exceptions. Let me put it another way: as long as one maintains and identifies as a member of the Greengrass family, then the offspring will definitely be female and inherit the family name."

Albus Dumbledore, "Like the curse of Defense Against the Dark Arts, many people think that changing the name of a subject can successfully break it, but in reality, the teaching content remains unchanged, and it will still be affected."

"Otherwise, I wouldn't be racking my brains every year trying to find a teacher. It's obvious that the caster's curse was intended to completely exterminate this ancient Pure-blood family."

"The Wizarding World is still quite traditional in a strict sense," Albus Dumbledore added. "A married daughter is like water spilled from a bowl; once she becomes a wife, she will only consider her husband's family."

"Narcissa Malfoy, Malfoy's mother, is the best example. After marrying into the Malfoy family, she considered herself a member of the Malfoy family."

His voice softened. "And the cruelest part is that in every generation of the Greengrass family, at least one female member will inherit the Blood Curse."

Tom's expression changed. Every generation inevitably has a Blood Curse sufferer? What he couldn't understand before, he suddenly understood.

Seeing the shifting expressions on his face, Albus Dumbledore knew there was no need for further explanation and sighed. "Yes, that's why every generation of Greengrass has sisters."

"If there is only one person, then the Blood Curse will definitely be applied to her, but if there are two people, at least one of them will be safe."

"It was a painful and prolonged ordeal; one could say that every Greengrass who died peacefully at the cost of the lives of her loved ones."

A long silence fell over the room.

Suddenly, a sneer came from behind Tom. "Tch, those women are just a bunch of stubborn mules."

Tom turned around and saw that it was Phineas Black who was speaking.

Albus Dumbledore asked curiously, "Oh? Phineas, what brilliant idea do you have?"

Phineas stroked his mustache and pursed his lips. "I already told Greengrass that as long as he gave up their surname and no longer identified with this family..."

"If they merge their bloodline with other Pure-blood, there won't be any problems later, but they just won't listen and insist on torturing themselves. Can they blame anyone else for that?"

No sooner had he finished speaking than a portrait of the principal was pointed at him and he was berated.

"Do you think everyone is as shameless as you, able to just abandon someone like that?"

"Exactly, would you be willing to change your surname from Blake to Fosco, instead of Blake?"

Phineas scoffed. "The Black Family doesn't have Blood Curse, why would I change my surname?"

"Shameless bastard, beat him up!" a plump female principal roared.

A group of school principals swarmed into Phineas's painting frame, launching an unrestricted fighting tournament. Phineas was outmatched against ten opponents, but he remained defiant. If he couldn't win the fight, he could at least verbally spar.

Albus Dumbledore gave Tom an awkward smile. "There's a difference between the portrait and the person. The headmasters throughout history were all very good people; it's just that hanging up the portrait makes them a bit more lively and unrestrained."

Tom blinked. "And you? What will you look like after you hang it up? I'm really looking forward to it."

Albus Dumbledore also looked on with longing. "You will see that day." He paused, for he too was looking forward to the day when he could retire in peace.

After a brief commotion, the topic returned to Greengrass's Blood Curse.

Tom asked, "So, do you think my idea will succeed?"

Albus Dumbledore said solemnly, "It's worth a try. The Elixir of Life has the effect of replenishing life force, and its potency does not diminish; otherwise, Nicolas Flamel and the others wouldn't be alive now."

"The only thing to worry about is the magic power of the Philosopher's Stone." He looked at the Philosopher's Stone. "When Nicolas Flamel gave me the Philosopher's Stone, he already said that its magic Philosopher's Stone was almost completely depleted."

Tom seized the opportunity to make a request. "May I visit Mr. Nicolas Flamel?" This wasn't just because of the Greengrass family curse.

Nicolas Flamel himself is a treasure trove. In terms of strength, Nicolas Flamel is no match for Albus Dumbledore, but in terms of knowledge and experience, Albus Dumbledore is truly inferior to him.

Albus Dumbledore winked at Tom like a mischievous old man. "I'll convey your sincerity to him, and I'll also help you get a copy of the elixir of immortality. You can give it to Miss Greengrass first."

Just because Tom was willing to ask him for the Philosopher's Stone for the sake of others, he was confident that Tom wouldn't become like Voldemort in the future.

With such a gain, he had no intention of taking back even a brand new, intact magic Philosopher's Stone, let alone a Philosopher's Stone whose magic was almost depleted.

Tom smiled and put the stone away. "Then I'll be waiting for your good news in United States."

Albus Dumbledore asked curiously, "United States? Are you going on a trip?"

"No, Mr. Scamander invited me to his home, and I've already accepted."

How could he refuse such a sincere invitation from Uncle Newt Scamander? He planned to write back and arrange a time to travel to United States.

"It's definitely not because of—" Tom glanced somewhat guiltily at the Fourth Palace within his sea of consciousness.

[Fourth Trial - Thunder: Without using any external aids (except a wand), outrun the Thunderbird in a 100 km/h flight race.]

[Reward: Thunderbird Bloodline, greatly increasing the host's wind and thunder magic power and flight speed]

It was already past midnight when I left the Headmaster's Office.

When Tom returned to his dorm, his roommates were already asleep. He was quite tired today, not from dealing with Voldemort, but from Three-headed Dog.

He used all his strength in every punch he threw at the Three-headed Dog. He didn't feel anything when he was on drugs, but now that he was relaxed, fatigue washed over him like a tidal wave.

Tom soon fell asleep.

But now he only needs to sleep three hours a day to ensure he has plenty of energy, so he goes to bed the latest but gets up the earliest.

He left the castle early, walked into the Forbidden Forest facing the rising sun, found three unicorns, and played with them for a while.

I also fed them some of the white energy from the Patronus Charm as their breakfast.

After becoming a food supplier, Tom's treatment changed completely. Before, he had to go to great lengths to please and get close to the unicorns.

Now he's become a hot commodity, with his Little Three children (Big Treasure, Second Treasure, and Xiao San) fawning over him and begging for more food.

He discussed with Andros and Gellert Grindelwald why unicorns like to eat Patronus Charm.