Hogwarts: Chill, I'm Not That Riddle-Chapter 531: Never Tickle a Sleeping Dragon.

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A flash of golden light split the sky.

The thunderclouds and raging cyclone overhead shattered under a terrifying shockwave of sound.

Dumbledore looked up. And all he could see was a long, dark figure plunging from the sky, wrapped in a shriek that tore through the wind. Dragon scales gleamed with cold metallic light under the sun.

"ROAR—!"

A piercing dragon’s roar tore across the sky.

But the violent surge it unleashed didn’t just scatter the natural storm conjured by Quetzalcoatl—it also shattered the massive Muggle-Repelling Charm that Dumbledore and the International Confederation of Wizards had quietly cast together.

"...Usaki, you idiot..." Tom muttered, rubbing his temples as he stared up at the sky where his Rayquaza hovered.

Even while complaining, his hands moved quickly. Dozens of glass vials filled with blue liquid flew out of his pockets.

"I forgot to bring the Thunderbirds."

Tom smacked his forehead, annoyed. Without a convenient helper, he’d have to handle things himself.

He raised his wand toward the sky.

A condensed pillar of light shot upward, piercing the sky. The thunderclouds that had just been blown apart began rapidly gathering again, pulled together by the beam.

The floating vials burst one after another.

Blue liquid dissolved into a fine mist that seeped into the growing storm clouds. Within moments, rain began to pour down in sheets. Fat raindrops slammed into the ground, splashing everywhere.

This was venom from a Swooping Evil, something Newt had given him.

For a moment, it felt like seventy years ago all over again, when Newt released a vial of venom over New York City. Through a rainstorm conjured by Frank, Newt’s Thunderbird, the venom spread across the entire Muggle population, preserving the security and secrecy of the magical community.

And today, the citizens of New York were about to get their memories wiped—again.

Up in the sky, Usaki no longer dared to show off. She could sense her master’s frustration. Pretending nothing had happened, she simply lowered her head and charged straight at Quetzalcoatl.

"..."

The moment Usaki appeared, Quetzalcoatl froze. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

Its enormous body trembled uncontrollably. Beneath its feathers, muscles tensed tight with instinctive terror—fear rooted in the very hierarchy of life itself.

Its power could suppress the magic of a Century King.

But Usaki, the Shiny Rayquaza?

On the level of life itself, she crushed Quetzalcoatl completely.

Green light flared around her. Golden whiskers whipped wildly like living things.

Her long dragon body straightened like an indestructible spear, slicing through the air with a sharp scream as she shot toward Quetzalcoatl.

The creature let out a shrill, desperate hiss, thrashing wildly in an attempt to escape.

But no matter how it struggled, the space around it seemed frozen solid. Every path of retreat was sealed.

It was as if this strike had been destined to land from the very beginning.

A blinding green arrow tore through the clouds.

The flash lasted only a moment.

Then, before the horrified eyes of Quahog and Pierce, Quetzalcoatl’s massive body split cleanly in two.

"H-how... how is that possible..."

Quahog’s entire body shook. His voice broke with the edge of tears, his face pale as paper. The belief he had clung to for years collapsed in that instant, leaving him on the verge of complete breakdown.

That had been his strongest trump card.

The foundation for the American magical world to rise, to surpass Europe and become the center of the world.

And it had just... lost?

An Aztec deity—something they all believed to be a god—killed in a single move by one of Riddle’s pets?

Even if it wasn’t the original body... even if it wasn’t at full power...

This... This still made no damn sense!

"Don’t waste food."

The boy’s cold voice echoed through the sky.

Quetzalcoatl’s severed halves didn’t bleed. Instead, they dissolved into countless points of starlight, slowly scattering.

"And find the real body. Bring it back."

"ROOOOAR—!"

Usaki threw her head back with a triumphant roar. Twisting through the air in a spiraling dragon dance, she flew to the remnants of Quetzalcoatl and opened her enormous jaws, swallowing the fading light in one gulp.

After devouring the creature’s energy, something deep and unseen answered her.

Her dragon eyes flared with sudden brilliance.

Locking onto a distant direction, she shot forward like a bolt of lightning and vanished from sight in the blink of an eye.

On the ground, Tom removed his Invisibility Cloak and landed with Daphne beside him.

He smiled pleasantly at Dumbledore, "Well, well. Professor. What a coincidence running into you here."

Dumbledore’s mouth twitched. "Unless I’ve finally gone senile, you two should be in class right now."

Daphne immediately shrank her neck and slipped behind Tom.

Normally she didn’t show Dumbledore much respect, but being caught skipping class by the headmaster still made her feel guilty.

Tom’s expression didn’t change in the slightest.

Completely straight-faced, he said, "I brought Daphne out to handle some urgent business. We already asked Professor Snape for leave in advance. If you don’t believe me, you can ask him."

"..."

"Tom, please deal with the disturbance you just caused. I still have unfinished business."

Dumbledore lifted his head.

His gaze seemed to cross an immense distance, locking perfectly with the terrified eyes of Pierce on the top floor of the International Confederation of Wizards’ headquarters.

Tom flashed an "OK" gesture.

"Fine. Then we’ll call the whole skipping-class thing even."

His smile sharpened slightly.

"And leave Fat Quahog to me."

Dumbledore hesitated for a moment before finally nodding.

If he had already decided to stop meddling in the endless affairs of the magical world, then he might as well see it through. Protecting Quahog now would serve no purpose and would only offend this petty boy.

Besides, he wanted answers. There were still things he needed to learn about Quetzalcoatl. Only at the very end had he realized that the creature he had been fighting all along was merely a fragment.

So, the two went their separate ways.

Dumbledore headed straight into the Confederation’s headquarters building, while Tom lifted into the air with Daphne in his arms, beginning the tedious work of cleaning up the aftermath.

The disturbance had been far too big.

Muggle information networks moved at a speed that was nothing like seventy years ago. The simple memory-wiping trick old Newt had taught him wasn’t going to cut it anymore.

Before people even forgot what they saw, the news would already be halfway around the world.

Flying high above the city with Daphne in his arms, Tom flicked his wand.

A shower of golden dust scattered through the air.

Wherever the dust drifted down, any Muggle who touched it immediately went blank-eyed, standing still as statues. Their memories of the strange spectacle moments ago blurred and faded at remarkable speed.

Control the people closest to the source and that was enough.

As for the information already spreading online, without solid proof it would easily be dismissed as another publicity stunt or internet hoax. That kind of thing was everywhere in America these days.

Rumors like the Bermuda Triangle or UFO sightings had started spreading around this era too. Most people would treat it as just another wild story.

---

Meanwhile, inside the Woolworth Building, there was a peculiar clock. Its dial didn’t display time. Instead, it measured the danger level of magical exposure to the Muggle world.

The moment Usaki appeared earlier, the needle had shot straight off the scale. Alarms blared throughout the entire building. Even after Tom’s emergency damage control, the level had only dropped from "maximum alert" to "extremely dangerous."

"T-Tom. Maybe don’t let Usaki fight anymore," Daphne said, still a little shaken. "Her... entrance fee is ridiculously expensive. You’d honestly cause less trouble handling things yourself."

Tom couldn’t help laughing. "Alright. If we’re in a city, I won’t let her fight anymore. She’s been pent up for too long."

Since the day she was born, Usaki had never experienced a real battle.

No wonder she’d gotten so excited earlier. She stacked several Dragon Dances in a row and immediately went straight for the finishing move.

"Let’s go. Dumbledore should be done on his side by now."

Tom turned in the air with Daphne and flew toward the headquarters of the International Confederation of Wizards.

...

Meanwhile, Dumbledore made his way through the building without encountering any real resistance.

All the elaborate defensive measures Pierce had placed so much hope in proved completely useless.

In Dumbledore’s eyes, the so-called advanced American magic was nothing more than rigid formulas copied from textbooks. It lacked the true spark of creativity and intuition. He dismantled it almost casually as he walked.

That was one of the main reasons many people in Europe looked down on American wizardry.

In this world, magical heritage truly mattered.

The magical traditions of America mostly came from the descendants of Isolt Sayre and the Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry founders, along with exiled witches and wizards from Europe. Add a small amount of primitive magic taken from indigenous traditions, and that was about it.

With only two or three hundred years of history, what kind of brilliant magical civilization could they possibly have developed?

Aside from Quetzalcoatl, none of their methods had offered even the slightest surprise.

The wizards he encountered along the way didn’t even dare meet his eyes.

Not one of them tried to stop him.

They simply watched as he walked step by step toward the President’s office at the top floor.

At that moment, Pierce and Quahog were like turtles trapped in a jar.

There was nowhere to run.

The defensive method meant to stop Dumbledore had failed to restrain him. Instead, it trapped them inside the building. Apparition was disabled throughout the structure, and the Floo Network had been completely cut off.

Originally, those measures were meant to stop Dumbledore from simply striking their headquarters directly.

Now they had become a cage of their own making.

Creak—

Dumbledore pushed the heavy oak doors open with a gentle hand. The hinges groaned slowly as the doors swung wide.

He stepped calmly into the office.

His gaze settled on the two men behind the desk.

"Dumbledore! Get out! Who let you in? This is my office! I don’t want to see you! Leave right now!"

Pierce jerked upright like he’d been struck by lightning, raising his wand. But his arm trembled uncontrollably as he shouted at Dumbledore.

Dumbledore ignored the hysterical display.

"Pierce," he said quietly, his voice calm. "Have you ever heard the motto of Hogwarts?"

He didn’t wait for an answer.

Instead, he spoke it himself. A faint chill crept into his voice.

"Draco dormiens nunquam titillandus."

"That means... never tickle a sleeping dragon."

"It’s a pity you never studied at Hogwarts."

"If you had, you might not have ended up here today."

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