Harry Potter and the Cataclysm

Carnie pulled Xiao Hei out of his luggage, but the little snake slithered right back in, coiling itself around a small box.

"What are you doing?" Carnie grabbed Xiao Hei and held it in his arms, but the snake kept stretching its head toward the luggage.

Feeling puzzled, Carnie rummaged through his belongings but found nothing unusual. He picked up his luggage and gave it a sniff—it had a faint snake-like scent.

"Are you looking for something?" he asked. Xiao Hei had already started understanding some of his words, though Carnie had no plans to test it with Parseltongue and Harry just yet.

"Hiss~" Xiao Hei flicked its tongue, and when Carnie lowered it near the luggage, it pressed its head against a small box.

"Huh? This… Oh, right, the dragon crystal." Carnie had almost forgotten about it. The dragon blood and dragon scales were still gathering dust under his bed since no one knew what to do with them. The dragon crystal, which seemed to be just a magic-rich gemstone at the time, had been placed in a box and set aside.

Opening the box, he found the once pitch-black dragon crystal had turned into a smooth, deep-black gem, almost like an obsidian-colored diamond.

"Hiss~ hiss~" Xiao Hei wriggled excitedly, stretching its head straight toward it.

"It's changed? Looks smaller… and smoother," Carnie noted. The moment he touched it, he realized it had indeed shrunk slightly.

"Did Xiao Hei absorb it or something?" He placed the dragon crystal on his pillow and put Xiao Hei next to it. "Here, you can play with it."

It wasn't like he had any use for it at the moment. As long as Xiao Hei didn't swallow it, it was fine. Given the size of its mouth, swallowing the whole thing would be impossible.

Originally, Carnie had planned to train, but since he was home for the first time in months, he decided to take a break. He watched Xiao Hei coil its body around the dragon crystal but made no move to eat it. With that reassurance, he climbed into bed and went to sleep.

As the night deepened, moonlight filtered through the window, casting a gentle glow onto the bed. The dragon crystal near Carnie's pillow emitted a faint silver light. Xiao Hei, still awake, coiled tightly around it, its head raised toward the moon. It absorbed the dragon crystal's magic and Carnie's lingering spiritual energy.

Thin streams of visible energy coursed along its scales. The dragon crystal, now visibly smaller, pulsed with a faint glow as Xiao Hei traced patterns in the air with its open mouth before curling around it again.

Morning arrived, and Carnie rolled around in bed before groggily opening his eyes.

"Ahhh, nothing beats sleeping in my own bed," he muttered, stretching lazily.

His stretch was interrupted when his waist bumped into something hard.

Pulling back the covers, he was met with the sight of a bloated snake lying on its back—Xiao Hei.

"Xiao Hei?! What happened to you?"

The little snake's belly was swollen, nearly as thick as a fist. It lay on its back, completely motionless—something normal snakes weren't capable of doing. But Xiao Hei wasn't normal. Carnie knew that much.

"Hiss~" Xiao Hei flicked its tongue weakly.

"You swallowed the dragon crystal?! Are you going to explode?!"

"Hiss~" Xiao Hei lowered its head slightly, as if in pain.

"I can help you get it out!" Carnie reached for its tail. Lately, he'd noticed that Xiao Hei had become more reluctant to let him grab its tail beyond a certain point.

"Hiss~!" Xiao Hei squirmed frantically, shaking its head side to side.

"No? You can handle it yourself?" Carnie understood instantly. It was surprising how intelligent Xiao Hei had become—it was already on par with an owl. Maybe cultivation really did boost intelligence.

"Fine, but you better rest. Looks like you won't be going out for a while." Carnie tucked Xiao Hei back into his luggage—he couldn't leave it on the bed in case his parents found it and threw it out.

"Good morning, Mom! Good morning, Dad!" Carnie greeted as he came downstairs. His parents had just woken up. His mother was washing last night's dishes, while his father was heating milk and toasting bread.

"Mom, let me help!" Carnie pulled out his wand and flicked it. "Scourgify!"

"Mwah! My baby is amazing! From now on, you're in charge of dishwashing!" His mother, Lina, gave him a kiss on the cheek, impressed by how clean the dishes became.

"Our son is one of the top students in his year!" His father, Carter, said proudly.

"You guys knew?"

"Of course! We write to your school regularly," his mother replied with a smile, ruffling his hair.

"How come I don't get letters that often?" Carnie asked, confused.

"We write to your head of house."

Oh. Great. He could only hope Professor McGonagall hadn't reported anything embarrassing.

Tomorrow was Christmas, but his parents still had work today.

Carnie had to prepare gifts for his friends. He couldn't do it at school without ruining the surprise, so now was the perfect time.

Picking gifts was tricky, but thankfully, the list wasn't too long—Harry, Ron, the Weasley twins, Percy (since their family was the biggest, and next year, Ginny would be coming, too), Hermione, Neville, Seamus, Hagrid, Dumbledore, McGonagall… and Xiao Hei.

Xiao Hei had already received its present. Not that he'd given it—it had just swallowed it.

His room was now filled with gift boxes.

For the Weasley twins and Ron, he decided on gold Galleons. Simple, effective.

For Harry, the rich kid, he figured a children's toy would be fun. He picked out one of his robot toys and wrapped it up.

For Percy, he chose a watch—not too familiar with him yet, so he went with something safe.

For Neville, the round-faced boy, he got a sturdy cage. His toad, Trevor, would probably love its new home. That was… if Neville could find it first. He wished he knew Accio—that would make things much easier.

For Seamus, he decided to give him a dragon scale. Seamus had been envious ever since he learned they had some, but was too shy to ask. As a fellow dorm mate, Carnie wasn't going to be stingy—problem solved.

For Dumbledore… oh, this was going to be fun. Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans! He knew Dumbledore liked these. Carnie could already imagine the old wizard's reaction after accidentally eating earwax, rotten socks, and dung-flavored beans. Hah!

For Hagrid, he bought several boxes of fairy tales—something to read in his spare time.

For Professor McGonagall, this was a bit harder. His strict, no-nonsense head of house deserved something thoughtful… but all he could think of was a pillow. Oh well, a pillow it was.

For Hermione? Another pillow. Yep, that was good enough.

With all the gifts wrapped and ready, he summoned an owl and sent them off, setting the delivery time for after midnight.

Finally done.

Now, it was time to have fun.

Carnie turned on his computer.

Opened Word.

Started writing a novel.

Glanced at his outline.

Oh. Right. He didn't have one.

Screw it, he'd wing it.

-------------------------------------

Join my patreon for 20+ additional chapters: patreon.com/FictionFan248