First, a disclaimer: he was not going to be anybody's mom, male or otherwise.
Second, it felt pretty good.
The Thunderbird and phoenix bloodlines had merged, tracing all the way back to their source, and the sense of transformation was stronger than anything before it. It was almost on par with the Golden Apple.
Tom noticed something. The System was very fond of the word "Sacred."
He had always taken "Sacred" for an attribute. But with this fusion, that same feeling had come again, and he finally realized it was a tier. It was a level of life beyond anything the living beings of this planet currently understood. Good or evil made no difference. Any creature that reached this tier carried the nature of the Sacred.
Clearly, the phoenix's original bloodline had reached it. In the instant of atavism, a portion of that Sacred power had been released, remaking Tom's flesh and blood, and even his soul.
It felt wonderful. It was like soaking in a hot spring in the dead of winter, warm from head to toe, wrapped in a deep sense of safety.
Tom was comfortable. Fawkes, on the other hand, was racking his brain.
In terms of bloodline purity, a Thunderbird naturally couldn't compare to a pure-bred phoenix. The two were something like cousins, with the phoenix as the main line and the Thunderbird a branch, which was why Fawkes had always thought of Tom as his little buddy. But now he felt a pressure from above, one that could subdue him, and at the same time a warmer, more kindred aura that made him want to nuzzle right up against it.
"Woo!"
A faint dragon's cry drifted down from the sky. Usagi blocked Fawkes as he edged closer, her big, majestic eyes full of warning, and forced him to stop.
They were all good friends and partners under normal circumstances, but right now Usagi would not let anyone or anything near Tom. Never mind Fawkes. The same went for the household's two chubby dumplings and three four-legged beasts.
"Chirp!"
"Woo woo!"
The dragon and the bird glared at each other. Fawkes felt deeply insulted. How could he possibly hurt Tom? That was his... uh, little buddy!
Usagi didn't care about any of that. Luckily, Tom's transformation didn't take long, or the two of them would have come to blows.
At last, the bloodline fusion was complete. A cool, icy sensation flowed up from the deepest part of his soul and swept away the fatigue of all that ultra-long-distance Apparition. At the same time, streak after streak of marks was wiped away.
[Ancient Phoenix Bloodline: Sacred being, King of Flame. Can be reborn through rebirth in fire, purges all negative effects on itself, disregards corrosion from Dark Magic, immune to curses (of equal or lesser magical power).]
A flash of understanding came over Tom. Those marks were the "curses" left behind by the wizards he had killed. They showed nothing on the surface, but their effects had been real all along.
Making a Horcrux through a killing ritual, for instance, was really just amplifying the power of those marks in order to cut the soul.
But now Tom effectively held a "license to kill." From here on, no matter how many he killed, it would have no effect on him at all.
"What are you two doing?"
The first thing Tom saw on waking was Usagi and Fawkes glaring at each other. He asked it in bewilderment.
"Woo woo~!"
Seeing that Tom was back to normal, Usagi dropped Fawkes on the spot and swooped over to circle around him. Fawkes landed on Tom's shoulder.
"Chirp!"
"I don't really know what happened either. Maybe I just grew up. You know how it is. I'm a person, and people grow up and get stronger sooner or later. Like Dumbledore."
"Chirp!"
"What? You're saying it isn't growing up, it's... 'freakish'? You can't just throw that word around. Anyway, all you need to know is that I'm doing great. Better than ever."
Tom wasn't worried about Dumbledore finding out about the changes in him, or even some of his secrets. Every powerful wizard had secrets of their own. Take Nicolas Flamel. Why had he become the greatest alchemist of all? Because he had gotten his hands on the legendary Book of Abraham, along with all kinds of other strokes of fortune, large and small.
Ravenclaw and the other three founders had their own secrets too.
If Old Dumbledore found out, so be it. He wasn't the type to cling to things, and even if he wanted to, he didn't have the power to.
Hm?
While he was teasing Fawkes and Usagi, the power of Time suddenly stirred. Shimmering light flashed through the boy's eyes, and he quickly worked out the cause and effect.
"I got seen..." he muttered. "Makes sense. The research station is right next to the pole, and Fawkes and I weren't trying to hide at all. We made quite a racket, too."
In the future, Tom had already seen it: the two researchers' report had caused a considerable stir, especially with video to back it up.
But now that he knew, it was no threat. Getting anything out of Antarctica wasn't something that could happen in an hour or two. There was no need to rush off and wipe the two men's memories. He could spare a moment for a trip sometime in the next day or so.
He stretched. The barrier of magic kept out every trace of cold, but looking at all that endless ice and snow still made him uneasy. He didn't linger. He took Fawkes and Usagi and went back to Hogwarts.