https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-217-Kyle-s-Absence-from-the-Match/12538333/
Chapter 218: What About My Fire Dragon?
Chapter 218: What About My Fire Dragon?
Hermione truly didn't understand Kyle well enough.
Not only for a trivial end-of-term exam, but even if it were O.W.Ls tomorrow, he wouldn't miss a Quidditch match for anything.
The reason he didn't show up for this match was solely because he had received something special.
Five minutes ago, an owl had suddenly barged into the changing room and dropped a chipped teacup in front of Kyle.
"Kyle, someone sent you trash!" Keeper Farrow scowled at the teacup. "The match is about to start. Who on earth sent this? Could it be those Slytherins again..."
Kyle remained silent, his eyes fixed on the teacup.
He recognized it at a glance. It belonged to Hagrid, and he had advised Hagrid to throw it away, so the memory was vivid.
"Sorry, Captain, I have something to take care of. I might not be able to make it for the rest of the match."
Without hesitation, Kyle rushed out of the changing room, still in his team uniform and astride his broom.
The rest of the team stood there, bewildered. By the time they regained their senses, Kyle was long gone.
"Well... this is the first time I've seen Kyle so serious," Farrow mused, rubbing his chin. "Do you think he knows who sent the package and went to confront them?"
"Probably not..." Cedric shook his head.
Rather than anger, Kyle's expression had been one of worry.
"But what about the match?" Bludger-hitter Will asked. "We're about to start."
"Don't worry, there's still time to find a substitute. I'll go inform Madam Hooch," Harris said, already heading out of the changing room.
Meanwhile, Kyle, having left the changing room, swiftly rode his broom across the field and arrived at Hagrid's hut.
As soon as he dismounted, he heard heavy, rapid panting coming from inside.
In the room, Hagrid was hugging Norbert tightly, desperately covering the dragon's mouth and wings.
But Norbert had grown to almost the size of a three-headed dog, and his strength was astonishing. Even Hagrid struggled to keep him under control.
The veins on Hagrid's arms bulged, and his face was flushed red from the effort.
Kyle quickly stepped forward, coaxing and tricking Norbert with all the fish biscuits he had, barely managing to soothe the agitated dragon.
"Phew... thank goodness you came..." Hagrid sat on the floor, breathing heavily.
"What kind of game are you two playing?" Kyle frowned. "If I had arrived a bit later, you would have torn the house down."
"It's all my fault..." Hagrid hung his head. "Norbert has been getting more and more unruly lately. He insisted on going out today, and when I tried to stop him, he threw a tantrum."
A few minutes later, Kyle had a general idea of what had happened.
In short, Norbert was no longer as obedient as when he had first hatched. He had become more active, and as his size rapidly increased, Hagrid's hut began to feel like a cage to him.
He yearned to leave and explore wider spaces, and today, he had finally snapped. Hagrid, of course, couldn't let him go, so he tried to restrain him with all his might.
Kyle could understand. Anyone would feel uncomfortable being confined to a space similar to their own size, let alone Norbert, a hot-tempered fire dragon. The fact that he had endured it until now showed remarkable restraint for Hagrid's sake.
"You should have written to me sooner!" Kyle rubbed his forehead.
As he had expected, he shouldn't have trusted Hagrid's promise to send a letter when Norbert grew to the size of Fang. Now, the dragon was almost larger than Fluffy!
Hagrid also realized the seriousness of the situation and reluctantly said, "You'd better take him away tomorrow."
"Not tomorrow, but now," Kyle said. "He could erupt again at any moment, and it would be even more troublesome then."
"Now?" Hagrid frowned. "But how will you transport him? The Quidditch pitch is right across the way. If Norbert leaves the house, a lot of people will see him..." He paused, then added, "Oh, I know! We can put him in a crate. Wait here for a moment!"
With that, Hagrid rushed out of the hut.
After he left, Kyle took out a box from his Chameleonic Lizard Leather Bag, opened it, and placed it on the ground in front of Norbert.
"Go on in... It's a bit crude, but it's definitely much better than this place."
Norbert flapped his wings uncertainly, but because he trusted Kyle, he stuck his head into the box.
The next second, Norbert found himself in a vast open space.
Thanks to Kyle's efforts and his increasingly proficient Undetectable Extension Charm, the space inside the box was now large enough to fit two Hogwarts schools... not the castle, but the entire school grounds except for the Forbidden Forest.
While it was still far from his ultimate goal, it was at least large enough to accommodate a fire dragon.
Kyle then gave Norbert some instructions, telling him to be careful and not to bully the giants or the plants.
Norbert continued to soar in the sky, casually spouting a burst of dragon flame as a sign of agreement.
Just as Kyle was about to leave the box, Hagrid returned with a large, long wooden crate, followed by Fang, who was whining for his favorite plush toy that Hagrid had taken away.
"Kyle, what do you think of this crate? It should be able to fit Norbert... Hey, where's Norbert?"
Hagrid suddenly realized that Norbert, who had been in the corner of the room, was nowhere to be seen.
"He... he didn't fly away, did he...?"
Hagrid's face turned pale, and he dropped the wooden crate to the floor.
His worst fear had come true—Norbert had escaped...
There were not only young witches and wizards watching the match on the pitch, but also professors. If they were to see a fire dragon suddenly appearing from the direction of the Forbidden Forest...
"Hagrid, Norbert didn't run away," Kyle said calmly as he closed the box and put it back into his Chameleonic Lizard Leather Bag. "You were outside just now. Did you see him leave?"
Hagrid shook his head subconsciously, his anxiety easing a little.
Indeed, he hadn't seen Norbert leave the hut.
"Rest assured, I've taken care of him," Kyle said.
"Taken care of him?" Hagrid's eyes widened in surprise. "But how...?"
That was a fire dragon, the kind that moved and threw temper tantrums. How could it just disappear like that?
"Just a minor trick," Kyle smiled. "Well, the crisis is averted, and I need to get back to the match. Would you like to come with me?"
(End of Chapter)
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