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Chapter 454: The Dragon and the Puppy Wolf
Chapter 454: The Dragon and the Puppy Wolf
"Oh... Merlin..."
Michael couldn't help but whisper, a hint of fear creeping into his voice.
After pushing through the dense forest, the group finally came face to face with the massive creature.
The Norwegian Ridgeback Dragon looked fully grown, its body strong and imposing, muscles bulging beneath rough, thick black scales that seemed to blend seamlessly into the dark environment.
The dragon had burned a vast area of the forest, the ground barren and charred, with gray-white rocks marked by burn scars and claw prints.
About fifty meters ahead, a dark cave entrance loomed, its sides etched with deep scratches and marks, as if inscribed with ancient, indecipherable runes.
At that moment, the enormous dragon threw a large fish to the ground, roasting it with searing flames until it was half-cooked, then tore into it with a ferocious appetite, revealing a mouthful of sharp, venomous teeth that sent shivers down their spines.
"This beast must weigh at least five tons", Padma whispered, shivering. "Are we really safe standing here?"
"Trust Hagrid", Harry said, adding hesitantly, "I hope."
"Move aside, Scarhead!"
Malfoy pushed past the group, shoving Harry aside, and gazed at the dragon with evident admiration.
"Did you see those amber eyes? Look at her wings; I bet they span at least fifty meters when fully spread..."
Norberta, hearing the group's conversation, turned her red eyes toward them and suddenly lashed out with her long tail!
Hagrid quickly waved his hand, sending the people at the front stumbling backward. Harry fell to the ground, watching in horror as the tail, tipped with a sharp hook, narrowly missed his face, leaving deep gashes in a nearby tree trunk.
"Sorry, are you all okay?"
Hagrid lifted the fallen students as if the near miss with the dragon's tail were no big deal, smiling cheerfully. "Norberta is very protective of her food. You shouldn't approach her while she's eating."
"Thanks, Hagrid", Ron said, still shaken. "But you should have warned us before dinner."
Hermione noticed the dragon's triangular head turning slightly, one eye fixed on them, and felt a chill run down her spine. "Shh, be quiet!"
Before she could finish, Hagrid waved again. "Hey, Norberta, don't be afraid, it's Mommy!"
The dragon snorted a burst of flame from her nostrils, though it didn't set Hagrid on fire, the heat still made the air dry and stifling.
To the group's amazement, Hagrid brushed the ash from his beard and said lovingly, "Such a spoiled baby... She's still just a little one!"
"Is Hagrid blind?" Michael muttered to Wade, his voice low and strained. "I've never seen a sixty-foot baby!"
He was already regretting joining this excursion. It was neither fun nor enjoyable, and he would have preferred to stay in the common room, coming up with a few good jokes or writing a dull essay.
Wade couldn't help but chuckle.
Many were still shaken by the incident, but no one suggested leaving. They all waited patiently in the forest.
The sight of the dragon tearing into her meal was brutal, but the sheer majesty of the creature, with every gleaming scale, was mesmerizing. No matter how vivid the textbook descriptions, nothing could compare to the awe-inspiring presence of this massive beast.
After about ten minutes, Norberta finished eating. She breathed another burst of flame to burn away the blood and debris on the ground, then found a relatively flat spot and settled down, her tail swaying slowly, eyes half-closed.
"Hey, Norberta. Look— I brought a lot of friends to play with you."
Hagrid walked over confidently.
The dragon lifted her eyelids slightly, glancing at Hagrid. She let out a low, rumbling roar but made no other movements.
Hagrid stroked Norberta's snout and neck, then turned and beckoned the students over.
After a moment, Harry was the first to step forward.
Wade could see that Harry regretted his first step, but he didn't want to disappoint Hagrid, so he forced himself to approach, his pace slowing with each step.
Norberta's gaze turned to him, and even with just half of her amber eyes visible, it was enough to make anyone's heart race.
But fortunately, she remained still, only exhaling a thin stream of hot air from her nostrils.
"Don't be afraid", Hagrid encouraged. "Norberta is in a good mood. You can touch her."
Harry carefully extended his hand, gently touching the dragon's wrinkled wing, and a look of surprise and delight spread across his face.
"Come over, kids, she’s not at all fierce, right?" Hagrid called out, patting Norberta’s neck.
Rolf immediately ran over excitedly, and the others followed one by one. Malfoy, who had stumbled earlier, watched for a while with his arms crossed before cautiously approaching.
Norberta, now well-fed, indeed appeared extremely docile, or perhaps she simply didn’t consider the small humans around her worth her attention. She allowed them to move around her, gently touching her scales and claws.
Norberta, who hatched at Hogwarts and was raised by Hagrid, was not as wary of wizards as her kind usually were. When she was a hatchling, she looked like a firecracker ready to explode at any moment, but as she grew, she became more and more gentle.
Hagrid repeatedly reminded them, "Norberta is well-tempered, but don’t take advantage of my absence to bully her. When she’s angry, she’s not to be trifled with. Don’t pull her scales or feathers, but if they’ve fallen to the ground, you can pick them up."
In fact, the students Hagrid had chosen were carefully selected. Fred and George were busy with classes and couldn’t come, and Hagrid knew none of these students were troublemakers.
He was mostly speaking to Draco Malfoy, who occupied half of Hagrid’s attention.
If the half-giant could have found a plausible way to break the agreement, he wouldn’t have brought Malfoy to his beloved Norberta.
Surprisingly, Malfoy didn’t cause any trouble or speak rudely, as he had done with the hippogriff. He gently stroked the dragon, his eyes full of amazement and affection. Even when he accidentally bumped into Harry, he didn’t seem to notice his most hated "scarhead."
At that moment, he looked like a simple, innocent child.
Hagrid finally relaxed a bit and unhooked a bag from his back, distributing dried meat and fruits to the students.
"You can feed her some of this. Norberta likes fruit too. Remember to stay back a bit, and throw the food from a distance of three or four meters."
Hagrid said, giving Malfoy an extra handful to keep him busy with feeding the dragon and out of trouble.
Wade also took some fruit. The handful Hagrid grabbed was a large amount for him, including two apples, a bunch of cherries, and a few kiwis, all emitting a sweet aroma.
After feeding her for a while, Wade’s expression suddenly changed.
Not far off in the forest, he heard the sound of dry branches breaking and a suppressed whimper.
—Could a student have secretly followed them into the Forbidden Forest and gotten hurt?
Wade listened more carefully but didn’t hear any more sounds.
He glanced at Hagrid, who was closely watching the students feeding the dragon, and decided not to disturb him. Hagrid couldn’t leave, or if Norberta suddenly got angry, the students could be in serious danger.
But Wade was still concerned about the sounds he had heard. He handed the remaining fruit to Rolf, patting his shoulder. "You take these and keep feeding her. I’ll be right back."
"Okay, be careful, don’t go too far", Rolf said, taking the fruit.
"Don’t worry, I know."
Wade waved casually and walked into the forest. Tawny the Hound, the hound, noticed a student leaving the group and looked at its owner before quickly deciding to follow Wade.
As he moved behind the trees, Wade used a Disillusionment Charm, approaching the direction of the sounds quickly and quietly.
"Ruff! Ruff!"
Tawny the Hound suddenly ran over, unable to see Wade but still finding him by scent. The dog stood in front of him, growling softly, urging him to return to the group.
Wade suddenly felt like a shepherd being herded by his dog. He lifted the Disillusionment Charm and bent down to pet the hound’s head.
"There are strange sounds nearby, maybe a student is lost. Can you listen carefully and see if that’s the case?"
Magical animals are generally very intelligent. Tawny the Hound stopped growling and perked up its ears, listening intently.
As the surroundings grew quiet, the sounds became much clearer—rustling, clicking, and heavy breathing.
Tawny the Hound became extremely alert, baring its teeth in a fierce manner that could scare a child. But Wade, who knew the dog well, understood that the timid animal was nearly ready to flee.
Tawny the Hound only seemed brave when Hagrid was around.
Hearing the clicking sounds, which sounded like pincers clashing, Wade raised an eyebrow, having a good idea of what he was facing. He drew his wand and moved forward cautiously, with Tawny the Hound following timidly behind.
They rounded a bush and finally saw the source of the noise.
It was a group of giant spiders, each the size of a horse, slowly circling a large tree. Their eight legs moved with a domineering swagger.
"Blood", one spider said, its mandibles clicking. "The smell of blood."
"The dragon's prey... has escaped", another spider said cheerfully.
"Dinner, snack", the other spiders chimed in, tapping their pincers happily.
"Quiet! Quiet! Don't attract the dragon", the largest eight-eyed spider warned.
At the base of the tree, there was a hollow in the darkness. Something was huddled inside, breathing heavily, its body rising and falling, occasionally letting out a frightened whimper.
"Hey!" Wade suddenly called out, stepping from behind the tree with his wand. "What are you doing?"
All the eight-eyed spiders turned their heads, dozens of eyes gleaming as they fixed their gaze on him.
"Human!"
"Stranger!"
"Bringer of the Hagrid, the young one!"
"Eat! Eat!" the spiders said resentfully.
Wade felt something was off. Aragog, the leader of the eight-eyed spiders, should still be alive, but these spiders seemed to have no fondness for Hagrid.
He didn't have time to dwell on it. With a wave of his hand, the wardrobe space suddenly unfolded, and Mikhail shot out like an arrow, his mouth spewing a thin stream of flame excitedly.
The few spiders that were about to pounce froze, and a second later, they turned and fled, their eight legs blurring as they ran.
Mikhail clicked his mouth and stood on a branch, looking at Wade.
After a moment of thought, Wade said, "We don't need too many eight-eyed spiders. Control their numbers."
Mikhail made a "gurgle" sound, and three long, fiery feathers extended from his wings.
Wade smiled and said, "Even one-tenth would be enough."
If not for the valuable venom of the eight-eyed spiders, he wouldn't want to keep any of these cold-blooded traitors.
Mikhail happily chased after them, and the dark forest began to flash with bursts of fire.
With Mikhail in control, Wade wasn't worried about starting a forest fire. He closed the wardrobe space and leaned down to look into the hollow, softly saying, "Lumos."
The bright white light illuminated the dark hollow, and the creature inside immediately covered its eyes, asking fearfully, "Who's there?"
Wade was taken aback.
It was clearly the voice of a young boy, soft and childlike, sounding like he hadn't even started primary school.
This couldn't be a Hogwarts student.
Tawny the Hound suddenly became excited, barking several times as it approached, but Wade pulled it back by the collar and pushed it aside.
Wade moved closer and finally saw the little creature hiding among the dry leaves.
It was a young wolf.
Its head was round, its body like a small, fluffy ball, and it looked quite endearing.
Its tail was short, its black nose wet and trembling, and its eyes were wide with panic and helplessness. The light yellow fur was stained with blood, and there were several terrible gashes on its back, likely from Norberta's claws.
Wade fell silent.
This young wolf was probably a snack or a toy for Norberta, but somehow, it had managed to escape.
Even if it had gained temporary freedom, if its wounds weren't treated promptly, it would likely die soon.
If it were an ordinary wolf, it wouldn't matter, but this little one could speak human language...
Wade asked, "Are you the offspring of a werewolf?"
He had read in books that if werewolves mate in wolf form, they can produce a litter of true wolf pups, but these pups would have near-human intelligence.
But the books didn't say that these wolf pups could speak human language.
Wade was initially surprised but then thought, in this magical world, even spiders can speak human language, so it's not so strange for a wolf pup with human ancestry to speak English.
"I... my father is a werewolf..." the young wolf dared not hide the truth, and after saying this, it hugged its head with its front paws, pitifully pleading, "Please... spare me... I won't come near the school again..."
Seeing its pitiful state, Wade sighed, waved his wand, and the young wolf was involuntarily lifted out of the hollow.
It struggled in fear but then found itself in a warm embrace.
"Don't move. You'll die if you struggle. Let me help you heal."
Wade said, pointing his wand at the young wolf's wounds and softly casting a healing spell.
The bleeding slowed, but the wounds didn't heal easily.
Norwegian Ridgeback Dragon's claws probably carried some toxicity, making the injuries difficult to recover from.
"Come with me. It looks like we need to find Madam Pomfrey to treat your wounds... I wonder if she can also work as a veterinarian."
Wade said, tapped his wand, and made the young wolf fall asleep. He then placed it in his pocket and turned to lead Tawny the Hound back to where his classmates were.
In the dark forest, the bushes rustled slightly. Moments later, an amber eye peered through the gap, watching Wade as he left.
(End of Chapter)
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