Chapter 614: The Dragon That Can Roast Fish
Chapter 614: The Dragon That Can Roast Fish
Harry felt his hair stand on end as the dragon breath sent a wave of intense heat washing over him.
The power and temper of the Dragon left a deep impression on Harry.
"How could there be a Dragon in the Forbidden Forest? And why did Hagrid bring us here to see it?" Harry's mind was still struggling to process the situation. He lowered his voice and spoke to Ivan, who he assumed was nearby.
"It's obvious, isn't it? This is the first task we have to face!" Ivan's voice came from the other side.
"You mean, we have to fight a Dragon in the competition?" Harry stammered, his eyes fixed on the massive Dragon with its mouth full of sharp teeth, capable of swallowing him whole. He swallowed hard, feeling a lump in his throat.
Despite their current pitiful state, lying dazed on the ground, Harry knew better than to underestimate these Dragons. The fact that so many elite Wizards had to work together to subdue them was a clear testament to their danger.
"Don't worry, the task won't likely require us to defeat or kill them. Most Champions wouldn't be able to do that", Ivan reassured Harry. But before Harry could breathe a sigh of relief, Ivan added, "However, we will have to face them head-on. If I'm not mistaken, it will probably involve something like retrieving a treasure from under the Dragon's nose—just the kind of spectacle the audience loves!"
Harry rolled his eyes. Compared to a fight, such a task wasn't much better, and neither was something he felt he could handle.
As Harry fell into a worried silence, Ivan's gaze shifted back to the scene. After a fierce struggle, the Dragons that had been causing trouble were finally subdued. The Wizards responsible for guarding them were drenched in sweat, repairing the damaged area.
However, Ivan noticed one Dragon that stood out. It hadn't been attacked by the Wizards and was simply lying lazily on the ground, half-asleep, completely ignoring the commotion around it. Only a few Wizards were keeping a watchful eye on it, clearly feeling very confident about its behavior.
"Norwegian Ridgeback!" Ivan identified the Dragon based on its distinctive features.
This was thanks to his earlier studies of Dragons, which had given him a good understanding of the different species.
But if he remembered correctly, in the original timeline, the first task of the Triwizard Cup involved the Champions facing a Hungarian Horntail, a Chinese Fireball, a Swedish Short-Snout, and a Welsh Green!
Ivan carefully examined the Dragon and realized that the Welsh Green had been replaced...
...with this Norwegian Ridgeback!
This made Ivan feel a bit puzzled. Although he had been in this world for several years and had caused some butterfly effects, he didn't think they would extend to Romania.
The number of Champions hadn't changed, so logically, the same Dragons should still be present.
However, the combination of Romania and the Norwegian Ridgeback seemed somewhat familiar to Ivan.
"Oh, it's Norbert! They actually brought him here too!" Hagrid suddenly exclaimed, his face beaming with excitement.
Hagrid's shout brought Ivan back to his senses. He remembered that during his first-year, he had once raised a newly hatched Norwegian Ridgeback, intending to use its blood for fusion.
"I can't believe it's grown so big in just a few years... and now it's capable of such an important task!" Hagrid gazed at the Norwegian Ridgeback, lying lazily on the ground, with the pride of a father watching his child achieve something significant.
"Is that so? You've met these Dragons before?" Maxime asked, her eyes narrowing slightly as she looked at Hagrid.
"More accurately, I met one of them! See that Norwegian Ridgeback? I hatched it myself; I'm its mother!" Hagrid said proudly, gesturing with his hands.
When it first hatched, it was only about this big! But it grew really fast, reaching the height of my shoulder in just a few days. And Norbert was very smart; it only took two weeks for it to learn how to roast fish on its own...
Ivan, hiding in the shadows, wished he could rush over and cover Hagrid's mouth. Keeping a dragon at the school could land him in Azkaban, and Hagrid was so easily spilling the beans about it.
Fortunately, Madame Maxime wasn't concerned about Hagrid's past of raising a dragon in the Forbidden Forest. Instead, she inquired about how dangerous this particular dragon was compared to others.
Madame Maxime was well aware that if the British Ministry of Magic went to such lengths to transport a batch of dragons from Romania, it meant these dragons were definitely related to the first task and something the Champions had to face!
Thinking about this, Madame Maxime was quite worried. Taming a dragon was an extremely dangerous task even for professional Dragon Keepers, let alone for a young adult like Fleur, who could very well lose her life to a dragon.
So, if they had to face them, they should choose the most gentle one!
"I haven't seen Norbert in a while, so I'm not entirely up to date, but I'm sure Norbert is the safest among them!" Hagrid hesitated, speaking with some reluctance.
"You're right, Hagrid! It's very safe and smart, and it's unlikely to lose control, which is why we chose it!"
As Hagrid and Madame Maxime were talking, Charlie led a group of Dragon Keepers over from the field. He explained, with a slightly frustrated expression on his face, that using dragons as part of the competition was a decision made by the Ministry of Magic. Due to the dangerous nature of these magical creatures, each dragon had to be carefully selected.
They wanted to ensure that the dragons were both dangerous enough to make the competition challenging and controllable at all times. However, what puzzled Charlie was that the Ministry of Magic only wanted mother dragons that were incubating eggs, which greatly increased the difficulty of selecting the right dragons!
It took them over two weeks to finally choose these four dragons!
Strictly speaking, Norbert didn't meet the requirement of being a mother dragon incubating eggs; it was still a young dragon.
But after strong recommendations from many Dragon Keepers, the Ministry of Magic's specialist gave Norbert a test. After passing the test, it was included in the competition.
"I'm sure Norbert won't disappoint you!" Hagrid said confidently, thumping his chest. "Can I go and see it? We haven't seen each other in a long time!"
Charlie didn't respond but turned to Madame Maxime, frowning. "Why did you bring her along, Hagrid? According to the rules, Champions shouldn't know what they're facing—she will definitely tell the Beauxbatons Champion about this, won't she?"
"Madame Maxime is just interested in dragons, so I brought her along. We should trust her; she won't say a word!" Hagrid argued.
Madame Maxime nodded, assuring them that she would keep everything to herself, not uttering a single word.
(End of Chapter)
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