"Oh... rlin..."
Michael couldn’t help but whisper, his face unintentionally showing a hint of fear.
After passing through the dense forest, everyone finally saw the big creature.
This Norwegian Ridgeback appeared to be fully grown, its entire body strong and nacing, with well-developed muscles and coarse skin covered in thick black scales that seed to blend perfectly into the darkness.
It had burned an area equivalent to a small square of the forest into charcoal, the ground barren, with gray-white rocks covered in scorch marks and claw prints.
About fifty ters ahead lay a pitch-black cave, with fire dragon scratches and friction marks all over the rocks at the entrance, at first glance resembling ancient, incomprehensible writing.
At this mont, the massive fire dragon threw a big fish to the ground, roasted it half-cooked with hot flas, and then devoured it ravenously, revealing a mouth full of sharp, venomous teeth, making one’s blood run cold.
"This big creature must weigh at least five tons." Padma shivered slightly and whispered, "Are we really safe standing here?"
"Trust Hagrid." Harry said, unable to resist adding, "...It should be fine."
"Move aside, Scarhead!"
Malfoy couldn’t help but step past everyone to the front, pushing Harry aside and looking at the fire dragon, saying with admiration:
"Did you see her orange-red eyes? Look at her wings, I guess they must spread fifty ters wide..."
Nobeta heard the voices of everyone, her red eyes glanced sideways, and suddenly her long tail snapped!
Hagrid hastily reached out, causing those at the front to lose their balance and tumble backward helplessly, with Harry falling as he watched a tail with sharp hooks just barely sweep past, leaving deep marks on the nearby tree trunk.
"Sorry, are you guys alright?"
Hagrid said as he bent down to pull a few people up, seemingly unfazed that they had nearly lost half their faces to the dragon’s tail, cheerfully saying, "Nobeta is very protective of her food, you can’t get close while she’s eating."
"Thank you, Hagrid." Ron said, still shaken, "But you should’ve told us before her dinner."
Hermione noticed the fire dragon subtly turning its triangular head halfway towards the group, an eye secretly watching them, instantly making her scalp tingle as she quickly said, "Stop talking, keep quiet!"
Just after she finished, Hagrid waved and said, "Hey, Nobeta, don’t be scared, it’s your mommy!"
The fire dragon snorted a fla from its nose, and while the sparks didn’t ignite Hagrid, the scorching air was enough to make one’s mouth parched.
To everyone’s incredulous gaze, Hagrid swept the dust off his beard tenderly, saying, "So spoiled... she’s still a baby after all!"
"Is Hagrid blind?" Michael whispered through his teeth to Vid, "I’ve never seen a sixty-foot baby before!"
He already regretted participating in this activity; it was not fun nor beautiful. He’d rather be back in the common room coming up with jokes or writing a dull paper.
Vid couldn’t help but burst into laughter.
Many were startled by what had just happened, but no one suggested leaving, everyone patiently waited in the woods.
The sight of the fire dragon tearing into its food was brutal, yet such a magnificent creature captivated everyone with the light reflecting off its scales. No matter how vividly described in the textbook, it didn’t compare to the awe of seeing this big creature in front of them.
After a dozen minutes passed, Nobeta finally finished eating, and blew flas to burn away the bloodstains and ss on the ground, then found a relatively flat surface and contentedly laid down, her tail slowly moving, and her eyes gently closing.
"Hey, Nobeta. Look—I brought a lot of friends to play with you."
Hagrid walked over with big strides.
The fire dragon lifted her eyelids slightly to glance at Hagrid. She let out a deep dragon hum, without any extra movent.
Hagrid patted Nobeta’s snout and neck, turning back to wave, signaling the students to co over.
After a mont, Harry was the first to stride towards Hagrid.
Vid could tell Harry might’ve regretted his first step forward, but didn’t want to disappoint Hagrid, forcing himself to move closer with increasingly slow steps.
Nobeta’s gaze turned to him, and even if her orange-red eyes were only half visible, it was enough to strike fear in one’s heart.
Luckily, she remained unmoving, rely exhaling warm air from her nose.
"Don’t be afraid." Hagrid encouraged, "Nobeta’s in a good mood now, you can touch her."
Harry cautiously reached out, lightly touching the fire dragon’s wrinkled wings, and gradually, a joyful smile appeared on his face.
"Co on, kids, she’s not fierce at all, right?" Hagrid called out, casually patting Nobeta’s neck.
Rolf imdiately ran over excitedly, followed gradually by others. Malfoy, who tumbled earlier, watched for a mont while hugging his arm, then carefully moved forward.
A well-fed Nobeta indeed appeared very docile, or rather, she simply didn’t care about the small beings around her, generously allowing them to circle around her, gently stroke her scales and claws.
Born at Hogwarts and raised by Hagrid, Nobeta wasn’t as wary of wizards as her kind. Initially, she looked like a firecracker ready to explode, but grew increasingly docile as she got bigger.
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