"Oh, please, Sean—after we feed the Thestrals, co with to the library to grab a few books."
Hagrid sounded a bit shy, like he wanted to say sothing but was too worried to spit it out.
"What do you think of dragons? The little ones—y'know, cute little fellas."
On the way to feed the Thestrals, Hagrid asked cautiously.
"Brand-new dragon eggs need to stay in the fire."
Sean rembered the huge egg Hagrid had tucked under a blanket in his hut.
"Oh—no way—"
Hagrid dropped the slab of raw at he was carrying.
"Listen, Sean, could you and Fang handle it? I've gotta head back—my stomach's acting up…"
His voice faded as he bolted off.
Sean sighed. Guess he'd better hurry and check out so books for Hagrid—like Dragon Breeding for Pleasure and Profit. It was a little outdated, but it covered everything.
At least it would stop the dragon egg from being smothered under a quilt.
Hagrid definitely knew better—he'd just been too excited all day. Sean figured the guy had forgotten in the heat of the mont.
Perfect timing, anyway; he was just a hair away from maxing out his Thestral affinity. Sean headed toward the clearing with a spring in his step.
A tall, skeletal, pitch-black winged horse appeared in front of him.
Sean rubbed the spot high on its neck—that always felt good to Thestrals. Hagrid's trick.
[You gained affinity with the magical creature Thestral (Wuwu) at Adept level. Proficiency 10]
[A new Magical Creatures title has been unlocked. Check it out.]
Huh?
Sean realized he'd totally forgotten: the Adept-level title in Magical Creatures required deep bonds with three creatures.
So far, the ones truly close to him were Mrs. Norris the Kneazle, Wuwu the Thestral, and Tila the Bowtruckle.
The Magical Creatures branch didn't seem to reward collecting tons of casual buddies—it wanted you to turn the ones around you into real partners.
That's why the Beginner title needed three slightly friendly creatures, and Adept still needed three—just way closer ones.
Once he figured that out, Sean glanced down:
[Title: Magical Creature Affinity]
[Greatly increases affinity with magical creatures. Greatly increases understanding of magical creatures.]
Before he could even process what "greatly" ant, the Bowtruckles that usually stayed hidden started twitching. When Sean looked over, their little beards curled upward—Bowtruckle for "curious and happy."
Wuwu let out a whinny, and the Bowtruckles vanished again—except Tila, who was perched on Sean's head, bravely stretching out a twiggy hand to poke Wuwu.
Huh… looks like his new title made the creatures friendlier with each other too.
The Thestral cookie prep was basically done. After finishing feeding duty, Sean pulled out his planning map.
The red exclamation mark over the Forbidden Forest was gone. A new one blinked above the Alchemy office.
The International Alchemy Conference was getting closer, and he didn't have much ti left to finish the Thestral cookie.
On this gorgeous sunny day, Sean stepped into Hagrid's hut.
Fang rubbed against his legs like a big puppy. Sean scratched his head and got ready to leave.
Fang might look all sweet and droopy around Sean, but according to Hagrid, he was the undisputed king of the Forbidden Forest.
"As long as you're with or Fang, nothing in that forest will lay a finger on you."
Sean noticed the big black egg sitting right in the middle of the fire, under the kettle.
Yeah, that explained why the hut felt like a furnace.
It also explained why Hagrid was still chucking logs into a roaring fireplace on a warm, sunny day.
"See you, Hagrid."
Sean turned to go. An unhatched dragon? No way he was getting affinity with that thing.
"I don't even know how to thank you, Sean—stay for a cuppa, please…"
Hagrid scrambled up from the bed and started fussing with the teapot.
Sean took a sip, but politely turned down the ferret sandwich Hagrid offered next.
"All right, Sean, I reckon you've already guessed… sharp kid like you, nothing gets past those eyes…"
He sounded half-embarrassed, half-hopeful.
"I can't do this alone. I'd like you to help take care of the little guy. Would you…?"
"Happy to help."
Sean nodded. Hagrid started humming happily and walked him all the way to the edge of the forest.
"See you tomorrow!"
He went for a rib-crushing hug. Sean—still rembering last ti's near-broken ribs—dodged smoothly.
They locked eyes for a long, awkward mont.
"Ha—sorry, my fault. I forgot again. Next ti, I swear—"
Hagrid's huge face turned beet red.
…
The Thestral cookie ritual went super smoothly. With two cookies already under his belt, Sean knew the process like the back of his hand.
While he worked on the cookie, Hagrid had him grab more books from the library.
But Hagrid soon gave up reading them—he realized he had a walking library right next to him.
"Let's see… vertical ridges, black shell… hey, Sean, what dragon is this?"
"Norwegian Ridgeback."
"Rare one! It says here after it hatches you've gotta…"
"Feed it a bucket of chicken blood and brandy every half hour. Straight from Dragon Breeding for Pleasure and Profit."
"It says be careful, but it doesn't say careful of what…"
"Its venomous fangs and the fact it can spit fireballs pretty much right away."
Hagrid was clueless about a ton of dragon stuff, but he felt bad constantly asking Sean, so he just powered through the embarrassnt and asked anyway.
One was a giant half-giant, the other a skinny little wizard, but the giant was always the one listening to the kid.
Harry and Ron thought it was super weird whenever they visited.
Even weirder? The two of them acted like they'd been best buddies for years.
April was almost here.
A warm breeze blew in from the Scottish coast, wrapping Hogwarts in cozy sunshine.
Winter felt like it was finally over, and Sean's alchemy was making huge leaps.
He'd finished half the requirents for the Expert title and completed the Thestral cookie.
Pretty soon, once the dragon hatched, he'd have plenty of ti to observe it, boost affinity, and start building his dragon army.
But right now they had one big problem—what should they na the dragon?
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