Chapter 96: New Side Quest
Hagrid really liked dragons.
When Vaughn left with Nobeta, he cried uncontrollably, waving his handkerchief frantically at the door, unwilling to go back for a long time.
“It’s crazy, he cried so much, as if we really took his child away!”
After crossing the slope and taking a last look at Hagrid’s burly figure waving his handkerchief, Ron couldn’t help but complain, “How long has this dragon been born? 10 hours? Hagrid treats it better than Fang.”
“It’s a dragon, Ron.”
“I’ll never like dragons again,” Ron pouted, looking at Nobeta curled up in Vaughn’s arms, and poked it with his finger.
Nobeta bared its sharp teeth and stared at Ron with its vertical pupils.
“What are you looking at!”
Ron, mimicking Vaughn’s method, bent his fingers and flicked Nobeta hard.
Nobeta fell over, and strangely, this little dragon, which was easily frightened by Vaughn’s flick, was not afraid of Ron at all. It quickly straightened its slender neck again, its bulging red eyes fixed on Ron, and let out a menacing hiss like a snake.
Ron wondered, “Why isn’t it afraid of me?”
“Dragons are magical creatures, not puppies or kittens,” Hermione said, “To make it afraid, your magic must be stronger than its.”
“You mean, with my size, my magic is not as strong as its?”
“Obviously!”
“Nonsense!”
Harry snickered inwardly, Ron’s face turned red, and he wanted to continue scolding Nobeta.
Vaughn, showing rare kindness, reminded him, “Dragons are very smart and have good memories. If you bully it like this, you will only make it remember you firmly.”
Ron was indifferent, “What does it matter, you’re taking it away anyway. Even if it holds a grudge, can it fly to Hogwarts to bite me?”
Seeing Ron relentlessly bullying Nobeta, Harry couldn’t help but join in. He had been annoyed by this little creature all day. It loved to bite, was picky about food, and Hagrid even fed it brandy, claiming it was a method from books to enhance its fire-breathing power.
Harry wasn’t sure if it truly enhanced its power.
He only knew that after drinking, this little thing would set things on fire everywhere, and even burned a few strands of his hair.
“Ah, you guys have fun.”
Vaughn no longer stopped them, a smile on his face, he suddenly looked forward to two months later.
As they spoke, the group had reached a side entrance of the castle. Just as they were about to enter, they heard Malfoy’s voice:
“…Professor, we’re not causing trouble, we’re investigating someone who’s breaking school rules. You must not know, Potter, Weasley, and that grubby Hagrid, they’re actually keeping…”
Professor?
The trio were terrified and about to flee, but saw Vaughn walk in with Nobeta in his arms.
It’s over!
Harry and Ron sighed inwardly. Hermione, however, knew Vaughn was not a reckless person, so doing this must be… casting a spell on Nobeta?
She quickly followed, and Harry and Ron could only trail behind dejectedly.
Inside the door, Malfoy and his two henchmen were explaining anxiously and with a hint of cunning to Professor McGonagall.
The Deputy Headmistress’s expression was stern, ready to listen to Mr. Malfoy’s sophistry.
Then, Malfoy saw Vaughn.
His pale face immediately turned as white as snow. In a moment of desperation, the quick-witted young man forcibly changed the word “Dragon,” which was about to be uttered and had only been half-pronounced, to—
“Draco!”
“…”
“…”
The atmosphere was a bit awkward.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione, who had just entered, widened their eyes. Goyle and Crabbe looked bewildered. Professor McGonagall frowned deeply.
“Mr. Malfoy, I’m not sure if I misheard you, but you’re saying that Harry, Ron, and Hagrid are keeping… Draco? In the school? You?”
Malfoy’s face turned from snow-white to red again. He stammered, unable to speak.
He suddenly felt unlucky. Originally, upon learning that Potter and Hagrid were secretly keeping a dragon at Hogwarts, he had intended to keep it a secret.
From a young age, Malfoy knew that once a secret was revealed, it would lose all its value. Only by holding the secret as leverage could he leisurely enjoy the worry, torment, and helplessness of the detested Potter gang.
However, Goyle and Crabbe, those two idiots, insisted on seeing the fire dragon at Hagrid’s place.
As a result, when the three of them were about to sneak to Hagrid’s Hut, they were caught by Professor McGonagall. This would have been nothing, as it was after class, and the professor wouldn’t bother with you wandering around.
The problem was that Goyle and Crabbe, those two idiots, wanted to run away as soon as they saw the professor.
So Professor McGonagall, who was just passing by, naturally became suspicious.
Malfoy had to try to sell out Potter to protect himself. Unfortunately, as soon as he started speaking, why did Vaughn Weasley, that terrifying great demon, also appear?
After stammering for a long time, under Vaughn’s smiling gaze, Malfoy had to force himself to laugh loudly, “I’m just joking, Professor. Harry and I are as close as brothers from different mothers. I mean, with such a good relationship, he often brings me delicious things from Hagrid, like he’s raising me… Yes!”
Professor McGonagall’s wrinkles deepened. After pondering for a moment, she subtly suggested, “Mr. Malfoy, I suggest you go to the hospital wing to see Madam Pomfrey. You might have been hit by an evil curse…”
How could a normal person talk such nonsense?
After speaking to Malfoy, Professor McGonagall looked at Vaughn and the others, “Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley, Miss Granger, good evening. Also, Mr. Vaughn Weasley, what is that in your arms?”
Harry’s face was pale, as if he could already foresee their expulsion from Hogwarts for carrying a dragon cub.
Just as he despaired and was about to cover his head, Hermione kicked him. Harry looked up and saw her mouthing to him: “Quiet, Vanishing Spell…”
Vanishing Spell?
A memory sealed months ago suddenly flooded Harry’s mind.
He eagerly leaned forward to look, and indeed, Vaughn’s arms were empty.
Although the highly magical Professor McGonagall still detected the magic, Harry, who had specifically learned about the Vanishing Spell after witnessing Vaughn cast it, knew.
Professor McGonagall could only detect the magic, but not know what had vanished, giving Vaughn room to calmly conceal it.
As expected, Vaughn said with a straight face, “I was practicing the Vanishing Spell, Professor. I made a wild Kneazle disappear and am experimenting with how long this spell can last.”
Hearing his answer, Professor McGonagall looked at him and then at his arms. Harry, who had been nervously anticipating, was surprised to find that Professor McGonagall had a rare smile:
“The spell was used very well, Vaughn. I was worried that after skipping classes for a few months, you might have become rusty, especially with a Transfiguration subject like the Vanishing Spell, which is complex and precise and allows for no errors.”
“But it seems your condition is well maintained. Unfortunately, with the end of the semester approaching, the Transfiguration Club has to make way for exams and has been suspended… How about this, if you have any questions during your practice, you can come directly to my office.”
“Okay, Professor.”
Professor McGonagall, meticulous in her etiquette, nodded to everyone present and turned to leave. Before leaving, she reminded Malfoy to get his head checked at the hospital wing.
Only after Professor McGonagall’s figure disappeared did Harry come to his senses and admire, “Vaughn, when did you cast the spell?”
“Just before entering.”
Vaughn said, with a slight wave of his wand, he cast a silent counter-spell.
With a snap, Nobeta reappeared, its eyes showing confusion.
The creature that had been made to vanish by the Vanishing Spell clearly remembered the entire process of its body suddenly becoming nothingness.
After a moment of confusion, its small, ugly eyes showed fear. It lay stiffly in Vaughn’s arms, not daring to move.
Meanwhile, upon seeing the suddenly appearing little dragon, Malfoy excitedly covered his mouth – he was afraid he wouldn’t be able to help but call Professor McGonagall back!
He, Draco, had not lost his mind, but there were villains among his classmates, and he was bullied and dared not speak!
Vaughn couldn’t be bothered with Malfoy. He restored Nobeta and checked it over. Finding no missing parts, he said to Hermione, “I’ll take it back first. I’ll deal with it later. You guys go back too. Remember to have Ron go see Madam Pomfrey about his finger. Dragon teeth are poisonous.”
“Yes, be careful.”
Hermione gently bid Vaughn farewell, then glared at Ron, “Did you hear that? Hurry to the hospital wing! You’re making your brother worry!”
Ron glared back at her incredulously, “Are you kidding me? I’m the one who’s injured!”
“If you hadn’t stuck your finger in Nobeta’s mouth, you wouldn’t have been injured. Now you deserve it!”
The little girl snorted and left. Having wasted half the day, she still had homework to do.
Ron was so angry he had chest pain. Harry, to prevent him from getting himself killed, quickly changed the subject, “That’s a magical spell, isn’t it? Making a dragon disappear and then restoring it, incredible.”
Ron was indeed distracted, but still grumbled, “Isn’t the most important thing that Professor McGonagall didn’t pursue it? It’s so unfair. I bet if I cast the Vanishing Spell, she would have forced me to say what I cast it on… Hey, Malfoy, why are you still here?”
He looked at Malfoy, who was still covering his mouth and huddled with his followers, and mocked, “Dra-co, did your parents name you that because they knew you’d spill the beans one day and needed someone to cover for you?”
“You… you…”
“What do you mean, tsk tsk, you should really see your face, as white as paper, Malfoy, you coward who’s afraid of Vaughn!”
Malfoy was furious and retorted, “Yes, I’m afraid of Vaughn, because I know to respect power. You’d better show respect to powerful forces too. I saw that dragon.”
“When Vaughn took it away, its eyes looked at you very strangely. You two must have bullied it,” Malfoy sneered. The Malfoy family had raised dragons before and had many books on dragon raising.
“If I were you, I’d hurry up and think about how to appease a monster that can grow to 28 feet long in two months, whose scales are almost immune to ordinary spells, breathes fire, and is petty, lest it seek revenge!”
“Haha, cowardly Malfoy, Malfoy who’s even afraid of a dragon cub!”
Ron was dismissive and even smug. How many people could say they had bullied a fire dragon?
Harry also smiled.
Anyway, Vaughn would send the dragon away soon, so what was there to fear? Stupid Malfoy!
Never mind the bickering of the few young wizards at the side entrance of the castle.
Vaughn returned to Slytherin with Nobeta. After finding some dried fish for Guo Guo Cha and feeding it, he laid Nobeta flat on the desk.
Nobeta, which had been unruly in front of Harry and the others, now obediently allowed Vaughn to handle it. If it had only been slightly afraid of Vaughn’s powerful magic in Hagrid’s Hut, the experience of being made to vanish by Vaughn had truly terrified it.
Although it was still a newborn cub and displayed animalistic behavior, fire dragons were actually very intelligent.
As a fire dragon, Nobeta understood from birth what its strongest point was – its scales!
They were dense, tough, and highly resistant to magic. This was the fundamental reason it dared to cause chaos in Hagrid’s Hut, because it knew that no one in the hut could break its scales at that time.
After Vaughn arrived, Nobeta smelled a dangerous scent for the first time. That’s why, when Vaughn wanted to tease it, it immediately showed its dominance.
But it wasn’t until they were at the castle’s side entrance that Nobeta realized Vaughn’s power far exceeded its imagination. Its scales had almost no resistance to Vaughn’s magic.
Magical creatures were still animals, and animals had an instinct to avoid harm and seek good fortune. When faced with a stronger individual, their choice was usually not to resist to the end, but to obey!
Just like Nobeta now, it lay docilely as Vaughn straightened it out. While Vaughn was looking for tools, it quietly flipped over, exposing its belly, with its legs and wing claws tucked in front of it, making a sound like a spoiled child:
“Ying ying—”
Vaughn didn’t pay much attention, but Guo Guo Cha, who had been sticking close to him, immediately perked up its ears. Those large cat eyes narrowed into dangerous slits, looking at the “damn”… dragon on the table!
How hateful!
It was actually learning Guo Guo Cha’s great skill!
How could this be tolerated?
So, when Vaughn heard the commotion and turned around, the two little creatures, fighting for his affection, had already descended into a brawl.
Guo Guo Cha, relying on its larger size, temporarily gained the upper hand, with Nobeta pinned beneath its paws, unable to move.
However, Nobeta didn’t suffer. Its hard scales chipped Guo Guo Cha’s teeth. At first, it was panting as if laughing.
It wasn’t until it saw Guo Guo Cha meowing, jumping into Vaughn’s arms, rubbing against him, and acting pitifully and coquettishly, that it finally understood—
This big cat was indeed worth learning from!
………
Early morning, the Scottish Highlands were shrouded in a light mist. The dense, dark forest in the mist stretched into the distance, connecting with the clouds dyed red by the rising sun at the horizon.
As the sunlight grew stronger, its golden rays pierced the clouds and descended upon the earth. The Black Lake, which had been silent all night, finally awoke.
Vaughn, who had gotten up at dawn and was researching at his desk, was startled by a dull thud outside the bay window.
When he looked up, he saw a Remora Fish trying to stick the suction cup on its head to the dormitory’s glass.
Unfortunately, the glass in every room at Hogwarts was enchanted. Especially Slytherin, being at the bottom of the Black Lake, required additional magical reinforcement and cleaning, as well as spells to prevent algae, snails, and other creatures from attaching themselves.
After a while, the Remora Fish, considered a good omen by wizards in the ocean, had to regretfully give up and swim back towards the depths of the lake.
“Remora fish seem to be marine fish living in the Indian Ocean. I wonder who put it in the Black Lake…”
Vaughn mused, his long-focused mind somewhat tired. He watched the lake water outside the window gradually shift from darkness to a faint glow.
Soon, shafts of sunlight penetrated from the surface of the lake, shimmering and creating a clear view.
After resting for a while, Vaughn looked down and saw Nobeta lying on the desk, snoring softly. With each breath, sparks were expelled from its nostrils, only to be blocked by a transparent barrier.
That was a spell cast by Vaughn, a kind of barrier-like magic. It wasn’t very powerful, but it was enough to contain the sparks unintentionally emitted by a young dragon.
Opening his notebook, Vaughn looked at his achievements from the past night:
“…The fire sprayed by Nobeta contained rich magic power, but it was not magical fire or immortal fire, nor fire with other special functions. I established multiple control experimental groups to test whether its flames have hidden magic…”
This was followed by over 20 control group results.
“From the results, it can be seen that Nobeta, or rather, the Norwegian Ridgeback’s dragon breath, does not have special functions. Its evolution’s purpose is solely for burning. The only rather miraculous aspect is that its fire is very ‘viscous’, sticking to objects, resembling magma.”
“This peculiar viscosity greatly increases the adhesion of the flames, allowing the Norwegian Ridgeback’s breath to burn on enemies or prey for longer, fully exerting its power.”
“Based on this viscosity, I originally speculated that the Norwegian Ridgeback’s breath might be a substance similar to napalm. However, after testing, I found that at least at the moment when Nobeta opens its mouth and the flame exits, it sprays a hot and pure plasma jet, not a chemical substance.”
“In other words, its flames and their viscous characteristic are bestowed by magic. This also explains why its flames contain rich magic power. Their existence is to sustain some kind of magic…”
Beyond fire-breathing, there were also experimental studies on dragon flight, poison production, and scales.
However, like fire-breathing, the progress was stuck at the speculation that it was a kind of magic. As for what magic? Did it exist in the form of a magic-powered organ? Where was it hidden? How was it activated?
All unknown!
Currently, it is only known that those magics are the instincts of fire dragons. They do not need to learn them, just as beasts naturally use their claws and teeth.
Closing his notebook, Vaughn rubbed his temples. Although his research on Nobeta was not a whim, it didn’t need to be so urgent.
It was just that yesterday, after he had tested the characteristics of Nobeta’s breath through control experiments, the System Panel had popped up with new messages.
【Side Quest ③: Research the magic of all fire dragons and understand their basic principles（ Activated）】
【Progress: 0/10】
【Reward: Magic Power Scale 100, Spell Development Module】
Opening the System Panel again and looking at the newly appeared quest, Vaughn pondered:
“From the current tests on Nobeta, the basic form of fire dragon magic should be the magic organ I speculated. The basic principles required by the quest might not be the fundamental principles of magic—that would be too difficult and broad, the difficulty would be off—it’s likely the structure and operating principles of fire dragon magic organs.”
“The quest description says all fire dragons, but the progress given is 10. This means, according to the system’s standard, there are only 10 species of pure fire dragons in the world right now?”
This was not far from Vaughn’s understanding. Although some books in the wizarding world now classify subspecies of fire dragons, bred from different species of fire dragons, as fire dragons, to the “fire dragon fundamentalists,” those creatures were heretics.
Even though the phrase “fire dragon fundamentalism” sounds silly, from a purely biological perspective, hybrid fire dragon subspecies have not formed stable populations or stable lineages. （The offspring revert to ancestral traits）, so they cannot be considered new species.
“10 species… this is another long and arduous task. Not only is the workload heavy, but it’s also somewhat difficult to achieve…”
Vaughn was a bit worried. To study the magic organs within fire dragons, live dissection is indispensable. Otherwise, using only simple observation methods to understand the structure and operating principles of the magic organs of 10 species of fire dragons.
That would probably take ages.
The difficulty of this matter is precisely live dissection. Fire dragons are not werewolves. Due to wizard hunting and the implementation of 《International Secrecy Law》, it is now very difficult to find wild fire dragons.
And the fire dragons living in protected areas are all key protected targets of various countries’ Ministries of Magic, making it impossible to sneak and hunt a few.
“No rush, this cannot be rushed. I need to find a good reason…”
Vaughn comforted himself.
In fact, he knew that he was not as calm as he seemed. At least early in the morning, he had many times wanted to dissect Nobeta, who was fawning and acting cute towards him.
It was all because of the “Spell Development Module” given in this side quest.
The moment it appeared in the prize pool, Vaughn vaguely understood its function—it could help him develop new spells!
Since obtaining the System Panel, Vaughn had increasingly felt that… the System’s greatest help to him was actually saving him a lot of time.
In both the wizarding world and Muggle society, there has always been the same dilemma in learning knowledge and creating new knowledge.
It takes too long!
The world does not lack geniuses; what everyone lacks is time. And time often erodes all passion and hope, stifling new knowledge that could have been born at the very beginning.
Even though the wizarding world has an alchemical marvel like the “Time-Turner,” it only allows you to travel through time but cannot prevent time from passing for you.
On the contrary, the more people use the Time-Turner, the faster time passes for them.
Vaughn’s thoughts wandered. He suddenly wanted to check on Dumbledore, because a time-related challenge he had designed was being built there.
