Chapter 100: Dragon Disturbance
“To prevent Dark Wizards from poaching Fire Dragons, the Reserve has set up the same wards as the school, prohibiting Apparition.”
“Fireplaces can quickly cross territories of different groups. Inside these areas, we usually ride flying broomsticks everywhere. The committee also equipped us with fireproof boots and leather armor, but some dragon flames are quite powerful.”
“Norwegian Ridgeback and Swedish Short-Snout are similar in size. The two groups are neighbors. Norberta is still small and lives in the swamp by the lake. There’s also a Short-Snout in incubation period in the nearby valley.”
“Look! These water blisters from burns were caused by it.”
Charlie and his colleague explained while showing their bandages. There were more than a dozen large and small scars on their arms.
The group walked slowly up a valley slope. Humus and pine needles formed a soft natural carpet. The mountain forest by the stream valley emitted a damp atmosphere. Sunlight shone into the dense forest, making the trees even greener, with dewdrops on the leaves sparkling crystal clear.
Midsummer wind passed through the forest, gently shaking the branches and leaves.
But the temperature was a bit strange. Even in the hot June, the wind in the valley should be refreshing and pleasant, not hot like this.
Melvin frowned as he looked toward the stream valley below, the direction from which the hot wind surged, listening carefully to the sounds in the forest.
He suddenly felt a surge of invisible hot current from afar. The powerful magic power made his heart tremble. He immediately shouted in a deep voice: “Dragon breath is coming!”
As soon as he spoke, the hot wind in the mountain forest revealed its true face. The entire slope was enveloped in blue dragon flames.
A shrill roar.
Like the air and diaphragm in the throat being ignited by sulfur and flames in an instant, the roar that made the air tremble echoed through the mountain forest. A giant dragon with silver-blue scales took to the air, spraying dazzling blue flames from its nostrils and mouth, instantly turning wood to ashes and rocks red and softening into liquid, flowing down the slope.
“It’s that Swedish Short-Snout!”
“Block it!”
At the moment Melvin warned, the two experienced keepers reacted immediately. His colleague quickly pulled off the leather armor from under his outer robe, shook it twice, and the leather armor immediately expanded into a specially made fireproof shield. Charlie cooperated with him to hold the shield, blocking the direction from which the dragon flames were coming.
“Boom!”
The fierce dragon flames crashed onto the shield, like a mountain flood meeting an obstacle. A narrow gap was left in the middle, while the sides poured even more fiercely.
The mithril-woven leather armor, infused with magic power, could expand into a wide shield. The outer layer was inlaid with Ukrainian Ironbelly dragon scales. In just a few seconds, the heat turned the alchemy-made mithril red-hot, scorching the arms of the two keepers holding the shield, with the skin and flesh making faint sizzling sounds.
Despite this, they breathed a sigh of relief, feeling fortunate yet somewhat puzzled.
Swedish Short-Snout has some of the most intense dragon flames among Fire Dragons. Their equipped leather armor normally couldn’t withstand such a fierce dragon breath strike.
“…”
Melvin, who first detected the dragon breath, immediately cast Iron Armor, blocking the flames pouring from both sides and the splashing magma. He frowned slightly as he felt the temperature of the dragon flames, looking past the dazzling blue light to observe the movements of the silver-blue Short-Snout, calculating in his mind how to deal with it.
If he were alone, he would hold the Iron Armor and go up to duel the Fire Dragon.
Unfortunately, there were other wizards with him. Outside the Iron Armor Bubble range, the old professor and Hagrid would become human barbecues.
The blazing blue flames suddenly sprayed over, ravaging the entire mountain forest like a roaring giant wave. Hagrid was stunned, Professor Kettleburn and the two keepers had grim expressions, proving this was not normal Reserve activity.
“It’s that Swedish Short-Snout!” Charlie endured the severe pain and said through gritted teeth. “A mother dragon wouldn’t lose control for no reason. There must be poaching wizards who sneaked in and stole the dragon egg while it was resting!”
“Damn…” The keeper colleague was drenched in sweat that evaporated in a short time, leaving faint white salt marks on his neck. “Hold on for a few more minutes. The others should be rushing over by now.”
Professor Kettleburn inexplicably felt a surge of excitement. Curious about the Short-Snout’s dragon flames, he got too close, burning off half his eyebrows. His expression then turned serious: “We should withdraw from here first.”
“We want to withdraw too, but we can’t!”
“…”
Melvin waved his hand to expand the Iron Armor Bubble.
The pressure from the dragon flames suddenly lessened. Charlie and his colleague were stunned for a moment, staring wide-eyed at the young professor, their expressions slightly dazed.
In the emergency, there was no time for chit-chat. Under the protection of the Iron Armor, the group quickly retreated, crossing the slope to leave the range enveloped by the dragon flames.
Temporarily out of danger, they retreated toward the wooden house while observing behind them.
From here, they could clearly see the Short-Snout circling in the sky above, repeatedly breathing dragon breath while sniffing with its nose, as if searching for a scent.
Keepers on broomsticks were arriving from all directions in the sky. Those wizards wearing dragon scale leather armor deftly avoided the dragon flames, waving wands in their hands. The thin spell beams seemed dim compared to the blue dragon flames, but densely covering the area, they created a spectacular sight like covering the sky and blocking out the sun.
The Swedish Short-Snout flapping its wings and spewing flames was a mother who had just lost her child, provoked into ferocity by the earlier Dark Wizard. Facing the spells, it twisted and dodged nimbly, using dragon breath to counter the beams.
Under the brilliant sunlight, Melvin could see the eyes of the silver-blue Fire Dragon—vertical slit pupils with red irises, bulging out, filled with human-like anger, fear, and sorrow.
“Requesting support!”
“Seal off the park!”
“Have the Aurors search for the Dark Wizard and retrieve the dragon egg!”
At least dozens of keepers in mid-air, broomsticks darting back and forth, hundreds and thousands of Stupefy spells densely falling like fine rain, forming a net to seal off the entire area.
“Roar…”
The Swedish Short-Snout let out a shrill and piercing wail.
Similar wails responded from afar, the sounds echoing in mid-air for a long time without stopping.
Melvin and Hagrid turned their gazes to the old professor and the two keepers. They instinctively felt this was not a good sign.
“This is bad! Other Fire Dragons are rioting too… Hurry and find a place to hide!” Charlie’s good-natured personality couldn’t hold back a curse. He almost roared, “What do those Dark Wizards want? Stealing several dragon eggs in a row! Do they want to get others killed!”
“Damn!” The colleague nearby looked grim. He quickly ran back to the nearest wooden house, came out hugging two broomsticks, tossed one to Charlie, straddled the other, and kicked off into the air.
“Professors, stay here and hide!” Charlie took off without looking back, his expression resolute.
In just a few minutes, the entire area was in chaos. Several nearby Fire Dragons took to the air, tussling back and forth with the keepers. Dragon flames and spell glows responded to each other, momentarily even brighter than the sunlight.
Melvin felt this tour was well worth it. The scene was too spectacular.
If it were just one Fire Dragon, the situation might not be so severe, but at least a dozen Fire Dragons were circling in mid-air. Before the dragon flames could sweep the entire habitat, the keepers worked hard to control these rampaging 5X-class dangerous creatures.
More and more keepers arrived every moment to join the battle. They couldn’t use spells with too much destructive power, and ordinary control spells had little effect. The Stupefy spells were either dodged or swallowed by dragon flames. Occasionally, a spell would pass through the dragon flame curtain and hit the scales, only causing the Fire Dragons to hesitate for a moment.
On the contrary, the keepers were caught by the wind stirred by the Fire Dragons’ wings, their broomsticks tossed about haphazardly. If they got dragon flames on them, they had to land to put out the fire and treat injuries.
Hagrid was completely speechless, only able to look up with wide eyes in a daze.
The keepers had to hold back, unable to use offensive spells, repeatedly casting Stupefy. They couldn’t stop these frenzied mother dragons. Tussling back and forth only added to their injuries. The situation not only didn’t improve but grew more severe.
Dragon flames of various colors even mixed together, fusing into even more brilliant infernos.
“Cough cough…”
Charlie sniffed. The pungent sulfur smell in the air was growing thicker, almost suffocating.
If this continued, it might affect other areas.
At that moment, a brilliant spell beam cut through the smoke-filled sky.
The whistling blue light was thicker than all the other Stupefy spells, piercing straight through the dragon flames into the upper jaw of that Swedish Short-Snout. It looked incredulous, lowering its head to look. A young wizard stood in the open space in front of the wooden house, his wand pointed diagonally at the sky, brewing another spell.
The Fire Dragon’s mouth was still wide open, its roar gradually fading, the flames from its mouth and nose slowly extinguishing. The flapping of its wings slowed, finally stiffening motionless. Its massive body hung still for a few seconds before crashing straight to the ground, shaking the surrounding earth.
Charlie and his colleagues simultaneously retreated, looking toward the wooden house at the edge of the battlefield. A figure in a Muggle suit stood there. The slender wand contrasted with the thick brilliant beam, looking mismatched and awkward.
Melvin didn’t pause. Without chanting or casting gestures, abnormally thick Stupefy spells burst forth one after another.
The dragon scales that could resist spells now seemed as fragile as parchment. The Fire Dragons fell into slumber, crashing down one by one.
More and more keepers arrived. Staff members swarmed out, carrying alchemy-made iron chains and iron pillars, heading toward the fallen unconscious Fire Dragons.
They fastened chains around the Fire Dragons’ limbs, wings, and necks, securing the other ends to heavy massive iron pillars driven deep into the ground and rock crevices.
Melvin saw that the first Swedish Short-Snout wasn’t fully unconscious yet. Its eyes were still slightly open, pupils gradually dilating, glowing faintly yellow. He couldn’t help but frown slightly.
An old wizard in a dragon hide fireproof suit, with a bald spotted head, dropped his broomstick and walked toward them. His brows were tightly furrowed, his face grave. In his view, the problem wasn’t solved, only the Fire Dragons temporarily controlled.
“Professor Kettleburn…” He gave a brief greeting to the old professor, then looked at Melvin beside him, his expression softening a bit. “Professor Levent from Hogwarts?”
Melvin nodded: “And you are?”
“Good thing you were here to subdue the Fire Dragons in time. You really helped out big time!” The old wizard was full of gratitude. “I’m the Department Head of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures in the Romanian Ministry of Magic, and also the General Manager of the Reserve, Anton Vogel.”
