Chapter 79: Win-win For All Sides
“……Hagrid got the dragon egg during the Christmas holiday, and he said at the time that he won it from a Greek merchant. Now that I think about it, that Greek merchant was Quirinus Quirrell in disguise!”
The little witch indignantly recounted Norbert’s origins.
Harry pushed up his glasses and said wistfully, “Hagrid refused to tell us anything about Nicolas Flamel and Fluffy no matter what, but after a few glasses of whiskey, he told everything to a stranger wizard!”
“Sorry……” The half-giant lowered his head in shame.
“……”
Actually, if you had plied him with whiskey back then, you could have gotten the information too.
Melvin wanted to defend Hagrid a bit.
The thick wooden door was pushed open a crack, and Melvin curiously peered inside. At first glance, he saw the fire dragon whelp in the center of the room.
The dragon whelp was about three or four feet long, with orange-red eyes that protruded slenderly, revealing a hint of wildness. Its body was skinny and dry, with several bone spikes protruding from the wing membranes above and below. It was covered in a layer of pitch-black scales that reflected a faint blue metallic luster under the candlelight. The spikes on its back were sparse, rounded, and smooth, still short in size and not sharp enough.
Its throat and vocal cords weren’t fully developed yet, so its roar sounded a bit strange, like a hoarse cat’s meow.
The floor was littered with bloodstained chicken feathers, several wooden buckets stood in the corner, and the room was filled with a pungent fishy stench—a complex, layered smell mainly composed of faint blood, poultry droppings, and brandy aroma.
Seeing several people enter the room, the fire dragon whelp immediately turned its head toward them and bared its teeth. Having hatched only a few weeks ago, its sharp teeth were already taking shape. Its nostrils flared slightly, and hot air mixed with pungent sulfur scent emanated from its throat.
Almost all the furniture bore tooth marks from the dragon whelp’s bites.
Ron’s face fell, Fang hung his head, whining softly, and the boy and dog both took a couple of steps back.
“Its name is Norbert, isn’t it beautiful?”
Hagrid said to them, beaming with pride and excitement.
The little wizards didn’t understand what he had to be proud of; their expressions were ones of disgust, wanting only to resolve this trouble quickly.
“The little guy saw me first when it broke out of the eggshell, so it thinks I’m its mother.”
Hagrid chuckled and reached out to stroke the dragon whelp’s head, but Norbert had no intention of playing along. It lunged and snapped, but the gamekeeper was quick and agile, pulling his hand back swiftly. The dragon whelp’s teeth clacked together, producing a teeth-gritting crisp snap.
“Norbert bit Hagrid the first time it saw him, and Hagrid took it as playfulness, but actually its teeth weren’t sharp enough right after hatching.” Hermione explained softly, and Harry nodded silently.
Hagrid, who had nearly been bitten, rubbed his hands and explained to the four a bit resentfully, “Actually, Norbert is a good kid with a pretty good temper usually; it’s just hungry now and a bit irritable.”
“……”
“Good Norbert, don’t worry, Mother will make you some formula right now.”
“……”
Melvin and the three students quietly watched Hagrid get busy. The fire dragon whelp’s formula was something he had looked up in books himself: one bucket of chicken blood to three buckets of brandy, and after teething, appropriately add whelp solid food—dead rats.
Hagrid easily moved a stone trough half his body height in front of the dragon whelp, picked up a wooden bucket of stored chicken blood from the corner, and with one hand twisted open several bottles of near-expiry brandy bought from the Hog’s Head Inn, pouring them in left and right, glug glug into the stone trough.
In no time, the fishy stench in the hut grew even thicker, and the evaporating alcohol was stinging their eyes a bit.
Hagrid’s talent for raising dangerous creatures was comparable to Riddle’s talent in the field of dark magic. The chicken blood brandy in this trough was roughly made with crude ingredients, but the moment the fire dragon whelp smelled it, its eyes lit up, it spat a spark, scrambled forward a couple steps flapping its wings, and leaped onto the stone trough, burying its head in and drinking happily.
“Slurp…… slurp……”
Blood dripped everywhere, the scene a bit gory.
“……”
Melvin’s lips moved as he cast a bubble-head charm on himself, watching the dragon whelp eat with great interest.
According to the 《Fire Dragon Care Manual》, fire dragons mature around two years old. Whelps should first spit sparks around six months, usually accompanied by thick gray smoke. Flying ability comes later, generally around ten months, or even a year for late bloomers.
This Norbert had shown ability just two weeks after hatching, so it seemed very talented, and Hagrid had raised it well.
At that moment, something unexpected happened.
The fire dragon whelp had probably drunk too much brandy and became hyperactive and restless, flapping its wings wildly. The whelp hadn’t learned to fly yet and couldn’t control its balance, plunging headfirst into the stone trough.
The chicken blood brandy inside couldn’t drown the whelp; instead, it made it even more excited. It flapped its wings, splashing the brandy and scattering chicken blood wine everywhere, filling the entire room with a thick bloody alcohol smell.
They watched the whelp’s nostrils dilate as it choked on a few mouthfuls of chicken blood wine. The sticky liquid poured into its nasal cavity and organs; it suddenly convulsed a few times, coughed from the drowning discomfort, and then spat sulfur-scented smoke.
Melvin hurriedly cast iron armor bubble, while the three little wizards stared dumbfounded as the whelp instantly ignited the entire stone trough.
A weak but scorching dragon flame ignited deep in its throat and burst out, immediately setting the nearby alcohol ablaze. Fortunately, the Hog’s Head Inn’s near-expiry brandy was low quality, and some had evaporated when mixed with chicken blood, so the splashed flames quickly went out, leaving only flames blaze burning in the stone trough.
The fire dragon whelp wasn’t afraid of fire, of course. It coughed a couple times from choking, then soon began enjoying the alcohol’s stimulation, its powerful wing membranes vibrating strongly.
The entire stone trough was like an alcohol lamp, with Norbert as the wick, lighting up the whole wooden hut brightly.
“Aaaahhh—” Ron finally screamed, frantically checking his limbs in panic.
“Quiet.” Harry covered his mouth.
“It almost burned down the whole hut!”
“I saw.”
Harry had to yell several times to calm him down.
This accident caused no casualties. The students were farther from the fire dragon but closer to Professor Levent, and the iron armor bubble protected them too.
Only Hagrid, who was nearby, had half his beard and hair burned off, looking extremely disheveled.
The whole room was filled with the peculiar smell after the flames swept through, like grilling chicken and sheep fur over charcoal—smoky and charred, not so nauseating anymore.
Hagrid stood there stunned and foolish.
Hermione’s little face was tense, her expression extremely unpleasant. She took a deep breath to suppress the nausea surging in her stomach. “Hagrid, you really can’t keep raising it. You must send Norbert away as soon as possible.”
“I can’t abandon it……” Hagrid kept his head down, avoiding their gazes. “Norbert is still small, can’t hunt, has no companions—it won’t survive in the wilderness.”
“Snap out of it, Hagrid!”
Hermione stared into Hagrid’s eyes and raised her voice. “It’s already stronger than Fang now, can fly and breathe fire. If anyone’s not surviving, it’ll be the ordinary animals that encounter it.”
“I won’t abandon Norbert anyway!” Hagrid said stubbornly.
Harry sided with Hermione. “Malfoy already knows about it. Do you want to be expelled?”
“Actually, no need to worry about Draco.” As Hagrid was left speechless, Melvin cleared his throat and said warmly, “He plans to use this to get Neville’s forgiveness, so he won’t report it.”
Hermione looked up and glared at the professor. Whose side are you on?
“But I must make this clear to you, Hagrid.” Melvin’s mild voice echoed in the wooden hut. “As early as 1709, the Wizarding Council banned private dragon ownership. Later, Mr. Scamander perfected the fire dragon protection act, prohibiting any wizard or unofficial organization from hatching, breeding, or raising fire dragons for any reason. You’ve probably violated hundreds of regulations this time.”
Hagrid stood silent, rooted to the spot.
“You should know very well how fast fire dragons grow. In half a month, Norbert will be bigger than you; in two months, bigger than the hut. The Forbidden Forest can’t hide a fire dragon. It needs to hunt, fly, breathe fire—that’s its nature.”
Melvin paused briefly. “If it hurts any student, even just singes a robe hem or scares one, the Magical Creatures department will send an executioner to chop off its head.”
Hagrid’s burly frame swayed slightly.
“And you, the gamekeeper who raised a fire dragon, already have a record of keeping dangerous creatures during school. If lucky, you might just get fined and fired from Hogwarts; if not, you’ll be sent to Azkaban to guard dementors on the island.”
“And Headmaster Dumbledore, who recommended you, would be seen as poor judge of character, authoritarian in management, putting students in danger—his headmaster position definitely wouldn’t hold, and he might even be struck from the Wizengamot, turning from a respected legendary wizard into a senile old wizard.”
Hagrid’s face went pale.
Harry and Ron fell silent, feeling Professor Levent was even scarier than Professor McGonagall when stern.
Hermione tilted her head up slightly, eyes sparkling faintly. This way of stating facts calmly to shake the other’s mind left a profound impression on her.
She had heard Professor Levent lecture before, but this lecture was different, carrying a deep power.
“I, I, I don’t want it to be like this either……” Hagrid’s voice cracked with sobs, his eyes already wet. He couldn’t be stubborn now.
Harry had always been close to Hagrid and felt a bit reluctant seeing him like this. He spoke up for him. “Sir, can you help us?”
“Honestly, I don’t want to do this.” Melvin spread his hands. “Everyone must pay the price for their mistakes. Hagrid was expelled from school for illegally keeping dangerous creatures, and Dumbledore took him in. Sadly, decades later, he still hasn’t learned to properly develop his interests.”
Hagrid sniffed, big teardrops streaming from his eyes.
Melvin continued admonishing. “He hasn’t become more steady; he’s even worse, picked up the bad habit of heavy drinking, leaked confidential news to the Dark Lord, nearly got Harry killed. I think he should pay for his mistakes to learn and grow.”
“Wah……”
The nearly ten-foot-tall half-giant couldn’t bear it anymore and burst into tears. Tears and snot streamed down his big face into his messy beard. Sobbing, he said, “I, I can go to Azkaban, but I don’t want to implicate Dumbledore!”
Seeing Hagrid like this, the students felt extremely upset, their throats tight.
“Professor……” Hermione tugged at Melvin’s sleeve.
“What?” Melvin looked down at them. “Don’t you think he should take responsibility for his mistakes?”
“He should, absolutely.” Hermione said stiffly. “But he hasn’t made an irreparable mistake yet, and Hagrid already knows he’s wrong. He’ll definitely remember this lesson, so please help him.”
“Really?” Melvin asked rhetorically.
Hagrid quickly wiped his nose and nodded vigorously. “Yes!”
Melvin pondered briefly, then after careful thought made a difficult decision. “Alright then, for your sakes, I can help you.”
Cheers erupted in the room. Harry and Ron ran over to comfort Hagrid. The big man wiped his face sobbing, smeared the mucus on his leather vest, and broke into an irrepressible smile.
Melvin himself felt a bit guilty. “But this help comes with conditions.”
The cheers quieted, and the three Harrys were a bit dazed. “Professor, tell us.”
Melvin looked at the three students. “I want you to sign a contract with me to star in…… no, act in my movie.”
“Huh?”
……
The whelp lay on its back on the round table, head dangling off the edge, nictitating membrane half-closed over its dragon eyes, half its tongue sticking out—no longer fierce, chest rising and falling evenly with long breaths carrying thick alcohol scent, occasionally sneezing with sparks from its nose.
Its claws occasionally scratched the tabletop, sending wood shavings rustling down.
Hagrid’s face still had dried tear tracks. Seeing its lazy sleeping pose melted his heart, but he didn’t dare show it.
Fang curled under the table, staring at his own paws, lost in thought.
The little wizards sat around the round table. Hermione carefully reviewed the contract provided by the professor, Harry quietly explained to Ron what a movie was, occasionally pulling Hagrid over to talk about projection mirrors.
Older students had seen them in Hogsmeade on weekends, but they weren’t old enough yet and could only hear secondhand accounts.
“Professor, didn’t we sign a contract before?” Harry asked softly.
“That was for the Quidditch match; this is for the film.” Melvin was patient, answering every question. “I plan to adapt your experiences into a film to screen for wizards worldwide. You can rest assured; the film content will be discussed with you and only publicly screened after agreement.”
The little wizards fell silent, feeling the professor always had a way to get them to agree.
“And the film fee is very generous.”
“……”
Though it felt a bit off, to save Hagrid, Harry and the others had no choice and soon signed the contracts. Three copies each, one kept by themselves, the other two returned to the professor.
“Yours too, Hagrid.”
“Ah? Oh!” Hagrid was very cooperative.
Melvin collected all the contracts, very satisfied with this operation. He helped Hagrid, achieved his goal, and incidentally gave the headmaster some pre-job training—win-win all around.
Hmm, find time to get Dumbledore to sign too.
Count it as my overtime pay.
