The Pacifist Necromancer of Hogwarts

After lunch in the dining room of the dormitory area, Charlie was called to clean the soot from the fireplace.

Anthony spent an uninterrupted afternoon in his room, looking through his notebook for a while, and then spent a lot of time conjuring feet for various things to crawl around the room, watching the ginger cat and The Wraith Chicken chased after them with great interest.

He even found some tea leaves in the small kitchen in the common area and made himself a pot of tea. While the teapot screamed for the water to boil, Hagrid sat behind him, occupying the largest sofa in the public area, watching with dismay the case of the Chimera killing 11 wizards in the Balkans in 1875, and from time to time longing. He looked out the window at the white snow and the golden snow-capped mountains.

In the evening, the researchers returned.

Charlie came and knocked on the door, calling them for dinner. Hagrid breathed a sigh of relief: Let's go, Henry.

Okay, Anthony said, watching with some amusement as Hagrid eagerly threw the book back into his luggage.

I don't want to raise those Chimeras anymore. Hagrid muttered, Compared to Norbert...

Charlie was waiting outside the door and asked with a smile: How are you preparing for the exam, Hagrid?

Hagrid scratched the back of his head in distress and sighed heavily.

Charlie said understandingly: Researcher Fire Dragon also has a knowledge point assessment every two months. I hate it.

Hagrid asked sadly: Does raising a fire dragon also require a test?

…

Perhaps because I was trying my best to prepare for the Christmas dinner the next day, dinner at the reserve was very simple. Anthony and Hagrid each ate some bread and drank some soup, then said goodbye to Charlie and returned to the room.

Hagrid put a poster on the window that read Time to see Norbert: Tomorrow and continued to sit on the sofa scratching his head over his Chimera file. Anthony sat opposite him, holding the Wraith Chicken, and reading a novel called A Dragon in the House that he found in the room.

When he finished reading, it was dark outside the window. Anthony put down the book and wanted to remind Hagrid to rest early, but he saw Hagrid leaning back on the sofa with his head loosely holding the file on his lap, breathing heavily and falling asleep.

Anthony nudged him.

Hagrid groaned and said: Don't bite, Norbert...

Hagrid! shouted Anthony, you should go to bed!

Huh? Hagrid said drowsily, Okay... He let go of his hand and let the file slide to the floor, then fell sideways on the sofa - the sofa suddenly collapsed, but Hagrid seemed Feeling nothing - he rolled over in his thick coat, turned his face to the crooked backrest, and snored.

Anthony picked up the file from the floor, looked at the really sleepy official notices on it, and put it on the table. He drew the curtains, blocking the Time to Meet Norbert poster - Hagrid didn't know when he drew a very heavy underline underneath, almost cutting the paper in half - in Hagrid's Amidst the snoring, he quietly returned to the room with the Wraith Chicken.

The next morning, he was awakened by a clanging sound in the common area. The ginger cat curled up next to his pillow, pressed his ears, and looked out unkindly.

Anthony opened the door and was not too surprised to see Hagrid rummaging through his luggage. The sky had just broken, still with a gray-blue color that had not yet woken up, and the distant mountains were just a row of misty silhouettes. Hagrid was wearing a brand-new set of clothes. He lifted the sofa, bent over and looked down, humming a tuneless song.

Good morning, Henry! Hagrid shouted with a smile, Merry Christmas! What a wonderful weather!

Merry Christmas. Anthony stood at the door in his pajamas, What are you looking for?

Oh, Norbert's teddy bear, said Hagrid. Beside him lay rock biscuits wrapped in a plush blanket, two intact cases of brandy, and the shiny stone on which the fire dragon sharpened his teeth.

Anthony helped to find it for a while, then gave up and let Hagrid continue to rummage through the common area. By the time he came out of the bathroom, Hagrid was already sitting on the floor, pouring all the rock biscuits into a tin box he found somewhere (it looked like a biscuit box, with a Romanian figure with a wide mouth printed on it. Longhorned dragon).

Did you find it? Anthony asked.

Found it, Hagrid said happily, looking around, and pulled out from under him a squashed object that was somewhere between a pillow and a voodoo doll.

Anthony finally understood why his summoning spell failed.

I made it for Norbert myself! Hagrid said proudly, This is my first time making a teddy bear. I was worried that I didn't have enough time, so I made it a little fast... But now it seems that the final result is still good. Can.

Anthony said, That's great. I think Norbert will like it. If Hagrid thought that Norbert's attitude towards the last teddy bear was fondness, he would probably like this one too.

…

After a quick breakfast - there was almost no one in the restaurant - Charlie yawned and asked them to put on certain boots and gloves. None of Anthony's pets were up, so he left them all in the room, except for the applewood soaked in brandy. Charlie asked him and Hagrid to put all the brandy into a special leather bag, and carefully checked the pile of gifts Hagrid was going to bring (he looked at the teddy bear suspiciously for a long time), and finally Announced they were ready to go.

Generally speaking, there are three ways to find a fire dragon. Charlie said, handing them two wand holsters and gesturing for them to tie their wands to their waists like he did.

Hagrid hesitated for a moment, then inserted his umbrella with difficulty, stuffing the holster until it was full. Even though the Ministry of Magic had lifted the restrictions on his wand use, he still wasn't used to the feel of a wand without an umbrella handle.

What three? Hagrid asked with great interest. He grabbed the strap of the leather case with his big hands and put it on awkwardly.

The number of fire dragons in the reserve has been counted. Charlie glanced at Hagrid warily and continued, Our most common method is speculation. The Romanian Longhorned Dragon is a diurnal fire dragon with a relatively regular life. . There are always some traces in the living area of ​​the fire dragon: footprints, feces, broken branches, fallen scales, blood stains left when injured, etc. Based on these traces of life, the activity track of the fire dragon can be inferred, and more If you count a period of time, you will know its daily schedule.”

And then wait for it on its path? Anthony asked.

Yes. Charlie said, The second method is trapping. Through speculation, we can find the fire dragon and observe its daily life. Trapping allows us to move the fire dragon out of their familiar living environment. This is how we capture the fire dragon. The most common method used when reaching semi-contact areas and the favorite method among poachers.”

Do fire dragons always get fooled?

Charlie shook his head: Not necessarily, but a fire dragon needs to eat a lot of food a day to survive, so they usually won't refuse a little afternoon tea. Look, that's the bait for our protected area.

He was referring to a four-legged animal hanging on the treetop, with bloody flesh and blood, and it was no longer possible to tell what it was. The blood soaked the branches black, and the dried parts still reflected the light faintly.

Some fire dragons like to keep their bodies intact, but Longhorns prefers prey that has had its fur removed. Charlie said, During hunting, they will use their horns to push the prey to death and then enjoy it slowly. By then, There's no one whose fur isn't already a mess...

Anyway, we stuff certain carcasses with tranquilizers and sleeping pills, and set up warning spells around the carcasses so that if something moves the bait, we will be alerted. This is also for life in the reserve. other animals. Several times, when our researchers arrived, they only saw a group of dizzy wild wolves and most of the remaining bait.

The third way is to provoke and anger the fire dragon. Charlie said, looking at the surrounding scene. The fire dragon is an irritable creature. You can yell and insult it, poke its nostrils and eyelids with branches , pull out its scales... In short, as long as it is angered, it will always follow people.

Anthony commented: The first method sounds the safest - both for the fire dragon and the wizard. This is the method we use, right?

Oh, no, unlike Longhorns, Ridgeback's life is not regular, so it's impossible to summarize its inevitable route. Charlie said, We use the third method.

The third type? Hagrid asked in surprise, We are going to pull off Norbert's scales?

No need to bother. Charlie waved his hand and said briskly, We are invading Norbert's territory.

…

Tall beech and oak trees cast criss-crossing shadows on the ground. A clear stream passed through the rocks covered with snow. Dead leaves and broken branches were swirling in the water and stuck between the rocks, trembling under the wash of the water.

Norbert usually moves around here, Charlie said. It's not old enough to need a territory yet, but it seems to have reserved this place. There's a lot of food here... We haven't observed it preying on bears or wolves yet. But it loves to eat antelope and bison. Several people have seen it fishing, but it is not very skilled and often fails to catch it.

That's my fault. Hagrid said apologetically, I forgot to teach it how to fish.

Fire dragons will learn to hunt on their own. Charlie said, That's their instinct. It's like they will actively try to divide their territory...

He stopped suddenly and turned his head to listen intently.

What's wrong? Hagrid asked.

Shh. Charlie said, looking up at the layers of branches that divided the sky into countless tiny fragments, Did you hear it? The sound of the wind flapping its wings... from this side, no, from this side...

He turned around sharply and looked behind Anthony and Hagrid. Immediately afterwards, there was a heartbreaking sound of tree trunks breaking down.

Anthony and Hagrid turned around and saw a dark fire dragon flapping its wings and looking down at them menacingly. Several sharp tusks were exposed from its long snout, with an ominous light shining on it. A black ridge bulged from its slender back.

This is a Norwegian Ridgeback.

This dragon was much larger than the dragon in the box that Anthony remembered, and was half a body taller than Hagrid. It stood condescendingly on the remaining part of the beech tree, looking at the visitors with malicious intent with its orange-red eyes.

Ouch. Anthony sighed softly.

The fire dragon's wrinkled, pointed claws and spikes on its wings hooked the trunk of the tree, and it slowly climbed from the remains of one tree to another, its powerful tail swinging behind it. A puff of green smoke came out of its nostrils. Broken branches were scattered around, almost lost in the fluffy snow.

Be careful, it has a bad temper. Charlie warned softly, We are already too close. It's best not to make too much noise -

Before he could finish speaking, the biscuit box containing rock biscuits in Hagrid's hand fell to the ground with a thud, hitting the exposed rock.

Norbert? He shouted with tears in his eyes, stretching his hands forward, Norbert, come here quickly, mother is here!