Chapter 730: The Fire Dragon Appearing Before Ginny Dragons.In many legends and stories, these powerful and beautiful figures were never absent. In the songs of wandering |
She shook her head, forcing herself to snap out of the beauty before her.
“So, Draco, just tell us what you plan to do.”
“Yeah... but are you really sure you can get these people to live peacefully together? Even if you can convince the people on our side, the wizards from the other houses won’t think the same way.”
Pansy’s concerns were not unreasonable.
Even if they used force... or reason, to convince everyone, it would only be temporary.
After all, the relationship between Slytherin and the other houses, along with all the old grudges, hatred, and tangled history between them, was not something that could be erased in a short time. Even if they were reluctantly brought together, that kind of relationship would only become an unexploded bomb.
No one knew when it might go off.
Draco, who understood the core of the problem just as well, had actually thought of an answer long ago. Or rather, a solution.
“When a powerful common enemy appears, as long as everyone can calm down and think clearly, they’ll make the best choice for the moment. So Gryffindor House will be left to the two of you.”
“Huh?”
When they noticed Draco’s gaze, Hermione and Ginny, the two Gryffindors present, cried out in surprise at almost the same time.
They had no idea where to even begin, let alone any confidence that they could do it.
Without giving them a chance to refuse, Draco stated his thoughts directly. “Of course, although we urgently need strength that can stand against the Dark Lord, that doesn’t mean we need just anyone. You’ll have to judge that for yourselves.”
“You mean...”
“The wizards we need are the ones who can understand us, and who can recognize exactly who the enemy we should be facing right now truly is.”
Better to have too few than the wrong ones.
Hermione and Ginny both understood what Draco meant.
But not giving them any chance to refuse at all was far too overbearing...
...
Looking outside at Goyle and Crabbe, who were working with their bodies instead of using magic, Pansy turned to Draco with some curiosity.
“What about the other houses? Who are you going to send to persuade them? Or are you planning to go yourself?”
“No... I’ve already chosen someone for that.”
“Someone?”
Just then, a nearby door was pushed open. Astoria came in carrying bottles and jars of potions in every color, followed by the former Head Girl, whom they had not seen in a long time.
“That would be me. Let me persuade Ravenclaw House.”
“...Clearwater?!”
“I believe you should call me Senior Penelope, or simply senior, dear Miss Parkinson.”
Even Pansy and the others had never expected to see the former Head Girl, Penelope Clearwater, here.
Although Penelope had graduated last year, she had been kept on as an assistant professor because of her excellent grades and outstanding performance while at school.
And now Draco had drawn her into his camp.
“It’s been a long time, Granger, Parkinson, and Miss Lovegood.”
“Senior.”
“Senior.”
Only when Penelope spoke did Hermione and the others finally come back to their senses and hurry to greet her.
At that moment, Astoria set down the bottles of potions in her arms and walked over to Draco. “My potions lab is finished. If you plan to make potions that can actually be useful, you’ll have to give me some assistants.”
“I will. I think most of the Ravenclaw students should be capable of that kind of work.”
Draco’s words made Penelope roll her eyes in exasperation.
She knew exactly what Draco meant.
“Don’t worry. Even though I graduated a year ago, I can still speak with some authority in Ravenclaw House, as long as everything you told me is really going to happen.”
“Then I’ll leave it to you.”
“Mm... but I need to remind you that this cooperation is entirely built on opposing the Dark Lord. I’ll use that angle to persuade the people in Ravenclaw House. As for anything else, don’t even think about it.”
“Of course. I wouldn’t expect more than that.”
“I hope everything is exactly as you said.”
“By the way, I should be able to ask you to handle Hufflepuff too, right?”
“...You really do know how to make use of your seniors, don’t you? Fine, I understand.”
After leaving those words behind, Penelope Clearwater, who had the gentle air of an older sister, hurried away.
After all, if things were truly as Draco had described, then she did not have much time left.
...
After Penelope left, Pansy and the others could no longer contain their curiosity.
Ginny Weasley in particular had only just learned that Draco was so familiar with this beautiful senior. At the same time, she felt that Draco’s move really was a brilliant one.
What student would not believe the words of such a gentle and beautiful senior?
But what made them curious was how Draco had managed to persuade this former Head Girl.
“So the person you chose was Penelope? If she’s the one stepping in, she really could convince quite a few people.”
“But are you really that certain the Dark Lord will attack Hogwarts? Or rather, are you really that certain Hogwarts will become the next battlefield?”
After struggling with it for a few more seconds, Ginny still could not bring herself to believe Draco’s analysis and judgment of what was coming next.
Avoidance and self-deception.
They were always people’s first choice.
Even the brave Ginny Weasley instinctively chose disbelief at first.
However, Draco had no intention of persuading her so easily.
Because the result would tell her everything.
...
The human mind could only process so much information at once.
So Draco decided to let Hermione take Ginny and the others around the area to get familiar with the place, giving them time to calm down a little.
And to think about what they should do next, and whether they wanted to join them.
In truth, Draco doing this did not mean Ginny Weasley and the others were especially important, much less indispensable.
It was mainly because there were far too few wizards Draco could trust unconditionally now, and Ginny and Luna just happened to meet his criteria. That was why Draco was willing to spend time on them.
Otherwise, Draco never would have let them know about this place.
...
The soft murmur of flowing water.
Wooden cottages arranged in neat, scattered rows.
They could even see the sun gradually sinking and the moon beginning to rise.
Even now, Ginny still found it incredibly hard to believe that everything before her was real. “I’m starting to wonder... what exactly I’ve been learning at Hogwarts.”
“Mm...”
Hearing Ginny’s words, Luna looked around the magical space with sparkling eyes.
Unlike Ginny’s shock and disbelief, Luna seemed to have thought of something, and she looked rather excited. Such a clear shift in emotion was rarely seen from Luna.
It made Ginny curious.
“Luna, you...”
“I heard that Newt Scamander also created similar magical spaces to care for Magical Creatures. It seems that was all true.”
Before Ginny could finish, Luna’s distinctive voice cut her off.
Her usual airy, unconcerned tone now carried a trace of unrest.
Ginny, however, had no idea who Newt Scamander was. She looked blankly at Luna and tried to repeat the name she had just heard.
“Newt... what?”
“Newt Scamander. The famous Magizoologist, traveler, travel writer, and author of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. That book later became the textbook for Care of Magical Creatures at Hogwarts Wizarding School. Haven’t you ever read it properly?”
The person who picked up the topic, gave such a long and detailed explanation, and then ended with a reprimand was naturally Hermione Granger, who had just appeared beside them.
Ginny rolled her eyes at that. “Come on, Hermione. Other than you, I don’t think anyone cares who wrote those annoying textbooks, much less knows anything about some Newt Scamander wizard.”
“It’s Newt Scamander, Ginny. If you knew that this wizard, who once studied at Hogwarts Wizarding School, defeated a Dark Lord, you definitely wouldn’t say that.”
“The Dark Lord? You mean that one?”
“Oh... my goodness. I meant another Dark Lord. I thought you would know that.”
“......”
Luna, standing to the side, paid no attention to her friend being treated as ignorant and foolish.
This young witch from Ravenclaw House was clearly more interested in what Hermione had just said.
“Hermione, you...”
“So, are there Magical Creatures here too?” Luna interrupted Ginny once again.
This time, Ginny was neither angry nor upset, because it stopped Hermione from dwelling on the previous topic and freed her from it at once.
It had to be said that the Weasley family seemed to have no way of dealing with Miss Granger.
...
In any case.
Luna’s question did make Ginny curious, but what puzzled her even more was Hermione’s hesitant answer.
“Um... about that, I suppose there are?”
“Suppose?”
“I suppose?”
What was that vague answer supposed to mean?
But what left Ginny most speechless was Luna’s reaction.
As though she had not noticed that Hermione seemed to be hiding something, Luna directly made her request. “Then can I raise some Firetrail Snails here? Or a Swooping Evil?”
“......”
“Huh?”
The corner of Ginny’s mouth twitched as she asked, “I’ve never heard of Firetrail Snails, but Swooping Evil... that sounds very bad. Let me ask just one thing. It isn’t some dangerous Magical Creature, is it?”
Ginny might not have known, but Hermione, whose knowledge far surpassed others her age, knew exactly what kind of Magical Creatures Luna was talking about.
Hermione gave Luna, who was looking at her expectantly, an exasperated glance. “It’s extremely dangerous. It’s a Magical Creature that feeds on human brains. Its venom can be used to erase bad memories if properly diluted, but only after it has been diluted.”
“......”
“So not only would the others refuse, Draco would never agree to let you bring such a dangerous Magical Creature in here either...”
Roar!
At the sound of a deafening roar, everyone lifted their eyes toward the sky.
“........”
“........”
“........”
Before Hermione had even finished speaking, reality had slapped her in the face. She could practically feel Luna and Ginny’s strange looks.
Because everyone saw it.
The enormous figure flying through the sky.
It was not magic, nor was it an illusion. It was a real, massive living creature.
It was a dragon!
...
Dragons.
In many legends and stories, these powerful and beautiful figures were never absent. In the songs of wandering minstrels, these mighty creatures were wrapped in mystery and fantasy.
From their lips came countless praises and descriptions of dragons.
But the more beautiful something was, the more dangerous it tended to be.
In contrast.
In the wizarding world, these powerful dragons had instead become essential ingredients for potions, subjects of academic research, or even participants in certain trials.
Of course, dragons were still dangerous, and for most wizards, they were not easy to deal with. Otherwise, Gringotts Wizarding Bank would not have used a fire-breathing Dragon deep below to guard the Vault doors.
And with wizards as such powerful natural enemies, dragons were not creatures one could simply encounter whenever one wished.
So when a living Dragon, one that could even breathe fire, appeared in the sky before them, Ginny and the others were filled with shock and terror.
No. To be precise, Ginny was the only one left completely stunned by the fire-breathing Dragon flying through the sky.
Luna, standing beside her, had bright, sparkling eyes. She looked as though she wished she had a Broomstick in hand so she could mount it, fly up into the sky, and talk to that beautiful Dragon.
As for Hermione...
“Can’t that guy settle down for once? This is not the time to play around.”
“.......”
That guy?
Play around?
Hermione’s words made Ginny, who seemed to realize something, stare over in a daze.
“Don’t tell me that Dragon is...”
“That’s right. It’s exactly what you’re thinking. This Dragon is actually Draco’s... hm... friend? Or maybe father?”
“...I understand you less and less every time you talk.”
“I can’t help it. It’s honestly a little hard to explain. In short, all you need to know is that Norberta is our companion. She won’t hurt you easily unless you do something to her first.”
“I don’t think I could possibly do anything to a Dragon with a danger level of XXXXX...”
Ginny muttered under her breath at Hermione’s explanation, while also feeling surprised by Draco and the others’ courage.
This was a dangerous fire Dragon, not a cute little puppy that would stick out its tongue and roll over to show its belly.
Compared with Ginny’s tension and worry, Luna, who seemed to have no sense of danger at all, was intensely interested in the fire Dragon before them. “So her name is Norberta? That sounds lovely.”
“Mm... Draco thinks so too.”
“Then can I get a little closer?”
“Are you mad, Luna? That’s a Dragon. No one knows whether she’ll spit a fireball at you!”
Faced with Luna’s request, the first person to object was not Hermione, but Ginny, whose face practically said, Are you joking?
Although she had long known that her friend often said astonishing things, she had never expected to hear an idea here that could practically get her killed.
Yes.
In Ginny’s eyes, doing that was no different from marching straight to her death.
...
Watching Ginny try to persuade Luna to give up such a dangerous idea, Hermione, the only one present who knew the truth, truly had no idea how to explain it.
After all, Hermione did not dare casually reveal that Draco was a Dragontongue.
Anyone with a functioning brain would understand how terrifying it was to be able to communicate with dragons, or even control such powerful creatures.
Because these dragons were weapons of war even stronger than giants.
“Hermione, you wouldn’t agree to something like that, would you?”
Hermione did not answer directly. She only shrugged. “Even if you put it that way...”
To be honest, she did not think her words would help, nor did she believe there would be any real danger, because she was certain Draco would never let Norberta blast Luna’s face with a huge fireball.
More importantly, having a Dragon standing on their side would give Ginny and the others much more confidence in Draco’s plan.
With that in mind, Hermione was even less likely to speak up and stop it.
Seeing that Hermione had no intention of standing on her side, Ginny had no choice but to keep a close watch on Luna and make sure she did not do anything reckless.
But just as Ginny was about to grab Luna and leave this place as quickly as possible, the Dragon’s roar seemed to grow clearer and clearer.
“Um... don’t you think... that Dragon is getting closer and closer to us?!”
Ginny stared at the sky, her scalp prickling as the enormous shadow gradually covered them. With a trembling voice, she tugged at Hermione, whose expression beside her had hardly changed.
No, there was a change.
As Hermione looked up at the sky, there was a trace of helplessness and irritation in her eyes.
Because no one understood that guy’s awful sense of humor better than she did.
And just then, Luna, who was not frightened at all, seemed to notice something.
“Is there someone sitting on that fire-breathing Dragon?”
“Huh? How could there be someone? No, wait! This isn’t the time for that. Shouldn’t the only thing we’re doing right now be hiding?!”
Ginny, completely unable to understand any of this, looked as though she was about to cry.
Compared with the impossible idea that someone was sitting on a dragon, Ginny had far more reason to believe that what Luna had seen was actually a Dementor riding a dragon.