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.