"Don't, Hagrid!" Charlie warned, his eyes fixed on the dragon. "It might have just finished breakfast, but that good mood won't last." He slowly drew his wand.
The Norwegian Ridgeback, currently in its 'good mood', bared even more teeth at Hagrid in clear threat. Another thick plume of black smoke billowed from its nostrils. It lowered its head, a deep, rumbling growl building in its throat.
Anthony swore he saw the faint flicker of flame between its fangs. Its beady, malevolent eyes shifted, taking in the hulking Hagrid, the wand-wielding Charlie, and Anthony standing off to the side, as if calculating the perfect angle for one grand, fiery roast.
"Oh, you've grown up to be such a pretty little fella," Hagrid cooed, taking another step forward. Charlie grabbed for his belt, but Hagrid didn't seem to notice at all.
Anthony drew his wand too. He wasn't sure what he was supposed to do with it—definitely not jab Hagrid in the back—but having it ready seemed wise. He murmured a Shield Charm on Hagrid, hoping against hope it would do something against dragon fire.
Hagrid remained oblivious to Charlie's frantic tugs. Fumbling in his pockets as he walked, he said, "I brought you somethin'—"
A roar. Norbert reared up, wings spreading wide. Anthony could almost see the fire gathering in its throat.
"Watch out, Hagrid!" Anthony yelled.
At the same moment, Charlie barked a quick incantation. A spell shot straight into Norbert's open maw. Anthony was reminded. He cast an Extinguishing Charm. His first shot went wide, ricocheting off a hard scale on the dragon's snout. The second hit the mark inside its mouth. Charlie immediately followed up with another.
Three spells. The fire in Norbert's throat guttered and died. The dragon shook its head, streams of grayish-black smoke pouring from between its sharp teeth.
"Norbert!" Hagrid cried.
Norbert sneezed violently. A few sparks shot from its fangs, landing on some broken twigs, which caught fire briefly before fizzling out. It drew a deep breath, mouth open again. More black smoke.
Anthony had never seen an angry dragon before. But he was absolutely certain he was seeing one now.
Norbert's spiked back arched dramatically. Its tail lashed in fury, whipping the trees behind it back and forth. Then it lunged straight for Hagrid, clearly blaming him for everything. The black spikes on its wings snagged in the tree trunk behind Hagrid as its massive body slammed down right in front of the gamekeeper, knocking him back several steps. He almost fell.
Hagrid's mouth hung open in sheer surprise.
"Relashio!" Anthony shouted, aiming for the wing pinning Hagrid. "Stop gawping, Hagrid! Relashio! Charlie, is there a spell to glue a mouth shut?!"
Without much hope, he aimed a Relashio at Norbert's gaping jaws as well. It did not dislocate its jaw.
"Never heard of one!" Charlie yelled. Ropes shot from his wand tip, looping around Norbert's muzzle and tightening. Norbert roared, tossed its head violently, and the ropes snapped like twine.
Hagrid finally reacted.
"It's fine, he's just cross with me," Hagrid said, his voice oddly calm amidst the chaos. "I've been meanin' to visit, Norbert. Look at you. All grown up now. Nearly gave Anthony and Charlie here a fright."
He grabbed Norbert's long, narrow snout with both huge hands and forced its jaws shut. Black smoke puffed out in bursts. Norbert thrashed, whipping its head side to side, the spikes on its wings striking Hagrid. Hagrid yelped in pain.
"Ow! Sorry!" he exclaimed, letting go instantly. "Did I hurt you?"
Norbert immediately twisted its head sideways, trying to bite his face off. Hagrid grabbed its snout again. The enraged dragon slammed into him, and they both went down in a heap. Norbert tried to buck Hagrid off. Hagrid tried to reason with Norbert about being a good boy, completely ignoring how his moleskin coat was being shredded to ribbons.
Everything descended into pure chaos.
Charlie's Stunning Spells zipped everywhere, hitting tree trunks, the ground, occasionally Hagrid or Norbert's dark, metallic-looking scales. Neither Hagrid nor the dragon seemed particularly affected by them, just rolling around on the ground, flattening every nearby tree.
Norbert's flailing and beating wings churned up the snow. Anthony and Charlie stood with wands raised, watching helplessly. In the swirling white, a black tail suddenly cracked down beside them, shattering a rock. The next second, the dragon's head was right in front of them again, Hagrid still murmuring placating words into its ear. His face was a mess of scratches and bruises, his nose and forehead smudged black with dragon soot.
"Watch it, Hagrid!" Charlie called. "Close your eyes! I'm trying a Conjunctivitus Curse!"
"No, Charlie, don't hurt him!" Hagrid cried out in panic.
He released Norbert's snout and instead clamped his hands over the dragon's eyes. Norbert thrashed violently, its long fangs sinking into Hagrid's arm, piercing right through his coat sleeve. Hagrid's eyes instantly welled up with tears.
"S'alright, s'alright. He's just angry 'cause I hurt him," Hagrid grunted, awkwardly trying to pry the jaws open from his trapped position.
They rolled away again.
Even Charlie seemed at a loss for a moment. He and Anthony exchanged a look, then both heard a loud, wet CRASH. They ran over.
Hagrid sat in the middle of a shallow stream, looking thoroughly battered. Norbert lay beside him, still baring its teeth menacingly, a fish clamped in its jaws.
"Clever boy! You caught a fish, Norbert!" Hagrid said brightly, water streaming off him. "Don't be cross now. Look what I brought you!"
The dragon rolled, killed the fish with a swift, clean bite, then tilted its head back and let the meal slide down its throat. A puff of black smoke escaped its nostrils. Its high-arched back slowly relaxed.
Hagrid hauled his tattered coat out of the water and started digging in the sodden, heavy pockets.
"Blimey. Where's me rock cakes?"
"Here," Anthony said, levitating the dented tin box from where it had fallen to the bank. The dragon watched the floating box approach with a malevolent eye, its mouth opening slightly again.
Hagrid snatched the box from the air before Norbert could. He flipped the lid open and dumped the entire contents onto the bank. "Rock cakes."
Norbert watched Hagrid, seemingly confused by this turn of events.
"Remember? Sometimes I'd hide dead mice in 'em for you," Hagrid said with deep affection. He struggled to pull a crumpled, dripping, supposedly fluffy blanket from another pocket. A soggy, lumpy thing that might once have been a teddy bear plopped out into the water. "An' your blanket an' teddy. No need to be scared sleepin' alone… you're just a baby, really… ow." He winced as the movement jostled his swollen arm bite. He pulled out a few shiny stones next. "An' these. For sharpenin' your teeth."
He placed everything in front of Norbert, using a stone to weigh down the blanket so it wouldn't float away. He looked at the dragon expectantly.
The dragon, now taller than him even lying down, surveyed the offerings: rock cakes on the bank, the blanket waving in the current, the odd teddy, the sharpening stones.
"D'you like 'em?" Hagrid asked eagerly.
The ugly, misshapen plush thing spun slowly in the water, starting to drift downstream. Norbert lifted a wing, pinning it. It lowered its head, sniffing the toy carefully with its long snout.
"Do you like 'em, Norbert?" Hagrid asked again, hope brimming in his voice.
Norbert opened its mouth, seized the toy, and ripped it clean in half. Clumps of soggy stuffing floated out.
"Oh… right," Hagrid said, shoulders slumping slightly. "Oh! I brought brandy too! Charlie?"
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