Newt rushed forward in a panic, completely forgetting the agreement to observe the dragon from a safe distance.
Of course, Wade didn't remind him, since he'd already been looking for an excuse to get a closer look at the dragon anyway.
Besides, with Newt's personality, even if Wade had reminded him, he still would have charged ahead—just maybe after setting Wade down first.
In front of the dragon's massive body, someone was squatting motionless right by its snout.
Newt worried that shouting might trigger the dragon's stress response, so he didn't dare raise his voice.
He could only steer the Zouwu quickly over to the person's side.
"Hey! Do you have a death wish? Get away from there at once!" Once close, Newt called out in a lowered voice.
The person turned his head at the sound, and when his beetle-black eyes caught sight of the Zouwu beneath Newt, they immediately lit up!
"What a beautiful big cat!" the man exclaimed.
When Newt got a clear look at his face, he couldn't help but freeze for a moment.
When the man stood up, he was two heads taller than Newt, but his face still looked strikingly childlike…
A body taller and stronger than most grown men, but a face like that of a child.
This left Newt completely bewildered. He stared and asked blankly, "You… how old are you, exactly?"
"Me? I'm nine years old… After my birthday in December, I'll be ten…" the man replied in a simple, boyish voice.
Newt and Wade exchanged a look. Nine years old, seriously?
Then Newt turned to Wade as if he'd just seen a ghost.
"Wade! What are you doing here?!" Newt exclaimed in shock.
Wade blinked and said, "Didn't you bring me here?"
"Ah…" Newt nearly lost his mind.
In his rush of panic earlier, he'd completely forgotten about Wade!
He should have set Wade down first before approaching the dragon!
And now, the dragon was right in front of them.
All it would take was a single burst of dragonfire… He might survive, but these two children would almost certainly not!
If something like that really happened, it would all be his fault!
How could he ever face Dumbledore after that? Or the families and friends of this child?!
He wouldn't even have the face to face Nagini!
"Gurrrr…"
Just then, the dragon let out a rumbling purr.
Newt was shocked. The dragon might be depressed and too lazy to move, but if someone disturbed it, there was no guarantee it wouldn't fly into a rage.
Depression, after all, could swing into mania once it reached a certain point… Humans were like that, and dragons probably weren't much different…
No, they had to get out of here immediately!
Right now, Newt bitterly regretted agreeing to Wade's request!
"We should leave this place—" Newt hadn't even finished speaking when he was so startled he nearly froze in place.
Because in those few seconds he'd been distracted…
Wade, together with that big oaf, had actually run right up to the dragon's snout to study its whiskers!And from the looks of it, they even seemed to be trying to pluck one out!
"Merlin's underpants!" Newt hurriedly leapt onto the Zouwu, which instantly understood and stretched out its two claws, one for each boy. It scooped up Wade and the big oaf, tossed them onto its back, and bolted!
RoAARR!
The very next second, a thunderous roar erupted behind them.
A stream of dragonfire shot past, close enough to singe their scalps!
But this dragon's state was clearly not like most…
After unleashing just that one blast of fire, it flopped back down onto the ground and refused to lift its head again.
Newt was puzzled. The dragon had been relatively stable before, so why had it suddenly lashed out?
Could it really have been the three of them disturbing it?
Then, out of the corner of his eye, Newt noticed that the big oaf now had something in his hand...
A long, thick hair!
Ah..
Newt's face went pale green… That wasn't just a hair. That was one of the dragon's whiskers!
No wonder the dragon had breathed fire!
If it had been a dragon less depressed, it would've already chased after them, spewing flames nonstop!
"Whoa, big guy, you're really bold! A dragon's whisker—just like that, you went and plucked it right out!" Wade exclaimed in admiration.
"Uh… I just wanted to pick it up and have a look… But then this big cat suddenly grabbed me, and I got nervous, so I clenched my hand… and then… it came off…"
"You two… little terrors!" Even someone as mild-tempered and honest as Newt was clutching his chest in pain now, so furious he could barely breathe!
The Zouwu kept running for quite a while, and only when it was sure the dragon wasn't chasing did it finally stop.
Newt jumped down from its back, leaned against its body, pressed a hand to his forehead, and panted heavily.
"Mister…" the big boy began.
Newt waved his hand weakly. "Haah.. Wait… let me catch my breath… I haven't even finished being terrified yet…"
The big boy, clearly realizing he'd caused trouble, looked awkward and at a loss.
Wade, however, had already taken the dragon whisker from his hand and was examining it closely.
The moment he held it, Wade felt a wave of warmth flow through it.
The whisker itself carried heat, and surprisingly, just this one whisker was rather heavy.
It felt like holding an iron chain.
Only now did Wade recall the appearance of that dragon.
And then he realized, to his surprise, that the dragon he'd just seen looked nothing like the illustrations and descriptions in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them!
Only Chinese Fireballs had whiskers, but… Chinese Fireballs were never that massive. (A/N: Don't say it or I'm gonna lose it. Viktor Krum fought a Chinese Fireball in the tournament!)
What's more, that dragon's scales weren't bright red, and its snout lacked the tassel-like spikes unique to the Fireball.
Instead, its scales were pitch-black, and atop its head gleamed a pair of long golden horns, just like a Romanian Longhorn.
And its abnormally huge body… was more like a Ukrainian Ironbelly.
In short, after going over everything, Wade couldn't identify what kind of dragon it was.
At that moment, Newt finally recovered his breath.
"You… what's your name? And why are you here?" Newt asked the towering boy.
The big boy said in a simple, honest voice, "My name's Rubeus Hagrid. My dad brought me to visit my mum, and then… he got a little hurt. He told me to stay put and not move, then went off to find some herbs to heal himself… Later, I heard a dragon roar, so I came to have a look… and then I saw that awesome dragon!"
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