"That's why I needed to find you—"
"Ah... ah?"
Looking at the seemingly endless expanse of the sea, William initially didn't understand what Newt meant. The next moment, a massive sound came from above them, and a gigantic shadow enveloped the two standing by the sea. The whistling wind was accompanied by roaring, and William looked up to see a Ukrainian Ironbelly—
The reason for recognizing its species at a glance was simple. Ukrainian Ironbellies are the largest fire dragons in the world, with shimmering gray scales, and they are also among the most threatening fire dragons to humans.
They love to live by the seaside and often attack Muggle merchant ships on the Black Sea. Because of this, the Ukrainian Ministry of Magic had to expend considerable effort to erase the memories of those Muggle sailors. Eventually, they had no choice but to have the Muggle government turn the areas where Ukrainian Ironbellies frequently appeared into no-sail zones.
After all, these fire dragons are second only to Hungarian Horntails in bravery and aggression, and second only to Peruvian Vipertooth in terms of threat to humans.
The latter is mainly because they are widely believed to be the origin of Dragon Pox, the contagious disease that has taken the lives of many famous wizards in the Wizarding World.
"Roar."
The Ukrainian Ironbelly landed about a dozen meters away from the two of them, lying on a reef, half-cautious and half-curious as it stared at them.
"What a big fellow—"
William couldn't help but say. This fire dragon was even larger than the Hungarian Horntail that knocked him off his carriage a hundred years ago when he started school, and it was twice the size of Norbert, who hadn't fully grown yet. William could even hear the low growls coming from inside his hood.
"It seems quite curious about you; Lina never came this close to me before—"
Newt nodded and said loudly. The wind stirred up by the dragon's wings had just settled, so he had to speak louder.
"Lina? Nice name."
William nodded. It seemed to be a female dragon—but with fire dragons, females are even more formidable than males... no, in nature, most female creatures are more ferocious because they have the responsibility of protecting their young.
"Roar—"
The same low growl came, and Norbert quickly jumped off William's shoulder. In mid-air, its originally gecko-sized body rapidly expanded until it returned to its original size. It wagged its tail, shielding William and Newt in its embrace, and let out a roar at Lina.
Earlier, Newt never had such a privilege. Dragons are notoriously unfriendly, and it was said that appearing in their territory could get you killed by a breath of Dragon Flame. He had dealt with Ukrainian Ironbellies during the First World War, and later encountered various fire dragons while traveling the world—
The most promising opportunity was in the East when he met a Chinese Fireball Dragon who had lost its mate, but in the end, he had to leave her territory in embarrassment.
His plan to comfort the "widow" dragon and then take advantage collapsed.
Now, embraced along with Norbert, Newt's somewhat trembling hands subconsciously began to stroke the protrusion on Norbert's tail. The smooth sensation was captivating, and of course, Newt wasn't looking for the kind of petting where a dragon was restrained with magic.
Petting a dragon was something not even the staff at the Fire Dragon Reserve could often manage, after all, these creatures weren't exactly domesticable animals.
"If you keep petting it, these two are going to start a fight."
Seeing Newt seemingly in a trance, William chimed in helplessly. These two dragons clearly weren't as tolerant of each other as Chinese Fireball Dragons, and now even a slight disagreement seemed to ignite hostility. William could forcibly restrain Norbert, but abandoning one's own child to favor another's made no sense.
If they really fought, he would have to lend Norbert a hand, considering the difference in size...
Speaking of which, could the body's structure support them turning into Godzilla?
"Ahem, can you stop it? Lina probably doesn't mean it that way—"
Newt finally snapped out of it and said reflexively. It's true, in front of a dragon, the power of a single wizard seemed incredibly small. He clearly hadn't expected there to be a Norwegian Ridgeback hiding in William's hat. If he had known, he wouldn't have been so secretive.
"I'll try."
William first comforted Norbert, then slowly walked towards the keenly aware Ukrainian Ironbelly. He wasn't certain if his "aura" would really work because it had taken some time to persuade Norbert, who was, after all, simple-minded and inexperienced—
Then, he saw the dragon hesitate for a moment before finally lowering its head and gently touching his palm with its snout.
Okay, sorry, he shouldn't have doubted the magical affinity with creatures that bringing down the entire poacher camp in England had given him.
"That's... amazing."
Newt also stepped forward, his eyes wide with surprise. He had already pulled out his white waxwood wand, fully prepared with spells that could subdue but not harm the dragon, only for the Ukrainian Ironbelly to suddenly snort as soon as he got close.
"Tsk—"
William couldn't help but frown, while Lina seemed to notice, lowering her body slightly in a conciliating gesture.
To avoid provoking her, William reduced Norbert back into a winged gecko form, placing him atop his head. Never having met a fellow dragon, Norbert was curiously staring at the massive Ukrainian Ironbelly ahead. After confirming there was no danger, his puppy-like personality began to emerge—
"Roar Roar—"
Norbert wanted to make friends.
"So, where did this big fellow come from?"
Ignoring him, William turned to Newt. It was now clear that this Ukrainian Ironbelly was the reason Newt had sought him out, something Newt no longer tried to conceal. First, he cast a peculiar glance at the little black newt wagging its tail atop William's head, then continued—
"A wizard circus from France. This little one got caught and then escaped, with injuries all over its body—I hid it before those Black Wizards could catch up... that night was quite thrilling."
Newt's tone was light, but William could sense the danger in it just from listening.
An old man in his eighties or nineties, hiding a nearly twenty-meter-long fire dragon and evading a gang of poachers' pursuit.
Truly worthy of Dumbledore's praise as a "Gryffindor among Hufflepuffs."
Though William had reason to suspect it was Old Dumbledore trying to glorify his own House. What's wrong with our Hufflepuff?
Once a member of Ravenclaw House, now part of Hufflepuff House, William felt a strong sense of collective pride.
"And you're planning to send it back?"
Having heard about Newt's habits and ways from Dumbledore, William easily guessed his intentions.
"Yes, but from Poland to Bulgaria, they all won't let me take it across their borders..."
"Can't you sneak it through?"
William said instinctively, recalling this wasn't something Newt hadn't done in his younger years—a little story from Dumbledore, about a certain infamous Dark Lord's grand scheme carefully planned and executed for half a month in America, only to be foiled by a notorious smuggler who not only disrupted the plan but also got the Dark Lord arrested by Congress...
And the background music to this story was the impotent rage of Old Grindelwald when he couldn't find an excuse.
Since William had forcibly unmasked Old Gellert and then had a showdown with Dumbledore, his relationship with Old Bee had evidently gotten closer, even to the point of sharing information, since they both had a common enemy.
And hearing William's suggestion, Newt could only scratch his nose helplessly, his cheeks slightly red.
"Ahem, smuggling and all that, those were mistakes of youth, can't do that now..."
Newt mumbled, though the truth was—nowadays, almost every nation's Ministry of Magic disagreed with him entering their borders. Aging made him more susceptible to getting caught if he attempted to smuggle. Getting into Greece was only possible because he knew the Minister of Magic—oh, now former Minister, and only after repeated assurances.
From Yinggalan all the way to Greece, except for some shortcuts by broomstick, much of the journey had been by sea.
The reason was simple: he was blacklisted by magic ministries worldwide.