Hagrid was spoiling Norbert rotten, and it was driving Adrian crazy. His plan to bond with the dragon was falling apart.
Adrian had been taking care of Norbert for weeks now. The dragon had grown to half the size of a kitchen table, but he was still as moody and stuck-up as the day he hatched.
Adrian had tried everything to win him over. He petted Norbert, cleaned up his messes, fed him by hand, and even caught fish from the lake and grilled them fresh. After all that work, Norbert barely tolerated him. But hey, at least Adrian had gotten pretty good at cooking fish.
His system had even given him a new skill called Cooking at Level 2. He'd secretly added some taste-boosting potions to make the fish more delicious, and for a while, grilled fish became Norbert's favorite meal.
When Norbert wasn't busy destroying furniture, he'd lounge by the fireplace like a lazy cat, waiting for Adrian to cook his dinner. The little dragon would just open his mouth and expect Adrian to feed him directly.
After weeks of this nonsense, Adrian had enough. He decided to try a different approach.
If he didn't do something soon, Norbert would get too big to control.
"Aguamenti!"
On a bright afternoon, while Norbert was happily torching Hagrid's chairs, Adrian hit him with a jet of cold water.
The water smacked Norbert right in the face. The spoiled little dragon had never been told 'no' in his life, so he just stood there, shocked. The flame he was about to breathe died in his throat.
ROAAAAR!
After a moment of confusion, Norbert lost it. He felt insulted and charged at Adrian, tail whipping behind him.
Adrian flicked his wand lazily. The wooden floor cracked and bent upward, trapping Norbert's legs. Then he turned the torn bedsheets into ropes and tied up the dragon's mouth before he could breathe fire. A transformed collar went around his neck to keep him still.
Norbert, who'd been all fierce and scary a second ago, was now stuck in place, flapping his wings uselessly.
Adrian rolled up his sleeves and walked over.
"This is for burning the furniture!" Thwack. "This is for being a brat!" Thwack. "This is for only eating when you feel like it!" Thwack. "And this is for growing too damn fast!"
Adrian let out two weeks of frustration, punching Norbert on the head. Luckily, since Norbert was still young, his scales were soft. Adrian's punches stung but didn't really hurt him.
When he was done, Adrian stepped back, breathing hard. Norbert flapped his wings angrily, confused about why he'd suddenly been attacked.
Feeling better, Adrian remembered the dragon training book he'd read. With Hagrid gone, this was the perfect time to try some real training methods.
Step one: show who's boss.
He needed Norbert to understand that Adrian wasn't just the guy who brought food. The dragon had to learn his place.
Usually, you established dominance when the dragon showed fear and backed down during a fight.
Adrian decided to try it right away. He stared hard at the trapped Norbert.
To look more threatening, Adrian even bared his teeth, but after staring for several minutes until his eyes watered, Norbert didn't seem impressed.
What was wrong?
Adrian glanced at a mirror nearby. In the reflection, he saw himself, not scary at all, just... kind of cute, actually.
Adrian sighed. It wasn't his fault he had a baby face.
Since intimidating looks weren't working, Adrian used a transformation spell to create a huge two-handed sword. The blade was three feet long and gleamed wickedly as he approached with an evil grin.
Of course, the sword was fake, completely hollow inside, or Adrian wouldn't have been able to lift it.
But Norbert didn't know that. Seeing Adrian coming at him with a massive sword, the dragon struggled desperately, making the floor boards that held him creak and groan.
Adrian took his time walking over, letting Norbert's fighting spirit wear down. When he finally reached the dragon and raised the fake sword, Norbert gave up immediately.
Adrian nodded, satisfied, and lowered the sword. Now he could start training Norbert properly.
Looking back on all those days of cleaning up messes and getting no respect, Adrian felt annoyed. If he'd known it would be this easy, why had he wasted so much time playing servant?
"Norbert, lie down."
A few hours later, Adrian stood at a safe distance and gave orders. Norbert reluctantly lowered himself to the ground, and Adrian tossed a grilled fish onto the table.
Norbert ate the tasty fish while looking miserable. Even though the rope was off his mouth, he was smart enough not to try breathing fire at the crazy human in front of him.
He'd learned his lesson. This human knew exactly how far his flames could reach, so attacking would just get him punished again.
Watching Norbert follow his command and eat the food he'd made, Adrian felt proud. It had been worth spending all afternoon practicing the same order over and over.
The sun was setting, and Hagrid would be back soon. Adrian waved his wand to remove the spell holding Norbert's legs.
Norbert stayed put, no longer acting violent, because that three-foot sword was sitting right within Adrian's reach.
Sure enough, two minutes after Adrian freed him, they heard Fang barking outside. The door opened and Hagrid's bearded face appeared.
"Adrian, how was Norbert today?" Hagrid asked casually.
Adrian was about to answer when Norbert suddenly came alive like someone had given him a shot of energy. The dragon rushed toward Hagrid, flapping his wings and limbs dramatically. His big eyes were full of tears, like an abused kid running to his mom.
"Oh, Norbert, good boy," Hagrid said, surprised by this welcome. But then he noticed the tears in Norbert's eyes and the bruises on his face. Something was definitely wrong.
"You hit him! My God, he's just a baby, he's not even a month old!" Hagrid reached out to touch Norbert's scaly head, clearly upset.