Chapter 138: Summer at the Dragon Preserve, Harry Feels for Malfoy
In the Room of Requirement classroom.
Harry and the others had already gone. Leonardo had kept Malfoy back alone.
"What were you doing this morning?"
Faced with the blunt question, Malfoy stammered, "Well, Potter ran out after me, so I ran, did I not?"
Leonardo shook his head. So he chased, you ran…
"All right. Come by this evening and see the dragon. I remember you were quite interested in that sort of magical creature."
He had not expected Leonardo to remember. The attention made Malfoy's face light up.
The straightforward invitation made him scratch his head. "I know what you mean. I will not tell anyone.
"Malfoys do not betray their friends."
Leonardo gathered the marked papers, privately thinking, Only if your friends are strong enough.
"Do I need to pay?" Malfoy added.
Leonardo looked up. "What?"
Seeing his expression, Malfoy hurried to explain, "Oh, my family's dragon preserves are open to visitors. They can pay to have their picture taken with the dragons.
"So, ha, I am used to it."
A photo with a dragon.
That was asking to die.
Dragons were XXXXX‑class beasts, extremely dangerous. No one but very powerful witches and wizards should ever go near them.
Then again, the Malfoys did own several dragon preserves. If possible, Leonardo would visit over the summer.
It would be good to scout a path for Norbert ahead of time.
Later, when they came to "conquer" the other Norwegian Ridgebacks, it would help.
"Draco, those dragons are real, not illusions or anything of the sort?" Leonardo pressed.
Malfoy thumped his chest. "Our family is very serious about business.
"If we say there are dragons, there are dragons. Crowds are queuing to see them."
Leonardo was briefly lost for words.
Once more, he reaffirmed the wizarding world's talent for courting disaster.
"And there have never been any accidents? Dragons are very dangerous," he asked.
Malfoy only spread his hands. "Of course, there have. Two or three incidents every month, easily.
"That is why we offer matching insurance and post‑incident treatment. Everybody is quite happy."
A full "end‑to‑end service", then.
"Draco, if one wanted to visit your family's preserve, how many Galleons would it cost?" Leonardo asked.
"Oh, no, no," Malfoy said quickly, waving both hands. "If you tell me in advance, we will just go.
"My father taught me, you see. Only by helping each other can you deepen a bond properly."
…
After dinner.
In Hagrid's hut.
Malfoy stared at the little dragon on the table, eyes shining, even though Norbert's head was buried in the barrel and he had not looked at him once.
"Oh, a Norwegian Ridgeback," Malfoy breathed. "Very similar to a Hungarian Horntail, but without the tail spines and with that raised ridge along the back. That is where the name comes from…
"They are especially fond of aquatic prey. There was one that took off with a baby whale…
"Shame about the temper. Highly aggressive, especially with their own kind. That is why they are so rare now…"
He rattled off traits as if he had swallowed a dragon encyclopaedia.
Being this close to a dragon had him almost shaking. His family owned dragon preserves, but every time he had begged his father to let him visit the dragons up close, Lucius had refused, saying that he was too young and safety came first.
Family insurance and healers were for other people's injuries, not the heir.
No one in their right mind would risk the only son and heir of the house.
Still, his father had promised before the term that this summer he would take Draco to see the dragons. That was why Malfoy had spoken so confidently to Leonardo.
Watching the adorable hatchling drink its brandy and chicken blood, Malfoy reached out on instinct to stroke it—
"Argh!"
His shriek knifed through the hut.
Everyone else clapped their hands over their ears.
Malfoy snatched his hand back. A neat row of punctures had opened along the side of his palm, oozing blood.
Norbert bared his tiny teeth, glaring fiercely at the human who had dared to offend him.
Malfoy went white as a sheet, clutching his hand.
"All right. It is all right. He was not trying to steal your food," Leonardo said, rubbing Norbert's head.
The hatchling rumbled in pleasure, the fierceness vanishing as quickly as it had come.
Proper dragon hide really is something, Leonardo thought. The dragonhide gloves in Diagon Alley are rubbish by comparison.
Probably land‑wyrm leather, those.
There was no way there were enough real dragons in the world to glove every Hogwarts student; every first‑year bought a pair, and they wore out in time.
The supply of genuine dragon materials was limited, and most so‑called dragon blood was heavily diluted.
Leonardo spared Malfoy a glance. He had not warned them on purpose. They needed to see for themselves that dangerous creatures were not to be petted like Puffskeins.
Some lessons only sank in that way.
He pulled his hand back from Norbert and took a crystal phial from inside his robes.
"Give me your hand," he said.
Malfoy assumed he meant to heal him and obediently held it out.
A single clear drop fell, and Malfoy's eyes went wide.
The wounds were closing before his eyes.
He remembered now: a Norwegian Ridgeback's teeth carried venom. Not enough to kill, but enough to make a wound swell and throb for days.
Dragon bites were notoriously hard to treat. But that one drop…
He guessed it was some rare potion. Given Leonardo's performance in Potions and his obvious gift, it made perfect sense.
Seeing Malfoy get bitten and then healed, Harry could not help but touch his own hand. He remembered all too well the way Fluffy had sunk his teeth into him. They were both scars from magical creatures. For a moment, he actually felt a flicker of sympathy for Malfoy.
Only a flicker.
When Norbert finished his drink, he sprang up in one bound, landing in Leonardo's lap and curling into a ball. A yawn split his snout.
Leonardo patted his back gently, humming a soft tune, as if he were lulling a baby to sleep.
Watching it, the others could not help but feel a stab of envy.
How could anyone be that close to a dragon?