Chapter 46
One day, Gray skipped class again and slipped down to Hagrid's hut.
Norbert would be leaving in just a few more days, so he wanted to spend as much time with her as possible.
When he stepped inside, Norbert was curled up asleep beside the fireplace. Hagrid must have been out; the hut was quiet except for her gentle breathing.
At the sound of the door, Norbert's ice-cold vertical pupils snapped open. But the moment she saw it was Gray, her pupils instantly squared off and the fierce expression on her face melted into pure, goofy delight.
She grinned wide, scrambled to her feet in a tumbling rush, and bumped her head against his hand, demanding attention.
Gray scratched under her chin, then set about preparing her meal.
Chicken blood mixed with brandy, plus a whole chicken chopped into manageable pieces. In his previous life he had often cooked, so this wasn't much trouble.
Once Norbert's food was ready, he gathered ingredients for himself and made a plate of rock cake.
It actually tasted decent—and eating it helped build strength, which suited someone his age.
At the very least, his body had grown noticeably sturdier than before.
A true wizard, he thought with amusement, should cast Lumos with one hand and swing a greatsword with the other!
Well… mostly a joke. His softening charm had undone most of the rock cake's natural toughness, so the benefits were limited. He was just a bit better built than other boys his age.
As for eating a full-strength, unsoftened rock cake—he couldn't even bite through one, and his body probably wouldn't absorb the full effect anyway. He didn't have giant blood.
Gray settled comfortably on the sofa and pulled out a library book he had borrowed.
By then Norbert had finished eating. She planted both foreclaws on the edge of the sofa, stretched her long neck forward, and stared straight at him.
Gray understood: she wanted to play. With her departure so close, she was especially eager for his company.
He set the book aside, held out his right hand, and opened his palm. Points of light rose from it.
Norbert's eyes locked on instantly. Her tail thrashed wildly as she tracked every movement.
Then Gray noticed something amusing. He shaped the lights into a long thin bar—and Norbert's pupils stretched into matching vertical slits. He changed them into a square—and her pupils squared off in perfect imitation.
Curious, he formed the lights into a half-circle inward spiral and let it slowly rotate right in front of her face.
Norbert's eyes followed it in widening circles… then rolled back. She toppled over sideways and flopped flat on her back, out cold.
Okay, that pattern really was dizzying.
Even Gray felt a little woozy staring at it. He quickly waved the lights away.
Once both of them had recovered a bit, Gray sent the points of light darting around the hut. Norbert bounded after them with surprising agility for her size, chasing them in wild loops.
Every so often she knocked over a teacup, sent a clay pot rolling, or bumped a chair sideways.
Before long she was panting hard, tongue lolling out the side of her mouth. Her scales rose and fell like breathing grass as she caught her breath.
The inside of Hagrid's hut was now an absolute disaster.
Gray smiled, scattered the lights, then gathered Norbert's heavy head into his arms and stroked her gently.
What a little troublemaker, he thought, glancing at the mess. He gave a small sigh.
Hagrid's hut really was too small for her. Norbert needed somewhere much bigger—somewhere she could run and stretch without breaking everything.
He drew his wand and cast Reparo. The scattered items drifted back into place, chairs righted themselves, and broken pieces mended—though honestly, the difference wasn't huge. Hagrid's place had always been cheerfully chaotic.
Purrrrrr…
Under Gray's gentle petting, a deep, contented rumble started in Norbert's throat.
Gray propped his book on top of her broad head like a reading stand and settled in to read, perfectly at ease.
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