Chapter 22. Flamewood
"Professor Kettleburn has set me a tricky problem." Adrian Wesson opened the case in front of Lupin and revealed what lay inside.
This wasn't something that needed hiding.
Lupin stared wide-eyed at the dragon egg in the case.
"A dragon egg?" he asked in a low voice, edged with surprise. "Where did it come from?"
Adrian nodded and pointed at the surface of the egg. "It's a Chinese Fireball egg. Professor Kettleburn gave it to me and, incidentally, it may be only a few days from hatching."
Lupin, of course, knew Professor Kettleburn, as the man had been the Care of Magical Creatures professor at Hogwarts when he was at school.
On hearing that the dragon would hatch soon, Lupin hurried closer to examine it.
"Looks like trouble," he said.
"Naturally," Adrian sighed, then added, "and worse, I hear the Ministry of Magic is looking for this little treasure."
Lupin frowned, tore his gaze from the egg, and looked at Adrian. "Then why don't you hand it over to the Ministry? It's only a dragon egg. Rare, yes, but not something you strictly need."
"Professor Kettleburn would kill me," Adrian said with a faint smile. "He's only storing it with me temporarily."
"All right. I won't breathe a word of this," Lupin said gravely.
"Ah, I never thought you would," Adrian nodded, smiling slightly. "In fact, I never doubted you."
Whatever the case, being trusted felt good.
Especially so for Lupin.
When Lupin reached out to touch the egg, Adrian stopped him. "Careful. You were just handling poisonous dittany."
He didn't know whether a dragon egg could be poisoned, but it was best to be cautious.
At Adrian's words, Lupin's outstretched hand halted mid-air.
"What are you planning to do with it?"
As he spoke, he drew his wand and cast several Scourgify charms on himself.
Adrian gestured for Lupin to follow. "First we need to put it somewhere more suited to it. What does a hatching dragon need? High temperatures!"
They passed through the door of Greenhouse Three and entered Greenhouse Two.
Lupin had been to Greenhouse Two, but had only lingered by the entrance. He knew it held mostly trees—many kinds of trees.
After they stepped in, Adrian led Lupin steadily to the left.
"Where exactly are we going?" Lupin asked, glancing around with curiosity.
"I told you: an area better suited to a dragon's life," Adrian replied, just as a wave of scorching heat rolled towards them from ahead.
"Look," Adrian turned his head back again. "We're there."
Lupin looked forward. A gigantic tree towered before them.
It was a graceful, spire-shaped tree, with straight, upright boughs—clearly thriving.
Most eye-catching of all was the crown, densely covered with brilliant red flowers.
The blossoms were tulip-like, as though they were clumps of burning fire.
No—!
They weren't merely like fire; actual flames burned upon the flowers!
Lupin watched closely for a while and saw the air about the blossoms warping with heat, as if waves of hot air were pouring from each petal.
Flowers on fire? Lupin rubbed his eyes and verified he wasn't seeing things.
In any case, the temperature here told him this was no illusion.
When they were still some distance from the tree, Lupin already felt almost uncomfortably hot. The tree seemed to be radiating astonishing heat.
[Species: Flamewood]
[Level: 2]
[Trait: Burning]
[Status: Growing (22%)]
.....
This was a mutated Flamewood, which Adrian had transplanted from Africa.
After Adrian used his plant-altering ability on it, it had gained the "Burning" trait.
"I think we'd better not go any closer," Adrian said, turning to Lupin.
It seemed hotter here than on his last visit. Perhaps it wouldn't be long before this tree could make the temperature like that at a volcano's rim.
Fortunately, the greenhouse roof was high enough that he didn't have to worry about the Flamewood burning through it.
Adrian waved his wand and murmured a spell. The dragon egg drifted up from the case and floated down beneath the Flamewood.
The temperature there was perfect for a dragon to hatch.
Almost the instant it was set down, the shell flushed a vivid red.
"It isn't going to cook, is it?" Lupin said, wiping the sweat from his brow.
Adrian smiled and, watching the faintly trembling egg, answered with confidence, "Don't worry. It won't cook. You could even roast a dragon egg over a fire. For dragons, so long as the heat stays within what they can bear, they actually grow better in such conditions."
Lupin nodded; he had lost count of how many times he'd been astonished today.
The plants Adrian cultivated here—almost every one could surprise him.
"Shall we tell Harry about the dragon?" Lupin asked suddenly.
"Why not? Every wizard ought to learn something about dragons. Dragons—almost every part of them can be used as valuable material. Scales, bones, teeth…"
As he spoke, Adrian brushed dust from his robes and turned away. "Come on, Lupin. We've other work to do."
.....
The dragon hatched six days later.
The newly hatched Fireball whelp was lively—so lively it even tore off a little branch from the Flamewood—which pained Adrian slightly.
For both wizards and Muggles, dragons have a tremendous allure.
Harry was no exception. From the moment he learned Adrian had a dragon egg, he came almost every day to take a look beneath the Flamewood.
But he soon lost interest, because a newborn dragon was, frankly, rather ugly—and not at all well-behaved.
Like an ugly little terror constantly leaping about—enough to put anyone off.
Well, perhaps not Professor Kettleburn.
A newly hatched dragon needs looking after, but Adrian wasn't willing, Harry was still too young, and Lupin had his usual work to do.
Thus, the vital task of tending the dragonling was entrusted to the Devil's Snare.
Luckily, the newborn dragon couldn't yet breathe fire, so it wouldn't burn the Devil's Snare.
Professor Kettleburn kept his word as well. When the dragon hatched, he came to have a look and, incidentally, named it "Torch."
Adrian suspected this was because Professor Kettleburn thought the Flamewood looked like a giant torch; he had stared at it for quite some time while naming the dragon.
After that, Professor Kettleburn still left the dragon with Adrian for fostering.
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