Chapter 55 Switching Combat Mode
When Hermione approached, she found Abey perfectly fine, though parts of his clothes were scorched, completely unlike the Dragon flame burns she had expected.
As she breathed a sigh of relief, she also saw a blazing fury in Abey's eyes.
"Roar!"
Abey roared at Norbert, with significantly more power than before.
At the same time, its body underwent some changes: a layer of smooth white scales appeared on its skin, its claws extended a few inches, and its teeth became sharper and more pointed, transforming it from a harmless, adorable creature into a fierce, claw-wielding beast.
Gulp!
Everyone widened their eyes at this sight, collectively swallowing a mouthful of saliva.
"Hagrid, you know more about Magical Creatures. Do you know what species this shape-shifting creature is?" Harryasked nervously.
"I don't know either. There are indeed some shape-shifters among Fantastic Beasts, but Abey doesn't belong to any of them.
Furthermore, Abey is clearly a cub, and very few have this ability at such an early stage." Hagrid said meaningfully, but his expression quickly turned serious, "Things are not good! Its current state is clearly for combat; it seems to have gotten seriously angry."
"Then what do we do?" Ron asked.
"What can we do? Stop them!" Hagrid said, picking up his umbrella and casting a spell at Abey.
But Abey, at full power, easily dodged it. It ignored Hagrid, instead rushing to the table at extreme speed and then slamming its paw down hard on Norbert's head.
Splat!
At the last moment, Norbert spread its wings and flew into the air.
Abey's attack missed, but everyone remained tense, as there was a clear claw print on the table.
Hagrid's heart grew heavy; the power of this strike was almost several times that of before. If it had hit, Norbert, though not losing its combat ability, would certainly have suffered a severe injury.
He didn't know how to treat a concussion in a young Dragon, so he could only hope Norbert would recover on its own.
Though somewhat exaggerated, this was true: adult Dragons were terrifying, with few rivals, but newly hatched young Dragons were quite fragile, so much so that even ordinary Muggles could easily kill them.
Abey watched Norbert flying above its head, gnashing its teeth in anger, making clicking sounds.
Norbert, however, was unfazed. It could breathe fire and fly, naturally putting it in an invincible position, with nothing to fear.
If it didn't seize this opportunity to avenge the beating it had just received, it wouldn't dare call itself a Dragon.
A ball of flame erupted from its mouth, landing on the tabletop where Abey stood. The fire quickly spread, scorching half of the wooden table black.
Abey didn't take the Dragon's breath head-on; it jumped to the floor the moment the flames descended.
Neither Dragon gained much advantage, but from an observer's perspective, Norbert undoubtedly had the upper hand.
Unless Abey could fly, defeat was only a matter of time.
Norbert looked down at Abey from above, its orange-red eyes full of triumph.
Abey noticed its provocation, letting out an angry growl while also crouching down.
It pushed off with its hind legs, accelerating sharply, and began to run around Hagrid's Hut.
The white figure swiftly darted across the floor, boxes, windows, and cabinets. After a running start, it leaped up, its sharp claws sparking against the wall, using the brief leverage to pounce on Norbert in mid-air.
"No!" Hagrid and Hermione shouted in unison.
Harry and Ron instinctively closed their eyes, somewhat afraid to watch what would happen next.
Given its current speed and the sharpness of its claws, if it hit Norbert, it would likely leave an indelible psychological scar on the young Dragon.
Norbert was momentarily stunned as the claws lunged toward it.
But being born a Dragon also had certain advantages; before its brain could react, its body instinctively responded, narrowly dodging the attack by twisting sideways.
Abey landed on the ground, running a few steps forward to cushion the impact due to inertia.
Norbert flapped its wings, a hint of solemnity in its eyes.
It had initially thought it had a sure win, taking on a plump, white kin for its first fight in its Dragon life, which wouldn't disgrace its name as a Norwegian Ridgeback.
But who would have thought the opponent had such an attack method? This was practically cheating!
Unfortunately, being indoors severely limited its performance, while conversely providing Abey with a certain degree of convenience and attack opportunities. If it were outdoors, its chances of winning would definitely increase significantly.
"As expected of my Norbert." Hagrid breathed a sigh of relief, gently patting his chest with his left hand, the entire Giant relaxing considerably.
Abey's attack method just now had truly startled him, but such a surprise move was only effective the first time.
Now that Norbert was on guard, such a move would be much less effective.
Hearing Hagrid's exclamation, Harry and Ron also opened their eyes, looking at the situation, which was almost unchanged from before, and were somewhat slow to recover.
"How could this be? Norbert took the hit?" Ron murmured, "As expected of a Dragon! Its hide is really thick."
"No." Hermione rolled her eyes at him and said, "It dodged it. It must have dodged it by instinct."
"That's even more amazing." Harry exclaimed, "Of course, Abey is amazing too.
Is it really a cub?"
"Now isn't the time to be talking about this!" Hermione said with a wry smile, about to go and pick up Abey. If these two Magical Creatures started fighting again, Hagrid's Hutwould probably need to be rebuilt.
But before Hermione could take her first step, Norbertswooped down, a ball of Dragon flame erupting directly from its mouth.
Flames rushed towards it; Abey quickly leaped backward to avoid the burning range of the flames, then prepared to counterattack.
But Norbert, having endured a good beating, naturally knew the importance of maintaining distance, and increased its flying altitude as Abey pounced.
Abey's white right paw was still a few centimeters from Norbert's wing when it began to fall due to gravity, flapping its limbs twice in mid-air before landing on the ground.
It was comical yet very cute.
Norbert, seeing this, let out a challenging roar or two, and even spread its wings, circling several times above Abey's head.
Faced with such blatant showing off, Abey furiously clawed at its chest, and the areas on both sides of its body began to swell slightly.
"Hagrid, are all Magical Creatures like this?" Hermioneasked, her mouth twitching, "You're right, this really is a big fuss between children, but isn't this Dragon a bit too petty?"
"Uh..." Hagrid paused, his eyes shifting slightly, "I've never encountered a situation like this before; it needs to be recorded.
Also, Hermione, there's something I must remind you of.
Magical Creatures aren't common goods; they are very rare. An ordinary Wizard might not see one in their lifetime, and Magical Creature cubs are even rarer.
So don't ask me about everything; I don't know everything either."
"But besides asking you, who else can I ask?"
"Dumbledore! I'm sure he's seen no fewer Magical Creatures than I have, and he even keeps one..." Hagrid paused slightly, then immediately closed his mouth.
"Keeps what?" Harry asked with interest.
"That's confidential; it's his privacy." Hagrid chuckled, raising his umbrella, "Tonight has been very lively already. For now, let's separate these two little ones!
Pay attention, everyone; this time I intend to use my full power."
After Hagrid spoke, Harry and the others all breathed a sigh of relief.
There were two fighting Magical Creature cubs in the room, one of which was a Dragon, widely considered the most dangerous in the Magical World.
But they weren't worried, precisely because Hagrid was there.
He might not be as powerful as Dumbledore, but he had extensive experience dealing with Magical Creatures, though Abey was an exception.
Hagrid smiled and waved his umbrella, a faint reddish glow appearing at the tip.
Just as he was about to cast a spell, his movements abruptly stopped, and he stared ahead in astonishment, the faint red glow at the umbrella tip also vanishing.
"This is truly incredible." Hagrid murmured, "Among Magical Creatures, only the noble Unicorn can probably compare to it."
The three, puzzled, followed Hagrid's gaze and simultaneously gaped.
They saw that the clothes on both sides of Abey were torn open, revealing a pair of white wings. A white aura shimmered on its skin, highlighting a sacred presence.
With its wings revealed, Abey also took flight, the entire Dragon standing upright in mid-air, facing Norbert.
Norbert looked utterly bewildered, an ominous premonition spontaneously arising in its heart.
It instinctively breathed out a puff of Dragon's breath, but Abey didn't dodge this time, blocking it with its wings. The limited magic within its body automatically circulated, forming a white magic circle that deflected the Dragon's breath.
Then Abey bared its teeth at Norbert and swung its paw, punching it.
The two young Dragons quickly collided in the air, but Abeywas superior to the newly hatched Norbert in all aspects; though it couldn't breathe fire, it still dominated the fight.
Clanging sounds continuously echoed throughout Hagrid's Hut, and at the same time, Aaron arrived, panting.