Chapter 228 - 227. Dragon.

Chapter 227. Dragon.

Hogwarts. A few days later.

Before Severus lay an enormous egg, nearly a meter tall, deep crimson and trembling, speckled with gold. Shuffling and knocking sounds emanated from within.

Nagini and Lucky watched from the bed with equal curiosity. Nagini had never seen anything like it, while Lucky simply wondered what his new friend would be like. But beyond that, he also wanted to assert his dominance.

The sounds from the egg grew louder, the trembling more intense. After a few minutes came a crack, then another, and a web of fractures spread across the surface, quickly covering the upper portion of the shell.

"Good thing I decided to put a barrier over it." The carpet around the egg was blackening before his very eyes, the air filling with the smell of burning, not to mention the magic spilling out like flame from the egg. "They didn’t call this species fireball for nothing. If I hadn’t put up a barrier, the whole school would have turned into an impromptu sauna, and my room would have simply burned." But feeling the temperature in the room gradually rise, Severus smiled. Directing his palm toward the egg, he began feeding the barrier surrounding it.

The moment he did, the heat within intensified sharply. Even the stone floor slowly began to turn red, and nothing remained of the carpet except gray ash through which he could still observe the spectacle.

"Such powerful fire magic..." Nagini couldn’t suppress a shudder at the sight of stone beginning to melt and burn before her eyes.

Mmmmeow... Lucky was already feeling somewhat uncertain, realizing he would most likely have to fight for dominance, and the battle would not be an easy one.

Severus watched with interest; the dragon had managed to pleasantly surprise him.

"Beginning of the fifth rank... though I’d only expected the peak of the fourth. When he grows, he’ll reach at least the seventh... Another monster at the Archimagus rank in the upcoming battle certainly won’t hurt, if he manages to grow in time, which I doubt." He watched as a small, red, scaly paw covered in transparent slime broke its way out of the shell. A moment later, from the upper part of the egg, gradually falling apart from the multitude of cracks, a small muzzle appeared, with large brown eyes and tiny horns atop its head. It breathed flame from its nostrils, looking quite adorable, provided one didn’t know that this fire could burn a person to ash in a fraction of a second. "Lucky, it seems you have a competitor." He glanced with a smirk at Lucky, who looked back at him threateningly. "All right, all right, relax, no one can surpass the softness of your fur." Severus patted his head encouragingly, turning his gaze back to the little dragon, which had now fully emerged in all its glory.

It was a creature nearly thirty centimeters long, with four paws tipped with small claws. But beyond that, it possessed a massive tail, as well as a feature that distinguished it from other pseudo-dragons.

Its webbed wings, still small but distinct, would make it a true menace both in the sky and on the ground.

The hatchling’s gaze had not left Severus since the moment it hatched, sensing in him the familiar magic it had felt constantly while in the egg, the same magic that had fed it such delicious nourishment.

*Apparently, due to the blood of that dragon, which differed greatly from that of ordinary dragons, it grew so unnaturally long. But I don’t think this will harm it in any way. As for its overall appearance... almost nothing remains of the former fireball lineage, except for fire magic.* His musings were interrupted by a squeak. Raising his gaze, he met a pair of pleading eyes, while another pair bored into his back, filled with pure, undisguised envy. "I offered to let you feed it with your magic, so blame your soap operas for this." Severus hummed indifferently, not even turning toward Nagini, who was still burning holes in his back with her envious gaze, though he understood she was right. She simply hadn’t expected the little dragon to be so cute.

The little dragon continued to squeak, scratch at the barrier walls, and breathe flame against them, trying to break free.

"Meow!" Seeing Nagini’s reaction and Severus’s amused smirk, Lucky meowed indignantly and turned away from both of them.

Severus, however, did not succumb to the little dragon’s charms. First, he decided to ensure everyone’s safety: he connected the barrier’s interior to the window, venting the hot air, and waited for the floor to return to its original state. Only after a few minutes did he remove the barrier. The little dragon, eyes shining with joy, immediately rushed toward him, bumping its forehead against his chest and growling happily as it rubbed against him.

"Calm down, little one. I’m glad to see you too, but let’s be gentle," said Severus with a smile, stroking its head with one hand while restoring the floor and carpet with the other.

"I thought it would be bigger," Nagini hissed with a note of displeasure, glancing at them.

"All dragons are born small, and for the first ten years they grow very quickly," he explained calmly, using telekinesis to lift the shell and place it in a pouch. "After that, the growth rate slows down. For example, up to thirty years, they’re considered children, and they don’t exceed five meters in height. From thirty to seventy, they’re still children, but more independent, reaching about eight or nine meters. From seventy to one hundred fifty, they’re adolescents, averaging around fifteen meters. From one hundred fifty to two hundred fifty years, they’re called young adults—their size usually starts at twenty meters, depending on their genes. They become truly adults at three hundred, which is the peak of their strength." He stroked the hatchling, who was almost purring, as he looked at Nagini. "People created another classification for dragons, a kind of maturation stage: Ancient. Usually this marks their decline, though the exact age is unknown because dragons can live for thousands of years, making precise determination impossible. But recognizing such dragons isn’t difficult: slight sluggishness, faded scales, and a dim gaze."

"Now it’s clear why you didn’t create an army of dragons but limited yourself to just one for study."

"That’s right. It’s unknown when the Devils will break free, and caring for a whole pack of uncontrollable little dragons, who might not even reach the peak of the fifth rank before events begin, is a waste of resources and time. And sending hatchlings into battle... I may be a rather cruel person, but I couldn’t bring myself to do that." Severus sighed with a crooked half-smile, continuing to stroke the joyful hatchling, who didn’t yet understand his words.

"Meow!" Lucky nodded, agreeing with his words, though he had no idea who the Devils were.

"I also agree with you." Nagini lowered her gaze to the little dragon, shuddering as she imagined creatures like him dying at the claws of those monsters Severus had once shown her.

"And in battle, dragons will be useless, at least until age seventy. The Devils will simply break them... physically, they are true monsters. Besides, magic below the Archimagus rank barely affects them, so raising them is pointless, unless, of course, I ever decide to conquer the world."

"You? Conquer the world?" Nagini looked at him with such an eloquent gaze that even Severus felt a bit embarrassed. "Merlin will sooner crawl out of his grave and flick your forehead than you will."

"All right, we’ve drifted from the topic." He coughed into his fist a couple of times as a bowl of milk appeared in his hand, which he placed on the floor. "Go, eat." He patted the dragon’s head.

"Grrrrryar!" The hatchling, like a puppy, happily licked his face a couple of times, then jumped down and quickly approached the bowl to eat.

Severus watched the strange scene thoughtfully, for never in his life had he imagined he would keep a dragon.

He had to admit, they were very cute when young. But remembering what they grew into, he shuddered.

After all, in his world, these were among the strongest monsters, with no fewer than five beings of the ninth rank among them: entities that simple human Great Archmagi at their peak couldn’t compare to at all.

Each such dragon was worth at least three humans of the same rank.

Even he had once been unlucky enough to encounter such a monster.

At that time, he was only a mere Archmagus, and he had barely emerged victorious from that deadly battle, piercing its brain through the eye, for flames simply couldn’t penetrate the dragon’s hide.

That encounter had been precisely what spurred him to develop his fire, so he would never again feel so weak against creatures of that level.

And now, seeing a dragon very similar to the one that had once nearly killed him look at him with adoration, Severus experienced quite mixed feelings.

"All right, there won’t be any more lessons today anyway. Let’s go home, introduce you to everyone, and you’ll live there for now." Stroking its head, Severus lowered his hand and let the hatchling jump onto it.

"Rrryar!" Though he didn’t understand what had been said, the hatchling happily climbed up Severus’s arm onto his shoulder and began rubbing against his cheek like a real puppy. Meanwhile, Severus remained under Nagini’s envious gaze, while Lucky regarded the hatchling who had taken his place as a sworn enemy.

When their eyes met, they almost immediately took a dislike to each other, each seeing a rival in the other. The only thing missing was sparks shooting from their eyes to complete the picture.

"Enough, let’s go." He flicked each of them lightly on the forehead. Both looked at him indignantly. He extended his hand to Nagini, who quickly climbed up to her rightful place. Only Lucky remained, glaring at the little dragon with deep dissatisfaction. "You’re older than him, yet you’re behaving like a child."

"Meow! Meow-meow! Meow!" Lucky meowed indignantly, pointing with his paw at the hatchling.

"Eh... what is this, a kindergarten?" Sighing wearily, Severus picked up the displeased Lucky and began stroking his head to calm him down. A moment later, Lucky was purring contentedly, all trace of offense gone. "Little manipulator."

"Severus..."

"What?"

"Can I bite you once? I’ll be gentle." She batted her eyelashes.

"Don’t you start too."

A few seconds later, they disappeared from the room, accompanied by another long-suffering sigh from Severus.

------------------------------------------

Chapters on Patreon progress: Currently at;

1. Harry Potter: Satan? Nah, Just My Family Crest = Chapter 402

2.Harry Potter: Beyond Good and Evil in the Wizarding World = Chapter 417

3.Harry Potter: Reborn as Draco Black = Chapter 215

support me on Patreon for instant access to the 120+ advance Chapters: /redofic