Magical Creatures Riot!

"What's going on?" Harry and Malfoy both cried out.

Hagrid, who had been drawing his bow, frowned and immediately turned his gaze toward the depths of the Forbidden Forest.

The tremors grew more violent. Birds burst from the treetops into the night sky, circled once in midair, then viciously dove at their own kind.

"What is this..." Sean stared at the scene before him in shock.

Before he could think any further, Hagrid roared beside them, "Get behind me!"

The Hebridean Black Dragon, which had been swallowing its food, was startled by the tremors. It craned its neck to look around, then charged out of the Forbidden Forest—straight toward Sean and the others.

"Damn it!" Hagrid nocked an arrow and aimed at the approaching black dragon.

His original plan had been to sedate the black dragon before moving it out of the Forbidden Forest. But something had apparently gone wrong in the forest. The dragon had been disturbed, leaving Hagrid no time to prepare.

Though this Hebridean Black Dragon was only a hatchling, it was still a dragon. If it hurt any of the children behind him, he would never be able to face Dumbledore again.

Yet the arrow Hagrid fired with grim determination did not have the effect he expected. Just as the arrowhead was about to strike the black dragon, it was suddenly knocked aside, as though some invisible force hung in the air.

Everyone froze. In that instant, the black dragon had already pounced right in front of them!

"Get back!" Hagrid roared, pulling out his pink umbrella and standing in front of them.

"Roar!" Even as a hatchling, it was immensely imposing. It spread its wings and roared, its blood-streaked hooked fangs gleaming coldly as the temperature suddenly soared!

Such a small dragon could breathe fire?! Sean hurriedly shouted, "Move!" and dragged the stunned Malfoy down to the side.

The moment they hit the hard ground, a wave of heat swept through the spot where they had just been standing. Fang's miserable howl rang out.

He had tried to bite Harry, who had been a little slower, and the tip of his tail had been scorched.

Sean got to his feet and met the slightly reddened eyes of the Hebridean Black Dragon.

In an instant, a surge of sorrow welled up inside him.

When he came back to himself, he was shocked to discover that the fierce Little Black Dragon had folded its leathery wings. Its reddened pupils had returned to their bright violet color, and it was staring at Sean with a confused expression.

That feeling of sorrow came from it... Sean came to a realization. Looking into the Little Black Dragon's confused eyes, he gave it a gentle smile.

Sean slowly approached it.

"Come back! Sean!" Hagrid had just put out the fire on Fang's tail when he turned and saw Sean approaching the black dragon. He nearly lost his soul in fright, his voice trembling.

"Sean!" Harry and Malfoy cried out together. They paused, shot each other a look of mutual disgust, then turned back toward Sean.

Malfoy's feelings were a little complicated. Originally, after Sean had beaten him up on the train, he had hated him bitterly. But after meeting Potter, Sean's place on his list of grudges had automatically dropped. To his surprise, he found that he did not dislike Sean quite as much anymore.

Then there was the letter his father had sent him some time ago, telling him to rein in his attitude and build good relationships with the new students. That had shaken his thoughts even more.

And just now, Sean had saved him once...

On the other side, Sean gestured reassuringly to the three of them, then slowly walked over to the Hebridean Black Dragon.

He kept his gaze sincere and friendly as he looked into the Little Black Dragon's eyes.

"Snort." The Little Black Dragon snorted, sparks still flickering from its nostrils, then lowered its head toward him.

Sean's smile widened as he placed a hand on the black dragon's head.

It felt strange—like a glass of hot water with ice cubes added to it. The scales on the dragon's head were hard yet slightly flexible, their ends curling into sharp points.

Hagrid and the other two fell silent. They stared blankly as Sean stroked the dragon's head, while the Hebridean Black Dragon obediently behaved like a house pet. It even closed its eyes in comfort and rubbed against Sean's robes.

"Rampaging Gorgon..." Hagrid muttered.

As someone deeply passionate about dragons, he had seen quite a few of them and had even entertained the small thought of raising one himself. But he had never seen a dragon so obedient to a wizard. Not even the gentlest Welsh Green Dragon could be like this.

However, the increasingly violent tremors interrupted his thoughts. Hagrid glanced toward the depths of the Forbidden Forest and hurriedly called out.

"Let's go, get out first! Sean, bring... bring your dragon."

Sean smiled, patted the Little Black Dragon on the head, and followed Hagrid and the others.

They had only run a short distance before they ran into trouble.

A group of Centaurs blocked their path.

The lead Centaur, a wild-looking one with black hair and a black body, was panting heavily.

"Bane! What's happening in the Forbidden Forest?" Hagrid shouted at him.

Bane's eyes were bloodshot, but he seemed to retain some clarity. He kicked the ground irritably and said quickly, "Hagrid, go! Something feels wrong! Something has gone wrong inside the Forbidden Forest!"

"Something has gone wrong..." Hagrid muttered. He glanced at the Centaurs, then immediately took Sean and the others running again.

At last, the view ahead opened up, and they ran out of the Forbidden Forest.

Hagrid panted heavily and looked at them. "How are you lot?"

"We're fine." Harry and Malfoy were exhausted as well. Only Sean looked as calm as ever. His stamina was good to begin with, and while running, he could cling to the Little Black Dragon and save a great deal of effort.

Hagrid glanced at Sean and the dragon beside him, then pulled out his umbrella. A green light shot into the sky.

"I need to notify the professors," Hagrid explained.

But before the professors could arrive, the edge of the Forbidden Forest, which had been fairly quiet, suddenly erupted with commotion.

"Roar!"

"Roar!"

Groups of Magical Creatures began fighting savagely.

A Werewolf viciously bit down on a Centaur's shoulder, but the Centaur seemed to feel no pain. He violently flung the Werewolf away, tearing off a chunk of flesh from his own shoulder, yet he showed no fear. Instead, he raised his front hooves and stomped down hard.

Several Hippogriffs drove their sharp claws deep into the bodies of Fwoopers. The Fwoopers lying in pools of blood still had their beaks open in silent roars, making blood stream from the Hippogriffs' ears.

The same sight played out everywhere else. Every Magical Creature had lost its mind, caring only about slaughtering whatever was nearby.

"Neigh—" A strange whinny rang out. Right behind them, a great splash erupted from the Black Lake!