A Conversation Before the Escape

Following the direction of the dragon's roar, Sean and Hermione carefully made their way through the dense forest.

"So far—" Hermione gasped for breath and wiped the sweat from her forehead.

Sean handed over a handkerchief. "There's no way around it. When Fire Dragon gather together, Fire Dragon roar at each other and it triggers their aggressive instincts. Maintaining this state in the long run isn't good for the Fire Dragon themselves. The MacFasty family won't interfere with the normal birth, aging, sickness, death, and territorial disputes among the Fire Dragon, but if it's a human intervention, they definitely will."

Hermione took the handkerchief and gently wiped her forehead, whispering, "So the MacFasty family really likes Fire Dragon? Sounds similar to Professor Scamander."

Sean shrugged. "No, they're more like protecting their family's honor and creed. They only care about their Hebridean Black Dragon; other Fire Dragon aren't their concern—in fact, even the Hebridean Black Dragon are similar; they don't allow these dragons to go to other habitats."

"Maintaining the dignity and nature of Fire Dragon within one's own control?" Hermione summarized.

"That's more like it—many wizarding families have this habit of maintaining rules and beliefs passed down from their ancestors, but they only maintain the rules themselves," Sean said.

If the MacFasty family truly loves the Hebridean Black Dragon, they might respect the dragon's wishes—but that's unlikely.

The other side had locked the black dragon away from the herd, and by the time Sean and Hermione found it, the moon was already high in the sky.

Covered with Invisibility Cloak, the two silently approached the open space.

Inside a specially made, enormous cage, two Hebridean Black Dragon were half-lying on the ground, one of them occasionally glancing around.

"It seems to be waiting for you..." Hermione whispered.

"It's a promise—let me see..."

Sean looked over and saw eight people around the cage. They were wearing black, convenient Wizarding Robes with thick Dragon-hide Cloak over them, and they were whispering to each other.

Sean recognized the outfit; it was the same outfit the MacFasty family wore when they came to pick up the Little Black Dragon in the first year. And on the hem of the robe was the MacFasty family crest—a Fire Dragon encircling the dragon, with the letter M formed by the dragon's tail in the center.

Following the memories in his mind, Sean looked at the group of people and then regretfully discovered that the leader he had met before was not there. It seemed that he was not leading the team this time.

That uncle seemed quite approachable, what a pity...

Sean stood there thinking, while Hermione watched. After a while, she couldn't help but ask, "Do you know any of these MacFusty's people? Can you 'reach an agreement'?"

"I don't know him, so it wouldn't be good to show myself rashly. Besides, if we don't reach an agreement, and the black dragon disappears afterward, they will still suspect me," Sean said.

"Agreed on?" Hermione asked, puzzled.

"Back in freshman year, I met two people from the MacFasty family, you know," Sean explained. "I was thinking of seeing if I could make some connections, and then, emm—"

Hermione was taken aback at first, then looked at him with disbelief. "You're not planning to?"

"Miss Granger knows me best. That's right, I was originally planning to buy it directly with Galleon." Sean shrugged.

Hermione slapped her forehead. "That's Fire Dragon! You're planning to buy two Fire Dragon?!"

"Why not? The sale of live Magical Creatures has always existed. Owls, toads, lizards, spiders—and the raw materials used in various Magical Item —these are all legal to be bought and sold. It's just that some are illegal and some are legal. Is it strange that the trading partner is Fire Dragon?"

"But—would they sell?" Hermione asked hesitantly.

"That's the problem. According to the information I got from Stephanie, the MacFasty family sells the carcasses of Fire Dragon that died of old age or accident, such as Dragon Heartstring, but they don't seem to sell live Fire Dragon. Mr. Ollivander wanted to buy a small Hebridean Black Dragon to test the effect of using a live Dragon Heartstring as a staff core, but he was refused."

"That sounds like..." Hermione frowned.

Sean smiled. "It's a bit cruel."

The girl nodded silently.

"That has always been the case. Of the three core materials Mr. Ollivander used, the Dragon Heartstring was taken from a corpse. Although Magical Creatures possess various magical powers, to wizards, they are still animals at their core. They can be tamed, controlled, and of course, slaughtered as raw materials," Sean said calmly.

Hermione pursed her lips, her brows furrowing.

Instead of comforting her, Sean continued, "The ingredients you used to brew Potions came from various plants and animals, some of which even had to be taken from living animals—to preserve their potency. The Dragon-hide gloves and cloak you used also came from corpses. Many of the books you enjoyed reading had covers made of animal hides and Runes symbols made of animal blood. All of this was the result of Chiluoluo's slaughter—why didn't you feel any compassion back then?"

"I... I..." Hermione wanted to explain, but found herself at a loss for words— Sean was right.

The girl lowered her head and remained silent.

Sean glanced at her. "I know what you're thinking. These two Hebridean Black Dragon will become my companions, and in your eyes, their status has risen, just like Dave and Naja —which makes you think of other Fire Dragon, and your pity suddenly arises."

Hermione clenched her fist and then slumped open it, saying with frustration and self-reproach, "I'm using double standards. I don't know now... whether my so-called compassion is genuine sympathy for these animals or just satisfying my own moral needs..."

Sean smiled. "Why can't we have both?"

Hermione looked up, confused.

"These two things are not contradictory, and being compassionate is not a bad thing— Hermione, all I really want to tell you is not to impose your own views on other things, whether they are Magical Creatures or wizards."

"Do I like Magical Creatures?" Sean asked.

Hermione nodded silently.

"Yes, I like it very much, but I still use materials derived from various Magical Creatures. I will not rush up to the MacFasty family and shout that I want to save the Fire Dragon —wizards are of a higher rank than Magical Creatures, that is an indisputable fact. So I choose to treat my animal friends well. I still support normal Magical Creatures trade, but I will definitely stop any behavior such as abuse or illegal sale if I encounter it."

"But..." Hermione's lips moved slightly.

Sean sighed, "You mean those Magical Creatures with advanced intelligence, right?"

"Um..."

"My choice is to live in harmony with highly intelligent animals that can communicate normally with humans, but I don't care what other people think. Besides, from another perspective, won't animals kill each other? Can you save every single one? This is part of nature, and wizards are also part of the natural cycle."

Hermione remained silent for a long time this time, and when she finally looked up, her eyes were still wet with tears, but she nodded to Sean.

"I understand what you mean..."

Sean smiled and said, "Of course, you are the clever Miss Granger."

Hermione took a moment to compose herself before saying, "You're also alluding to my House-elves Liberation Front, aren't you?"

Sean readily admitted, "Yes, quite a few people have come to me asking me to persuade you."

Hermione touched her pocket and found a SPEW badge inside. She was planning to launch House-elves liberation movement this year.

Sean took the badge and said softly, "I understand your intentions, but like I said, this is a process of natural selection—"

"Besides, I shouldn't impose my views on the past, right?" Hermione whispered.

"Yes, House-elves are highly intelligent Magical Creatures, and the right to choose should be given to them—to be honest, I've already collected all those socks, pillowcases, and stuff you were planning to leave scattered around the castle."

Hermione pursed her lips. "You've already thought this through?"

"Ah, that's true. I'm friends with a lot of House-elves, and I know your behavior can bother them—last time I went to the kitchen, I accidentally dropped a scarf, Boris and the others were terrified; none of them wanted to pick it up." Sean laughed.

Hermione was stunned for a moment as she looked at his smiling face.

We're friends...

I always seem to overlook the crucial details.

Seeing Hermione deep in thought, Sean put his arm around her shoulder. "Go and make more friends with the House-elves, ask for their opinions, and then think about how to develop your association."

Hermione nodded vigorously.

Sean flashed a grin, revealing his white teeth. "We've reached an agreement smoothly. Hmm, it's surprising that doing bad things can yield such a reward."

"Wasn't this part of your plan?" Hermione asked suspiciously, now back to normal.

"Of course not—" Sean would never admit that he actually had that thought.

Hermione has always been compassionate and has a strong sense of justice. He did bring Hermione with those in mind, but he never expected that they would end up getting caught up in this.

It's good that Hermione can think things through; otherwise, she'll easily get stuck in a rut.

However, there are other things to take care of right now.

Sean listened intently for a while, then said, "You stay hidden, I'll go eavesdrop."

"Hmm, be careful."

Sean cast a Disillusionment Charm on himself under the Invisibility Cloak, then quietly slipped away to the side of the MacFasty family.

"... After the banquet ends today, we'll take the black dragon back with us," one of them said.

"Well, the process has been discussed with Professor Dumbledore anyway—" another person continued, "However, I didn't expect that kid named Wallerup would be able to communicate with the black dragons."

A man who looked like the leader glanced back at the two black dragons. "They've been much more excited than before since they came back, probably because of that child."

"It's ironic, really. We've ruled the Black Dragons for generations, but there's never been anyone in our family who can communicate with the Fire Dragon."

The leader said with a serious expression, "We only need to follow our ancestral teachings to manage the Black Dragon. Other matters are not within our scope of consideration, and communicating with the Black Dragon is meaningless for our mission."

A woman who looked significantly younger muttered, "I have a feeling those two Fire Dragon are happier with that Wallerup..."

"Put away your sentimentality," the leader glanced at her. "The Fire Dragon's emotions are not our concern. There is only one thing we need to do: let the Fire Dragon remain in its natural state and let the MacFasty family continue to be glorious."

The woman stopped talking, but looked sullen.

Another young man scratched his head. "What if that Wallerup wants those two Fire Dragon? Like, he could teach us how to communicate with Fire Dragon, or we could buy them with money—the family isn't exactly rolling in money lately..."

"Impossible. MacFusty would never sell any of the Hebridean Black Dragon," the leader said firmly.

Of course, he secretly added to himself, "Those who are dead don't count."

Sean was hiding nearby, listened for a while and understood MacFusty's attitude. Just as he said, it was not for his love of the Hebridean Black Dragon, nor for acquiring a large amount of wealth, but simply for the glory of his family.

They "had to" continue to manage and raise these Fire Dragon to "maintain the dignity of the dragon race."

"Then I have no psychological burden anymore..." Sean thought to himself.

It's unrealistic to solve this with money, but he has a backup plan.

Bypassing several guards, Sean sneaked to the cage of the Hebridean Black Dragon.

The black dragon twitched its nose; it smelled Sean's scent and sensed the invisible presence nearby, and immediately became excited.

"Shh—don't make too much noise." Sean communicated with the black dragon using [Beast Speaker].

Black Dragon snorted, sending sparks flying, to indicate that he understood.

"Listen, buddy, I'm asking you one more time. You want to come with me, live with me, and get along with other Magical Creatures, like the Selma Lake Monster, the Basilisk, the Wampus Cat, and so on... You'll have to give up your territory and tribe in the Hebrides Islands, and give up the freedom to fly in the sky—of course, my place is quite big, but it'll definitely be more comfortable back there... And you'll have to bring your wife with you..."

"Are you really sure, buddy?"

Although Sean's serious expression couldn't be seen, the black dragon shook its massive head, looking very earnest.

"Alright, in that case," Sean laughed, "come with me—"

"Roar—" The black dragon let out a deafening roar.

The MacFasty family looked over, found nothing unusual, and then turned their heads away.

Sean, drenched in a cold sweat and feeling dizzy, rubbed his ears. "I told you, don't make too much noise."

Black Dragon snorted sheepishly.

"To avoid trouble, I've come up with a plan. Remember to cooperate with me then... like this... like this... I'll cast a spell first... then like this..."

As the black dragon listened, it snorted to indicate that it understood.

"Then it's settled... See you later."

Black Dragon opened its mouth wide, wanting to roar, but half of the sparks that were about to fly out remembered Sean's instructions and swallowed them back down.

The guards exchanged puzzled glances. "The Fire Dragon can cough?"