The Dragon Cub Who Never Let Anyone Rest Easy

At lunchtime, the students gathered in the Great Hall, sitting together in small groups.

As Aaron ate his bread, he peeled an orange for Abei.

"You really treat your cat incredibly well!" Draco said with a smile.

"Don't underestimate it. In our household, its status ranks at least in the top four.

"And among pets, its bloodline is among the very best," Aaron said with great seriousness.

An explosion suddenly rang out, startling everyone.

But when they looked over curiously, they could not help laughing.

A first-year student stood there with his face blackened by soot, his right hand holding a Wand without moving, as though he had been frozen in place.

In front of him were a cup knocked over on the table and a spellbook. It was not hard to guess that something had gone wrong while he was testing a spell.

Then the mail arrived. Hundreds of owls flew into the Great Hall, picked out their respective owners, and delivered letters or packages into their hands.

Draco's package contained candies of all kinds. He unwrapped two and placed them on Abei's plate.

Abei sniffed them, then narrowed its eyes into crescents and gave Draco a friendly smile.

"Thanks."

"It's nothing. This is my first time seeing such an adorable cat," Draco said. "By the way, Aaron, what's in your package?"

Hearing that, Aaron lowered his head to look at his own package.

He was certain it had not been sent by his Parents. The only person who could have sent him a package was Jeans.

Thinking of that, Aaron felt deeply grateful.

What was family? This was family!

But after opening it, his face darkened. There were two things inside: a newspaper and a Chicken Leg.

Clearly, the newspaper was for him, while the Chicken Leg had naturally been prepared for the Young Dragon that was still growing.

Most infuriating of all, there was a note beneath the Chicken Leg, clearly stating that every few days, healthy nutritious meals would be sent for Abei, and telling him to be careful not to overfeed it.

When Draco saw it, he could not help snickering. "Now I believe it. This cat really is ridiculously pampered."

Aaron: ...

That afternoon was a flying lesson, the equivalent of PE class in the Muggle world, and one of the classes nearly every student looked forward to most.

But Aaron was not particularly excited about it, because to him, taking this class or not made little difference.

He earned quite a few Magic Points from signing in at Hogwarts. At this rate, he would get a Magic Carpet in ten days at most. With such a high-end flying tool, who would still ride a broomstick?

Besides, once Abei grew a little bigger, its flying speed would surpass any magical tool. Wouldn't riding a dragon be better?

Abei, who was lying on the lawn basking in the sun, suddenly shuddered.

Professor Hooch, with her short gray hair, walked over. "Good afternoon, students."

"Good afternoon, Madam Hooch."

Professor Hooch stepped in front of the students. "Now we begin your first flying lesson. What are you waiting for?

"Everyone, stand to the left of your Flying Broomsticks. All right, move quickly."

The students immediately did as they were told, each standing beside a broomstick.

Professor Hooch raised her right hand and explained, "Place your right hand over the broomstick, then say, 'Up!'"

"Up!" ×n.

Harry's broomstick immediately flew into his hand. He was clearly gifted.

Aaron's did the same. Though he did not particularly like Magic Brooms, he could not help being talented!

As for the others, they had to keep trying. Cries of "Up!" rose and fell. Some quickly succeeded, such as Draco, while others needed more than ten attempts, such as Hermione.

There were also a few students whose broomsticks only trembled slightly no matter how much they shouted. Ron had it even worse—his flying broomstick smacked him directly in the face.

After more than ten minutes, all the students had figured out the trick to summoning their broomsticks and held them firmly in their hands.

Professor Hooch walked among them. "Now, hold your broomsticks and mount them.

"Grip them tightly. Don't slide off. When I blow my whistle, each of you will kick off hard and rise into the air. Keep your broomstick steady, hover for a moment, then lean your body slightly forward and return to the ground.

"Listen for my whistle. Three, two..."

The whistle sounded. Before any of the other students could move, Neville's broomstick rose into the air by itself. It also seemed somewhat out of control, swaying from side to side as it bobbed up and down.

A moment later, Neville Longbottom shot into the sky on his broomstick in an exaggerated fashion under everyone's astonished or worried gazes, but everyone clearly heard the word, "Help!"

Neville twisted and spun through the air in all sorts of positions, becoming so dizzy his vision blurred. Yet his hands gripped the broom handle tightly without letting go, as though he were trying to tame a wild horse.

But his skills were clearly lacking. The broom carried him crashing wildly into the castle walls before diving downward and sending ripples across the lawn.

Professor Hooch drew her Wand, wanting to stop Neville, but he was flying far too quickly. Before she could cast a spell, Neville had already flown past her.

"Poor guy," Aaron sighed.

"Aaron!" Draco watched Neville flying around in the sky and could not help tugging on Aaron's sleeve.

"What is it?"

"Maybe I'm seeing things, but that white, fluffy thing hanging from the front of Neville's broomstick looks like your pet."

"What? That can't be."

"It's Abei," Hermione confirmed as well.

Aaron looked closely. At the tip of the broomstick was a white cat. Its four paws clung tightly to the broom without letting go. There was not the slightest fear on its adorable little face that could melt anyone's heart. Instead, it looked extremely excited, forming a stark contrast with Neville.

A human was worse than a cat. This was just absurd.

"Oh, for—" Aaron could not help swearing as he immediately mounted his broomstick and chased after them.

He was not worried that Abei would have trouble flying. Its innate ability was flight. But he was afraid this dragon cub would get too carried away and accidentally reveal its wings. What would he do then?

School had only started a few days ago! He was not mentally prepared for everyone to find out he was raising a dragon!

Aaron was very fast. Compared to Neville Longbottom, who was constantly flying around wildly, Aaron's objective was extremely clear.

After making a slight prediction of where the broomstick would fly the next second, he shot upward. The instant he came into contact with Neville's broomstick, he reached out with his right hand and yanked Abei off it.

Then he abruptly lowered his head, dodging Neville as he spun past at high speed.

"Whew! That was close!" Aaron let out a breath, then looked at Abei, which sheepishly covered its eyes with its front paws. He said irritably, "You little troublemaker. I'll settle the score with you later."

By the time Aaron returned to the ground, Neville's broomstick seemed to have had enough fun. It swiftly flew past a statue above the castle, and the spear in the statue's hand caught Neville's wizard robe, leaving him hanging there more than twenty meters above the ground.

A moment later, however, the robe could no longer bear Neville's weight and tore apart. With a ripping sound, Neville dropped straight down.

Fortunately, when he was still twenty feet from the ground, the half-torn robe caught on a lamp stand.

But the outcome did not change. The remaining half of his wizard robe could not bear Neville's weight either. After another tearing sound, Neville continued falling.

"Wingardium Leviosa!"

When Neville was only a few centimeters from the ground, Aaron drew his Wand and silently cast a Levitation Charm on him.

A few seconds later, Neville fell to the ground. But having been slowed twice, he was not badly hurt.

All the students turned to look. They instinctively assumed that Professor Hooch had cast the spell.

Professor Hooch looked at Aaron, only to discover in surprise that his Wand had somehow already been put away. Like the other students, he was staring at her with a look of amazement.

For a moment, Professor Hooch was somewhat at a loss. She suddenly felt like a failure as a professor—she had needed a first-year student to preserve her dignity and prevent a teaching accident.

"Um... Professor, I suggest you check on Neville right now. He may have suffered a minor injury," Aaron reminded her.

"Ah! Right." Professor Hooch came to her senses and hurried over to examine Neville. Fortunately, he only had a few scrapes and would recover in two days at most.

She turned to all the students. "Now, all of you stay obediently on the ground. I'm taking Mr. Longbottom to the hospital wing first.

"Understood? If I see a broomstick in the air, whoever is riding it will be expelled before they even get to play Quidditch."

Neville groaned as he walked toward the hospital wing with Professor Hooch supporting him. When he passed Aaron, he paused and quietly said, "Thank you."

The others had not seen Aaron cast the spell, but Neville had been directly across from everyone and had seen it very clearly.