Hagrid kept patting his beard, extinguishing the sparks caught in it.
The burst of Dragon Fire had caught him off guard, but his gaze at Norbert was still filled with affection. "Of course. He'll need some training first."
Norbert coughed a few times, spewing black smoke mixed with sparks from his mouth.
Crack! Crack!
Just then, a strange sound suddenly rang out inside the hut.
"What was that?" Hermione frowned. "Hagrid, are you keeping some other magical creature?"
"No, really, there aren't any more.
"Though I'd like to keep more, Hogwarts doesn't allow it.
"Besides, hatching Norbert has already taken up most of my energy."
"But what's with that sound?" Ron asked in confusion. "It sounds like eggshells cracking, and it's happening really often."
"I think I know what's going on." Harry raised a finger and pointed in astonishment toward the other side of the table.
At some point, Abei had woken up and was chewing on a broken piece of eggshell, eating it slowly and savoring every bite.
To Abei, the quality of these eggshells could not compare to its own at all. They contained barely any magic power and had little nutritional value.
But even a mosquito was still meat!
The shell left behind by a newly hatched Young Dragon was still a decent snack for it in its juvenile stage.
Crispy and crunchy, chicken leg flavored.
"What?" Hermione's eyes widened. "Didn't you say this was foolproof? What's going on now?"
"How would I know?" Ron was equally shocked, but he still explained, "There shouldn't have been any problem with our plan. Ask Harry if you don't believe me.
"Even if I'd carelessly messed something up, he was there as a second safeguard."
Thinking of something, Harry placed a small purple bottle on the table and looked accusingly