After Hermione approached, she found that Abei was completely unharmed. Only part of its clothes had been scorched, looking nothing like the dragon-fire burns she had imagined.
While breathing a sigh of relief, she also saw blazing fury in Abei's eyes.
"Roar!"
Abei roared at Norbert, carrying far more force than before.
At the same time, its body underwent subtle changes. A layer of smooth white scales appeared over its skin, its claws extended by several inches, and its teeth grew sharper and more lethal. It transformed from a harmless, adorable little creature into a fierce beast baring its fangs and claws.
Gulp!
Everyone stared wide-eyed at the sight and swallowed in unison.
"Hagrid, you know more about magical creatures. Do you know what species can transform like that?" Harry asked uneasily.
"I don't know either. There are indeed some magical creatures that can transform, but Abei doesn't belong to any of them.
"And Abei is clearly just a young one. There are even fewer that possess such an ability at this stage." Hagrid spoke meaningfully, but his expression soon turned grave. "This is bad! Its current state is clearly meant for battle. Looks like it's really angry."
"What do we do?" Ron asked.
"What else? Stop them!" Hagrid said, raising his umbrella and casting a spell at Abei.
But Abei, now fighting at full strength, easily dodged it. It ignored Hagrid and sprinted onto the table at incredible speed before viciously swiping at Norbert's head.
At the critical moment, Norbert spread his wings and flew into the air.
Abei's strike missed, but no one relaxed. A clear claw mark had appeared on the tabletop.
Hagrid's heart sank even further. That blow had nearly several times the force of the earlier one. If it had landed, Norbert might not have