Moonpetal and Frost-scar Moss

"Merlin's beard!" Ron exclaimed, "That's a dragon egg!"

"That's right! It's a Norwegian Ridgeback egg!" Hagrid's face showed a proud and infatuated smile, like a father about to welcome his first child. "I won it last night at the Hog's Head from a strange man in a cloak! I've always wanted a dragon, and now I finally have one!"

Harry and Hermione were stunned.

Hermione quickly recovered from her shock, her face filled with worry.

"Hagrid! Are you crazy? Keeping a dragon is illegal! The Ministry of Magic passed the 'Dragon Breeding Prohibition Act' over a hundred years ago! They'll take your dragon away, and they might even lock you up in Azkaban!"

"That's just because they don't understand how to get along with dragons!" Hagrid waved his hand dismissively. "Norwegian Ridgebacks are very docile, as long as you understand them. I'll raise it well, just like my little Norbert!"

Lin Yuan slowly walked to the table and extended his finger, as if wanting to touch the dragon egg.

"Don't touch it! It's very hot!" Hagrid shouted nervously.

Lin Yuan's finger stopped about an inch from the eggshell.

He closed his eyes, as if sensing something.

After a moment, he opened his eyes and looked at Hagrid.

"Raising dragons is indeed illegal. It will bring you worldly trouble."

He paused, his tone becoming deeper.

"But more importantly, its aura is like a torch in the night, attracting attention driven by desire and darkness. Some things are far more dangerous than Ministry officials."

Harry and Hermione both understood the warning in Lin Yuan's words.

They knew that the "unnecessary attention" likely referred to Snape!

He would definitely be attracted by the dragon egg and take the opportunity to probe for a way into the forbidden fourth-floor corridor!

But Hagrid was still immersed in the joy of finally having his own little dragon, and Lin Yuan's profound warning went in one ear and out the other.

"You just like to say cryptic things," Hagrid mumbled, gently wiping the scorching hot dragon egg with a soft cloth. "My little darling won't attract any bad things. I'll protect it well."

Seeing Hagrid's stubbornness, Harry, Ron, and Hermione's hearts sank.

They had a premonition that a huge trouble was slowly hatching in this small wooden hut.

The trouble came faster than they imagined.

A few nights later, an owl delivered a hastily scrawled note to them, with only two words: "It's coming out!"

The three immediately put on their invisibility cloaks and rushed to Hagrid's hut overnight.

As soon as they entered, they saw Hagrid kneeling on the ground, sweating profusely, his eyes fixed on the dragon egg on the table.

The egg was shaking violently, and cracks were appearing all over its shell, emitting crisp "crackling" sounds. Blinding golden-red light shot out from the cracks, illuminating the entire hut like the inside of a steel furnace.

"Bang!"

With a loud noise, the eggshell shattered completely.

A small, black, wrinkled monster struggled out of the eggshell fragments.

It didn't look cute at all.

It looked more like a walking, tattered black umbrella.

Its body was skinny, with a pair of disproportionately large wings stuck to its back like a bat's, and tiny sparks were constantly being exhaled from its nostrils.

"It's so... cute, isn't it?" Hagrid gazed at the little dragon, his voice choked with fatherly love.

He reached out his hand, wanting to stroke the little dragon's head.

The little dragon suddenly shook its head, opened its mouth full of needle-like fangs, and let out a malicious sneeze.

A few sparks splashed onto Hagrid's beard, emitting a burnt smell.

"Oh, Merlin's beard," Ron whispered, "It looks so fierce."

"It's not fierce! It just doesn't know you!" Hagrid immediately defended his "child" and announced, "I'm going to give it a name, it'll be called... Norbert!"

The little dragon, Norbert, clearly didn't like the name.

It wobbled a few steps on the table, then immediately spotted Ron pointing at it.

Perhaps Ron's red hair was particularly conspicuous in the firelight, or perhaps it simply disliked Ron.

It suddenly flapped its misshapen wings, like a small black cannonball, and lunged at Ron!

"Ah!"

He screamed as Norbert bit down on his hand.

Ron let out a piercing cry and lightning-fastly retracted his hand.

On the back of his hand, several deep bloody holes had appeared. The skin around the wounds blackened and festered at a visible rate, and the smell of burnt protein instantly filled the air.

"Oh, Merlin's beard!" Hagrid became flustered.

Hermione's face turned pale with fright, and Harry was at a loss for what to do.

"Quick! Take him to the hospital wing!"

"No! If Madam Pomfrey finds out it was a Dragon bite, Hagrid will be finished!"

The room descended into chaos.

Just then, Lin Yuan stood up.

His calm voice was not loud, yet it carried an undeniable power, instantly silencing all the noise.

"Everyone, calm down."

He walked over to Ron, who was grimacing in pain, and glanced at his hand, which was already beginning to blacken and swell.

"Dragon venom has entered the body, and fire poison is attacking the heart. Ordinary healing spells will be useless; instead, they will stimulate the venom's activity," he stated as if reciting facts.

"Then what do we do? My hand feels like it's going to be ruined!" Ron cried, his voice trembling.

Lin Yuan didn't answer. Instead, he turned, pushed open the cabin door, and walked out.

"Lin Yuan? Where are you going?" Harry asked, confused.

Lin Yuan didn't look back, his gaze rapidly scanning the ground around the cabin.

The edge of the Forbidden Forest was dark and damp, growing many unique magical plants. His mind, like a highly efficient processor, quickly cross-referenced his knowledge of herbalism.

Soon, his gaze locked onto a damp corner shrouded by massive tree roots.

There, several inconspicuous plants grew, their leaves dotted with silver spots, as if condensed moonlight.

Beside them, there was a patch of dark green moss growing close to the ground, its touch cool to the skin.

"Moonpetal, it's cold in nature and can neutralize fire poison. Frost-scar Moss has powerful analgesic and tissue regeneration effects."

He quickly stepped forward and carefully picked a few Moonpetal leaves and a small piece of Frost-scar Moss.

The entire process was performed with a skill as refined as that of an experienced old apothecary.

Returning to the room, he poured a little hot water from the scorching kettle on the fireplace into a bowl, then placed the two plants inside and quickly mashed and mixed them with a wooden stick.

Soon, a bowl of dark green paste, exuding a cool herbal aroma, was completed.

"Let me see your hand," he said to Ron.

Ron hesitantly extended his hand.

Lin Yuan dipped the wooden stick into the warm poultice and evenly applied it to Ron's wound.

"Sizzle—"

When the poultice touched the charred wound, it emitted a faint sound, like cold water hitting a hot iron. Wisps of black smoke rose from the wound; it was the neutralized Dragon venom.

Ron grunted, but soon, to his astonishment, he found that the burning pain was rapidly being replaced by a cool, comfortable sensation.

Under the shocked gazes of Harry, Hermione, and Hagrid, the charring and swelling on the back of Ron's hand receded at a visible rate.

In less than a minute, the skin around the wound returned to its normal color, leaving only a few fang marks that were still slightly oozing blood.

"This... this is incredible!" Hermione stammered. "I've read One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi, and Moonpetal and Frost-scar Moss do have these effects, but never this quickly! How... how did you do it?"

"Just a matter of proportion and technique," Lin Yuan explained nonchalantly. "Eastern herbalism focuses more on the 'monarch, minister, assistant, and guide' relationship between different medicinal ingredients to stimulate their deepest properties. It's nothing complicated."

With a tone that suggested it was merely basic practice, he spoke so lightly of a skill that would drive the healers at St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries to madness.

This display not only perfectly resolved Ron's injury but also elevated his persona as a "mysterious and powerful Eastern genius" to another level in the minds of the trio and Hagrid.