Facing the Fire Dragon

Thick, massive wooden boards stood across the clearing, dividing it into several sections and keeping the agitated dragons apart.

The dragons were restrained, with thick dragon-hide straps wrapped around both their thighs and necks. Only those straps, together with heavy iron chains, could keep the dragons under control.

The Swedish Short-Snout and the Welsh Green Dragon were closest to the champions. Hagrid gazed at the Swedish Short-Snout with deep affection, his eyes seeming to grow moist.

"Oh... they're so beautiful..." he said in the same operatic tone he always used. "Look at those lovely silver-blue scales... Gorgeous! It's like they're wearing splendid evening gowns..."

"They'll be thrilled to hear you describe them that way!" Charlie Weasley said with a laugh, raising a hand to point at the dragons as he introduced them.

"The two dragons in front... the one with silver-blue scales is a Swedish Short-Snout, while the green-scaled one is a Welsh Green Dragon. I have to say, they aren't very happy right now."

"After all, we only just arrived. We'd been giving them sleeping draughts the whole way... We thought we'd stop the potions for a while once we got to a new place, so this is what happened."

He pointed at the Swedish Short-Snout and the Welsh Green Dragon. "Put simply, this is the dark side of sleep. After sleeping for so long, they're bursting with energy."

Just as Charlie Weasley had said, the two dragons were causing a commotion. Fortunately, their attention was not on the champions;

They roared at the wizards moving around them, occasionally twisting their bodies and flinging their necks as they tried to break free of the chains;

The wizards held their wands at the ready. Some aimed their wands at the dragons' mouths as a precaution, while others pointed theirs at