Norwegian Ridgeback, Freedom

Norway.

The remote northern mountains.

Three people, bundled up in thick cotton-padded clothes, trudged through the snow, making their way through the mountain valley.

"Dawn, can't we switch departments? The Department for Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures is just too much!"

"That's right, the three of us are in charge of the Fire Dragon. Those big guys are too dangerous; one wrong move and you're crippled, or worse, you could end up getting a pension."

Listening to his two colleagues' complaints, the leading wizard, Dawn, remained silent for a moment before offering words of comfort:

"The higher-ups said they'd give us subsidies."

It would have been better if this hadn't been brought up; the moment it was, the other two started complaining even more vehemently.

"The subsidy is what we deserve!"

"Exactly, it's almost Christmas, what Muggle would come to this godforsaken place? Do we have to patrol this largest habitat of the Norwegian Ridgeback and cast Obliviate on any Muggle who see the Fire Dragon?"

"The weather is still so bad, the snow is ridiculously heavy, we can't even ride Flying Broomstick, we have to walk..."

Dawn sighed, trying to think of how to comfort him.

"Roar!"

A resounding dragon's roar entered the ears of the three wizards.

The deafening roar, carrying a faint hint of dragon's might, briefly dispersed the wind and snow, its echoes reverberating further and further through the mountains.

Dawn, the leader, looked distressed; this was undoubtedly the roar of Norwegian Ridgeback.

Fire Dragon are Magical Creatures that are easily encountered and recorded by Muggle by accident. On the one hand, their huge size makes them very conspicuous, and on the other hand, they can fly and may pass over the edge of human settlements.

Furthermore, Muggle often venture deep into the mountains and forests, thus increasing their chances of encountering these enormous creatures.

On the other hand, there's the current situation...

"Roar!!!"

A more violent and oppressive dragon roar resounded.

"Those Fire Dragon are fighting again! They never seem to stop!"

Most Fire Dragon have a very bad temper, and fighting is a common occurrence. They often lose all sense of right and wrong while fighting.

It wouldn't be surprising if they shattered several mountain peaks and burned down vast tracts of forest.

This significantly increases the chances of being discovered by Muggle!

This is undoubtedly a tough job for the wizard in charge.

The Norwegian Ridgeback is the most aggressive of all the Fire Dragon!

"Alright, alright, hurry up and go keep watch around there."

Once Dawn spoke, the other two had no choice but to follow suit, but they still kept muttering to themselves:

"Dawn, it's almost Christmas, what Muggle would come here? Even if you're all alone, you wouldn't come here for something like this, would you? Are you here for a mountain adventure?"

"Don't be careless. You forgot that two years ago a bunch of Muggle specifically sought out this kind of harsh place, saying they were going to do something like wilderness survival? A competition to see who could last the longest in the wild? Sigh, Muggle..."

"That's right! That group of people were almost killed by a Romanian Longhorn, who used them as winter food!"

The three quickened their pace, feeling that they were getting closer and closer to the source of the dragon's roar.

They even saw several jets of dragonfire shooting into the sky.

"Wow, what's with the dark golden dragon flames? Is this Norwegian Ridgeback?"

"What's so strange about that? It's just a mutation, or perhaps a hybrid species between different Fire Dragon with special magical abilities."

We arrived at a valley depression.

Two enormous black figures galloped freely through the wind and snow, occasionally spewing dragon fire at each other. The snow along their path melted in the blink of an eye, and the earth and rocks in the reach of the flames dissolved.

The slightly larger of the shadowy figures seized the opportunity to pounce on their opponent, clearly more confident in close-quarters combat.

Just as the two sides were about to make contact, dark golden flames suddenly erupted, engulfing one of the black shadows.

The three people watching from a distance couldn't help but speak up:

"It seems to be a mutated dragon species. I've never seen one like it before."

"Alright, forget about the dragons' fight for now. Carefully observe your surroundings and see if you've unexpectedly encountered Muggle at the mountaintop or other entrances."

Dawn took out a monocle and put it on, scanning the surroundings amidst the raging snowstorm.

Suddenly, as his gaze shifted, he vaguely caught sight of a figure standing atop the mountain peak.

Not knowing whether the other person was a wizard or Muggle, Dawn subconsciously used magic to adjust the structure of his monocle, rapidly magnifying his vision as he carefully examined the figure.

Dawn saw the man's dark golden hair flying wildly in the wind and snow, and was about to continue observing the man's face.

To everyone's surprise, the person seemed to sense something and actually turned to look in their direction!

Dawn only saw a pair of deep, dark green eyes, and felt his whole body stiffen, as if his body and soul had been frozen solid by the harsh cold of the wind and snow.

The figure vanished instantly.

"Obliviate"

"It's happening again..."

Lucien shook his head helplessly, looking at the three people standing firmly in front of him.

On previous occasions when I took Norbert to challenge different Norwegian Ridgeback settlements, we encountered wizards who were responsible for monitoring the Fire Dragon or patrolling the area to prevent Muggle explorers from wandering in.

Originally, I thought of setting up some magic arrays or barriers around the field to confuse perception and divide the territory, but firstly, the area to be enclosed was too large, resulting in a huge amount of work, and secondly, the Fire Dragon would often fly out of the range while we were fighting, so in the end Lucien had to clean up the mess himself.

Instead of going through all that trouble, Lucien simply chose a good vantage point for observation and started doing something similar to what the wizards were doing.

Lucien cast the Obliviate on the three wizards again, and a dozen pale blue hands emerged from the tip of his staff, stretching out towards their heads.

It must be said that Lockhart's improved Obliviate is indeed unique, as it more precisely targets the range of memories to be deleted while reducing the abruptness of memory loss.

Another, more interesting, but also more "evil" improvement, is the implantation of memories that did not belong to the original owner.

However, the implanted memories cannot be too numerous, nor can they seriously violate the original owner's personality and will, such as causing the original owner to commit suicide. This is more of an auxiliary role, to make the Obliviate more smoothly cast.

After Lucien reviewed Lockhart's memories and insights into the Obliviate, he discovered that Lockhart had meticulously deleted and adjusted the memories of those who had been robbed, making the cause and effect more coherent.

The ability to cover up lies and conceal information is truly an essential skill for a writer who can tell a good story.

If Lockhart hadn't plagiarized those people's experiences and memories, he might have become famous simply by writing books.

Lucien was adjusting the memories of the three wizards. He needed to erase all traces of his own existence, and secondly, the outcome of the Fire Dragon battle...

Norbert's unique qualities were slightly modified, making him less memorable. In the end, he was defeated by the local Fire Dragon leader and fled in panic, never to set foot in that place again...

Letting the pale blue hand protruding from the tip of the staff dissipate, Lucien then put the three back into the suitcase world, planning to release them to a safe place afterward. His gaze fell on the center of the depression.

The Norwegian Ridgeback that was fighting Norbert was already showing signs of weakness.

Norbert's body was covered in dark golden dragon flames, making his opponent unwilling to engage in close combat.

The Norwegian Ridgeback's usual breath, released onto the layer of dark gold flames, initially devoured each other. After being weakened, the breath was no longer enough to penetrate the dragon scales, which already possessed extremely high magic and fire resistance.

Norbert's growth period was too short. Even though Fire Dragon are known for their rapid growth rate, and Lucien used potions and magical secrets to strengthen Norbert's physical foundation, his physical strength was still inferior to that of his truly mature kin.

In close combat, Norbert's physical and technical weaknesses were a disadvantage in this area.

As a result of that Magic Circuit optimization, a new ability was gained: covering the entire body in dragon flames, which greatly reduced the opponent's advantage and forced them to be careful to avoid Norbert's close-range attacks.

When Norbert's dragonfire turned dark gold, its temperature surpassed that of ordinary dragonfire, and its adhesion became even stronger. Even Fire Dragon couldn't withstand its continuous burning.

"Waaah--"

The battle was decided; the Norwegian Ridgeback leader was pinned down by Norbert, and the dragon's flames caused it to let out a mournful howl of submission.

Apparition to the vicinity of the two dragons, Norbert leaped and pounced in front of Lucien, dispelling the flames that enveloped him, and rubbed his still-warm, massive head against Lucien's outstretched hand.

After examining Norbert's body and finding no injuries, Lucien glanced at the Norwegian Ridgeback still lying on the ground.

He took out some magic potions and applied them to the other person's wounds, and even forced some into that big mouth.

If Lucien hadn't been able to communicate with Magical Creatures, and if Norbert had just subdued it, hadn't been watching, that Fire Dragon would probably have thought this human was trying to poison it.

Lucien noticed that the Norwegian Ridgeback in front of him was also a female.

This aligns with the characteristics of this group; female Norwegian Ridgeback are stronger and more ferocious than males, and their pack structure is somewhat similar to that of spotted hyenas.

The Norwegian Ridgeback, its spirits much improved, let out a few low growls.

"Little girl, you've won. My territory and my mate are all yours now..."

Norbert responded:

"No need, I just want to fight you."

"..."

After a few seconds, a look of human compassion appeared in the Fire Dragon's eyes.

Are you sick?

Dark golden flames reappeared from Norbert's body.

"Um?"

Lucien laughed, stopping the ineffective communication between the two, and climbed onto Norbert's broad back. The two of them, one human and one dragon, disappeared into the clouds against the wind and snow.

Surrounded by spells that protected him from the wind and cold, Lucien pondered his next steps.

To repay the Magic Weaving (annual loan) borrowed during last winter break, Norbert needs to be trained to become the king of the Norwegian Ridgeback clan. For Fire Dragon, this selection process is simple and brutal: just fight until the opponent submits. And this is even more true for the naturally belligerent Norwegian Ridgeback.

It is precisely because the Norwegian Ridgeback was exceptionally aggressive, often fighting and even killing each other, that the number of dragons in this group was very small, and they mainly gathered in Norway and the surrounding areas.

According to the system's definition, Norbert doesn't need to spar with all his fellow tribesmen; he only needs to subdue the leaders of settlements of a certain size or larger.

Lucien estimated that he could get this sorted out before Christmas, and then he could go home and spend a full Christmas with his aunt.

Let Norbert land a little away from where the Fire Dragon gathered, Lucien opened the chest and released the three wizards who had been working diligently before the festival.

The Box World.

Lucien traversed through layers of space, with House-elf following him closely at all times —Dobby.

After demonstrating the process of feeding, caring for, and collecting materials for the Mooncalf, Lucien asked Dobby:

"Did you get it? Do you need me to demonstrate again?"

Dobby shook his head vigorously.

"Yes, I understand. No need to bother anymore, boss."

Yes, Dobby is now called Boss Lucien.

Lucius suggested giving Dobby away, and after some consideration, Lucien agreed.

As the number of Magical Creatures in the box increases, it's quite convenient to have a House-elf help take care of them.

Even if he doesn't agree, Lucius will most likely still get rid of Dobby, this "traitor."

Lucien was also very curious about Dobby managed to break free of the Master-Servant Contract and do something against the will of his master, Lucius.

When Dobby was asked about it later, he believed from Dobby bottom of his heart that Lucius had done something wrong, something evil.

The Master-Servant Contract requires the House-elf to be loyal to the family, while the family heir only has the right to command the House-elf.

Dobby is an "outlier" among the House-elf, not only yearning for freedom but also possessing an extremely active mind.

He didn't directly rebel against Lucius, but instead used a roundabout method to prevent Harry from going to Hogwarts. He didn't reveal his master's plans, operating within the cracks of the contract.

After all, the contract doesn't restrict the House-elf too much. After so many years of enslavement, servility is ingrained in the very bones of this race.

To dedicate one's entire life to one's master's family, working tirelessly and selflessly without expecting anything in return, is the House-elf's "ideal."

Some of the more extreme House-elf even hope that their owners will cut off their heads after they die and hang them on the wall for display.

It's rare to see someone like Dobby who craves freedom and even wants wages.

After Lucien took Dobby away, he gave Dobby the freedom to choose.

He indicated that he could grant him the freedom he desired, and also recounted the story of Nicolas's House-elf, Qiu Bi, and his ancestors.

At that time, Nicolas truly broke the bond of servitude with the House-elf, but after Qiu Bi's parents left, he found it difficult to find a job to support himself.

Lucien remembered that Dobby faced a similar situation after gaining his freedom in the original story. Even though someone wanted a House-elf, Dobby's demand for wages was so "outrageous" that he was turned away. In the end, it was Dumbledore gave Dobby a job at Hogwarts during the Goblet of Fire year, with a salary and holidays.

Dobby hesitated after hearing this, and Lucien then suggested that he could hire Dobby with a salary, vacation, and Fawley.

Unbound by contracts, able to achieve their ideal life, and receiving wages, Dobby's enthusiasm would be much higher.

On one hand, Lucien didn't like being a truly ruthless boss, and on the other hand, he felt it was better to give Duobi a choice Dobby to oppress it.

True freedom comes from having choices.