Ron's plan to shift attention by bragging had failed.
On the contrary, his offhand nonsense about going to dangerous places like Albania and Romania had sparked the young wizards' fledgling, unrealistic dreams of adventure.
At least, the recklessly bold little lions were thrilled!
The moment Harry emerged from the passageway, he heard a third-year student named Andrew holding forth within the crowd about his "experience" at the Romanian Dragon Sanctuary. "—That dragon was sixty feet tall. The gale from its flapping wings nearly blew me away. If Mum hadn't conjured a rope and tied it around my head—fortunately, the sanctuary keepers arrived and stopped it. That adventure still gives me chills whenever I think about it. Merlin only knows what my dad was thinking, taking us along to feed a dragon—"
He made it sound terrifying, but as expected, the little lions around him were listening with shining eyes.
Gryffindors were the embodiment of courage. How could they possibly fear a mere dragon?
Even Neville, who was trembling in a corner, had spread the fingers covering his eyes wide apart.
Ron stared longingly in that direction. "He's bragging, right?"
"What?"
"No dragon can grow to sixty feet tall, and the Romanian Dragon Sanctuary isn't some tourist attraction. No wizard could possibly sneak in and bring children along to feed dragons—he's making up lies to get attention!"
Harry glanced at Ron. The expression on his face seemed both indignant and envious. Clearly, what bothered his friend was not that Andrew was lying.
It was that the person surrounded by the crowd, spouting grandiose tales, was not Ron Weasley—
Sigh!
Worried at Ron's carefree nature, Harry sighed inwardly. Ignoring the noisy little lions, he hurried back to the dormitory.
Before the others returned, he dug out his Invisibility Cloak.
The silver cloak