Unlucky Ron

"Harry, hurry up and think of something! I can't feel my fingers! Boohoo, I don't want them amputated!"

For his friend's sake, Harry plucked up his courage, pinched a rat by the tail, and dangled it in front of the little Black Dragon. "Norbert, here, look here! Let go and you can have some rat meat. Come on, let go!"

Hagrid had both hands wedged inside Norbert's mouth and was trying hard to pry his jaws apart, but the little fellow thought his mother was playing with him. His bite loosened and tightened by turns, while his stiff tail lashed the wardrobe, making it rattle and shake.

Clearly, none of the three could control him!

"Norbert, look! What's this?"

Norbert recognized the slightly resonant voice as belonging to the black-haired boy who often fed him balls of fire. He turned his eyes curiously, then found himself unable to look away from a golden dragonfly with glowing red eyes.

"Norbert, this is the latest toy, fresh in the post this morning. Want to play?"

Luo Bin lowered his voice coaxingly.

Crash!

The poor wardrobe was swept over by his tail. Luckily, it contained only sweaters and furs that wouldn't break in a fall, or Hagrid would have suffered quite a loss.

"Er, Norbert, I can see you're interested. I'll count to three, and then you can go. Ready? One, two... you cheated!"

Huff! Huff!

Boy and dragon were perfectly in sync. Luo Bin activated the dragonfly's mechanism when he reached "two," and Norbert released his jaws and charged toward the black-haired boy at the same moment.

As for who had started this tradition of cheating, that was, of course... Dela!

Huff! Huff!

Norbert raced around the room after the dragonfly, puffing out hot breath flecked with sparks.

"Luckily, his teeth didn't go all the way through your fingers, but you've lost too much blood. We need to get you to Madam Pomfrey right away!" Hagrid said with a frown after examining Ron's injury.

"No... we can't. Madam Pomfrey will realize a Fire Dragon bit me. I... I'll just put some ointment on it when I get back!"

Ron, who had just been wailing and urging everyone to think of something, terrified of losing his fingers, was suddenly being remarkably selfless.

"Just a reminder, Ron. I read in a magazine about Norwegian Ridgebacks that Norbert's teeth are venomous. If you don't get treated soon, tsk, you really might need an amputation!" Luo Bin said in all seriousness.

"What? Harry, I... I didn't mean to cause trouble!"

The unspoken message was that he wanted to see Madam Pomfrey.

"Ron, treating your injury comes first. Besides, Madam Pomfrey realizing it's a dragon bite isn't our only risk. Don't forget, Draco knows about Norbert too. It's only a matter of time before he tells!"

"No, Draco won't tell!" Hagrid interrupted.

Hermione puffed out her cheeks indignantly. "Hagrid, you don't understand Draco. He's rotten to the core. He... huh? Why has Norbert stopped chasing the dragonfly? Why is he staring at me instead?"

He wasn't just staring—he was baring his teeth!

The way he swayed his muscular rump made it look as though he would charge at her any second!

Luo Bin stepped forward and picked Norbert up, then took out a quill and brushed its tip against his nose. The little Black Dragon sneezed sparks several times. He stopped staring at Hermione and instead waved his short forelegs, chasing the black-haired boy around the room.

It was clear, though, that he wasn't truly angry. He was just playing with Luo Bin!

"Why? I've put just as much effort into looking after him. Why doesn't Norbert like me?"

Watching Norbert catch Luo Bin without biting him, then bury his head in the boy's arms and shamelessly beg for petting, Ron felt more aggrieved than ever.

"Listen, lad. Not everything you give will bring an equal return. Giving and receiving is a philosophical question. You'll understand naturally when you're older. Dela's just been spoiled by his family. I believe there's goodness in him too. Now, stop dwelling on it. You need to see Madam Pomfrey right away!"

Ron nodded dispiritedly at that.

Meanwhile, hearing that they were leaving, Luo Bin took out a pile of toys and canned food. He stroked the bumps of Norbert's horns and told him to behave, then left the Little Stone Hut with Harry and the others.

They had barely stepped through the wooden door when an unusual series of thumps, crashes, and cries of "Ow!" came from behind the giant pumpkins in the yard.

"Who's there?"

Luo Bin and Hermione went over to investigate together. Rounding a pumpkin, they found themselves looking straight into a pair of panicked, narrow eyes. "Crabbe, what are you doing here?"

The lawn had been watered that afternoon, and the hefty Crabbe slipped several times before managing to stand. He gave Luo Bin a fearful glance, then pointed at the wooden window and blustered, "I saw everything! Hagrid's keeping a dragon, and you're all accomplices! I'm telling the school. Hmph!"

With that, he clutched his lower back and limped away.

Hermione drew her Wand and asked through gritted teeth, "Luo Bin, what was the incantation for the Full Body-Bind Curse again?"

The incantation was "Petrificus Totalus." Luo Bin held down Little Pepper's restless hand. "If you petrify Crabbe, he'll weigh at least three hundred pounds. Aside from being huge and conspicuous, who could carry him?"

"All right, we'll let him off for now. But I won't forget this!"

Hermione quietly put away her Wand. They continued on to the Hospital Wing, where Ron claimed Fang had bitten his fingers. Madam Pomfrey examined the wound and briskly fetched a medical kit. A few quick snips later, the injury was bandaged.

"Stay overnight for observation. We'll remove the bandages tomorrow. If the wound hasn't worsened, you can return to class after I change the dressing," Madam Pomfrey said gently.

"Luo Bin, Hermione, you two go back. I'll stay with him tonight!"

"Okay!"

Ron pursed his lips and stared mournfully at the pair as they headed for the door, discussing what to focus on for their exams. He felt so hurt and dejected that he didn't even hear Harry ask whether his fingers hurt.

At half past ten that night, in the Slytherin Dormitory!

The first thing Luo Bin did upon returning was yank away Draco's blanket!

"I'm exhausted. What do you want?"

"You haven't told anyone about Norbert, have you?"

Dela rubbed his eyes. Once he was sure he had heard correctly, he frowned and asked, "Who found out about Norbert?"

Hah, pretty quick on the uptake. "Your Little Sidekicks—Crabbe. He sneaked over to the Little Stone Hut!"

"I've been making excuses to ditch those two and go off on my own lately. That must have made them suspicious. I'll have a proper talk with them tomorrow."

"Oh, right. Norbert's being sent away this Saturday!"

Dela sprang up at once and demanded loudly, "So soon? He's still a baby dragon! He needs someone looking after him. Can't we wait another week?"

Yep, knew he'd react like that!

Luo Bin then repeated the arguments he had used to persuade Hagrid!

For all Draco's usual arrogance, he was still a child at heart. Although he knew sending Norbert away was the best choice, he couldn't help feeling hollow inside. After a quiet "Oh," he curled up under the blanket.

The mound beneath the blanket rocked back and forth. Listening closely, Luo Bin could make out faint sobs, and he let out a long sigh. He loved the endearingly ugly little Black Dragon too. Otherwise, he wouldn't have set aside his heavy schoolwork, given up his nightly meditation to absorb Magic, and spent that time playing with Norbert and conjuring flames for him to eat again and again.

But Norbert was a dragon. He didn't belong at Hogwarts. Forcing him to stay would endanger not only the students but Norbert himself, so however reluctant they were, they had to send him away.

"Dela, make sure you say a proper goodbye to Norbert on Friday!"

"Okay!" The muffled reply was thick with tears.