Braving Kroni

"Robin Sear, get on the motorcycle! I'll hold it off!"

Never mind whether Robin could ride the Flying Motorcycle. Without magic, could Hagrid hold Kroni off for even three seconds with his giant crossbow?

Of course he couldn't!

"Hagrid, I can't leave you here alone!" Robin shouted over the gale.

"Are you mad? You want to stay and die with me?" Hagrid snapped.

"Maybe we can use Kroni's nasty habit of playing with its prey against it!"

Robin pulled a Bludger from the Blue Cloth Pouch and hurled it into the air.

The black ball shot away, catching Kroni's attention. It swung its hill-sized head around and chased the Bludger as it darted about.

Robin and Hagrid climbed onto the Flying Motorcycle, but before they could start it, a wave more than ten meters high swept them and the bike into the sea.

"Ha... Hagrid, are... are you all right?"

In the chaos, Robin pulled a flotation board from the pouch. Thank goodness Draco had described the joys of surfing so vividly that even Robin, who couldn't swim, had wanted to try it.

"Uh, I... I'm fine. But the motorcycle isn't. Oh, my goodness, how am I going to explain this to its owner?"

Right. Hagrid had borrowed the Flying Motorcycle from Sirius Black. Now it had sunk to the bottom of the sea, and retrieving it would be about as hard as defeating Kroni.

"Hagrid, this isn't the time to worry about the motorcycle. We need to get out of Kroni's territory!"

Deep-sea Magical Beasts were as territorial as land-dwelling ones. They would be safe once they left the Adriatic Sea, and fortunately, it was a long, narrow stretch of water.

"Robin, can you swim?"

Being fat had its advantages sometimes. Hagrid could float without a board.

"No. Wait—this