Seeing Norberta Again

"Stuffy?"

Romania had a temperate continental climate, with an average temperature of around ten degrees. "Stuffy" hardly seemed the right word!

"Want a cup of coffee?"

"No, I feel much better now. Hagrid, we need to get some sleep. We're seeing Norbert...berta tomorrow!"

At that, Hagrid gave up on the idea of chatting over coffee all night. After a few reminders, he rolled over and went back to sleep.

Luo Bin stayed by the window a little longer. Once he was sure the figure would not reappear, he climbed into bed too.

The next day, Charlie and the other researchers sat in the communal dining hall, shoveling down food with dark circles under their eyes.

"Charlie, what did the screening find?" Luo Bin asked, sitting beside him with his tray.

"You're just a kid. Don't ask so many questions!"

Charlie took a huge mouthful of rice, chewed it a couple of times, and swallowed.

"Don't mind him. That's just Charlie! You must be Robin Sear. I'm Philip!"

Philip looked unremarkable. He was short, with round eyes, a round nose, and a round mouth, and when he smiled, two round dimples appeared in his cheeks.

"Hello, Mr. Philip. What did you find after screening them all night?"

"Well..."

Philip had barely opened his mouth when Charlie coughed several times. Clearly, he did not want too much about the base revealed.

"Charlie, it was our fault we didn't discover the attacks on the dragons sooner. If not for Robin Sear, who knows how much longer those poor creatures would have suffered? I think he has a right to know how the screening is going."

Charlie waved a hand, signaling that he would not interrupt Philip again.

"After a night of screening, we found puncture wounds on the necks of eighty percent of