"—A dragon is born sacred. Its horns resemble a deer's, its head a camel's, its eyes a rabbit's, its neck a snake's, its belly a clam's, its scales a fish's, its claws an eagle's, its paws a tiger's, and its ears a cow's. It is the chief of scaled insects. Born in water and clad in five colors, it swims freely. It can be hidden or revealed, small or great, short or long. At the Spring Equinox, it ascends to heaven; at the Autumn Equinox, it dives into the abyss."
This passage was an explanation of the concept of "dragon" in the Wizarding World Encyclopedia. Because it differed so completely from the records in Hogwarts' Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, it had left a very deep impression on Hermione.
And now—
When the enormous dragon coiled atop the stone sphere sprouted that pair of new antler-like horns, those words instinctively surfaced in her mind.
Certainly, this strange-looking "dragon" was still very far from the dragons of myth and legend described in the encyclopedia. Though it had deer horns and a snake-like neck, it also had a round, furry head like a tiger's. Its ears resembled a dog's more than a cow's, and a row of fish-fin-like structures ran along its back.
Yet the "primordial unity" in its nature was exactly as the book described—each time it devoured a phantom manifestation of another dragon species, it absorbed some trait from it and merged it into itself.
That nature stirred a trace of solemnity in the hearts of the onlookers.
The sun set in the west.
The last lingering ray at the horizon had vanished behind the skyline.
The hall gradually darkened until, at some point, the Magic Lamps embedded in the walls lit up one after another. The pale