It chased, he ran, and even wings would not have saved him.
John put on a burst of speed.
Someone had once said that when you encountered a brown bear, you did not need to outrun the bear. You only needed to outrun your companions.
Clearly, of the three wizards running together, John was the youngest but the fittest.
He overtook the blood-robed wizard with ease.
Bringing up the rear, the blood-robed wizard gritted his teeth as the Hungarian Horntail bared its fangs and claws.
It opened its mouth, and a huge fireball shot out.
"Stump Accio!"
The blood-robed wizard waved his wand, summoning a stump to block the fireball before it struck him.
The fireball hit the stump and instantly reduced it to charcoal. He escaped through the tiny gap that remained.
He turned and stopped, his face savage.
"Oppugno!"
Loose stones rose from the ground and hurtled toward the Hungarian Horntail, enraging it further. The attacks did not hurt it at all, but they irritated it immensely.
Seeing that his attack had no effect, the blood-robed wizard refused to give up and attacked again.
This time, however, before he could cast, the Hungarian Horntail flung a huge boulder at him with its tail.
John glanced back. The blood-robed wizard really was reckless.
Pheobe tripped as she ran. Feeling the ground shake, she turned to see the boulder rolling toward her.
"Reducto!"
White light struck the boulder and shattered it. Flying fragments grazed Pheobe's cheek.
John's expression changed after he cast the spell. The Hungarian Horntail was already diving toward them.
The blood-robed wizard kept attacking, but the Hungarian Horntail's scales were too hard. He could not break through them at all.
Seeing the Hungarian Horntail swooping down, even the blood-robed wizard had no choice but to dodge.
"Protego!"
John stood in front of Pheobe, a shield glowing with white light appearing before him.
The Hungarian Horntail swept its spiked tail across the clearing, effortlessly shearing through trees in its path.
Splinters and stones shot into the shield, driving John's feet into the earth.
It was not over yet. Beneath the moonlight, the Hungarian Horntail raised its head and roared.
The black scales covering its lizard-like body gleamed like dark iron in the moonlight.
It had yellow eyes and bronze horns, with spikes of a similar bronze color along its tail.
The enormous beast, a full fifty feet long, rampaged through the clearing. It opened its mouth and engulfed all three of them in dragonfire.
"Die... die... die!"
John cast Shield Charms over and over to hold it back. Pheobe scrambled up, quickly steadied herself, and waved her wand.
"Fire-Freezing Charm!"
The flames became less scorching as they washed over them. All three struggled to hold out amid the fire.
"Enough!"
A fierce gleam flashed through John's eyes. He did not even notice his pupils narrowing into vertical slits for an instant.
At his words, the Hungarian Horntail froze.
Then the unending stream of dragonfire stopped, and the Hungarian Horntail stretched out its neck, looking around.
Still shaken, Pheobe asked breathlessly, "What were you saying just now?"
John had spoken in dragon language. To anyone else, it sounded like an imitation of a dragon's roar.
The blood-robed wizard stopped attacking as well and turned to look at John.
John walked forward, step by step. The Hungarian Horntail had not connected the little fellow before it with the voice it had just heard.
"We meant no offense," John said again in dragon language.
This time, the Hungarian Horntail finally noticed him. Surprise filled its great yellow eyes, as large as lanterns.
"It was... you... how do you... know the language of dragons?"
The Hungarian Horntail looked down at John. He drew a deep breath, his eyes becoming a dragon's slit pupils as waves of terrifying pressure radiated from him.
"My name is John Wick. We entered this place by mistake and meant you no offense."
John spoke with the Hungarian Horntail, lowering his wand as a show of sincerity.
"You are... a dragon speaker." The hostility around the Hungarian Horntail gradually faded.
The astonishing scene left the other two hardly daring to breathe. John nodded and said, "I don't know where this is. The Portkey I was using malfunctioned and brought me here."
"Dragon speaker, this is Breathless Valley, in Scandinavia."
Breathless Valley?
John had never heard of the place. Judging by the blood-robed wizard who had appeared here, there should be human settlements nearby.
That came as a relief to John.
He had been afraid of being sent somewhere utterly unknown. He bowed to the Hungarian Horntail in apology. "Dragon, please accept my apology. I hope you will forgive our recklessness."
Rather than their recklessness, it was really the blood-robed wizard's.
Still, the three of them were in the same boat now, so John let that slide for the moment.
The Hungarian Horntail reined in its murderous aura and bowed its proud head to John. "Honored dragon speaker, Ammokhan accepts your apology."
Watching the exchange between the boy and the dragon, Pheobe wore a look of disbelief on her lovely face.
This was dragon language.
Legend had it that the great wizard Merlin had spoken dragon language to communicate with dragons. Since his time, no one else had ever been heard of who could speak it.
Pheobe had thought John was just an ordinary Hogwarts student. Now, could he actually be a descendant of Merlin?
After all, Merlin had attended Hogwarts too. It really might be possible.
An unusual look appeared in the blood-robed wizard's eyes as well. His golden eyes fixed on John, and his grip on his wand tightened unconsciously.
Dragon speakers seemed to hold extraordinary standing among dragons. Once Ammokhan learned that John spoke dragon language, it did not attack again.
After much persuasion from John, Ammokhan finally forgave the attack on its rear.
John also learned how it had all begun.
Ammokhan had been minding its own business in Breathless Valley when this vampire-looking, blood-robed wizard appeared and attacked it without a word.
Even dragons had basic bodily needs, and whether human or dragon, that particular area was relatively vulnerable.
That blow had driven away all of Ammokhan's drowsiness, and it had chased him for hours.
Ammokhan left, and the danger facing the three of them passed.
After hesitating for a while, the blood-robed wizard approached the other two and said in a low voice, "Thank you for your help."
"Hmph. If it weren't for you, we wouldn't have been dragged into this," Pheobe snorted.
The blood-robed wizard glanced at her and sneered. "I never asked you to get involved."
"You!" His attitude infuriated Pheobe.
"All right. Whatever happened, finding another living person is a good thing."
John soothed Pheobe, then stepped up to the blood-robed wizard and offered his hand. "John Wick. Hogwarts student."
"You came here from Hogwarts?" The blood-robed wizard looked a little surprised and shook his hand.
"Heinrich Edgar. Durmstrang student."
Durmstrang?
John was surprised. He had not expected to end up here.
He had heard that the school had a bad reputation. They were very hostile toward Mudbloods, and it was also one of the few schools that embraced dark magic.
More importantly, Grindelwald, the first Dark Lord who had once dominated Europe, had attended that school.
John had heard about it from Malfoy, who had once boasted that he was originally supposed to attend Durmstrang, but Mrs. Malfoy had not wanted her son so far away.
"I've practically crossed out of Europe."
John was speechless. Could that Portkey seller have scammed him any harder? He might as well have dumped him in China.
Hearing the surname Edgar, Pheobe started in alarm and exclaimed, "Edgar? That dark magic family?"
Few families openly made dark magic their defining trait, but the Edgars did exactly that.
Every one of them was utterly mad, and they also loved seeking out powerful opponents to challenge.
An Edgar had once sent Grindelwald a challenge. After Grindelwald defeated him, he became one of Grindelwald's unwaveringly loyal followers.
That was why the Edgars were also known as the right hands of the strong. Only someone powerful enough could conquer an Edgar and command his service.
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