After going over a few details, Taff hesitated no longer and lifted the gently rippling magical curtain under Hagrid's expectant gaze.
Beyond it lay a valley. Su Er rather suspected that Scamander had moved an entire mountain in from outside, because this place was no different from the valleys Su Er had seen, with lush trees and tall hills arranged around a narrow path.
"Follow me." After letting the magical curtain fall, Taff walked past them to take the lead, beckoned, and stepped onto the path.
After they followed its twists and turns for a while, the view suddenly opened up onto a stretch of lawn with no grass. An enormous white dragon lay there, its pearly scales shimmering with rainbow hues in the soft light.
"An Antipodean Opaleye!" Hagrid said in delighted surprise.
The enormous dragon had raised its head warily the moment Su Er and the others entered, its pure white, pupil-less eyes fixed in their direction.
Taff silently raised his palm, and Su Er and the others stopped with him. In truth, they had little choice. An adult dragon's gaze was powerfully intimidating, and Su Er had no doubt that a jet of flame could come pouring from its mouth at any moment.
Mr. Scamander, who was busy nearby with his back to them, seemed to sense something and turned to see Su Er and the others.
He first walked over to the white dragon and, under their astonished gazes, casually placed his hand beside its mouth and stroked it gently. It was not as though Su Er and the others had never raised a dragon; they knew the aggression and bloodlust in these creatures' bones.
Ron's experience said it all. The only reason he had been bitten that time was that he had tried to stroke