Norbert beat his wings hard, his whole body spiraling upward like a spinning top, his head pointed toward the sky.
With the wind whistling around him, Zhang Xiao laughed out loud and patted Norbert's neck.
"Straight-line sprint! You're not fast enough!"
Norbert shook his head and flew along in a wobbly line. Before long, he had covered a considerable distance.
Hagrid chuckled as he watched the boy and dragon fly away. He even raised his enormous beer mug toward them, murmuring contentedly to himself:
"Ah, look how fast they're flying. They've already left the school-can barely see them now!
"Norbert's such a good boy... Norbert's all grown up."
Hagrid gulped down a great mouthful of beer, then suddenly froze. Something felt wrong.
Wait... left the school... The face that had flushed red from drinking slowly turned white. Left the school??!!
He leaped to his feet and ran toward the school with great, lumbering strides.
We're done for! This is a disaster!
Zhang Xiao's ridden Norbert out of the school!
A bright moon like a jade platter hung in the night sky. Norbert spread his wings and glided through the air, gauzy white clouds slipping beneath their feet. He seemed to instinctively emit some kind of force field while flying.
It allowed a dragon weighing several tons to take off effortlessly, and it also seemed to reduce wind resistance.
At least, Zhang Xiao found the rushing wind pleasantly refreshing.
"Woo-hoo!" The wind lifted Zhang Xiao's black hair. He had never imagined how much fun a joyride on a dragon could be.
One moment, Norbert folded his wings and plunged straight down from on high like a hawk, then snapped them open to pull up. The next, he was performing spiral rolls and scissors maneuvers.
Zhang Xiao felt as though he