"Norberta, stop it! They're friends, friends!" Hagrid said loudly, holding the Norwegian Ridgeback's jaws shut. It was unclear whether she had not struggled or simply had not overcome Hagrid's tremendous strength-after all, she was only a subadult dragon.
In any case, she did not attack again.
Seeing the Norwegian Ridgeback settle down, Hagrid let out a small sigh of relief and said to Harry and his two friends, looking rather embarrassed,
"Put your wands away. Norberta probably thought you were live food I'd brought her-you know, I have to feed her something alive now and then to keep her fit."
Harry and his two friends stared blankly.
"And Norberta saw too many wizards at the Dragon Sanctuary, so she's a bit sensitive about wands," Hagrid continued.
Harry and his two friends stared blankly.
"Don't worry. She's a good girl. There won't be any danger." Hagrid gave an awkward smile, though judging by his increasingly quiet voice, he might not have been all that confident himself.
Harry and his two friends stared blankly.
Finally, with Hagrid looking thoroughly embarrassed and uneasy, the three of them put their wands away.
"Hagrid, I really don't want to lecture you, but sometimes you really are... oh, you need to be a bit more careful." Hermione looked exasperated with him.
"I thought you'd improved quite a bit these past two years, but apparently you're still the same. You forget everything the moment you see a dragon."
"But she's a dragon..." Hagrid muttered, very, very quietly.
Yes, Hagrid always seemed rather meek around Hermione, completely lacking the imposing presence one would expect from a towering hulk of a man over three meters tall.
Seeing him like that, Hermione could only shake her head helplessly.
The Norwegian Ridgeback, meanwhile, lay utterly carefree at Hagrid's feet, her long