"Fang?" Yvonne asked, immediately recognizing him and rushing forward.
Fang flew into Ivan's arms, whimpering in terror, blood on his legs.
"It's hurt!" Harry noticed this and hurried over, Ron not to be outdone.
"It looks like a jinx. Luckily, it didn't hit you head-on, it was just a scratch." Hermione was much calmer than the two of them, but it was this calmness that made her think of something even more terrible.
"For all we know, Hagrid's in trouble in the Forbidden Forest!" Hermione suggested eagerly.
Fang seemed to understand what she was saying, for he immediately wriggled out of Ivan's arms and used his teeth to tug at Ivan's pants.
This confirmed Hermione's suspicions, as Harry and Ron tried to rush into the Forbidden Forest to rescue Hagrid, but Ivan stopped them.
"It's too late. It's too slow to run, and if Hagrid and Fang can't deal with the enemy, it won't help. The best thing to do now is to get back to the castle and inform the Professor…"
Ivan was the only one present who knew that Hagrid had spent the last few days trying to find out why the unicorn had been attacked, which meant that it was most likely Chino, possessed by Lord Voldemort.
Ivan also did not expect that his attempt to stop Malfoy from eavesdropping on the dragon egg would lead to this.
"But Hagrid's in danger, and we've got to get to him!" Harry knew that going back for reinforcements was the best solution, but as Yvonne had said, a round trip to and from Hagrid could mean the end of him.
"That's why I said you guys go back…" Ivan sighed, and then, to everyone's surprise, he jumped onto Norbert's back and sat down firmly on the dragon horn.
"Ivan, you're going to…" Hermione looked shocked as she realised what was happening.
"That's right. You can't run as fast as you can. I might be able to make it on Norbert." Ivan nodded. He was involved in this, and he couldn't ignore it.
Then Ivan looked at the dog on the ground.
"Fang, come on up! We're going to need you to show us the way."
Fang, already timid, looked at Norbert's large, menacing body and tucked his tail between his legs in fear, but he gathered his courage and jumped forward at Ivan's constant calling.
"Good for you!" Yvonne exclaimed, surprised at how well Fang had managed to overcome his fear. He had even considered asking Hermione or Harry to give him Fang.
"Ron will be fine on his own with the professor, and I'll have Harry to go with you," Hermione said, worried that Ivan was about to go off on his own.
Harry nodded solemnly, but Ron looked confused. Why couldn't he go?
Ivan glanced at Harry, somewhat impressed. After all, Harry was an ace in the hole when it came to dealing with a Chino possessed by Lord Voldemort.
"Nah, Norbert can't handle the weight of three of us."
After a second's hesitation, Ivan dismissed the idea. Norbert was barely a month old, and could barely fly with him and Fang.
Also, in order to avoid exposure, Chino would not face the enemy head-on. He and Norbert would be enough.
"Norbert, fly!" Ivan slapped Norbert on the head, and the young Norwegian Spinyback flapped its wings and flew off into the sky.
Ivan grabbed the dragon's horn and used it as a steering wheel to give Fang directions. Ignoring the thrill of being airborne, the dog barked furiously in the direction it had come from.
Ivan understood and tugged on the dragon's horn to guide Norbert in the direction Fang was looking.
Despite the recent revelations about the dragon, Ivan kept Norbert in check, and occasionally flew him around low over the night.
After all, the temptation to ride a dragon was too great, or at least too great for Ivan to resist, and it was for this reason that Ivan was confident of saving Hagrid.
After Ivan flew off on Norbert, Harry, Hermione, and Ron were left behind to rush back to school.
"Make… make way!"
Harry took the lead in leading Ron and Hermione on their way to the Headmaster's office, but they didn't seem to have a password, as Hermione remembered that Professor McGonagall was supposed to be teaching the third year.
Thus, the three of them barged in violently…
The moment the door was opened,
All eyes in the classroom turned to look at them, and what made Harry and the others feel even more pressure was Professor McGonagall's furious glare.
"Mr Potter, if you don't have a reasonable explanation…" Professor McGonagall's face darkened and she was about to berate them, but before she could finish, Harry and Ron dragged her away.
"Professor McGonagall… something terrible has happened! Let's go. I'll explain on the way…" Hermione only had time to explain before she, Harry, and Ron pulled Professor McGonagall away.
The dozens of third-year students in the classroom watched in shock as their professor was dragged away by a few first-year students. It seemed that something urgent had happened, and Professor McGonagall would not be back for a while.
"So we don't have to go to class this afternoon?" George Daze asked, suddenly realising the problem in the silent classroom.
The third year students then shouted like crazy.
"Oh yeah! It's the holidays!"
…
In the corridor, Hermione was holding Professor McGonagall's hand and running with her as she briefly explained what had happened.
"So you're saying Hagrid was in danger in the Forbidden Forest, and he's dead or alive? And then Hars went to the rescue on a Norwegian Ridgeback named Norbert?" When McGonagall heard this, her first reaction was to wonder if Hermione had made up a story to fool her.
"I have to stop you from imagining that there are no dragons at Hogwarts!" McGonagall stopped in her tracks, unable to be pulled away.
Harry didn't know how to explain it to McGonagall; it was a long story, and he wondered how long it would take.
Roar ~
Just as Harry was about to make a long story short, a dragon's roar came from the distant Forbidden Forest, and the four of them, who were standing by the window, saw a dragon rising into the air from the forest and dive down, spitting flames.
"I don't think we need to explain," Ron said with a shrug.