"Thanks, Charlie!" Yvonne said gratefully.
He had been so intent on making the battle more exciting and trying not to hurt Norbert that he had neglected the fact that some professionals could tell from Norbert's injuries if they were acting.
"Ha… you don't have to thank me. I got to see a good show for free, and with this appearance, I think Norbert will definitely become famous!" Charlie laughed, then continued with emotion.
"Harry did well, too, with the Firebolt and the Eye Charm. I can see you've planned this well. I was worried George and Ron wouldn't be able to tell you the details of the first match in time…"
"George? Ron?" Yvonne looked at Charlie in surprise.
"Why? Didn't you hear from them?" Charlie was surprised.
"No, Harry and I were following Hagrid that day, so we saw the dragons!" Ivan explained.
"Well, I guess I was just being paranoid!" Charlie said with a wry smile, then proceeded to explain the situation to Ivan.
He saw Hagrid bringing Maxim to the paddock to see the dragons, and worried that it would be unfair to the Hogwarts champions, so he secretly told George, Ron, and the others, hoping that they would pass the message on, so that Ivan and Harry would not be taken unawares and lose the match.
No wonder… Ivan recalled that the day before the match, George and Fred had approached him very eagerly to ask if they were ready for the match.
Ron was also waiting for Harry and me in the dormitory in the middle of the night because he wanted to talk about the dragon?
"Well, enough of that," Charlie said, pointing ahead. "I'm glad you made it through the first level. Let's go check on Norbert. He's just up ahead."
Ivan looked in the direction Charlie was pointing, and although he was still some distance away, he was able to make out Norbert's bulk.
It had to be said that dragons were truly intimidating creatures. Adult dragons tended to be over fifteen meters long, with some females reaching up to twenty meters in length. Their sharp fangs and vicious barbs on their backs were even more intimidating.
However, Norbert had completely destroyed this majestic image. It was now trying to compete with a tall pine tree, ramming its forelimbs and body against the tree as if trying to knock it down. The surrounding wooden fence was in a mess, and it was obvious that it had been harmed by Norbert.
Charlie's head hurt when he saw this. Norbert was far more active than the other dragons, and it was impossible to find an intact object nearby if it was left alone for a few hours.
Yvonne was speechless. She looked at Norbert as if he were a large husky, and it took her a while to calm him down. She told him to stop harming the bars and stay where he was.
Ivan then summoned Dobby and served him a barbecue that he had prepared beforehand.
Norbert had been a great help, so it was only natural to reward him.
Ivan fed them himself, sprinkling spices on the roasted rabbit and leg of beef before popping them into Norbert's mouth.
Ivan was extremely patient in order to get closer to Norbert so that he could obtain dragon blood later.
"Ivan, it looks like you really have the talent to be a dragon tamer. Are you sure you don't want to consider coming to Romania after you graduate?" Charlie couldn't help but ask when he saw the two of them getting along so well.
Ivan shook his head and threw the last piece of roast beef into Norbert's mouth. "Give me a break, I've been sick of looking after little Norbert!" he complained.
"Best not to say that. Norbert doesn't like people calling him names to his face…" Charlie shrugged.
As expected, Norbert became visibly upset at Ivan's words and blew a small flame from his mouth in a fit of anger, which nearly singed Ivan's hair.
"Hey, Norbert, don't be like that. I was just joking! I actually like keeping dragons the most…" Ivan quickly changed his words and patted Norbert's head comfortingly. He also said a lot of good things about Norbert and promised to visit him more often in the future.
Charlie watched in amusement, then told Ivan about Norbert's time in Romania.
"When you and Hagrid sent Norbert here a few years ago, we thought he was a lad, but when we examined him, we found out that he was actually a female dragon!
Later on, I felt that Norbert's name was inappropriate, so I and my colleagues planned to change it to… Norberta!"
"Norberta? Why have you never been called that?" Yvonne asked curiously.
"Because it prefers to be called Norbert, and every time we change names, Norbert is less willing to acknowledge us." Charlie was frustrated that they had tried so many different ways to get Norbert to acknowledge their new names.
"I don't know how you managed to impress Norbert with that name after only a month together, and he was able to recognise you and Hagrid very quickly after four years," Charlie commented with interest. He had owned dragons for several years, but this was the first time he had encountered such a situation.
"Perhaps Norbert was born smarter than the average dragon!" Ivan said casually, thinking of a possibility.
Norbert was able to remember the events of the first month of his life clearly, most likely due to Professor McGonagall's violence and Dumbledore's anger.
"That's true. Norbert was the wisest dragon I've ever seen." Charlie didn't disagree with Ivan, thinking that Norbert's memory was better than his kind's because he was an anomaly among dragons.
They continued to chat about Romanian history, and when it was completely dark, Ivan excused himself, saying goodbye to Charlie and Norbert and returning to the castle alone.
When they arrived at the boys' dormitory, Ivan opened the door to find Harry sitting on the bed with a blank look on his face.
"What's the matter with you, Harry?" Ivan asked suspiciously.
Harry looked up at Ivan for a long moment, then said in a defeated voice, "I went to invite Cho Chang!"
"And it didn't work?" Yvonne asked, seeing the look on Harry's face.
"Worse than that! I got there too late, and Cho Chang had already accepted Cedric's invitation this afternoon…" said Harry in a muffled voice. "I had no idea, and paid a Galleon for George and Fred…"