To Rhys, this was a perfect opportunity to strengthen his relationship with Hagrid. Once their bond was strong enough, he could freely obtain materials from Hagrid's dragon and even share some tips on dragon care—benefiting both parties.
Moreover, as the gamekeeper, Hagrid must have accumulated a lot of valuable items over the years. With a good relationship, Rhys could access these items, expanding his potion ingredient collection.
Truly precious potion ingredients are hard to find on the market, like African tree snake skin for Polyjuice Potion. These items are quickly snapped up by potion masters and rarely make it to the open market. They can only be acquired through trades with other potion masters.
Thinking of these benefits, Rhys quickened his pace.
No potion master can refuse the chance to expand their materials collection. If they do, it means they aren't passionate enough about potion-making.
Led by Ron, Rhys and Daphne soon arrived outside Hagrid's hut.
All the curtains were tightly drawn. After Ron knocked on the door, Hagrid first confirmed his identity before opening it.
He was stunned to see Rhys and Daphne behind Ron.
"Hagrid, they can be trusted!" Ron quickly vouched for Rhys, seeing Hagrid's hesitation. He raised his bandaged hand, indicating that Rhys had helped treat his injury.
With Ron's assurance, Hagrid allowed Rhys and Daphne inside. Once they were in, he promptly shut the door tightly behind them.
Rhys walked into Hagrid's hut and was immediately struck by the overwhelming stench of blood. The floor was littered with feathers and empty bottles.
Rhys immediately saw the culprit: a dragon about the size of a large dog, furiously tearing at something under Hagrid's bed. Judging by its scales and tail fin, it was indeed a Norwegian Ridgeback.
Once he confirmed the dragon's status, Rhys began to observe Hagrid's living conditions.
Hagrid's hut was rather cramped. The small wooden house had only one room. The ceiling was adorned with ham, pheasants, and rabbits. A fireplace was built into the wall, with a kettle hanging above it where Hagrid usually boiled water. His bed was in a corner of the room, and the patchwork quilt had been shredded by the dragon.
The magical energy in the room was strong, even slightly stronger than that in Snape's potion storeroom, which made Rhys secretly alarmed.
He looked around and was eventually drawn to something hanging among the ham and pheasants. It was a tuft of silver hair, hidden among the smoked meats and easily overlooked. Rhys took a closer look and his pupils dilated: it was a large bunch of unicorn hair!
This bundle of unicorn hair, which could fetch a bag of Galleons, was casually hung from the ceiling, almost ignored by Rhys himself.
Rhys scrutinized the room's setup more carefully and made more astonishing discoveries: the straw placed next to the firewood in the corner looked increasingly like phoenix feather straw; the basket used to hold miscellaneous items seemed to be made of laurel wood; among the stones used to build the fireplace, there appeared to be several pieces of firestone; and the stick used to hang the prey from the ceiling seemed to be a three-hundred-year-old oak core...
Rhys took a deep breath, thinking that if Hagrid didn't sell these "burial items," he would probably be wealthier than himself.
"Sit down, sit down. Would you like some tea?" Hagrid warmly invited the three of them to sit and brought over a gigantic teapot.
"Hagrid, about the dragon..." Rhys tried to get straight to the point.
"It's called Norbert, haha, I didn't expect you to find out so soon." A trace of embarrassment flashed across Hagrid's face.
"Yeah, I knew. I guessed it the day you borrowed those books." Rhys accepted a steaming cup of tea from Hagrid.
"Really?" Hagrid scratched his head. "I thought I hid it pretty well."
"What preparations have you made for raising a dragon, Hagrid? Did you just read those few books?" Rhys put his cup back on the table and asked very seriously.
"Well, I checked as many books as I could." Hagrid became serious as well.
"Your preparations are far from enough." Rhys's words were quite blunt. "Ron's injury is just the beginning. If you keep this up, sooner or later there will be a more serious accident. This time he was only bitten; next time he might lose an arm."
Ron's face turned a bit pale, remembering the stories his brother Charlie had told him.
Rhys glanced at Norbert, who was gnawing on the bedpost. "It needs training. You need to teach it what is right and what is wrong."
"Norbert is just a baby. It's still small—"
"It will be too late when it grows up." Rhys felt his patience gradually wearing thin.
"You know what will happen if it grows up and still behaves like this."
Hagrid fell silent.
Rhys's words were harsh, but they reflected reality. If Norbert grew into an adult dragon and remained disobedient, it would likely be killed. Even dragon reserves wouldn't accept a dragon that was too aggressive.
"Besides, raising a dragon is illegal right now."
Hagrid pursed his lips, and the room fell into a long silence, broken only by the sounds of Norbert and the crackling fireplace.
"I, I..." Hagrid opened his mouth, unsure of what to say.
"I can contact my brother Charlie. He researches dragons in Romania and would surely be willing to take Norbert," Ron quickly interjected to defuse the tension.
Rhys glanced at him. He had initially intended to suggest that Hagrid release Norbert into the Forbidden Forest. Given its size and resources, the forest could easily accommodate several dragons.
"Training a dragon isn't that difficult," Daphne added. "My family has some old records on it. I'll bring them to you later."
"That's great, that's great!" Hagrid's spirits lifted, and he thanked them repeatedly, though his excitement left him at a loss for words, repeating himself over and over.
"Good." Rhys smiled and looked at Hagrid, asking if he minded if Rhys gave Norbert a checkup.
"To be honest, I actually have quite a bit of experience with dragons."
Rhys wasn't lying.
When they had first moved here, the Forbidden Forest next to Hogwarts was home to many dragons. These energetic creatures often came out to attack the livestock that Helga kept. To expand the potion storeroom and protect the livestock, Rhys had dealt with the dragons in the Forbidden Forest thoroughly.
Through this process, he had indeed gained a deep understanding and knowledge of dragons.
"Really? That's great, go ahead!" Hagrid, unaware of these old stories, waved his large hand and agreed to Rhys's request.
"Thank you." The smile on Rhys's face sent a sudden chill down Hagrid's spine.
He was a bit puzzled: had he forgotten to close a window? It seemed the fire needed to be stoked more.
As for Norbert, the dragon lifted its head alertly, sensing something unusual.
______
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