Chapter 129. The Reckless Duo
"Never thought I had quite a knack for drawing!"
When it finished, the Hungarian Horntail drew back its claw, looked at the masterpiece on the ground, and nodded in satisfaction as a thought flashed through its mind.
Then it announced with confidence, "This is exactly the pattern.
It's no different at all from what I saw back then!"
"Are you sure?" Duncan bent over to look, one eyebrow lifting as he asked with some hesitation.
From any angle, the thing on the ground didn't look like a pattern at all.
It could only be described as a jumble of overlapping lines.
At the side, Professor Kettleburn stroked his chin and stared for a long time as well.
He was just as baffled, unable to make heads or tails of it.
"Of course.
You don't understand?" The Hungarian Horntail gave Duncan a disdainful glance and kindly pointed a claw at the pattern on the ground to explain for him.
"Look here, that's a round shell, he's carrying it on his back, and this is the weapon he's holding in his hand... Tsk, tsk, just look how well it's drawn, and you can't even understand it!"
As the dragon described it, Duncan actually did seem to see it, and it even felt familiar, as if he'd seen it somewhere before.
Duncan frowned and thought carefully.
A sudden flash of insight struck him, and he remembered.
Wasn't what the Hungarian Horntail had drawn the pawn piece from wizard chess?
Duncan flicked his wand, and the diagram on the ground shifted to match what he had in mind.
"Is this the pattern you once saw on the mask?" Duncan asked.
"That's right!" The Hungarian Horntail's tone carried a hint of puzzlement and displeasure.
What Duncan had drawn was plainly similar to its own—so why change its picture?
Wasn't that superfluous, ruining its hard work?
Duncan had no mind to attend to the Hungarian Horntail's mood.
His head was instantly crowded with chaotic thoughts.
The people cultivating the poisonous mushrooms and that mysterious organisation that used wizard chess as its emblem were one and the same.
And at the start of term they had even kidnapped Harry, secretly coming into contact with Lord Voldemort and offering him aid.
What on earth was their aim?
Did they find Voldemort pitiable and, out of great compassion, want to give him a hand?
Or did they mean to throw Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry into confusion, to tie up Dumbledore so he had no time to help Newt?
While Duncan was letting his thoughts run wild, the Hungarian Horntail shook its head in confusion and muttered, "Those bugs seem to be back again... could you blow that whistle once more?
This feeling is really unbearable!"
"Have five minutes gone by that fast?" Duncan's eyebrow twitched and a thought flashed through his mind.
He took two steps back with Professor Kettleburn and said, "Sorry, my whistle can't be used for the moment."
"Don't you have any other way?" The dragon ground its teeth, blood-red creeping over its bulging eyes.
The violent pain made it desperate to vent the uncontrollable fury in its heart.
"Wait!" Duncan looked to the side.
"Alec, what about the potion you were going to give it to drink?"
"Ah, yes, yes, I'll fetch it at once!" The Demiguise, frightened into shrinking into the corner by the dragon, only now remembered its proper task.
It turned in a flurry and scrambled on all fours toward the other side of the cavern.
A moment later, it backed its way over, face tight, both hands gripping a huge glass bottle, dragging it with all its strength.
Duncan waved his wand, levitating the bottle filled with viscous, black liquid to the side of the iron cage.
"Does it need to drink all of this?"
"Mhm." Alec let out a breath, wiped the sweat from his face, and hurriedly replied, "Its symptoms are getting worse and worse.
It has to drink it all, otherwise it won't have any effect."
Duncan nodded and said to the Hungarian Horntail, "If you don't want it to hurt so much, open your mouth quickly!"
At his words, the Hungarian Horntail hastily opened its great, sharp-toothed jaws.
A strong stench blasted toward Duncan with its breath.
Duncan pinched his nose in distaste, guided the bottle up, inverted it, and the viscous liquid poured out in a rush.
A subtle change came over the Hungarian Horntail's expression.
A tremor spread from the corner of its mouth across its whole body, and it began to shake all over.
"Duncan, get back!" Alec windmilled his arms with all his might and shouted a frantic warning.
"Don't move." Sensing danger, Professor Kettleburn clamped a hand down hard on Duncan's shoulder and Apparated with him, whisking them to a spot far from the dragon.
"What did you make me drink?
It tastes worse than dung!" the Hungarian Horntail bellowed to the heavens, and at the same time as it spat out that shocking line, blazing dragon fire spewed from its jaws and surged up to the ceiling above, melting an appalling gaping hole in the blink of an eye.
With lingering fear, Duncan swallowed hard and offered heartfelt thanks to Professor Kettleburn at his side.
If he had still been standing where he was, the splashing dragon fire alone would have reduced him to ash.
After belching out two blasts of dragon fire in succession, the Hungarian Horntail panted wearily a few times.
Its huge eyes turned to Duncan, its mouth moved as if it still wanted to say something.
But a wave of irresistible drowsiness suddenly crashed over it.
Its eyelids struggled for a moment, then drooped of their own accord, and it slumped to the ground and fell into sleep.
"It can sleep much more soundly for a while now..." Alec's taut nerves eased.
He shuffled over to Duncan's side.
"So it was a Sleeping Draught after all.
But it drank that much—will it be all right?"
Duncan thought it over for a moment, then said, "Let's go out.
We'll tell my granddad what we learned from the dragon, so he can be on his guard."
Professor Kettleburn inclined his head slightly and followed Duncan toward the outside, now and then discussing with him the information they had just obtained.
Back in the workshop, the Demiguise Alec was first to climb the stairs.
He cocked his head and thought for a long while, then hesitantly stretched out a hand and knocked on the door above in a set rhythm.
After a while, a creaking sound came from the top of the stairs.
A soft beam of light shot straight down, spilling over Alec's silvery fur.
"Come up, the door's open." Alec called, and slowly clambered out of the case.
Duncan stuck his head out right behind, took a look around, and saw that they were in a dilapidated room, with rubble piled all around the case,
and there was no sign of Newt.
Only the Bowtruckle Pickett stood on the broken bricks at the side, his body covered in dust.
"Pickett, where's my granddad?" Duncan asked the Bowtruckle as he hopped out of the case.
"When you knocked, those baddies happened to spot us, so Newt hid the case here and ran off in another direction to draw those nasty wizards away," came Pickett's tiny voice, which Duncan only just managed to catch by holding his breath.
"What did the little fellow say?" asked Professor Kettleburn.
Sensing that something was wrong, he already had his wand in hand, ready to fight to the death.
Duncan repeated what the Bowtruckle had said, and was just about to discuss a plan with Professor Kettleburn—when, with a pop, the professor Apparated off into the distance, leaving only one line behind: "Stay here first.
I'll be right back!"
Duncan sighed helplessly.
Professor Kettleburn was just as reckless as his granddad—no wonder the two of them could become such good friends.
Enjoyed the story? Support me and get access to early chapters by joining my Patreon!
Find me at: Patr*eon*.com/Resium
Free members can read 10+ Chapters Ahead of Release
Paid member can read 150+ Chapters Ahead of Release
Stories Available
Honkai? No, This Is Daily Life
Hogwarts Pet Master
Pokémon: Who Let Him Leave Pallet Town!
Scrolling Yu-Gi-Oh! Shorts