Norbeta glanced at the small creature sprawled across Damon's chest, a complex mix of displeasure and nostalgia in her eyes.. Once upon a time, before she had fully grown up, she had crouched on Damon's chest like this. Even when facing enemies, Damon had used a shrinking spell to keep her close.
But she naturally listened to Damon's words.
Besides, her energy was consumed daily by fierce battles, and she didn't have the energy to bother a weak creature.
After greeting them, Damon led everyone to the second area, a barren expanse of land untouched.
Following Winky's instructions, Damon waved his wand and began transforming it.
Thunderbirds favored wide views, so Damon hollowed out a portion of the land and moved it to the other side, shaping it through magic until it gradually formed mountains and lakes. He
then scattered some grass seeds and tree seeds, previously gifted by Borgin and Burke's, to heat the snow-capped mountains' vapor, transforming it into rain at room temperature.
Winky the Thunderbird chirped cheerfully in the rain, seemingly enjoying the feeling.
It took Damon half an hour to complete the entire project—the magic drain was minor, but he wasn't a qualified builder, so much of the work was patched up, making it look rather unrefined.
Despite this, everyone, including Hagrid, was completely stunned.
Ron instinctively glanced down to confirm they were still standing still, but there were indeed mountains ahead, and they were already perched on a high cliff.
"You're living alone here. I'll make time to visit you every day. Is that okay?"
Damon spoke to Winky and received a positive response. This mythical bird was naturally very solitary, able to survive well on its own, and only showed a certain amount of affection towards its owner.
If it weren't for Damon, it would ignore everyone else and wouldn't even give them the slightest bit of respect. Hagrid placed a large pile of Winky's favorite food in a corner, securing it with a spell, only to receive a single nod from Winky.
Despite this, he was quite impressed, grinning like an idiot as they made their way down the mountain.
Hermione, on the other hand, looked back at Winky with reluctance, "Are we just going to leave it there all alone? It's still so small."
"Damon said it's okay. If you really miss it, just come back and see it later."
Harry and Ron weren't as concerned as she was. They were looking at Damon with envy. He could actually keep a dragon and a thunderbird as pets, openly with him. It was truly enviable.
When could they do something so cool? After graduation?
Thinking of Damon's impressive spellcasting skills, the two of them were filled with determination. When they got back, they would definitely practice more spells. If they wanted to be as cool as Damon, they had to catch up with his spellcasting skills!
Neville, who was following Hermione, didn't think as much as they thought. He just grinned. What he saw today was more exciting than what he had seen in a whole semester at school. It was also the first time he had shown an interest in anything other than plants.
But Neville quickly suppressed this thought.
He was a bit slow-witted and couldn't do much. He just needed to study plants and, at most, add some spells.
"You guys go out first and help me take the suitcase back to the dormitory."
After leading the others to the door and unlocking it, Damon spoke first.
"What are you going to do?"
"Fight Norbeta. You know, Norwegian Spinosaurus is quite aggressive."
"Can we stay and watch?"
Harry said, feeling a little unsteady after hearing that Damon was going to fight a fire dragon.
Ron knew he was included in the "we" he was referring to, and he silently gritted his teeth, not uttering a word of objection.
"Not right now. Norbeta's too excited to fight, I'm not sure I can protect you—let's wait until you can protect yourselves."
"Alright then,"
Harry nodded regretfully, climbing out of the suitcase and hoisting it in his hands.
"It's amazing! The world inside is so huge, yet it feels so weightless?"
Hermione's eyes still gleamed, and she regretted her excessive carelessness—if she had told Damon earlier that she wanted to see the dragons, she would have seen the world inside the suitcase last semester.
"Yeah, Harry, can I carry it for a while?"
Ron eyed Harry's suitcase with envy—he had only touched it a few times at most, but never held it in his hands like this.
"Of course. Let's take turns."
"Can I, too?" Neville asked, mustering the courage.
They said goodbye to Hagrid and returned to the castle, chatting and laughing all the way. Inside the box, Damon had already transfigured a golden dragon and was wrestling with Norbeta.
September passed quickly.
Although the professors' lectures had become more difficult since the start of his second year, they remained quite easy for Damon. Only the private lessons from the professors proved more challenging.
Snape began asking him to modify different emotional memories, and the two engaged in mental battles, each time leaving their expressions exhausted.
Furthermore, he wondered if it was Damon's imagination—Snape was becoming increasingly powerful.
Or was he doing it on purpose?
Since the second week, he hadn't been able to peer into Snape's memories at all. Furthermore, Snape had noticed a change in Damon's technique in Potions class. Previously, his technique had been so precise and precise, as if he'd just appeared from nowhere, but now he frequently displayed different techniques, some of which he found "familiar."
So, after a duel, he pretended to ask casually:
"Your style of brewing potions seems to have changed a lot recently. Is it because you peeped into my memories from my student days?"
"You're such a cocky person, Professor." Damon laughed. "It wasn't you who taught me those things, but the Half-Blood Prince." Snape's eyes widened suddenly. The next mom
ent, he immediately came to his senses and took out a sarcastic attitude that had never appeared in recent times. He said with a smile:
"Half-Blood Prince? Where did you find this teacher? He's quite worthy of your title of Dueling Prince."
"Don't worry about that. Anyway, I think this teacher is quite good, not worse than you."
If Damon had said that at other times, Snape would have jumped up and down long ago - his potion level would not tolerate anyone questioning it, not even Damon!
But now, who made him compare himself to the Half-Blood Prince? He could only accept it humbly.
"You seem to admire him a lot? Is that Half-Blood Prince guy really that good?"
Snape asked mockingly, suppressing the urge to curl his lips.
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