By the time Adelaide sensed the danger drawing near, it was already too late.
A massive fragment of a tree root was violently struck by the Dragon Alice's tail, flying like a cannonball directly towards the large tree where Adelaide was hiding.
Facing this sudden attack, Adelaide had no time to think, let alone react. She could only instinctively perform a Clumsy Roll, scrambling away from behind the tree in a state of disarray.
After finally regaining her balance, Adelaide nervously looked up, only to discover with horror that the enormous, ferocious Dragon was now staring at her with its plate-sized purple eyes, as if it would devour her alive in the next second.
"Uh... (｡･∀･)ﾉﾞ Hi?"
Adelaide forced an extremely awkward smile, simultaneously raising her left hand tremblingly, cautiously greeting the Dragon, her voice slightly quavering: "Student MacFusty, um... if I said I just happened to be passing by and didn't see anything, would you believe me?"
Unfortunately, Adelaide's goodwill did not reach Alice MacFusty, who had transformed into a Dragon. The Dragon responded with a deafening roar, and a powerful gust of air instantly swept over, disheveling Adelaide's neatly combed hair and cloak.
Immediately after, the Dragon mercilessly turned around, its thick, powerful tail cutting a sharp arc through the air, about to whip violently across Adelaide's body.
Adelaide gasped. Judging by the force, if she were hit, being scattered in pieces would be a good outcome; with worse luck, she might turn directly into mud!
In the nick of time, a flash of inspiration struck her mind. Her right foot, which had been retreating, changed from pushing back to thrusting forward, and she lunged.
Taking advantage of the brief blind spot created by the Dragon's turn, Adelaide swiftly took a step, precisely landing on the Dragon's hind leg. Then, using that momentum, she agilely climbed up its body like a monkey, and in the blink of an eye, successfully reached the Dragon's back.
"Boom!"
The tail struck the tree behind where Adelaide had been. The tree, large enough for two people to embrace, exploded without any buffer, scattering broken branches and bark everywhere.
The Dragon gazed contentedly at the small, unrecognizable patch of ground before it, believing it had killed the annoying human, and turned to continue its grand scheme of destruction.
Because the Dragon's body was covered in a thick layer of scales, Adelaide's presence on its hind leg did not alert it.
Compared to the Dragon's massive body, Adelaide's insignificant weight was negligible.
Thus, she successfully climbed onto the Dragon's back and tightly embraced the hard bone spurs on its hind neck, refusing to let go for anything.
At this moment, Adelaide was immensely grateful for the Flying Class offered by the school.
It was because of her experience riding the school's old flying broomstick that she could so skillfully maintain her balance. As long as the Dragon's movements weren't too violent, she wouldn't easily slip off its back.
The clever Adelaide soon keenly noticed that the Dragon's destructive behavior was not without pattern. A sturdy Enchantment enveloped this open land.
Presumably, this was why Alice, after transforming into a Dragon, remained trapped here, unable to escape.
According to Adelaide's observations, it seemed that only by destroying all the Runic script words embedded in the ground could the Dragon break through this Enchantment and soar.
Unfortunately, as if all the good luck Adelaide had accumulated before had run out, the Enchantment, which had suffered countless destructions, completely collapsed and disintegrated precisely during Alice's transformation this time.
Before Adelaide could react, the Dragon excitedly spread its broad, powerful wings, its thick hind legs pushing off the ground with a sudden thrust. Like an arrow loosed from a bow, it soared straight into the vast night sky, amidst the falling goose-feather snow.
The wind howled past, and the bone-chilling cold wind lashed at Adelaide's face like a sharp whip, making it impossible for her to open her eyes normally.
The cold snowflakes fluttered down, slipping into her already disheveled collar, instantly sending a penetrating chill through her, making her shiver uncontrollably.
Even her hands, tightly gripping the bone spurs, began to show signs of freezing due to prolonged exposure to the severe cold.
The situation was dire. If this continued, putting aside other factors, just at the current rate of body heat loss, she wouldn't last more than 15 minutes.
So, how long would it take for Alice to turn back into a human after transforming? Adelaide endured the cold and discomfort, squinting her eyes, trying to make out her surroundings.
She was surprised to find that Alice hadn't flown far away but was continuously circling above Hogwarts Castle.
Wait... why does this scene feel so familiar?
Adelaide suddenly realized that the scene before her was identical to a prophecy she had years ago!
Only the lightning-filled, stormy rainy night had been replaced by this icy, blizzard-ridden cold night. Other than that, everything else was almost exactly the same!
Hmm, there was one other difference: she herself was now riding on the Dragon's back.
However, regrettably, that prophecy back then did not provide any method to tame a Dragon. How was she supposed to deal with this tricky situation now?
"Look! There's a black Dragon in the sky!"
A startled cry suddenly broke the night's tranquility.
As the Dragon's massive body performed a low-altitude spin, gusts of howling wind accompanied by scorching airflow swept over, and Adelaide clearly heard the shouts of students.
A surge of joy filled her heart. It seemed the Halloween feast was over—there was always a way out!
Due to the Halloween feast tonight, curfew had been postponed until 1 AM.
The lively feast had just concluded, and some Gryffindor students, discovering that heavy snow was falling outside again, couldn't contain their excitement and joy. They wanted to have a exhilarating snowball fight before bedtime.
As soon as they slipped out of the Castle gates, they heard whooshing sounds and roars above the Castle. Looking up, they saw the majestic and powerful black Dragon in the sky.
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