The appearance of the black Dragon caused the Gryffindors who had slipped out of the Castle to momentarily forget their snowball fight, all looking up at the sky to watch the spectacle.
Adelaide was secretly frantic up in the air. Such a huge Dragon had suddenly appeared over Hogwarts, yet these students didn't seem the least bit afraid?
This was a 5X-level dangerous creature!
If the wind and snow weren't so fierce up high, making it impossible for Adelaide to open her mouth, she would have cried for help long ago!
All they knew was to look up and watch the show, not to go find a Professor for help—oh no, this bunch must be Gryffindors who snuck out.
"So cool! Could this also be a Halloween surprise Headmaster Dumbledore prepared for us? Can we get it to land so I can touch it?"
One Gryffindor's eyes were wide open, his face full of delight.
"Probably not... after all, the feast is already over."
Another, more sensible lion cub shook his head, expressing doubt.
"Hey, mate, am I seeing things? I think I saw someone on the Dragon's back..."
Suddenly, someone else voiced a similar question.
"Whoa, you're right! There really is someone!" someone nearby immediately chimed in.
"Haha, such a brave and fearless person must undoubtedly be a valiant warrior from our own Gryffindor!"
Someone in the crowd shouted this, eliciting a burst of laughter and cheers from everyone.
Adelaide, watching from the sky as these foolish lions waved their scarves and cheered wildly below, was so angry she nearly spat out blood.
Just then, the lions heard a stern reprimand coming from inside the Castle:
"What are you all doing gathered at the entrance so late? Get to bed immediately!"
They turned to look and saw that Professor McGonagall had arrived.
She knew the habits of the cubs in her own house all too well.
Indeed, having just sent off the Skeleton Dance Troupe, she had rushed straight to the Castle entrance to round up these mischievous little ones and send them back to their rooms.
"Professor, there's a Dragon flying in the sky!"
Hearing this, Professor McGonagall's heart skipped a beat, and she quickly looked up at the sky.
How could this be possible!
Just yesterday, she had reinforced the Runic Enchantment with Bathsheda Babbling. The new barrier should have been strong enough to withstand damage for a while; how could it fail so quickly?
But the Dragon in the sky was real, not a figment of the students' imagination—
Wait a moment, there was actually a student in school robes on the Dragon's back!
"Merlin's beard! Which student is that on the Dragon's back!" Professor McGonagall couldn't help but exclaim.
"We don't know, he was already on the Dragon's back when we came out..."
A Gryffindor student answered tremblingly, fearing punishment.
"All of you, get back to your common room this instant! Anyone who dares to dawdle will cost their house points!"
Professor McGonagall's eyes blazed with anger, her wand whipping through the air. She roughly herded the students back into the Castle, her tone so severe that no one dared disobey.
At the same time, she swiftly cast an advanced Patronus Charm.
A translucent tabby cat nimbly shot from the tip of her wand, streaking like lightning towards the Headmasters Office. She had to report what was happening here to Headmaster Dumbledore immediately.
"Albus, Miss MacFusty is in trouble. The situation is critical. Come to the entrance at once!"
...In the Ravenclaw Common Room on Halloween evening, the overachievers and mad scientists were unusually gathered together, sitting comfortably on the sofas, thoroughly enjoying delicious pumpkin pies.
Even the thinkers, for once, gave their high-speed brains a break. Picking up uniquely shaped bat-shaped candies, they strolled leisurely to the windows to admire the snowflakes swirling outside.
Just then, an excited cry shattered the Common Room's original peace and tranquility.
"Merlin's beard, everyone, look out the window! There's a Hebridean Black Dragon!"
The previously relaxed atmosphere instantly erupted into chaos.
"What! I've never heard of them having a population near Hogwarts!"
One little eagle cried out in dismay. He had just finished a paper on Dragon distribution a few days ago; was he going to have to rewrite it now?
Another quickly analyzed, "Don't worry. Judging by its build, its body length seems to be only 20 feet, significantly shorter than the average 30 feet for an adult of its species. We can infer this is likely just a sub-adult Dragon, perhaps separated from its herd and lost its way here."
Before he finished, someone immediately offered a different opinion: "No, look carefully at the number of barbs on its wings. It's six pairs, not five. This is a female Dragon, and female Dragons are generally larger than males. Therefore, I think this Dragon is probably still just a juvenile. She shouldn't be able to fly this far on her own."
"This must be the one Professor MacFusty brought. I heard the Professor arrived riding a Dragon on the first day of term. He probably keeps it in the Forbidden Forest."
Another student, eyes wide, responded, "You're saying there's a Dragon in the Forbidden Forest? Then I simply must go see it."
"Calm down! Have you forgotten you got your chest pierced last time you tried to steal Acromantula eggs? If Hagrid hadn't saved you, you'd probably be fertilizer by now."
The impulsive student pouted dismissively and retorted, "Oh, how can you call it stealing? I merely wanted to borrow a few eggs for a hybridization experiment—ahem, for academic research! And this is a Hebridean Black Dragon... even if I accidentally became Dragon dung, I'd be willing!"
Suddenly, someone pointed at the Dragon's back and shouted, "Look! There's someone on that Dragon's back! Judging by the scarf color, it seems to be someone from our house!"
"What! Damn it, someone beat us to it..."
Hearing this, everyone looked in that direction and began chattering excitedly.
In stark contrast to the noisy, chaotic atmosphere in the Common Room, Cho Chang at that moment was as pale as a sheet, her limbs cold and weak as she leaned trembling against the glass.
From their vantage point high in the tower, the Ravenclaws had a clearer view than the Gryffindors below. The moment Cho noticed someone on the Dragon's back, she recognized the familiar figure riding it as her best friend, Adelaide!
Wasn't she supposed to be playing a tracking game with Alice MacFusty? How did she get involved with a Dragon!
Wait, didn't a senior just say this Dragon was brought by Professor MacFusty? Could it be that Adelaide discovered the siblings' secret while tracking them, and now they're trying to silence her... The thought that Adelaide was now in a life-or-death crisis, possibly about to meet her end, instantly tightened a knot in Cho's heart.
In that instant, a surge of power welled up from the soles of her feet, as if boundless energy was injected into her legs.
Cho Chang shot through the crowd like an arrow from a bow, sprinting at full speed towards the Headmasters Office.
At this moment, only one thought filled her heart: May Merlin grant that Adelaide can grit her teeth and hold on until Headmaster Dumbledore arrives!
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