Room of Requirement, Dragon Hatching Room
The hot white flames continuously emitted high temperatures. Ethan, Cassandra, and the others were soaked in sweat, but they still stayed, unwilling to leave.
"Ethan, it should hatch today, right?" Hermione exclaimed, her face full of excitement as she watched the black dragon egg shake.
This was a dragon. Any child who knew dragons existed in this world would want to raise one. Even Hermione, who was usually very obedient, couldn't resist the allure, though she was also afraid of being discovered.
"It should be about time," Ethan said.
Three days ago, the dragon egg had started to shake slightly, and today it was particularly strong. It had been more than six months since Ethan had gotten this dragon egg, and after such a long time, it should be ready to hatch.
"Ethan, have you decided where to keep it?" Penelope asked with some concern. Secretly keeping a dragon was a serious crime. Ethan might be expelled from Hogwarts and sent to Azkaban.
"I'll keep it in the Room of Requirement for now. During the holidays, I'll take it back in a box with a Traceless Expansion Charm. Later, I'll keep it in the Forbidden Forest. I have time to expand the space in the box now, but it's far from enough to accommodate a dragon," Ethan sighed. How big was Newt Scamander's suitcase?
If the dragon only needed to survive without considering other factors, the area wouldn't need to be very large—just like a tiger cage in a zoo. But if you added a space for activity and hunting, the situation would be different. An adult dragon needs a hundred square miles of territory. Even if Newt didn't need to worry about predation inside his box, the dragon still needed an activity area, at least ten square miles, to avoid clashing with other magical creatures and to have room to stretch and move around.
You know, there are quite a few magical creatures in his box. Among the XXXXX-level ones, there is Swooping Evil. Although the Fire Dragon hasn't been released, Ethan didn't believe that Newt didn't have such a classic creature. And there are even more creatures at the XXXX level and below, among which the Thunderbird needs an activity area no smaller than the Fire Dragon.
To fit all of these and establish an independent ecological environment, Ethan estimated that at least half of London's area would be needed.
"Look, it's cracked!" Cho Chang's shout drew everyone's attention.
A long, thin crack had appeared on the dark eggshell. If you didn't look carefully, you might not even see it. It was that subtle.
Click! In the quiet room, the sound seemed particularly loud. The thin crack suddenly expanded and spread, as if the egg was about to split in two. The hot white flame was absorbed by the dragon egg in an instant, leaving only the dragon egg on the concave stone platform.
A black tail was the first to break through the eggshell, the tip still flicking in the air like an arrow. It must have been holding back. With a "swoosh," the tail retracted, and the eggshell that had just been pierced was pushed open, revealing a wrinkled black dragon head with a small piece of broken eggshell still attached.
Then the eggshell shook violently twice and completely cracked, allowing the Hebridean Black Dragon cub that Ethan had been waiting for to fully emerge from the shell.
The dragon was a bright black color, with small spikes on its back, a sharp tail like an arrow, wings like a bat, purple pupils, and small bulges on both sides of its head. What surprised Ethan the most was that it actually had two front legs.
Except for the Welsh Green Dragon, all the dragons in this world only had hind legs and fought on the ground like chickens. (The Welsh Green Dragon that Fleur drew in the movie had four legs, and the other dragons that appeared only had two hind legs.) Of course, wings can also replace front legs to help the dragon run, just like the Ukrainian Ironbelly raised by Hagrid.
Dennis said this was an authentic Hebridean Black Dragon egg, so this shouldn't be happening. Did the Green Dragon cheat, or did the Black Dragon cheat?
"Ethan, I remember you said this was a Hebridean Black Dragon egg, and the appearance matches, but what's with these legs?" Hermione asked, puzzled. After learning that Ethan had a dragon egg, she had done a lot of research but had never come across a dragon like this.
"Maybe it's a hybrid. There are records of fire dragons mating with each other and producing rare hybrids," Ethan suggested.
"But, although the Hebridean Black Dragon and the Welsh Green Dragon are both in Great Britain, they have different habits and a huge size difference. Could they really be hybrids?" Penelope pondered.
The Hebridean Black Dragon is 30 feet tall when fully grown, while the Welsh Green Dragon is only 18 feet tall. To a Black Dragon, even a fully grown Green Dragon might seem like a young cub, akin to comparing an adult who is 1.8 meters tall with a child who is only 1.2 meters tall.
However, Ethan was more inclined to believe that the dragon's bloodline had mutated. After all, besides the front legs, it showed no other features of the Welsh Green Dragon. A dragon born from black magic flames had a high probability of genetic mutation.
"Now it's time to give it a name, but we have to check if it's a boy or a girl first!" Cho Chang was not interested in these academic questions. She was eager to grab the dragon cub and see what was under its belly.
"Ah!" Cho Chang's right hand hadn't even touched the dragon before it was bitten by the dragon's fangs.
Ethan rushed forward and separated them. The dragon stopped struggling and rubbed its rough head against Ethan's hand. It looked cute and sensible, not like it had just bitten someone.
Looking at her bleeding middle finger, Cho Chang wanted to cry but couldn't. "Cho, how do you feel?" Ethan asked, concerned.
"It hurts so much!" Cho Chang said, showing her still-bleeding middle finger.
"Episkey!" Ethan pointed his wand at Cho Chang's wound, and a burst of white light enveloped it. The wound healed in seconds.
This was a spell Ethan had deduced based on the Shadowless Magic. The Shadowless Magic had been recorded in Snape's potion book, but there was no counter-spell. When Harry had almost killed Draco with it, Snape had used a quick healing spell to stop Draco's bleeding.
Ethan had figured out how to deduce the healing spell from the Shadowless Magic. The difficulty wasn't too high, and the special healing spell was quite effective. It could heal wounds caused by the Shadowless Magic and other external injuries as well.
"Ethan, check whether it's a male or female dragon," Cho Chang urged after her finger was healed. She didn't dare to touch the dragon again. It was too fierce.
"It's a little female dragon!" Ethan confirmed after examining it.
"If it's a female dragon, how about calling it Katherine?" Cassandra suggested first.
"Forget it, that name is too common. Let's call it Isabel!" Hermione countered.
"How is your suggestion better than mine?" Cassandra retorted.
Ethan hadn't thought much about what to name the dragon. After all, he hadn't even named the Swooping Evil and the Lethifold before. "Let's just call it Onyxia!" Ethan decided, ignoring the arguing pair.
If he let them decide, they might not reach an agreement by the end of the semester. Onyxia, a very classic name for a black dragon from a game, and it was fitting for a little female dragon.
"I didn't expect you to have a talent for naming. This name is pretty good," Penelope said, surprised. In her experience, men's names were usually quite simple.
After naming the dragon, Ethan left the dragon hatching room to get the food he had prepared in advance. Two days ago, when the dragon egg had shown signs of hatching, Ethan had gone to the Forbidden Forest to catch a deer, brought it back to Hogwarts, and kept it in the Room of Requirement. Now he slaughtered it.
Deer is the favorite food of the Hebridean Black Dragons. In addition, they also prey on cattle. Of course, brandy and chicken blood were also essential.
Ethan cut the deer into strips and put it on a plate. After pouring a small basin of chicken blood brandy, he sprinkled the powder of the energy cube into it. This was something Ethan had prepared in advance. The main ingredients were dragon blood and fire ash snake eggs, which could enhance the flame and physique.
When Ethan brought the food to the dragon, Onyxia couldn't wait to trot over, flapping her wings, but unfortunately, she was still too young to fly. She buried her head in the basin, drank two sips of chicken blood brandy, and then took two bites of deer. Sparks occasionally puffed out of her nose.
She looked a bit cute, but with Cho Chang's experience, the girls didn't dare touch her. No one wanted to become the next victim. If they wanted to get close, they would have to wait until they were more familiar with each other.
Fire dragons are not easy to raise when they are young. They have strong digestive systems and need to eat every half hour. They must be fed according to their appetite. After all, Ethan couldn't really come and feed them every half hour.
After Onyxia had eaten and drunk enough, Ethan asked the Room of Requirement to provide a nest suitable for fire dragons. With Onyxia on his shoulders, Ethan led the girls through the light gate.
What he found was an amazingly large rock cave. It was very dry and hot inside, and Ethan could still feel the heat coming from below.
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