Yes, the Dragon that appeared before Draco and the others was none other than Norberta, who always became incredibly restless whenever Draco returned to base.
Though she was a dragon, she seemed to have a dog's nose. The moment Draco appeared, she would notice right away and fly straight over.
That was exactly why Norberta had shown up here.
Perhaps part of the reason Draco had stayed in this spot without leaving was because he knew this would happen...
Speaking of Norberta.
Dragons lived far longer than wizards. In this magical world, aside from ghosts, dragons could be considered one of the longest-lived species.
In other words.
By a dragon's standards, Norberta, who had only been born a few years ago, was still in her juvenile stage. Simply put, she was still at an age where she loved to play.
And sure enough.
After landing in front of Draco and the others, Norberta immediately let go of the toy she had been holding in her mouth and lowered her head toward Draco.
Only then did Fleur realize there had been a toy clamped between her jaws all along...
In any case.
With Norberta's big, watery eyes and the thick tail swishing constantly behind her, Draco could understand what she meant even without using his Dragontongue gift.
Draco glanced at the drool-covered "toy," which had already lost its original shape, and his eyelids twitched a few times.
In fact.
That toy had been created by Pansy with her skilled Transfiguration Spell. It was a bone-shaped toy.
Norberta absolutely loved it. From time to time, she could be seen tearing at it in midair, using it to burn off her excess energy. It also helped keep her a little more well-behaved whenever Draco was not around.
However...
Draco chuckled and patted the large head Norberta had pushed toward him. "Even with very high-grade Transfiguration materials, it still can't last more than a few days?"
"Roar, roar, roar~~"
"Don't get your drool on me. I'm not some golden, glowing treasure."
"Roar, roar, roar~~"
"I'll play with you later. Take us to find Pansy and the others first."
It had to be said.
Norberta really was quite human-like. One could actually see a pitiful look in her eyes.
That was rather curious...
...
Norberta.
To Pansy and the others, she was no stranger at all.
Strictly speaking, Draco and Pansy could be called Norberta's parents.
After all, when Norberta first opened her eyes after being born, the first people she saw were Draco and the others.
On top of that, Draco was a Dragontongue, which was why such a strange scene could happen.
A dragon as cute as a dog...
In any case, after finally recovering a little, Fleur looked back and forth between Draco and the Dragon called Norberta with an expression as if she had seen a ghost.
She seriously suspected she was dreaming.
After all, this was the first time Fleur had ever seen a stupid... Dragon sticking her tongue out at people and drooling.
She doubted she would ever get the chance to see that from any other Dragon again...
She stared blankly as Draco scratched Norberta under the chin.
Seeing that Draco was not attacked even after doing that, Fleur began to grow restless with curiosity. She moved her feet lightly and carefully watched Draco's movements.
That focused gaze made it seem as if she were learning from Draco how to tame a Dragon.
As for their earlier exchanges, Fleur did not believe Draco could truly understand what Norberta was saying...
"Ahem!"
"Hm?"
"So Norberta is..."
"That's her name. Well? Want to give it a try?"
"No... it just feels a little dangerous. What if I get eaten?"
That was what Fleur said, but the hopeful look in her eyes and the way she kept staring fixedly at Norberta made it clear she was not nearly as indifferent as she sounded.
Her feet showed no sign of retreating either. She clearly wanted to try.
As for why such a bold thought would even occur to her.
Aside from the fact that petting a dragon was genuinely tempting.
Perhaps it was also because, somewhere in Fleur's subconscious, she believed Draco would not let her get hurt.
Though she had refused, Draco, who had long since become very skilled at dealing with tsundere personalities, simply curled his lips before taking Fleur's small hand and placing it on Norberta's huge head.
He gave Fleur no chance to react at all.
That forceful gesture truly caught Fleur off guard.
"Huh?!"
"Well? Norberta is very well-behaved, isn't she?"
"Mm... ahem. Don't think I'll forgive you so easily just because you did this."
Although she sounded annoyed with Draco, the smile in her eyes and the slight curve of her lips had already betrayed how much Fleur was actually enjoying the moment.
As she felt the strange coolness of the dragon scales beneath her hand, Fleur could not help wondering how Draco had managed all of this.
"How did you... make such a dangerous Dragon so obedient?"
Even though Fleur was no expert in this field, she still knew that Dragons were not creatures that could be tamed so easily.
Rather, given how dangerous Dragons were, other than Draco, there should not be any wizard capable of doing this.
Not even Dumbledore could manage it...
...
Fleur's question was one Draco had already expected.
More precisely, anyone in her place would certainly have the same doubt at first.
However, not everyone was qualified to know the answer.
Because it could be called Draco's greatest secret.
But if that person was Fleur...
"Because I'm a Dragontongue."
"I see. You're a Dragontongue... Huh? What's that? You're not making something up to tease me again, are you?"
"I'm not lying to you this time, right, Norberta?"
"Roar~"
"...."
Seeing that Norberta had actually responded, Fleur blinked in disbelief.
Could the earlier exchanges between Draco and Norberta really have been serious conversations?
Draco was not at all surprised by Fleur's skeptical expression.
Without explaining further, Draco simply beckoned to Norberta. "Want to go for a flight?"
"Huh?! Seriously? We can do that?"
The excited Fleur instantly tossed her earlier doubts aside.
Faced with the temptation of riding a dragon, Fleur directly gave up thinking about whether Dragontongue truly existed or whether it was just a word Draco had made up on the spot.
Her expectant expression made Draco chuckle and shrug.
Sure enough, in this world, no one could resist the chance to become a dragon rider...