HP: Wizardry’s a Hassle, Wand in the Right Hand, Gun in the Left

Glenn and Hermione had no intention of lingering by Dumbledore's side to observe what their headmaster planned to do with Tom Riddle's diary. As soon as the old bumblebee flipped open the diary, the two tactfully excused themselves.

Well, one willingly, and the other not so much.

Although Glenn wasn't particularly interested in Dumbledore's actions, she had no intention of moving either. Completely oblivious to the situation, she ended up being dragged away by the little girl who had doubled back to pull her along.

With Dumbledore handling the diary and Snape taking charge of dissecting the Basilisk's corpse for materials, the pair decided to join Hagrid and Nobert, idly playing with the fire dragon they hadn't seen in a while.

Although Hagrid was, in name and reality, Nobert's rightful owner, it was clear that Nobert was slightly more submissive to Glenn and Hermione. This was due to a biological instinct of reverence. As a result, no matter how much the two petted the dragon, Nobert wouldn't resist. Instead, she behaved like a small pet, lying on her back and exposing her belly. This made Hagrid green with envy.

In contrast, whenever Hagrid so much as touched Nobert, he'd get swatted by her tail. It was only thanks to Hagrid's large size and sturdy build that he avoided significant suffering.

"By the way, Nobert seems to be a female fire dragon. Doesn't calling her 'Nobert' feel a bit odd?" Hermione remarked, clearly puzzled. "I always thought 'Nobert' sounded more like a male name."

"What?! Nobert is a girl?!" Hagrid exclaimed, stunned. He had never noticed this fact before!

For someone like Hagrid, who adored magical creatures and whose greatest dream was to have a fire dragon companion, this was a monumental oversight.

Hermione thought she caught a hint of human-like disdain in Nobert's eyes as she lay on her back. She blinked and rubbed her eyes.

Hmm, must've been my imagination.

Then she saw Hagrid, trying to confirm the truth, get smacked to the ground by Nobert's tail.

"Uh, okay, maybe it wasn't my imagination," Hermione muttered.

She watched as Nobert, after knocking Hagrid down, turned her head and stuck out her tongue in an attempt to lick Glenn's face as a gesture of goodwill. Glenn, however, grabbed the dragon's tongue with a deadpan expression, leaving Nobert frozen in place. Hermione found the scene genuinely amusing.

"Why don't we give Nobert a new name?" Hermione suggested. "She's a girl, after all, and being treated as a boy all this time might have made her feel awkward. Maybe this could help you get along better with her, Hagrid."

"Uh, I think that's a good idea," Hagrid replied awkwardly. He scratched his head as he got up, dusted himself off, and turned to face Nobert.

"Nobert, what do you think?"

Nobert, whose tongue had just been released by Glenn, snorted. Wisps of black smoke, remnants of her earlier dragon breath, wafted from her nostrils. She tilted her head slightly, seemingly nodding in agreement.

And so, the decision to rename Nobert was made. Hagrid and Hermione took charge of the task, while Glenn stepped aside. For one, she wasn't particularly interested in the matter. For another, she was terrible at naming things. Even if she wanted to participate, Hermione would politely decline.

Glenn felt a vague sense of rejection.

The thought, unfamiliar as it was, surfaced briefly in her mind before vanishing like a bubble in the sea.

Turning her attention elsewhere, Glenn noticed that Nobert's gaze had been fixed on the Basilisk's corpse.

"...You want to eat it?" Glenn asked after a moment of silence, roughly guessing Nobert's thoughts.

Caught, Nobert didn't respond immediately. She seemed to be pondering something but ultimately succumbed to her instincts.

Nobert made no effort to hide her thoughts. She nodded frankly.

Despite her deep reverence for this particular human, she couldn't deny the bond they had formed.

Glenn nodded. It made sense. Among those who had benefited from this operation, Snape had gained valuable potion ingredients from the Basilisk, and Hagrid had received the preliminary magic for forging a mystical bond with magical creatures, taught by Glenn and Hermione. Nobert, however, had yet to receive a reward commensurate with her contributions.

With that in mind, Glenn walked over to Snape's side. At that moment, Snape's face bore a terrifyingly satisfied smile as he wielded his wand, casting spell after spell to dissect the Basilisk's corpse into various components.

"What's the value assessment of the Basilisk's potion materials?" Glenn asked.

"The fangs and venom glands, along with the venom they produce, are the most valuable. Scales come next, followed by the skin. Bones and meat are of equal value, while the rest is negligible—neither worth eating nor discarding," Snape replied without questioning Glenn's motives. He understood that the inquiry was about interests and benefits.

While answering, Snape didn't pause his work. As a master of Potions, he was slightly annoyed by Glenn's interruption but continued dissecting the rare and ancient Basilisk with fervor. Opportunities like this were exceedingly rare—possibly a once-in-a-lifetime event.

"I'll take a quarter of the Basilisk's potion materials, but I want all the meat," Glenn said after weighing Snape's information in her mind.

This was an unprofitable deal for Glenn, but she didn't mind.

"Suit yourself," Snape replied, uninterested in critiquing Glenn's foolish decision. If anything, he was pleased to keep more of the Basilisk's valuable components for himself.

With a few flicks of his wand, Snape extracted the Basilisk's entire fleshy body from beneath its skin and levitated it in front of Glenn before gently setting it down. Then he returned to his work.

"Smooth and steady," Glenn murmured.

Unable to levitate such a massive object entirely, she cast a Slippery Charm and used additional spells to guide the pale, fleshy mass toward Nobert.

Behind her, Snape glanced subtly at Glenn's actions. Seeing her push the Basilisk's meat toward the fire dragon, he let out a cold snort.

"Such waste," he muttered, but said no more.

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