58 Chapter 58: Taming a dragon (Edited)

A pooper scooper is literally a person who takes care of pets and helps them shovel poop. Of course, there are different names for different animals. For someone who cleans up a horse's droppings, he or she is called a Palafrenero.

Tom is Norberto's chief dung cleaner.

But while the act of maintaining a dragon may sound lofty, it's actually quite complicated. It's no problem if a cat or dog scratches or bites you, but a dragon bite or scratch can land you in the school hospital. This happened to Ron when he was feeding Norbert: his right hand was bitten by Norbert and the next day it swelled up and even oozed green pus.

To top it off, dragons breathe fire. When he was born, Norberto was a dragon-shaped lighter, but as he grew older, the flames changed from a lighter to a gas stove. A single puff of dragon breath would leave a large area of burnt skin.

This, coupled with the fact that Norbert was overly active and curious, made it increasingly difficult to raise him. Hagrid has a heart of gold, as Norbert has shown his obvious arrogant side, but he doesn't see it, and often says the classic line, "He's still a boy!".

As Norberto's body grew, so did his appetite. For the first week, he only drank a little Brandy with chicken blood, but then he started eating big chunks of meat. His diet is very broad, from dead rats to Black Lake fish, he will eat anything.

Norbert's diet is also very interesting. Most other animals eat raw food, but as a fire dragon, it makes sense for Norberto to process the ingredients. Since roasting a mouse with his dragon breath, he has opened up a whole new world and eats a lot of barbecue every day.

When Tom realized this, he had an idea. At the following meals, he served Norberto seasoned barbecue, which won him over. Soon, Norberto stopped liking raw meat.

But since he became obsessed with barbecue, Norberto didn't like to move much, which is a good thing. Every day he crouched by the fire, waiting for Tom or the others to feed him, barely moving. Tom even suspected that if he put six poles around Norberto in the morning, the poles would still be in place in the evening.

Cooked meat is easier to digest than raw meat, and along with the reduced amount of exercise, Norberto has actually gained weight. The dragon no longer has the shriveled appearance it had when it first broke its shell.

Of course, the dragon can be a bit stubborn, but he still has a proud temperament. When there wasn't enough food or there was a taste he didn't like, Norbert would shoot up a flame. At first, Tom put up with it for Hagrid's sake, but after being repeatedly displeased by the dragon's breath, even a kind person has a limit, and Tom himself has a limited tolerance for children.

So Tom decided that education had to start by sugaring the little guy! Time to help Hagrid discipline this fat dragon.

...

The sun was shining and Norbert was sleeping. Suddenly, his fleshy hind legs twitched twice and the fat dragon awoke from his slumber. When he counted the minutes and realized that the palafrenero had not brought him the food, he became furious and two puffs of smoke came out of his nostrils.

When he saw the familiar figure, he let out a thick dragon breath, which was easily dodged by the palafrenero, and then....

"(Lumos), (Aguamenti), (Petrificus Totalus)"

Tom directly cast three spells, first the (Lumos) spell that dazzled Norberto, then a water spell that stunned him, and finally a freeze spell that immobilized Norberto. The next thing Norberto knew, Hagrid's sheet had come to life, enveloping him like a ball of dough, and a rope had lifted his head off the ground and bound his mouth.

Now Norbert was so motionless. Tom was relieved: he had learned his Transfiguration and Enchantment spells very well! And the rope around his mouth was skillfully placed, just dead center,

Even if Norbert had a mutation and could breathe fire through his nostrils, he wouldn't be able to burn the rope.

Norberto: "Roarrr! (Mortal, don't go overboard!)"

Tom took off one of his shoes, tapped Norberto on the nose and, with another water spell, loosened the rope a bit and tied it again when he saw the fire. This was repeated several times, and Norberto was reassured, with great doubts in his little dragon eyes.

When Tom loosened the rope around his mouth again, it caused no trouble.

So Tom crouched down in front of him with his shoe, and whacked him on the head, saying, with each whack, "Stop spitting fire!"

"Stop being so grumpy!"

"Stop wrecking the house!"

"Stop..."

Every time Norberto tried to resist, the rope and water hit him in the face in time. With his body under control, Norberto was helpless against Tom. Only when Norberto finally surrendered to his fate did Tom completely release his grip. Even when the sheet was removed, Norberto remained submissively in the same place.

Norberto put up no resistance because he knew he was no match for the black-skinned demon before him (Tom's wizard's robe was black), his own flames could not hurt him, and that he had some strange tricks up his sleeve that could immobilize him.

Of course, for a fire dragon with thick skin and flesh, those actions only made him uncomfortable, but did him no real harm. What Tom had done was only to establish authority. Norbert, before, treated Tom like a slave, since he brought him food every day, so he considered himself a god. Tom, on the other hand, wanted Norberto to understand: I feed you every day, I am your god!

With herd animals, it is important to establish authority and make them believe that you are superior to them. And with a clearly territorial animal like the fire dragon, you have to let him know that he is now in your territory.

After a friendly and cordial interaction, Norberto recognized that Tom is above him and owns the territory.

Soon, Tom and Norberto established a conditioned reflex, and as soon as Tom pulls out his "magic shoes," Norberto would unconsciously shake and then be honest.

Shortly after Tom and Norberto had established a new relationship, Hagrid came in carrying a group of field mice. He approached Norbert, reached out his large hand and rubbed his head.

Although Hagrid looked unconcerned, but in reality he was prepared and confident that he could dodge Norbert's dragon breath. A few bites and scratches were no big deal for the giant half-breed.

Norbert showed his fangs, and there was fire brewing in his throat, but then Tom took off his shoe, shook it, and Norbert suddenly stopped. He lay down on the ground and let Hagrid rub his head.

Hagrid: "!!!"