— ❝ Years 4&5 ✧ Lesson 1
Dragons are giant winged, fire-breathing reptiles. Widely regarded as terrifying yet awe-inspiring, they can be found all over the world and are frequently referred to in Asian and medieval European folklore. Able to fly and breathe fire through their nostrils, they are one of the most dangerous and hardest to conceal creatures in the wizarding world. The Ministry of Magic classifies them as XXXXX, most dangerous, or known wizard killers. Although not all dragons are quite as aggressive as the ministry makes them out to be. This is both a good thing and a bad thing. The good thing about this classification is that it forces wizards to treat the Dragons with more respect and care than one might ordinarily do. Dragons are fascinating creatures and there are still those that wander too close for their own good, despite the classification. The bad things about this is that some people have a misrepresentation of dragons in their minds and a prejudice against them. Despite how dangerous they are, there are people who are trained to work with them, called dragon keepers, or dragonologists. A wizard who illegally trades and sells dragons is referred to as a dragon dealer. Members of the Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures who kill Dragons are called Dragon Killers.
There is no officially sanctioned breeding of dragons, as dragon breeding was outlawed by the Warlocks' Convention of 1709. However, they have been known to interbreed, producing rare hybrids. These are the pure-bred species that are currently known to us:
Antipodean Opaleye
Chinese Fireball (Known as "Lion Dragon")
Common Welsh Green (the native dragon for Great Britain)
Hebridean Black
Hungarian Horntail
Norwegian Ridgeback
Peruvian Vipertooth (the venomous dragon)
Romanian Longhorn
Swedish Short-Snout
Ukrainian Ironbelly (The largest dragon species ever recorded)
The traits of a dragon vary species to species. Although there is some variation within a species, the traits are essentially the same. We will delve more into that in following lessons.