The American Dragon's duty, while being slightly more manageable while staying at Hogwarts (he got to have an actual healthy sleeping schedule!), meant he still had plenty of things to do. At the Headmaster's recommendation, he went to ask for help from the gamekeeper and Keeper of Keys and Grounds, Rubeus Hagrid. After the initial stuttering and staring from the huge man -and his large dog's careful sniffing before trotting off back inside, tail wagging-, they discussed the condition of the Dark Forest, the state of the creatures within it and scheduled to go in it together. The dragon would be guided to the heart of the spider's nest to talk to their leader (Aragog, he was called) and then Hagrid could check up on certain places he would not dare go to alone – places the young diplomat had been to by himself already, having more authority among the centaurs and other magical creatures that roamed around there. It was basically a win-win situation.
Having done his job for the day, the American Dragon then went on his daily patrol, tried not to look around too much for Huntsgirl and came back after lunch to sit right next to the gamekeeper's pumpkin patch. Hagrid came out of his hut once he noticed him and they talked some more. The man had an extensive knowledge of magical creatures and their habits, even better than Fu – and the old dog almost always consulted his books for that. He loved the more dangerous ones the most, which coincidentally meant, in Jake's humble opinion, the most badass ones. Dragons had a special place in the gamekeeper's heart, so it came as no surprise when that particular topic came up. The surprise was how it was opened.
"So… you really a dragon?" Hagrid couldn't help but ask.
The creature sputtered, close to choking on his drink. He couldn't help the disbelieving laughter coming out of his burning throat; once he calmed down, eyes watery, he turned towards the half-giant.
"Um… hello? Kinda obvious, isn't it?" He gestured towards himself, one wing unfurling from his back on display. "What makes you think I wouldn't be?"
Jake could see the blush burning underneath Hagrid's impressive facial hair. "Well, I… I just never seen nor heard of one of your kind before, that's all. See, I'd like to think I know my way around magical creatures…" He trailed off awkwardly, modesty in his voice.
The young dragon nodded in understanding nonchalance. "Oh ya, it's just that my kind is kind of in hiding usually. We like to blend in with the normal population."
Hagrid's bushy eyebrows rose at that, confused. "With the other dragons? But that's just… I've never seen any kind of dragon that looks like you do. I've seen plenty of dragons, large groups of them even, but none were close to what you are." He looked pointedly at certain parts of the creature's body, unsure on how not to seem rude while pointing out his obvious mutations from the norm but determined to get his point across. "First of all, you're kinda small, even for a wee lad like yourself." Apparently he heard about his discussion with that green-eyed Quidditch captain from the Griffindor team.
"Hey!" The dragon pouted; he tilted the cup in his hand/claw, pointing the straw in it at Hagrid, his manly pride wounded. "I'll have you know that I'm still growing!"
"Most dragons grow fairly quick." He responded promptly to the teenager's sulk with a no-nonsense tone he usually reserved for his students. "Not to mention the fact that, smart as they may be, they usually haven't got what it takes to be able to talk." The red scaly creature didn't say anything, back to sucking on his straw, dark eyes avoiding and unwilling to respond to the bait. "And your wings. Blimey." Hagrid continued, using a large hand to point towards the aforementioned appendages.
The dragon turned his head, looking at them himself, before turning back towards the half-giant. "What about them?"
"What about-…? They're not supposed to look like an extra set of limbs, they're supposed to be part of your front legs!"
"They're called arms." He stretched them for Hagrid to see.
The teacher shook his head (big burly beard and all), frowning in frustrated confusion. He pointed at the dragon's head. "And your mouth… how can you use a straw to drink?" Then he stared pointedly at the cup in his hand.
The creature shrugged uncaringly. "I dunno. I just… do." Hagrid's frustration seemed to be building and even though Jake already knew he wouldn't dare hurt a fly (also hello, he was a dragon) the half-giant was kind of intimidating. "Uh… I've got… flexible jaws?"
"No, that still doesn't explain much of what's going on with ya." Hagrid replied, way over his head with such a specimen in front of him. "And what are you even drinking there?" Jake lifted his cup, shaking it a little to let the contents be seen through the clear plastic.
"Oh, it's bubble tea." The dark tapioca balls rolled around in the milky liquid at the bottom. The cup was the standard type found in a fast-food chain restaurant. For all he knew, this looked like alien technology to the British magic robe-wearers. (Hagrid wasn't wearing one per se, but you know…) "
"Bloody hell, since when do dragons drink tea? And I've never even heard of that kind of tea! How did you manage to find a thing like that around here?"
"Oh, I got it from the kitchen. I've made friends with the house elves a while back and they keep making me all sorts of tasty stuff. I had a craving for boba milk tea since yesterday, so I asked if they would make any." He slurped some more through the straw, chewing on the bits of tapioca, ignoring Hagrid's open-mouthed stare. But seeing as he was supposed to be diplomatic and stuff, the young dragon in the end turned back towards their conversation to pacify the professor.
"Look, I'm no expert in this. But I guess we're kinda like…. humans and giants?" He scratched underneath his scaly jaw thoughtfully, trying to come up with the right way of expressing his theory. "It's like… they both have the same kind of body parts and basic needs, gestures and feelings. But one side is larger, more… with a more simplistic view. Like, they have their basic needs like food and… uh… other stuff, they're naturally curious and protective of their own… And the other type is smaller, a bit physically different here and there, and more complicated, living in a more complex society and coming up with more abstract ideas... But at the base both have the same instincts." He shrugged, not knowing how else to say it. "So yeah, that's just me though." He glanced at Hagrid, trying to gauge his reaction. He was still frowning, but now just standing in silent contemplation.
"Well, that's one way to put it." He responded, in the end."I think I get what ya mean. And" the half-giant shook his head, apparently coming to a conclusion. "It's nice of ya to say it like that, placing giants and humans in the same spot; many humans would think much less of them, that's fer sure."
The dragon realized then the implications of what he last said. He wanted to smack himself, because duh, a half-giant right here. He promptly did just that, face-palming at his own moment of stupidity. (He thought he was over being so thoughtless - he didn't do anything wrong now, but if he had, it would've turned into a classic case of foot-in-mouth which would've been messy and embarrassing to fix.) He did not notice Hagrid's curious look at seeing a dragon cover his eyes and drag his hand along his face. Dignity maintenance was hard, damn it.
"Well" the gamekeeper cleared his throat awkwardly "Besides all that, you look like a fairly healthy one." He then took a step closer to look at his features some more."The spikes running down your spine and tail are a bit odd themselves, though."The dragon once again turned to look at what he pointed, waiting to hear what he had to say further. "They're black with a green shine. It looks like two colors in one. You're probably sick and tired of how many times I've said it already, but I have never seen dragon spikes do that before. Is that something you got from one of your parents?"
The creature scoffed. "Hardly."Then, to further the teacher's confusion, he added with a shrug. "I just use a lot of hair gel."