Harry Potter and the Do Over: Book One

Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Chapter fourteen: Norbert The Norwegian Ridgeback

Harry, Ron and Hermione had all shuddered at the mention of that dragon. While Hagrid teared up.

Quirrell, however, must have been braver than they'd thought. In the weeks that followed he did seem to be getting paler and thinner, but it didn't look as though he'd cracked yet.

Harry snorted.

"Brave indeed." He mumbled, "The little slime ball."

...

"Hermione, the exams are ages away."

"Ten weeks," Hermione snapped. "That's not ages, that's like a second to Nicolas Flamel."

"But we're not six hundred years old," Ron reminded her. "Anyway, what are you two studying for, you guys already know it all."

"What are we studying for? Are you crazy? You realized we need to pass these exams to get into the second year? They're very important, I should have started studying a month ago, I don't know what's gotten into me ...."

"Hermione." Harry laid his hand on her shoulder. "You have got to relax. School is not the end all and be all of our lives. Relax."

Hermione huffed, to Harry's and Ron's amusement.

...

Harry, who was reading One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi, again didn't look up until he heard Ron say, "Hagrid! What are you doing in the library?"

Hagrid shuffled into view, hiding something behind his back. He looked very out of place in his moleskin overcoat.

"Jus' lookin'," he said, in a shifty voice that got their interest at once. "An' what're you lot up ter?" He looked suddenly suspicious.

"Yer not still lookin' fer Nicolas Flamel, are yeh?"

"Oh, we found out who he is ages ago," said Ron impressively. "And we know what that dog's guarding, it's a Sorcerer's St-"

"What were you trying to do?" Cho asked, "Let the whole school know what was going on?"

"Oh, we already knew that there wasn't anyone nearby." Harry said.

"Then what?" Hagrid asked.

"Well, we were," Ron said slowly, not daring to look at Hagrid.

"We were hoping that you would tell us more." Hermione said guiltingly, looking down at the table.

Hagrid sighed, and shook his big hairy head.

"Shhhh!" Hagrid looked around quickly to see if anyone was listening. "Don' go shoutin' about it, what's the matter with yeh?"

"There are a few things we wanted to ask you, as a matter of fact," said Harry, "about what's guarding the Stone apart from Fluffy -"

"SHHHH!" said Hagrid again. "Listen - come an' see me later, I'm not promisin' I'll tell yeh anythin', mind, but don' go rabbitin' about it in here, students aren' s'pposed ter know. They'll think I've told yeh -"

"See you later, then," said Harry.

Hagrid shuffled off.

"What was he hiding behind his back?" said Hermione thoughtfully.

"Do you think it had anything to do with the Stone?"

"I'm going to see what section he was in," said Ron, who'd had enough of working. He came back a minute later with a pile of books in his arms and slammed them down on the table.