The Spiteful Sorting Hat

Through the trapdoor 1

"Listen mate, you have to give up on this. We've only got a week left in the term. Let's enjoy it!"

"And let Snape win?" Harry asked, hating the idea of tossing out all their hard work.

"Snape's not gonna get it either," Blaise said confidently, "He nearly got his leg torn off by Fluffy, and I know he's not gonna try that again without a foolproof plan. But Hagrid is the only one who knows how to tame that animal, and he's completely over the moon for Dumbledore. There's no way he'd ever let him down, right?"

He had nearly talked Harry into submission. But it was his mention of Hagrid that sent Harry shooting to his feet with a startled cry.

"What? What is it?" Blaise asked in confusion, but Harry was already sprinting toward Hagrid's cabin.

"Hagrid!" Harry shouted over his shoulder, "I just thought of something!"

Harry had his back toward his friends and couldn't see the looks on their faces, but he could hear their footsteps behind him, and knew they were in close pursuit.

"Hagrid!" Harry shouted, his fist hammering against the door, "Hagrid, are you home?"

"Yeh, I'm home, I'm home!" Hagrid shouted from inside. Harry could hear his heavy footsteps drawing closer and took a step back.

"What's gotten inter yeh Harry?" Hagrid asked in a baffled tone, "I thought summat mighta been attackin yeh for all the racket yeh was makin'."

"Sorry Hagrid, but I'm in a bit of a hurry. I need to ask you something," Harry said as his friends drew close enough to overhear their conversation.

"Well, what's this about, then?"

"Do you remember the night you won Norbert in a card game?"

Hagrid shifted uneasily on his large feet and looked slightly embarrassed.

"Well, a bit..."

"Do you remember what the stranger... the man who gave you the egg... Do you remember what he looked like?"

"I didn't see 'em. He never took his cloak off."

"Never took his cloak off?" Blaise asked with a tone of surprise. Millie had a shocked expression on her face. Harry felt very pleased with himself.

"It's not that unusual," Hagrid said defensively, "Yeh get all kinds in the Hogs Head. Many of em don't want ter be recognized, if yeh catch my meaning. 'E mighta been a dragon dealer, mightn't he? Like I said, never took his cloak off."

Harry smirked at Blaise with triumph written in every feature. He knew it couldn't have been coincidence that the one thing in the world Hagrid always wanted was a dragon, and a stranger suddenly shows up with an egg he conveniently loses to him? Harry was willing to bet that the mystery man had been Snape, and that he lost the game on purpose to get Hagrid talking about magical beasts. Depending on how much Hagrid had to drink that night, Snape might have known how to get past Fluffy for weeks.

Blaise scowled at the look of superiority on Harry's face and followed up with his own line of questioning.

"Hagrid, what did you talk about? Did you mention the school?"

"Mighta come up," said Hagrid, scrunching up his face in a effort to remember, "Yeah, he asked me what I did, and I told him I was gamekeeper here. Then he asked me a bit about the sort of creatures I look after, an' I told him..."

"And did you tell him you'd always been interested in dragons?" asked Harry, baiting him further.

Hagrid's look of discomfort grew.