The Bravest Snake

CHAPTER 18

''Charlie?'' Ron asked. ''How can Charlie help us? And when did you ever meet Charlie?''

Hermione sighed. ''I met Charlie in the train station, idiot. We had a nice conversation about dragons, during which he mentioned that he's studying dragons in Romania! We can send Norbert off to him, it'll be perfect!''

''Oh, right,'' said Ron sheepishly. ''I forgot.'' Harry rolled his eyes. How could one forget their brother's job? Well, he'd try to cut Ron some slack. He had tons of brothers, and being the second youngest in the family must not be easy. 

In a small, dark corner of his mind, Harry wished that he could have a sibling. A brother or a sister, he wouldn't care. It would be nice just to have someone to just converse with, who'd know him since they were little. I guess I have actual friends now, but it wouldn't be the same.

''Tha'll be perfect, Hermione!'' Hagrid beamed. ''I trust Charlie, I've always liked that kid.'' Ron promptly sent a letter to Charlie with Hedwig to ask him. The faster, the better.

A couple days later, Harry and Daphne were sitting in the common room together, each reading their own respective books. Daphne was a great person for companionable silence, since she was a girl of few words. Ever so often, they'd glance at each other's pages, seeing what the other was reading and if it was interesting at all.

There was a tap on the dark frosted window. Hedwig had returned, and Harry dropped his book to let her in. ''Oh good, I've been waiting for this.''

''What is it?'' Daphne asked, not even looking up from her book.

''Erm...'' Harry wasn't really sure how to tell her. ''One of my friends got in trouble, and this letter will kinda solve all of our problems. Not our big mystery, but a conflict that could blow out of proportion. This letter will save me!''

''I love letters like that,'' Daphne said nonchalantly, but a smile tentatively played on her lips. Harry smiled too and opened the note.

Dear Ron,

How are you? Thanks for the letter - I'd be glad to take the Norwegian Ridgeback, but it won't be easy getting him here. I think the best thing will be to send him over with some friends of mine who are coming to visit next week. Trouble is, they mustn't be seen carrying an illegal dragon. Could you get the Ridgeback up the tallest tower at midnight on Saturday? They can meet you there and take him away while it's still dark. Send me an answer as soon as possible.

Love, Charlie

Harry smiled. Now, this he could do. He had the Invisibility Cloak, it felt like it was made to do this. Just sneak there, and sneak back. Easy. Honestly, I'd do almost anything to get that blasted dragon gone. Almost anything to get Pansy off our backs.

Picking up his book and putting it away, Harry made his way to the Gryffindor Common Room. Luckily, Draco, Ron, and Hermione were all awake. He knew that Draco was an insomniac like him, and Hermione liked staying up late to read. Ron was busy wrestling with one of his Potions essays. 

''Look! I got a response from Charlie!'' Harry exclaimed, holding the letter up. They all rushed toward him, grabbing the letter. Ron and Draco seemed sold on the idea, claiming that there was no way the Cloak couldn't fit all four of them and that they could do this efficiently. Hermione, as Harry predicted, seemed unsure.

''I just don't think it's a good idea. At midnight?! It's like Charlie's setting us up for failure,'' she fretted while twisting a curl with her finger. Harry had observed that this was some sort of nervous habit for her.

''Come on, Mione,'' Draco urged. ''We just have to do this quickly, and then we're done with Norbert. After this, we won't have to worry about him ever again!'' Of course, Hermione relented to Draco's words. It seemed like he knew exactly what to say to reassure her.

The next day, Harry was eating lunch with his friends when Terry Boot suddenly looked up from his stew. ''Where's the redhead?'' he asked casually.

''Who?'' Hannah Abbott responded, glancing at Susan Bones. Susan was also a redhead. ''Erm, Susan's right here.''

''No, no,'' Terry waved his hand dismissively at Hannah. ''I mean the loud one. He's not in our study group, but he sits here with us and makes noise.''

Harry couldn't help his laugh. ''You mean Ron, then.'' He looked around. Sure enough, Ron wasn't at his usual seat next to him. ''Huh, I don't know how I didn't notice.'' Maybe he'd just been too engrossed in his thoughts.

A funny look appeared on Draco's face. ''Oh, I'd better go check the dorms or something.'' He left without waiting for anyone's response. Terry just shrugged and went back to his half eaten stew.

After lunch, Draco led them to the Hospital Wing where Ron was, with a hand twice it's usual size. Ron revealed that Norbert had bitten him, but the wound swelled up and he had no choice but to go to Madam Pomfrey. Norbert's fangs must have been poisonous, and Harry found himself wondering about their plan on Saturday.

''As I was looking for Ron,'' Draco began. ''I checked my dorm and found a book missing, do you guys know anything about that?''

''Actually, I do!'' Hermione said. She'd also been oddly quiet during lunch. Harry recalled her closely watching something - or someone. ''Was the book Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them?''

''Yes, yes, that's my favorite book. I would definitely notice it's absence,'' Draco responded.

''Well, I saw Pansy Parkinson leave in the middle of lunch and come back holding that book,'' Hermione added. ''When I pretended to get some potatoes from that table, I saw your name written on the inside cover!''

While Draco fumed, Harry felt confused. ''Do you have something of Pansy's, something she'd want? It must be something super valuable to her if she went out of her way to break into the Gryffindor dorms and steal your favorite book. Was there something... something in there she wanted?''

Draco thought for a moment. ''Something in there - oh no!'' His face looked horrified, and he raked his fingers through his platinum blond hair. ''Yesterday I put Charlie's letter in there as a bookmark! Pansy must have saw it and taken it. And now... now she knows our whole plan!''