The days were going as normal as they could. After coming across me and Theo pranking flinch on night after the curfew, Fred and George had taken it upon themselves to "shape us up as the perfect pranksters " their words not mine , much to Minnie's dismay
Quirrelmoth was still being annoying with all the fake stuttering and forced smiles, I felt like knocking all his teeth and was even encouraged by Theo and Draco, but Pansy smacked us three on our heads and threatened to put us in leash much to Blaise's amusement.
Traitor
Anyway, today after Potions, I saw my the golden trio acting rather suspiciously
Ron and Harry were too giddy , which meant they were up to no good
And Hermione had a frown which further confirmed my suspicions
I waved my friends goodbye and walked towards the trio
Hugging my brother from his back I quietly said so only those three could hear me
" What shit are you three upto ? If it's dangerous I'll kill you for not including me "
Ron looked like he had genuinely believed my words and would blab out everything
" Hagrid has a dragon egg , he asked us to ce after classes " Harry quietly replied
" I was about to ask you to join us , You love dragons, don't you ? " Harry added noticing the excited gleam in my eyes and smiled softly
So Norberta's already about to be born , that means these idiots already know about the stone.
" Ofcourse I'll come " I excitedly replied
"Hermione, how many times in our lives are we going to see a dragon hatching?" said Ron.
"Right, we don't any other person like Hagrid," said Harry.
"We've got lessons, we'll get into trouble, and that's nothing to what Hagrid's going to be in when someone finds out what he's doing-"
"Shut up!" Harry hissed.
Draco was only a few feet away and he had stopped dead to listen. How much had he heard? He smirked at me, which I returned with a discrete smirk
Draco walked away without saying or looking at anyone else, he knew I'll tell him and Theo about it later
Ron and Hermione argued all the way to Herbology and in the end, Hermione agreed to run down to Hagrid's with the other two during morning break.
When the bell sounded from the castle at the end of their lesson, the three of them dropped their trowels at once and hurried through the grounds to the edge of the forest.
Hagrid greeted us, looking flushed and excited.
"It's nearly out."
He ushered us inside.
I was as excited as Hagrid if not more , I think I was bouncing on my feet
The egg was lying on the table. There were deep cracks in it. Something was moving inside; a funny clicking noise was coming from it. We all drew our chairs up to the table and watched with bated breath. All at once there was a scraping noise and the egg split open.
The baby dragon flopped onto the table.
It wasn't exactly pretty, it looked like a crumpled, black umbrella. Its spiny wings were huge compared to its skinny jet body, it had a long snout with wide nostrils, the stubs of horns and bulging, orange eyes.
It sneezed. A couple of sparks flew out of its snout.
"Isn't he beautiful?" Hagrid murmured. He reached out a hand to stroke the dragon's head.
" Very " I sighed
It snapped at his fingers, showing pointed fangs. "Bless him, look, he knows his mommy!" said Hagrid.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione looked at each other.
"Hagrid," said Hermione, "how fast do Norwegian Ridgebacks grow, exactly?"
Hagrid was about to answer when the color suddenly drained from his face - he leapt to his feet and ran to the window.
"What's the matter?" I softly asked picking up his panic
"Someone was lookin' through the gap in the curtains - it's a kid - he's runnin' back up ter the school."
Harry bolted to the door and looked out. Even at a distance there was no mistaking him. Draco had seen the dragon. Something about the smile lurking on Malfoy's face during the next week made Harry, Ron, and Hermione very nervous. They spent most of their free time in Hagrid's darkened hut, trying to reason with him.
Me? I was just chilling and talking about Norbert with Hagrid. Why would I care ? Draco's not gonna say anything to anyone anyway
"Just let him go," Harry urged.
"Set him free," suggested Ron.
"I can't," said Hagrid. "He's too little. He'd die."
They looked at the dragon. It had grown three times in length in just a week. Smoke kept furling out of its nostrils. Hagrid hadn't been doing his gamekeeping duties because the dragon was keeping him so busy. There were empty brandy bottles and chicken feathers all over the floor.
"I've decided to call him Norbert," said Hagrid, looking at the dragon with misty eyes. "He really knows me now, watch. Norbert! Norbert! Where's Mommy?"
"He's lost his marbles," Ron whispered to them, recieving a kick on his leg from me.
"Hagrid," said Harry loudly, "give it two weeks and Norbert's going to be as long as your house. Malfoy could go to Dumbledore at any moment."
Hagrid bit his lip.
"I-I know I can't keep him forever, but I can't jus' dump him, I can't."
I suddenly turned to Ron.
"Charlie," she said.
"You're losing it, too, Lia," said Ron. "I'm Ron, remember?"
"No, genius - Charlie, your brother - the one in Romania, currently studying dragons? We could send Norbert to him. Charlie can take care of him and then put him back in the wild."
"Brilliant!" said Ron. "How about it, Hagrid?"
And in the end, Hagrid agreed that they could send an owl to Charlie to ask him.
The following week dragged by.
Wednesday night found Hermione, Harry and I were sitting alone in the Gryffindor common room, long after everyone else had gone to bed. The clock on the wall had just chimed midnight when the portrait hole burst open.
Ron appeared out of nowhere as he pulled off Harry's invisibility cloak. He had been down at Hagrid's hut, helping him feed Norbert, who was now eating dead rats by the crate.
"It bit me!" he said, showing them his hand, which was wrapped in a bloody handkerchief.
"You'd better go down to Madam Pomfrey," said Hermione.
"I can't," said Ron, "It'll get Hagrid into trouble. I'm not going to be able to hold a quill for a week. I tell you, that dragon's the most horrible animal I've ever met, but the way Hagrid goes on about it, you'd think it was a fluffy little bunny rabbit. When it bit me he told me off for frightening it. And when left, he was singing it a lullaby."
There was a tap on the dark window.
"It's Hedwig!" said Harry, hurrying to let her in. "She'll have Charlie's answer!"
The four of us put our heads together to read 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 me 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 Sunday? They can meet you there and take him away while's still dark
Send me an answer as soon as possible.
Love,
Charlie
We looked at one another.
"We've got the invisibility cloak," said Harry.
"It shouldn't be too difficult," I added, "I think the cloaks big enough to cover all of us and Norbert."
Later that night, when I entered the Slytherin common room , I found Theo and Draco waiting for me
" What's Potter going to do ? "
" We're sending Norbert to Charlie. I need you to tell McGonacall that we have a illegal dragon"
" Why would I do that "
" There's something I need to see in the forest, if we get detention, it's easier to enter the forest"
" How are you so sure you'd get detention in the forest? "
" Have I ever been wrong? " I deadpanned making Draco shake his head
" I'll come too " Theo announced
" Why ? "
" I get to visit the forest for free , You need anymore reason? "
There was a hitch. By the next morning, Ron's bitten hand had swollen to twice its usual size. He didn't know whether it was safe to go to Madam Pomfrey - would she recognize a dragon bite? By the afternoon, though, he had no choice.
The cut had turned a nasty shade of green. It looked as if Norbert's fangs were poisonous.
Harry, Hermione and I rushed up to the hospital wing at the end of the day to find Ron in a terrible state in bed.
"It's not just my hand," he whispered, "although that feels like it's about to fall off. Malfoy told Madam Pomfrey he wanted to borrow one of my books so he could come and have a good laugh at me. He kept threatening to tell her what really bit me - I've told her it was a dog, but I don't think she believes me - I shouldn't have hit him at the Quidditch match, that's why he's doing this."
"It'll all be over at midnight on Saturday," said Hermione, but this didn't soothe Ron at all. On the contrary, he sat bolt upright and broke into a sweat. "Midnight on Saturday!" he said in a hoarse voice. "Oh no, oh no - I've just remembered - Charlie's letter was in that book Malfoy took, he's going to know we're getting rid of Norbert."
Harry and Hermione didn't get a chance to answer. Madam Pomfrey came over at that moment and made them leave, saying Ron needed sleep.
"It's too late to change the plan now," Harry told Hermione and I. "We haven't got time to send Charlie another owl, and this could be our only chance to get rid of Norbert. We'll have to risk it. And we have got the invisibility cloak, Malfoy doesn't know about that."
We found Fang, sitting outside with a bandaged tail when they went to tell Hagrid, who opened a window to talk to them.
"I won't let you in," he puffed. "Norbert's at a tricky stage - nothin' I can't handle."
When we told him about Charlie's letter, his eyes filled with tears, although that might have been because Norbert had just bitten him on the leg.
"Aargh! It's all right, he only got my boot- jus' playin' - he's only a baby, after all."
The baby banged its tail on the wall, making the windows rattle. Harry, and Hermione walked back to the castle feeling Saturday couldn't come quickly enough.
I felt really bad for Hagrid, imagine keeping an egg safe till it breaks and then having to send the baby because your living conditions won't allow it to grow properly
I'd be sad too
"He's got lots o' rats an' some brandy fer the journey," said Hagrid in a muffled voice. "An' I've packed his teddy bear in case he gets lonely."
From inside the crate came ripping noises that sounded as though the teddy was having his head torn off.
"Bye-bye, Norbert!" Hagrid sobbed, as Harry, and Hermione covered the crate with the invisibility cloak and stepped underneath it themselves. "Mommy will never forget you!"
" Come on Lia ! " Harry whisper shouted lifting the cloak
" You go on , I've learnt the disillusionment charm , I wanna try it "
That was a lie , I had no clue on how to do the charm but I wasn't gonna go with them , there was no fucking space
But I did want to try it
After failing for 5 times I was finally able to cast it in the 6th attempt and danced a the way to the tower
"Nearly there!" I heard Harry as I reached the corridor beneath the tallest tower.
"We're going to get caught," Hermione cried, once again.
"Well, we are if you keep talking," I reasoned, and could fell her flinch
Then a sudden movement ahead of them made them almost drop the crate. Forgetting that they were already invisible, they shrank into the shadows, staring at the dark outlines of two people grappling with each other ten feet away. A lamp flared.
Professor McGonagall, in a tartan bathrobe and a hair net, had Draco by the ear and Theo who stood beside him
"Detention!" she shouted. "And twenty points from Slytherin! Wandering around in the middle of the night, how dare you -"
"You don't understand, Professor. Harry Potter's coming - he's got a dragon!"
"What utter rubbish! How dare you tell such lies! Come on - I shall see Professor Snape about you, Malfoy! Yo too, Nott ! "
I felt bad for setting them up , but well they agreed to it
Hermione did a sort of jig.
"Malfoy's got detention! I could sing!"
"Don't," both Harry and I deadpanned
Chuckling about Malfoy, we waited, Norbert thrashing about in her crate. About ten minutes later, four broomsticks came swooping down out of the darkness.
Charlie's friends were a cheery lot. They showed Harry, Hermione and I the harness they'd rigged up, so they could suspend Norbert between them. They were particularly beaming when I volunteered to help them and said I'd make a good dragon trainer to which I nodded siriusly, They all helped buckle Norbert safely into it and then Harry and Hermione shook hands with the others and thanked them very much.
I recieved a card that'd allow me to visit them, I was over the moon
At last, Norbert was going... going... gone.
We slipped back down the spiral staircase, our hearts as light as their hands, now that Norbert was off them. No more dragon - Draco in detention - what could spoil our happiness?
The answer to that was waiting at the foot of the stairs. As we stepped into the corridor, Filch's face loomed suddenly out of the darkness.
"Well, well, well," he whispered,
"we are in trouble."
Harry and Hermione left the invisibility cloak on top of the tower.
And I had planned it all