Hey guys, Butterlover328 here!! This is the last part of the triple upload, and the next chapter of TPT will (hopefully) be out on Friday. This chapter will be split in two parts for two reasons. 1) I don't have enough time to finish Chapter 14 because I'm working all this week, and this weekend I have two lacrosse tournaments to go to. (I know what you're thinking, "But Butterlover, I thought you said you were done with lacrosse for the summer." And I technically am, but one of my goalie friends has gotten close to getting heat stroke and the coaches ((who I am friends with)) don't want her to get hurt, so they asked me to play as well. I agreed wholeheartedly.) And 2) that's how it is on Quotev, plus it's a long chapter as well. (Chapters 2, 13 and 14 are my longest. 14 will be by far.) So anyways, I hope that you enjoy part 1, and I'll see you later. Bye!!
~Butterlover328
As the weeks whittled by, Hermione became more and more stressed as the end of the year approached, despite the fact that the exams were still a while away. She created study-schedules and color-coded her notes, trying to get the boys to do the same. However, even Draco knew she was over-reacting and so the boys had taken the responsibility on their shoulders to try to get her to relax once in a while.
However, even though the majority of the students weren't worried about exams, (the minority being 5th and 7th years, as well as Hermione) the teachers had started to shove more homework down their throats, so Neville, Percy and Harry had all joined Draco's and Hermione's study group (which had previously been just the two of them) to try to get the extra work done so they could enjoy the spring holidays.
As Harry and Percy looked out the window, staring longingly at the clear blue skies, they also mentally quizzed each other on the material, making sure neither forgot something that would most likely be on the exams in the coming weeks. The five had come to a compromise the second week of the study group, in that everyone would just studying just one subject and tutor the others about that subject.
Currently, Neville was quizzing them about Herbology, one of the only subjects he seemed to have a knack for.
"-ry. PERCY, HARRY!! SNAP OUT OF IT!!" Hermione stage-whispered, snapping her fingers in front of the twins, successfully breaking them out of their daze. The twins looked at her inquisitively, as she pointed back to Neville, who was looking at them expectantly for the answer.
"Sorry, we weren't paying attention. What was the question??" Harry said.
"Honestly Harry, we have exams soon. You need to focus. Anyways, why is essence of dittany a perfect healing potion for everyday life??" She scolded.
"It's because Dittany is useful in stopping digestive problems and pains, and can also be used to heal wounds." Percy chimed in, looking at the exit earnestly. Hermione sighed and closed her book.
"I guess if you want, we can head outside for a bit. But then we are getting right back to studying, alright??" All the boys nodded and got their stuff together.
The five were about to leave the library when Hagrid walked in, hiding something behind his back. He looked very out of place in his moleskin overcoat.
"Hey Hagrid, what are you doing in the library??" Neville asked. The half-giant's eyes widened and looked all around nervously.
"Jus' lookin'," he said, in a shifty voice that got the first years' collective interest at once. "Yer not still lookin' fer the you-know-what in the you-know-where, are yeh??"
"You already know we know what it is, Hagrid. Why are you-" Percy was stopped by a huge hand covering his mouth, Hagrid crouching down in front of the five.
"Shh!! Don't go shoutin' 'bout it, what's the matter with yeh??" Hagrid's eyes shifted around, making sure that no one was listening. He took his hand off of Percy's mouth and beckoned the five to follow him. Curious, the first years were led to a corner of the library where Hagrid knelt down.
"Listen- come an' see me later, I'm not promisin' I'll tell yeh anythin', but don' go rabbitin' about it in here, students aren' s'pposed ter know. They'll think I've told yeh. Yeh got it??" Hagrid gruffly whispered. The five nodded, and Hagrid stood up, nodded, and headed towards another section of the library.
Draco, in a sudden burst of curiosity as to where Hagrid was heading to, followed the half-giant to an area near the Restricted Section. After he read the titles of some of the books, he paled and made his way back to his friends.
"Where did you go Draco?? We were looking for you!!" Neville asked. The twins gave their friend a curious look, and Hermione was close to losing her temper, especially since the boys had almost gotten her in trouble several times in the past hour.
"Guys, Hagrid was looking up information on dragons!!" Draco exclaimed, not realising his voice had risen until he had been violently shushed by the librarian, Madame Pince. His cheeks colored as his friends regained the ability to talk and got over their various stages of shock.
"You know, Hagrid told me he's always wanted a dragon before Percy and I met up in Diagon Alley." Harry said after a moment of silence.
"But why would he want to look up information about dragons, especially since breeding them had been banned in Britain for centuries??" Neville asked.
"But aren't there wild dragons in Britain??" Percy questioned, not having lived his entire life in the country, and had heard stories from his mother about dragons after he learned he was a wizard.
"Of course there are. Common Welsh Greens and Hebridean Blacks. My father's always told me that the Ministry has had to keep a close eye on the Muggles near dragon habitats, and obliviate them quite often." Draco explained.
"But to address Neville's question again, why would Hagrid be looking up information on dragons??" Hermione asked. Harry's eyes widened as he discovered a possibility.
"No, there's no way, right??" His green eyes bulged in fear and shock.
"No way what?? Spit it out!!" Hermione demanded.
"What if Hagrid somehow has a dragon??" Harry whispered. The rest of the group's eyes widened as the words sunk in.
"It would make sense, wouldn't it?? All his secrecy, the nervous glances he sent around, why he wants us to visit his house later." Neville spoke in fear as he connected the dots. Percy's eyes lingered over to the tempus charm over Madam Pince's desk and he cursed under his breath.
"Oh shoot, we gotta go or we'll be late for charms!!" Percy hurriedly stuffed his books into his bag and ran out the door, the others trailing behind him.
(Line Break, woo!!)
When classes ended for the day, the five friends walked over to Hagrid's and weren't surprised to see all the windows closed.
"Of course he doesn't want anyone to see inside, he has a dragon for Merlin's sake!!" Hermione muttered, catching the attention of Draco, who sent a questioning look her way. Their eyes connected for a second before she turned her head so Draco couldn't see the blush rising on her cheeks.
"Who is it??" Hagrid called from inside. A loud crash rang throughout the house, and the five could hear Hagrid mumbling something under his breath before the door opened. "Come on in. Quickly now, don't leave the door open when yer all in."
Hagrid turned back to the blazing hot fire and poked at it tenderly, watching a pot being held over it. Neville turned back to close the door and furrowed his eyebrows when he thought he saw something hide behind a bush. He shook his head and closed the door, getting the image out of his head.
Everyone was sweating profusely by the time Hagrid pulled up a chair, so while he made tea, Percy blurted out a question.
"What's guarding the Philosopher's Stone besides Fluffy??" Hagrid almost dropped the kettle in shock.
"Bloody 'ell Percy, yeh can't just say that without any warning, yeh know??" Percy's face flushed in embarrassment.
"Sorry Hagrid."
"Anyways, I don' even know. Some o' the teachers did enchantments, like Professor Sprout - Professor Flitwick - Professor McGonagall- Professor Snape- Dumbledore did somethin' himself, o' course."Hagrid said as he ticked of his fingers for each person mentioned.
"Are you sure that the stone is completely safe??" Harry asked."O' course it is, Dumbledore's got it covered. Hang on, I forgot somebody." Hagrid paused, racking his brain to remember the missing protector from the list. He snapped his fingers once he remembered."Oh yeah!! Professor Quirrel helped too."
"PROFESSOR QUIRREL?!?!" The twins yelled.
"Shh!! Quit yer yellin'. I'm right here yeh know."
"Hagrid, Quirrel is the one trying to steal the stone. He tried to when the Troll was loose on Halloween. If Snape hadn't stopped him, the stone would be long gone by now!!" Harry exclaimed, trying to get the half-giant to see reason, but he was too stubborn.
He could hear Hermione gasp in the background, and winced when he realized that the twins had forgotten to explain that night's events to their friends.
"Dumbledore wouldn' 'ave allowed him to come to Hogwarts if he were trouble. I bet 'e was just checking up on the protections." Hagrid argued.
"You are the only one that knows how to get past Fluffy, right?? You wouldn't tell that to anyone else, would you?? Besides Professor Dumbledore of course." Hermione chimed in, an idea forming in her head.
"That's right. Not a soul knows except me an' Dumbledore." Hagrid straightened up, his face beaming with pride. Neville was too confused and out of the conversation that he decided to investigate the fire, searching for the dragon egg. He was about to give up and just ask Hagrid to open a window when he noticed a huge, oblong, midnight black egg underneath the tea kettle. He pretended to be surprised, and gasped in shock.
"Hagrid, why do you have a dragon egg??" He asked, successfully interrupting the conversation. Everybody had crowded around Neville now, taking in the sight of the dragon egg.
"I won it las' night. I was down in the village havin' a few drinks an' got into a game o' cards with a stranger. Think he was quite glad ter get rid of it, ter be honest." Hagrid explained.
"Of course he was. It's illegal to own a dragon in Britain!!" Draco exclaimed. Hagrid's shoulders sagged, and Hermione sent Draco a quick glare before going to comfort the half-giant.
"Hagrid, I know it's going to be tough for you, but when this dragon hatches you have to let it go. It needs to live on it's own, and make it's own path. Plus, think of what might happen if you were discovered to own a dragon?? It's just not worth it." She coaxed.
"It's just not fair. He'll be all alone in the big, scary world, with no one ter care fer him."
"I know it's not, but you live in a small, wooden house. It just won't work."
"Can I just keep him fer a week after he's hatched?? Just enough fer him ter grow a little, so he won't be bullied by the other dragons." The five first years exchanged glances before shaking their heads.
"Of course, Hagrid." Hermione sighed.
(Line Break #2)
Eventually, the five had to leave, and Hagrid promised to let them know when the dragon was hatching. For the next few days, the five would try to find a way to get Hagrid's dragon to a safe place where it could live peacefully, if only to appease their friend.
"Wait a minute!!" Harry exclaimed one day, as the five were going over DADA material for their exams. "Isn't Weasley's brother a dragon keeper??"
"Which one??" Draco drawled, before he realized he had sounded just like his father. "Sorry, force of habit."
"I think it was Charlie or something like that. He mentioned it in the common room a few nights ago." Neville said.
"Please don't tell me we have to go to him for help." Percy groaned.
"Okay, we won't." His twin said cheekily, causing Percy to lightly glare at him as he grinned. Percy reluctantly let up.
"I guess I walked right into that one, didn't I??"
"Yeah, you kinda did." Draco smirked as he rejoined the conversation. Percy was about to retort when Hermione interrupted them.
"Even though I don't like Weasley myself, I'm afraid we don't have any other options other than tell Dumbledore, and we are not doing that." She said. Percy just sighed.
"Fine, we'll talk to Weasley. But as soon as the first insult leaves his mouth we are leaving." Percy acquiesced as he turned to the door.
Turns out, they didn't have to walk far to find Weasley, as he had been trying to eavesdrop on them the next aisle over. Draco had spotted him, claiming that his hair was like a beacon.
"What are you doing, Weasley??" Hermione asked, noticing him trying to hide his face with a potions book. He jumped, dropping the book with a large 'whomp', easily gaining the attention of the librarian. Madam Pince overzealously shushed him, making the ginger's face turn as red as his hair in embarrassment.
"What does it look like, Granger?? I'm trying to study for Potions." He said.
"Oh yes, it totally looks like you're studying a potions tome for fifth years when you can't even brew a simple potion of forgetfulness." Neville said sarcastically, earning a sheepish look from the ginger and confusion written on his friends' faces.
"What?? I've been hanging out with you four all year. I'm bound to pick up some sarcasm." The looks of confusion melted away, and they decided to get back on topic.
"Look Weasley, we need to ask you something. Can we take this somewhere private??" Harry asked. The ginger seemed to think (Percy thought it was a miracle) it over before nodding.
The five friends led the ginger to Hagrid's hut, not saying a word to him until they got there, even though he had been demanding to know what was going on. Harry knocked on the door, and within seconds was greeted by the groundskeeper and his dog. Weasley seemed to have second thoughts on following the five, and was about to run when the half-giant quickly ushered the first-years inside.
The dragon egg was on the table, miniscule cracks lining the surface of the otherwise smooth surface. Hagrid was gazing upon it with pride, and a single tear escaped and rolled down his face. Weasley immediately took notice of the egg, and went to inspect it.
"Woah!! This is a Norwegian Ridgeback dragon egg!! They're not supposed to be in Britain!!" Suspicion crossed his mind and his eyes narrowed as he looked up at the rest of the people in the room. "Where did you get it??"
"Hagrid won it last week at a bar. He wants to hatch it and raise it, but we don't want him to get into trouble because of it. Harry and Neville mentioned how you had a brother who is a dragon keeper, so what we want is for you to send a letter to your brother about sending a team to come here and bring the dragon back to the keep before it is fully grown." Draco stepped in to explain.
"What do I get out of it??" Weasley asked.
"What do you want for it??" Draco asked, being the one with the most experience of bargaining. Growing up in a Slytherin household does that for you.
The ginger seemed to mull over it, before he finally came to a decision. "I want a favor from Harry." The twins eyes widened in surprise. Just as Harry opened his mouth, Percy grabbed his arm.
"Sorry, can I talk to Harry really quick?? Thanks!!" He dragged his brother to the corner of the house, not waiting for an answer. Weasley turned back to the other three friends, who didn't look phased by this behavior.
"What was that??" He asked. Neville shrugged.
"Percy is overprotective when it comes to his friends. He just wants to make sure nothing will happen to Harry if he agrees to it." He assured the ginger, just as the boys' conversation reached a climax.
"I want to make sure you are safe, Harry. I couldn't bear it if something happened to you." Percy exclaimed, attracting the attention of the rest of the people in the house.
"I'll be fine, nothing's going to happen to me. It's just a small favor." Harry tried to calm down his brother, who finally just sighed and gestured with his hand back towards the group.
"I'll do it, but Percy wants you to promise that you won't hold this favor against me for you to make me do anything stupid, dangerous, or overall detrimental to my reputation, friendships, or my school record. Understand??" Harry said. Percy stood behind him, watching the ginger's reaction. The boy was about to argue until he was sent a death glare courtesy of the black haired youth, which quickly stopped the youngest Weasley boy in his tracks.
He sulked, mentally disposing of his plan to use the favor to get Harry to explore the third floor corridor with him. "Fine, I promise." He grumbled, only relaxing when Percy's glare lessened to the point of 'I hate you but I don't want to kill you yet', which was considered light for the eleven-year old.
"Look guys!! The dragon's hatching!!" Neville exclaimed.Fortunately for the ginger, his friend's exclamation was able to distract Percy from his glaring contest as the room's inhabitants directed their attention to the egg.
A loud crack resounded from the egg as a long line ran down the side, breaking the image of an inky black sky like lightning. Smaller cracks started appearing as a low thud almost out of the human range of hearing rang out from the egg. It was almost rhythmic, as the dragon inside summoned it's strength to ram itself against the surface, successfully weakening the interior with each strike.
Finally, the egg split open and the dragon flopped onto the table in a heap. It took a few minutes to orient itself, getting used to the light and new sensations of smell and hearing, as well as trying to right itself. When it finally got situated and was able to stand without falling, it stretched its wings to balance itself. As he observed it, Harry likened it to a crumpled black umbrella. Compared to the rest of the dragon's tiny body, the outstretched wings looked to be twice it's size. Part of the eggshell still covered the dragon's snout, until the small being sneezed.
The shell ended up flying into Weasley's face, much to the enjoyment of Percy, whose grudge against the redhead hadn't wavered. The fact that Weasley, as much as a prat he is, had lied and sent him to Dumbledore that night had hurt him. It was going to be awhile until he forgave him.Hagrid leaned over Draco and Hermione to scratch the dragon behind it's ear, which crooned at the half-giant's touch. It playfully snapped at his fingers, showing pointed fangs.
When Hagrid went to wipe away a tear, the dragon turned it's head towards the other occupants of the room, it's orange eyes bulging with curiosity. "Isn't he beautiful?? I'm gonna name 'im Norbert." Hagrid whispered, a smile lighting up his face. A thought crossed Hermione's mind, and her eyebrows furrowed in questioning.
"Hagrid, how quickly does a Norwegian Ridgeback grow??" Hermione suddenly blurted out.
"Oh, er. 'Bout a few weeks." He replied offhandedly, keeping his gaze on the dragon. Hermione blanched at the thought of a full-size dragon stomping about on Hogwarts' grounds, and was about to urge Weasley to write a letter to his brother when a gasp escaped Neville's lips, his face white as he pointed towards the slightly opened curtain.
"Some, some, someone-" Neville stammered.
"Well, spit it out!!" Weasley shouted. Harry rushed over to the window and paled slightly.
"What's going on??" Percy asked, looking worriedly at his brother as a grim expression was set on the younger boy's face.
"Dean Thomas saw the dragon." Harry said, causing the house's occupants to start shouting in a panic.
"He's going to tell Professor Dumbledore!! We have to stop him!!" Hermione exclaimed.
"I can talk to him later, try to explain what's going on to him." Weasley tried to reason. Percy heard this and went over to him.
"Why don't you talk to him now, before he goes and gets Hagrid in trouble?!" The green-eyed boy said exasperatedly. The redhead's eyes widened and he jumped up as if the idea had just crossed his mind.
"Right!! I'll be right back!!" The boy shouted, running to open the door of Hagrid's hut in the middle of the chaos before sprinting to catch his friend. Percy closed the door and slid his back down on it.
"Good riddance." He muttered, indiscernible to the rest of the people in the house. About ten minutes later, when everyone had calmed down, they said their goodbyes to Hagrid and Norbert before heading back to the castle. It was better to pretend that they had been in the castle the entire afternoon than risk getting Hagrid's dragon discovered.
When the trio of Gryffindors sat down for dinner, Harry had nervously glanced at Weasley, who had sat down between Thomas and Finnegan. He couldn't hear them over the babble of the rest of the school, but what he could discern from Ron's lips was not good. Weasley had nearly gone as red as his hair a few times, and Harry could imagine steam coming out of Finnegan's ears for not being included in the conversation. Thomas had stormed out angrily about three quarters of the way through dinner, followed closely by Weasley trying to apologize.
Harry, Percy and Neville glanced at each other when they saw the spectacle, but decided not to comment in fear of being overheard. Weasley rejoined them when the three entered the common room.
"I tried to explain, but Dean just got angry. He thought I was trying to abandon him and Seamus in favor of the Boy Who Lived and his gang, and that the dragon was part of one of our secret 'escapades'. He wouldn't listen to reason."
"Probably because you got mad at him as well instead of calmly explaining, but that might not be the case." Percy quipped. Weasley didn't even notice the slight insult as he kept rambling on and on about what Dean kept accusing him of, so Percy tuned him out and started randomly quizzing himself on some of the first year exam material. He got through twenty questions about a variety of subjects before Harry mentally chastised him and forced him to focus on Weasley once again, who had finally changed the topic to the letter he was going to send Charlie, his older brother who was a dragon keeper in Romania.
"I've written the letter already, I just need an owl to send it with. I was going to use one of the school owls, but this is too important to use just any old post owl." He said.
"You can use Athena for this time only, since it's urgent." Harry proclaimed. Percy was about to protest, but when Harry pleaded with him he acquiesced.
"Fine, you better hurry back though. If you get caught by Filch or any other teacher out after curfew and they confiscate the letter, it's over." Percy said, sighing. Weasley merely nodded.
"I'll be back as quick as I can. I promise!!" He exclaimed as he raced out of the common room towards the Owlrey. Percy pinched the bridge of his nose and shook his head as every possible thing that can go wrong while Weasley was in the most crucial position bounced around his ADHD riddled brain.
"I hope he gets there alright." Neville said. Harry and Percy both turned to him at the same time.
"Me too." They said in unison.
"You do realize it is really freaky and wicked when you do that, right??" Neville suddenly blurted, successfully easing some of the rising tension in the air.
The twins grinned. "Yep." They both said again.
"Why do you think we do it??" Harry said, his grin widening.
"Besides our own enjoyment, of course." Percy finished with a flourish, creating enough humor for the trio of Gryffindors to burst out laughing hysterically, the remaining tension vanishing in the blink of an eye. They kept laughing endlessly for ten minutes straight, until they settled down enough to be able to catch their breaths, before Neville started giggling and wound the three of them back up again. Harry was clutching his sides, and Percy was extremely close to start rolling on the floor laughing when a seventh year girl scolded them.
"Do you mind?? I'm trying to study for my N.E.W.T.S here!!" She chastised them. The three first-year boys instantly stopped and turned a bit pink in embarrassment.
"Sorry." Neville mumbled, growing the reddest out of the trio.
"It's fine, but can you please move somewhere else so I may work in peace??" The girl asked. The boys nodded, grabbed their stuff, and quickly ascended the stairs to the first year boys dormitory.
Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnegan were upstairs in the middle of a discussion, but grew silent as Harry, Percy, and Neville came up the steps, still mildly chuckling from what had happened in the common room. Percy's laugh was cut short, however, when he noticed the other two occupants of the room. He glanced at Thomas, who wasn't meeting his gaze, and knew he had to talk to him privately. Maybe Thomas would keep the secret about Hagrid's dragon if Percy was calm and didn't anger him while they were talking.
"Hey guys, I'm going to go talk to Thomas really quick. I'll be right back." He said, lightly jogging the few steps towards the two other boys in the room. "Thomas, do you have a second?? We need to talk." Percy asked. Thomas jumped, surprised that Percy had come to talk to him. He turned, and after seeing the calm yet somewhat stern expression in Percy's eyes nodded silently and followed the green-eyed youth.
The two boys went to the corner of the room, where Thomas was about to start speaking when Percy held up a finger to his lips, and spoke the incantations for a few privacy charms. The boy looked startled, like he was not expecting Percy to encase them in spells. He was feebly poised, trying to brandish his wand in a way that it would be ready to use a defensive spell in case he needed it.
Unfortunately for the boy, Percy noted that his grip on his wand was flimsy, and Thomas would be easily disarmed if it came down to a fight. Percy shook that thought out of his head, hopefully he wouldn't have to resort to that.
"Put your wand down, I'm not going to hurt you. I just wanted to talk where we would have some privacy." He gestured to the spells, encasing them in a bubble while Thomas relaxed and stuffed his wand into his front robe pocket.
"Listen, my friends and I didn't want it to come down to this, but since Weasley didn't help it has to." Percy sat down on the floor with his back against the wall, his fingers clasped together like he had seen on television. Thomas had uneasily sat down as well, which prompted Percy to continue.
"We know you saw the dragon Hagrid has, don't deny it. It won't help you. All of us saw you running back towards the castle in a frenzy like something was chasing you." At this statement, Thomas' cheeks flushed red in embarrassment and he looked down at his shoes as if they were the most interesting thing in the world.
A guilty look crossed the boy's face, as if he got caught sticking his hand in the blue cookie jar, and was now receiving a scolding from his mum. Percy knew that look all too well, he had been in this situation many times back in New York with his mother, except he was the one normally on the opposite side of the scolding. He was so enamored by the memories and a sudden flash of homesickness and a want for his mother that he didn't realize that he had been staring into space for quite some time. In fact, he hadn't noticed this at all until Thomas had been poking him in the shoulder to try to get some response from him for ten minutes straight. Percy suddenly snapped out of his stupor and remembered the current situation. He silently cursed himself for getting so distracted during a time that he needed to be extremely focused, and mentally promised himself that he would do his best to stay alert in a time of need. He had a feeling that he would need it in the future. He turned back to Thomas after he recollected himself.
"I'm sorry about that, my mind was somewhere else. Now, where were we??"Thomas gulped.
"You were talking about me seeing the dragon." He stuttered nervously. Percy's eyes narrowed as a guilty expression crossed Thomas' face.
"What did you do??" He asked.
"I might have also told Seamus about the dragon as well." Thomas said, rubbing the back of his neck as he looked everywhere but Percy's eyes as they flashed in a short burst of anger before it disappeared. He sighed deeply, and massaged his temples as if he had been trying to get rid of a headache. Finally, he pulled out his driftwood and phoenix feather wand before he dropped the spells covering him and Thomas.
"Go get Finnegan and come back please. If you told him about the dragon he needs to be here for this discussion as well." Percy gestured with his hand towards the group of first year Gryffindors as they either finished up homework, (Finnegan) studied for the exam coming up, (Harry) or just got ready for bed (Neville). Thomas quickly muttered something in Finnegan's ear, which caused him to nod and set aside his work before he got up out of his seat and walked over to the corner, where Percy still sat. He motioned for the two boys to sit down, and once they were situated he threw the privacy spells up once again and continued the conversation.
"Now, have either of you told anyone else about the dragon, or think of anywhere you might have been overheard??" He asked, his sea green eyes darting from boy to boy.
"No, I told him about it right before you, Harry and Neville entered the dorm." Thomas said.
"Good. For now, you are not to tell anyone else about the dragon- no, not even a professor or the Headmaster, Finnegan." Percy said, interrupting himself when he noticed the irish's boy's mouth open. "This is an important matter, but we are taking care of it. Weasley is in the middle of sending a letter to his brother in Romania, who is a dragon keeper and will hopefully be able to take the dragon off of our hands before it becomes a problem. If you speak of it to anyone other than myself, Harry, Neville, Hermione, Draco, Hagrid, or each other, or speak about it in an unsecure area where others may eavesdrop on your conversation. We want to take any and all precautions we need to keep this a secret, for our's and Hagrid's sakes."
"I just don't know why we don't go to a professor about this. Wouldn't that just solve the problem??" Finnegan asked.
"Because then Hagrid would have to leave Hogwarts for endangering students with a highly aggressive creature, by orders of Dumbledore and the Board of Governors. Since he got expelled and his wand snapped by the ministry years ago, he isn't allowed to perform magic, so he'd have to find work in the muggle world, where he would be singled out because of his size, clumsiness, and limited knowledge of muggle life. He would also be a risk for breaking the Statute of Secrecy if he was allowed to go off into the muggle world all by himself, especially if he wants to bring his pets with him." Percy explained as he rubbed his temples. The headache he had been sporting all day was getting worse. He opened up his eyes to see Finnegan's face pale white in realization, while Thomas' mouth was wide open in shock.
"It would be that bad??" Thomas finally worked up the courage to say after a few minutes of letting the futility of the situation sink in. Percy nodded grimly, he didn't see the need to say anything more. Finnegan gulped nervously.
"Look, all I'm asking is that you keep this matter quiet until the dragon is gone. It will only be for a week or two, and then you two and Weasley can go back to whatever you guys normally do on a daily basis, and we will never bother you again. Alright??" Percy offered. The other boys nodded, too freaked out to say anything more. Percy gave the boys a small, comforting smile like his mother would always give him when he needed advice, and dropped the privacy charms surrounding the three of them.
He quickly got undressed and ready for lights out, a relaxed and content smile on his face, the first one in a long time. 'Hopefully this will be over soon, so we can focus on more important things, like the stone,' he thought to himself as Ron entered the dormitory. He gave Percy a slight nod, letting him know that the letter had been sent on it's way with no mishaps. Percy nodded to show he understood, and glanced at his brother, who had fallen fast asleep while he had been talking to Finnegan and Thomas.
A surge of love and protectiveness swept through him, and he vowed to protect his brother and friends in any way possible, even if it meant putting his own life in danger to save theirs. With that promise in mind, he settled into bed, letting his thoughts wander as the darkness enclosed him, and he drifted into a peaceful, dreamless sleep.
Hey guys, it's Butterlover328 and I hope you liked the chapter. Like I said, this is only part one of the chapter because it's really long. (This part alone is almost 6000 words, much more than my usual.) Part 2 will be uploaded on Friday, and then next week I hope to finish Chapter 14 and can post it. (If I don't, I'll post it in parts as I finish it.)
~Butterlover328