Quirrell, however, must be braver than they thought. In the weeks that followed he seems to be getting paler and thinner, but it doesn't look as though he's cracked yet.
Every time they pass the third-floor corridor, Harry, Ron, and Hermione will press their ears to the door to check that Fluffy is still growling inside. Snape is sweeping about in his usual bad temper, which surely means that the Stone is still safe. Whenever Harry passes Quirrell these days he gives him an encouraging sort of smile, and Ron has started telling people off for laughing at Quirrell's stutter. Polaris meanwhile, would occasionally glare at him, much to the dismay of Harry and Ron.
Hermione, however, has more on her mind than the Philosopher's Stone. She has started drawing up study schedules and color-coding all her notes. Harry and Ron wouldn't have minded, but she keeps nagging them to do the same.
"Hermione, the exams are ages away," says Ron.
"Ten weeks," Hermione snaps. "That's not ages, that's like a second to Nicolas Flamel."
"But we're not six hundred years old," Ron reminds her. "Anyway, what are you studying for, you already know it all."
"What am I studying for? Are you crazy? You realize 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...."
Unfortunately, the teachers seem to be thinking along the same lines as Hermione. They pile so much homework on them that the Easter holidays aren't nearly as much fun as the Christmas ones. It's hard to relax with Hermione next to you reciting the twelve uses of dragon's blood or practicing wand movements. Moaning and yawning, Harry and Ron spend most of their free time in the library with her, trying to get through all their extra work.
"I'll never remember this," Ron bursts out one afternoon, throwing down his quill and looking longingly out of the library window. It's the first really fine day they've had in months. The sky is a clear, forget-me-not blue, and there is a feeling in the air of summer coming.
Harry, who is looking up "Dittany" in One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi, doesn't look up until he hears Ron say, "Hagrid! What are you doing in the library?"
Hagrid shuffles into view, hiding something behind his back. He looks very out of place in his moleskin overcoat.
"Jus' lookin'," he says, in a shifty voice that gets their interest at once. "An' what're you lot up ter?" He looks suddenly suspicious. "Yer not still lookin' fer Nicolas Flamel, are yeh?"
"Oh, we found out who he is ages ago," says Ron impressively. "And we know what that dog's guarding, it's a Philosopher's St -"
"Shhhh!" Hagrid looks around quickly to see if anyone is 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," says Harry, "about what's guarding the Stone apart from Fluffy -"
"SHHHH!" says 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," says Harry.
Hagrid shuffles off.
"What was he hiding behind his back?" asks Harry thoughtfully.
"Do you think it had anything to do with the Stone?"
"I'm going to see what section he was in," says Ron, who's had enough of working. He comes back a minute later with a pile of books in his arms and slams them down on the table.
"Dragons!" he whispers. "Hagrid was looking up stuff about dragons! Look at these: Dragon Species of Great Britain and Ireland; From Egg to Inferno, A Dragon Keeper's Guide."
"Hagrid's always wanted a dragon, he told me so the very first time I ever met him," says Harry.
"But it's against our laws," says Ron. "Dragon breeding was outlawed by the Warlocks' Convention of 1709, everyone knows that. It's hard to stop Muggles from noticing us if we're keeping dragons in the back garden - anyway, you can't tame dragons, it's dangerous. You should see the burns Charlie's got off wild ones in Romania."
"But there aren't any wild dragons in Britain?" says Harry.
"Of course there are," said Ron. "Common Welsh Green and Hebridean Blacks. The Ministry of Magic has a job hushing them up, I can tell you. Our kind have to keep putting spells on Muggles who've spotted them, to make them forget."
"So what on earth's Hagrid up to?" says Hermione.
When they knock on the door of the gamekeeper's hut an hour later, they are surprised to see that all the curtains are closed. Hagrid calls "Who is it?" before he lets them in, and then shuts the door quickly behind them. They immediately see Polaris on the sofa with his shirt off. His muscular torso is covered in sweat.
It is stiflingly hot inside the hut, explaining why Polaris is shirtless. Even though it is such a warm day, there is a blazing fire in the grate. Hagrid makes them tea and offers them stoat sandwiches, which they refuse.
"So - yeh wanted to ask me somethin'?"
"Yes," says Harry. There is no point beating around the bush. "We were wondering if you could tell us what's guarding the Philosopher's Stone apart from Fluffy."
Hagrid frowns at him.
"O' course I can't," he says. "Number one, I don' know meself. Number two, yeh know too much already, so I wouldn' tell yeh if I could. That Stone's here fer a good reason. It was almost stolen outta Gringotts - I s'ppose yeh've worked that out an' all? Beats me how yeh even know abou' Fluffy."
"Oh, come on, Hagrid, you might not want to tell us, but you do know, you know everything that goes on round here," says Hermione in a warm, flattering voice. Hagrid's beard twitches and they can tell he is smiling. "We only wondered who had done the guarding, really." Hermione goes on. "We wondered who Dumbledore had trusted enough to help him, apart from you."
Hagrid's chest swells at these last words. Harry and Ron beam at Hermione.
"Well, I don' s'ppose it could hurt ter tell yeh that...let's see...he borrowed Fluffy from me...then come o' the teachers did enchantments...Professor Sprout - Professor Flitwick - Professor McGonagall -" he ticks them off with his fingers, "Professor Quirrell - an' Dumbledore himself did somethin', o' course. Hang on, I've forgotten someone. Oh yeah, Professor Snape."
"Snape?"
"Yeah - yer not still on abou' that, are yeh? Look, Snape helped protect the Stone, he's not about ter steal it."
"Well someone definitely is trying to steal it, otherwise why would the stone be moved out of gringotts? It might not be Snape, you know. I've known him for years, and if he wanted to steal the stone, he'd be a lot more subtle." Polaris says, backing up Hagrid.
Harry knows Ron, and Hermione are thinking the same as he is. If Snape has been in on protecting the Stone, it must be easy to find out how the other teachers have guarded it. He probably knows everything - except, it seems, Quirrell's spell and how to get past Fluffy.
"You're the only one who knows how to get past Fluffy, aren't you, Hagrid?" asks Harry anxiously. "And you wouldn't tell anyone, would you? Not even one of the teachers?"
"Not a soul knows except me an' Dumbledore," says Hagrid proudly. Polaris shakes his head "That's a lie, since I've also figured out how to calm him." he says, making Hagrid alarmed "You what?! How?!" Asks Hagrid "I've been visiting him all year, he enjoys my company." Polaris responds, petting Fang.
"Well, that's something," Harry mutters to the others. "Hagrid, can we have a window open? I'm boiling."
"Can't, Harry, sorry," says Hagrid. Harry notices him glancing at the fire. Harry looks at it, too.
"Hagrid - what's that?"
But he already knows what it is. In the very heart of the fire, underneath the kettle, is a huge, black egg.
"Ah," says Hagrid, fiddling nervously with his beard, "That's - er..."
"Where did you get it, Hagrid?" says Ron, crouching over the fire to get a closer look at the egg. "It must've cost you a fortune."
"Won it," says Hagrid. "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."
Polaris furrows his brows, but doesn't say anything
"But what are you going to do with it when it's hatched?" says Ron, fascinated.
"Well, I've bin doin' some readin'," says Hagrid, pulling a large book from under his pillow. "Got this outta the library - Dragon Breeding for Pleasure and Profit - it's a bit outta date, o' course, but it's all in here. Keep the egg in the fire, 'cause their mothers breathe on 'em, see, an' when it hatches, feed it on a bucket o' brandy mixed with chicken blood every half hour. An' see here - how ter recognize diff'rent eggs - what I got there's a Norwegian Ridgeback. They're rare, them."
"That they are, almost as rare as the Zomok." Comments Polaris
Hagrid looks very pleased with himself, but Hermione doesn't.
"Hagrid, you live in a wooden house," she says.
But Hagrid isn't listening. He is humming merrily as he stokes the fire.
So now they have something else to worry about: what might happen to Hagrid if anyone finds out he is hiding an illegal dragon in his hut.
"Wonder what it's like to have a peaceful life," Ron sighs, as evening after evening they struggle through all the extra homework they are getting. Hermione has now started making study schedules for Harry, and Ron. It's driving them nuts.
Then, one breakfast time, Hedwig brings Harry another note from Hagrid. He has written only two words: It's hatching.
Ron wants to skip Herbology and go straight down to the hut. Hermione won't hear of it.
"Hermione, how many times in our lives are we going to see a dragon hatching?"
"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 whispers.
Malfoy is only a few feet away and he has stopped dead to listen. How much has he heard? Harry doesn't like the look on Malfoy's face at all.
Ron and Hermione argue all the way to Herbology and in the end, Hermione agrees to run down to Hagrid's with the other two during morning break. When the bell rang from the castle at the end of their lesson, the three of them drop their trowels at once and hurry through the grounds to the edge of the forest. Hagrid greets them, looking flushed and excited. Like last time, Polaris is also in the cabin, carefully watching the egg.
"It's nearly out." He ushers them inside
The egg is lying on the table. There are deep cracks in it. Something is moving inside; a funny clicking noise is coming from it.
They all draw their chairs up to the table and watch with bated breath.
All at once there is a scraping noise and the egg splits open. The baby dragon flops onto the table. It isn't exactly pretty; Harry thinks it looks like a crumpled, black umbrella. Its spiny wings are huge compared to its skinny jet body, it has a long snout with wide nostrils, the stubs of horns and bulging, orange eyes. "They're beautiful." says Polaris, looking at the dragon in awe. "They are." Hagrid agrees, smiling. The dragon sneezes. A couple of sparks flies out of its snout.
Hagrid reaches out a hand to stroke the dragon's head. It snaps at his fingers, showing pointed fangs.
"Bless him, look, he knows his mummy!" says Hagrid.
"Hagrid," says Hermione, "how fast do Norwegian Ridgebacks grow, exactly?"
"If I remember correctly, very fast. They'll be three times the size they are right now in a week." Polaris answers. Hagrid suddenly goes pale - he leaps to his feet and runs to the window.
"What's the matter?"
"Someone was lookin' through the gap in the curtains - it's a kid - he's runnin' back up ter the school."
Harry bolts to the door and looks out. Even at a distance there is no mistaking him.
Malfoy has seen the dragon.
Something about the smile lurking on Malfoy's face during the next week makes Harry, Ron, and Hermione very nervous. They spend most of their free time in Hagrid's darkened hut, trying to reason with him.
"Just let him go," Harry urges. "Set him free."
"I can't," says Hagrid. "He's too little. He'd die."
They look at the dragon. It has indeed grown three times in length in just a week. Smoke keeps furling out of its nostrils. Hagrid hasn't been doing his gamekeeping duties because the dragon has been keeping him busy. There are empty brandy bottles and chicken feathers all over the floor.
"I've decided to call him Norbert," says Hagrid, looking at the dragon with misty eyes. "He really knows me now, watch. Norbert! Norbert! Where's Mummy?" Polaris, also in the room, rolls his eyes "How many times do I have to tell you? They're female." Hagrid looks back at Polaris "How would you know that?" he asks "Because they're bigger than an average male, and they're more aggressive." Polaris responds. Hagrid ignores this and goes back to 'Norbert'
"He's lost his marbles," Ron mutters in Harry's ear.
"Hagrid," says 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 bites his lip.
"I - I know I can't keep him forever, but I can't jus' dump him, I can't."
Harry suddenly turns to Ron.
"Charlie," he says.
"You're losing it, too," says Ron. "I'm Ron, remember?"
"No - Charlie - you brother, Charlie. In Romania. Studying dragons. We could send Norbert to him. Charlie can take care of him and then put him back in the wild!"
Polaris chuckles at this "That's probably the only smart plan I've heard you come up with." He says, making Harry glare at him.
"Brilliant!" says Ron. "How about it, Hagrid?"
And in the end, Hagrid agrees that they can send an owl to Charlie to ask him.
The following week drags by. Wednesday night finds Hermione and Harry sitting alone in the common room, long after everyone else has gone to bed. The clock on the wall has just chimed midnight when the portrait hole bursts open. Ron appears out of nowhere as he pulls off Harry's invisibility cloak. He has been down at Hagrid's hut, helping him feed Norbert, who is now eating dead rats by the crate.
"It bit me!" he says, showing them his hand, which is wrapped in a bloody handkerchief. "I'm not going to be able to hold a quill for a week because Hagrid was too busy fawning over it. 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 we left, he was singing it a lullaby."
"Well, you won't have to wait long," Harry tries to cheer him up. "Soon it'll be gone."
There is a tap on the dark window.
"It's Hedwig!" says Harry, hurrying to let her in. "She'll have Charlie's answer!"
The three of them put their heads together and 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 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
They look at one another.
"We've got the invisibility cloak," says Harry. "It shouldn't be too difficult - I think the cloak's big enough to cover two of us and Norbert."
It's a mark of how bad the last week has been that the other two agree with him. Anything to get rid of Norbert - and Malfoy.
There is a hitch, however. By the next morning, Ron's bitten hand has swollen to twice its usual size. He doesn't know whether it was safe to go to Madam Pomfrey - would she recognize a dragon bite? By the afternoon, though, he has no choice. The cut has turned a nasty shade of green. It looks as if Norbert's fangs are poisonous.
Harry and Hermione rush 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 whispers. "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."
Harry and Hermione tries to calm Ron down.
"It'll all be over at midnight on Saturday," says Hermione, but this doesn't soothe Ron at all. On the contrary, he sits bolt upright and breaks out into a sweat.
"Midnight on Saturday!" he says 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 don't get a chance to answer. Madam Pomfrey comes over at that moment and makes them leave, saying Ron needed sleep.
"It's too late to change the plan now," Harry tells Hermione. "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."
They find Fang the boarhound sitting outside with a bandaged tail and Polaris comforting him when they go to tell Hagrid, who opens the window to talk to them
"I won't let you in," he puffs. "Norbert's at a tricky stage - nothin' I can't handle."
When they tell him about Charlie's letter, his eyes fill with tears, although that might have been because Norbert has 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 bangs its tail on the wall, making the windows rattle. Harry and Hermione walk back to the castle feeling Saturday can't come quickly enough..
They would have felt sorry for Hagrid when the time comes for him to say good-bye to Norbert if they haven't been so worried about what they have to do. It's a very dark, cloudy night, and they are a bit late arriving at Hagrid's hut because they've had to wait for Peeves to get out of their way in the entrance hall, where he's been playing tennis against the wall.
Hagrid has Norbert packed and ready in a large crate.
"He's got lots o' rats an' some brandy fer the journey," says Hagrid in a muffled voice. "An' I've packed his teddy bear in case he gets lonely."
From inside the crate comes ripping noises that sound to Harry as though the teddy is having his head torn off.
"Bye-bye, Norbert!" Hagrid sobs, as Harry and Hermione cover the crate with the invisibility cloak and step underneath it themselves. "Mummy will never forget you!"
How they managed to get the crate back up to the castle, they don't know. Midnight ticks nearer as they heave Norbert up the marble staircase in the entrance hall and along the dark corridors. Up another staircase, then another - even one of Harry's shortcuts doesn't make the work much easier.
"Nearly there!" Harry pants as they reach the corridor beneath the tallest tower.
Then a sudden movement ahead of them makes them almost drop the crate. Forgetting that they are already invisible, they shrink into the shadows, staring at the dark outlines of three people ten feet away. A lamp flares.
Professor McGonagall, in a tartan bathrobe and a hair net, has Malfoy by the ear. Polaris is walking next to them.
"Detention!" McGonagall shouts. "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!" Draco argues
"No he doesn't, Draco. Stop lying." Says Polaris "You know about it! Back me up here!" Draco demands "I have no clue what you mean by that, Draco. But you shouldn't have sneaked out of bed for no reason." Says Polaris
"What utter rubbish! How dare you tell such lies! Come on - I shall see Professor Snape about you, Malfoy!" says McGonagall
The steep spiral staircase up to the top of the tower seems the easiest thing in the world after that. Not until they stepped out into the cold night air do they throw off the cloak, glad to be able to breathe properly again. Hermione does a sort of jig.
"Malfoy's got detention! I could sing!"
"Don't," Harry advises her.
Chuckling about Malfoy, they wait, Norbert thrashing about in his crate. About ten minutes later, four broomsticks come swooping down out of the darkness.
Charlie's friends are a cheery lot. They show Harry and Hermione the harness they've rigged up, so they could suspend Norbert between them. They all helped buckle Norbert safely into it and then Harry and Hermione shake hands with the others and thank them very much.
At last, Norbert is going...going...gone.
They slip back down the spiral staircase, their hearts as light as their hands, now that Norbert is off them. No more dragon - Malfoy in detention - what could spoil their happiness?
The answer to that is waiting at the foot of the stairs. As they step into the corridor, Filch's face looms suddenly out of the darkness.
"Well, well, well," he whispers, "we are in trouble."
They've left the invisibility cloak on top of the tower.