HP & The Sorcerers' Stone

Charles

In the weeks that followed Quirell did seem to be getting paler and thinner, but it didn't look as though he'd cracked yet.

After they'd told everything to Lyra, Daphne, and Blaise, there had been a small argument. Blaise and Daphne firmly believed that Quirell was the villain in this and that Snape was the good cop. Hermione and Lyra were neutral, not sure of what to think. Charles and Ron, however, said that Snape was the one looking to steal the stone.

Every time they passed the third-floor corridor, they would press their ears to the door to check that Fluffy was still growling inside. Snape was sweeping about in his usual bad temper. It seemed that the most obsessed with this mystery were Charles and Ron, though, as the others all had more on their minds than the Sorcerer's Stone. Hermione had even started drawing up study schedules and color-coding all her notes, and from what Lyra told them, Blaise had started snapping at anyone who would dare disturb him and his studies. 

"'Mione, the exams are ages away."

"Ten weeks," Hermione snapped. "That's not ages, that's like a second to Nicolas Flamel."

"But we're not six hundred years old," Ron reminded her. "Anyway, what are you studying for, you already know it all by heart."

"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 seemed to be thinking along the same lines as Hermione. They piled so much homework on them that the Easter holidays weren't nearly as much fun as the Christmas ones, and none of them went home.

Harry

The older ones were even more stressed out. They had stopped going to Hogsmeade, and they spent all their time hanging in the library these days. Fred and George, who had taken only two subjects - Divination and Care - had more free time than the others, and still played pranks in the common room sometimes to ease the pressure. Cedric had taken up Muggle Studies and Care. Even Adrian didn't have much: only Runes and Arithmany. Harry, and Jéricho, however, had taken four electives each, and were going spare.

Both had taken up Ancient Runes, Arithmancy, and Ancient Studies along with Sera. For the fourth, Harry had Care of Magical Creatures, while Jéricho had Muggle Studies. Sera wasn't far behind, with her separate Healing Apprenticeship with Madam Pompfrey, who had taken her up last year.

Oh, and Harry was rubbish at Arithmancy.

"I'll never remember this," Adrian burst out one afternoon, throwing down his quill and looking longingly out of the library window. It was the first really fine day they'd had in months. The sky was a clear, forget-me-not blue, and there was a feeling in the air of summer coming.

Harry didn't look up until he heard Jéricho say, "Hagrid! What are you doing in the library?"

Hagrid shuffled into view, hiding something behind his back. He looked very out of place in his moleskin overcoat.

"Jus' lookin'," he said, in a shifty voice that got their interest at once. "What are you doing?"

"Skinning Mrs. Norries." Adrian bit back sarcastically.

Cedric sighed heavily. "Studying for exams, Hagrid."

"See you later, then," Harry said, and Hagrid shuffled off.

As soon as he was out of earshot, Sera rounded on Adrian. "You shouldn't snap at him. He means well."

"Sure, he's just dumb." Adrian snarked.

Sera just went back to her book with a frustrated grunt. Adrian was getting very edgy day by day, even more so than Jéricho. No point in arguing.

"What was he hiding behind his back?" Jéricho mused thoughtfully.

Harry hummed. "Do you think it had anything to do with the Stone?"

"I'm going to see what section he was in," Cedric stood up and left. He came back a minute later with a pile of books in his arms and slammed them down on the table.

"Dragons!" he whispered. "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 first time I ever met him, " said Harry.

"But it's against our laws," Adrian frowned. "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."

"But there aren't many wild dragons in Britain?" Harry asked.

Sera clucked. "Of course there are. Common Welsh Green and Hebridean Blacks, for example. Not as many as in Romania, obviously."

Cedric nodded along. "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?" Adrian wondered loudly.

When they knocked on the door of the gamekeeper's hut that evening, taking a quick break to keep their brains from exploding, they were surprised to see that all the curtains were closed. Hagrid called "Who is it?" before he let them in, and then shut the door quickly behind him.

It was stifling hot inside. Even though it was such a warm day, there was a blazing fire in the grate. Hagrid made them tea and offered them stoat sandwiches, which they refused.

"So - what yeh doin' here?"

Jéricho shrugged, "We came here to visit."

"And because we needed a break," Sera added.

Harry leaned forward. "Also, what were you doing with books about dragons today?"

Hagrid blushed, and mumbled something incoherent. "What-?" 

"Hagrid, can we have a window open? I'm boiling." Adrian abruptly said.

"Can't, sorry," said Hagrid. Harry noticed him glance at the fire, and looked at it, too. "Hagrid - what's that?"

But he already knew what it was. In the very heart of the fire, underneath the kettle, was a huge, black egg.

"Ah," said Hagrid, fiddling nervously with his beard, "That's er..."

"Where did you get it, Hagrid?" said Cedric, crouching over the fire to get a closer look at the egg. "It must've cost you a fortune."

"Won it," said 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."

"But what are you going to do with it when it's hatched?" Adrian frowned.

"Well, I've bin doin' some readin' , said 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 I 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."

He seemed very pleased with himself, but the others weren't. Sera frowned at him disapprovingly. "Hagrid, you live in a wooden hut."

But Hagrid wasn't listening. He was humming merrily as he stoked the fire.

So now they had something else to worry about: what might happen to Hagrid if anyone found out he was hiding an illegal dragon in his hut.

"Wonder what it's like to have a peaceful life," Adrian sighed dramatically, as evening after evening they struggled through all the extra homework they were getting. It was driving them nuts.

Then, one breakfast time, Harry received another note from Hagrid. He had written only two words: It's hatching.

"What's that?" Charles curiously asked as he tried to lean forward to read it. Harry quickly hid it out of sight. "Nothing."

They all agreed to run down to Hagrid's with the other two during the morning break, with Cedric and Jéricho skipping Muggle Studies. When the bell sounded from the castle at the end of their lessons, they all met up and hurried through the grounds to the edge of the forest. Hagrid greeted them, looking flushed and excited.

"It's nearly out." He ushered them inside.

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. They all drew their 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; Harry thought 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, 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. It snapped at his fingers, showing pointed fangs.

"Bless him, look, he knows his mommy!" said Hagrid.

"Hagrid," Sera cautioned, "how fast do Norwegian Ridgebacks grow, exactly?"

Hagrid was about to answer when the color suddenly drained from his face -- he leaped to his feet and ran 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 bolted to the door and looked out. Even at a distance, there was no mistaking him.

Malfoy had seen the dragon.

Something about the smile lurking on Malfoy's face during the next week made Harry and the others quite nervous. Adrian had tried talking to him, but he had skillfully evaded him. They spent most of their free time in Hagrid's darkened hut, trying to reason with him.

"Just let him go," Harry urged. "Set him free."

"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 knows me now, watch. Norbert! Norbert! Where's Mommy?"

"He's lost his marbles," Adrian muttered in Harry's ear.

Cedric cleared his throat loudly. "Hagrid, 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."

Harry suddenly turned to Jéricho. "Charlie,"

"You're losing it, too," he groaned. "I'm Jéricho, remember?"

"No - Charlie - the Weasley brother. In Romania. Studying dragons. We could send Norbert to him. Charlie can take care of him and then put him back in the wild!"

"I'm the closest to him; I'll write telling him everything." Cedric nodded. "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 in the library, all of them were sitting there completing their homework. Suddenly, Cedric appeared out of nowhere. 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 hissed, showing them his hand, which was wrapped in a bloody handkerchief. "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. It bit me he told me off for frightening it. And when I left, he was singing it a lullaby."

So, Cedric had to go to the Hospital Wing. 

The next day at breakfast, when they were all eating together at the Ravenclaw table, they received Charlie's reply.

Dear Ced,

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. The 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 looked at one another.

"We've got the invisibility cloak," said Harry. "It shouldn't be too difficult -- I think the cloak's big enough to cover two of us and Norbert. Jéricho, you'll join me."

It was a mark of how bad the last week had been that he agreed with him. Anything to get rid of Norbert - and Malfoy, who was becoming a pain in the ass by now.

There was a hitch, though. Adrian came running to them when they were relaxing in the grounds with bad news.

"I was just in the hospital visiting Cedric," he panted, "and it seems that Malfoy, the ferret, was hiding there. Heard everything and made a few threats. He's an idiot not belonging in Slytherin, I tell you. Played his trump card too soon, and spilled all his plans. Amateur. He could still be a threat if he tells on us, though." 

"It's too late to change the plan now," Harry said. "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 the invisibility cloak, Malfoy doesn't know about that."

He found Fang, the boarhound, sitting outside with a bandaged tail when Harry 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 he 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 walked back to the castle feeling Saturday couldn't come quickly enough.

Harry borrowed the cloak from Charles that night, who gave it over, looking very suspicious.

Jéricho and Harry might have felt sorry for Hagrid when the time came for him to say goodbye to Norbert, if they hadn't been so worried about what they had to do. It was a very dark, cloudy night, and they were a bit late arriving at Hagrid's hut because they'd had to wait for Peeves to get out of their way in the entrance hall, where he'd been playing tennis against the wall. Hagrid had Norbert packed and ready in a large crate.

"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 to Harry as though the teddy was having his head torn off.

"Bye-bye, Norbert!" Hagrid sobbed, as they covered the crate with the invisibility cloak and stepped underneath it themselves. "Mommy will never forget you!"

How they managed to get the crate back up to the castle, they never knew. Midnight ticked nearer as they heaved Norbert up the marble staircase in the entrance hall and along the dark corridors. Up another staircase, then another -- even short-cuts and passages didn't make the work much easier.

"Nearly there!" Harry panted as they reached the corridor beneath the tallest tower.

Then a sudden movement ahead of them made them almost drop the crate. 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 Malfoy and Charles by their ears.

"Detention!" she shouted. "And twenty points from Gryffindor and Slytherin! Wandering around in the middle of the night, how dare you --"

"You don't understand, Professor." Draco wailed. "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!"

The steep spiral staircase up to the top of the tower seemed the easiest thing in the world after that. Harry couldn't stop wondering why Charles was out; it was impossible for him to be in a conspiracy with Draco against his own brother. Not until they'd stepped out into the cold night air did they throw off the cloak, glad to be able to breathe properly again.

Wondering about Charles, they waited, Norbert thrashing about in his crate. About ten minutes later, four broomsticks came swooping down out of the darkness.

Charlie's friends were a cheery lot. They showed Harry and Jéricho the harness they'd rigged up, so they could suspend Norbert between them. They all helped buckle Norbert safely into it and then they all shook hands.

At last, Norbert was gone.

They slipped back down the spiral staircase, their hearts as light as their hands, now that Norbert was off them. No more dragon - Malfoy in detention - what could spoil their happiness?

The answer to that was waiting at the foot of the stairs. As they stepped into the corridor, Filch's face loomed suddenly out of the darkness.

"Well, well, well," he whispered, "we are in trouble."

They'd left the invisibility cloak on top of the tower.