Perfect Plans Going Up in Smoke
By the time Eostre rolled around, the second term saw the trio fall into a comfortable rhythm of new friends, new information, and comfort in a school that was quickly becoming a home.
Even with Harry still sometimes having nightmares, and creeping into Ron’s room every other week so he can actually get some sleep.
Even with Harry getting headaches during DADA, Quirrell being squirrelly, and the mystery of the stone underneath Fluffy.
They thought, of course, that those last three points were all part of the same issue.
It wasn’t even February before Harry had finally convinced Hagrid that he had no wish to dip beneath the trapdoor under Fluffy, and Hagrid couldn’t turn down the sheepish smile Harry shot him. Soon enough, Harry was sneaking into the room on the third corridor and helping Hagrid feed the dog.
Which soon led to Harry, after Fluffy had gotten used to him, sneaking in just to play with the dog. Bringing, of course, his notebook that he used to take notes about things to research.
Other days, he would set up shop at an alcove overlooking the central hall with Pansy, people watching and learning some of the basics of who’s who in wizarding politics.
He was also pulled aside by Marcus and Flick one evening, showing up in the New Blood classroom to set him down, going into an overwhelming description of the Light vs Dark political world, and why, even before the Dark Lord came into power, the two sides were at odds. How the Dark weren’t necessarily all Blood Purists, but the Heritage Purebloods still catered to the old family names, maintaining wix culture. The Light didn’t seem to care about the rituals and holidays of tradition, and followed at the heels of Dumbledore, who was a halfblood with no ties to the culture he was such a figurehead in.
There was also a brief discussion of the lost middle ground, the Grey, the mediators between the Light and Dark, that fell to obscurity when those in power lost their patience, and how the divide between the other sides had gotten so much worse.
Suddenly, Daphne and Draco’s power plays as heirs to well-known Dark families made a lot more sense.
One of the twins had slipped Ron a flier for a school-wide chess tournament with a monetary prize. Ron started practicing near daily with anyone who wasn’t participating, hopping between common rooms like one of the school cats that didn’t consider anywhere a home. He ended up hanging out more often than not with Susan Bones (and her shadow Hannah Abbott), playing chess and debating about the Wizengamot, about how they’ll change it once they get old enough to get jobs.
Hermione had followed Ron into the Ravenclaw common room one evening, and hadn’t left until a tired prefect had to walk her back to the dungeons after curfew. Anthony Goldstein and a hoard of debating first year Claws waved after her. She either spent her evenings in their tower, arguing with Theo Nott in the Slytherin Library, or framing research for the Newbloods Club with Justin in the Nook.
Her proudest achievement so far in the year wasn’t any mark on an assignment. It was getting Theo Nott to sit down at the Gryffindor table as he was too engaged in a discussion on the use of plants in rituals with Neville and Justin, a Gryffindor and a first-gen.
Ron and Harry were just glad they weren’t bearing the brunt of her focus on academics.
For now.
Hermione had left lunch early one Saturday in March, dragging a laughing Justin from the neutral ground of the Hufflepuff table to the Nook, seemingly to argue about something Professor Flitwick had mentioned about wandlore and how significant a difference using your wand could make.
Harry just shrugged as they went. “If they haven’t figured it out by the time we finish, I’ll just send a quick owl to Garrick, I’m sure he’ll be more than happy to share some advice, or at least some book references.”
Theo leaned over. “But why are they even arguing about this? They both have wands that chose them. What else do they need to know?”
“Justin made the mistake of asking if forcing your magic through a different wand would manipulate your magic.” Ron took a bite and barely finished swallowing before continuing. “Now they’re trying to figure out if they can make a wand perfectly designed to someone’s magical signature, or if they can make a wand that would work with any caster.”
Neville squirmed in his seat. “Uh… That’s really a thing? The wand choosing the wizard? It’s not just Ollivander’s schtick?”
Theo shrugged. “That’s what everyone says. Didn’t you ever use your grandmother’s wand growing up? And then you got your own, and it felt so much easier?”
“Um. Well… This wand isn’t exactly… mine. It’s my da’s. My gran thinks it’s a privilege to carry his wand.”
Ron’s fork fell to the table, and Theo was leaning forward to stare at Neville.
“But, did it choose you mate? Did you even go to Ollivander’s?”
“I dunno, Ron, what does choosing me even mean?”
Theo placed his head in his hands. “Look, Longbottom, for the sake of not having another Finnegan around, we need to get you fitted for a wand, or at least make sure your father’s wand isn’t going to blow up on you. I’ve heard stories about adults trying to force their magic through a random wand, and it doesn’t well. It’s like a dam trying to flow through a hole the size of a sickle.”
“I’ll write Garrick. Maybe if you come visit me in Diagon this summer without your gran, Nev, we can see what he thinks about things.” Harry sighed and stretched. “If I’m going to write this letter, I’d better go see what Mione and Justin are talking about. If I can at least get Garrick some notes about it, it’ll make things easier in the long run.”
They finished dinner, getting promises out of Hannah and Susan to catch up with them in the Nook later. Soon enough, Ron, Neville, Theo, and Harry walked into the Nook to see Justin surrounded by books, and Hermione writing on one of the movable chalkboards they had found and commandeered.
“Blimey, Mione. Already?”
The boys looked up to a blushing but stubborn Hermione, still in the process of writing her study guide for finals on the board for them all.
“Never too early to start!” Justin piped up from the table.
The others sighed, but each dutifully pulled out a scroll to take notes on when they were expected to study what.
Hermione’s smile made up for the added weight of studying for finals in March.
Once April hit, the warm weather drew them out of the castle and back into the sunshine of the slowly awakening grounds. The Nook’s windows could open, allowing a cool breeze to flow through the room, but more often than not, the ragtag group of Harry’s first years could be found sprawled in beams of sunlight, like a clowder of cats chasing the heat.
It also meant that Harry disappeared into the Forest more often, chatting goodheartedly with the grumpy old CoMC professor when Marcus wasn’t dragging him to the Quidditch field. The smile he wore more often than not kept his friends in a similarly good mood, and things seemed to be quiet, as Justin remarked one morning as they took the long way to their next class.
At the word quiet, almost every other person stopped and stared at him.
“What?” His eyes flickered between each of them.
“Circe, Finch-Fletchley, don’t you know anything about tempting the fates?” Pansy sneered as she started rummaging through her bag.
Harry had smacked his face. “Justin, seriously. Don’t you know how police or hospitals make a point to avoid that word? We were doing so well…”
“But… that’s ridiculous.” He turned to Hermione and Theo. “Right? I mean, superstition is one thing, but to assume that saying it’s been quiet sets off a jinx—”
“Again?”
“Seriously, mate?”
“Shut up!”
“Why would you say it twice?”
“Justin, look.” Hermione pulled him forward, the others following. “Is it so hard to believe that something like that could be real? We can cast actual jinxes.”
Theo laughed. “Says the witch who refuses to believe in Divination even though that’s an actual class taught at one of the best wixen schools in the world.”
Justin groaned as Hermione’s curls smacked his face while she turned back to where Theo was now hiding behind Pansy. “No one asked you, Nott. And since you’re not contributing anything useful to the conversation, feel free to shut up.”
Pansy laughed as Theo ducked behind Neville next, trying to avoid Hermione’s glare.
“Okay, so we talked about using someone else’s wand. Is the power of a spell diminished if you use your non-dominant hand?”
There was a collective groan as Hermione turned to face Susan. “What a good question, Susan. And one that we can actually figure out.”
She turned back forward, taking the steps to the Nook two at a time.
Harry immediately turned to Theo. “Please say that’s not dangerous to research.”
At the boy’s wild shrug, there was another groan.
“We should probably at least ask Snape. Owling Ollivander might take too long.”
They ran to catch up with Hermione, who didn’t notice Theo taking the steps down towards the Potions corridor.
One Friday afternoon, towards the end of April, Harry bounced up to Hagrid as usual.
“Heya, Hagrid. Ready to feed Fluffy?”
“Er… Right. About that. Say, Harry, how about yeh feed Fluffy by yerself today? Just go by the kitchen and ask fer his usual.”
Ron and Hermione paused on their way to the Hufflepuff common room.
Harry fought off the expression of concern from showing on his face. “Oh. You don’t want to go with me? Sure, I can do it.”
"Nah, I know yeh can do it. I just have some… other things I need to do, and wouldn’t want Fluffy missin’ out on lunch.”
“If you’re sure. I don’t mind. Everything okay? Anything I can help with?”
“No, no. You just go’n feed Fluffy, ‘member to keep an eye out.”
“Okay. Later, Hagrid!” Harry grinned and waved as the towering man headed towards the central hall and not back towards his cabin.
As soon as his frame was out of view, Harry’s grin dropped and he turned to his friends. “Okay, we need someone on him immediately.”
Ron laughed even as he started looking back towards the Great Hall for lunch stragglers. “You sound like some mastermind Auror from one of Hermione’s mystery novels, mate.”
“They’re called cops in the muggle world, Ron. But I agree. That was weird.” Hermione worried at her lip. “It’s not like him to just walk off like that, and he was clearly lying about something.”
“Oi! Goldstein!” Ron called over to a handful of Ravenclaws that were bent over an open book as they walked.
The boy peeled away from his housemates. “Hey, all, how are things?”
“Anthony! Want to do us a favor?” Harry threw an arm over the shoulders of his favorite Ravenclaw, even as said Claw narrowed his eyes with goodhearted suspicion.
Harry was still wiping the slobber off of his hands when he walked into the Nook an hour later. Ron and Hermione were nowhere to be found, but Anthony was nearly hidden behind a tower of books on the table.
“Hey, mate. How was dog duty?”
“I get that three heads mean three times the drool, but I still think that dog needs to get his salivary glands examined.” Harry stretched.
“Can’t believe you willingly go play with it, let alone feed it. Letting that thing anywhere near my hands… No thanks.”
“He’s fine once he’s used to you. So, how was Hagrid watch?”
Anthony laughed. “I’m not sure you want to know. Well, no, Hadrian, you’ll definitely want to know. But the others are going to go insane over this.”
Harry pulled a chair out on the other side of the table. “Well, now you have to tell me.”
“Hagrid ended up at the library. Which was great for me because I need to check out a few things. Anyways, I didn’t see which specific books he grabbed, but the section he was in was telling, to say the least.”
“And?”
“He was looking at books concerning the hatching and rearing of dragon eggs.”
“Dragon eggs?” Ron and Hermione both simultaneously groaned from the doorway.
Ron groaned. “I’m blaming Justin for this. Tempting the fates and whatnot.”
“Harry, what do you plan to do if he actually has one?”
"I dunno, Mione, but hopefully any plans include holding a baby dragon.”
“He obviously doesn’t want anyone to know about it. How do you expect to get in the door long enough to even see the thing if it’s there?”
“Well, it’s clear none of the students are supposed to know about the stone. We’ll just talk about it loud enough that he’ll get nervous and pull us in.”
“Are you sure that’ll even work?”
“Shhh, you two. Look. He’s got the fire going.” Ron pointed towards the cabin, which had smoke billowing out of the chimney, and the curtains were pulled tight across the windows.
Hermione sighed. “That’s definitely not a good sign. Harry, stop bouncing for the love of Morgana.”
Harry just grabbed both of their hands. “C’mon!”
Seconds later they were at the door, Harry knocking fervently.
The door creaked open, and one of Hagrid’s beady eyes peered out. “What d’you three want?”
“We had something to ask you, about the stone. Can we come in?” Harry’s voice was sweet, even as the blood drained from Hagrid’s face.
They filed in, the door closing firmly behind them. “Why’re you asking about that stone? How d’you even know about it?” Hagrid nervously shifted in front of the fireplace as he stared them down.
“Hm? Oh. Nothing really. It’s the only thing Nicolas Flamel is really known for, not hard to figure out.” Harry ignored Hermione’s glare. “What we really had a question about is what I can only assume is keeping warm in the fire.”
“Harry, that was the worst example of Slytherin subtlety I’ve ever seen, and that’s after eight months of being around Malfoy.” Ron rubbed his eyes.
Hagrid shifted again. “I’m just making some tea. Nothing keeping warm sides the water.”
Hermione had quietly crept to the far side of the fire, while the boys kept Hagrid’s attention. “Then what’s a dragon egg doing in there?”
“Er… Well…” The giant let out a gust of air and moved to sit in his preferred armchair, Fang lurking behind it. “Alright. I won it off a bloke playing cards down in the village. Dunno if it’s real or not, but I ain’t riskin’ it dyin’ on me.”
Harry and Ron immediately were peering into the fire.
Harry grinned. “Norwegian Ridgeback. You can tell by the color and the ridges on the egg. Keeping it in the fire was smart, Hagrid, but make sure the egg stays moisturized, too. If it’s too dry, it will be hard for the baby to break out.”
“Wait, Norwegian Ridgeback? Hagrid, even if raising a dragon egg was legal in Scotland, having one from another country definitely wouldn’t be. It would be a danger to any wild dragons in the area.”
“Well, I wasn’t planning on lettin’ it loose, Ron.”
“It’s still illegal, Hagrid.”
Harry looked over to where Hermione was just staring at the egg. “You alright, Mione?”
She jolted. “Yes. I’m fine.” She sighed and pulled out her notepad and a pencil.
“What are you writing?”
“We’re in a wooden hut, Ronald. I’m writing Learn fireproofing charms.”
Hermione wiped her mouth with her napkin after she finished her lunch, the three friends unusually tucked away at the far end of the Slytherin table. “Look, we can’t wait around for Hagrid to tell the Headmaster. Who knows what could happen in the meantime.”
“I know. We need a plan before the egg hatches. And I have an idea. Ron, do you think Charlie could take some time off to come and visit his little brothers?”
“Uhh… I can write and ask, mate.”
“Good.” Harry scanned the faculty table.” “In the meantime, we need an adult who can be a little less biased about the situation. You two go ahead, I’ll meet you at Hagrid’s in a bit. Ron, write Charlie while you’re there. We can send it off with Hedwig after dinner.” He stood and jogged out of the room.
Hermione watched him go. “Do you think this is a decent plan that he’s created?”
Ron shrugged. “If it’s not, we can just smuggle the dragon up to the Astronomy tower in the middle of the night to Charlie and some of his friends and they can fly him back to Romania.”
She laughed. “Yeah, because that’s a much better plan.”
Harry left the door open as he sprinted outside. “Professor!”
Kettleburn winced as he turned on his heel. “Mr. Potter. It’s been a while since I’ve seen you outside of classes you aren’t on the roster for.”
Harry grinned as he caught his breath. “I had a question.”
“I’ll always answer your questions as best I can, you know that, lad.”
“Right. This is slightly different than my usual questions, though.” Harry took a breath. “Sir, let’s say that a mutual friend of ours has somehow obtained something that may be illegal and detrimental to his safety.”
The professor slapped his face with his one good hand. “What’s Rubeus done now?”
Harry stifled a laugh. “If it makes you feel better, we have a plan to safely… mollify the issue.”
Kettleburn groaned and gestured towards cabin on the edge of the forest, which was merrily smoking away, even with the heat of late spring.
Harry winced but followed along. “We have a contact in the dragon reserve in Romania. He’s agreed to come with a few friends and collect the hatchling. Norwegian Ridgeback, otherwise we’d try for the reserve up north here in Scotland.”
The man groaned again. “How in the blazes did Rubeus get a hold of a dragon hatchling?”
“It’s not hatched yet. I, personally, would appreciate you allowing us to enact our plan after it does so. For Hagrid’s sake, so he can have some closure.”
Kettleburn laughed. “Ah, and not for you at all, lad? Not eager to meet a newly hatched dragon?”
Harry grinned back. “Of course, I would appreciate the chance, but I can guarantee it won’t be the last time I’ll have it.”
Kettleburn reached over to ruffle Harry’s hair, which after months of sneaking into his class, Harry was able to tolerate with a small smile.
They met Ron and Hermione on the path outside the cabin, and after they wilted at Kettleburn’s gaze, they filed in to see the egg.
The next two weeks were thankfully slow. The egg didn’t seem close to hatching, and after Hagrid got over the embarrassment of Kettleburn knowing about it, he was actually relieved to have another adult in on the secret.
The trio were just happy that they could put in two more weeks of homework and studying before the next thing happened.
Ron sighed when Hedwig settled on the breakfast table one morning with a hastily scrawled note in a talon. “Guess our quiet life is over.”
It’s hatching.
As soon as Herbology was over that day, the three ducked out the back door of the greenhouses and jogged down to the cabin down the hill.
None of them had seen the suspicious narrowing of grey eyes watching their departure.
“Hermione, I think the fireproofing would do more good on the inside of the cabin.”
“You say that now, Ron, but I’ve been reading on Norwegian Ridgebacks, and they grow exceptionally fast, and it won’t be long until the blasted thing won’t fit inside of the cabin.”
“Maybe, but by that time, it will be halfway to Romania.”
“If you two are done bickering, I have a baby dragon to meet.” Harry left his friends outside of the cabin and ducked inside. “Hagrid, it’s time?”
The giant grabbed Harry’s shoulder and pulled him into a hug. “It started cracklin’ just ‘fore sunrise. Only a few visible cracks yet.”
“This is going to be amazing.” Harry pulled away from Hagrid and settled directly in front of the egg on the table, pulling out his notebook and pencil diligently. “Mione, would one of your fireproofing charms work on my notebook?”
Hermione sighed as she and Ron slipped through the door. “Might as well try.”
They chatted for a while, Harry only half listening as he took notes on the deepening cracks on the egg.
Ron was in the middle of telling Hagrid about his brother’s first dragon encounter after getting the job when Harry suddenly tilted his head and held up a hand. "Do you guys hear that?”
All of a sudden, the cracks in the egg started to break apart. A sputtering hissing noise came from the largest crack, where pieces of the shell had fallen to the table. A snout shoved through the hole and snorted. Another second and the egg had split into pieces. Its black body tripped out of the shell and fell onto its back, slipping in the membrane. Its wings, huge in comparison to its tiny body, spread across the table, nearly knocking into Harry’s journal.
Harry was enraptured as he met the bright orange eyes of the hatchling. It kept looking around between all of the people staring down at it until it finally sneezed sparks from its long snout.
“Look at him! Isn’t he beautiful?” Hagrid extended a hand to stroke the dragon’s belly, laughing as it snapped at his fingers.
Harry was laughing alongside as he started scribbling line after line of notes, drawings of the egg and the hatchling’s ratios.
The smile fell from his face when he saw movement from the corner of his eye and looked up to lock eyes with his awestruck cousin.
Malfoy had seen the dragon.
All it took was one smirk from Draco the next day to set Harry off. About a week later, they had just gotten back from trying to talk Hagrid into at least telling Professor Dumbledore (if he didn’t, Kettleburn would) about the dragon (he named it Norbert, of all things, but Harry wasn’t convinced it was a boy dragon), and Malfoy watched them walk through the common room with a smug, superior grin.
Malfoy’s drawl echoed through the common room, which was mostly empty, just a few upper years still studying, and the few first years who didn’t have homework and were relaxing. “Hope you enjoyed yet another visit to the oaf, Potter. I doubt he’ll be there for too much longer, once certain… things come to light.”
Harry froze in his tracks, halfway through an appeal to stop Hermione from just telling the headmaster without Hagrid’s agreement. Hermione and Ron both sighed from behind him, but made no effort to stop him. Harry turned slowly, making his way through the couches and tables until he was standing in front of Draco, who was sitting in an armchair next to the fireplace, near Pansy and Blaise, who were ignoring him.
“Something to say, Malfoy?” Harry’s voice was low and smooth, and had Pansy and Blaise looking up with wide eyes. Malfoy, however, even after all of these months, didn’t pick up on the danger.
"I think we both know what I’m implying, Potter,” Malfoy chuckled as he stood, looking down at the smaller boy.
Harry nodded. “Indeed we do.” With barely a glance towards anyone else in the room, Harry grabbed Malfoy’s robes at his chest, pulled him away from the chair, and maneuvered him against the wall, inches away from the roaring fireplace. Malfoy’s breath left him with a solid oomph, and he gulped at the fury in Harry’s expression. Harry may have been a full head shorter than the other boy, but his magic began to leak from him as he looked up at fearful eyes, and there was no doubting who was in control of the situation.
“I’m going to give you one chance to prove to me that you are something more than a blubbering child, Draco. Now, I have already found a way for this all to go over without any of us getting into trouble. This is my first chance to study a newly hatched dragon, to start my research, which I would like to start immediately in order to be published before I get sucked into whatever war our parents didn’t finish those years ago. I decided the second week of school that my main goal from this world was to study its creatures, and if you ruin this for me, I swear to all you find holy that you will never have any power in this world that is so godsdamn important to you. I will use every scrap of influence I have as the bloody Boy-Who-Lived and the heir of Potter House to ensure that the Malfoy name falls to obscurity. That does not even include what I could do to you as the Heir of the Blacks. Do you understand?”
Draco looked past Harry’s intense glare and to the other first years. Pansy and Blaise were pretending not to watch, continuing looking down at their books with only an occasional worried glance up. Ron and Hermione, however, were snickering a few feet away, watching the interaction with mirth in their eyes. Any other student in the common room was watching quietly, just to see how it went.
Seeing no help from any quarter, Malfoy simply met Harry’s eyes and nodded. “Understood, Hadrian. I won’t interfere.”
Harry’s expression turned in the blink of an eye, going from a furious glare to a thrilled child with a flash, terrifying all three of the Slytherins not used to his madness. “Great. Glad we had this talk.” Harry righted Draco’s robes before clapping him on both shoulders. “Now, do you want to come when we go tomorrow? I know you are interested in them, and not just because of your name. I won’t tell your mother if you don’t.”
Ignoring Ron’s groan, Draco gulped again but nodded. “I would appreciate that.”
The next day, the trio waited outside the common room entrance until it opened to reveal an impeccably dressed Draco, pristine robes.
Ron just stared, a raised eyebrow aimed at the other boy’s outfit. “You know we’re going to a hut with a slobbery dog and a baby dragon, right?”
Draco looked down at his robes. “These are my casual robes, Weasley, excuse me for having been raised with a more refined fashion sense.”
Hermione put a hand on Ron’s arm to waylay any rebuttal, and they headed up towards the Great Hall. Draco settled beside them warily, especially when Harry’s entire arm and most of his head disappeared in his bag.
“Harry, who’s feeding Fluffy today?”
Harry pulled his head back out. “Hm? Oh, the house elves are going to just pop in some meat. I’ll check in before curfew and make sure he gets some playtime. I think he’s been feeling a little neglected since Hagrid’s been busy with Norbert.”
Malfoy’s wary look turned to shock. “Wait, Fluffy? That three-headed dog you threatened to feed me to? You play with the thing?”
“It’s just a dog, Draco. Don’t be such a snob. I know your father has a greyhound, Fluffy isn’t that much different.”
“Except for the fact that ‘Fluffy’ could eat my father’s dog in a single bite! And me!”
“Yeah, well, it’s all about knowing your limits and the strengths of the animals. Fluffy’s fine once you get to know him. Norbert, on the other hand…” Harry trailed off as they approached the cabin.
Fang ran up to greet them, wagging his tail with a soft whine.
Hagrid gave Malfoy a terrified look, but after Harry clapped him on the shoulder and introduced him as his cousin, they were allowed in through the door.
“Norbert’s already gettin’ to a tricky stage, but nothin’ I can’t handle.”
“Great! Professor Kettleburn is coming to visit after his classes, and we’re all set for Saturday night. Are you sure you’re going to be able to say goodbye to Norbert by then?”
Hagrid let out a watery sigh. “Suppose I’ll have to. Charlie’s a good lad, and he said he’ll let me come and visit him when he gets settled in the new space.”
Ron reached up to pat Hagrid’s shaking shoulder.
The Nook was bursting with both laughter and incredulity.
“Hadrian, how did you find two extremely rare species of animals in less than eight months?”
“Wait, Charlie’s coming? Wicked.”
“I hope you aren’t planning on building a menagerie until after we graduate, Potter.”
“Malfoy knew before we did? That’s so not fair.”
“If you weren’t you, Hadrian, I’d wonder how in Merlin’s name you were able to convince Kettleburn to help.”
“Draco followed us. Next time, take a similar imitative.”
“Thanks for waiting until after it hatched to tell us.”
“Please tell me he was still wearing his fancy pureblood Malfoy robes.”
Marcus waited until after the general ruckus had calmed before speaking up. “Okay, so the thing hatched. You got Kettleburn to make sure everyone’s looking the other way. One of the endless Weasley clan is coming to smuggle it across country borders. But how are you going to get it from Hagrid’s cabin to the illegal Weasley?”
Harry grinned. “How do you think?”
The group groaned.
“I hope you’re not expecting us to help, Hadrian. I’m not getting caught dead in that Forest, especially smuggling an illegal dragon to people who aren’t supposed to be on campus.”
“It’s smart, you can sneak out the back of the cabin right to the edge of the woods.”
“As long as they avoid the centaurs, they should be fine.”
“That cloak of his should help, that’s for sure.”
“Why do the three of you need to be involved in the handoff anyways? Hagrid’s allowed to be there, why can’t he just walk the blasted thing in?”
“You think Hadrian’s going to miss a semi-sanctioned trip into the forest?”
"Or his chance to meet the animal-obsessed version of Ron?”
“We’ll come too. We have something to ask Charlie, we don’t mind keeping a lookout for you.”
Hermione eyed Fred. “Fine, but if something goes wrong, it’s everyone for themselves. Don’t expect us to wait for you if we get seen by Filch or another professor on the way out or back in.”
“Same goes for you. Don’t expect us to help you ickle little firsties disappear back into the snake nest if we get caught.”
Harry grinned at Ron’s brothers. “Believe me. We won’t need your help.”
Saturday was a mixture of excitement and sadness. While Harry, in particular, was joining Hagrid in the I can’t believe we have to let Norbert go camp, everyone was also eager to get the dragon away from Hogwarts, and to see Charlie.
Draco had promised that he would stay in the common room for the entire night, and Theo and Pansy swore they would keep an eye on him, and, if necessary, a Petrificus Totalus.
After dinner, the three ducked out of a side door to leave the castle, heading towards the cabin.
“I’ll tell you one thing I’ll be grateful for after this. Not having to take this walk every single day.” Ron grumbled as he blinked in the sunlight. “I need a nap.”
Hermione wrapped her arm around his. “You can nap all day tomorrow, I promise. As long as you finished your assignments… You did finish your work, right?”
The boys laughed as they knocked on Hagrid’s door.
By eleven-thirty, Hagrid had coaxed Norbert into a cage that Hermione immediately coated in fireproofing charms and a basic sleeping charm. Hagrid sobbed as Harry covered them all in his invisibility cloak, Hermione cast a levitation charm, and Ron opened the back door, the three filing out, the cage between them.
As soon as the cabin was out of sight, Harry whipped off the cloak, and George waved from a few trees deep in the Forest. “Oi, over here!”
The trio crept into the woods to find George, Fred… and an extremely pale Neville.
“I can’t believe you let him come.”
“Leave off, Mione, it’s Nev’s choice, he wanted to come. Don’t act like the twins have any right to stop him.”
“Yeah, Granger, leave off. He wanted a taste of adventure. Here he is.”
“He won’t need adventure once his grandmother hears about this. He’ll need a safe house.”
“L-let me worry about Gran, Hermione. You w-worry about that d-dragon not setting the forest on f-fire.”
“Can we all be quiet, please? Neville is out here, that’s not going to change. It’s almost midnight, and we don’t want to alert anything that we’re here before Charlie can grab Norbert. C’mon, the clearing is this way.”
Harry led the group to a clearing that was generally used for Hagrid to talk to the centaurs. Harry and Hagrid had hoped that if any centaurs were around that night, the fact that they were children and attempting to rid the forest of a dangerous creature would give them safe passage.
Neville and Hermione elected to keep to the trees, keeping a lookout on either side. Harry and the Weasleys settled in the center of the clearing, eyes searching the skies.
Harry’s muggle watch sounded for midnight just as four blots in the clouds began getting bigger.
Hermione fumed the entire time she watched the Weasleys interact. Charlie was more than happy to meet all of Ron’s friends, asking before giving each of them a hug.
“It’s nice to meet you two, Mum’s been going off nonstop in her letters about how I’ve gained a couple extra rugrats as little siblings. Even said I gotta make a trip down to the Burrow this summer to meet you properly over dinner. Probably won’t tell her that I’ve already met you.”
His friends were all cool, ruffling everyone’s hair over being ‘troublemakers’ and inviting them all to visit the dragon preserve.
None of them looked twice at Harry’s scar.
It wasn’t until the twins handed their brother something and swapped mischievous grins that Hermione’s frown turned into a cloud of anger.
As soon as the brooms were back in the air, the cage somehow attached between them (“We do this all the time, kiddo. When they’re young like this is the best time to transport them if they need to go to a new home. Say, Potter, you’re an animal fanatic, wanna learn a containment spell?”), Hermione turned to the twins. At her glare, they grinned, and she scowled and set off for the edge of the forest.
The twins shrugged when Ron and Harry gave them a questioning look, then started to follow, Neville stumbling to catch up.
“Well, Nev, was that as exciting as you hoped?” Ron threw an arm over the Gryffindor’s shoulders.
“A-ask me after we’re o-out of the forest.”
“Fair enough.”
Harry focused on keeping up with Hermione. “You know that’s just how they are. Fool-headed Gryffindors.”
Hermione took a deep breath. “I know. I’m sorry.” She reached out and laced their fingers together, pulling his hand close to her. “Thank Hecate we didn’t end up there, who knows how we would have turned out.”
Harry smiled, squeezing her hand. “Well, we’re still turning out. Maybe we’ll end up just as pigheaded.”
“Hadrian James, bite your tongue.”
They laughed, walking leisurely towards the castle.
A snap of a tree branch made them freeze. They looked around, and when the twins, Ron, and Neville all shook their heads, Harry took a deep breath. “Okay,” he whispered, his voice barely carrying to the others. “On three, we all split up. Don’t be a dick rule applies.” At everyone’s agreeing nod, he squeezed Hermione’s hand again. “One… two… Three.”
There was a flurry of movement as they all sprinted towards the castle, each taking a few yards of space away from any others as they went.
A man’s voice yelled after them. “Hey! Get back here! Shit!”
They broke free of the tree’s edge. The twins and Neville immediately headed back towards the castle. Harry cursed and ducked behind the pile of chopped wood that Hagrid a bit away from his hut. He couldn’t see Ron or Hermione.
Filch emerged from the woods, hobbling on his bum leg towards the streaks of red running to the castle. One of the other professors, one Harry didn’t recognize, followed after him at slower pace.
Harry collapsed on the ground, breathing heavily. He lost all of his progress catching his breath when Ron’s head peaked over the logs.
“Merlin, Ron, give a bloke some warning!”
“Sorry, mate. Mione pulled back and is back in the Forest. You good? Let’s go.”
Harry nodded and grabbed Ron’s outstretched hand. Harry reached towards his bag to pull out his invisibility cloak.
His bag that wasn’t at his side.
“Shit.”
Ron’s head whipped back as Hermione appeared out of the woods. “What’s up?”
“My bag. Must have dropped it in the Forest. Shit!”
“And the cloak…” Hermione sighed.
“Is in the bag,” the boys chorused as they turned to the castle.
The stones loomed above them, shadows playing in the corners of their eyes, the torches along walls flickering like mocking laughter.
The voice from behind them, however, chilled them more than the late-spring wind that swept through the trees.
“And what do we think we are doing?”
Harry screwed his eyes closed, only opening one when a particularly close shadow fell across his face. He peeked up at the figure that stared back down at him.
“Evening, Professor Snape, lovely night for a stroll, don’t you think?”