Rubeus Hagrid and the Brandy Baby Bottles
Hagrid was on his way down to the Hog's Head Inn, where he usually went for a few drinks. He had his own cup with him as usual. Hagrid was to others maybe not the cleanest of people but even he did not drink out of the dirty cups at the Hog's Head. He had a quite large cup that could really fit two drinks of a normal sized witch or wizard but Aberforth didn't charge extra. Hagrid had been going to the bar for a long time and got friendly discounts. Hagrid liked the Hog's Head because he didn't feel strange or weird as he normally did large portions of the day. The crowd that visited the Hog's Head were usually not the most common folk and to meet secretive strangers either hooded or charmed was part of a normal night at the pub. The pub was not the cleanest of places. Dust and dirt everywhere, the glasses weren't ever properly cleaned. The big Hog's Head with blood dripping from its jaws was disturbing to anyone who had not been to the pub before. The walls were tilted and the house looked like it could fall apart at any second.
"Good evenin'," Said Hagrid to the bar man "I'll jus' have the usual, thanks". The bar man simply nodded as Hagrid handed him his cup. Hagrid just smiled and waited for his drink. Hagrid sat down at a table by the window. This was his usual place and he rarely sat anywhere else.
"May I join you?" a hooded man approached the table.
"O' Course," said Hagrid. He didn't recognise the man but then again this wasn't the first time he had a few drinks with a stranger at the pub. The night went on as usual and Hagrid enjoyed the company of the strange bloke. He kept buying him drinks, usually a quick way to Hagrid's heart on evenings like this.
"Fancy a game of cards?" asked the man. "I'll buy you another drink".
"O yeh don' have ter do that. Can get me own drink ye see."
"Oh yes of course. Well let me play you for the next round."
"Now yer talkin', my kind o' game", said Hagrid now mumbling a bit as the drinks had gone to his head. Hagrid was not a very good gambler and had lost many games at the bar before, but his hopes were now higher than ever as the pub had become foggier than usual. To everyone's surprise Hagrid kept winning. The hooded stranger didn't seem too disappointed to be losing at all. On the contrary, he seemed happy to buy Hagrid drink after drink.
"So what kind of animals to you tend to at Hogwarts?", the hooded stranger asked Hagrid.
"Oh ye know, all kinds really. Hippogryphs, Fire Crabs, not to mention the creatures in the
dark forest. Gotta keep an eye on them. Oh and I've been hopin' to get my hands on some Flesh-Eatin' Slugs, that'd be a blast." said Hagrid excitedly.
"You must have a lot to do", said the hooded stranger, now seeming rather intrigued by the conversation.
"Ahh ye, well yeh know, Dumbledore trusts me with a lot of responsibilities." Hagrid replied.
"I bet he does. You know I might have something that could interest you. Don't ask me how I came across it because I won't tell you. But I might be willing to play you for it." The man took out something wrapped in an old cloth from his inside pocket of his robe. The man laid it on the table and revealed what was is inside. They didn't have to worry about people seeing, the pub had almost emptied as the hours were now quite late.
"Is that what I think it is?" Hagrid could barely contain himself.
"Yes it's a dragon egg. But don't get to excited I'm not gonna risk it going into the wrong hands. Not many wizards can care for a dragon." said the man.
"Ooh I can take care o' it. Don't you worry about that!, said Hagrid. "after Fluffy a dragon's gonna be easy."
"Fluffy?", the man asked
"Fluffy! He's a three headed dog he is. Got him a few years ago. Biggest dog you ever seen and he's got quite the temper I can promise ye that. But as I've always said, the trick with any beast is ye gotta know how to calm em' down." Hagrid continued.
"Three headed dog though, even you who's that big couldn't possibly calm such a big beast yourself", said the man.
"HA! couldn't I? Well o' course I can, ye just have to play him a bit o' music that's all. And he'll go straight to sleep!
"Really, music?" The man pleased by the tone of his voice. Nothing that Hagrid noticed of course.
"Well you seem fitted enough to care for the dragon. What do you say we'll play one last game for it.?" the man asked.
"Oh yes o' course!" Hagrid was now more excited than he had ever been.
The following game was not that exciting. The man didn't seem to make that much effort and was rather glad to get rid of the egg. The man left rather quickly after he had given the egg to Hagrid. Nothing that Hagrid took notice off of course. He was no totally captured and amazed by this wonderful egg. His dream come true.
"Time to go home old man" The bar man had already turned out most of the lights when he yelled at Hagrid.
"Ye ye, don' have ter ask me twice, I'll be out o' your hair.", Hagrid mumbled the words and the bar man just muttered in reply.
Hagrid was quite drunk and the walk home was a long one. He stumbled and stopped, talking to the egg and to himself the entire way there. He already loved the little dragon inside, naively and warm in the way only Hagrid could. When he finally got home he left the egg on the kitchen table and fell straight to sleep.
Hagrid woke up routinely grabbing his bucket of water, finishing it in in a few hefty gulps. He looked around the room to see how Fang was holding up, he noticed the huge black egg, and it all came back to him.
'O' course! D'yeh see this, Fang? Beautiful!' said Hagrid cheerfully to his Boarhound. "Our family is growin'. Gon' have a little baby here soon."
Hagrid grabbed his old copy of Fantastic Beasts and where to find them by Newt Scamander and found the section on different dragon breeds.
NORWEGIAN RIDGEBACK
The Norwegian Ridgeback resembles the Horntail in most respects, though instead of tail spikes it sports particularly prominent jet-black ridges along its back. Exceptionally aggressive to its own kind, the Ridgeback is nowadays one of the rarer dragon breeds. It has been known to attack most kinds of large land mammal and, unusually for a dragon, the Ridgeback will also feed on water-dwelling creatures. An unsubstantiated report alleges that a Ridgeback carried off a whale calf off the coast of Norway in 1802. Ridgeback eggs are black and the young develop fire-breathing abilities earlier than other breeds (at between one and three months).
'A black egg! a Norwegian Ridgeback this is!' He thought to himself excitedly.
He hurried away to the library and found three useful books about dragons, but he decided to borrow only one of them. Glad to have chosen Dragon Breeding for Pleasure and Profit, he left the other books untidily scattered by the shelf.
'Hagrid! What are you doing in the library?' He heard Ron ask behind him.
'Jus' lookin', He said, hiding the book behind his back.
The children started to ask questions about the Philosopher's Stone. Annoyed by their recklessness he invited them over later, hoping this would keep them from talking or asking more about it around all these other people.
The door chipped slightly as it shut behind him. He shuffled around his hut in excitement. Hagrid wasn't sure if he should be more worried or relieved to let the children know that his dream had come true. The excitement eventually made Hagrid tired.
He grumbled to himself, "perhaps a nap'll calm the nerves.." crashing his giant body into a bed that hadn't been made in weeks. Several hours later, he opened his eyes not knowing how long he was out. Worried that he had slept the day away, he rose from his bed and grabbed some sausage on the table to stop his stomach from rumbling.
He sat at his table, chewing his snack and occasionally drinking from his mug. His mind began to drift with thoughts of dragons in the skies. Playfully snapping at one another, flying through the skies above the hut. There was a knock at the door. Hagrid stood up, leaving his sausage on the table. Making his way towards the door, he remembered that he was expecting visitors. Hagrid opened the door and rushed the kids inside. Harry, Ron and Hermione glanced around the messy hut as they hurried in. The kids began to ask questions about the stone, but their attention shifted to the egg Harry noticed in the fire. They asked Hagrid about how he managed to get a hold of it. They wanted to know more about it and Hagrid told them what he knew, what to feed it and how to care for it. After all, he did read "Dragon breeding for pleasure and profit".
"Ye need to go, 'fore people start looking for ye" He didn't want anyone to get suspicious of them being away so long. The kids left and Hagrid let out a deep sigh as he shut the door behind them.
"Now, where was I?" he muttered to himself.
He turned the egg over in the fire and sat down beside it, staring into the fire he began to doze off in his chair. The crackles of the fire popped as he drifted away. There he was, standing outside the hut. He was looking up as his dragon flew above him letting out a friendly roar. The dragon landed beside him. Hagrid thought he looked hungry and quickly grabbed a dead rat and threw it to the dragon, petting his back as he swallowed his mid-day snack.
"Off ye go" he told his fire breathing friend. "Ye won't get another rat fer a couple a' hours." The dragon roared and made his way back to the top of the clouds.
A loud pop woke Hagrid out of his daydream, and he realized where he was. Still inside his hut with the egg in the fire. Realizing that he had much to do, he quickly got up and left his hut to work.
Several days later, after his daily routine of reading about dragons and doing the odd job here and there, he felt as if he'd done his weeks work and could focus on other things. Hagrid's stomach was rumbling, sounding almost like a lion purr. He drank some brandy as he gathered up his food to cook.
"Stew it is, I really should be lookin' after me 'self." he chuckled, shaking the table slightly. He chopped up the vegetables he had and threw them in a pot with some bits of meat. He then added his favourite spices and a bit of sugar. "There! This 'oughta do it."
He sat down and stared at the fire as he waited for his stew to boil. As Hagrid's eyes glossed over his dragon egg he noticed it shaking about.
"It's gonna hatch! It's about time, I say!" he yelled with excitement. " Better let the kids know.". He quickly scribbled "It's hatching." and called out for Hedwig, who quickly landed awaiting a note to deliver. Hagrid smiled and gave the owl his note, she quickly flapped her wings and was on his way to find Harry.
Hagrid put his hunger aside and moved the egg out of the fire, placing it on his table. The message should have reached Harry by now. Hagrid's mind raced as he imagined the many adventures they would soon have together.
Throwing sticks only to have them return charred to ash - teaching it to hunt - and when the dragon was fully grown, riding proudly on its back, exploring the places they've never seen before.
The kids were running, merely meters from the door, when Hagrid rushed outside to bring the kids inside.
"It's nearly out!"
They all huddled around the table as the egg shook and began to hatch. A small dragon crept out and sneezed, letting out some sparks. All their eyes were filled with awe. Hagrid suddenly saw movement in the curtains and rushed to the window. It was Malfoy, now running back towards the school. Easy to recognize. The kids had to go and Hagrid needed to keep his dragon safe from sight.
Harry, Hermione, and Ron left in a hurry, but, as annoying as he was, Hagrid was not going to let that Malfoy kid bother him now. His eyes started to fill up with tears looking at the new family member. Hagrid thought the hatchling was about to yawn, but instead it shot a hot puff of air at his face, sending the tears in his eyes along his cheeks and down into his beard Hagrid laughed "I understand little one, don' yeh worry abou' that! I'm not always this emotional. D'yeh s'ppose you'd like a first meal? I'm a bit hungry meself…", said Hagrid, and quickly got up, stepped over to the kitchen and prepared some of Norbert's food. He had named him after his father.
Hagrid sat in his hut watching the sleeping baby-dragon. Although it had not been entirely easy feeding that adorable playful little thing, Hagrid was pleased that he had prepared food for Norbert the moment he arrived. He wasn't sure if he was imagining it, but as they struggled with that first meal, he thought Norbert's breath was getting warmer and warmer… "Fang, don' let Norbert outta here… I 'ave to sort somethin' out" Hagrid said resolutely, realizing he was quite literally waking a sleeping dragon, he lowered his voice halfway through and silently backed out the door.
Hagrid was going to Hogsmeade. He went past Hog's Head Pub and seeing two of his regular weekend-friends, he nodded at them trying to look busy and like he was here on business — they got it, and instead of calling him in they just raised their cups and Hagrid continued down the main street. Soon he was approaching Dervish and Banges, it was sort of a magical hardware store, selling and repairing all sorts of magical instruments and things, without really slowing down he stepped inside. The shop-keeper greeted him with a big smile, looking intrigued to see what Hagrid came to her looking for today.
"Good day sir, what can I do for you?"
"G'day, err, well… I was hopin' to have some advice abou'… how can I..." Hagrid realized he hadn't really thought this through… "how one would go about… something." At this point Hagrid was getting really nervous and wasn't sure whether he made any sense at all.
"Oh, of course, this something, is it a big something, or a small something? I'm afraid I would have to know to give fitting advice here, friend. Also it depends on the fire, some flames are a bit harder to fend of than others, you know." She said, and winked at Hagrid. She had obviously guessed that Hagrid was a bit nervous about it all, but the way she said this calmed him, Hagrid sighed and explained.
"Well, a big somethin' needs proofing, and abou' the flames I reckon them to be of the tougher-to-fend-off kind, or at least they will be as he grows… I mean… anyway, I'd rather be safe than sorry, gimme the best yeh got."
Hagrid didn't stay calm for very long, as he followed the clerk down the aisle to the back, "to get some powerful anti-flame goo and lots of it for her favorite customer" as she had said, Hagrid saw a tabby cat sitting up on one of the shelves. It was looking straight at him in a way that made him very nervous, and sorry that he had failed to be more discrete.
He hurried home with what he had came for, but would it matter? If that cat was in fact who he thought it was, it was possible that Norbert was already gone. Professor McGonagall wasn't exactly keen on bending rules or looking the other way.
Hagrid barged into the hut, and saw Norbert sleeping in front of the fire…
"Gallopin' gorgons, there he is, me little baby" Hagrid sat down by the fire and sighed in relief… Fang barked and Hagrid could hear that he was upset. Hagrid looked up at him, not only did he realize now that the hut was completely trashed, Fang looked quite ruffled up as well. Hagrid tended to Fang and decided fire-proofing would have to wait for just a bit.
The next day, feeding Norbert was a little easier, Hagrid had left his moleskin gloves to soak in the giant "anti-flame-goo" container, and Norbert's breath no longer scorched his hands and fingers. Hagrid was sitting by the fire, ready for the young dragon to wake up hungry again any minute now. Norbert's big clear blue eyes opened in an instant, Hagrid, covering his eyes with his black round glasses, stood up and readied himself for what was slowly but steadily becoming his and little Norbert's routine. Leaping into the far corner of the hut, Norbert already had his eye on the price, or in this case: a bucket of brandy and chicken blood. Norbert looked ferociously at his dinner and violently rocketed himself at it. Hagrid did his best to hold the bucket in position for Norbert and as he dove down he let the bucket follow little Norbie onto the floor. The little dragon barely made a full stop before he shot himself up and into the opposite corner of the hut and readied for another go. The dragon needed three or four dives at the bucket to finish it time when Norbert decided he was full, he had something for the first time, he had laid down with his head on Hagrid lap just in front of the fire, purring like a cat, each purr adding to the already blazing heat. Hagrid loved every second and couldn't possibly avert his face away from the fire, looking down at his little Norbie as he fell asleep. But soon Hagrid had to get up and sneak out of the boiling hut, he stepped out into the cold air as soon as Norbert had closed his eyes.
Dragon Breeding for Pleasure and Profit recommended feeding a baby Norwegian Ridgeback a mixture of brandy and chicken blood every half hour, and Hagrid did what many new parents had done before him and for the next few days Norbert was sleeping and eating on a precisely kept schedule. Norbert did his part to stick to the schedule to say the least, waking ready for a new meal more or less precisely every half-hour during the day.
Ron, Harry, and Hermione came over to Hagrid's hut quite often, luckily they had managed to come when Norbie was sleepy, or already sleeping by the fire, and they had classes so they hadn't stayed long enough for him to wake up hungry yet. He noticed they tried to talk him into giving up Norbert, he brushed it off — he was responsible for Norbert, nothing they could understand. Also, when the kids came over was pretty much the only time Hagrid stopped to think, he got a few minutes to go over all of the practicalities of his new household in his head: he thought about when he had to get more firewood, he had to keep the fire burning intensely like Norbert liked it; he counted down the days until he had to re-stock on baby-brandy; and he thought about what out of all the things he had missed doing as gamekeeper would have priority if he did get a chance.
A week had passed, Hagrid thought his and Norbert's feeding routine was becoming like a perfect and well-practiced dance routine, nonetheless, he had started to worry about how well nurtured he could keep the no longer so little Norbie, who had grown three times in length this week alone. The kids were there with him and Norbert had just had his food when Hagrid's fear and what he was slowly realizing was spelled out to him.
"Give it two weeks and Norbert's going to be as long as your house. Malfoy could go to Dumbledore at any moment." Harry said bluntly.
"I – I know I can't keep him forever, but I can't jus' dump him, I can't". This was the first time Hagrid had really let the thought sink in, and now he had said it. He wasn't worried about Dumbledore or Malfoy, Norbert was his priority, also he was almost certain Minerva had overheard him at Dervish and Banges which meant that Malfoy must have already opened his little mouth and yet no one had stopped him. Basically this meant he had Dumbledore's permission, Hagrid thought. Norbert was growing awfully quick though, and Hagrid had been staying on top of his task so far, now he needed to deal with this too. Harry proposed writing to Ron's brother Charlie, who works with dragons in Europe, and ask him if he could take Norbert. After discussing the matter, making sure they'd mention all the specifics to Charlie, Hagrid went along with it...
"It's for yer own good Norbie, an' I'm not promisin' anythin' now… but Harry swore they'd tell Charlie all abou' yeh, and if yeh ask me… summats not right… blimey, yeh growin' too fast, that ol' book's got it wrong… an' what makes em think Charlie can somehow come get you here and then bring yeh back to Romania?...No, if yeh ask me there's nothin' comin' outta this 'cept some up-to-date tips abou' how to best care for yeh Norbie…" Hagrid was pacing his hut nervously stroking his beard. When he sat down he saw that Norbert had fallen asleep by the fire.
"Yeh thumpin' champion Norbert, falling asleep without mommy now? You really are growing up aren't yeh?" With so much to do, the following week went by quickly and Hagrid didn't have much time to stop and think even if he had wanted to.
Norbert was really growing up, and for good and bad — Hagrid felt it had really gotten him into shape — Norbert had changed his eating habits, no longer requiring Hagrid as a dance-partner he was now having his brandy and chicken blood out of over-sized glass bottles. It was quite the sight actually and Hagrid felt ever so proud when Norbert delicately gripped his brandy baby bottles with his teeth holding them up-side-down, the unholy mixture gushing down his throat.
The book said to start giving Norbert solid food as soon as his teeth began poking out, Hagrid had peaked into little Norbie's mouth at least once a day. He realized now he wouldn't have had to do that. Because Norbert was letting the whole family know he was teething, two times he had woken Fang up biting his tail. Norbert was awake for longer now, and Hagrid watched him constantly having to make sure he was scratching his gums and baby-teeth on something that could take it. The sturdiest wood from the forest lasted them half a day or so before they had completely fallen apart. Picking up the pieces from one of these dragon type chewing toys he could see the pieces were becoming more and more charred, Hagrid realized they would soon face another problem apart from Norbert's size and sharp teeth…
When Norbert did sleep though he gave Hagrid a little more time, Hagrid spent this time hunting. He and Fang went into the dark forest hunting for rats, though rather unconventional, this choice of prey was perfect — in a certain part of the forest there were so many of them they wouldn't have to worry about running out of food any more — and Hagrid didn't feel too bad killing them. He was telling Ron about this one day, who had come there to help him feed Norbert.
"I 'ave to go down there killin' em nasty creatures from time to time anyway, if I didn' I don' know that they hadn't infested the whole forest by now…" He explained, getting so carried away that he for a second forgot to pass another couple of dead rats to Ron, who in turn was tossing them at Norbert — having a stop in his meal did not please little Norbie and before Hagrid could react he had bitten Ron's arm, Hagrid panicked, and only once Ron had left he realized what a fool he had been, scolding the poor boy when it was all his own fault. The whole reason Ron was there was because Hagrid knew Norbie couldn't control himself once he had started his meal and had to have rats coming non-stop until he was full or he'd, accidently of course, bite him instead.
"Norbie's jus a couple o' weeks old…" Hagrid was pacing the hut again muttering to himself. "a human baby can't do anythin' at a couple o' weeks… if they could they'd likely be even worse…poor Norbie, he can't help himself… doesn't know his own strength, had that problem meself growin' up…"
There was a knock on the door, and even though Hagrid cared for visitors now was not the time. He opened his window.
"Who is it?" said he, trying to sound as frightening
as possible.
"It's us, Hagrid." said Hermione.
Hagrid poked his head out of the window and greeted them both.
"I won't let you in" said he and watched baby Norbert move from one end of the hut to the other.
"Norbert's at a tricky stage – nothin' I can't handle. Feisty little bastard, he is. Yeh know, just today he learnt…" He fell silent by the looks on their faces.
"We got an answer from Charlie" said Hermione "They are happy to take him" Hagrid felt his heart fill up with dread. It was happening.
"You mean…?" Hermione nodded. The two of them told him about what marvellous place Romania would be and how Charlie would care for Norbie. Hagrid felt his eyes tearing up, this was sooner than he had expected. At the same time Norbert seemed to have made his way towards Hagrid, and bit Hagrid in the leg.
"Yeh a hungry little bugger aren't yeh?" said Hagrid and looked down at Norbert hanging on to his boot. The children had to go back to the castle and before they left, they reminded him about Saturday once more.
"They really don't trust me, do they Norbie?" chuckled Hagrid before he got sad again "I know yeh will get too big for our house soon, but this soon …" Hagrid's voice broke and he watched Norbert as he drank the blood and brandy mix from the bottle.
After being fed Norbert did what most babies do, he fell asleep. He laid down and hid his head under one wing that moved up and down as he breathed, making the black scales sparkle in the fire. Hagrid stepped outside, he didn't want to wake Norbie up with his crying. Outside he found Fang next to the door with his bandaged tail. Norbert had breathed some fire onto it the day before. Hagrid had done his best and had wrapped it in unicorn hair. Fang gave Hagrid a look as he was saying 'Get away from me'.
"Oh Fang" Hagrid said and sat down, trying to pet Fang. Fang moved away his head, clearly showing Hagrid that he was not interested in Hagrid's apology. "What have I done? Fang, I'm sorry that I let yeh get hurt." The boarhound looked up at him with a snarky look but didn't move away his head when Hagrid tried to pet him again.
"What have I done? I haven't done my duties properly, what does Dumbledore think of me? What if he is disappointed in me? Blimey Fang, what if I get fired?" Hagrid suddenly felt ice cold. Having to leave his work would be the worst punishment Hagrid could think of. "I have to do my job again, Fang, an not spend time on Norbie no more. I'll be sad that he'll be leavin' but then I can do my job properly again. Maybe is a good thing, that he's leavin' us. Don't yeh think Fang?" The hound pushed Hagrid with his head. "Thank you Fang, for forgivin' a fool like me, yeh the best dog I could've."
Hagrid heard a noise and realised that Norbert had woken up again. He grabbed a chicken, to empty it of its blood, and a new bottle of brandy. Hagrid had bought a expensive kind of brandy – only the best was good enough for his Norbie. "Don't look at me like that" Hagrid said gloomily when Norbert shrieked at him for more blood-brandy-mixture. "Yeh know Norbie, mummy doesn't want to leave yeh, but yeh see – I reckon I've no choice. Yer growin' so fast and soon yeh'll even be bigger than me' He smiled at his dragon. 'But mummy can come and visit yeh in Rumania. Yeh'd like that, wouldn' yeh?" The dragon shrieked and blew a small fire at him as a response.
Filled with sadness this next day Hagrid arranged for his and Norbert's impending departure. He went into the school's storage and grabbed one of the cages, "Sorry Dumbledore" mumbled Hagrid as he walked out, feeling bad for stealing school property, although he knew no one would ever find out, new cages needed to be bought all the time.
After getting some rats, that would work as Norbie's travel snack, he also put brandy in the cage.
"Would yeh look at that Norbie?" said Hagrid proudly, feel a sting of pride for the nice caged he had packed. "Mummy is also put your teddy bear in there, in case yeh get…" Hagrid's voice cracked. His little Norbert, all alone in the big world. He wept some tears away from his eyes. "Yer a strong little dragon Norbie, yeh'll stand up to the big dragons. Don' let em bully you! Yeh just blow some fire on them an yeh'll be fine." Hagrid rambled on, giving advices for the dragon that was asleep again.
Around eleven-thirty Harry and Hermione knocked on Hagrid's door.
"He's got lots o' rats an' some brandy fer the journey" said Hagrid in a muffled voice, not showing his red eyes to the children "An' I've packed his teddy bear in case he gets lonely". The children said some words of encouragement before hiding the crate below the Invisibility Cloak.
"Bye-Bye, Norbert!" sobbed Hagrid, feeling tears in his eyes. "Mummy will never forget you!" As the children walked towards the castle with the dragon Hagrid sat down at his table.
"No need to stare at 'em, right?" said Hagrid to Fang. The hound looked at him and then laid down at his usual spot in front of the fireplace. Hagrid opened a bottle for brandy, but this time for himself.