"Oh, thank you, Harry." Luna patted the green-eyed dragon on the head and he let go of her left shoe. This time it had only ended up under the bed; her possessions didn't go missing quite as often as a few years ago. But there was still a Harry around to help her look for them, which was nice.

"You must be so excited," she said as she tied her laces. "I mean, we're excited, and they're not even our eggs."

The dragon took off from the floor and landed on the door handle.

"Yes, I know." Luna got up, opened the dormitory door and followed him out.

People were still finding eggs everywhere; common rooms, corridors, classrooms. Stewart Ackerley even found one between the boiled eggs on the breakfast table, which made Luna wonder if the house-elves were regularly checked for Wrackspurts.

"You should bring the egg to the third floor," Stewart's friend, who sat next to Luna, said. "They're making a Hatchery up there."

"A Hatchery?" Luna asked, interested. "They must have contacted the Ministry. They'll have enough tips there from the time they were breeding Aquavirius Maggots."

The boys gave her a strange look and then got up. Luna decided she might as well follow them if she wanted to see the Hatchery.

"Hello, Miss Lovegood," a voice startled her suddenly on the stairs. It was Sir Nicholas, who was brushing transparent drops of sweat from his forehead.

"Hi, Nick," she said cheerfully. "I thought ghosts weren't bothered by high temperatures, except for heat produced by Heliopaths…"

"None of those around here, fortunately," Nick said. "But the dragons are almost as bad. They keep escaping."

Luna frowned. "Surely they don't need to be imprisoned to take care of the eggs."

"No, but if they all abandon them, they won't hatch. At least, that's what Hagrid says," Nick explained.

"Is he sure?" she asked. "If their instinct is to leave the eggs behind, I'd think that's what is best for them…"

"But the Draculus rubeus is a breed created by magic," Nick said. "According to Mr Huang, that might cause the dragons some confusion about their reproductive system."

"I think they know what they're doing," Luna said. "But I suppose that getting a little more attention won't damage the babies."

They had now reached the cleared classroom on the third floor. A couple more ghosts greeted Luna as they floated past, and in the middle of the room she saw the large, colourful pile of eggs, around which the dragons were fluttering in agitation. Hagrid was now talking to Stewart and his friend, beaming at the blue egg that looked like a small bead in his hand.

"Careful!" Fred Weasley's ghost shouted. "Remus is trying to get away again!"

The Grey Lady rushed over and stopped right in front of Luna, holding up her hand. Remus glared at her and returned to the pile of eggs.

"Isn't the benefit of having the dragons brooding on the eggs cancelled out by your presence?" Luna wondered.

"Oh, no," Nick said. "They produce quite a lot of heat, after all."

"And Hagrid calculated at what distance we need to patrol the Hatchery to avoid negative effects," the Lady added.

"I hope they'll hatch before I go home for Easter," Luna mused. "It'll be marvellous to watch."

She stayed to study the dragons' behaviour around the eggs a little longer and sent a few of them back when they made for freedom, but in the short time she was there, around a dozen of them managed to get away with a string of ghosts chasing after them. It was quite amusing, yet her laughter didn't seem to be appreciated.

Then, suddenly, Hagrid dropped everything (fortunately he wasn't holding any eggs) and burst forward. "Shihui!" he called out. "Charlie!"

"Hagrid," the young man cried out, holding out his arms to hug his old friend. His quiet companion offered a small smile, but was pulled right along with Charlie into a giant hug that left them both breathless.

"I'm so glad yer here," Hagrid said, as he let them go. "It's amazin'. The eggs jus' keep turnin' up. Come on over. See here."

"Wow…" Charlie said, staring open-mouthed. "That is… That's a lot of eggs…"

Shihui hurried over and dropped to his knees by the edge of the pile, shooing away Cho and Cedric so he could pick up a bright turquoise egg with little pink streaks. "Incredible," he muttered. "Who would have thought… So soon after hatching…"

"Well, I heard they originated from one embryo that was not even viable," Luna piped up. "It would make sense if that results in a shorter lifespan for all of them. Their metabolism will be quicker and they mature faster than any other kind of dragon."

The room fell silent as even the little dragons stared at her. Then Shihui stood up. He bowed his head to her. "Yes, Miss," he said. "That does make sense. You have a very keen mind. And a great knowledge of magical creatures."

"I'd like to be a Magizoologist," Luna told him.

He smiled and nodded. "In that case, I do hope you will consider working with me as part of your training. Old as dragonkind may be, there are still so many new things to learn. As we have proof of right here." He gestured to the pile of eggs and the Draculi rubei who were beginning to stir again, fluttering up and squawking their indignation of being the subject of such conversation.

"Oh, that's very kind of you," Luna said, smiling, "but I'd rather do something more interesting. Like studying Crumple-Horned Snorkacks."

Shihui stared at her for a moment, his eyes widening. "I… I'm sorry…" he began, but then Charlie put an arm around his shoulders.

"I'll explain it to you," he said, laughing as he led his confused partner away.

"Maybe yeh should give it some thought, Luna," Hagrid said earnestly. "He's the expert in his field. An' dragons really are very interestin'."

She shrugged. "So are Snorkacks, and yet there are so few people who observe them. I feel there is more need for me there."

Hagrid chuckled. "I guess yer the expert on that one," he said.