I got a request for this...so here it is.

Sorry it took so long.

~*~

Drunken Win

Hagrid shuffled his way though the crowed of people. Though... it was more like he was the wave and all the tiny little ships parted as he swept across them. From what he could tell through his bloodshot eyes, none of them looked kind to be fixating himself with anyway. The more he stayed away from the village folk, the quieter his life would be.

"You there."

Well, he was always taught to be polite.

"Yeah," Hagrid turned, drink sloshing in hand, to find the person that had apparently called his attention. "What d' you be needin' stranger?"

The man sat there at ease, leaning back into his chair and face hidden under his hood. Then he leaned forward and straightened himself, his hand waving aross the deserted table with only a lone stack of cards sitting on its center. "Do you play?"

Hagrid laughed. "Do I play? O' corse I play! Wha' do you take me fo'?"

"My apologies. Would you care to play a game then?"

Hagrid looked around at the crowed around them. No one was paying attention to them. "One li'le game wouln' hurt."

He grabbed a chair and drug it our so that he could sit and as he did, the whole of it bent to his weight, straining to the breaking point. "What's th' game?" He set his drink down and turned toward the bar. "Nother one, Rosemerta!"

"Twenty One. Something that'll go by fast enough so we can have more drink, maybe?"

Hagrid nodded and laughed at the stranger. "Good thinkin'."

The man shuffled through the deck, face still hidden under his cloke, and placed one card face down in front of Hagrid and himself, then one face up.

8.

Hagrid hit his hand on the table.

4.

Hagrid looked into his darkened face. Then, paused only to slap his hand back down.

8.

Hagrid laughed and waved his hand in the air. "Hah! Beat tha!"

The man didn't say anything by layed down a six and next a jack. He paused, only to flip over the extra card.

9.

"Bust." The man spoke calmly. Then he collected all of the cards and shuffled them in his hand again. "Would you like to try this again? Maybe for stakes this time?"

Hagrid eyed him, taking a sip of his newly filled drink. "Wha' 'd you have in min'?"

The man paused. "Well, I don't have any money at the moment...but..." The man took great hesitation before fishing into his robes and slowly revealing what was hidden beneath them.

Hagrid gasped and his drink spilled down his front.

He couldn't remember much of anything after that.

He sat up, his warm furs falling around him until he stopped in an instant. There was something smooth and hard that was brushing up against the arm he was leaning on. He reached for the large bulge that was beneath his covers and saw the fire glisten off the shine of the shell.

He licked his lips and picked it up carefully. A dragon egg? He had bartered for a dragon egg.

He groaned to himself. If it was for a dragon egg, he could only imagine what he had put up for the stakes.

He looked around for any sign of what had happened...besides the fact that he was now the proud owner of a dragon egg. He set it down delicately and stood away from it. Then he spun and found his coat on the floor at his feet.

Quickly he picked it up and shook it out, searching the pockets for anything. When he reached his chest pocket , he found a torn piece of paper which he was quickly unfolded and peered at the words written on the in a foreign penmanship.

Dragon Breeding for Pleasure and Profit

Hagrid groaned and clutched at his head, spinning around to look at the egg once more.

Well, it was a start.

~*~

Not sure if I did the whole 21 thing right. Sorry, I just play it with friends for fun.

Also, was wondering if you guys wanted me to move on to the next book or not.

Will not post more until people give me there opinions.

Review. Now. Thank you!