Chapter 10- Dragon

*****Harry*****

The new term had kept Harry busier than the first. Teachers assumed that they had adjusted enough to Hogwarts to expect more of them, and Harry did feel the added pressure to try harder on his marks since he assumed his father would see them. Harry spent most evenings when he wasn't too busy with quidditch working on homework and revising with Hermione, and often Ron as well. Ron would usually grumble that the twins would never let him live it down if he did well in school, but Harry knew that his friend's face lit up whenever and "E" graced the top of his page. And that "O" on that Transfiguration essay, he had really worked hard to get.

And on top of that, Harry tried to go flying with Ron for at least a few hours a week, and he enjoyed going by his other rooms, even if he just brought some homework down to write up while sitting on the sofa. His- father would generally appear to be absorbed in his own reading or marking, but Harry knew that they both looked up at each other sometimes. Occasionally they would play chess, which Harry rather enjoyed.

And Harry also had worries about Nicolas Flamel and the Philosopher's Stone, wondering if he should tell his father what they had learned. But Harry still thought that his father must know it anyway.

Harry hadn't noticed that he hadn't seen another friend in weeks again, against his best intentions, when he stumbled into Hagrid by chance on his way trudging back towards the castle from yet another quidditch practice. Wood was actually becoming more extreme the better their chances were looking for the Cup.

Hagrid seemed to be rather busy as well, and instead of a usual greeting Hagrid said, "There's something I think you lot would enjoy seeing out at m' hut. Should be ready by 'bout tomorrow afternoon," he said, already shuffling off as Harry called back agreement to the invitation.

*****Harry*****

Harry had been feeling guilty about not visiting his first friend, but when he was standing in that sweltering hot hut, he wished he had never come. A dragon- Hagrid was raising a dragon. Harry watched as the ugly little reptile hobbled along the wooden table in Hagrid's wood and thatch hut. Harry was only eleven, and he knew that this was a very bad idea. Ron seemed to be as enthusiastic as ever, talking about his second oldest brother, Charlie, in Romania raising dragons. Hermione looked even more nervous than Harry felt himself.

"Hagrid, isn't it illegal to have a dragon? Isn't there probably a good reason for that?" Hermione asked.

Harry cringed, expecting a fight over this suggestion, which was why he hadn't said something the moment he saw the moving egg. He could watch Ron's face turn alarmed. "Hagrid, you live in a wooden house!" Ron said, as he came to the same conclusion Harry had. "He'll be too big and breathing fire soon. You've gotta do something!"

"Eh, 'S'alright I've kept more dangerous beasts than this little one around."

"I think they're right, Hagrid," Harry said, finding the determination to speak out against his first friend if his other two were agreeing with him. "He'll be too hard to hide and we don't want you to get in trouble."

"You can play it off like you found him in the forest, and just want him to get to a safe place," Ron suggested, rather brilliantly, Harry thought.

Hermione seemed hesitant over the lie but said, "If you tried to send him away legitimately, I don't imagine there would be as many questions," she settled.

"Now, you lot," Hagrid chuckled. "I'll be fine. Don't you worry about me. I'll be fine. Me an' Norbert won't draw any attention."

"Norbert!" Hermione squeaked now. "You've named it? You're not supposed to name it. And now you're attached!" Hermione half-whined, half- scolded, some combination of child and parent in her tone. She was older sister material at least, Harry thought.

Harry looked over when Hermione squeaked. He caught sight of the window out of the corner of his eyes and caught some movement, and what he thought was a head of light blond hair. "Malfoy," Harry breathed as he dashed to the window to confirm his suspicion. Sure enough, he could see the blond first year still running towards the castle. "Malfoy saw the dragon."

"Now you have to get rid of it, as soon as possible. Malfoy could tell anyone at any time," Hermione insisted.

"Well, I think you'd best be off," Hagrid said instead a bit grumpily.

Hermione was only too happy to leave, up from the table before Hagrid even finished speaking. Ron still looked a bit longingly at the little dragon, which had fallen asleep while it was being discussed, tiny smoke flaring from nostrils. Harry lingered last of all at the door, catching Hagrid's words, "You wouldn't tell anyone about this, would you, Harry?" Harry shook his head as he walked out the door. He couldn't tell anyone if he promised that he wouldn't. And Hagrid could take care of himself, couldn't he?

Harry, Ron, and Hermione visited more often in the next weeks, growing in curiosity as Norbert grew too big to reasonably be hidden in a wooden hut. Harry wondered if even the Forbidden Forest would be able to hide a young dragon that was starting to breathe fire.

When Norbert bit Ron, it was the final straw. Their combined effort convinced Hagrid that he absolutely had to get rid of Norbert. It was too dangerous to let him go and hope for the best, and Ron had already written to his brother Charlie to see if Charlie could come take it, and they were all relieved when they heard the response that Charlie would send some friends to retrieve the beast.

Norbert was the size of a large dog, and Harry and Hermione were visiting Ron in the Hospital Wing, where he had finally ended up to treat Norbert's bite. Unlike normal, Madame Pomfrey hadn't been able to fix Ron in an instant, so he was still confined to the wing. Harry suspected that this was because Madame Pomfrey didn't even know what type of bite she was dealing with, and a baby Norwegian Ridgeback wasn't exactly a likely first guess, even if she didn't believe Ron's story of being bitten by a stray dog.

Ron sat up and started babbling, "Malfoy knows. He took the book with the note- Oh Merlin, he knows about Saturday."

"Slow down, Ron," Hermione instructed.

"Malfoy was hanging around the Hospital Wing, and I figured he'd guessed about the bite and was going to have a go at me. He never really said much though. When Madame Pomfrey asked him what he wanted, he said it was to borrow a book I had that needed to go back to the library. It was just an excuse for him hanging around. And- and I just realized that the letter from Charlie talking about Saturday night and where it was and everything was in that book. Merlin, it's all my fault!"

Harry and Hermione looked at each other as Ron thumped his head back to his pillows in defeat.

"We'll have to chance it," Harry decided. "We'll go under the cloak, Hermione and I. I think it will fit us, and he doesn't know anything about that. We'll just have to not get caught, because we can't miss this chance to get rid of Norbert." Hermione and Ron looked doubtful, as if they'd rather call it off at this point. Finally, Hermione nodded. They mostly just looking at each other glumly until Madame Pomfrey returned and shooed Harry and Hermione out of the wing.

*****Harry*****

How had he gotten himself into this mess? Why couldn't Hagrid just-? Harry was doing it because he'd do anything to help a friend.

Harry thought that the dragon must weigh more than Fang by now, as he and Hermione slowly carted the beast up hundreds of stairs down the least likely to be traveled and shortest paths that the two of them could come up with. The smell of the brandy that Hagrid had packed with Norbert wasn't doing them any favors. They might be invisible, but they could still be smelled or heard. Assorted smacking and ripping sounds would come periodically from the cage that Harry did his best to not even look at. He just concentrating on keeping moving, and not letting his fingers slip to where Norbert could get them. It all couldn't be over soon enough.

Harry came to a halt, grabbing Hermione's arm to make her do the same, and causing Norbert's cage to slant drastically for a moment. Mrs. Norris, Filch's vile cat, eyes them suspiciously. The creature's eyes seemed to glow. Harry had wondered if invisibility cloaks worked on animals, but it hardly even mattered in this case. Out of necessity, they'd made more than enough noise and smelled strongly enough of dragon and alcohol that any cat would have noticed them. And with Mrs. Norris's apparent connection to Filch, she wasn't a normal cat. The little brute swished away, but Harry had the sinking suspicion that she was not up to their best interest. Still, they could only hide well from Mrs. Norris or Filch if they got rid of Norbert first.

Harry thought he had never been more relieved than he was to see Norbert disappear into the distance strapped between the broomsticks of Charlie Weasley's four friends.

Harry didn't think that anything could spoil his good mood now until the two of them came face to face with Filch. Harry froze, telling himself that he wouldn't be seen under the- they were both idiots, even Hermione this night.

Harry realized that he had so carefully pocketed his invisibility cloak at the top of the tower, mindful of the instructions of his father to keep it with him at all times, but not to let others know about it, so he hadn't wanted Charlie's friends to see. Only when they left the tower… They were in so much trouble.

*****Harry*****

"I am severely disappointed in all three of you, two of you from my own house, wandering about after curfew. Have an excuse, do you?"

"Three?"

"That is none of your business, Mr. Potter. Would you like to explain your reason for being at the top of the tallest tower in the middle of the night?"

"Astronomy," Hermione piped up. "I heard that this was the best time of night to view Jupiter, and I didn't want to go out alone, so Harry agreed to join me. It's my fault, really."

"Miss Granger, I do not recommend a habit of leading your fellow students into rule breaking a second time. I would have thought you would have learned after the troll incident. I also suggest you not fabricate tales that only tarnish your own reputation further, for future reference," the older witch huffed.

"Of course, Professor," Hermione said meekly. It appeared that their Head of House didn't believe them.

"It pains me to take fifty points from my own house," Professor McGonagall continued, "Fifty each, and detention tomorrow evening," she finished when neither of the students commented further. "Off to bed. Don't even sit in your common rooms, because I will know if you have delayed," she scolded. "Can I trust you to make it there without gallivanting around other towers?"

"Yes, Professor McGonagall" the two students chorused, both deflated as they left the stern witch's office.

Harry spotted Draco Malfoy lurking around the hallway when they left the professor's office. "We weren't bothering you," Harry grumbled, walking towards the boy. He'd ignored Malfoy for months because nothing was happening with the Slytherins, but he should have known that Malfoy would never change. "You didn't have to rat on us."

"I didn't 'rat' on you," Draco hissed. "I didn't even say what I was doing out of bed, or she'd have known before she talked to you, clearly. I just- wanted to see, and I got caught, okay!"

Harry blinked a few times, "You got in trouble just like we did?" Harry asked warily.

"Fifty points and detention tomorrow," Draco huffed. "She said she might have lowered the points if I just told her what I was doing, but I didn't. My father will hea- he'll…" The boy trailed off. "I could have told on you, you know."

"Thanks, then," Harry said awkwardly. He noticed Hermione nodding silently beside him.

Draco only nodded as well before slipping off in the opposite direction from the one Hermione and Harry headed.

*****Severus*****

Severus was livid with Minerva that he had to hear about his- heir's misdeeds through overhearing castle gossip the next day, rather than from the boy's Head of House the moment the transgression occurred. True, the other children's parents might never be told about such an infraction, but he was a Head of House at Hogwarts, even if it wasn't the boy's own house.

The only notice that he received from Minerva that morning was that Draco Malfoy had been caught out after curfew, was docked fifty points and sentenced to detention that night, which Severus at the time thought was a bit extreme but not worth fighting with Minerva over. He considered that he would discretely remove points from a few Gryffindors to settle the score if the child hadn't deserved it. There had been no mention of Harry on the notice. Severus had heard it first from a damned portrait. He hated those busybodies that everyone ignored.

Severus held Harry back after potions class that morning. He had more discretely left a note in Draco's returned homework to discuss the issue in his office after dinner that night. Harry looked glumly at his friends who looked equally upset back at him. Severus knew that the children had a free period next, so he contented himself for a longer discussion with the troublesome child. The boy deserved it, being out after curfew and even getting caught at it.

He needed to be firm with the child, he thought as they entered his quarters. "Why were you out after curfew with Miss Granger last night, and how exactly did Mr. Malfoy factor in as well?" Severus asked, knowing that whatever it was, he was likely to get a conflicting story from Draco later that day. "And look me in the eyes when you answer," he instructed, snapping a bit.

Severus was shocked to see tears freely flowing from the child's eyes. "I'm sorry I didn't tell. Will you have to send me away now? I didn't want Hagrid to get in trouble. I thought he might go to prison or get fired or something, and I couldn't let that happen. I should have visited him sooner, and maybe we could have talked him out of it before it hatched," the child rambled.

"Before what hatched? Why would Hagrid be in legal difficulties?" Severus asked with growing distaste for the rest of the discussion.

"The dragon," Harry whined, "We couldn't let him keep it, because it's illegal and he lives in a wooden house and all. But he could get in trouble, so we sent it to Charlie," the sobbing child explained, as matters were beginning to line up in Severus's mind. Dragon!? How had a dragon occupied Hogwarts grounds without him knowing sooner? But he did remember Charlie Weasley, the second Weasley child whom had graduated just the year before, even if he hadn't been in potions for three years now, and Severus did think that he had heard that the boy was working in some other country with dragons now. The child had been the troublesome Weasley in residence before the twins arrived and eclipsed that title while barely into their first year.

The boy was still talking, "I know he shouldn't have kept Norbert, but he was mostly friendly enough. Hagrid said it wasn't really dangerous. We just couldn't let Hagrid get in trouble so we-"

"Not dangerous?" Severus near shouted. "I am assuming this is the same beast that bit Mr. Weasley, isn't it?" Severus demanded, more facts falling into place. The youngest red-headed boy had had his hand wrapped for a class period before being confined to the hospital wing. The medical stay was likely the only thing that kept the child from being in the same trouble as Harry and Granger.

"Well-" Harry protested, "Ron wasn't really being careful then. We didn't know it had its teeth already, you see," the child protested feebly, not meeting his eyes. "Do I have to be sent away?" the child asked again.

"Where exactly do you expect me to send you, boy?" Severus snapped. He regretted his last word the moment he saw the small child shake.

"The Dursleys," came the whispered response.

Severus sighed, knowing it was time for damage control that he didn't feel up to giving, "No, child. Even if you were expelled, which you wouldn't be for sneaking around after night, you would still reside with me. I would not allow your wand to be snapped. You would be enrolled in another wizarding academy or private tutors if needed. There is nothing, nothing that you could do that would make me send you back to those people. You will never see them again. You are my- son now, child. I thought we had been over this. Even if I'm not happy with your actions, I will never send you away."

Severus was startled by the force of the child, head pressed into his abdomen right around his sternum, small arms that didn't reach around even Severus's thin frame. Severus awkwardly patted the child on the head then the shoulder. He knew that even in his discomfort, he couldn't push the child away. Brief pressure on the child's back was enough of a 'hug,' Severus thought. He wasn't good at this. Severus he had received more embraces in the past few months than he had had since he was a very small child, if even then, starting with the unusually emotional Minerva, Miss Tonks, and now Harry.

"I have heard that you are already being punished by Professor McGonagall for this offense?" Severus asked, energy running down and not actually wanting to traumatize the child further.

"Yes sir. We received notes saying we should meet Mr. Filch in the entrance hall at eleven tonight," the child responded with a small smile. Severus frowned. Punishing children for staying out late by keeping them out of their beds yet another night? What could be learned from that? And Filch was an all-around unpleasant man that would likely have the children scrubbing something for hours without magic, keeping the children from yet more sleep. Still, he wouldn't question other professor's authority in front of any student, so he made no reply.

"You will not fly with Mr. Weasley until I say otherwise, and I shall know if you have strayed. In fact, I believe the spare broom would be better kept in your room down here, and I expect it to be there by the end of tomorrow. Understood? You are not, however, barred from games or sanctioned team practices but from all purely recreational purposes. I expect that you will learn from your detention and point reduction as well. My punishment regarding the flying is not for being out late, but for being around a dangerous creature when you should have immediately spoken to an adult, understood?" Severus sighed.

The message wasn't impacting the boy, he was certain.

"Yes sir," the child said, almost cheerily as he backed away and hastily wiped his eyes. "And the house is so mad about the loss of a hundred points that no one will even speak to me and Hermione except Ron and the quidditch team. I tried to resign from the team, because I wasn't sure if I would get to stick around Hogwarts anyway, but Oliver wouldn't let me," the child went on.

Severus held back a groan. The boy was more than willing to punish himself, but he wasn't learning anything from it. Severus was completely unequipped for this.

*****Severus*****

Severus told himself that he was not searching out Filch after midnight because he was worried about the little brats. He was surprised to find Filch alone in his own office.

"You let the urchins go early to get them out of your sight, did you?" Severus drawled, as if he didn't care the slightest about the response.

"Hagrid had asked for some help. Left the little bastards with him," the wretch said, apparently not noticing Severus's deadly look. Severus almost confronted the man before the idiot continued and Severus was distracted. "They'll go to the forest alright, and it'll scare them straight from acting up again, alright."

"Of course," Severus replied, though his heart had started to race. "Good evening," he said, a courtesy that Severus would never have shown Filch under the circumstances if he were thinking properly, leaving the room briskly before heading towards the Great Hall. A few point me spells and he would find the boy, just to ensure that nothing was wrong. And then to drag him back to Gryffindor Tower regardless of what any of the rest of the staff might say. Trips into the Forbidden Forest was not appropriate punishment for first years, or any students, especially at night.

"Severus, wandering the halls rather late tonight, I see?" came the grandfatherly tones of Albus Dumbledore.

"I am checking on one of my first years in his first detention," Severus sniffed, though as soon as he said it, he realized the Slytherin boy had had a detention earlier in the school year for the flying class incident, also connected to Harry. "I was rather disturbed to learn that three children were assigned to enter the Forbidden Forest with no more protection than an unqualified half-giant wizard. Do you have any comment, Albus?"

"They will be fine, my boy. This is the first I'm hearing of it, but I believe it will teach them a significant lesson about teamwork for the children to work together. Hagrid will keep close watch over them," Albus said in that infuriating, wise-grandfather voice.

"I am trying to instill in the boy that he is not to throw himself into dangerous situations. What do you think sending him off blindly into the forest will teach him, other than to fend for himself?" As an afterthought, he added, "And the other children will be terrified. Do you think Draco Malfoy so much as played in the mud as a child? Or the little bookworm? First years are a danger to themselves even in a supervised classroom!"

"So, it is your concern for your son that has you so agitated, Severus, not for young Mister Malfoy," the old man said with a smile.

"It is not wrong for me to be concerned for multiple children's safety," Severus huffed. "They are all my students." Severus walked off, deciding that he had saved face in that conversation and that he refused to be delayed any further.

"I didn't say it was wrong, Severus. You should tell your son that you were concerned." Damned old man getting the last word…

*****Harry*****

"Now, you lot, one of you will come with me, and the other two with Fang. We'll cover more ground split up."

Draco seemed to take one look at his two options and sided with the large boarhound, "I want Fang," he said.

"All right, but I warn yeh, he's a coward."

"I'll go with them," Harry volunteered resignedly. No matter what Malfoy had or hadn't done to get him stuck with them in detention, Harry didn't trust Malfoy alone with Hermione, even though he knew that Hermione was more capable to deal with trouble from Malfoy than he was- he still couldn't stand the worry over it.

Harry came back out of his thoughts to hear Hagrid summarize "Green sparks if there's a unicorn, and red sparks if there's trouble, yeh? Now let's go."

Harry and Malfoy wandered for what must have been an hour, and a very uneventful one. Harry was wondering why everyone was so scared of the forest, when after the first ten minutes, he was more worried that they wouldn't be able to find their way out of it than he was of some creature hurting them. The two boys and Fang hadn't run into anything alive or dead, and they hadn't seen any sparks from Hermione and Hagrid.

Malfoy spotted the blood first. It was silvery, and Harry had to stop himself from reaching out and touching it. They kept following the blood as the droplets turned into small puddles. Harry started hoping that they could find the poor creature just so that they could be done and send up sparks to fetch Hagrid to them.

When they saw it, Harry wished he never had. It was far too beautiful to be dead the way it was. Harry made to step towards the beast when rustling, almost hissing in the nearby bushes made him freeze. A cloaked figure with hood drawn up came out of the bushes. It ignored them completely, seemingly only focused on the unicorn as it bent over to the source of the blood and began to drink.

Malfoy screamed. Harry thought that he might have too, but he wasn't sure. Harry felt a hand grasp his wrist and tug him away, but he only stumbled a few steps backward, unable to leave the sight before him. The hand fell away as Draco fled. Fang had also vanished. The noise was enough to get the figure's attention, and it began walking quickly towards Harry, terrifying with silver blood dripping down its front.

Harry whimpered, head suddenly piercingly painful. The pain was familiar but more intense than he had ever felt before. Quirrell. He had only ever felt that pain in his scar around Quirrell, but this was far worse than before. Harry could just manage a few steps back, but the cloaked man, Quirrell he thought, would be upon him. Time sped up rather than standing still as people always say it does in dangerous moments, and Harry wasn't sure what was going on.

Just when he thought he was dead for sure, there was another beast- a unicorn? No, a centaur, man from above the waist, but with almost a full horse body including four legs below it. The man was blond, and his horse half seemed to be blond as well, easily visible in the dark. The cloaked man had been frightened away when there was something more than a few first years and a cowardly dog to deal with.

"Are you- unharmed?" the beast asked.

Harry didn't have much time to answer before another rustling figure broke into the clearing, wand lit and raised. Harry had been ready to stagger away again when the frantic voice came, "Harry?"

His dad had come to find him. Harry ran to his father, feet unfrozen until he was safely encircled in the older wizard's arms.

Harry barely paid attention as two more centaurs joined the clearing. The one who had saved him said to his father, "You will protect the young one. There is much that we have read in the stars. Leave the forest as quickly as you can, and for your own safety, do not return," before melting back into the forest with the other two centaurs. Harry felt his father nod above him, and assist him to stand on his own again.

"D-Draco and Fang ran off. I think Draco tried to get me to go with them but I- I couldn't move," Harry said, feeling like an idiot. He had been… just watching, and then the pain in his scar…

"I encountered them on the way to meet you. They are headed towards the exit of the forest, and I can find Draco if needed," his father said.

"You went on to find me?" Harry asked, knowing his voice sounded small and pathetic.

"Always. Child, we will speak again about keeping you out of danger," he sighed, "Though I can hardly fault you for this incident when your detention had such an unacceptable assignment for first years. If you are ever asked to perform a detention more dangerous than cleaning again, you will speak to me first."

"I- we were supposed to send up red sparks for danger or green sparks for finding the unicorn. I didn't send up green sparks."

"You didn't send up red either, not that it would have helped much with that danger. I will assist Hagrid in finding the dead creature again if needed, once you are safely in bed."

"Why would he drink unicorn blood? I- I think it was Quirrell because my scar hurt," Harry said, needing to tell his father that.

"Your scar? And that's happened before?" his father asked and watched Harry nod before going silent as they walked further. "Unicorn hair, and occasionally horn, are used in wand making or potions. These do not necessarily kill, or even injure the unicorn, though some are slain just for their horns, so that ingredient is more expensive." He paused again for so long that Harry was afraid he might be done talking, and wondered if he should ask again. "Unicorn blood is only ever used for dark purposes. I try not to lie to you, child, but you are very young and should not know everything. But unicorn blood can be used to keep a body alive in any circumstance, for a time. But by most the cost is considered too great. It is a- cursed existence for those that preys on the pure. Do you understand?"

"Maybe Quirrell wants it for- for his master?" Harry said. Just like the stone, but Harry didn't add that.

"That seems a likely scenario, yes."

"But- why did he drink it himself instead of bottling it up."

"That is… a very astute question, and a troubling one. I, however, do not have all of the answers," his father said as they exited the last few trees. Draco was standing just outside the forest with Fang, and Harry could hear him talking to Hagrid and Hermione as Hagrid loaded his crossbow, before all four of them, even Fang, turned to face the new arrivals. Hagrid lowered the bow, and Hermione rushed forward, flinging her arms around Harry as soon as she reached him.

"Back to the castle now, students. Hagrid, I will show you where to find the beast once the children are inside. We shall also have a conversation with the Headmaster about age appropriate punishment." Harry managed a smile and complied, walking tiredly towards Gryffindor Tower with Hermione after a nod in Draco Malfoy's direction which was equally returned.

A/N: I never mean to give Neville a smaller part, because he is one of my absolute favorite canon characters. It has just turned out that changes lead to him being less involved in my variant plotline thus far… Like he wouldn't be in trouble with them because he wouldn't hear Malfoy going on about reporting them or whatnot, because Malfoy wasn't so keen on reporting Harry here. Also he wasn't leg-locked by Malfoy in an earlier chapter, or in a fight with Malfoy and his gang at the quidditch game. I didn't realize until I was searching the first book for details, how often Neville and Draco appear in scenes with each other. An interesting counterbalance. Hmmm…