The Day The Dursleys Came To Hogwarts
By Ordinaryguy2
Chapter 14
Harry and Hermione shared a concerned glances, each hoping that they had heard Charlie Weasley wrong, even while knowing they hadn't.
It was Hermione that chose to be the one to press ahead. "Why were the dragon eggs going to be taken from their mothers?"
Charlie looked like he had just tasted something disgusting. "That damn Malfoy," he spat.
In that moment, Harry couldn't imagine a stronger familial resemblance that Charlie could have to his father. "What does this have to do with the Malfoys, Charlie?"
"In a way, you're partially to fault, too," Charlie blurted out, though not with the venom he used when mentioning Malfoy's name.
Harry and Hermione shared a confused look. "What do you mean? Explain yourself, please." He wasn't angry, even if Charlie had lumped him together with the Malfoys. But he did need him to explain it to him.
"All that damage done to Hogwarts during your tussle with the Horntail," Charlie explained. "A lot of repairs are underway. The Dwarves working on Ravenclaw tower and the castle walls need to be paid for. Construction supplies need to be bought. All in all, it's a very expensive project."
"What are you getting at, Charlie?" Hermione asked, not liking where it was all going. Anything associated with the Malfoys was sure to be atrocious.
"Lucius Malfoy is on the school's board of governors. He's also one of those in charge of Hogwart's purse strings."
"Oh, that can't be a good thing," Harry muttered, anger already building within him.
"Malfoy stated that since one of the dragons caused the mess, that they should be the ones to pay for the damages."
Hermione frowned. "How are the dragons supposed to pay for…" She gasped in horror. "They are going to use the eggs to pay for the damages!"
"They can't do that!" Harry burst out, magic beginning to build up visibly around him and Hermione.
"That's not what they are doing!" Charlie shouted, even as the claws of the dragon tightened around him.
"But you just said-"
"Calm down!" Charlie said, now more calmly and alert than before. "You're spooking her!"
The dragon was indeed becoming agitated with Harry and Hermione's reactions. Smoke was now billowing out of her nostrils with the promise of vast amounts of flame forthcoming. Her eyes darting out among the nervous crowd as if seeking a target to take her frustration out on.
~Hey! Stop it! You're going to hurt him! And he hasn't finished telling us what he knows!~ Harry shouted to the dragon.
~What has he said about my egg?~ she roared. In her anger, her claw curled inwards causing Charlie to cry out in pain.
~Harry and I jumped to the wrong conclusion! Charlie was just explaining it to us when you started roaring! If we are going to be able to find your egg, then we need Charlie in one piece so we can talk to him! Please, stop hurting him!~
It was as if a storm had suddenly gone quiet in the forest, the only sound was the sobbing of Ginny and a few other kids that were still watching from a distance.
~Very well,~ growled the exasperated dragon. ~But I want to know soon!~
"Charlie! Charlie!" shouted Harry, as he struggled to keep himself and Hermione from going to him. "Are you still with us, man?"
"Unfortunately," Charlie said in a low groan, as he tried to adjust the position he was trapped in within the grasp of the dragon's horrible claws. "Merlin, this dragon has the same temper as my mother."
Hermione couldn't help breaking out in laughter at the comparison between the explosive Weasley matron and the perturbed nesting dragon.
Ironically, it was Harry who was being the more leveled one at the moment. "Charlie, what did you mean by the dragons paying for it if it has nothing to do with their eggs being taken?"
The Weasley dragon handler coughed, spitting out some blood, which alarmed both Harry and Hermione. "The eggs were only supposed to be taken later. After the dragons were moved."
"What are they trying to do to the eggs?" Harry insisted, wanting him to get to the point before the angry dragon decided to tear him apart.
Charlie shook his head. "The eggs were going to be fine. They'd be sent to special hatcheries near others of their kind, and hopefully get adopted by another mothering dragon. Why someone is taking them early, I have no clue, unless it's Malfoy trying to appropriate some before the final count is done."
"Why would the eggs be in hatcheries? Their mothers should be able to take care of them."
Charlie spat again. "It's the only concession the dragon preserves could get from Malfoy, the bloody git! Merlin, I hate that man!"
Hermione drew in a breath in alarm and eyes wide, her eyes darting from Charlie to the dragon and back again. "He wouldn't!"
"Wouldn't what?" Harry asked, knowing he'd missed something important. What Harry knew of Malfoy, whatever he had done, if compared to him giving Ginny a cursed diary with a part of the Dark Lord's memory or soul attached, it couldn't be good.
"Lucius Malfoy," Charlie then followed up with several words in a language that Harry didn't know, but due to the reddening of Hermione's cheeks, she probably did. The dragon handler huffed again before continuing, totally ignoring his dire predicament of being encompassed by the claws of a living, angry dragon. "Through his position of being on the Hogwarts school board and a high functioning member of the Wizengamot, he managed to get it set up that the dragons that had been borrowed from the dragon reserves would be rendered down to be sold to pay for the expenses of repairing the castle. The slimy snake has probably already set up several ways to funnel a sizable portion of the proceeds into his own vaults." Charlie shuddered again as he hung his head downwards, though whether it was from the shock of his injuries or if he was silently crying, neither Harry nor Hermione could tell. They couldn't help but notice the Weasley dragon handler running his uninjured hand caressingly over one of the large claws that was pinning him down, thus confirming the belief that dragon handlers were as obsessed with dragons as Hagrid was to extremely dangerous creatures.
The thought of those dragons being slaughtered and cut up to bits for meat, armor or potion ingredients made Harry feel sick inside. Sure, the dragons were terrifying as they were deadly, especially if you get close to one, but they were magnificent and wondrous, too; a sight to behold. Also, it was the committee that set up the tournament that were responsible for the dragons being at Hogwarts, not the dragons themselves. If anyone should be rendered into potion ingredients, it should be the committee who set up the events of the Tournament. And perhaps Malfoy and Snape, too.
"Isn't there some way to stop this?" Harry heard Hermione ask, interrupting his thoughts.
Charlie's face took on another scowl. "Malfoy used all his power and authority to set this up before anyone could stop him. I don't even think Dumbledore could stop him. Not that I've noticed the headmaster trying to do anything about it."
Harry frowned. He was sure that Dumbledore could do something. He was one of the most powerful and influential people in the Wizarding world. He was also the headmaster of Hogwarts, the Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards, and the Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot. Who could be in more of a position to do something about this injustice if not him?
Looking back at the milling crowd of onlookers, he easily spotted the headmaster talking with a rather nervous Ludo Bagman. Snape had also made an appearance, and was making an effort to keep his Slytherin charges from getting too close to all the confusion of the students trying to get a better look at what was going on.
Draco Malfoy, with Crabbe and Goyle behind him, was talking to Harry's cousin, who seemed uncomfortable in his presence. The smirking Sorting Hat on Dudley's head was obviously making some harsh remarks to Draco if the look on the Slytherin's face was any indicator as to what was going on.
Harry's eyes were just moving towards where the twins were trying to comfort their sister, Ginny, when his eyes shot back to Dudley.
"Hey, Dudley!" he called. Then, once he had his attention, waved for him to come over to where he was.
Dudley's initial reaction was to go white as one of the Hogwarts' ghosts. It didn't help that Draco was laughing at Dudley's hesitation, and even pushed him towards where his cousin was standing directly in front of the Hungarian Horntail. When Draco called him a chicken, and gave him another big shove towards the dragon, Dudley automatically spun around and gave Draco a swift knuckle sandwich.
"Good one, Dud!" Harry called out. "But, hey, I need you over here for a moment. I need to talk with the Hat."
The Sorting Hat and Dudley exchanged a few words before Dudley gave in and reluctantly marched forward leaving Draco rolling on the ground, crying and trying to stem the blood pouring out of his nose. Both Crabbe and Goyle just stood there staring in surprise, and with maybe a hint of admiration.
Harry watched as his cousin came over in an almost fatalistic attitude, meanwhile, Hermione had a few quick words with the dragon about who Harry was having come over and stressing the point that Dudley was not a threat to her or her eggs.
"How are you enjoying the sightseeing?" Harry asked the Hat.
"It's definitely an improvement in comparison to the view from the shelf above the headmaster's desk." The animated cloth hat took the opportunity to examine the dragon from this much closer proximity while Harry and Hermione explained to the Hat and Dudley about the stolen eggs as well as the plans to butcher the dragons to pay for the repairs to the school.
"Hmm, definitely quite a problem," admitted the Hat.
"So what should we do?" inquired Harry.
"What? You expect me to solve all your problems for you? I'm not that type of thinking cap, Lord Slytherin. In fact, as I have named you Lord Slytherin, this is something that is more in line with the type of things in which you should be dealing."
"Me? But-" He stopped when Hermione pressed a hand against his chest.
"Perhaps, we are looking at this all wrong." She looked back over in the direction of Hogwarts just as Cedric Diggory, Fleur Delacour and Viktor Krum were arriving at the clearing with several more students. "Maybe if the four champions of the Tri-Wizard Tournament were to express negative views about what Malfoy is trying to do, it would force those with Malfoy to alter their plans and raise the money a different way."
"You obviously don't have much experience with Lucius Malfoy," Charlie declared, his emotions getting him more and more worked up the more he thought about the whole situation. "He'd push ahead even faster than before just to get it done before anyone can stop him. In case you haven't noticed, he's already had people collect the Swedish Short-Snout for processing."
Hermione gasped while Harry's eyes scanned the edges of the clearing. He'd been able to spot the other two dragons when he got here and had just assumed that the Short-Snout was just further back in the trees. He held onto Hermione as she curled into his shoulder and cried.
"So if I was to somehow give the dragons, I don't know, sanctuary, would that-"
Charlie shook his head. "You really think that would stop Malfoy. There's no place in Hogwarts that he couldn't get to them."
"Wait." Hermione raised her head and wiped away some of her tears before turning to the others. "Charlie, don't dragons typically nest in dark, secluded caves?"
The dragon handler frowned as he tried to understand where she was going with this line of questions. "Mostly," he answered. "These breeds do at least."
Hermione sniffed and wiped her eyes again with her sleeve. "So if there was a large, underground cavern with its own water system, that no one other than Harry could get to…"
"The Chamber of Secrets!" Harry exclaimed excitedly, picking up Hermione and giving her a twirl before suddenly remembering himself and where he was. Blushing, he gently let Hermione down, though he did note the embarrassed smile she wore.
"A Chamber of what?" Dudley asked with a confused look on his face.
"I'll explain later," replied Harry.
"Wait," Charlie spoke, looking at them from where he still laid trapped. "You actually know where the Chamber of Secrets is?"
"Yeah, found it two years ago," Harry answered. "Ron didn't tell you about it?"
"Well, to be honest, I thought he was making most of it up," Charlie admitted. "He's kind of known in the family for doing that kind of thing."
Harry and Hermione shared a knowing look. Ron's problems with self-confidence has led him to exaggerate his stories from time to time, sometimes to the extent of getting him into trouble for doing it. Unfortunately, he hasn't learned not to do it yet, which was mostly annoying to them.
"But how can we get the dragons into the Chamber of Secrets when the entrance is in Myrtle's bathroom?" he asked.
"The entrance to the Chamber of Secrets in a girls' loo?" Charlie broke out in laughter. "I spent most of third and fourth year searching for clues as to where the entrance might be, and the closest I ever came was when I ducked into that particular bathroom one late night when I was trying to not get caught by Filch!"
"But you gave up after your fourth year, why?"
"That's when I discovered girls!" he laughed. "That and I was on the quidditch team, and I'm telling you that our practice schedule Bill put together was insane!" Harry joined him in laughing as he could more than relate due to the schedules Oliver Wood created.
"How-how can you be laughing?" came a quiet voice out of Dudley. "That-that-that dragon has you in it's claws. It could kill you… kill you and eat you and you're just talking and… and laughing."
Charlie adjusted himself, careful of his injured arm. "I've been working with dragons for a couple years now. Ending up in positions like this is just one of the hazards of the job," he responded with a half-hearted smile. "Oh, and she's a 'she', not an 'it'." As if emphasizing the dragon handler's point, the dragon sent out a large smoke ring directly at Dudley.
The Sorting Hat gave out a chuckle. "I think she likes you, Dudley. Either that or she thinks you'd make a good dessert!"
"N-not funny," Dudley muttered, even as he made sure to keep his cousin between him and the dragon at all times.
Hermione, meanwhile, had been thinking over a few things. "Charlie, how were the dragons brought here? By portkey?"
"Good guess, but no," he answered. "Dragons don't react well to traveling by portkey, even when they are unconscious. No, we had to hire the services of a large number of house-elves to transport them. In a large enough group, the house-elves working in unison can move the entire mass of the dragon and her eggs without disturbing them at all."
Harry turned his attention back to the Hat. "Can the house-elves of Hogwarts transport the remaining dragons here down into the Chamber of Secrets?"
The Hat seemed to make a face that may have meant to be interpreted as a shrug. "Ask them yourself. You are one of the owners of the castle after all; they all work for you now."
Harry frowned. The Hat was evidently wanting him to work out this answer. "I need a Hogwarts house-elf here, please."
There were two simultaneous pops as two house-elves appeared in front of him.
"Yes, Lord Slytherin?"
"Yes, Master Harry Potter sir?"
"Dobby?" Harry wasn't sure why he was surprised at this point any more.
"Dobby be serving Master Harry Potter," Dobby growled to the other house-elf in a territorial manner.
"Bristy be answering to Lord Slytherin's call for a house-elf. Lord Slytherin be needing the help of a trustworthy house-elf."
"Actually I'm going to need a lot of house-elves," Harry interjected before the two house-elves could argue any further. "Are you able to go down into the Chamber of Secrets now that it's been found?"
Dobby hesitated, but Bristy, a flour covered kitchen worker, nodded happily. "Hogwarts house-elves can be getting to any places that you has been."
"Right, then. I think that this might work."
He explained what he wanted them to do, then had to reassure the house-elves that the dragons would not attack them while being transported. Hermione, meanwhile, was filling in the dragon as to what Harry was arranging with the house-elves.
The Horntail mulled over the detail of this plan for a few moments before roaring to the other two mothering dragons what was going on. Not that anyone other than Harry, Hermione and Charlie knew that. Dudley on the other hand… fainted.
"Oh, now that was not very responsible," grumbled the Sorting Hat from where it lay partially crushed on Dudley's head. "Do you have any idea how difficult it is to hold my shape at the age I'm in? This is going to seriously damage my back rim."
After several loud growls and roars, during which everyone watching began backing up further and further, the dragons reached an accord.
~We are agreed,~ the Horntail acknowledged with a toothy grin that surprised Harry. ~The little magic servers will take us to this large cavern you talk of where we can mind our eggs in peace. You will also keep searching for my egg, as well as the stolen eggs of the other dragons.~
Harry grinned back at the dragon. ~Sounds like a plan.~
~I don't know what kind of sound it is,~ argued Hermione. ~But right now it seems like the only chance we have.~
Harry groaned at her bad pun. ~Make sure that the house-elves –or little magic servers as you call them– are not to be attacked, okay?~ Harry stated. Knowing how excitable the house-elves could be, they could easily cause one of the mothering dragons to attack them suddenly.
The Horntail issued another roaring instruction to the other two dragons.
"Bristy, proceed with the plan, please."
The flour-dusted house-elf nodded with a smile, and gave a snap with his fingers.
Over sixty house-elves preceded to pop into existence all over the Chinese Fireball, nearly covering the dragon completely. Then disappeared entirely with a loud crack, leaving only an empty cage, the nest having been taken along with the dragon.
The people watching in the background murmured with excitement. Having never seen house-elves before, several of the younger muggle-born students were being told about them by their friends.
The group of house-elves returned, this time covering the Common Welsh Green dragon, and taking her as well as her nesting clutch of eggs away with another resounding crack.
"Harry my boy."
Harry stiffened as soon as the words reached him. He knew that the dragons could not have been taken away for Lucius Malfoy's money making plan without being allowed to do so by the headmaster. One dragon had already been removed, much to Harry's disgust and anger.
He turned with Hermione at his side to see Dumbledore approaching from seventy feet away. "Headmaster. I wouldn't come any closer if I were you. I remember reading that the angrier a dragon is that the flame of a dragon will become hotter as it becomes infused with the inherit magic of the dragon making most magical defenses such as a magical shield fail quickly after the flame connects. Now do I have to remind you that this dragon sees you as a personal threat to her eggs?"
Dumbledore, for all of his want to be seen in the best light possible, decided to take the side of caution and stopped where he was. "Perhaps you could come over here so we can discuss these actions of yours?"
Harry shared a look with Hermione before raising his voice again. "I'm a little busy right now dealing with this situation. Perhaps we could meet tonight or tomorrow, yeah?"
Dumbledore blinked in surprise, the twinkle in his eyes dimming. "I really must insist that we confer about what you are doing before this goes any farther."
Now Harry broke out in a grin. "Naw, I got this, no worries. Why don't you go back to your office and have a lemon drop? Maybe take a nap."
Both Harry and Hermione could see the thunder struck looks of the students. No one dismissed Albus Dumbledore like that. Even Snape and McGonagall had a look of shock on their faces.
"Headmaster, I want those dragons returned immediately!"
Lucius stood tall and pompous, trying for an image of ultimate authority. Just off to his side, his wife, Narcissa, was watching as she had an annoyed Madam Pomfrey attending to Draco's bloody nose.
"I'm afraid we can't do that," Harry called out, loud and clear. "You see, as Lord Slytherin, I've given the dragons sanctuary."
At first there was silence among the watching crowd, but it was quickly replaced by cheering from all of the dragon handlers. Even Charlie let out a low cheer from where he still lay pinned down.
A sneer became the elder Malfoy's most prominent feature as he tapped his snake ornamented walking stick down roughly onto the ground. "I don't know what foolishness you are on about, boy, but plans to pay for all the damage that you and this beast caused have been made and will be followed."
Malfoy motioned to the side for someone to come forward. A hooded figure stomped forward with a large clear shield and a dark wand in his hand while a large ax was strapped to his back. Four unsavory men, obviously working with the man, followed after, slowly spreading out as they neared the caged dragon.
"Harry," Hermione tapped Harry shoulder urgently before whispering into his ear. "That's the man that came to kill Buckbeak last year! He's Walden Macnair, the Executioner that works for the Committee For The Disposal Of Dangerous Creatures! A very nasty individual, and among those that claimed to be under the Imperius curse during the last war!"
"Out of the way, brat!" Macnair flourished his wand forward, meaning to send Harry and the others flying off to the side. Instead, without meaning to, Harry wandlessly deflected the spell away into some nearby broken branches that spun awkwardly away to crash into some trees.
Harry was scowling back at the approaching Macnair, trying to figure out what to do, when a pop behind him reminded him that he actually had more help than he thought.
"Bristy. Dobby. Take these uncouth individuals to about five hundred feet above the Black Lake, please. And then let them go."
Bristy nodded politely while Dobby sported a rather wicked looking grin. Before Macnair or his underlings could do anything, they were all suddenly gone in a series of pops. In the distance, several abrupt screams traveled to them from the lake accompanied by splashes.
"How dare you interfere with Ministry business!"
"How dare you interfere with Hogwarts business!" Harry retorted back. "For that matter what do you think gives you the right to take dragons –that were only meant to be borrowed from the dragon reserves– and try to render them down to sell! How many people did you have to bribe and threaten to rush that ploy into play?"
"You dare?!" Lucius growled across the distance that separated them.
"Of course I dare! Besides, I can't stand braggarts," Harry pointed to Lucius. "Bullies," he pointed with his thumb over toward the Black Lake. "Or brats!" This last one he indicated Draco, who was staring in disbelief that anyone would dare to stand up to his father like that.
Lucius was red-faced with anger. "You will return those two dragons immediately or I will have the aurors arrest you for theft!"
"Not going to happen!"
"Unless you are planning to pay for the repairs for the castle yourself, you had better return those dragons immediately!"
Before Harry could give another retort, Hermione leaned over and whispered hurriedly in his ear.
He paused as he considered her idea. "But it's been a year and a half," Harry murmured back to her. "Would it really be able to cover the cost?"
More whispering soon answered those questions.
Harry laughed, as he looked back at a wary Lucius Malfoy. "Well, looks like we have the castle repair costs solved."
"What are you prattling on about, boy?" snarked Malfoy
Harry let his face become like ice. "That's 'Lord Slytherin' to you." He looked down at the house-elf that was standing next to him. "Isn't that right, Dobby?"
Dobby happily nodded sending his ears flapping about. "Yes, Master Lord Slytherin Harry Potter sir!"
"Where do you plan to come up with the galleons to pay for all this?" Malfoy hissed through clenched teeth, glaring at the insufferable boy along with his former-house-elf.
Hermione had been whispering as she conspired with Bristy, who nodded in agreement. "Bristy would have to get more house-elves to help."
"How many do you need? Are there enough house-elves at Hogwarts to do it?"
"Bristy thinks so, but Bristy also thinks Bristy will need help of all of the house-elves at Hogwarts."
"That would be fine, Bristy." She patted the house-elf on the shoulder. "How soon do you think you can have it done?"
The house-elf grinned, as he nodded, sending his long bat-like ears flapping around his head. "Bristy be back in a snap." And disappeared.
"And where do you plan to get this treasure trove of wealth, boy?" Lucius queried in a mocking manner
Harry gave a grin that the Cheshire Cat would have envied. "Well, it is a treasure of sorts that I came across mostly thanks to you, Lucy."
"What are you talking about?" Lucius fumed, wishing Macnair were still here to have his back. Somehow, the damnable Boy-Who-Lived had the damn Horntail listening to him, though he was puzzled why one of the Weasley boys was pinned down by the dragon. Even Dumbledore seemed unwilling to interfere in the matter, which surprised him and made him wary. What the hell was going on here? His son had written to him about Potter's claim to being the Heir of Slytherin, but thought Dumbledore could be trusted enough to deal with that bit of nonsense.
"Don't you remember? It all started with you slipping that evil possessing diary of Lord Voldemort's to Ginny Weasley in her first year."
Lucius began to sputter. "Nonsense! I did nothing of the sort!" He caught glances of those in the crowd who were listening to every word they said.
"Oh, but you did. Under possession, Ginny did the bidding of Heir of Slytherin –who was the entity in the diary for those of you not listening close enough– she loosed the beast of Slytherin to attack the students. What you may not have known is that Slytherin's beast was insane due to a thousand years of seclusion. Being able to speak Parseltongue, I could hear the rants of the creature, of how it wanted to kill and tear everyone apart. It didn't care about Blood status; it just wanted to kill everything. It was obsessed with the idea of murdering everyone it came across. Fortunately, Ginny was resistant to the cursed diary enough that she kept it from killing anyone, but only barely. Sooner or later, Slytherin's beast would have broken free anyway. And when it did, it would have been a massacre." Harry shook his head sadly while his audience tried to take in what he had just said. "I just can't believe you were willing to risk the life of your only child just for a chance to get some revenge on me for taking down your master, and Arthur Weasley for being a better man than you, Lucy."
Lucius was about to respond, but before he could, several hundred house-elves popped into the space between Harry and the Malfoys. The house-elves either disengaged themselves and stepped away from what they brought up from the Chamber of Secrets or simply popped away to resume whatever tasks in which they had originally been occupied.
Under all those house-elves was revealed in the light of day to be the very dead basilisk that Harry had killed in his second year at Hogwarts. The massive snake was just over sixty feet long. It's eyes were gone, revealing empty sockets thanks to Fawkes, the phoenix that had come to Harry's aid back in the Chamber of Secrets. If anyone were to look inside the beast's mouth they would note a small entrance wound in the roof of the mouth that went up into it's brain. They would also see that at least one of it's greater teeth were missing.
As they took in the sight of the fearsome creature, many of the students cried out and ran for the castle. Others just stood and stared. A few, such as Draco, wet themselves and even fainted.
"Looks pretty preserved," Harry remarked casually, "so it should still rake in a lot of money once it's rendered. And with basilisks so rare, a creature of this magnitude should bring in quite a lot."
Lucius could only stare in disbelief and amazement at the massive corpse, which is why he never saw the attack coming.
It has been said that Narcissa Malfoy's stinging hexes come to a close second to the Cruciatus curse. Her secret is overpowering the spell while having it specifically attack nerve clusters in the spine or groin. At this moment she struck her husband in both places. Having come from the Black family, forgiveness was not something exemplified often, revenge on the other hand, was second nature.
"That thing was running around the castle, and you still refused to let me bring our son home!" She sent another stinging hex straight at his buttocks that made him cry out like a stuck pig. "You stupid, stupid idiot of a man!"
Before she could hit him with another hex, Lucius had the good sense to use an emergency portkey and was no longer on the grounds. With the target of her righteous anger gone, Narcissa collapsed onto the ground next to her son. She carefully picked up Draco's head so that it could rest on her lap, while she continued to cry and run her fingers through his hair. Surprisingly, it was Myrtle the ghost in her multicolored Myrtle suit who came to sit down next to Mrs. Malfoy and offer her some comfort, while standing next to the ghost was dreamy eyed Luna Lovegood taking notes for the next edition of The Quibbler.
While everyone else gawked at the Malfoy drama or stared in disbelief at the dead basilisk, Hermione had a thought and quickly sent Bristy and Dobby off on another mission. They returned within a few moments looking sad and dejected.
"We's sorry, Master Lord Slytherin Harry Potter sir's Hermie. The Short-Snouty is already being killed," Dobby said, wringing his ears.
Bristy nodded dejectedly. "Bristy and Dobby did bring back nest eggs of Short-Snouty dragon," nodding to the several large eggs behind them.
Harry had been taking in the sight of the basilisk, partially reliving his short -but adrenalin filled- struggle with the massive magic snake. He still couldn't believe he had survived it.
"Bloody hell, Harry!"
At first Harry thought it was Ron speaking to him, but no, Ron was still several hundred feet away on the other side of the dead basilisk. "Charlie?"
"You killed that thing when you were twelve?! How?"
Harry turned partially away in embarrassment. "I had help. Fawkes, Dumbledore's phoenix, blinded it. And the Sorting Hat proved me with the weapon I needed to kill it."
Charlie could only shake his head and stare. "What did the Sorting Hat give you? The Elder wand?"
"Not on your life," barked the Sorting Hat, still on the head of a just waking Dudley's head. "I provided him with Gryffindor's sword!"
"Bloody hell, Harry! Are you serious?"
"No, Sirius is his godfather," Hermione divulged before Harry could, earning her a cheeky grin.
"Sirius is a bad influence on both of us," Harry admitted.
"Wait, please tell me you are not talking about Sirius Black," Charlie asked in askance.
Dudley let out a groan as he sat up. "Why are you talking about Sirius Black? Is he here now, too?" He started to glance fearfully around for the mass murder, while trying to avoid looking at the dragon. "Wha-wha-what…!"
"It's okay, Dudley," Harry said with a smirk. "It's dead."
"It-it is?" Dudley managed to say, shaking as he looked at the basilisk.
"Trust me. I killed it almost two years ago."
Dudley had been taking a panoramic view of the dead basilisk in front of him. Then, before anyone knew what was happening, Dudley's eyes rolled up into his head and he passed out again.
"Oh, now this is ridiculous!" grumped the Sorting Hat. "Do you know how many centuries it has been since I've had to deal with grass stains? They are just so frustrating to get out, even with magic!"
Harry let the others have their chuckles. Remembering the pile of eggs behind him, now with no mother to raise them, Harry felt a pit of sadness in his heart. Hermione knelt down with him to inspect the eggs, making sure all were intact. "Dobby. Bristy. There were no other dragon eggs where you found these?"
Both house-elves shook their heads.
With a heavy heart, Harry looked up at the dragon, surprised to find that she was studying him. ~Any chance any one of these are yours?~ he asked.
She took in a deep sniff, causing several people to shy away, but didn't attack anyone. ~These are all eggs of the dragon that had been removed earlier. How do you come to have them now?~
His head hung low, he nodded. ~Yeah, well, some bad people got a hold of her. They were planning to use her… and the rest of you… to pay for all the damage you and I did at the castle.~
~And this one?~ Her claws clenched around Charlie in a deathlike grip leaving him unable to breath.
~Is innocent!~ Hermione cried out, terrified for Charlie who looked like his eyes were about to pop out of his head. ~In fact he and the other dragon workers were fighting against it, and had managed to get the bad one to allow them to save the eggs!~
~Then he was a part of the ones stealing eggs!~
~No, again!~ Harry shouted, or at least tried to. ~Someone got the eggs first! They were stolen before Charlie and the other dragon workers could keep them safe!~
Her grip on Weasley eased off, allowing Charlie the chance to breathe again, even if it was painful. ~How can I trust what you say, little wizard?~
~If I was going to lie to you, I would have picked a much more believable story to tell you.~
She mulled that over. ~And the dead basilisk?~
~I'm using the basilisk's body to pay for the castle to be restored. No dragon should have been hurt over this. And I will still find and return your eggs for you and the other dragons.~
She seemed to think about it. ~And this is the basilisk that you fought? The one that bit you?~
Uncharacteristically, Harry rolled up his right sleeve. There on his forearm was a large white scar. ~The basilisk bit right through my arm.~
She seemed to nod. ~I do not feel as bad for not being able to defeat you, little wizard. Or perhaps I should call you 'mighty wizard' now?~
Harry blushed, and Hermione shot him a grin. ~Uh, how about just calling me Harry?~
She gave a light coughing laugh. ~Very well, Harry. I shall let this dragon server go, and you will find the eggs belonging to me and the others.~
Hermione was gently running her hand over one of the dragon eggs of the Swedish Short-Snout. ~The dragon handlers, the ones you call the dragon servers, they were going to hatch the eggs themselves and care for them.~
She snorted in agitation. ~It would be best if dragons raised them. I will take three of her eggs into my clutch. The green dragon down in the cavern will take three also. As for she who accidently stomped half her eggs, she will have the rest. Even if they were not laid by her, it will help her heal to raise them.~
Harry gave her a curt nod. ~Then that is how it will be done. Now let's get you down into the Chamber of Secrets before some other fool Ministry worker tries to come and do something stupid.~
With some reluctance, the Hungarian Horntail released Charlie Weasley and was quickly taken down to the depths of the Chamber of Secrets. Dobby and Bristy were put in charge of distributing the eggs of the Swedish Short-Snout among the three dragons that would be occupying the underground holding.
Harry and Hermione immediately waved Madam Pomfrey over to examine and tend to Charlie's injuries. That left Harry and Hermione to fend off the other Weasleys as they tried to rush over to their older sibling.
Harry couldn't help give out a groan as Collin began taking pictures of everything, also noting that his young fan was making sure that Harry was at least in the background of most of the photographs he took. He let out another groan when he saw Dumbledore marching right over to him. And for the first time ever, he noted that the headmaster's eyes weren't twinkling,
AUTHOR's NoTeS:
Well, there is definitely more going on in this chapter than there was in chapter 13.
I don't think there has ever been a fanfiction story where Harry provides the dragons sanctuary at Hogwarts, or even letting them into the Chamber of Secrets.
I hope to have more surprises in the next chapter – like the identity of the person who had been stealing dragon eggs. And believe it or not – it wasn't Lucius Malfoy.