Every time they passed the third-floor corridor, Harry, Ron and Hermione would press their ears to the door to check that Fluffy was still growling inside. Snape was sweeping around in his usual bad temper, which surely meant that the Stone was still safe, they▓d seen Snape and Quirrell argue over the Stone earlier in the week and the idea that Quirrell was the only thing standing in the way of Snape didn▓t ease their spirits.
Harry had begun to prepare the ingredients that he needed to use in the potions for the animagus transformation. Some of the ingredients had been easy to find plant type ingredients, but one needed to be pickled in dragon▓s saliva!
Whenever Harry passed Quirrell these days, Harry gave him an encouraging sort of smile, and Ron started telling people off for laughing at Quirrell's stutter. Hermione, however, had more on her mind than the Sorcerer▓s Stone. She had started drawing up revision timetables and colour-coding all her notes. Harry and Ron wouldn't have minded, but she kept nagging them to do the same.
Unfortunately, the teachers seemed to be thinking along the same lines as Hermione. They piled so much homework on them that the Easter holidays weren't nearly as much fun as the Christmas ones.
It was hard to relax with Hermione next to you reciting the twelve uses of dragon's blood or practicing wand movements. Moaning and yawning, Harry and Ron spent most of their free time in the library with her to get through all their extra homework. Harry was finding it hard to make sure that he wasn▓t out of practice with his own skills, and finding potion ingredients wasn▓t easy either. He had gotten all the ingredients prepared correctly after looking through all the extra ingredients that he convinced Ms. Figg to let him get during summer at Diagon Alley. He still needed the Dragon▓s saliva though.
"I'll never remember this," Ron burst out one afternoon, throwing down his quill and looking longingly out of the library window. It was the first really fine day they'd had in months. The sky was clear, forget-me-not blue and there was a feeling in the air of summer coming.
Harry, who was looking up 'Dittany' in One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi, didn't look up until he heard Ron say, "Hagrid! What are you doing in the library?"
Hagid shuffled into view, hiding something behind his back. He looked very out of place in his moleskin overcoat.
"Jus' lookin'," he said, in a shifty voice that got their interest at once.
"An' hat're you lot up ter?" He looked suddenly suspicious. "Yer not still lookin' fer Nicolas Flamel, are yeh?"
"Oh, we found out who he is ages ago," said Ron impressively. "And we know what that dog's guarding, it's a Sorcerer▓s St-"
"Shhhh!" Hagrid looked around quickly to see if anyone was listening. "Don' go shoutin' about it, what's the matter with yeh?"
"There are a few things we wanted to ask you, as a matter of fact," said Harry, "about what's guarding the Stone apart from Fluffy -"
"SHHHH!" said Hagrid again. "Listen - come an' see me later, I'm not promisin' I'll tell yeh anythin', mind, but don' go rabbitin' about it in here, students aren' s'pposed ter know. They'll think I've old yeh -"
"See you later, then," said Harry.
Hagrid shuffled off.
"What was he hiding behind his back?" said Hermione thoughtfully.
"Do you think it had anything to do with the Stone?"
"I'm going to see what section he was in," said Ron, who'd had enough of working.
He came back a minute later with a pile of books in his arms and slammed them down on the table.
"Dragons!" he whispered. "Hagrid was looking up stuff about dragons! Look at these: Dragon Species of Great Britain and Irealnd; From Egg to Inferno, A Dragon Keeper's Guide."
"But it's against our laws to raise a dragon, right?" said Hermione.
"Dragon-breeding was outlawed by the Warlocks' Convention of 1709, everyone knows that. It's hard to stop Muggles noticing us if we're keeping dragons in the back garden - anyway, you can't tame dragons, it's dangerous. You should see the burns Charlie's got off wild ones in Romania." Ron continued.
"But there aren't wild dragons in Britain?" said Harry.
"Of course there are," said Ron. "Common Welsh Green and Hedridean Blacks. The Ministry of Magic has a job hushing them up, I can tell you. Our lot have to keep putting spells on Muggles who've spotted them, to make them forget."
"So what on earth's Hagrid up to?" said Hermione.
When they knocked on the door of the gamekeeper's hut an hour later, they were surprised to see that all the curtains were closed.
Hagrid called, "Who is it?" before he let them in and then shut the door quickly behind them. It was stiflingly hot inside. Even though it was such a warm day, there was a blazing fire in the grate.
Hagrid made them tea and offered them stoat sandwiches, which they refused.
"So - yeh wanted to ask me somethin'?"
"Yes," said Harry. there was no point in beating about the bush. "We were wondering if you could tell us what's guarding the Sorcerer▓s Stone apart from Fluffy."
Hagrid frowned at him.
"O' course I can't," he said. "Number one, I don' know meself. Number two, yeh know too much already, so I wouldn't tell yeh if I could. That Stone's here fer a good reason. It was almost stolen outta Gringotts - I s'ppose yeh've worked that out an' all? Beats me how yeh even know about Fluffy."
"Oh, come on, Hagrid, you might not want to tell us, but you do know, you know everything that goes on round here," said Hermione in a warm, flattering voice.
Hagrid's beard twitched and they could tell he was smiling. "We only wondered who had done the guarding, really," Hermione went on. "We wondered who Dumbledore had trusted enough to help him, apart from you."
Hagrid's chest swelled at these last words. Harry and Ron beamed at Hermione.
"Well, I don' s'pose it could hurt ter tell yeh that ... let's see ... he borrowed Fluffy from me ... then some o' the teachers did enchantments ... Professor Sprout - Professor Flitwick - Professor McGonagall -" he ticked them off on his fingers. "Professor Quirrell - an' Dumbledore himself did somethin', o' course. Hang on, I've forgotten someone. Oh yeah, Professor Snape."
"Snape?"
"Yeah - yer not still on abou' that, are yeh? Look, Snape helped protect the Stone, he's not about ter steal it."
Harry knew Ron and Hermione were thinking the same thing as he was. If Snape had been in on protecting the Stone, it must have been easy to find out how the other teachers had guarded it. He probably knew everything - except, it seemed, Quirrell's spell and how to get past Fluffy.
"You're the only one who knows how to get past Fluffy, aren't you, Hagrid?" said Harry anxiously. "And you wouldn't tell anyone, would you? Not even one of the teachers?"
"Not a soul knows except me an' Dumbledore," said Hagrid proudly.
"Well, that's something," Harry muttered to the others. "Hagrid, can we have a window open? I'm boiling."
"Can't, Harry, sorry," said Hagrid. Harry notice him glance at the fire. Harry looked at it too.
"Hagrid - what's that?"
But he already knew what it was. In the very heart of the fire, underneath the kettle, was a huge, black egg.
"Ah," said Hagrid, fiddling nervously with his beard. "That's - er ..."
"Where did you get it, Hagrid?" said Ron, crouching over the fire to get a closer look at the egg. "It must've cost you a fortune."
"Won it," said Hagrid. "Las' night. I was down in the villiage havin' a few drinks an' got into a game of cards with a stranger. Think he was quite glad ter get rid of it, ter be honest."
"But what are you going to do with it when it's hatched?" said Hermione.
"Well, I've bin doin' some readin'," said Hagrid, pulling a large book from under his pillow.
"Got this outta the library - Dragon-Breeding for Pleasure and Profit - it's a bit outta date, o' course, but it's all in here. Keep the egg in the fire, 'cause their mothers breathe on 'em, see, an' when it hatches, feed it on a bucket o' brandy mixed with chicken blood every half hour. An' see here - how ter recognise diff'rent eggs - what I got there's a Norwegian Ridegback. They're rare, them."
He looked very pleased with himself, in fact, he was humming merrily as he stoked the fire. So now they had something else to worry about, along with their finals and the stone: what might happen to Hagrid, if anyone found out he was hiding an illegal dragon in his hut.
It was when a buzzing sound could be heard from about the fireplace. Hagrid began to looking giddy and excited.
"It's ready." He ushered them to look at the table as he placed the egg on top.
The egg was lying on the table. The egg began to move, creating deep cracks in the shell. Something was moving inside; a funny clicking noise was coming from it.
They all drew their chairs up to the table and watched with bated breath.
All at once there was a scraping noise and the egg split open. Tha baby dragon flopped down on to the table. It wasn't exactly pretty; Harry thought it looked like a crumpled, black umbrella. Its spiny wings were huge compared to its skinny jet body and it had a long snout with wide nostrils, stubs of horns and bulging, orange eyes.
It sneezed. a couple of sparks flew out of its snout.
It hiccuped, and a cloud of black smoke followed.
"Isn't he beautiful?" Hagrid murmered. He reached out a hand to stroke the dragon's head. It snapped at his fingers, showing pointed fangs.
"Bless him, look, he knows his mummy!" said Hagrid.
"Hagrid," said Hermione, "how fast do Norwegian ridgebacks grow, exactly?"
Hagrid was about to answer when the colour suddenly drained from his face - he leapt to his feet and ran to the window.
"What's the matter?"
"Someone was lookin' through the gap in the curtains - it's a kid - he's runnin' back up ter the school."
Harry bolted to the door and looked out. Even at a distance there was no mistaking him.
Malfoy had seen the dragon.
Something about the smile lurking on Malfoy's face during the next week made Harry, Ron and Hermione very nervous. They spent most of their free time in hagrid's darkened hut, trying to reason with him.
"Just let him go," Harry urged. "Set him free."
"I can't," said Hagrid. "He's too little. He'd die."
They looked at the dragon. It had grown three times in length in just a week. Smoke kept furling out of its nostrils.
Hagrid hadn't been doing his gamekeeping duties because the dragon was keeping him so busy. There were empty brandy bottles and chicken feathers all over the floor.
"I've decided to call him Norbert," said Hagrid, looking at the dragon with misty eyes.
"Oh look he knows his mummy now. Norbert! Norbert! Where's Mummy?"
"He's lost his marbles," Ron muttered in Harry's ear.
"Hagrid," said Harry loudly, "give it a fortnight and Norbert's going to be as long as your house. Malfoy could go to Dumbledore at any moment."
Hagrid bit his lip.
"I - I know I can't keep him for ever, but I can't jus' dump him, I can't."
Harry suddenly turned to Ron.
"Charlie," he said.
"You're losing it, too," said Ron. "I'm Ron, remember?"
"No - Charlie - your brother Charlie. in Romania. Studying dragons. We could sent Norbert to him. Charlie can take care of him and then pout him back in the wild!"
"Brilliant!" said Ron. "How about it, Hagrid?"
And in the end, Hagrid agreed that they could owl to Charlie to ask him.
The following week dragged by. Wednesday night found Hermione and Harry sitting alone in the common room, long after everyone else had gone to bed. the clock on the wall had just chimed midnight when the portrait hole burst open. Ron appeared out of nowhere as he pulled off Harry's Invisibility Cloak. He had been down to Hagrid's hut, helping him feed Norbert, who was now eating dead rats by the crate.
"It bit me!" he said, showing them his hand, which was wrapped in a bloody handkerchief. "I'm not going to be able to hold a quill for a week. I tell you, that dragon's the most horrible animal I've ever met, but the way Hagrid goes on about it, you'd think it was a fluffy little bunny rabbit. When it bit me he told me off for frightening it. And when I left, he was singing it a lullaby."
There was a tap on the dark window.
"It's Hedwig!" said Harry, hurrying to let her in. "She'll have Charlie's answer!"
The three of them put their heads together to read the note.
Dear Ron,
How are you?
Thanks for the letter - I'd be glad to take the Norwegian Ridgeback, but it won't be easy getting him here. I think the best thing will be to send him over with some fiends of mine who are coming to visit me next week. Trouble is, they musn't be seen carrying an illegal dragon.
Could you get the Ridgeback up the tallest tower at midnight on Saturday? They can meet you there and take him away while it's still dark.
Send me an answer as soon as possible.
Love,
Charlie
They looked at each other.
"We've got the Invisibility Cloak," said Harry. "I don▓t want to worry about you guys though, I can do it alone."
⌠Harry, are you madder than Hagrid, I just got bit by the little blighter!■
⌠If you remember correctly, I took down the bloody troll with a spear made of bone, I think that I can do this alone, this way if anyone gets caught its only one set of points removed. Don▓t want to get Gryffindor back while we▓re ahead do we?■
It was a mark of how bad the last week had been that the other two agreed with him. Anything to get rid of Norbert - and Malfoy.
There was a hitch.
By next morning, Ron's bitten hand had swollen to twice its usual size. He didn't know whether it was safe to go to Madam Pomfrey - would she recognise a dragon bite? By the afternoon, though, he had no choice. The cut had turned a nasty shade of green. It looked as if Norbert's fangs were poisonous.
Harry and Hermione rushed to the hospital wing at the end of the day to find Ron in a terrible state in bed.
"It's not just my hand," he whispered, "although that feels like it's about to fall off. Malfoy told Madam Pomfrey he wanted to borrow one of my books so he could come and have a good laugh at me. He kept threatening to tell her what really bit me - I've told her it was a dog but I don't think she believes me - I shouldn't have hit him at the Quidditch match, that's why he's doing this."
Harry and Hermione tried to calm Ron down.
"It'll all be over at midnight on Saturday," said Harry, but this didn't soothe Ron at all.
On the contrary, he sat bolt upright and broke into a sweat.
"Midnight on Saturday!" he said in a hoarse voice. "Oh no - oh no - I've just remembered - Charlie's letter was in that book Malfoy took, he's going to know we're getting rid of Norbert."
Harry and Hermione didn't get a chance to answer. Madam Pomfrey came over at that moment and made them leave, saying Ron needed sleep.
"It's too late to change the plan now," Harry told Hermione. "We haven't got time to send Charlie another owl and this could be our only chance to get rid of Norbert. We have to risk it. And I've got the Invisibility Cloak, Malfoy doesn't know about that."
They found Fang the boarhound sitting outside with a bandaged tail and a burn on his backside when they went to tell Hagrid, who opened a window to talk to them.
"I won't let you in," he puffed. "Norbert's at a tricky stage - nothin' I can't handle."
When they told him about Charlie's letter, his eyes filled with tears, although that might have been because Norbert had just bitten him on the leg.
"Aargh! It's all right, he only got my boot - jus' playin' - he's only a baby, after all."
The baby banged its tail on the wall, making the windows rattle. Harry and Hermione walked back to the castle, feeling Saturday couldn't come quickly enough.
They would have felt sorry for Hagrid when the time came for him to say goodbye to Norbert if they hadn't been so worried about what they had to do. It was a very dark, cloudy night and Harry was a bit late arriving at Hagrid's hut because he had to wait for Peeves to get out of his way in the Entrance Hall, where he'd been playing tennis against the wall.
Hagrid had Norbert packed and ready in a large crate.
"He's got lots o' rats an' some brandy fer the journey. An' I've packed his teddy bear in case he gets lonely.," said Hagrid in a muffled voice, as Harry summoned a skeleton, promising Hagrid an explanation later.
From inside the crate came ripping noises that sounded to Harry as though teddy was having his head torn off.
"Bye-bye, Norbert!" Hagrid sobbed, as Harry and the skeleton covered the crate with the Invisibility Cloak and stepped underneath it. "Mummy will never forget you!"
How he managed to get the crate back up to the castle, he never knew. Midnight ticked nearer and nearer as he heaved Norbert up the marble staircase, then another - even one of Harry's short cuts didn't make the work much easier.
"Nearly there!" Harry panted to himself, as he reached the corridor beneath the tallest tower.
Then a sudden movement ahead of him made Harry almost drop his end of the crate.
Forgetting that he was already invisible, he and the skeleton shrank into the shadows, with Harry staring at the two outlines of two people grappling with each other ten feet away. A lamp flared. Professor McGonagall, in a tartan dressing-gown and a hairnet, had Malfoy by the ear.
"Detention!" she shouted. "And twenty points from Slytherin! Wandering around in the middle of the night, how dare you-"
"You don't understand, Professor, Harry Potter's coming - he's got a dragon!"
"What utter rubbish! How dare you tell such lies! Come on - I shall see Professor Snape about you, Malfoy!"
The steep spiral staircase up to the top of the tower seemed the easiest thing in the world after that. Not until he'd stepped out into the cold night air, did he throw off the Cloak and dispell the skeleton, glad to be able to breathe properly again.
Chuckling about Malfoy, he waited. Norbert thrashing about in his crate. About ten minutes later, four broomsticks came swooping down out of the darkness.
Charlie's friends were a cheery lot. They showed Harry the harness they'd rigged up, so they could suspend Norbert between them.
They all helped buckle Norbert safely into it and then Harry shook hands with the others and thanked them very much, after signing autographs, of course.
At last, Norbert was going ... going ... gone.