Minerva walked up to Rose carefully. Something wasn't right with the girl, and if it were up to Minerva the girl would be expelled for her clear inability to control herself. The girl was callous, uncaring, and she wouldn't stop overpowering her spells. Still, Minerva had an important job to do, and she wouldn't let her opinions get in the way of her duty to the headmaster now any more than she had when Dumbledore had dropped Rose of at her muggle relative's house. Tapping the girl's shoulder to get her attention, Minerva delivered her message. "The headmaster wants to see you. You should remember the password from yesterday" Walking off the second that she could, Minerva left the child. Something was odd about Rose, and Minerva wasn't going to deal with the girl more than necessary.
"What do you suppose that it's about?" Dudley asked, curious.
"Probably about our exploration a few days ago" Rose shrugged, not feeling threatened. "The headmaster likes me enough to just want to visit, so you probably needn't worry"
"It's not you that I'd be scared for" Neville interjected. "But the headmaster should be able to handle the problems that you undoubtably cause him"
"You don't even know the half of it" Rose said, smirking with a dark look in her eyes. "We'll both be fine, and we can continue this study session tomorrow, unless anyone else feels like taking over for the rest of today?" She asked in a far louder voice.
"I can do it" Hermione said, nearly indignant that she wasn't volunteered automatically.
"Good. In that case, continue where I lead of, and try not to snub anyone to badly this time, alright?" Rose asked. A few people left, but most of the group stayed. Hermione had shaped up for the better sense Halloween, and now a lot more people were at least willing to stand her comments and discussions. A lot of them still mocked Hermione behind her back part of the time, but she was a lot less intolerable to be around. With her intellect and revised attitude, Hermione made for a great substitute leader of the study group.
"You can count on me, and that only happened a few times" Hermione said, half pouting. She had driven her fellow students to tears on a few occasions with her comments, and no one would really let her forget it enough to become a repeat occurrence.
"Good. I'm off, and enjoy the rest of the session without me. Hermione, I want an update on the group tonight, and don't tell me where everyone messed up this time. Details on who needs more help and who is excelling only, if you would be willing."
"Yes, ma'am" The whole group said as one. Rose was now able to walk off without anyone fallowing her or leaving any obligations. The study group had been a great idea, and training Hermione to take over was an even better one. Going to see her headmaster, Rose wondered if Minerva filled a similar role for him.
"Lemon Drops" Rose told the gargoyle, tapping her foot impatiently. It was taking longer than usual.
"The Headmaster is still busy" it told her, smirking at the chance to annoy the girl. Enchanted objects couldn't be obliviated in the same way that people could, and almost the whole school was annoyed with the destruction that Rose caused. Even though Rose could dodge fake doors and missing steps easily, keeping doors locked was one of the ways the castle it sill could express it's displeasure.
"Oh, do let her pass you silly creature," Dumbledore called from the top of the stairs. It was unfortunate that he couldn't simply make the castle favor one student in particular the way he could ensure preferential treatment for himself. "Come inside, dear girl" he told Rose, shooing the gargoyle away himself.
"Yes, sir" Rose said, shooting the Gargoyle a triumphant look. "You wanted to see me, sir?" She asked once inside the room.
Sitting at his desk, Dumbledore struggled to find the right thing to say in light of the situation. Facts seemed to be a good place to start, even though he was hesitant. "Darling, you do know that dragon breeding is strictly prohibited?" He asked her.
"Neville said something along those lines when I first met the unborn dragon, yes" She was quick to agree.
"Rose, hatching a dragon egg within an unqualified building counts as dragon breeding" Dumbledore added.
"Why?" Rose asked.
"If a dragon escapes an unfit home the way that a dog or cat might, it could break the Statute of Secrecy" Dumbledore said. "You need to have a license and a properly warded aria in order to keep a dragon, much less to raise it without the creature's natural mother"
"If that's true, then how did Hagrid get the egg at all?" Rose asked, curious.
"Oh, using dragon eggs in potions isn't nearly so heavily regulated as raising them" Dumbledore said, sadly. "It is tragic for the creature, but many such rituals are too deeply regulated to be removed from our culture entirely. More than that, some of the things that use dragon eggs are very beneficial, to the point where people can easily be bribed to look the other way so long as it isn't an endangered species involved."
"Oh" Rose said, looking down. That was upsetting, but she should probably stop distracting Dumbledore from his point. She should face responsibility. "Does it count as illegal if the dragon is already hatched?" She asked.
"Oh, it certainly isn't dear one" Dumbledore said with a laugh. "If a dragon is just a hatchling, anyone is more than allowed to care for it until it's old enough to release into a dragon reserve or into the care of a person with the needed licenses"
"Then is it illegal for Hagrid to take care of the dragon now that it's already hatched?" She asked.
"No…" Dumbledore was startled into a laugh. "You're a clever little thing, aren't you? Yes, if I modify Hagrid's memories so that he can genuinely say that he found the thing when it was barely hatched and took it in, then there wouldn't be any rules in question, so long as the regulations were being met"
"So, can it stay?" Rose asked, looking up hopefully.
"No, it really can't" Dumbledore said, shaking his head even as his eyes sparkled with a secret. "If someone launches an inspection into the creature's care and finds it unable to fit with the guidelines, then they can take the dragon to someone more qualified. Even though the creature would end up in a good home, that home wouldn't be somewhere that you could keep contact with it"
"What do you need to make a place pass inspection?" Rose asked, leaning in eagerly.
"Ha, very well child, I will let you take up the care of the young creature. Surely the officials wouldn't deny the Girl-who-lived access to the defenseless creature that she was taking care of. Still, it is a big responsibility. There are a number of charms that need to be placed on it's habitat and some structures that need to be added as it reaches closer to adulthood, and you would need to release it into the hands of a dragon reserve or get a whole slew of new licenses in order to keep it once it actually does reach adulthood. If you really want it that much, then I will let you do it. Now tell me, are you ready to dedicate a great part of your future to caring for a dragon, a dangerous creature whose death has been considered one of the greatest adventures in British culture for thousands of years?" He asked. Rose needed to be sure about it before he made any decisions. This would change her life, and backing out midway would spell absolute disaster for everyone involved.
She knew that to. This was a big responsibility. If she could keep and train and manage the dragon well enough to make it her pet in the eyes of any observer, that would be an incomparable boost to her reputation. If she failed or even got slightly hurt by the dragon, she would just be another cocky fool who got in over their head. Thinking about how soothing it had been to control a dragon so easily, Rose wanted to do it. Thinking about the way she had failed her carrier as a ninja, she wanted to back out before she ruined herself in yet another way. One thought did carry though her doubt on whether she could make herself the caretaker and owner of a dragon. She had managed to make the troll back down, and the dragon had obeyed her when she was inexperienced. If Rose really wanted to take care of the dragon and stuck with it, she could become the person it would take to control the dragon despite how big it grew.
Was it worth the effort to train and keep the dragon? Rose remembered one relevant book from the Konoha Library that she had scanned a few times. It had been about the origins of summons. Some of the details of it were fuzzy, but the essence of the book remained with her. Something about the way others worked made it possible for animals to be summoned form one to another. Through generations, as history entwined, most of the common summons had ended up in one unified world. Still, the original method could still work to introduce new allies to the battlefield. Surely a dragon would be impressive enough to let Rose regain some of her standing should she get the opportunity to redeem herself as a valuable combat shinobi of Konoha. That was an opportunity she would be glad to shape the rest of her life getting.
"I want to take care of it, and I'm willing to learn" Rose decided, looking Dumbledore in the eye. This was her chance to prove what she was willing to do, her chance to be taken seriously. Rose wasn't going to bungle that, no matter what it cost her!
Suddenly dropping his eyes and clutching his head, Dumbledore tried weakly to smile. "You are a brave girl my dear, of that there can be no doubt" Getting out of his chair and looking around the room for a few books, he continued his agreement. "I'll give you a pass to go into the restricted section so that you can learn relevant spells for the care of the young dragon. By the way, what did you name it?" he asked.
"I haven't" Rose admitted, looking down. "Hagrid wanted to name if Nobert, but I forbid him from naming the girl such an unfeminine name. He hasn't thought of a better one yet"
"That's silly of you" Dumbledore said, laughing. "Hagrid had his wand snapped: he's not legally capable of taking care of a dragon. You need to be the one to name it, as much for legality's sake as your own"
"Do you have any ideas on what would be appropriate?" Rose asked.
"Well, if the dragon is a girl, then a name that fallows your maternal family's tradition would be appropriate and solidify it as a good part of your heritage. Your mother and her sister and you are all named after flowers, so that would be a good place to look"
"Would Snapdragon be weird?" Rose asked.
"No, that would be a nice, appropriate name" Dumbledore said, smiling as his headache started to relax.
"Then her name is Snapdragon" Rose said, smiling. She had a dragon, and she was going to take care of Snapdragon.
"Good. Now, Snapdragon is going to need a lot of things. You are responsible for taking care of her. Here is your pass into the restricted section, and I'm expecting you to find out how to care for her on your own. Do you think that you can do that?" Dumbledore asked severely.
"If you will be kind enough to give me a copy of the legal standard to which it should be maintained, I think that I can figure it out. Even if I can't, I know who to ask" Rose said, smiling.
"Don't expect me to join in your creature-raising adventure" Dumbledore said sternly. "I don't know what your life with your aunt was like, but you are going to be the one taking responsibility for the whole dragon experience"
"I was going to say Hagrid or Neville" Rose said, put out with the lack of trust. "Hagrid would know how to care for something he's wanted for years, and Neville isn't someone who would be targeted for asking those types of questions. If what I gather about his Grandmother is correct, she would be more inclined to be glad for his initiative.
"This isn't something that you can pawn of onto one of your friends, Rose" Dumbledore warned.
"I'm not planning on it" Rose said, looking him in the eye as she took the offered books. "Thank you"
As she left, she picked up on something that probably wasn't intended for her ears. "How does she have mind defenses that strong?" Dumbledore muttered.