OOO

"Wait until you hear what I did to Ron!" Draco jumped up the moment Harry stepped into the common room of Gryffindor Tower.

"Never mind that," Harry replied in a low, urgent voice. "Snape's been up to something!"

"What?" Draco paused for a moment, taken aback. "What do you mean?" He whispered. "Up to what? Has he been going after the dog again?"

"Worse," Harry intoned gravely as Nott and Hermione came up and joined them. "I think he's leaning on Quirrell now to help him."

Dragging them off to one side, the common room thankfully empty by then save for Fred, George and Lee who were absorbed amongst themselves, Harry filled his friend in on what he'd heard flying over the forest.

"So he said he was waiting for his 'bit of hocus pocus' and Quirrell sounded really nervous," Harry finished.

"Of course he was." Draco frowned. "Snape's bloody terrifying when he wants to be and Quirrell's a bundle of nerves! I'd be surprised if Quirrell doesn't cave in under a fortnight. We need to tell Dumbledore."

"And tell him what?" Nott demanded. "What solid proof do we have? Quirrell would probably be too scared of Snape to corroborate the story. So it would be Harry's word against Snape's. Snape could argue that Harry is simply another whiny, petulant student, making up stories because he doesn't like his teacher."

"Well what will happen if we don't say anything?" Draco demanded. "You think its better that nobody try to stop him?"

"That's not what I said." Nott shot back. "I'm saying that we need to be smart about this. Don't forget – Dumbledore's a very strong wizard. There's no way even Snape would try anything with him around. I say we stick to what we're doing and wait."

"I agree with Nott," Hermione burst in. "Snape won't try anything with Dumbledore around."

"But what if he decides that even Dumbledore's not enough of a threat to him?"

"Have a little faith in the headmaster!" She protested. "He didn't get that position by doing nothing. He's got a very impressive list of accomplishments that Snape can't begin to equal, including the defeat of the worst continental dark wizard. So unless you're suggesting that Snape's got Voldemort secreted away in a potions ingredients closet or some such nonsense I wouldn't worry about it."

"You two sound awfully confident," Draco retorted. "But I still think Snape could get what he wanted through sneakiness. And as for Voldemort," he hissed the name, "do you lot really think his being behind this is impossible?"

"I'm not sure what to think of that," Nott replied coolly. "But what I know is this; telling Dumbledore now without any proof will come to no end and will tip our hand about what we know. Trust me – when have I ever mislead you? Just wait."

The other two boys paused a moment, then nodded, conceding.

"For now," Draco amended. "But if anything happens…"

"If anything happens, we'll deal with that situation without being hasty," Theo told them firmly then broke out in a smile. "But enough about the stone for now – you've told us your story Harry. Now we get to tell ours."

"Oh yeah… so what happened?"

"Well, Ron started in on Neville, gong on about the other day and then cutting into me and Susan and the rest of use. So Nott turns around and tells him off."

"And which point Pansy got in on the insult action," Nott continued. "She backs Ron up about Neville being an idiot, Hufflepuffs being dull and then adds on that Gryffindors are interfering gits."

"So we took a stab at her looks," Draco grinned though Hermione was glaring in a disapproving fashion.

"You shouldn't have done that," she reprimanded. "Girls can be sensitive."

"Pansy's got a heart of ice, though. She was asking for it," Draco insisted. "Anyway, getting back to what happened. As soon as we do that, Ron takes a swing at Theo and gets him in the mouth. I go down low and tackle his legs while Theo jumps his torso."

"After that it all got fairly confusing," Nott admitted. "Everybody just started to jump in and pummel whatever and whomever they could get their hands on that was wearing opposing house colors."

"Sounds brilliant," Harry grinned. "Almost wish I'd been there."

"'Cept you were too busy winning," Draco teased him with a light push and everybody, even Hermione, smiled.

"We're very proud of you Harry," Hermione told him. "Very proud."

"Thanks guys." He soaked in the moment for a while before a yawn finally parted his lips. "It's been a long day, though. I think I need to get to bed."

"We all should. It's past curfew for you," Hermione pointed towards Draco. "And exams are coming up; we should be getting sleep so that we'll be in top form for studying."

"Coming up!" Draco looked at her, incredulous. "Granger, the exams are about three months away!"

"Two and a half," she retorted.

"Still," Harry joined in protest. "That's ages from now!"

"Not to Nicholas Flamel," she shot back with a smirk.

Before Harry could interrupt about how they weren't Nicholas Flamel, Nott nodded in agreement.

"Hermione's right; you two are going to need all the studying you can get and we need to be sure we have everything down. We need to start going over notes, perhaps arranging study groups, schedule time for revising particular subjects – get things in order so that we'll all be well prepared when the time does arrive."

"You've gone spare," Draco rolled his eyes. "Both of you. You're smart enough you could both probably pass already; and Harry and I… we'll be just fine getting in what we can get done. Come on now – scheduling study time?"

""You're the lucky one," Harry added. "You can hide out in your dorm with Ernie and the other girls." He looked glum. "I however am probably going to get shanghaied by these two into whatever crazy study plan they come up with."

"It's for your own benefit," Nott admonished as Draco slipped on his invisibility cloak, went up the tower to retrieve Dragon, and then exited through the portal. "The sooner we start the better."

"Nutters," Harry muttered, though not unkindly, under his breath.

"You'll be thanking us later," Hermione told him brusquely as she brushed past him on her way to the girl's quarters.

"I'll be thankful if I get a moment of free time," he shouted after he retreated back.

As he headed up with Nott, even the prospect of long hours spent pouring over books couldn't dampen the sense of elation that Harry felt. He'd finally done more than get credit for an act he couldn't even remember. He'd achieved something that his house could be proud of, fairly won his admiration for once.

That night, despite the conversation he'd overheard, Harry slept soundly, undisturbed by recurring images from the Mirror of Erised or any other nightmares that had been plaguing him. Next to him, Theodore was not quite so lucky.

However, tired out and sleeping soundly, Harry never heard.

OOO

The studying that Harry predicted turned out to be all that he feared it would and more. Theo and Hermione were voracious in their extra reading and insisted on making Harry listen to what they'd learned in his spare time. They made copious notes and compared them, making even more notes in the process and then dragging Harry with them to deserted parts of the common room or library to review said notes for hours on end.

Not even Draco proved safe from their studious mania; as it turned out, Susan was of a like mind with Hermione and Nott, and she managed to, with the help of the two Gryffindors, coerce the Hufflepuffs into study along with them.

"Nott and Hermione are at the top of the class," she insisted. "We can really learn from them! You want to improve our House's reputation and standing don't you?"

The rest could only reluctantly nod as they were forcibly ushered into the library for yet another marathon study session.

The only consolation that Draco and Harry had was that Quirrell, while bending (if his appearance was anything to go by) did not seem to break. Snape was his usual irascible self and they felt sure that if anything happened to the stone, there would be a major issue made of it. As small a consolation as it was, it was about the only positive during a springtime that neither could appreciate, buried as they were by work both from Hermione and Theo and from their teachers.

So it was that he and Harry found themselves sitting at one of the library's lengthy tables with the rest of their Hufflepuff and Gryffindor companions, stuck inside on what was otherwise a gorgeous, sunny afternoon.

"Dittany, dittany…" Harry thumbed through the pages of a book on plants and fungi. "Where's that stupid dittany entry…"

"Hagrid!" Draco suddenly burst out with such a yell that Madame Pince glared and Hannah, who was sitting next to him, jolted in alarm. "Hagrid, we haven't seen you in forever!" Draco leaped up and raced around to the other side of the shelf where Hagrid appeared to be looking at a book. The looming man quickly hid it away and gave Draco a small, tense smile.

"'Ere now," he grumbled. "I 'aven't seen you in an age, neither. What've yeh been up to?" He frowned. "Nothing about… that?"

"Well, we're a little bit worried about certain people trying to steal the Sto…"

"Shhhh!" Hagrid clamped a mammoth hand over Draco's mouth. "Don' be goin' about an' saying tha' ter ev'rybody!"

"Sorry," Draco whispered. "But we think that some people might be trying to slip past Fluffy and get to the… get to it." He amended hastily.

"Naw," Hagrid shook his head. "Not poss'ble."

"Nott figured it out," Draco replied. "That all you needed was a little music…"

"Shhhhh!" Hagrid shushed him a second time, more urgently than the first. "I told yeh – you shouln' be talkin' 'bout it here!" He shifted uncomfortably and backed away. "Ah need ter git going. I'll talk to you lot later."

With that, he beat a hasty retreat, still hiding the book from Draco's view. Draco, visibly crestfallen, sat back next to Hannah with a sigh.

"What was that about?" Ernie inquired with a glance and Draco shrugged.

"Just stuff. Haven't seen him in forever or been down to the cabin in ages."

"That's because you can't afford to," Nott replied, setting another book down in front of him. "Your transfigurations are still atrocious and your grasp of charm theory is weak. Not to mention your barely adequate potions mixing skills."

"It was like he didn't even want to talk to me," Draco went on, as if he hadn't heard Nott, before opening up his books again.

Hours later, after the rest of the Hufflepuffs had gone back to the dorms with only Draco lingering, kept there at Nott's insistence, the boy was still griping about the brush-off he'd been given. "I don't get it! We haven't talked in forever and he can't even hold a halfway decent conversation? Couldn't even be bothered to invite us by for tea sometime soon?"

"Do we need an invitation?" Harry asked. "Can't we just stop by to visit him?"

"I guess; but why so standoffish?"

"It probably had something to do with the book he was holding," Nott replied, as if it were obvious. "Couldn't you see how he was hiding the cover from you?"

"Didn't notice," Draco admitted. "What do you think it was about?"

"Well, he got it from over here," Nott stood and walked to the shelves where Hagrid had been browsing. When he began scanning the titles, he frowned. "This can't be right."

"What is it?" Harry asked, walking over, soon joined by the others.

"These are all books on dragons," Theo observed. "Dragon identification, breeding, raising…"

"But all of that's illegal, isn't it?" Hermione inquired. "I'm fairly certain I've read that it's illegal."

"Of course it's illegal," Nott snapped. "Common sense should tell you that!"

"So if it's illegal, why's Hagrid so interested in it?" Harry stood next to him, running his fingers over the titles on the spines.

Theo looked over at Draco who was busy flipping through one of the volumes on dragon types, eyeing the pictures hungrily. "These are so cool," the silver-haired boy breathed. "What I wouldn't give to have one of these…"

"What Hagrid wouldn't give," Theo muttered.

"Theo? You don't think…" Hermione mused.

"I wouldn't put it past him," Theo sighed, picking up on her thought. "Those two are exactly alike," he said with a nod towards Draco. "A penchant for dangerous animals and forget the consequences."

"You think he might have a dragon?" Draco whispered, his eyes shining brightly. "Think he'll let us see it?"

"I suppose there's only one real way to find out." Theo went back to the table and gathered up his books. "I suppose we're about due for a break anyway."

The rest of them grinned, Draco most of all, and they made their way down to Hagrid's hut.

OOO

When Draco returned from the evening visit to Hagrid, he was in a surprisingly buoyant mood, Sirius thought. He gave a bark, as if to inquire what was going on. Draco, still grinning from ear to ear, leaned over and whispered to him.

"I'll tell you all about it, soon as we get outside."

The, draping his invisibility cloak over both of them, Draco lead Sirius out of the castle for their evening walk.

"Hagrid's got a dragon!" He whispered, making sure he was out of the earshot of any other late night wanderers. "Well, not exactly a dragon. I mean it's only an egg right now. But it's going to be a dragon – a Norwegian Ridgeback! Isn't that great? I'm going to get to be up close to a dragon!" He ruffled Sirius fur with enthusiasm.

Sirius, however, gave an uncertain bark. Draco frowned in reply and rolled his eyes.

"Oh don't be that way; you sound like Nott, getting all worked up about him getting caught or burning his hut down or something like that. Don't worry so much; I'm sure it will be fine. Besides," he flopped down on the grass. "It's a dragon!"

Which was, of course, precisely what worried Sirius. A dragon? What could Hagrid have been thinking? Forget his house; he'd be lucky if it didn't end up burning the whole forest down once it got bigger. He enjoyed getting up to mischief as much as, and likely more than, most anybody, but even Sirius was wondering if a dragon wasn't a bit too far.

Making sure the cloak would cover him, he transformed into his human shape.

"For once, I am with Nott," Sirius replied. "Has he thought about what a huge risk this is? He can't keep it hidden forever – what if he gets fired?' Draco looked crestfallen as Sirius' admonishment, but the man pressed on. "You must persuade him to give it up, Draco. It's for his own good. Besides, where did he even get such a thing?"

"Said he won it down in the village playing cards," Draco shrugged. "Probably somebody thought it'd be a good idea to have one as a pet but was too scared to keep it."

"Or too sensible. Dragons are highly illegal! This is not something to take lightly!"

"Draco sighed with impatience. "I know, I know. I've been hearing the same thing all night from Theo and Hermione."

"Well perhaps you should take their advice more seriously." Draco pouted and Sirius, looking on in sympathy, softened his tone and took a different tack. "Besides Draco – do you really think a Norwegian Ridgeback would be happy living with Hagrid? A dragon like that is at home in the mountains, not in England. It needs room to fly and hunt, not to be cooped up. It's not just for the sake of people that they're not supposed to be kept as pets. It's for the dragons own good too."

Draco was still frowning, but his shoulders gave a little shrug as he reconsidered. "I guess. I mean, that does make sense. I suppose. I still really want to see it hatch, though." His face twisted in longing and Sirius relented.

"Just try to persuade him to get rid of it not long after, before it gets too big to move."

"But where would we get rid of it anyway?" Draco wondered.

"I'm sure we'll think of something."

"If I ever get the time to think about anything but classes ever again," Draco groaned. "I told you how much Nott and Hermione and Susan are making us all study, right?"

"Every night for the last three weeks."

"It's driving me right up a wall!" He ran his fingers through his hair, exasperated. "I can't even think to myself anymore! All I keep thinking of is lessons and notes and facts and figures! They'll be sending me to the nut house before the year's out.

"Come now; I'm sure you're exaggerating, at least a little."

"No I'm not!" Draco glared at him. "You know what Theo's like! And the other two – they're cut from the same mold. Susan's not quite as bad, but still. If I have to listen through another lecture about the proper way to chop daisy roots, somebody's getting a potions manual to the face," he muttered.

"I suppose that as an adult I should encourage you to study hard," Sirius grinned. "But you're right; that does sound pretty miserable. You should use your cloak and the passages to get away more often."

"I should; I barely remember what peace and quiet feels like." He sighed. "And when we're not worrying about classes, the Stone's always on our minds."

"Oh? Did something else happen?"

"Remember how Harry overheard Snape leaning on Quirrell?" Sirius nodded. "Well, when we were talking to Hagrid today, he said we were wrong because Snape's helping to guard it. A bunch of teachers are, apparently – including Quirrell. So Nott and Hermione are thinking that Snape's got all of the other teachers traps figured out except for Quirell's and Fluffy."

"The dog?" Sirius smirked.

"Yeah. I know; the name makes me laugh too," Draco grinned. "But regardless – if Nott could figure it out, I'm sure Snape could too. He's clever, that one, much as I hate to admit it."

"Clever and sneaky and dark," Sirius agreed bitterly. "Don't trust him, Draco, not for a moment. And keep your eye on him. It might be smarter to wait for now, but you can bet he'll try something before too long."

"I almost wished he would." Draco stood, making sure the cloak still covered Sirius. "At least then we might get a little excitement, something to distract us from reviewing all the time. Come on, we'd better get back."

As they headed back to the castle, Sirius twisted his head and glanced briefly at Hagrid's cabin. Even though the curtains were drawn, he could tell from the glowing red edging the glass and the smoke pouring out of the chimney that the groundskeeper was stoking a fire far too hot for anything normal.

He was sure in his heart it would lead to trouble, probably – inevitably – involving Draco. He could only hope it wouldn't be too much.

OOO

A/N: So we're almost to Norbert. More on that the next time along with lots of other crazy escapades and more of Sirius as well as other characters like Ginny and the rest. :)