I do not own nor possess any right over Harry Potter, all rights belongs to J.K. Rowling.

Chapter 4

The sun was already up since a few hours when Harry woke up on his little pile of coins. He fell asleep short after coming back and it was a long rest well needed but now he was ready for this new day.

Stretching his wings, he looked at his little treasure, observing with great attention the tiniest details on each coin, learning their differences to recognize them later. It took him a few minutes but he was satisfied, there wasn't many coins or gold yet but it shouldn't be too hard to find more inside this giant hive of young humans. Turning toward the window, the feeling of hunger made him change his mind, feeling like eating one or two rats.

Getting close to the humans would be risky, he hadn't found an entry yet and where the food was prepared. That would a problem for later, right now a rat or two would be enough and there was plenty of fields and nature around for him to hunt.

Jumping on the window frame, he looked at the lake and the dark forest that was on the other side. Harry knew he wouldn't go there, not even for all the gold in the world. He jumped in the air and went toward the opposite direction, where green grass and more regular forests stood in the landscape where prey was certain to be abundant.

Hermione was sat with Ron in the Transfiguration class, taught by the severe looking Professor McGonagall. Hermione was having a lot of fun, managing to cast her spells with ease like changing a match into a needle where her red haired friend had a few difficulties, not helped by his bad looking wand.

The bell rang the end of the class and only Hermione managed to change her match into a needle. Almost all children were already starting to leave the classroom that Hermione gathered her books to go toward the desk of the professor. She had a question in mind that remained since yesterday night, more precisely about a dangerous encounter in train.

"Yes Miss Granger?" Asked Professor McGonagall turning toward the studious girl in front of her.

"Professor, I wanted to know if you have heard anything about the dragon that was in the train yesterday." Stated Hermione.

The old woman let out a sigh, clearly annoyed about this issue.

"I'm afraid not Miss Granger. The entirety of the staff have been made aware and is actively looking for this threat but it might take a while to find him. Rest assured that there is no reason to be scared, we are all perfectly safe in here."

"But that's what has been troubling me. The dragon wasn't aggressive besides with Malfoy, he even went into Neville's pockets to take his coins. Not once did he made any attempt to attack against us." Explained Hermione.

"Miss Granger. I understand that seeing a dragon for the first time might be impressive but I assure you that they can be terrific creatures, I ask of you to not try any attempt to befriend him should you find him. It is very lucky that the only injury was a bite on Malfoy's arm and Madame Pomfrey has already fix his wound." Said Professor McGonagall with a strict voice.

"Yes Professor."

"Good, now you should hurry up if you wish to be on schedule for your next class."

It's a bit disappointed that Hermione left the Transfiguration class for the Potions lesson. Even if she was scarred when she found herself in front of the small dragon, she couldn't admit that it looked beautiful with its golden scales and it never did any agressive move against her. Sure he bit Malfoy but the rude and obnoxious Slytherin was clearly too loud and too stupid to not notice the golden dragon that was right next to him.

"What were going doing?" Suddenly asked Ron coming to her right.

"Asking something to Professor McGonagall." She replied.

"You're the only one who would do that." He said before going forward, not seeing that his comment hurt Hermione.

Harry was flying back from his hunt, a bird in his stomach and a small rat in his mouth that he was finishing. As he thought, prey was indeed abundant and it was reassuring to know that he could feed without the need to go close to the humans, that was one less problem to think about. But his hunt also taught him a lot as he saw many small creatures that he never saw before, some looking like tiny humans with wings other complete mysteries that he was in no hurry to meet again.

He returned to his nest briefly, just to make sure that no one took his coins. Thankfully no one did and he spent a few minutes to pick up the broken glass of the window and threw it up the window, not even thinking about what was beneath and he also took care to remove the rest of the spiderwebs, burning them with a small flame that cleared the attic.

Satisfied with the look of his new nest, Harry returned to the window for the second most important task of the day: acquire new coins and potentially gold.

Flying in circles to slowly get closer to the ground, he flew to a smaller tower and looked around many windows except when he saw humans behind. His fly took him across the large castle and he found a few transparent buildings, sadly filled with plants instead of any precious minerals. He continued and went toward a bigger tower, looking through the window of a medium size room with an impressive desk and many books sprayed all around with dozen of objects that he couldn't even guess the use.

But what got his attention was the many small golden rings, coins and diverse tools that shone under the light of the room. Harry was almost paralyzed, incapable to look away from the golden treasures that were only a few meters away, separated by a sturdy window.

Such beauties could only be his, no one else could ever appreciate their value more than him. Landing on the window sill, he looked at the glass that dared to be on his way and recoiled his head, ready to smash the glass to pieces.

TUNK

Needless to say, such treasures were well protected. He felt like he hit the ground at full speed and ended up with a little bit of pain on his skull, nothing big but quite annoying. He glared at the glass to see that not a crack had appeared, not a single dent or even a scratch. But nothing would keep him away from the gold and certainly not an insulting window made out of fragile glass.

TUNK

TUNK

TUNK

Now his head was starting to spin a bit and was quite painful. His opponent on the other hand was perfectly fine and ready for another round. Harry was disappointed, never before was he ever stopped by a window and now there was one just in front of him that kept the previous gold out of his reach. He was ready to try again when the old white bearded man he saw in the large room yesterday suddenly appeared in front of him, staring right at him through the window.

Harry was so startled that he let out a little yelp of surprise before falling backward. He quickly stabilized himself but he wouldn't go back near that window today, the gold stocked in this room would become his later.

Albus Dumbledore looked at the little dragon until it disappeared out of view. A small smile was stuck on his face as he recalled what just happened. He was on his way back to his office when the distinct sound of something hitting a window came out and he slowly got in, resting out of sight for a few seconds until he found the culprit.

Never did he imagined a dragon to come up to his office but he was agreeably surprised to recognize the dragon as the same that was spying on the students in the Great Hall last night. It didn't took long for him to find what was the creature looking at and he amused himself at seeing the annoyed look of the dragon, clearly pissed to not have access to the object of his desire. Albus had chuckled at the thought that the dragon could try all day long for nothing as the windows of his office were enchanted to resist the strongest assaults.

He put an end to the dragon attacks on his window by jumping out of the shadow right in front of him and a new smile grew on his face when the dragon, obviously startled, fell backward.

Even if he had to agree with Minerva that dragons were dangerous creatures, he couldn't help but find this one amusing. In no case was he a specialist but he learned quite a bit about dragons in his long life and never did he read or heard about a dragon either this small or so obsessed by gold and precious materials. It was even a myth in most cases, an ancient story spread by muggles centuries ago and that stuck in most minds.

With a lighter mind, he sat on his chair and took a pile of letters that required his attention.

Annoyed to have been denied his gold and to have spent so long looking for more, Harry wasn't about to stop. He would not return to his nest before getting at least a coin. Flying around the tower where his nest was, he went to each window to find rooms full of beds and stuff without any humans. He didn't know if the windows would be like the one who stood up to him but he wasn't about to try his luck now.

And speaking about luck, his eyes caught the sight of an open window leading to a room almost identical to the ones he just saw. Hovering in front of it, he looked and didn't found a single human but beds with red and golden covers along with clothes and stuff. Something that got his attention though was the smell of the room, the same one than the human girl in the train even if there was other smells mixed in the room.

This was a good lead, this girl gave him coins last time so there was probably more hidden around. Harry looked around one more time before landing on the window sill and entering the room, his small claws clinking on the stone. He jumped on the bed and instantly started to sniff everything around, trying to catch even the smallest scent of gold or precious material. His nostrils lead him toward a small wooden construct slightly ajar and he opened it up fully before sticking his head inside.

It was full of clothes of all sorts, perfectly stored in order and sharing the same scent as the girl from the train. Some were long black robes, some clothes that humans put on their feet and some small pink ones that he couldn't guess the use for. But he was certain that some coins were here or at the very least were here not long ago. He was reaching the end of the drawer when a small scream almost startled him for the second time today.

"Who touched my stuff?!" Said an offended voice behind him.

It had been a long day for Hermione. She hadn't been able to forget the little dragon and her conversation with Professor McGonagall but the Potions class had been horrible, not only was the professor obviously against Gryffindor but she had been shushed after she gave too much good answers. And to make things worse, they had this class along with the Slytherin who were making all Gryffindor students feel horrible, she even heard a few whispers talking about her.

Hermione just entered her room in the dormitory only to see that a few of her clothes were scattered on the ground and that someone clearly went through her personal belongings.

"Who touched my stuff?!" She asked both feeling angry and sad that someone would do this to her just a day after she arrived.

Her outrage turned short when a move in the open drawer got her attention and she stopped when the head of the golden dragon from the train appeared. Hermione blushed a bit at the idea that the dragon was between her panties and socks before palling as the dragon got out and approached her, barely tall enough to reach her stomach.

She stood perfectly still as the dragon sniffed her and quickly turned toward the pocket where she kept a few Knuts. The creature used her robes as a support and tried to pass his head in the pockets.

"No!" She yelled suddenly, slapping the dragon on the head like she did with her cat, looking with wide eyes at the dragon and afraid that he would attack her.

He moved backward with a growl, apparently not taking well her sudden cry of fear and her little slap. Reacting quickly, Hermione took out the first coins that she could grab in her pocket and handed them to the dragon who instantly calmed down, his eyes fixed on the small pieces of bronze. His deep green eyes locked on her for a second, apparently looking for a sign of threat or danger before he grabbed them in his mouth and moved backward right as his target was secured.

Watching with a strange fascination, Hermione dared not to move and looked at the dragon jump to the window with a flap of his wings and stood on the window sill for a few seconds before leaving her alone. Not losing a second, she ran after the fire breathing lizard and saw him fly around the Gryffindor tower for a second only to lose sight of him.

Taking a big breath, Hermione turned around to look at the mess left behind, puzzled on what to do now and trying to put some order in her mind. It looked like the dragon took the open window as an opportunity and searched her belongings for coins.

Mechanically, she started to arrange back her clothes that had been thrown out of the drawer, taking a few minutes to do so before leaving the dormitory to go find her favourite professor. She went through the long corridors and the moving stairs for a few minutes, the big castle being hard to travel quickly, and reached the office of Professor McGonagall where she knocked on the door.

"Come in." Replied the old woman's voice from the inside.

Hermione did as she was invited and opened the door to quickly close it behind her, a gesture that didn't escaped the professor that rose her head and caught the slightly lost look in Hermione's eyes.

"Is everything alright Miss Granger?" Professor McGonagall asked.

"I saw the dragon from the train, he was in my room." Flatly said Hermione.

"Oh dear, he didn't hurt you right?" Asked the professor concerned standing up.

"No. He was looking through my drawers, he was looking for more coins or gold I think. I didn't saw him at first but he came out and started to sniff my pockets as I have a few Knuts inside." Started to explain the brown bushy hair girl.

"What happened next?" Professor McGonagall said looking at her student for any sign of injury.

"I...slapped him on the head when he tried to reach my pocket."

"You- Miss Granger I hope this is a joke, what could possibly make you slap a dragon?" Asked Professor McGonagall as her stern face returned.

"He acted like my cat, it was a reflex." Hermione confessed lowering her head.

Professor McGonagall was about to reply but didn't got the time.

"I quickly gave him some of my coins. He grabbed them and left right after that."

Minerva McGonagall was at loss for words, not knowing if she should take points away from her student for her recklessness or give her some for her quick thinking. It took her a few seconds as she put some sense behind Hermione's words before she could reply.

"Miss Granger, I would ask you to never do such a thing again. If you do see the dragon again, please don't stay close to him and call either a prefect or a teacher based on the most convenient. I'm going to have to take five points from Gryffindor for dangerous behaviour, please note that I never did such a thing only a day after the beginning of the classes." She stated.

Hermione could only lower her head, conscious of her mistake that, when looking at it from an outside perspective, was completely crazy.

"I'm also giving five points to Gryffindor for your good reaction after your mistake which might have saved your life."

She almost broke her neck when she looked at her teacher, eyes wide with a gobsmacked expression on her face.

"Please be careful Miss Granger, it seems this dragon is closer than we thought. I will notify the rest of the professors of this concerning news and please try not to talk about this to the other students, it wouldn't do well to panic now. You're allowed to return to your activities." Said Professor McGonagall lifting her stern face a bit.

"Thank you." Simply replied Hermione before leaving the office, having a hard time to believe what just happened.

She closed the door behind her and returned to her room where the invasion and robbery of the little dragon, which was already in all minds anyway since most first years saw him in the train, was once more shared and quickly went through the whole castle.

Back in his nest, Harry gazed at his small pile of coins now bigger by five bronze coins. He returned as soon as he left the human, happy to finally having been able to find some precious and shiny for his growing hoard. The girl had the audacity to attack him for some reason, when she offered him some coins, probably as an apology for her agressive behavior.

It took him a long time to find this window and get his teeth on more coins and he pondered if this human would give him more since she seemed to always have some.