Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. J.K. Rowling does.

Rose and Link were once again invited to visit Hagrid's hut. It was Thursday, which made the invitation odd. As they usually only visited during the weekends, however, he wrote that it was urgent. So right after classes, they made their way to his house.

It was a few weeks after they learnt of what was hidden within the 3rd-floor corridor. Rose was completely taken with the mystery of who had been the would-be thief of Gringotts.

"I'm telling you; it must have been a very powerful wizard or witch that attempted it"

"Are you still going on with that? It's been weeks"

"It doesn't matter; I still don't know who did it"

"You don't have to know who did it, I'm sure they might have given up on the pursuit once they had failed to get the stone. Especially when they realise it is guarded in Hogwarts, under the supervision of the Headmaster"

"Maybe you're right, but my point still stands, only a powerful mage would be able to accomplish the feat, so that must narrow down the search by a lot right?"

"I disagree, you don't necessarily need to be very powerful." Link had been to Gringotts with his parents, he was able to determine, at least on the surface, the necessary spells needed to be able to infiltrate the bank. From what he's read so far, it would be possible with a few 5th-year spells, and skills in covert movement. A small confundus here, a transfiguration there, some illusions (Those were mostly muggle smoke and mirrors, or the equivalent aided by actual magic) and boom you got within the vault areas. Beyond that he had no idea, he hasn't been there so he doesn't know the full scope of their defence. "All you need is comprehensive information on the bank, a decent amount of skills, as well as imagination"

"But that just makes the list much larger"

"Stop whining, we don't know everything, nor do we have all the clues, we can't narrow the list regardless of speculation"

Rose just pouted at that. Link was just so logical sometimes she can't even argue. They arrived at the shack and they could feel the heat, even from outside.

"Hagrid, we're here" she knocked.

"Come in, come in. It's almost time. A few hours at most" Hagrid was the most excited they've seen. He was almost literally bouncing on his toes.

"What is?"

"The dragon is about to hatch" he was grinning so much.

That caught their attention. They too were excited. Link immediately thought of something.

"Did you tell Headmaster Dumbledore?"

"No, I forgot" His eyes widened when he remembered. How could he forget? The excitement must have gotten to him.

"It's alright, we have at least an hour before it starts hatching, right?" Hagrid nodded at that. "Great, that means I can rush and inform the headmaster, luckily most of the student body would be making their way for dinner by now. Wait here, I'll be right back"

With that, Link ran as fast as he could to the Great Hall. This was, as Dumbledore had said, a great opportunity.

He made his way to the teachers' table, right up to Dumbledore's chair.

"Sorry to disturb your meal, Headmaster; however, Hagrid has informed me that the egg will hatch in the next 2 to 3 hours. I reckon this to be a good opportunity for the students to witness an impromptu lesson on dragons"

"My thoughts exactly, Mr Granger. Thank you for informing me" after saying his piece, Dumbledore stood up and made his way to the podium. The students noticed him and gradually silenced themselves. It has been ingrained in them to listen attentively to Dumbledore's speeches. "I apologise for the interruption to your well-deserved dinner. Though, I suppose some of you would be interested in this piece of news. Our groundskeeper, Hagrid, has recently come into possession of a dragon egg. We are to escort the dragon into a reserve in the coming weeks. Until then, we shall utilise this momentous occasion to observe and learn about the dragons. There shall be an impromptu lesson on these dangerous, yet magnificent creatures, headed by our Professor of Care of Magical Creatures; Professor Silvanus Kettleburn. For those who are interested, the Dragon will hatch in 2 to 3 hours. You may finish your dinner, and convene right before Hagrids house. Thank you" with that he made his way back to the table to continue his meal.

The hall was silent at first. It quickly devolved into chaos, as every student was talking about the dragon. Almost everyone was interested in seeing a dragon, even if it is a new-born.

Link made his way to the Ravenclaw table, picked up a good amount of food, enough for both Rose and himself. He walked out of the hall back towards the hut.

By the time he arrived, Hagrid had already built a fire in an enclosed area outside the shack. So that the students would be able to watch the dragon. Rose was helping set-up the fire. In fact, she was practicing the fire spell, incendio. It's a low level spell, according to Link, though very useful for mundane tasks. Unless you charge it with enough power, then it would feel like a flame thrower. The stronger the level of the mage, the stronger the spell. It was one of the few multilevel spells that exist. Link taught her the spell during their study sessions. She learned more magic with Link than she would have, had she been left to her devices. She was thankful for the help.

Hagrid was building a chain leash, to 'temporarily' hold the dragon (There is no way he ain't releasing him in his hut).

"Hey Hagrid, need any help?"

"No thanks Link, I can do this"

"Alright"

He made his way to the concentrated Rose, who has yet to notice his presence. Which made the idea of scaring her pop into his mind. 'Why should I participate in such childish thoughts, I don't even know where these thoughts came from. I was never so childish in my old r-' "BOO!" Turns out it was a stronger impulse than rational thought.

"AHHH"

She jumped. She did not expect that, at all. She turned around, the spell, having been cast just before, left the tip of her wand empowered to her level-2 strength (One of the highest power-levels in her year) and went careening towards a surprised Link that choked on his laughter. 'Dammit' was the last thought before being hit by the spell.

Normally, he could have easily dodged such a spell, even within such a short distance, but he was surprised, he choked, and was mid-laugh. He was caught off-guard. Fortunately, even at level-2, the Incendio was not that powerful (At least compared to a level-4 Link). He quickly dispelled it, but the damage was done. Rose's boisterous laughter was proof enough of that fact.

"Hah! Serves you right for trying to scare me" she said, smugly.

"Trying? From the scream earlier, I think I was very successful in scaring you" he retorted instantly, a smile that was more of a smirk could be seen on his face.

"... Shut up. You still got hit in the face" she stuck her tongue out in a completely mature response.

"Here, I brought us lunch. Let's eat"

"Alright"

Two hours passed and students were trickling towards the enclosure. The last of them just made it, all their attention focused on the large black egg within the fire. Hagrid had long brought out the egg.

"Well then, let us start the lesson while we wait for the egg to hatch. First, the basics. Dragons are incredible creatures, labeled as a level 5 magical beast, they are powerful. Can anyone guess why?" Professor kettleburn started the lesson as soon as the students were present.

"They have very powerful magic resistant scales, which we utilise to form some of the best magical clothing and protections; like gloves and boots. they possess great physical prowess, the ability to fly and the inborn trait of breathing fire. The fire is considered as one of the hottest flames produced, beaten only by fiendfyre and the ignis spell" said a 5th year Ravenclaw.

"Yes, very good. You've done your research well. 10 points for Ravenclaw. Now what is also interesting is…"

The lesson continued, with the professor explaining the different breeds of Dragons, that not all dragons use fire, and methods to utilise in handling a dragon. He also gave scenarios on what to do if you were faced by a dragon. The lesson was both detailed enough to be very informative but vague enough not to lose the interest of the students with a word vomit of information.

50 minutes into the lecture, the egg started shaking. The student body of Hogwarts as well as the teachers all quieted, all focused on the dragon to be.

Hagrid quickly made his way towards it, along with professor Kettleburn.

The shaking intensified, it rolled left and right splashing burning coal around it. Preventing the two adults from approaching. They looked on in anticipation. Suddenly they heard a crack. A claw was poking out. Amidst the gasps of the students, the dragon continued to break free of its shell. The second claw, this time from the lower appendages, the feet if you will.

Soon it was awake, it saw the world around it. It saw Hagrid, who was the closest to it. It approached him gently, subconsciously seeking the warmth of who it believed was its mother.

"Aww, it thinks I'm it's mommy" gushed Hagrid. Feeling so elated, he failed to contain his glee upon meeting the young dragon; it was a disturbing sight to the students to see such a large man act so excited, it was also a source of amusement and disdain for the Slytherins. "I'll name you Norbert"

"Actually, Hagrid, I believe that it's a girl" Link interjected. He was very well acquainted with the Dragons, in his old world. Although they were very different in intelligence and power, their physiology remained the same. Therefore he was easily able to determine its gender.

Stunned for a second, Hagrid flipped the dragon over to check. Once he determined the validity of the statement he immediately changed the name. "That's alright, we shall name you Norberta"

The students only stayed for half an hour more, admiring the dragon and petting it occasionally. They were warned of her poisonous bite, so they were all forced to wear dragonhide gloves before interacting with the dragon. A bit of morbid humor here thought Link.

The week passed by uneventfully. Some students quickly got bored of the dragon, but a vast majority kept visiting the dragon whenever possible. It was like a collective pet.

Rose and Link kept to their usual routine. They studied, they practiced, they had fun. Christmas was approaching, and Rose was dreading the day. The closer they got to christmas the more anxious she became. Because she knew that Link was going to leave the castle to celebrate the holiday with his parents. Which meant she was going to be left alone. She didn't like that. At the same time, she couldn't bring herself to ask Link to stay. It wouldn't be fair to him. Though some of her dorm-mates were staying, she wasn't as close to them as she was with Link.

However, it is as they say. All good things must come to an end. It was the day the Hogwarts express returned to London. She sat with Link in the Great hall. Having their last meal before he left.

"Are you staying here for the holidays?" Link suspected that Rose wouldn't want to meet her relatives during Christmas, but he wanted to be sure.

"Yes, I'd rather stay here than go back there"

"I see. Do you want me to stay here too?"

"No, no. I can't ask that of you. Go spend your vacation time with your parents. The holidays are made for the family. It won't be fair to you and your parents if you stay here." Although the idea was tempting, she can't bring herself to ask him to stay. She also can't really expect him to invite her to their home. They've only known each other for a few months, they aren't that close yet.

"You can come with me to my house, if you want" And he just has to bring it up. She really wants to, but she can't impose herself.

"I want to, but I don't think it's a good idea if I just show up without your parents knowing first" She hated being mature about it. She wanted to go. But she didn't want to appear pushy.

"If you're sure"

"I am" 'I'm not'

"By the way, what is your address in the muggle world? I want to see if it's far from where I live, I'd have to ask my parents. Maybe during summer we could meet up." He didn't like lying to her, although this is only a half-lie-half-truth kind of thing. He did want to meet her during the summer, but the other thing is that he would like to see who her muggle relatives were, and how much did they neglect the girl? He was going to investigate it this winter. Since they were friends, then he had to help his friend as much as he could.

"...I would like that. A lot. I'm at 4 Privet Drive, Little Whinging. Is it close?" She really hoped they were. Life would be much easier if they were close.

"I believe from my place to yours should be about 40 to 50 minutes by car, and about an hour by train. I should be able to visit occasionally" Rose was glad. Although they can't meet often, they could at least see each other from time to time.

"Well… I guess this is it. See you in a few weeks Rose." Link was leaving now. He hugged her before turning around and heading to the train. She liked being hugged, she decided.

'Well… now what?' since she had the next few weeks alone, she didn't know what to do with her time. 'I'm just going to take the chance that Link isn't here, to be lazy. At least until after Christmas. Then I swear I'll finish my homework'

She took a stroll around the castle. Looking for something to do. Looking outside, she realised that the Twins, and Ron were still here. 'Great, now I won't be bored. Let me meet them outside'

"Hey Ron, I didn't know you were staying here"

"Yeah, my parents took my younger sister and went to Romania to check up on my brother. They could have taken me too, but they left before we got off class." He was a little sulky at that. He wanted to go to Romania too.

They chatted for a while, before the Twins rounded up a lot of those that stayed behind in Hogwarts to a Snowball fight. No one was spared. It started off as regular muggle fun, but very quickly magic was added. Chaos was putting it mildly. Snow being animated into walking golems, transfigured into birds that followed students. Even Professor Quirell was targeted, though the poor man freaked out so badly when he was hit, he sprinted straight to his office, with a few snowballs following close behind. Fred and George roaring with laughter at their latest stunt. It was the most fun Rose has had in the snow. She loved every second of it.

'I hope I can have fun like this for the remaining days of the holiday'

The next day, Rose made her way to Hagrid's hut. Today was the day the official handlers were to take Norberta away to the reservation. She is going to say goodbye to the dragon, and to stay by Hagrid.

She drank tea with the friendly giant outside. Norberta lying between them, Fang was also present. He had his head on Rose's lap, enjoying her caresses.

Hagrid was not taking it too well. He knew that he would part with Norberta eventually, but he was really attached to her now. He was howling with sadness.

"Its' alright Hagrid, I'm sure you can visit Norberta from time to time. It's not a goodbye, just a see you later"

"I know… but it doesn't make it any easier… I wanted Norberta to stay with me like Fang" he was sobbing uncontrollably. Though he did appreciate Rose for staying by him in this. She was a good person.

The officials eventually came, and took the dragon under the sad eyes of the Hogwarts keeper of the keys. It was quite an emotional farewell, with Hagrid hugging Norberta all the way until she was put into her transportation carrier. He made sure they took her favourite teddy bear for the trip, even if it was ripped apart as soon as Norberta took hold of it.

"It's alright Hagrid, it's for the best"

"I know… and Rose… Thank you"

"You're welcome" She liked helping people, it felt nice.

The days passed, before she knew it, it was Christmas. She woke up, unsure of how to feel. Christmas with the Dursleys was never a pleasant affair for her. However, she was now far away from them and she had friends. She could feel hope and excitement well within her heart without meaning to. She was expectant of the day, the only downside was the absence of Link.

She made her way to the common room. She greeted the twins and Ron; wishing them a Merry Christmas. She also saw Hedwig. This day is the only day Hogwarts allows the delivery of packages directly to the dorms rather than wait until breakfast. She cuddled her familiar, she was such a beautiful owl. Likewise, Hedwig cuddled with her human.

She soon noticed the packages below the tree, with some of them addressed to her. She couldn't believe it. She had never received gifts before, if you don't count the 'gags' the Dursleys give her. Like the 50 pence she received today.

She got some chocolate from the girls she shared her dorm with, which she had reciprocated. Thank Merlin, she had almost forgotten. She even received a sweater from Mrs. Weasley, with the letter R embroidered on the front. It was a really sweet gift. She told Ron to give her thanks to his mother for the thoughtful gift. He was very content with her gift of assortment of sweets.

She saw a letter from Link, eagerly she opened the letter and read it.

Merry Christmas Rose.

I wish you the best.

I thought you might appreciate a simple gift better than an expensive one, you can find in the envelope a necklace in memory of the first day we met.

With Regards,

Link.

Short and simple. That was exactly his personality. She quickly got the necklace out. It was a simple black band with a charm. She looked at the piece, it was a train with her name engraved on the side. Although it was simple, it wasn't plain. It was very intricate, it captured every piece of the Hogwarts express in great detail. Her name was written in beautiful cursive handwriting. If she stared at it, she could see the train moving about and hear its sound. She looked back at the letter seeing a P.S. that she could have sworn wasn't there a minute ago.

P.S. it's enchanted.

She admired the gift a bit more, before putting it on. She felt that her gift of chocolates to Link was a bit lacking now. She'll get him a better one when he returns.

Finally, she noticed the last parcel addressed to her. She took the package, with only a note at the top written in loopy handwriting.

Your father left this in my care before he died. I believe it is time to return it to you.

Use it well.

Curious, she took it up to her room, she was the only girl of her year in Gryffindor that stayed behind, ripped open the wrapping to unveil the item. She picked it up. It was a cloak. Dark silver in colour, but it was weird. It seemed to be smoother than silk, or at least she thought so, she never saw silk before. It looked similar to those things you see inside of a lamp, like blobs in water. I think they called it a lava lamp. The cloak's texture was akin to the most comfortable blanket. It was light but heavy at the same time. She couldn't understand it. She tried it on in front of a mirror. Even if she didn't like the colour, it was a cloak worn by her father, she would wear it regardless.

She barely suppressed a scream that turned into a gasp when she saw her head floating in the mirror. She looked down to her body, flabbergasted. She couldn't believe it. She couldn't see her body, but she could feel it. Was she… was she invisible?

Narrowly keeping her composure, Rose quickly tested her theory. She took off the cloak, returning to the visible spectrum. Making sure she was alone, she squealed. This is a wonderful piece of clothing. She could explore the castle after curfew. She could… she could scare Link when he comes back. A mischievous grin grew on her face, one that the professors could swear was identical to her fathers.

She had to think of something.

Hogwarts was known for many things. It was the oldest school in Europe, one of the oldest in the world. It held a reputation that places it as one of the premier schools in the world. It wasn't the very best solely due to the inconsistent DADA curriculum. It was supposedly cursed, but none could confirm it, or at the very least none knew where to look for the curse.

A result of its massive heritage and history, Hogwarts houses one of the most comprehensive libraries in the world, surpassed only by the Magical Library of Alexandria. If Link were to have entire access to the Hogwarts Library, he would discover that the books describe magic all the way till Level-8, with a few explaining Level-9 spells. The library in Alexandria would have a more encompassing explanation of Level-9 spells and theory, with very rare books on Level-10 magic. However, that knowledge was lost to the world sometime after the 12th century, due to the black plague. The mythological gods of ancient Greece and Egypt were examples of level-10 wizards, only the most powerful were Level-10, the remaining 'gods' were level-9.

Currently, sometime after midnight, Rose was within the "Restricted Section" of the Library. She wanted to surprise Link with a complicated spell. She wants to make sure he has no counter, as they would be very high-level spells. However, naively Rose didn't realise that being invisible wouldbt be enough to access the books that were warded magically.

Therefore she unknowingly triggered an alarm as soon as she grabbed a book. It emitted a sound so loud, she feared the entire castle might awaken. She quickly placed the book back to no avail. She did the only thing she could do in such a situation. She ran as fast as she could under her new cloak.

She could hear Filch, the old caretaker, making haste. His footsteps loud and rushed. She could hear him scream and threaten.

"I've got you, you lousy child. I'll make sure you get punished for this. I'll hang you up by your ankles for at least a week. Just you wait"

She didn't know if he was allowed to do that, but she wasn't willing to find out. She continued running. Up the stairs to the floor below, through a wall/door/painting thing that got her 2 floors above. She didn't know where she was heading, all she knew was that she had to get away from Filch, and his cat. She was worse than a bloodhound. She somehow was able to sense where the truant students were.

She continued running to a corridor she didn't recognise. She ran towards a door and noticed it was locked. Quickly remembering the spell Link taught her, she was able to unlock it fairly easily. She was in as quick as she could, pressing her ear to the door to make sure Filch passed by without noticing her. She heard nothing, which meant he was nowhere near her. Thank Merlin. She slumped against the door, finally turning to look at what lied within the room.

It was dark. She could vaguely make out the walls. It was spartan. There was nothing inside but a large box. The box was massive, it took at least half the space within the room. There was something weird about the box though. It was moving up and down… as though it was… breathing. Her eyes were adjusting to the darkness, maybe it was a trick? She could now make out the black colour of the box, it almost looked like… fur. She could now hear the displacement of air, akin to a person breathing really hard.

She froze.

There was a giant three-headed dog, a Cereburus, laying there. Waking up. 'Why me?' Was all she was able to think before the dog released a massive growl. 'RUN!' she ran back out faster than she ran in. She continued running as far as she could, uncaring if she were discovered. She kept running before making it to another secluded area, she ran into the only open room in front of her. She was exhausted now. All she could do was just sit tight, and regain her breath. Looking around, she was relieved to notice there were no animals present. Just a single object right in the middle of the room, covered by a white sheet.

Curious, she went up to it and yanked the sheet down. It was a mirror.

A/N: I hope everyone enjoys this.

Thank you