"Wait until you see the whites of their…heat…seeking…organs…never mind." –Bert Gummer, Tremors the Series.
Chapter 18: Norbert and Detention
Weeks passed by, and things didn't change much. Hermione and I began reviewing over all of our notes, especially things that we were having trouble with. We encouraged Harry and Ron to do the same, but they obviously weren't up for the task.
"You guys, the exams are ten weeks away," Hermione said.
"Yeah, that's not as long as you'd like to think," I added. "Besides, if we do end up having to fight Malfoy again, don't you want to be as prepared as possible?"
That got them both going on every spell they'd learned that could possibly help them. However, they did not study things that would not, such as their Astronomy charts and their Potions.
We were in the library one day in February, when we saw Hagrid coming out of one of the sections. Harry called to him, and he came over and looked at us warily.
"You lot aren't still looking up stuff on Flamel, are yeh?" he asked.
"Oh, no, we found out about him already," Hermione said.
"Actually, we were wondering what else Fluffy's guarding, besides the Sor—"
"SHHH, don't say that!" Hagrid said, his eyes flying open behind his hair and beard. "I can't promise to tell yeh anything, but come by my place this afternoon. Just keep quiet about it!"
We all nodded.
"I wonder why he was in the library?" Hermione wondered.
"I'll check the section he was in," Ron said. He came back a few moments later, carrying a stack of books. "He was looking up dragons!"
"Why?" I said.
"Hagrid loves dragons," Harry said. "He wishes he had one. He told me so the first time I met him."
"But it's against the law to breed dragons," said Hermione. "They're dangerous!"
"Yeah, you should see the burns Charlie gets off the wild ones in Romania," Ron added. I'd seen some of them myself, and it was not a pretty sight.
"Then what was Hagrid doing?" I asked.
We all shrugged.
That afternoon, we all walked down the strip of green lawn to Hagrid's little hut. He let us in, grudgingly. The moment I reached the door, I was blasted by an immense amount of heat, coming from the huge fire in the grate.
"I 'spose you wanted to ask me somethin'?" he asked.
"Yes," said Harry. "We wanted to know what was guarding the Stone, apart from Fluffy." Hagrid gave us all a cup of tea, which I refused politely. I hate tea, with a passion.
"O' course I can't," Hagrid said. "One, I don' know meself. Two, yeh already know too much. Beats me how yeh even know about Fluffy."
"Oh, come on, Hagrid," Hermione said, in her silkiest, sweetest, most butter-me-up tone. "You know everything that goes on round here. We only wondered who had done the guarding, really. Who Dumbledore trusted, apart from you, of course."
"Yeah," I said, following her lead. It was working, because he was grinning away. "Dumbledore knows who he can trust to protect such an important piece of history." That did it.
"Well, I don' s'pose it would hurt to tell yeh tha'. He got Fluffy from me, o' course," he grinned again. "Then some o' the other teachers did enchantments…Professor Sprout—Professor Flitwick—Professor McGonagall—" He ticked each one off his fingers. "Professor Quirrell—an' Dumbledore himself did something, o' course. Hang on, I've forgotten someone…oh, yeah, Professor Snape."
"Snape?" Harry balked.
"Yeah—yer not still on abou' that, are yeh? Look, Snape helped protect the Stone, he's not about ter steal it."
Yeah, right. Snape had already squeezed all the other spells out of the other teachers. The only obstacle left had to be Quirrell, besides, perhaps, Dumbledore's protection. What would Dumbledore have used to protect it, though?
"You're the only one who knows how to get past Fluffy, right, Hagrid?" Harry asked. "And you wouldn't tell no one, would you?" If I had the mind, I would have scoffed right there. Hagrid had a very loose tongue—a very loose tongue. How else had he let slip that Flamel had something to do with Fluffy?
"Not a soul knows how, 'cept me an' Dumbledore," said Hagrid proudly. I let out an inner sigh of relief. Maybe his tongue wasn't quite as slippery as I'd thought. He would definitely have remembered letting that sort of information slip out.
"Hagrid, can we open a window?" asked Harry.
"Can't, Harry, sorry," Hagrid glanced at the fire. The rest of us did, too, and I stared at it with a fear unlike any other I'd ever known.
"Hagrid, where'd you get a dragon egg?!" I shrieked.
"Won
it," he said. "Last night at the pub. I was down for a few drinks and…" I
stopped listening.
I take it back. Hagrid
wouldn't have remembered letting information slip if he was blitzed out of his
mind.
"What are you going to do once it's hatched?" Hermione was asking.
"Well, I've bin doin' some readin'," said Hagrid. He pulled out a book. "A bit out of date, but everythin's here. How to care for it…keep it on the fire, cause their mums breath on them, see? And once it's hatched, feed them brandy mixed with chicken blood every two hours. An' here, how ter recognize different breeds. What I have is a—"
"Norwegian Ridgeback," I said. "Very rare, very dangerous, and very large."
"Hagrid, you live in a wooden house," Hermione said.
"That dragon's gonna get so big, you'll be more like a snack to him, Hagrid," I said, moaning. "Aren't you worried someone might get hurt? Dragons can't be tamed, Hagrid. Please, you've got to listen!"
"And wha' if I don't?" Hagrid asked, poking at the fire.
"Hagrid, Norwegian Ridgebacks have been known to eat their own mothers once they've gotten big enough," I said. "And mothers have been known to eat their own young. They're rare because they usually eat each other before they get the chance to live, Hagrid!"
Hagrid blinked at me and looked it up in his book. He looked up again, and looked like he was really going to cry. April 1st brought me a few more letters from my parents, my brother, and, surprisingly enough, from Hagrid. I read his first. Only two words were written: It's hatching.
As dangerous as they were, I also knew that a newborn dragon would be most fascinating to watch and help hatch. It wouldn't be completely capable of biting our heads or hands off for at least two weeks, when it's supposed to begin eating on its own.
Ron and Harry wanted to skip Herbology to go and see it hatch, and I was tempted as well. Hermione, however, would not hear of it. Soon, she agreed to race over to watch it hatch with Hagrid during the morning break.
We dropped our trowels as soon as the bell rang, and Hagrid ushered us into the room, saying that it was nearly out. The egg was set upright on the table, deep white cracks all over the thick, black shell. There was a loud scraping noise, and suddenly the baby dragon flopped out onto the table.
It was black all over, accented with red streaks. It's wings were huge compared to its snake-like body, and the stubs of horns on its head were directly behind bulging orange eyes. It sneezed flame.
"Isn't he beautiful? Hagrid smiled and stroked its nose, receiving a snapping bite and a snort of flames. "Oh, bless him, he knows his mummy."
"How fast do these things grow?" Hermione asked anxiously.
"He'll be as big as this house in two weeks," I answered, my eyes locked on the little creature. As evil-looking as he was, he was…cute. I couldn't help but follow Hagrid and try to pet him. He tried to bite me, too, but as I'd read a little more into them, I knew that the trick was to get over his mouth and to his horns. He snorted some more flames, but soon began to purr, much like a cat.
"Well, isn't that sweet!" I said, scratching him some more. Hagrid, however, was staring at the window.
"Oh, dear."
"What is it?" Harry asked.
"There was a kid at the window. He headed back ter the school," Hagrid said.
"Malfoy," Ron said, checking.
"Hagrid, you've got to get rid of him," Hermione pleaded.
"But…Norbert's jus' a baby!" Hagrid protested. "He'd die!"
"He's right, 'Mione," I said, still scratching the dragon. "Did you just say Norbert, Hagrid?" I would have called it Killer.
"Yes, isn't it a nice name?" Hagrid smiled.
"He's lost his marbles," Ron muttered.
"Charlie," Harry turned to Ron.
"You've lost it, too," Ron said. "I'm Ron, remember?"
"No, no, you're brother!" I said, catching on. "He watches dragons, right?"
"Charlie could take care of him, then set him free in the wild," Harry said.
"Brilliant!" Ron said. "How about it, Hagrid?"
"Well…I suppose it's for the best," Hagrid sighed and took over. "I've gotta feed 'im now." We all nodded and walked out. Then we realized we were late for class and ran.
***
A week passed by. We'd sent Hedwig, Harry's owl, to Charlie, and were waiting for an answer. I think Hedwig was glad to have the chance, she kept looking at Sakura with this sort of smug look, if that sounds plausible. Sakura, meanwhile, was telling my parents and David all about it, but telling them to also keep it quiet. After all, Hagrid was breaking the law.
Ron came back from Hagrid's, having helped him feed the dragon. It was now eating rats by the crate, and keeping Hagrid from his game-keeping duties. We'd started helping him out a bit, but it was during the night that Hermione and I worked the hardest. We could summon the things up in our sleep, after all. Hagrid was most pleased that we'd recruited Sakura and Syaoran, who were taking lessons in Eastern Magic by day from Eriol (the real one).
Syaoran especially was happy to help, piling rats on the table for Hagrid to feed to Norbert. Sakura was frightened to go anywhere near the dragon, but was happy to help us keep Hagrid up to date on the game-keeping duties.
Hedwig came back April 12th, bearing a letter from Charlie.
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 friends of mine who are coming to visit me next week. Trouble is, the mustn't be seen carrying an illegal dragon.
Could you get the Ridgeback to 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 ASAP.
Love,
Charlie
We looked at each other.
"Let's do it," I said. "Send Hedwig back. With two Invisibility Cloaks, it'll be pretty simple. And we can use a Disillusionment Charm on Hagrid, if he wants to come and say good-bye."
"A Dis-a-what-a?" Harry said.
***
"The letter will have reached Charlie by now," I said. "I hope his friends will be there. We're risking a lot." It was Saturday at lunch, and Ron had finally come back from the hospital wing, his hand bandaged and swollen, but good enough for him to write again. "With Draco knowing about us getting rid of him, I don't know if we can risk bringin' Hagrid." Charlie's letter had fallen into Draco's hands, via a book of Ron's. Madam Pomfrey hadn't known about it, and Ron hadn't been able to stop it, so we were now in that mess.
In addition to all that, Quirrell and Snape were still acting strange.
"Lucky that we're getting rid of him tonight, then," Hermione said. "I don't know how much more Syaoran and Sakura are going to be able to take. They've got the magic lessons during the day, and then they're helping us keep that monster at bay."
"It's not a monster, 'Mione," I said. "It's the circle of life. Lions and tiger and bears have to eat, and so do dragons. We can't all be intelligent omnivores or herbivores, can we?"
"I guess you're right," Hermione sighed. "But still."
"I'm
at the end of my rope on this one, too, Angel," Harry said. "I know he's 'just
a baby and such', but he's a very dangerous baby."
"Why else do you think they have
this law?" I asked.
"Good point," Ron said. "You guys'll have to do it alone. I can't lift anything with this hand." I had to agree there; He'd been writing with his left hand for a long time, and his handwriting was atrocious.
"Yeah," I nodded. "I've asked Syaoran and Sakura to keep Malfoy at bay. He won't be bothering us." Syaoran and Sakura were going to bring Draco to their dreamscape and make it a nightmare worthy of the boy who needed no sweet dreams.
At midnight that night, Hermione, Harry, and I made our way down to Hagrid's hut. Syaoran had taken me to his dreamscape for a moment, telling me that he had Draco at bay, before letting me get back to the business at hand.
"Hagrid, if you want to use a Disillusion Charm, I'd be happy to let you come with us," I said.
"No," he sobbed. "I want to see him off from here, from my home. I fed him up quite a bit, and he's got some more rats in with 'im." Hagrid was still blubbering as we covered ourselves up with two cloaks. Harry and I had secured them together by tying up the arms, and the cloaks covered us well.
"Don't worry, Hagrid," I said. "Norbert will never forget you." He'll never forget how he tasted, anyway, I added silently.
Hagrid sobbed and nodded. He went back into his hut, and I'm sure that he was still crying when we left. Harry carried the left side of the crate and I held the other. Hermione made sure that the cloaks remained secure and covered all four of us.
I still don't know how we managed it. We passed by McGonagall, in a tartan robe, and Filch and Mrs. Norris, both looking for students out of bed. Peeves kept us a few moments in the hall, as we didn't want him to hear us (as if he would, making all the racket he was), so we were about ten minutes later than midnight. We spotted the four brooms approaching us as we took off the Invisibility Cloaks.
"Hello, you must be Norbert," said one of the boys, smiling into the cage. "A good-looking fella, you lot sure have kept him good."
"Thanks, but it was mostly Hagrid," Hermione said. "We just helped him."
"Did a great bit of research into them, then," said one of the others. "He's in good shape, the right size for his age. You say his birthday's March 1st? We'll be sure to tell Weasley, he loves to celebrate their birthdays."
"Yeah," said one of them.
They showed us the harness they'd rigged between them. Hermione, Harry, and I helped them secure Norbert between the four brooms. They thanked us heartily and said to say hello to Ron, then flew off into the night, disappearing with a tap of a wand.
Hermione and I worked to take apart the two Invisibility Cloaks, and climbed under mine. Harry pulled his over his head and disappeared. We walked down the stairs and straight into Filch, who was looking all around.
"You're sure you heard something, sweet?" he asked Mrs. Norris. The cat meowed and climbed up and past us. Hermione and I melded into the wall and I hoped that Harry had as well. Filch climbed up past us, and suddenly, I saw a tuft of black hair. Harry! His cloak was falling off!
Fortunately, Filch didn't notice, and Harry pulled the cloak back over his head quickly. Hermione and I tiptoed as slowly and quietly as we could down the stairs and finally reached Juniper's portrait.
"Lily Stars," I breathed the new password. She smiled and swung open, and we ran smack dab into Professor McGonagall. Our cloaks were still on, so she couldn't see us. Could she?
"Someone is there, I know it," said Professor McGonagall. "You've performed the Disillusionment Charm on yourselves, haven't you. Fred and George Weasley! Show yourselves right now!"
She thought we were Fred and George! Hermione exchanged a glance with me and we slowly tiptoed into the room and walked past her. She didn't notice. She still thought we were Fred and George.
Hermione and I exchanged another quick look before making our way slowly and carefully up the stairs. I hoped that Harry had followed our lead.
"I will talk to you two in the morning, Weasleys!" Professor McGonagall called up the boy's tower. She still thought we were Fred and George, I don't believe it. Hermione and I stopped short and watched the portrait swing open again, and McGonagall stepped out.
"That has got to be the luckiest strand of luck I've ever had," I whispered. "We are so lucky, it isn't even funny."
The next morning, I began to consider what to get for my brother's birthday.
"He's going to be ten this year," I said to Ron and Harry. "What do you guys think I ought to get him? I want it to be something special, he'll be a decade old, you know. And he hasn't seen me, and I mean really seen me, in almost a year."
Ron and Harry exchanged a glance.
"A chess set?" Harry suggested.
"Exploding Snap set?" Ron followed.
"No, no," I shook my head. "Something really special."
"Why don't you make something yourself?" Hermione suggested. "Use that new book. Knit him a sweater or something."
That got me thinking. If I sent him several smaller things, maybe it would be better. And I never had sent back my Cleansweep 7 to him. That Monday, Sakura carried a birthday card especially made for him, with a moving drawing of Harry, Hermione, Ron, and me inside, all wishing him a happy birthday. I also sent a Wizard's chess set (telling him to wait till he got here to use), a blue sweater with a Blue Angel on it (his favorite plane), and a set of wizard's robes made just for him.
"So when's your birthday?" Hermione asked.
"The twenty-ninth," I said, smiling. "We were born in the same month. Cool, huh?" Hermione smiled and nodded, but she looked like she was thinking.
Hermione and I redoubled our efforts to study, and get Harry and Ron to study with us. We spent most of our time pounding spells, potions, plants, and goblins into our heads, when we weren't in class or practicing for our final match against Ravenclaw.
Fred and George, though they had sworn that they hadn't been out of bed, had been given a week's worth of detention and docked twenty points each. However, Draco had other plans.
Harry came racing in to tell us something on Tuesday. Quirrell seemed to have finally broken. We would watch Snape carefully for the next few weeks for any sign of action. At least he didn't know how to get past Fluffy.
On Wednesday, after Transfiguration had ended, Professor McGonagall asked the three of us to stay after, excluding Ron.
"An anonymous student has informed me that the three of you were out in the halls on Saturday night," she said, looking at us each firmly. "I want the truth. Now." Hermione and I exchanged a look, but Harry jumped in immediately.
"We were helping Hagrid, Professor," Harry said. "He asked us to help him, but in secret."
"Why would Hagrid ask you to help him in secret, Potter?" McGonagall asked sharply. "Is this true, Indigo?"
"Yes, ma'am," I said, looking at my feet. "We're sorry. We didn't want to get Hagrid in trouble. He was hurt, and his game-keeping wasn't what it was supposed to be. And he didn't want to trouble Madam Pomfrey or Headmaster Dumbledore."
"Well," said McGonagall. "As noble as your intentions were, you were still out of bed. Twenty points each from Griffindor, and detention. Tonight at eleven o'clock. You will join Malfoy and Longbottom. And the next time you let the innocent take the blame for what you've done, I won't be so lenient."
We all nodded, but wondered exactly how Draco had been caught if he was with Syaoran and Sakura. And why was Neville out there?
At eleven o'clock, we met Filch in the hall. He started going on about chains and ancient ways of punishments, but I zoned it out. I didn't want to think about what we would be doing. When I saw Hagrid, I decided that perhaps this wouldn't be so bad. Until he announced where we would be going.
The Forbidden Forest.
"I'm not going into that forest," Draco said. "There are…things in there. Werewolves, I heard." There was a note of panic in his voice.
"You will," I growled. "You started this whole mess, you did. You and your father."
"What?!" he shouted.
"There'll be no bickering here," said Hagrid, separating us. "Come along, then. No takin' risks. Everyone stick close." He led us into the forest. After a few dozen yards, he pointed to the ground. "Yeh see that silvery stuff there? That's unicorn blood. I found one dead this mornin'. We're looking for this poor bloke, he's hurt, you see. We're going to split here, one group wit' Fang an' the other wit' me. If you see the unicorn, send up green sparks. Get in ter trouble, send up red sparks. Practice here."
After a few moments of making sure our wands were working properly, Hagrid split us up.
"I want Fang," Draco said.
"Okay," Hagrid shrugged. "Jus' to let yeh know, he's a coward. Neville, Angel, you go with them." I really think he did that just so that I could protect Neville from Draco.
Neville and me went with Draco and Fang off in one direction. We were silent for several moments.
"What do you make of this hurt unicorn, Neville?" I asked after a few moments.
"I-I think it's sad an' all," he said. "But I really wish I w-weren't out here."
"I know what you mean," I said. "How did you get a detention?"
"Malfoy told me about the dragon, and I wanted to help you guys," he mumbled. "I'm sorry I caused so much trouble."
"Nah," I said. "Forget about it. It's not like we didn't deserve it. I mean, we were helping Hagrid hide Norbert in the first place."
"You mean there really was a dragon?" Neville asked excitedly.
"Yeah," I grinned. "A Norwegian Ridgeback. Totally awesome, he was black all over. He was a little sweetie when he wasn't trying to naw on our bones."
Neville gave a weak little laugh and Draco turned around. He was ahead, sticking as close to Fang as possible.
"Too bad McGonagall didn't believe a single word of it," Draco said. "She seems to think you as capable of lying as I am."
"At least the entire Griffindor House doesn't hate my guts," I snapped back. "Do you realize even for an instant just how evil you are looked upon by everyone else?" Suddenly, we spotted it. White and gleaming like some brand new white paint on an asylum wall, the unicorn, in all its beauty, lay sprawled and dead upon the ground. I shot a stream of green sparks into the air and waited patiently.
Neville began to quiver in fear.
"What is it?" I whispered.
"Eyes…" he said, pointing. A pair of bright yellow eyes were glowing on the other side of the clearing. I slumped down, pulling Neville with me. Fang gave a yip and ran off, and Draco followed him. The eyes looked where they had been, which was a few yards away from us, but saw no one else. It knelt down and began to drink the unicorn's silver blood. Neville stared, transfixed in pure terror, and I wasn't much better off. The creature sucked the unicorn nearly dry, its dark cloak barely visible in what little light came through the trees.
The unicorn depleted of its blood, apparently also of its use, the creature began to come toward us. I bowed down lower in the brush, covering Neville's mouth. He would have screamed if I hadn't. The creature passed by us, paying no attention to either side of it, and headed directly for Hogwarts.
I don't know how long we stayed there, but what felt like an hour later, I heard Hagrid's feet stomping through the brush.
"S-S-S-Some-Something...w-was her-here," Neville managed to choke out. He fell back against the tree and fainted dead away.
"What's he goin' on abou', Angel?" Hagrid asked.
"I don't know what it was," I shook my head. "Something cloaked in black, with yellow eyes, yellow glowing eyes." I shivered all over. "Draco and Fang ran for it, but we stayed here, right here. It passed us over there. I thought you'd never come!" I sprang up and hugged Hermione. "I'm so glad you're here…"
I started crying. I don't know how long I cried, but I was dehydrated by the time they got me to calm down. Hermione just let me cry into her shoulder, as any good friend should.
"It was that thing that was killing the unicorns," I sniffed, rubbing my eyes. A pounding of hooves suddenly joined us and I turned around, my wand out, ready to fight.
"Firenze," Hagrid said, holding my arm firmly.
"Greetings, Hagrid," said the centaur. I knew it was one, only by his man-like head and chest and horse-like body. He turned to me. "The Angel has come to us, then. Venus shines for you." He gave a small bow.
"What's going on?" Hagrid asked.
"A creature unknown has entered our forest," said Firenze. "You must leave here. There is nothing you can do for this poor creature."
Hagrid nodded sadly, looking at the unicorn.
"May I have a word with the Potter boy? I will bring him to your hut," said Firenze. Hagrid nodded again. "And Angel. Let the Light guide you with the Dark. The Star will watch you."
I nodded slowly. Dumbledore had once said the same. I had realized that Sakura had needed it to change the Light and Dark cards. Somehow, I think, those words were meant more for me. Or perhaps, for us all.
***
OOOooh….what's Firenze mean? I love the centaurs!!