Duelling Practice
The tension between Harry and Neville had mounted to such a level that they could not even tolerate each other's presence. This worried Flitwick who had begun to hope to start mentoring a few students who could compete in the Duelling tournaments earning fame for themselves. He had invested so much time in them that the mere thought of them at each other's throats made him sad. They had all the signs of the perfect friendship and yet something had happened that soured things between them.
This evening, he had a duelling session with the both of them and he hoped that they would reconcile their differences.
As they entered, he started speaking without any preamble, "You will both be duelling me together. You are to try to disarm me."
With that they started sending stunners at him. The way they were throwing stunners at him left and right made him wince. It looked like they were not paying any attention at all to the way they were going about the duel. These two boys had started to understand each other's moves perfectly but this time they were behaving as if they were novices.
He sighed and motioned them to stop casting.
When they lowered their wands, he asked, "What has gotten into you two? You are behaving more like baboons brandishing sticks than wizards. Let's do it again. You will duel each other and you will only try to disarm each other."
At his word, they got into position and curtly bowed to each other, while not breaking eye contact. Flitwick noticed this and said a small prayer for their well being. From the way that they eyed each other with something akin to loathing, he knew it was not going to be pretty.
Before he gave them the word to start, Neville fired a knockback jinx at Harry. Harry produced a shield to stop the spell. Neville rained down with a barrage of jinxes and hexes at Harry. Harry just stood there as if carved from granite, taking everything on his shield. When Neville paused for just a moment, Harry plastered him with a stinger, a stunner, a flippendo, a jelly legs jinx and a few more. Neville didn't even flinch. He just stood there, taking everything on his shield. It seemed that the both of them refused to even consider dodging, as if their feet were stuck to the floor with sticking charms.
This back and forth went on for about ten minutes before Flitwick called an end to it. Frustrated, he blew a heavy breath out between his lips, "Enough already!"
Nobody had ever seen the Charms teacher angry, but he was clearly frustrated with these two, "I told you to disarm. I haven't seen so much as one attempt at expelliarmus. When you can follow simple instructions, we'll try again. Get your differences sorted out before you come back here. Now, get out of my classroom."
They left the diminutive charms teacher who was nursing a headache.
Gryffindor Common Room
When Harry returned to the common room about an hour later, most of the students were retired to their dorms for the night. The exception was one second year student named Cormac Maclaggen. Harry knew Cormac to be a loudmouth who liked to brag but wasted too much energy telling other people what to do to get anything done himself.
"Potter-Black, I have a proposition for you", he said boisterously.
Harry was tired. This Bravo irritated him. He responded more flatly than his manners would normally allow, "What is it McLaggen? I hope you can make this worth my time."
The large second-year didn't seem to notice the slight, "I heard that you had a falling out with Longbottom. I don't know why you even bothered to hang out with that loser in the first place. If you want, we can be friends. My uncle is a very close friend with Rufus Scrimgeour, the head of Aurors, you know."
It was all Harry could do to keep from rolling his eyes and hexing this name-dropping, social-climbing git into the middle of next week. On the one hand, McLaggen was a large, muscular guy for his age. He might make the perfect foil for those two goons that followed Malfoy around. On the other hand, he wasn't the type to follow orders and even if he was, Harry had no desire to be like Malfoy. All things considered, he just wasn't interested in becoming one more name that McLaggen could drop. He sneered, "This offer of friendship comes with some strings attached, I suppose? If we are just comparing wands, Cormac then I am Hadrian Potter-Black, the heir to two Most Ancient and Noble Houses. I dine with the Minister of Magic herself on occasion. Not to mention that I host dinner parties for several members of the Wizengamot. As for befriending or not befriending Neville? That is my decision. Thank you."
McLaggen just stood there with his mouth hanging open while Harry stormed off to his dorm.
Hagrid's hut
Even with everything else going on, Harry made time to visit Hagrid and see how the dragon egg was progressing. Harry hoped that the egg was a dud and so far, it looked like that was the case. That would make things simpler because the penalty for breeding dragons without a license was six months in Azkaban. And if the dragon killed someone, it would be a life sentence. With Hagrid's fascination for what he called interesting creatures, he had real trouble understanding how dangerous they were. He might allow the dragon to run loose and that could result in tragedy.
It was a warm, sunny day when Harry, Hermione and Ron visited the gamekeeper's hut to see the dragon egg. When they knocked, it took Hagrid about five minutes before he opened the door to them. He ushered them in quickly before throwing the door closed. Neville was already there, beside the fire, observing the egg closely. Sweat was streaming down his face in the heat, but that didn't seem to bother him.
Harry took a look at the egg before he sat down as far away from Neville as he could get. He turned to Hagrid, "Are you sure that this egg isn't just dead, Hagrid? We have not seen any changes since you put it in the fire."
Neville spoke up then, his tone a mixture of fascination and horror, "Any time now."
Ron and Harry rushed over to the fire. Ron lit his wand to get a better view. In a moment, he was able to see what Neville had been watching for some time now. He pointed at the larger end of the egg as Hermione joined them. He said, "It's hard to make out, but there are cracks there."
Harry took a few seconds to see it, but the cracks were unmistakable. He said hopefully, "Ok, there are some tiny cracks there. Are you sure they weren't there before? Maybe the egg was damaged or something."
Neville and Ron looked at each other. Neville gave a tiny shake of his head before Ron answered, "No, they weren't. This egg is hatching."
Hagrid joined them, peering over their heads. When he saw what was happening, he nodded in satisfaction, a warm smile spreading across his entire face.
Hermione asked, "How do you know about dragon eggs, Ron?"
Ron shrugged, "It's my brother Charlie. He works at the dragon preserve in Romania. When the eggs hatch, he goes on about it for hours."
"Always liked Charlie", said Hagrid, beaming.
Suddenly he started shooing them away, "Now off with you lot. My baby is going to come out soon and I have a lot to do"
Hermione asked, amused "Your baby?"
Hagrid said with some pride, "That's ri'. I hatched him so he's my baby. Now off with you lot." With that, he showed the four of them out of the hut. Harry was determined to return soon.
When Tables Fly
When Harry returned to the tower, the twins found him, "Mate, what's our plan? We haven't pulled a good prank for some time now. The others are getting ahead of us."
Harry smirked, "No worries. You'll know soon enough."
The next morning as the students assembled in the Great Hall for breakfast. Almost all the students were there. Harry was sitting at the Gryffindor Table with Ron, the twins and their friend Lee Jordon.
They had their wands below the table right where the runes were which they had drawn on the tables a few days ago. With a tap to them, suddenly the tables started groaning. Alarmed by the noise, many students shrieked in fear. Before anyone could understand what was happening, the tables started levitating. Many students leapt away from their seats to escape any potential harm while the tables rose into the air. They stopped when they reached a height of about 10 feet. Many of the students were splattered from all the food, pumpkin juice, sherbet and tea that fell from the tables as they levitated and shook over their heads. The teachers took charge of the situation almost instantly. With a sign from Dumbledore, they all cast wordless finite at the tables and carefully levitated them back to the floor. There was broken crockery, utensils and spilt drink everywhere.
Dumbledore put his wand to his throat and said with his voice magnified, "Everyone please calm down. Please go to your respective heads of house. They will clean your uniforms of any debris that may have splattered on you. Then you will go to your classes. In the meantime, I will try to find out who is behind this prank."
The students formed queues, one for each house. Professor Flitwick and professor Sprout took care of the students from their houses. As Professor McGonagall and Professor Snape with Professor Babbling were helping with the investigation, Professor Vector and Professor Burbage filled in for them. The lines dwindled quickly as many of the students had the good sense to get clear of the chaos when the tables began to move.
When the last student left the Great Hall, the Headmaster, the Assistant Headmaster and the Potions Master had already cleaned up the mess and concluded their investigation.
Professor Snape spoke first, "I'll have them pickling frog livers for the next two months for this."
Dumbledore raised his hand in a placating gesture. Glancing about he said, "Not here Severus. Let us adjourn to my office shall we?"
Without another word, the trio made their way out of the Great Hall, up the grand staircase and along the hallway to where the gargoyle stood guard over the entrance to the Headmaster's office. Dumbledore said, "Cockroach clusters" and the gargoyle jumped to one side to let them through.
Moments later, they had ascended the moving spiral staircase and seated themselves in Dumbledore's office.
All the time they had been walking, Dumbledore brooded. He was sure that Harry had done it. But even if Potter-Black had levitated the Gryffindor table, quite a feat for a wizard of his age, where was the proof and how did he do the other tables at the same time? Besides, there was some inane pranking competition going on. It could have been another student.
When they all sat down, Dumbledore asked, "What do you make of this, Minerva?"
Her lips were pursed in a very thin line. This did not bode well for the object of her ire, "Nothing conclusive, Headmaster. There were several magical signatures intermingled. I could not make heads nor tales out of it."
Snape cut in, "Why are we even debating this. It was Potter and we all know it."
There was a definite twinkle in Dumbledore's eye before he answered, "You may very well be correct, Severus. But, where is your proof?"
Of course, the Headmaster had already received news about the impending prank from the house-elves and portraits that had observed the set-up for this prank days ago, but he wasn't going to share that with the Potions Master. He asked again, "What did you find? How was it done?"
McGonagall spoke, "Bethsheda told me that she found freshly carved runes on the underside of all the tables and they appeared to be carved by several different hands. To activate them, someone had to power them up just before the tables flew." Any one of them could have easily identified simple levitation runes, but Bathsheda Babble was the resident expert. She could tell that more than one student was involved.
Dumbledore asked, "Thank-you Professor McGonagall. Do you have anything else to add?"
She observed, "Headmaster, If we are reading this correctly, it is most remarkable that students from every house appear to be involved in a well-coordinated effort."
Dumbledore turned to Snape, "You, Professor Snape?"
Snape glared at the Headmaster before slowly saying, "Nothing, headmaster."
Dumbledore said, "Very well. Nobody was hurt. I see no need to employ drastic measures. Until or unless we find out something more about this incident, I consider the matter closed." This was the Headmaster's way of warning Snape that there had better not be any random detentions or points deducted unless he saw hard proof. It also meant that the heads of Slytherin and Gryffindor were dismissed to go about their business.
As the teachers retreated, he poured himself a cup of Rosemerta's finest oak matured mead and reclined in his chair. There were enough things to keep him occupied without going after some students who had played a prank. The stone had been in the castle for 8 months now. So far, no one had been able to get past the dog. It was a marvellous dog that Hagrid had raised but it could not be kept in the castle forever. When its purpose was fulfilled, he would have to send it back to Greece.
Then there was the subject of Horcruxes. Lord Black had confirmed his worse suspicions but that laid down another task for Albus to accomplish. If somehow Tom came back, the wizarding world would face another war, something that they could not afford. The first war had almost annihilated their world and the second would likely finish everything. Lord Black had told him that there were more horcruxes out there but how many? This was a potential question and not something that Albus could answer. Arcturus Orion Black had speculated that there were at least 2 more out there but Albus had to be certain of the number. To that end, he had to meet a certain man, one Horace Slughorn who had been a potions teacher at the school before Severus Snape and one of Tom's favorite teachers. Albus was reasonably sure that Horace had told Tom about the horcruxes. His tampered memory was the proof of the fact.
Then there was the fact that Harry had to be told about the prophecy. Lord Black had decided that it had to be done during the Easter holidays when the students would go home for a few days. Albus knew that the prophecy would be a heavy burden for the child but it was a burden that he had to carry. And Lord Black was his guardian who was going to make these decisions for him. No one else could do so.
He had decided to train the boy starting next year. The boy already knew of Occlumency and it would be better if Albus could help him strengthen his defences. Then they could start with knowing the enemy which the boy would have to defeat one day. He would also learn to duel as Albus had when he was a student. He knew of the perfect man who would be able to train the boy in that art. Of course being the son of James Potter and Lilly Potter, he would have inherited some of their talents but it was now essential that they started to prepare. Mother magic be merciful, if things came to fruition then they would be able to stop Voldemort without sustaining any more losses at all.
Somewhere in the castle
The person who had come into that locked room on the fifth floor of the castle was certainly not meant to be there. The room had been locked for years now. The amount of dust that was settled on the lone portrait in the room was a testament to how seldom the room was used. In fact, one would have to think a lot about it before they could remember when the room had been last opened. The figure was quickly followed by another and then the door closed behind them leaving the room in pitch black darkness.
They waited for quite some time before a sliver of light flickered from a wand and the room was filled with dim light which only illuminated about 5 feet of space around them. Alas, they had taken sufficient care to cover their faces so that none would see them.
"Are we ready?", asked the first one of the other in gravelly voice.
"Yes, we are ready", answered the other one in a high pitched voice.
"When is it going to happen then?", asked the first.
"Soon. You have to be ready to take swift action or else all will be lost", replied the other.
"Of course", said the first with a feral grin, "we may have been delayed but we can't be denied."
The other nodded, "They may have tried hard to avert it but they won't win."
NORBERT
It was close to curfew hours when Hagrid heard insistent knocking on the door of his hut. With the dragon so close to hatching, he was not willing to leave it but whoever was at the door was insistent and getting louder. He reluctantly got up from his seat next to the fire as he spoke, "Keep yer shirt on, I'm coming."
He yanked the door open, but there was nobody there. He was about to slam the door shut when suddenly Harry and Isobel seemed to appear out of thin air.
He jumped back in surprise, "Blimey! How did you do that, 'arry?"
Harry showed him the invisibility cloak, "A gift from Lord Black. Would be best if you didn't mention it to anyone."
He started to herd the pair inside the hut with his dustbin-lid sized hands when he made out three more figures jogging toward him in the gloom. When he was able to make out the familiar figures of Ron, Hermione and Neville, he waited a few more seconds for them to enter before he closed the door without comment.
By the time he latched the door and turned around, his uninvited guests were already gathered around the table where the egg was rocking back and forth as the cracks in the shell grew before their eyes. Hagrid was just sitting back down when there came another tapping at the door. He wiped one huge hand down his face and took his time getting up again.
While Hagrid took his sweet time getting to the door, Harry and Isobel ducked back under the invisibility cloak. Hermione and Ron dove under the bed and pulled the blanket down to hide them. Neville decided to get creative and use Hagrid's considerable girth to hide himself. It would be good enough as long as whoever was at the door didn't decide to come in.
When Hagrid opened the door enough for a peek, he saw a girl with blonde hair and blue eyes looking up into his face. He didn't know the name of this one but he was sure that he had seen her sitting at the Slytherin table in the Great Hall. His long experience with Slytherins made him a bit more abrupt than was proper when he addressed her, "What are yeh doin' 'ere?".
She said coolly, "You don't want to leave me standing out here to draw any attention do you?"
Hagrid didn't budge. He asked again, "What do yeh want?"
"I want to see the dragon of course", she said while trying to barge past him into the hut.
Hagrid continued to block the door while he spluttered, "Who said I have a dragon?"
The girl snorted, "I have my sources."
Hagrid bluffed, "That's nothing but foul rumours. Now, off with ya or I'll have ya up to see the Headmaster for bein' out after curfew."
She called his bluff and raised him one, "Really Hagrid? I'm sure that the Headmaster would love to know that you're already entertaining five of my friends here and that you have a dragon egg. While I'm at it, I just might let my father, Lord Greengrass know about it. Or, you could let me in and I swear that I'll say nothing about it."
Hagrid was not a complicated person. He believed that she meant what she said. The fact that she knew exactly how many students were already in her hut was enough to make him wonder. Ron, Hermione and Neville could have been seen, but how did she know about Harry and Isobel? He just shook his head while she strolled inside like she owned the place and closed the door behind her. An astute observer would have noticed Neville and Harry trying to suppress their laughter as Neville kept shuffling around the half-giant, staying out of Daphne's sight.
With the door closed, she was sure that her voice wouldn't carry outside of the hut. She said, "Well? Aren't the rest of you going to watch the dragon hatch?"
It was a remarkable effect as they all emerged from their hiding places in response. Hermione asked her, "What are you doing here, Greengrass?"
Daphne answered coolly, "The same as you, I suppose. I'm here to see a dragon hatch."
"If you are going to tell on Hagrid…", Hermione began to say.
Now Daphne was genuinely affronted, "There's no need for that, Granger. I have given my word."
Daphne then offered the usual formalities to Harry and Neville, "Hello Heir Potter-Black and Heir Longbottom. Are things well with you?"
Neville grinned sheepishly at her while Harry tried to remain impassive, "I am fine, Heiress Greengrass.".
She then turned to Isobel and Ron, "Hello there, McDougall and Weasley. How are things with you?"
Ron could not understand why Daphne behaved like a stranger toward him. She had met him at the Black townhouse during the holidays. Whatever her reason was, he followed her lead. He was about to grunt some noncommittal reply when Hagrid spoke up, "Look 'ere! It's about ter hatch!"
They all huddled around the table together, watching the egg as it rocked and the cracks spread. A piece of the shell fell away shortly followed by the reptilian head emerging from the opening. They all looked on in wonder as the hatchling made short work of the rest of the shell. Even for dragon breeders, this was a rare sight. Mother dragons are even more vicious than usual when hatching their young. Wise wizards give them a wide berth when hatching time comes.
The new hatchling looked more like a crumpled black umbrella with its spindly body and outsized wings. It was still wet from hatching. As they looked on, the dragon raised its head and sneezed sparks. When Hagrid reached over to stroke its scaly head, it quickly turned and bit his finger.
With a tear in his eye, Hagrid said, "See? He recognizes his Mommy already." He picked up the hatchling in his massive hands as it struggled to turn and bite him again. Hagrid was used to handling vicious creatures so the dragon didn't manage to get its teeth into him again. He reached under the table to get a bucket of brandy and chicken blood that he had prepared earlier in the day. The little beast gulped it down greedily.
While Hagrid was busy, Isobel mouthed "mommy?" to Harry with her eyebrows raised.
Harry shrugged and rolled his eyes to one side.
Ron managed to find his voice, "Blimey! That's a Norwegian Ridgeback, Hagrid. Charlie told me about them."
Hagrid nodded, "Indeed 'e is! I'm going ter name him Norbert."
For Hermione, dragons were not her primary interest, which meant that she had only memorized about half the books in the library on them. She knew enough about this breed to be very afraid. She spoke next in her officious tone, "You can't keep him, Hagrid. It will grow too massive for your hut in a matter of weeks. By that time, he'll be able to throw fireballs that will reduce this place to ashes in a matter of seconds. I'm afraid that somebody is going to get hurt or worse."
Daphne nodded gravely, "Granger is right. You can't keep him here. It will be trouble for you and him when the ministry finds out."
Hagrid put the dragon and the bucket down on the table with a huff. Clearly, Hermione and Daphne were trying his patience with their remarks. Unceremoniously, he shooed them out, "Alright you lot. Out of here now."
When they got back to the castle, Ron and Hermione split off to go directly to Gryffindor tower. Harry escorted Isobel to the Ravenclaw tower While Neville and Daphne tailed them.
As they were approaching the Ravenclaw tower, Daphne hailed him, "Harry! Harry stop. I need to talk to you and Neville together."
Looking sternly at Daphne, Harry made a shushing motion with his fingers over his mouth. He quickly consulted the Marauder's map before he answered her in a forced whisper, "Quiet. You don't want to bring Filch down on us, do you?"
Daphne sobered quickly and shook her head.
Harry continued, "I'm not talking to Longbottom. If you want to talk to me find me in the library tomorrow."
Daphne didn't bother to argue with him. She just headed for the nearest short-cut that would take her to the dungeons with Neville following her.
When they were out of sight, Isobel said, "I have a few questions for you, Harry."
Harry raised an eyebrow, "And what are those questions?"
"We all know Daphne but you behaved like strangers. How did Daphne know that we were coming to watch the dragon hatching? And what's this about you fighting with Neville?"
Harry held up three fingers. As he answered each question, he folded one down, "First, not everyone knows that I know Daphne, especially Hermione. For now, I'd prefer that it stays that way. Second, I don't know how Daphne found out about the dragon egg. My best guess is that she followed Ron, Neville and Hermione there or she was hanging around outside the cabin. In any case, I certainly didn't tell her. And the thing with Neville? The git butted in when it was my turn to use the showers. I'm not talking to him until he apologizes."
She shook her head as she snorted, "Pull the other one, Harry. I'm sure you're up to something. You're fighting with Neville but you still get letters and such from his grandmother?"
Harry did his best to feign wide-eyed innocence, "I happen to like the Dowager Longbottom. Just because Neville's being a git is no reason to take it out on her."
Isobel realized that Harry was going to keep his secrets. She turned and answered the riddle at the portal to her common-room before waving good-bye to him.
Malfoy has seen the dragon
The next few days were spent in comparative silence. They were all careful to never mention the dragon unless they were in Hagrid's hut. They were there to visit the game-keeper whenever they could. Between his regular duties and the voracious appetite of the rapidly growing dragon, Hagrid needed all the help he could get. As Hermione had predicted, Norbert was growing faster than anyone could have believed possible. It was already almost as big as a yearling calf, his wings spanning the entire hut when they were spread out. Fortunately for Hagrid, Norbert had imprinted on him or even his considerable strength would not have been enough to control the creature.
Of course, Norbert had not impressed on the students. Whenever he tried to bite or claw one of them, Hagrid would say that they had done something to upset Norbert and show them out of his hut.
With all this going on, they were all, well everyone except Hermione, falling behind on their homework. Harry even more so because he was spending far too much time with Fred and George, masterminding a campaign of continual pranks, the likes of which Hogwarts had not seen since the original marauders. When Harry claimed credit for the hovering breakfast tables prank, it placed the Gryffindor team well ahead in the pranking competition.
The next one they tried was a prank for the history books. It had been attempted once before, but not recorded in the detention records lest someone get the bright idea to try it again. The original Marauders hadn't quite managed to pull it off, but with years to reflect upon it, the determination of Harry, and the talent the twins had for charms and transfigurations, they got the details sorted out. Harry liked to strike at breakfast because that gave him and his minions all night to get things set up in the Great Hall.
About the time that most people were finished eating and Dumbledore traditionally made the morning announcements, there was a boom at the head table. From the noise and smoke, it looked like an entire crate of fireworks exploded. The shockwave knocked professor Flitwick right off his chair. Professor Quirrell jumped and passed out face-down in his porridge. Professor Snape barely flinched and immediately started scanning the room to locate the perpetrators. Professor McGonagall raised a shield as a reflex. Her very thin lips and baleful glare made it clear that the jokesters were going to be very old when they got out of detention. Dumbledore, by contrast, sat there, serenely sipping from his goblet as if nothing had happened. The twinkle in his eyes, on the other hand were a sign to Harry that he knew all about the prank and was just waiting to see what happened next.
Speaking of which, the robes of the staff members began to change. The fireworks were just a delivery system. This was the real gig. Dumbledore's usually flamboyant outfit became a plain white robe. Minerva's black tartan robes were replaced with colourful silk robes topped with a hat that looked like that it had come from a muggle millenary. Professor Flitwick was wearing a tiger-striped pattern onesie with a tail and ears. He chuckled merrily as he stood on his seat to model it for the students. Professor sprout was sporting a glamorous spaghetti-strap gown made of iridescent taffeta that changed colours as the light hit it from different angles. The only one not affected was Professor Quirrell for some unknown reason.
The real masterpiece of the collection was Professor Snape. His robes had transformed into a lacy dress with a high ruffled collar. His famously greasy, black hair had been transformed into an elegant coiffure of well-set, golden curls. His baleful glare spoke of months of pickling slugs for whoever had done this to him.
McGonagall stood up, her nostrils flaring, "Who did this? Come forward now or things will end badly for you when I find you."
The Transfigurations professor had acted in haste. If she had thought things through, she would have realized that anyone coming forward to claim responsibility for this prank would be crowned King of Pranks before the entire school. If that happened, the pranks would only get worse as other students tried to take that crown. The other thing she could not know was that there was no way to prove who had done this. All the evidence went up with the fireworks.
Dumbledore was a master of Occlumency but it still stretched his abilities to try and look displeased as he stood from his seat. McGonagall quickly sat back down as the Headmaster had the floor. He spoke, "This change of wardrobe is a minor inconvenience if we are not able to reverse it directly. If you were hoping to get out of classes while we sort this out, I'm afraid you will be disappointed." At this, the staff looked rather more disappointed than the students. He continued, "Classes will go on as usual while we investigate."
Harry was confident that nobody other than the Headmaster would be able to figure out who had done the prank. They could have their suspicions, but proof simply did not exist. From years of Snivellus baiting, Moony and Padfoot knew Snape's blind spots very well. They also had enough experience with getting around McGonagall to let her believe she could outsmart them. The magic involved was far beyond Harry's current abilities, but he had help from real experts.
After that there was a frantic spate of pranks as the other teams tried to catch up, but nothing measured up. What's more, the other teams did not have the Marauder's map to help keep a lookout for patrolling prefects and Teachers, so they didn't always get away with it.
The Ravenclaws came up with a cunning plan to set up chains of dungbombs in every corridor leading up to the Astronomy tower. The chain reaction would have gone off like a nightmarish chain of dominoes wrecking havoc the likes of which have not been seen since The Bog of Eternal Stench. The mess would have emptied the school and kept Filch and the house elves busy for days cleaning it up. The plan went awry When Professor Snape emerged from concealment on the third floor and caught one of them in the act of laying out his stinky load. The unfortunate third year did not last 30 seconds under Snape's interrogation. Snape put the conspirators on notice that they would be getting very close, first-hand experience with what went into making dungbombs if they missed picking up a single one.
Neville's feud with Harry took a nasty direction. He recruited a few of his fellow lions to get Harry and the twins into trouble. Of course, they never let up with their own pranking efforts, but thanks to the map, they always managed to stay a step ahead of anyone trying to catch them.
Neville's gang also tried trapping the grand staircase so that the twins would be caught out after curfew. They sprinkled permanent sticking powder they had bought from Zonkos on a night that they knew the twins were up to no good. Fred and George thought that Neville might be up to something when they observed him on the map, hanging around the stairs longer than he needed to. With some inside information from the joke shop and some basic detection spells, they found the powder and gathered it up.
For the infamous Gred and Feorge, this was too good an opportunity to pass up. As Neville and his crew were heading back into the common-room one night, they suddenly found themselves unable to move. Neville had a horrible sinking feeling in his gut as Fred and George emerged out of the shadows beside him.
Gred said, "Oi Longbottom, fancy meeting you here."
Forge said, "Tsk, tsk. Out after curfew, aren't we?"
Neville's eyes went wide, "No. Please. You can't…"
Gred asked, "Can't we?"
Forge answered, "I believe we can."
Together they said, "We just did."
Neville thought he would try to be cheeky and point out the fatal flaw in the twins' plan of revenge, "Good going geniuses. Now how are you going to get by this mess without getting yourselves stuck?"
Gred slapped his forehead and exclaimed, "Blimey!"
Forge made a big show of looking panicked and exclaimed, "Merlin's beard!"
Together they said, "Wish I'd thought of that."
Neville's last spark of hope died a lonely death as Fred and George promptly gestured with their wands and said, "Verdimillious". The streams of green sparks from their wands lit a path which was not covered in powder. They casually strolled through the stuck students, following the path marked out by the green sparks. They gave the password and climbed through the portrait hole. They laughed as they pulled the portrait shut behind them saying, "Never mess with the masters of mayhem."
No sooner had the portrait slammed shut than the head of Gryffindor house arrived in the person of Professor McGonagall. Her nostrils flaring, her eyes turned into slits like a cat and her lips pressed in firm disapproval she asked, "Are these my Students out after curfew? Perhaps we can arrange to put a stop to the pranks tonight."
What happened next did not go well for Neville and his gang. They tried some lame excuses. Neville even tried to tell her that the Weasley twins had done this to them. When she investigated the third year dormitory, she found Fred and George in deep sleep. Unknown to her, Lee had cast the spell on them as soon as they arrived. Even a full-grown dragon roaring would not have woke them up.
As for Neville and his gang, they were able to leave their shoes outside the portal until the sticking powder wore off. After two weeks of detention with their head of house and Professor Snape, she had the cleanest office the school had ever seen, they were all experts in pickling slugs without any protective gear and they were all well ahead of their classes in Transfiguration with all the essays they wrote.
Speaking of dragons… Norbert was getting to be too much for even Hagrid to handle. He was mature enough now that he wanted to learn how to fly. He kept spreading his wings which were too big for the hut already. Hagrid could not keep the dragon inside much longer, then his secret would be out. Then Hagrid would be on his way to Azkaban and who knows what Norbert's fate would be. Something had to be done and soon. Easter Holidays were coming up. A lot of the students would be home for the Easter holidays. It would also likely be the last opportunity to save Norbert and Hagrid.
One day, when Harry and others were in the library busy with their homework, Ron decided to visit Hagrid to help him feed Norbert. Ron returned about an hour later, sporting a bleeding hand. The bleeding would not stop. The flesh was already beginning to swell up and discolour.
Hermione saw the injury, she was immediately concerned. She asked, "Ron, what happened to your hand?"
Ron shrugged, "I was helping Hagrid to feed Norbert these massive slabs of meat. I suppose that he got confused and nipped my hand. Hagrid said that I must have scared him and kicked me out of his cabin."
Hermione's eyes went wide, "A dragon bite? Ron, those creatures have venom. You have to see Madame Pomfrey right away!"
Harry, looking at his friends injury, decided that enough was enough. He headed out to Hagrid's cabin for a heart-to-heart talk with the Game Keeper.
He knocked on the door firmly. When Hagrid didn't answer, he called out, "Hagrid, open the door."
Hagrid sounded scared, "Go away! you'll frighten Norbert."
Harry insisted, "Hagrid, we need to talk about it. You can't keep him here. Open the door."
Hagrid stubbornly refused, "Go away 'Arry."
Harry was sure that if he continued to yell at Hagrid through the door he was going to attract attention he did not want. He decided to use his trump-card, "Hagrid, open the door now or I'm going to Dumbledore."
Hagrid opened the door so quickly that Harry knew he must have been standing there with his hand on the latch. He rushed Harry inside with a bit more force than he meant to. Harry could plainly see that Hagrid looked worried. They both knew what the bite to Ron's hand meant. As Harry stumbled over the threshold, he saw the dragon curled up in front of the fireplace, purring contentedly. For just a moment, even Harry could see the charm the majestic creature held for Hagrid. But he also knew that when Norbert stood up and stretched out that this cabin was just too small for him.
Harry reached up as far as he could and patted Hagrid on the arm, "He's quite a charmer, isn't he?"
Hagrid nodded firmly, "'E sure is 'Arry."
Harry brought Hagrid to the table and they sat down. He took a deep sigh before he began, "Hagrid, you're one of the most kind and gentle people I've ever met. I wouldn't hurt you for all the gold in Gringots. I hope you know that?"
Hagrid nodded and looked morose, "But 'e's just a baby. 'E's just a bit nervous, ya know."
Harry shook his head firmly, "No, Hagrid. He's already nearly as big as you are. He's going to need to learn how to fly very soon. You can't keep him a secret here much longer. Worst of all, he bit Ron. I don't think he can tell the difference between food and someone that's trying to feed him."
Hagrid started up again, "There's not a mean bone in 'is body. Ron just scared…"
Harry cut him off, "Hagrid, I know how you see him. But if you keep him here much longer, do you know what's going to happen?"
Hagrid started up to throw Harry out, "I've heard quite enough. You'd better go now…"
Harry didn't budge, "If I go out that door, the next person I'm going to see is the Headmaster. And then you'll have involved him. And He won't say anything different to you than I am right now. And good luck throwing him out."
Hagrid sat back down. Harry continued, "I can only imagine how you feel about sending him away, but the alternative is unthinkable. Hagrid, please consider. For his sake."
Hagrid thought over his options for a moment. Then the half-giant burst into tears, "What am I goin' ta do? 'E's just a baby. Who's goin' ta look after 'im?"
Harry reached out and patted his friend's hand. He said softly, "Charlie."
It only took a moment for Hagrid to remember his favourite Hogwarts student. Charlie Weasley shared Hagrid's great love for "interesting" creatures. He looked at Harry hopefully, "Do ya think 'e can 'elp?".
Inside, Harry was torn between whooping for joy and sorrow for Hagrid's distress. But it was done. With an owl from Ron, Norbert would be on his way to Romania by Saturday night. To Hagrid he said, "From what Ron says, Charlie is the best with dragons. He'll take good care of Norbert."
Hagrid nodded morosely, "Charlie is a good lad. Alright, if you say so. How will we take…?"
Hagrid suddenly stopped mid-sentence. There was a small movement at the window that attracted their attention. He asked, "Who was that?"
Harry dashed to the gap in the curtains that had betrayed them. When he peered out through the gap, he made out the unmistakable figure and pale hair of the rapidly retreating back of Draco Malfoy. Harry growled, "It's that trouble-making little ponce, Draco Malfoy. You can be sure that he knows all about Norbert now and he won't keep it a secret."
Harry knew that this was his fault. He hadn't checked the map or used his cloak. Now his friend was in mortal peril. Malfoy had seen Harry going to Hagrid's hut. He followed out of idle curiosity. His sneaking had paid off and now he knew about Norbert.
Harry turned to Hagrid, "This is really bad. We can't get Norbert away soon enough." He shook his fist, "Curse Malfoy anyway. I'm sorry Hagrid, I'm afraid he followed me here. This is my fault."
Hagrid thought fast, "It's OK, "Arry. I can 'ide 'im in the Forbidden Forest until Charlie can take 'im away."
Harry nodded, "Good thinking. The fresh air will do him some good and I'm sure that none of Malfoy's goons are brave enough to go snooping in there."
As it was already dark outside, Hagrid wasted no time putting actions to his words. As soon as Harry was away, he took Norbert out around the back of his hut and into the forest, his trusty crossbow over his shoulder and his giant boarhound, Fang, at his side. As soon as Norbert scented the fresh air, he stretched out his wings and started flapping them. It was all Hagrid could do to keep the fledgling from taking off.
Escape plan
When Harry returned to the Common Room, he found Ron and Hermione in chairs by the fire. Ron had his hand bandaged. Harry could see that it was still oozing and nearly twice its normal size. Hermione was rapidly whispering at him, but whatever she was saying, Ron just kept shaking his head.
When Hermione saw that Harry had arrived, she was about to enlist his aid to persuade Ron, but seeing his face, she listened instead.
Harry quickly sat himself down in a third chair and hunched forward, "Malfoy knows about Norbert."
Ron piped up, "No! How?"
Harry shook his head, "not now. Hagrid has taken him somewhere safe for now. Ron, can you get a message to Charlie? We need to get Norbert away as soon as possible."
Ron said, "Sure. I can send him an owl tonight, but it'll take days for it to get to him."
Harry said, "Days! That won't do. We're going to have to do better than that. Maybe Sirius will have an idea. Just get the letter written. I'll work something out to get it to him faster. If I get my way about it, your brother will have that letter in his hands tonight."
As Ron reached for his parchment and quill, Harry saw that his hand was even worse than he thought. It had swollen to twice its size and it was turning blue. Harry was alarmed, "Ron, what did Madame Pomfrey say about that hand?"
If looks could kill, Ron would have been a pile of smoking ash from the look Hermione was giving him. Ron sheepishly admitted, "I haven't been to see her yet. She'll know what did this and then…"
Harry said, "You stupid git! That wound has dragon venom in it. You could lose your hand. You could die! Besides, she's a healer. She is not allowed to say anything about the people she treats. That's so that people like you can get treated instead of dyeing." The smug look and the nod from Hermione said, "I told you so."
Ron said, "Ok, I'll write the letter, then I'll go see her."
Harry said, "No. We're going to see her right now. I'll write the letter while she gets a look at that hand."
While Hermione packed up their homework, Harry consulted the Marauder's map and got his cloak out for the trip to the hospital wing. The next minute, the two of them were making their way to the infirmary under the protection of the cloak. Regular office hours were over. They quietly opened the hospital wing door, entered and closed it behind them. Fortunately for them, Madame Pomfrey had just finished checking up on her patients. She was in her office but not yet in bed. Harry stashed the cloak in the pocket where he usually kept it and knocked tentatively at her door.
She opened the door quickly and peered at them asking, "What's all this?"
Without a word, Ron presented his injured hand. When Madame Pomfrey saw it, she exclaimed, "Merlin's beard, boy! How did this happen?"
Ron mumbled something about a potions accident involving a strange herb and his silver knife.
The medi-witch had been the resident healer at Hogwarts for years. Her training taught her to recognize a dragon bite when she saw one and her years at this post had taught her to recognize when a student was lying to her. She tried bluffing Ron into telling her the truth, "That is no knife cut, boy. Now, tell me what happened or I'll have to tell the Headmaster about this."
Harry knew that she was bluffing. Thanks to Harry, Ron knew it too. With a significant gesture to the other students in the room, Harry said, "I'm sorry, Madame Pomfrey. We were out of bounds, playing hide and seek at the edge of the Forbidden Forest. Something in the bushes there bit him. I convinced Ron to tell that story so we wouldn't get into trouble."
Realizing that was as close to the truth as she was ever going to get where other ears might overhear them, she quickly escorted the two of them into her office, closing the door and putting up the privacy wards behind them. After casting some diagnostic spells on the wound she remarked, "Norwegian Ridgeback? Foolish boy! You could have died from this."
Ron began to protest, but Harry stopped him, "She's right and we all know it. Better to let her be about her business."
A few minutes later, Ron's hand was back down to its original size. But, instead of being blue or its natural fair and freckled colour, it looked black and necrotic. The venom was completely purged, but it had done quite a lot of damage. If this had been a muggle hospital, Ron would have lost the hand for sure. As it was, Madame Pomfrey said, "Your hand is going to be all right. But I will have to keep you here for at least a week to finish healing it. I'll write notes to your teachers so that they will know you are here. Never let magical venom go untreated like that again. Some of that stuff will only give you seconds to live."
Harry had the letter written. All Ron had to do was sign it. Considering how bad Ron's writing was even under the best of circumstances, his injury hardly made any difference to how his signature looked.
The letter read:
"Dear Charlie,
I hope that you are enjoying the reserve and working with dragons. I wanted to ask if you and the reserve would like to have a Norwegian ridgeback that Hagrid is raising in his hut. Can you arrange for transportation to take it away?
Please don't ask how he came into possession of a ridgeback. That is a long story I will tell you some other time. I will appreciate if you can arrange it as quickly as you can.
Love,
Ron."
With his hand slathered in some really awful smelling ointment and fresh bandages, Madame Pomfrey put Ron to bed in the infirmary. Harry donned the cloak the moment he was out of the door and made his way back to an empty classroom he knew of on the fifth floor. When he was certain that there were no portraits or ghosts around, he used the mirror that Sirius had given him. "Padfoot", he spoke into the shining surface.
A few seconds later, the face of his Godfather appeared, "It's pretty late, Pup. What's the trouble?"
Harry said, "Trouble? Hmm, I don't think you'd believe it if I told you. I can hardly believe it myself. The thing is that it's really big trouble and I do need your help."
Sirius was suddenly very alert, no sign of silliness in him anymore. He asked, "Tell me what I need to know."
Harry said, "First thing, I have a letter here that has to get to Charlie Weasley the fastest way possible. He's working at the Dragon Reserve in Romania. The other thing is that I need his reply just as quickly. Can you think of anything?"
Sirius smiled broadly, "As it happens, I have the next couple of days off. I'll meet you in your common room in ten minutes. With a portkey to Romania, Charlie will get the letter before sunrise. I can call you on the mirror and arrange to bring you the reply as soon as I have it. Still, what's this all about?"
Harry said, "I can't thank you enough. As for what it's all about? Let's just say that Charlie's talents will be very helpful."
With that, Harry made the slashing motion to end the mirror call. He donned the cloak again and headed for Gryffindor tower by the nearest shortcut. It only took a few more moments after Harry was back in the common room before the fireplace flames turned green and Sirius stepped out.
Sirius walked straight over to his godson and picked him up in a bone-crushing hug. Then he held Harry at arm's length and remarked, "I still can't get over how much you look like James. And it seems you have his talent for getting into trouble."
Harry replied, "It's good to see you too, Padfoot."
Sirius asked him, "So, what's this all about?"
Harry gestured to the portraits hung around the common room, then winked as he said, "You know, just a bit of mischief. I need your help to get rid of the evidence before Malfoy can rat me out."
With that, he held out the letter for Sirius to read, being careful not to let any of the portraits see it.
Sirius looked seriously impressed, "Malfoy's son knows about it?"
Harry nodded firmly. With that, he employed his wand to seal the letter and slipped it up the sleeve of Sirius's robe.
The marauder grinned, "Don't worry about a thing. I'll be back before you know it."
Now that Harry got a good look at him, Sirius still had a haunted look about his eyes, but physically, he looked great. Whatever he was doing, it was working wonders for his health, strength and vitality. Harry observed, "Looking good Godfather. Whatever they're doing for you, keep it up!"
With that, Harry gave his godfather another hug, "I knew I could count on you. Remus can be so stiff."
Sirius said a bit wistfully, "You know how it is. He had to raise you. He couldn't be fun and games all the time. I guess that makes me the cool uncle?"
They did a fist-bump and Harry said, "This summer, I'm going to get you to tell me all the stuff about my Dad that Remus won't talk about."
Sirius barked with laughter just thinking about it, "Sure thing, Pup."
Gesturing to his sleeve he said, "It makes me sad, but I've got to go and you, young man, should be in bed."
Harry pulled a long face, "Now you're starting to sound like Uncle Remus. Next thing you know, you'll be telling Grand-Uncle on me."
Sirius slapped one hand over his heart with the other arm in a dramatic swooning gesture over his forehead as he gasped, "You wound me with such a mortal insult."
The two of them laughed at his antics. Sirius turned and walked back toward the fireplace, "Really, I have to get going. See you soon, Harry."
Harry said , "Good-bye."
Without breaking stride, Sirius threw a pinch of floo powder into the fireplace and said, "Black Cottage Hogsmead", as he vanished amid the emerald flames. The next second, the flames died down and Harry headed to bed.
The next few days were nerve wracking. Sirius arranged to deliver Charlie's reply the very next evening in the basement at Honeydukes. Floo travel into the Gryffindor common room was logged and they did not want to attract any more attention to that. The students stayed away from Hagrid's hut for the same reason. Harry and Hermione did visit with Ron in the hospital wing when they had a chance. The hand still looked diseased, but the colour was gradually returning to normal and the wound was healing. Ron complained that it itched like crazy all the time but Madame Pomfrey forbid him to scratch it or he would tear all the skin off. The three of them huddled together to read Charlie's response letter behind a privacy screen.
It read:
"Dear Ron,
I don't know how Hagrid got a hold of a Ridgeback egg or how you got involved with it. I'm pretty sure that I don't want to know. It sounds like you're in over your head, kind of like the time I got involved with that cursed vaults mess while I was at Hogwarts. It was Bill that bailed me out back then. Now I get to pay it forward. Whatever you do, don't breathe a word about this to Percy or Mom.
Of course I'll help you out. A few of my friends here, experts in moving fledglings, will meet you at midnight this Saturday. Just be at the highest point in the castle with the package. And don't be late. They can't hang around.
Love,
Charlie."
Once they all had a chance to read it, Ron placed the parchment between the pages of one of the text books that Hermione had brought to help Ron keep up with his classes. It was already Wednesday night. Just a few more days until they could send Norbert off, then Hagrid and his pet dragon would both be safe.
One d Malfoy never mentioned anything about Norbert or a dragon directly. What he did instead was drop nasty reminders every now and then that he knew all about it. Harry took some comfort in knowing that Norbert was safely stashed away where Draco and his goons would not dare to look and that Norbert was leaving sooner than Draco could possibly imagine.
One day, Malfoy was heard telling his lackeys, "Do you know Crabbe and Goyle, why I was named Draco?" He paused briefly while his dim-witted lackies furrowed their brows in consternation. Then he explained, "Because Draco means DRAGON."
Another time, he explained the school motto to his side-kicks, "'Draco dormiens non quam titilandus' means 'Never tickle a sleeping DRAGON'."
During the day, Wednesday, Daphne was in the library with Tracy at the usual table in the back of the library working on her homework when Harry slipped into one of the chairs.
Tracy looked up from her position and asked her, "Oh Hi, Potter-Black."
Daphne looked up and glared at Harry icily, "Trace please keep a lookout and tell us if someone is coming this way. I have some business to discuss with my dear friend Harry here."
Tracy stood up, giggling, "I will pray for your soul, Potter-Black."
As Tracy retreated, Harry asked apprehensively, "You aren't going to go all Ice Queen on me, are you?"
She growled, "What are you two idiots up to? Not talking to each other and over something as trivial as shower time? What is your damage?"
Harry evaded the direct question, "We can always talk about me and Longbottom later, Daph. I need some help from you."
She curtly said, "OK then. Don't tell me what you're really up to, treating me like a mushroom." With a glare that said, "This had better be good", she asked, "What do you need?"
Harry got straight to it, "Malfoy has seen the dragon. You know what will happen to Hagrid and Norbert if the wrong people find out. I need you to keep a tail on Malfoy and find out what he's going to do."
Daphne stopped trying to burn Harry to death with her glare and answered, "That's not good. That poser and his no-good father have been nothing but trouble as far back as I can remember. You had better get rid of that dragon, like yesterday. For my part, I have my ways. If that wretched little git has any plans, I'll find out."
Harry smiled gratefully, "That's great, Daph. We're already working on a plan to get Norbert out of here. I'm just waiting for an answer. I knew I could count on you."
They just had to keep Malfoy distracted for a few more days.
Thursday, Harry visited Ron in the hospital wing. He found his friend looking anxious. He asked, "Hey Ron, You don't look very happy. Do you want me to get Madame Pomfrey to look at your hand?"
Ron held up the neatly bandaged hand and said, "It's coming along just fine. She says I might even be out by Sunday morning."
Harry said, "That's great!" He gave Ron a gentle thump on the shoulder. "But something is bothering you?"
Ron looked sick as he told Harry, "Malfoy was up to visit me a little while ago."
Harry snorted, "A visit from that git might set your recovery back."
Ron said, "I think he really just came up here to taunt me. That's bad enough, but when Madame Pomfrey caught him at it, he made this excuse that he was here to borrow a book from me."
Harry looked to where the book that contained the letter had been. He said, "Was the letter still…"
Ron said, "It sure was. Now he knows everything."
Harry had a terrible sinking feeling. His last hope was pinned on the fact that Malfoy had no idea how soon Norbert would be departing. With the plan in his hands, not only would Hagrid be heading off to Azkaban, but quite likely Charlie's friends as well. It was too late to cancel the plan. He would just have to pull out all the stops, calling in many favours, to make sure that whoever tried to stop them would be to busy or unable. Harry said, "It's better that you told me. Now I have a chance to hand Malfoy the biggest serving of humble pie he ever ate. You just stay here and get better. Don't worry about a thing."
Operation Rescue Dragon
Harry spent every minute for the next two days with his head together with Fred, George and their friend Lee Jordan. By the time they were done scheming, they had a cunning plan.
Between classes on the Friday, Isobel bumped into Harry in the hallways. She winked as she apologized for bumping into him. When they separated again, Harry found a note in his pocket. When he had a moment to himself, he saw that it was from Daphne:
"Harry,
Malfoy has been asking people in the house about the highest point in the castle. He was also asking some students to help him with some mischief but I have no idea what it was about. What I know for certain from asking Parkinson is that he has recruited some students to do something on Saturday after curfew."
Harry destroyed the note as soon as he read it. This was to be expected. What bothered Harry was that Daphne hadn't been able to give him any ideal about numbers or who would be helping out Malfoy in addition to his usual crew. No matter. Harry had the map and with the number of people he had recruited to his cause, there were going to be a record number of students breaking curfew on Saturday night. Each person only knew their own part of the plan. If Snape started up with his illegal Legilimens again, something he had already been warned about, Harry didn't want him getting any more of the plan than he could help.
As curfew approached on Saturday night, several vacant classrooms, supply closets and suits of armour throughout the castle were hosting students. They all had their assignments. Ron wasn't one of them. He was still in the hospital wing.
About 10 PM, Harry, Hermione, Fred, George and Lee were in the Gryffindor common room. Harry checked the map to make sure that nobody was hiding outside the portal. He could see that Malfoy was in the Slytherin common room along with Crabbe, Goyle and Parkinson. But there was nothing unusual about that. The four first years all had death eaters for fathers and they spent a lot of time together. Snape was up on the third floor. He had been spending a lot of time there when he wasn't teaching. Nothing new there either.
Satisfied that he could get to Hagrid's hut without any difficulty, Harry handed the map over to Fred, "you know what to do. We'll be coming through at the appointed time."
Fred said, "Don't worry about a thing."
George said, "Everything is ready to go."
Together with Lee they said, "Good hunting Harry!"
Harry said, "Watch 'er there, Lee. You've been hanging out with these two far too much."
Hermione and Harry vanished under the invisibility cloak. A moment later, the portal opened and closed seemingly by itself.
The two of them circled around Hagrid's shack to find the half-giant at the edge of the forbidden forest. It was really strange, but the dragon was curled up inside of a wire cage and he seemed to be a lot smaller than Harry remembered. He asked, "Hagrid, did you shrink him?"
Hagrid shook his head, "No, Harry. Dragons are really hard to enchant. This here pet carrier has some expansion charms and some containment charms on it. I put a couple quarts o' fire whiskey in with his chicken blood tonight. When he dozed off, I put him in this 'ere pet carrier. A right clever device it is."
Harry looked at it. There were a couple of loops on top and a wooden pole on the ground next to it. Threading the pole through the loops, two people could shoulder the carrier and lift it together. There were also handles on the sides of the carrier but that would load up one side of the spine and make it harder to haul over longer distances. Harry asked, "Where did you get this?"
Hagrid scratched at his beard, "Don't rightly know. They were here when I took over as game keeper. I use them every now and then if I have to move one o' the more interestin' creatures."
Harry checked his watch, "We have to get moving Hagrid. Have you said your goodbyes to our fire-breathing friend?"
"I don't want ta let him go, 'Arry.",he wailed. "'Ow's 'e gonna live with them big dragons." He pulled what looked like it had been a checkered table-cloth from his pocket and blew his nose.
Harry did his best to comfort him. He said, "It's going to be alright, Hagrid. He's going to have fresh air and mountain ranges. Charlie will be there to look after him. What's more, he'll learn to fly with fledglings just like him. He'll love it there."
Hermione chimed in, "We will all mis him, Hagrid. But you know this is for your own good and his." In fact, Hermione was going to miss the monster like a hole in the head, but she knew how Hagrid felt about "his baby".
Hagrid brightened up a bit. He patted the side of the carrier, "Well, Norbert, I sure hope ya make some new friends. This'll be a great adventure for ya. I promise ta visit on the summer breaks."
It took a bit more persuading but around eleven o'clock, they got the pole threaded through the loops. With Harry in front and Hermione behind, they hefted the pole onto their shoulders to carry it. The load wasn't anywhere near as heavy as Harry expected it to be. But of course, there were levitation charms on the carrier too. Maybe someone like Hagrid could carry a full-grown centaur around, but that was far beyond the abilities of the average game keeper. Hagrid helped them get the invisibility cloak arranged so that it covered Harry, Hermione and the carrier. It seemed to stretch the cloak to its limit but Hagrid said that if they were careful, it did the job.
Leaving Hagrid behind, they carefully made their way back to the castle.
Harry had been using the Marauder's map for months now. He knew all the best secret passages and short-cuts, but nearly all of them were two small for the three of them. They would have to take the main passages and stairways all the way to the top of the Astronomy tower, which is the highest point in the castle. Even with the invisibility cloak, Harry knew there was no way they could get there, undetected, without help. As they approached the rear door to the castle, the double-door swung open before them. Harry stopped to see if anyone was coming out but he couldn't see anyone there.
Fred's voice spoke out of the shadows, "Come on, Harry. We haven't got all night.". Fred had been watching the map with George and Lee at his side. When they saw the dots for Harry, Hermione and Norbert approaching in close formation, the three of them pulled the doors open while they kind of stayed in the shadows. As soon as they passed through the doors, Fred's voice came again from just ahead of them, "Alright, they're in."
With that, the doors swung shut and the latches clicked in near perfect silence. The moment that Hermione felt two gentle tugs on the cloak behind her, they heard George and Lee say, "Ready.
Next was Fred again saying, "Alright Harry, just go at your best pace. We'll keep the snakes off your back."
The team moved on quietly. Harry occasionally heard the rattling of the parchment as Fred checked it. As they were climbing the stairs, Fred said, "Norris. Two o'clock high."
They paused briefly as Hermione felt the cloak move ever so slightly behind her. There was the creek of a single step at the top as Lee made his way past them. Filch's nasty cat, Mrs. Norris came at a trot from the right, sniffing the air and glaring in their direction.
There was the momentary flash of a red spell and Mrs. Norris thudded to the ground, unconscious. The next moment, Lee picked up the cat and ran to one side.
Fred whispered, "Let's go."
Lee did not re-join them. They could hear Filch calling for his cat as they made their way to the third floor. Then there was a crash. The next thing was Filch Yelling, "I'll get you for that I will! You blighters aren't getting away with it! I'll skin you alive I will!"
Harry could tell that his yelling was getting more distant and he relaxed a little. So far, so good. Hermione was being the perfect partner in crime. All this time, she had followed every move and held up her end without a single complaint.
Professor Flitwick was patrolling the third floor. Hermione stumbled and let out a bit of a squeak as she caught her balance again. They all came to a stop and stood stalk still as the Charms Professor approached them squeaking, "You must be using a cloak. Reveal yourselves or I'll do it for you."
Harry thought they were done for sure,. That was when two Ravenclaws, Terry Boot and Mandy Brocklehurst appeared out of the shadows to one side of the corridor. Mandy said, "Sorry, Professor. We had trouble with the riddle tonight. We got locked out of the tower. Can you help us?"
The team stood still long enough for the trio to start up the stairs toward Ravenclaw tower. As their voices faded, Fred whispered, "Go", and the team started moving again.
Harry made a mental note to thank them later. Their performance had been very convincing, messed up hair and everything.
On the fourth floor, they almost ran into a trap. Out of nowhere, Neville Longbottom almost bumped into them. Harry took a step back as Neville stumbled in his direction. To the shadows he complained, "What did you do that for, McLaggen? You nearly knocked me over!"
Cormack McLaggen was the big second year that was part of the gang Neville had started to hang out with since the fight with Harry a few days ago. He was a bit of a bully and not many people liked him because of that. He answered Neville, "I was just giving you a thump on the shoulder, Longbottom. It's not my fault you're such a wimp."
Quick as thought, Neville charged the larger boy and gave him a shove, saying, "I'll show you who's the wimp!"
With a thud, McLaggen landed on his behind in the middle of the hallway. When he tried to push himself back to his feet, all he succeeded in doing was getting his hands stuck to the floor. He exclaimed, "Now look what you've done!. I'm stuck in the powder we scattered!"
Neville snorted, "Oops. My bad. You'd better keep quiet if you don't want Filch to find you here before morning."
McLaggen's face turned purple with the long string of expletives that he was thinking, but he held his peace.
Neville pulled out his wand, cast the verdimillious charm and walked on the safe path illuminated by the charm. Harry waited for Fred to give the signal before he followed the same path. It was a happy accident that McLaggen's bullying helped them get past that trap.
There were no more encounters until they were getting close to the entrance to the Astronomy tower. Suddenly he could see Fred (or George) trying to find him with the motions of his hand. The twin whispered, "Is that you Harry?"
Harry's voice came back, "Yes. What happened?"
Fred Whispered, "It's Snape. He's been pacing in front of the door to the stairs for over an hour now. It doesn't look like he's leaving any time soon."
Hermione felt the cloak behind her move ever so slightly, then George's Whisper came from next to Fred, "Guess we better split up for this one."
Fred said, "We'll use plan F?"
George whispered , "Brilliant.".
Fred whispered, "Once Snape is gone, you're clear to the top of the tower. We won't be able to help on the way back. Good Luck Harry."
Even the whispered conversation had attracted Snape's attention by now. Harry heard footsteps, in perfect time, head off in opposite directions. Now Snape, who was already running toward Harry and Hermione, hesitated, at a loss as to which footsteps to follow.
Snape waved his wand, "Accio Invisibility Cloak."
Harry and Hermione held on to the cloak tightly, but it didn't move. Fred and George's purposely loud footsteps had already faded in the distance. Snape flicked his wand again, "Homnum revelio."
This time, Harry thought the gig was up for sure. Snape was less than ten feet away. But to his surprise, the potions master growled, "Weasleys!". He turned to point his wand at Fred, but as he did, there was a boom like a cannon-shot followed by "Reet! Reet! Reet!". A fireworks pig came charging at him, brilliantly lighting up the gloomy corridor as it moved. He had to dodge or get badly burned. It was all Harry could do to keep from laughing out loud as Snape cast spells, one after another to try and stop the pig, but it just kept getting louder and bigger with each effort. He was still trying to figure it out when it chased him out of sight.
When Harry reached the door to the tower, he found it locked. It only took a minute for Harry to use an unlocking charm. It only took three different spells before he found one to defeat the locking charm Snape had used. Snape was a master of a few things, but locking charms wasn't one of them.
By the time they climbed the stairs to the roof, the castle clock began to chime midnight. Harry heard the swish and thud as no less than four wizards landed on the tower roof very close by. Harry asked, "Who sent you?"
A voice near him answered, "C W sent us."
Harry emerged from under the cloak and the next moment, four well muscled and well scarred wizards appeared out of shimmering air.
The one who had spoken before remarked, "You're Potter!"
Harry shrugged, "Yes. Thanks for doing us a big favour, but we have no time for introductions. They are on to us and you have to go."
Without another word, the broad-shouldered man and one of his companions took the cage up between them, mounted their brooms and kicked off. The other two cast disillusionment spells all around. Harry could just make out the sound of their brooms launching as they left, following the same course as their friends.
Harry and Hermione ducked back under the cloak. As they descended the stairs, Harry whispered, "You take the cloak and the shortest way back to our tower. I I'll get back as soon as I can. Thanks for everything."
Hermione whispered back, "Are you bonkers? Snape and Filch are looking for you. Just come back with me."
Harry answered, "Not a chance. I have other people to look out for. Don't you worry about me. Just get yourself back to our tower so I don't have to worry about you."
As she left, Harry first went to find Michael and Lisa who were hiding inside a closet on the second floor, "Thank you, you two. Did Filch even find you?"
They shook their heads while grinning, "No, Harry. We ran as soon as we made that statue fall on the suit of armour. He was so upset about that foul cat of his that he only made a half-hearted effort at chasing us down."
"Mrs. Norris?", Harry asked, "What happened to her?". The last Harry saw of the cat, Lee was carrying her off toward the gargoyle that guards the entrance Dumbledore's office on the second floor.
Lisa covered her mouth to keep herself from laughing out loud as Michael answered, "He found her in the wreckage of the armour. I don't know how she got inside that suit."
Harry snorted, "I do." Then he shook his head, "Never mind. We'll talk later. Just get back to your dorm before Filch recovers his senses."
The two sobered immediately. Without another word, they shuffled off toward the kitchens.
He found Ernie hiding inside a suit of armour on the first floor. When he saw Harry, he came out of the armour grinning, "So did I repay the debt I owed?"
Harry grinned, "There is no debt between friends, Ernie. Thank you for your help. Even if you didn't get to do anything, it helped knowing that you were there."
Ernie looked genuinely grieved, "I did plenty. You'll owe me an apology for that one."
Harry said, "Sorry, I didn't see..."
Ernie thumped him on the shoulder, "Just having you on, mate. I'd better go." With that, Ernie took the nearest short-cut to his common room.
Harry went to the dungeons next. There was a store-room perilously close to the Snake-pit (the Slytherin common room). He gave the door a quick tap followed by two slow taps and the door swung open for him. Once he was inside, a diminutive strawberry blond swung the door shut behind him with her wand lit.
Harry asked, "Susan, how did it go?"
With a broad grin, Susan said, "It would have gone badly if Ernie hadn't shown up. Even though we knew they were coming, the sneaky snakes got the drop on us. Ernie zapped Goyle in the back of the head and when they turned to see what happened, we took out Crabbe and Parkinson." She gestured to where Hannah Abbot and Cedric Diggory were standing guard over the unconscious forms of Crabbe, Goyle and Parkinson.
Harry asked, "But they saw you. They're going to tell Snape and…"
Cedric piped up, "No worries, Potter-Black. They were down before they could identify us."
Harry said, "Good thinking, Heir Diggory, but where is Malfoy?"
Susan shook her head, "I'm sorry Harry. That's how they got the drop on us. We were tailing Malfoy when they got us from behind. I think he was heading for McGonagall's office when He got away."
Harry shook his head "Malfoy, out after curfew and he went to my head of house? Did he want a week of detention that badly?" He hadn't seen Malfoy or McGonagall during the entire adventure. Maybe she had already put the little ponce into detention for telling her tall stories after curfew. Then a look of horror came over his face as he realized what Malfoy must have done. Malfoy had proof. He had Charlie's letter! He cursed himself for not taking the map from Fred. Now, he was by himself, no cloak and no map.
Susan asked him, concerned, "Harry? Are you alright?"
Harry heaved a heavy sigh, "I'm sorry Susan. You guys did great! Just leave these snakes here and get back to your common room before Snape comes sniffing around with his big nose."
Cedric asked, "Are you going to tell us what this was about, Potter-Black? Why did you have to drag them (Susan and Hannah) into it?"
Harry said, "I'm sorry, Cedric. You did more good than I can say right now. I hope I'll have the chance to thank you properly later."
Cedric was a bit taken aback by Harry's familiar use of his name, but for some reason, it warmed him a bit, even though they were rival seekers. He nodded and said, "Alright, Harry. I'll hold you to that."
With that, Cedric put disillusionment charms on the four of them and they all headed back to their common rooms.
Harry took the fastest short-cut back to his common room. He knew the disillusionment charm would help him to not be seen to casual observers, but he had to be very careful not to make any noise or attract any attention. And, no matter what, he had to pass through the portal behind the Fat Lady at some point. Thanks to Malfoy, he fully expected McGonagall to be there to greet him.
Well what do you readers think will happen?
A/N- So long overdue. This chapter took too long but then that's how busy life has been. Things have been an uphill battle for a while for me but I am certainly getting there. I hope you all are fine and safe at your place.
Please leave me some reviews and tell me what do you think would happen?