Chapter Fourteen: Norbert
Harry, Ron, and Hermione all sat down on top of the couch together. "Now what's this about The Sorcerer's Stone?" Hagrid questioned them.
"We think somebody is going to try and steal it and people around the school are suspecting my dad." Harry told him.
"Codswallop! That's complete rubbish as your father is one of the people protecting the stone." Hagrid told him.
"I know and I would never believe the rumors either but now the word has gotten out and everybody's concerned about it." He explained and before Hagrid could open his mouth to say anything else he heard the crackling of the fire and all three young Gryffindors turned their heads to see a small black cauldron hanging over it with a dark black egg inside of it. "Is that what I think it is?" He questioned as Hagrid stood up and walked over to the fire while placing oven mitts over his hands.
"Hold on, it should be getting ready to hatch now." He said as he took the egg out of the pot and then sat it down on the table while his boarhound Fang started seeming very interested in all the activity as well and Harry started scratching him behind the ears while he, Ron, and Hermione got to their feet.
"You were right weren't you Harry?" Hermione began. "That's a dragon egg isn't it?" She questioned him but before Harry or anybody else could answer her the egg suddenly burst open and a tiny black dragon with black leather wings emerged out of it.
"That's not just a dragon." Ron began while Fang began to sniff it and Hermione's eyes widened. "That's a Norwegian Ridgeback. My brother Charlie works with them in Romania." He finished as the dragon looked up at Hagrid and cooed happily while meanwhile Fang decided to give up and go lap up some water in his dish with his tongue.
"Look bless him, he knows his mummy already." Hagrid said as he started tickling him under the chin and Harry wanted to as well, but he was afraid that the chick would bite his fingers off and then he would have to explain to his father how that happened. "Hullo Norbert." Hagrid said while Harry just simply looked up at him in a state of confusion.
"Norbert?" He questioned him with uncertainty.
"Well yeah, he's got to have a name doesn't he?" Hagrid questioned him back before continuing to tickle him underneath the chin and that's when suddenly Norbert hiccupped and accidentally blew his fire-breath into his beard. "Uh oh,.." He began while patting down his beard with his mitts to exhume the flames. "It's just a petty accident, that's all it is." He said when all of a sudden something caught Harry's eye as what happened next wasn't any accident. For Malfoy had been looking in through the window spying on them and now he was running back to the castle!
….
The next thing Harry knew he was inside Professor McGonagall's office with Draco, Ron, Hermione, and his father. His father had a really disappointed look on his face while Draco just simply sneered at him and his friends.
"Nothing and I repeat nothing gives a student the right to wander about the school at night. So therefore, as punishment for your actions fifty points will be taken each." Professor McGonagall said with a rather stern look upon her face as Harry's mouth fell wide open for Gryffindor house had just lost a hundred and fifty points and now it looked as if they had absolutely no shot at the house cup. "Also, all four of you will receive detention!" She snapped.
"I'm sorry Professor, perhaps I heard you wrong because it sounded like you just said the four of us." Draco said.
"No you heard me correct Mr. Malfoy." Professor McGonagall began. "You see as honorable as your intentions were you too were out of bed after hours,.. so you will join your classmates in detention tomorrow night at nine o'clock." She told him.
"Right then, off to bed,.. the lot of you." Snape said and waited until Ron and Hermione left the office. "And Harry, you can be sure that your mother will hear about this later." He told him as Harry looked up at him and silently nodded since there wasn't much else that he could do.
That night even with Patches sleeping down at the foot of his bed Harry found it rather difficult to fall asleep since he knew that somebody could be trying to steal the stone while he slept, but if he got into anymore trouble he would probably be grounded until he turned seventeen so after awhile of tossing and turning he eventually fell asleep.
The next morning Harry found that he kept falling asleep at breakfast. He was just glad that it was a Saturday so he wouldn't have to worry about falling asleep inside his classes and being in even more trouble with his parents. Of course then he remembered that tonight was the night that he would be serving detention and of course Professor McGonagall would pick a weekend night to do it as she was trying to give them the harshest punishment possible without suspending them or expelling them.
"So what do you guys think our detention's going to be?" Ron wondered as Hermione just simply shook her head. "I dunno, but I don't think that it'll be just a bunch of lines." She told him.
Later on, Harry was confused as Argus Filch started leading them out of the castle and down to Hagrid's hut. He knew something was off considering the fact that Hagrid was their friend and he didn't think that he would be allowed to visit him as part of his punishment.
"You'll be serving your detention with Hagrid tonight." Filch began. "He's got a certain job to do inside the dark forest." He finished and that's when suddenly Harry gulped as it finally hit him what he had been talking about. They were going in there as well,.. he just hoped and prayed that they would be coming back out again.
