The following weeks that passed proved otherwise from the group's theory. Though Quirrell grew progressively more shaken and paler, it appeared that he had not yet cracked. Aurora hoped that he would continue to be brave, Snape was quite the formidable opponent. In gratitude for his courage to not give away into Snape's various threats, they had all decided to make an effort to shield their timid professor from the typical bullying of his students. Ron even stood before the class just the other day to defend him.

Hermione though had other things to worry about then the Philosopher's Stone. She had taken the liberty of drawing up schedule tables and practice exams for the group.

"Hermione the exams are ages away," Ron whined, turned off by even the thought of studying.

"Ten weeks!" Hermione snapped. "That's not ages, that's like a second to Nicholas Flamel."

"But we aren't six hundred years old," Harry argued. Seems like the Boy Who Lived wasn't any more interested in studying than Ron.

"Come on Mione, don't you think you're stressing a little too much over this?" Aurora asked. She was actually pretty grateful Hermione had taken the time to construct studying time for them. The thought of these exams brought a throbbing pain to Aurora's stomach, but with them being over two months away it seemed silly to start now. Another two or three weeks couldn't hurt. Right?

"What are you revising for anyways? You know all this stuff already," Ron said.

"What am I revising for? Are you mad? You realize we need to pass these exams to into second year? They're very important. I should've started studying a month ago. I don't know what's gotten into me."

Though it felt far too early for the rest of the group the professors seemed to agree with Hermione. They began to pile on homework so high that not even the beginning of spring could relieve the tension Aurora felt as the days seemed to slip by. The closer they got to the exams the more grateful she became for Hermione's nagging and relentless study sessions. She wanted to be top of her class or at least top percent. There was no way that she could beat Hermione for that first place position, but Aurora needed to prove to herself that she was worthy.

One afternoon in the library, the group stood huddled at a table, practicing and memorizing under Hermione's intense motivation. The table stood stacked high with books, most of which Hermione's, which she kept laid out for quick reference.

"I'll never remember this!" Ron yelled suddenly throwing down his quill and crossing his arms, warranting a harsh shush from the Madame Pince. They've only been here a couple hours, but Ron Weasley was not one to dedicate his time to studying.

Aurora still didn't acknowledge Ron as he huffed and leaned over her shoulder to peer at her notes. She held the scroll to her lap, muttering each incantation and waving her pointer finger in patterns to mimic her wand. She was feeling quite confident that she would ace all of her exams, but she would not be stupid and overestimate her abilities either. Studying was very necessary.

"Hagrid! What are you doing in the library?" Ron asked suddenly, distracting Aurora from her work.

"Jus' lookin'," Hagrid replied in a shifty tone. He clearly did not want to be seen in here. But what did he have to hide?

Hagrid shuffled into view now, but his posture remained closed off. He was trying to appear inconspicuous, but was failing clearly. Aurora's eyes were immediately drawn to the fact that his hands were behind his back. He was definitely hiding something.

"An' what er yer lot up to? Yer still not lookin' fer Nicholas Flamel are yeh?"

"Oh we found out who he was ages ago," Aurora said nonchalantly. She was rather proud of the group's impressive discovery, though she was likely the least helpful having gone to bed early that one night. It was the last time she ever did that. She missed all the fun last time.

"And we know that dog's guarding the Philosopher's Stone," Ron added smugly.

"Shhh!" Harry said harshly, then looked around the room to see if anyone else had heard, but the library was deserted with the exception of a few Hufflepuffs gathered at a far table across the room and Madame Pince who remained still at her front desk.

"Don't go shoutin' about it. What's de matter wit yeh?"

Ignoring Hagrid's harsh words, Harry pushed on, "There's a few things we wanted to ask you as a matter of fact. Specifically what's guarding the Stone apart from Fluffy-"

"Shhhhhh!" Listen, come and se' meh later. I'm not promisin' to tell yeh anything', but don't go ramblin' about it en here. Students aren' sersposed ter know. They'll think I've told yeh."

"See you later then," Harry said and nodded, returning back to the Herbology book he was reading. Hagrid shuffled off then, still keeping his rather bizarre position.

"What do you think he was hiding behind his back?" Hermione questioned thoughtfully. Aha, so Aurora was not the only one to note how weird he was behaving.

"No question about it, he was acting so strange. I'll go check the section he was just in."

Rising from her seat, Aurora made her way to the maze of shelves near the upper right of their table. Passing behind a shelf, she was left alone to search the titles. Or so she thought.

"How's studying going?"

Aurora nearly jumped from the voice she knew so well. She had not expected him to be there, nor had she expected to hear from him so soon. After the Hospital Wing incident, neither had a said a word to each other.

"Aw, nothing to say to me?"

"It's going fine, Draco," Aurora responded exasperated.

"Someone doesn't sound happy to see me."

"I'm not."

"Well ouch that just hurts," Draco snickered, feigning hurt by throwing a hand over his heart.

"I thought you weren't talking to me? Or did you forget that you don't give a crap about me?" Aurora replied then faced away to resume skimming titles. Some of them seemed very unlikely as Hagrid couldn't perform magic himself. But he came out of this aisle here, so the answer that tp be close.

"I wasn't and I still don't, but I needed to keep my pet on some leash. Wouldn't you agree Mrs. Malfoy?"

Aurora cringed at the subtle reminder. She wasn't just looking at her most hated enemy, she was looking at her future husband. And how ridiculous it sounded too. Aurora Malfoy. She hated how it sounded in her head, on Draco's lips.

"Don't call me that."

"Typical of you to avoid your problems."

'I'm not discussing this with you Malfoy, now go. I don't have patience for you today."

"Oh bother. You never have the patience for me," Draco said stalking closer to Aurora, each step earning him a deadlier glare. "Give me that look all you want little girl. I think it actually looks rather good on you."

"Do you ever get exhausted of being a prick?"

"Do you ever get exhausted of being a blood traitor?"

"Why you-"

"I need to get going now, but I'll see you around, yeah?"

"Not likely."

"We'll see about that. Later Malfoy."

"I already told you not to call me that."

"Don't care!" Draco called over his shoulder, already strolling away.

"I hate you," Aurora murmured once he was out of earshot. He won again. This little mood swing act was getting very old. Attached at her hip annoying her one day, to being cruel and ignoring her, to acting like an actual human being. Aurora didn't even bother trying to process his behavior, it was exhausting. Every interaction with Draco Malfoy drained her. She should know this by now. She had this exact conversation with her conscious every time they interacted. She needed to ignore him, and focus.

"Rory, what's taking so long?" Ron asked coming around the corner.

"Oh uhm, sorry. It looks like Hagrid was looking into Dragon books," Aurora responded, pulling a book off of the shelf. Upon discovering Hagrid's search selection, Ron and Aurora walked back to the table, book in hand.

"Dragons," Ron whispered to the group.

"And we're sure about this?" Hermione inquired.

"I looked at all the other subsections within that shelf he was at, and this topic was the only thing he could've bene looking at. Wouldn't make much sense for him to be checking out a performative magic books or different potion brews, he isn't a wizard anymore."

"Hagrid's always wanted a dragon. He told me the first time I ever met him. He'd do anything to have one," Harry said.

"But it's against breeding laws," said Ron. "Dragon breeding was outlawed by Warlocks' Convention of 1709, everyone knows that. It's hard to stop muggles noticing us if we're keeping dragons in the back garden. You can't tame dragons anyways, they're petulant creatures. You should see the burns Charlie's gotten from wild ones in Romania. Dangerous breed."

"But there aren't any wild dragons in Britain?" Harry asked.

"Of course there are, Harry!" Aurora forgot sometimes that Harry was muggle raised.

"You can stop pulling my leg, Rory."

"No she's right actually. Common Welsh Green and Hebridean Blacks. The Ministry of Magic has a job hushing them up. I can tell you. Our lot have to keep putting spells on muggles who've spotted them, to make them forget."

"So what on Earth is Hagrid up to?" Hermione asked rhetorically, leaning back in her chair and biting the end of her quill.

Not much more studying happened that spring morning. The group was far too preoccupied discussing why Hagrid could be researching dragons and the Philosopher's Stone. Though none of them suggested it, they all silently agreed what might be awaiting them in Hagrid's cottage.

When they knocked on the door of the gamekeeper's hut that early afternoon, they were surprised to see that all the curtains remained shut. It was very unlike Hagrid to not keep his little home open, especially considering he was expecting visitors.

"Who is it?" The giant called from inside. He sounded anxious to Aurora as his voice nervously trembled.

"It's us Hagrid," Harry called.

Once deciding that it was safe to allow the group inside, Hagrid launched open the door suddenly and ushered them inside quickly, before slamming the door closed behind them.

The room was warm, much warmer than usual even for the hot day. Aurora nearly choked on the humid air, but remained silent while Hagrid prepared to serve them tea, pastries, and small sandwiches.

"So, yeh wanted ter ask meh something?"

"Yes," said Harry. His face was flushed too from the warm cottage. Aurora was starting to feel like she was burning, she silently willed for Hagrid to put out the fire that was still burning despite the hut being sufficiently warm. No one else looked that uncomfortable yet, so she's wait.

"We were wondering if you could tell us what's guarding the Philosopher's Stone apart from Fluffy."

Hagrid frowned at the four of them.

"O' course I can't. Number one, I don't know meself. Number two, yeh know too much already, so I wouldn't tell yeh if I did. That Stone's here fer a good reason. It was almost stolen out of Gringotts. I serpose you've werked that out an' all. Beats me how yeh even know about Fluffy."

"Oh come on, Hagrid! You might not want to tell us, but you do know, you know everything that goes on around here," Hermione said in a sickly sweet tone. Flattery would be the only way to get around Hagrid.

True to this, Aurora watched as Hagrid's beard twitched as he attempted to disguise a small smile that began to play on his lips.

"We only wondered who had done the guarding," Aurora added. Clearly Hermione's flattering attempts were effective. "We wondered who Dumbledore had trusted enough to help in, apart from you."

Hagrid's chest seemed to swell at these last words. If there was one thing Hagrid always took pride in, it was how Dumbledore regarded him, the helpful and loyal left hand man.

"Well I don't serpose it could hurt to tell yeh. Let's see, he borrowed Fluffy from meh. Ten some teachers did enchantments, let's see, Professor McGonagall, Professor Sprout, Professor Flitwick, Professor Quirrell, and o' course, Dumbledore himself," Hagrid said, listing each teacher off with his fingers. "No, that's not quite right. I forgot someone. Oh, yes, Professor Snape as well."

"Snape?" The group all asked in unison. Why would Snape help guard the Stone is he was the one planning to steal it?

"Yeh, yer not still on abou' that, are yeh? Look Snape helped protect the Stone, he's not about ter steal it. I know he can be prickly, but Dumbledore trusts him, so I do too."

Aurora knew Harry, Ron, and Hermione were thinking the same thing that she was. Since Snape was involved in helping to charm protections for the Stone, he must have some inkling or knowledge about the other protections fellow professors have casted to guard it. And he was threatening Quirrell. It must mean that Snape didn't know how to get past his spell! Quirrell would be the last obstacle in Snape's way to stealing the Philosopher's Stone. Well that and Fluffy. Last time he had made an attempt, Harry had caught Snape limping, obviously unable to get past the large beast.

"You're the only one who knows how to get past Fluffy, aren't you, Hagrid?" Harry questioned, leaning forward from his seat on Hagrid's couch. His hair was as messy as usual and his jade eyes held an anxious expression, similar to the one he had some time ago when Snape refereed his Quidditch game.

"Mhm," Hagrid responded.

"And you wouldn't tell anyone, would you? Not even one of the professors?"

"Not a soul knows except me an' Dumbledore," said Hagrid proudly, his chest puffing a little more than a moment before.

"Well that's something," Aurora murmured under her breath. The group exchanged looks, but with Hagrid's promise that no one else knew how to get past Fluffy, perhaps they were overthinking it all.

"Hagrid can we have a window open? It's boiling in here," Ron said panting slightly. He pulled at the wool collar of his uniform, sweat beginning to form at his crown.

"Can't, sorry." Hagrid glanced at the fire still eagerly burning, licking the sill of the frame.

"Hagrid, what's that?" Aurora asked. To be frank, she was currently more interested in the library mystery than the Philosopher's Stone. She needed a quick win, an easy solve before she and the rest of the group would have to dive back into their bigger mission.

Though Aurora was really unsure why she even bothered to ask, the answer lay before her already. In the very heart of the fire, underneath the kettle, was a large, black egg.

"Ah," said Hagrid fiddling nervously with his beard, "That's er,"

"Where did you get it Hagrid!" Ron exclaimed then jumped form his seat. Aurora hasn't seen Ron so excited since McGonagall canceled that additional essay. Hermione was disappointed the assignment was canceled, she had already completed it weeks prior.

"This must've cost you a fortune," Aurora said, leaving her seat to join Ron. She squinted down at the textured egg, hoping to guess the species or something, but she was far from an expert on dragons.

"Won it. Las' night. I was down in the village, havin' a few drinks. Got to playin' a game with a stranger. Think he was glad ter get rid of it ter be honest."

"But what are you going to do when it hatches?" Hermione questioned.

"Well I've bin doin' some reading," said Hagrid pulling out a sheet of crumpled paper from a book. "Found dis page in the library."

"You did not Hagrid! Madame Pince is going to skin you when she finds that!"

"Priorities, Hermione," Aurora teased. "But Hagrid what did you find?"

"Just home-keeping fer dragons. Keep the egg in the fire, 'cause their mothers breathe on 'em, se, an' when it hatches, feed it on a bucket o' brandy mixed with chicken blood every half hour. This here tells yeh what kind of egg it is too. Norwegian Ridgeback. They're rare, them."

"Hagrid you live in a wooden house. Those dragons are fire breathers."

Hagrid ignored Hermione though and hummed happily to the egg in the kettle.

Though the group was relieved to have more information on the Stone, they had something new to worry about. What might happen to Hagrid if anyone discovered that he was hiding an illegal dragon in his hut? There was no way to keep it a secret forever, they grew to be fairly large, fire breathing aside.

"I wonder what it's like to have a peaceful life, Ron sighed a few days later.

"Oh quit being so dramatic," Aurora replied rolling her eyes.

"Rory, do you see this?" he said, holding up his stack of homework.

"Why yes, Ronald. It's almost like we have classes together!"

"That's enough, we need to finish these essays before break ends."

"Hermione,"

"Yes?"

"Shut up."

Days later at breakfast the group sat, relaxed for the first time in weeks. The owls filled into the Great Hall like they did every morning. There was a letter for Aurora again from her mother. Her stomach churned each time she received one. She had barely spoken to her since Christmas, still holding a grudge after she ignored her for the rest of the holiday season. Draco was more reliable than her at this point, and she could hardy count on him to behave the same way a week at a time.

He had cornered her again in the library the other night when she had gone alone, acting just as bizarre as before. She figured Janus was making him take more extensive notes for him or something. She could do without the flirting though. If he was going to to stalk her, he could at least be transparent about his hatred for her. She extended that luxury to him, it would be nice for him to return it.

"Rory, look," Harry said prodding her.

"Hagrid, he wants us today at the hut. The eggs hatching."

Ron insisted on skipping Herbology, something Aurora seconded, and going straight to the hut, but Hermione wouldn't hear of it.

"Hermione, how many times in our lives are we going to see a dragon hatching?"

"We've got lessons, we'll get in trouble. Not to mention exams are coming up. And that's nothing to the kind of trouble Hagrid is going to be in when someone finds out what he's doing-"

"Shh!" Harry whispered harshly.

Confused at first, it didn't take long for Aurora to realize the sudden need for the group to hush up about the dragon. Only feet away, was Malfoy, stopped dead to listen to their conversation. Aurora glared at him. It shouldn't surprise her that Malfoy was going to be stalking her during the day again, although she was optimistic that she appalled him enough during fall term and break that he'd eventually sod off.

Ron and Hermione bickered the rest of the way to Herbology, and in the end Hermione agreed to go to Hagrid's hut with the rest of them once it was morning break.

Once the bell sounded the group was the first to leave class. They ushered as quickly to Hagrid's little cottage as possible, their clothes snatching on low hanging trees, and their shoes drudging up mud as they rushed throughout the grounds.

Arriving at Hagrid's, he was quick to greet the children. Their faces were pink, mostly from excitement but also the short run.

"It's nearly out!" Hagrid said in a hushed murmur, his demeanor giddy.

The egg was lying out on the table. There were several deep cracks across it, disturbing the once smooth, hard shell. Aurora wanted to reach out a hand to touch it but thought better. Baby or not, it was still a dangerous dragon species.

They all drew chairs up to the counter that help the egg and pressed their chins down to the table so that they may be face level with the egg. Inside the egg, they could all hear the steady clinking of the infant dragon ready to arrive. Aurora held her breath, afraid any noise could startle the creature inside.

And then. It came. There was a steady shake at first, the table holding the egg wobbled slightly as the dragon squirmed. And then the top of the now crumbling egg came off, revealing the shiny head of the newborn dragon.

There was a kind of unconventional beauty to the dragon. It was not cute. Rather it appeared almost freakish. The wings of the newborn were far too large for it's body, and they webbed around it's much smaller body intricately. It's little snout was wide and the nostrils large in comparison. The eyes though. They eyes, drew in Aurora the most. Pure black slits sparkled at her and seemed to dive into the depths of her soul the longer she stared into them.

"Oh, isn't he beautiful," Hagrid whispered, tears beginning to form. He reached out a hand to stroke the top of the dragon's head.

"Hagrid maybe you shouldn't-" Aurora started, but her point was made before she could even complete her sentence. As Hagrid reached to stroke the dragon, it nipped his fingers. The bite as a baby wouldn't't be too bad. Sure it would draw blood, but as an adult it could bite his fingers clean off.

"Aww, he already knows who his mummy is," Hagrid cooed down to the Ridgeback.

"Hagrid, how fast do they grow?" Hermione asked.

"Pretty fast, why?"

The group lost interest quickly in the dragon though once they spotted who was peering in through the window. Malfoy. Aurora cursed silently. Why woudn't Malfoy follow them? Well more like, why wouldn't he follow her. Aurora felt guilty. Perhaps she shouldn't have gotten involved in this knowing that Draco had began to follow her again. She led him straight to it. It was a trap. He knew something was going on already, and she had told him what in the library aisle when looking over the books without even knowing. Clever annoying boy.

"Malfoy knows," Harry whispered.

"He's running back to the school," Hermione said from the blinds, watching the blonde boy sprint to the castle.

The next week was especially grueling. Something about the smirk on Malfoy's face anytime he saw Aurora, Hermione, Harry, or Ron made them all very nervous.

"Hagrid, please, just set him free!" Harry urged.

"I can't. He's too little. He'd die."

They looked at the dragon as it lay spread napping on the living area floor. It had grown three times in length in just a week. Smoke kept furling out the dragon's nose. Hagrid hadn't been able to perform his typical gamekeeping duties because the dragon was keeping him so busy.

"I've decided to call him Nobert." Hagrid beamed at the curled creature on the floor. "He really knows me now, watch. Nobert! Nobert! Where's Mummy?"

"He's lost his marbles," Ron muttered into Aurora's ears. She had to resist the urge to laugh, because to be truthful, she had to agree.

"Hagrid, give it a fortnight and Nobert's going to be as long as your house. Malfoy could go to Dumbledore at any moment. Please," Harry pleaded.

Hagi know I rid bit his lip. Aurora knew Harry was right, and Hagrid appeared to understand as well.

"I- I know I can't keep him forever, but I can't jus' dump him. I can't!"

"Charlie," Aurora breathed. Of course, Charlie, Ron's older brother could take the dragon. It was his job to handle them after all.

"I think you're starting to loose your marbles too, Rory. I'm Ron, not Charlie."

"No you idiot. Charlie, your brother. He's studying dragons in Romani. We could send Nobert to him. Charlie can take care of him then put him back into the wild!"

"Brilliant!" Hermione cheered.

"I'll send an owl to him right away. How about it Hagrid?"

Though it took the group some more convincing, ultimately, Hagrid agreed and that night, Ron wrote to Charlie.

The following week seemed to drag on for forever. Wednesday night had Aurora and Ron running around the castle, clad in Harry's invisibility cloak. The group split into teams of two. Aurora and Ron would work to coordinate with Charlie. Hermione and Harry would be responsible for the dragon hand off.

Once at the owlrey, Aurora paced impatiently. Erroll, the Weasley family owl, had just returned, letter in claw.

"And?"

"Charlie's said that he can manage to send a team out to collect Nobert, but it's going to be rather challenging."

"I have full faith in Hermione and Harry."

Ron only grumbled in response. Originally he was supposed to go with Hermione to deliver the dragon, but Nobert had other ideas. The group spent that morning break assisting Hagrid feed his dragon, and Nobert, antsy to eat his prey, had bitten Ron. Aurora would make fun of him for his consistent whining and groaning, except that the the injury did look rather dreadful. His hand was turning purple now and every time he would rewrap it, something yellow would ooze out of where he was bitten. They all had tried to encourage him to go to Madame Pomfrey, but Ron was afraid there would be questions that he could not answer. Madame Pomfrey was no expert, but surely she knew what a dragon bite looked like.

"How's your hand?"

"I don't think I'll be able to hold a quill for a week," Ron groaned, rubbing the area softly.

Aurora gave him a worried smile as they prepared to go under the invisibility cloak once again. They would need to tell Harry and Hermione the good news.

The plan for the evening had been formalized by the next morning and Ron's hand looked worse than the day before. Instead of the darker purple, his hand was beginning to turn into an ugly green, and it swelled almost twice it's normal size. Though reluctant, Ron eventually did agree to go to the Hospital Wing for treatment. He missed Herbology, but was back in time for Potions.

"Malfoy kept threatening to to tell Pomfrey what really bit me," he whispered to the group, worry flashing in his eyes. "I told her it was a dog, but I don't think she believed me."

"Don't worry it will all be over tonight," Hermione reassured Ron.

The rest of the class and the day as rather uneventful and the group was far too anxious about the upcoming night to worry about anything else.

After much convincing, Aurora was on board to join Harry and Hermione tonight. Ron though still disappointed, was in no position to join them.

They would have felt sorry for Hagrid when the time came to say goodbye to Nobert if they hadn't been so worried about what they had to do. It was a very dark and cloudy night, and Aurora, Hermione, and Harry would have to manage to sneak a dragon to the top of Hogwarts, without alarming anyone. Sneaking past Peeves had been a chore itself, let alone Nobert.

Hagrid had Nobert packed and ready in a large crate

"He's got lots o' rat an some brandy fer the journey. An' I packed his faverite Teddy Bear in case he gets lonely," Hagrid said in a muffled voice. "Bye-bye Nobert," he sobbed. Tears were now freely falling down his cheeks and his nose was runny, snot getting caught in his mustache and beard.

Hermione covered the crate with the invisibility cloak and the trio left, quietly stalking up several corridors and staircases. They had gotten lucky and hadn't run into anyone yet. No teachers, no ghosts, no Peeves, and the portraits were all asleep. This was perfect. Almost a little too perfect.

"Nearly there," Harry panted as they reached the corridor beneath the tallest tower.

Then a sudden movement ahead of them almost made them drop the crate. Aurora barely caught it again before her part she was meant to carry crashed to the floor. Then dark figures appeared. From the sky above, four wizards and witches flew in on broomsticks, slowly descending to meet Hermione, Harry, and Aurora below.

Despite frightening them with their sudden appearance earlier they were a rather cheery lot. They demonstrated qucik techniques and showed off some of their harnesses and tools. When it was time for them to finally take Nobert, Aurora couldn't feign sadness for Hagrid. Frankly, she was relieved that the ordeal was over. Perhaps everything would be calm again.

They slipped back down the spiral staircase, their hearts as light as their hands, now that Nobert was off them. No more dragons, they managed to escape Malfoy, all really was well. What could spoil their happiness?

The answer to that was waiting at the foot of the stairs. As they stepped into the corridor, Filch's face loomed suddenly out of the darkness.

"Well, well, well," he whispered. "We are in trouble."

They had left the invisibility cloak on the top of the tower.