Chapter 4: EGGS AND HATCHES.
(Harry's voice)
"Hello." I said when Hagrid opened the door for us to get in the cottage. "We come on a visit."
"Oh, hi." He said stepping aside. "C'mon, get in, get in. Oh, Hi Iso… Isab…"
"Isa will be fine." She said smiling. "So, do we have any news?"
"I was about calling you." He then said as he put a kettle on the table. "Numbers 1, 5, 6, 7 and 11 are trembling."
"I expected it. What about numbers 4 and 8?" She then asked as she was served some tea.
"Nothing yet. Perhaps you want to have a look at them?" He added then sitting with us. "I think perhaps they could not be what they think."
"I have already told them." She said. "But they didn't seem to mind me."
Then she left for a little trapdoor on a side.
"Hagrid, what's that thing about the numbers?" Hermione asked.
"Oh, she had… some duties with some wizards at Romania." Hagrid said. "As we still don't know what will hatch from them we call them by numbers."
"When you say hatch you mean… EGGS??!!" The three of us said at once.
"What else could it mean?" Hagrid said. "She has been taking care of them all the summer, but now she has lessons to attend to I have to keep an eye on them while she is busy."
"Can we have an eye?" Ron said. "Please…"
"Hagrid, you know what happened with Norbert, don't you?" Hermione said.
"Some will born tonight and the rest are expected to born tomorrow." He said. "Some experts will come tomorrow to look for them and..."
"Hagrid!" Isa said from the trapdoor. "Hurry up! We have two about being born!"
We then saw how she was wearing dragon skin gloves to protect her hands from fire and the heat the eggs must had.
We went really amazed when she came with an egg that had a 1, another with a 6 and another with an 11 painted on a spot of the egg and laid them next to the fire while the 6 began shaking at her arms so she left it at the table over a cloth.
"I have moved 4 and 8 to the warm boxes and I have laid numbers 2, 3 and 10 at the fire while I have put number 9 nearer the fire instead of in the hot box." She said taking off the gloves. "Number 11 was beginning to go a bit cold so I have now put it in the fire. And number 7 was over hot. I'm afraid it's not a dragon at all."
"Oh, sorry." Hagrid said. "I thought it was ok like that."
"Don't worry." She said smiling. "That can show us it is one of the hottest dragons. Maybe a Chinese fireball, yet it's a bit weird finding one at Europe; or maybe a Brazilian coal eater, they need too much hot things and fire for a correct breeding."
I couldn't believe it. She was speaking as a true dragon carer.
She then sat down over just one leg and laid a finger at the egg covering that was shaking too much.
"It's going warm…" She muttered.
Then she looked at Hermione and she lighted a fire under the egg.
"Thanks." She said.
"It was nothing." Hermione said. "Do you know what dragon is that one?"
"I have some suspects." She then said. "A dragon, no doubt; but I don't know if it's a red valcanian, a Chinese fire ball, an Andalusian one or just a Red Salmango from the southern of India."
"And the rest?" I asked her a bit surprised on her knowing so much about everything.
"Here." She said handing me a notebook she had carried to the hut. "Have a look. How are the others Hagrid?"
"Oh, yes." He said looking at the other eggs next to the fireplace. "Number 1 is just shaking from time to time and the other shakes a bit more."
"Lay a hand over them and tell me more." She said.
He then laid his hands covered on baking gloves over the eggs and he seemed to think about.
"Number one will take a bit to be born and number 5 is nearly ready." He added. "So, you told them about your little ones?"
"No, no. I was about…" She said. "Ah! Five minutes more or less and this one is being born!" She added as we saw how some lines began appearing on the eggshell.
We then went nervous as we were going to attend a dragon hatching from first row.
Little by little the cracks went wider and some pieces began falling from the eggshell; and it was about 10 o'clock when the dragon was fully out of the egg.
"Anyone note down 10:01 pm. in the time gap." She then said while Hermione took the notebook and began writing.
"Breed: Red Valcanian… Male… Healthy." She said as it looked at her and tried to hide when she tried to caress him to look at his sex. "Thanks." She added for Hagrid who held a basket in front of her that contained some meat pieces. "Ah, this one… I think it's still too young for meat."
"I left it just in case… I have some liquid pap made out of sherry and chicken blood."
"Do you have some willow and oak barks?" She then asked at him while she began telling Hermione some measurements while holding the little dragon that moved no stop.
"Yes, but the ones for infusions." He said.
"Great, add the pap a bit of the oak one made powder and a bit of willow infusion with some pepper mint and… the meat made porridge. I hope that can work."
"Sure!" Hagrid said.
Perhaps she seemed a bit bossy, but I noticed she didn't meant that. She was used to be the leader at her team, so she was used to think fast and act even faster.
Then she began humming as she cradled the baby dragon, and amazingly it fell sleep after a while, so she wrapped it with the cloth at the box and left him there next to the fire for him to be warm. Then she put a glove and laid her hand over the rest of eggs.
It was about twenty past ten now and we had been hearing how the other two eggs were shaking faster.
"Hummm… this one must be about hatching now." She said taking a black egg with purple marks on it that shook faster than before.
"How can you know if the heat is good enough?" Ron asked.
"Wanna see?" She asked smiling as she laid the new egg on the table. "Here, put the glove, one each and lay your hand softly over the other one."
We obeyed and we laid our globed hands over the eggshell. It was amazing! We could feel how the egg shook inside and even a rhythmic beat that she said was the heart beat from the creature inside.
It didn't took too long for the new one to be born.
"Time: 10:26 pm… Breed: Scottish Highlander… Male… Healthy." She said smiling while Hermione noted down the data on the correct place.
(Isa's voice)
"Wow!" Ron said then. "That's a difficult breed to find!"
"Maybe it's the third one know now days." I said as cradling the new baby and charming some boxes to cradle themselves softly.
"Mother!" The dragon said mentally softly.
"Hello, little one…" I said smiling at the dragon. "Yep!" I then told the rest smiling wide. "This is great!! Wait will Charlie knows this!"
"What's so good?" Ron asked then.
"I can't tell." I said happy. "But I know we can expect great fame from him."
I kept on cradling this baby after Hagrid gave him some of the pap he had remade after adding the extra ingredients I asked him to put. I had read a lot about dragons before I spent that summer last year at Romania helping the fliers to tame some dragons. And now I not only could made out possible breeds out of the eggs shape and colours but also know the exact breed from the baby, the sex and how to take care of dragon babies.
We kept on there, taking care of the two babies till about 10:50 that I asked them to leave.
"Hey, if you stay we can stay too." Hermione said.
"I'm afraid that's not possible." She said. "I'm staying here cause the eggs are under my protection, furthermore, I will not sleep much tonight and you need to sleep."
"C'mon." Hagrid said making them signs for them leaving.
"What about seeing this one being born and then you leave?" I asked as I saw how the white and grey egg began appearing little holes on the eggshell. "C'mon… a bit more…"
Suddenly the remaining of the eggshell burst and we saw a greyish white dragon with big yellow eyes move to stand up. I tried to help him but he sank his fangs on my hand.
"It's ok." I said as I saw the rest about helping me. "Time: 10:56 pm… Canadian Icemelter…Male… Obviously healthy yet a bit weak." I added when the baby left my hand and moved to get away from me.
Then I took some food from Hagrid's mix put it on a tea dish and offered it to the baby dragon.
"I think it will be safer to keep this one on a cage." I added for Hagrid. "It will be safer because he doesn't rely on humans so easily."
(Harry's voice)
After the third dragon birth Hagrid was the one asking us politely to leave by showing us the exit.
"Could we visit again tomorrow first time on the morning?" Ron asked. "I want to see all the new ones."
"Ok." Isa said softly and winking at us as she took the gloves off and Hagrid took the new baby to a metal cage I made appear for the rude behaving dragons.
"Of course not!" Hagrid said. "You will have to attend lessons! Not even she is allowed to skip lessons!"
"Come to look for me." She said softly before closing the door.
When we were left outside the cottage we began our way back to school. It was eleven in the night so as it was late we could have certain problems to get in the school. Luckily we had brought my invisibility cloak; we hopped to manage to sneak back into our common room with that.
"Did you saw those babies?" Ron asked excited. "That was something happening once in the life!"
Hermione added excited. "I had a look at the notebook and she had drawn the appearance of at least 28 different eggs with the name of the dragon belonging to and the personality of it! And the charts? They were just clear and precise!!"
"I wonder how many other secrets did she kept up her sleeve." I wondered. "She is seeker, top student, great knowledge of dragons and dragon matron… what else can she be?"
"I think I'll miss her at the bedroom." Hermione said. "Will she be ok sleeping at Hagrid's? Perhaps she will be wake up all the night…"
"Don't think so." I said then. "Hagrid will not allow her."
"That's true." Ron said. "I bet they will turn to keep an eye on the eggs. And when one begins cracking they will wake up the other."
"I'm willing to get there tomorrow." Hermione said before saying bye at the desert common room. "Good night."
Ron and me also got into our bedroom, changed clothes and went in bed. Ron was excited on the spectacles we had witness that same night. Not one but three dragon being born in front of our eyes. Different dragons from different places. One of them, difficult to see according to Ron.
"Charlie will be just thrilled when he sees it!" He told me. "They have to grow some kinds on captivity before releasing them into wild again!"
Anyway, I staid up till later. And before turning the light off I had a look at the cottage.
The lights were still on yet dimmer than when we left.
I wondered how many new dragons would be born during night.