Hey guys! I know it's been a while, but I've been busy with reviewing for exams and stuff. I know, stupid excuse, but deal with it!
I DO NOT OWN HARRY POTTER!
Blah – JKR's work
Chapter Fourteen: Norbert
[Dani's POV]
I had told Mandy, Lisa, and Abby about what Harry and I had heard after the game. Luckily, they didn't think Snape actually wanted the Stone. Well, they were actually too busy studying and doing homework during their free time for the final exams to worry about the Stone.
I was constantly busy nowadays. Artemis Chang wanted us all in tip-top condition for our next Quidditch match against Hufflepuff. Teachers kept assigning us homework, and we had to study for the exams.
One Saturday, I was sitting in the Ravenclaw Tower, getting some Charms homework done. Harry suddenly broke into my mind, shouting: Hagrid's been looking up things on dragons! Ron, Hermione, Neville, and I are going to Hagrid's in an hour.
We'll meet you there.
An hour later, the eight of us stood in front of Hagrid's front door. Harry knocked. We heard a voice coming from inside asking, "Who is it?"
"Hagrid, it's us!" Harry said. Hagrid opened the door, looked around, and let us in.
It was hot inside, and that's saying something. I don't normally get hot.
"So – yeh wanted to ask me somethin'?"
"Yes," Harry said. I tuned our after that. Should I ask the question about the dragon egg? I looked around the room: There was a patchwork quilt on the bed, pots and pans lying around, and a black dragon egg on the fire, so everything was okay. It was okay to ask about the egg.
A moment later, I asked, "Hagrid, why do you have a dragon egg on your fire?" Everyone's heads turned to the blazing fire and the huge black egg that lay in it.
"Hagrid, where'd you get it?" Ron and Lisa asked.
"Won it," Hagrid said. "Las' night. I was down in the village havin' a few drinks an' got into a game o' cards with a stranger. Think he was quite glad ter get rid of it, ter be honest."
"Just how many people walk around with dragon eggs in their pockets?" Mandy asked. "Isn't that a little suspicious? What did the stranger look like?"
"I dunno," Hagrid said. "He wouldn' take his cloak off, but that's not unusual. Yeh get a lot o' funny folk in the Hog's Head. He mighta been a dragon dealer, mightn' he? I never saw his face, he kept his hood up."
"Well, back to the dragon egg," Neville said, "what are you going to do with it once it's hatched?"
"Well, I've bin doin' some readin'," Hagrid said, pulling out an old, large book. He explained the book and what one's supposed to do with the egg once it hatches. After he explained, he looked very pleased with himself. I shook my head.
"Hagrid, you live in a wooden house!" Mandy shouted. Hagrid didn't listen.
A few weeks later, during breakfast, Nightwing brought me a letter. It said: It's hatching. I was sitting with Draco at the time. I always sat with the Slytherins for breakfast, the Gryffindors for lunch, and the Ravenclaws for supper.
Draco had a strange look on his face. "What's hatching?" he whispered.
"The letter's from Charlie Weasley," I lied. "I had found a dragon egg and sent it to him. Now, it's hatching." I don't know why I picked dragon, I just did.
I didn't think Draco bought my lie. Blaise and Daphne turned back to their meals. I felt a pair of eyes watching me. I turned and saw Nott staring at me. I suddenly realized why: The note was in his plain sight. I crumbled the note up and stuffed it in my bag.
Draco knows, I thought. And so does Nott. We need to be careful.
I told you sitting with the Slytherins was a bad idea!
Hey! I have friends in Slytherin, you know!
I had Charms this morning, which was Tuesday. It was slow, which is an extreme understatement. I could hardly wait for class to be over. As soon as the bell rang, I packed up my stuff and walked quickly out of the room, Mandy, Lisa, and Abby hard on my heels. Hagrid met us outside his house.
"Th' others are already here," he said. "It's nearly out."
The black egg had several deep cracks in it. There was a scraping noise from inside. It split open, and a black dragon flopped onto the table. It wasn't the most attractive thing: it had huge, spiny wings; a skinny body; a long snout; horn stubs; and bulging, orange eyes.
It sneezed. A few sparks flew from its nose. "Bless you," I said.
"Isn't he beautiful?" Hagrid murmured. The dragon opened her mouth (I remembered this from Deathly Hallows). I backed away a little: I didn't want to touch her fangs. "Bless him, look, he knows his mummy!"
"Isn't that 'daddy'?" Lisa asked. Hagrid didn't pay any attention.
"Hagrid," Hermione said, "how fast do Norwegian Ridgebacks grow, exactly?"
Hagrid's face turned pale. He ran to the window. I looked out, too.
"Snap," I said. "Nott. He saw."
Everyone in the room paled.
Every time I sat at the Slytherin table the next week, Nott smirked at me. I wanted to sic Fluffy on him badly.
We all kept trying to convince Hagrid to set the dragon free. During one visit, it was just Harry, Ron, and I there. The dragon had grown three times in length. Brandy bottles and chicken feathers littered the floor.
Hagrid was explaining that he had named the dragon Norbert. Suddenly, Harry said, "Charlie."
"What?" Ron asked.
"You're brother, Charlie," I said.
"In Romania," Harry said.
"Studying dragons."
"We could send Norbert to him."
"Charlie can take care of it and put it back in the wild."
"Brilliant!" Ron said. "How about it, Hagrid?"
Ron sent a letter to Charlie, via Hedwig, as soon as he and Harry got back into Gryffindor Tower.
The next few days were torture. Draco kept bothering me about the egg, but I would always shush him. Nott would smirk at me every time I saw him, and it was getting really annoying.
It was finally Wednesday night, around midnight. I know that we normally have Astronomy this time of Wednesday nights, but Professor Sinistra was sick. I was finishing up some homework with Abby and Mandy. The clock chimed midnight, and the door burst open. Lisa appeared out of nowhere and took my necklace off.
"It bit Ron!" she exclaimed. "By the looks of things, the bite's pretty bad. I think its fangs might be poisonous. Hagrid told Ron off for frightening the dragon."
Dani! Harry thought. I jumped, and all of the stuff fell out of my lap. Hedwig's back! She'll have Charlie's answer.
Okay. Standing by. "Hedwig's back!" I said excitedly. "Harry's going to tell me what he said."
I waited. A few seconds later, I got the response that all of us had been waiting for: Charlie says he'll take Norbert, and we must meet him with the dragon on top of the Astronomy Tower at midnight on Saturday.
Okay. "Harry says that Charlie will take the dragon. We just have to meet him on top of the Astronomy Tower with the dragon this Saturday at midnight."
"Finally," Lisa said. "This is a definite upside to the week."
"Anything to see the end of the dragon," Mandy said.
"It shouldn't be too difficult," Abby said. "We do have the cloak and your necklace."
By the next afternoon, everyone was worried because Ron had to go to the hospital wing. Later, we found out that Nott had borrowed one of Ron's books. That particular book had Charlie's letter. I really hoped that Neville wouldn't try to warn us later on.
Finally, at long last, it was Saturday night. Harry, Hermione, and I would carry the crate that would hold Norbert. I left the tower at eleven o'clock, holding tightly onto my necklace. I met Harry and Hermione in the Entrance Hall. We had to wait until Peeves got out of our way before we could move on. Eventually, we got to Hagrid's hut.
Hagrid was saying good-bye to Norbert as we walked in. He explained how he had everything ready for the journey, even the teddy bear.
Harry and Hermione put the invisibility cloak on the crate and got under. I put my necklace in my mouth and touched the indention with my tongue. I know that you're all thinking that I'm some unsanitary slob, but I had to touch the indention somehow. I had washed my necklace and my hands thoroughly before I left the Tower. I was so going to wash it after this is over.
Harry and Hermione picked up the crate on either side, and I picked it up from the back.
I have absolutely no idea how we got the crate up to the castle, but we did it somehow. We walked up the marble staircase, through a secret passage, and up some more staircases.
"Nearly there," Harry whispered.
I heard something ahead. I pulled on the crate a little, pulling us back into the shadows. A lamp flared up. Professor McGonagall, who was in a bathrobe, pulled Draco by his ear.
"Detention!" she shouted. "And twenty points from Slytherin! Why you're wandering around in the middle of the night!"
"You don't understand, Professor! Danielle's in trouble! I have to warn her!"
"What utter rubbish! How dare you tell such lies! Come on – I shall see Professor Snape about you, Malfoy!"
Draco was trying to warn me? Was Nott trying to foil our plans?
We finally dropped the crate quietly on top of the Astronomy Tower. I looked around, just in case if Nott was there. He was, hiding in the shadows with a cauldron full of something. I didn't want to know what was in there. He was probably trying to prank us. He always did that to the first years in other houses. I bent down and picked up a loose stone. I threw it through the open door. It clattered, and Nott set down the cauldron and ran to see what had caused it. I closed the door and locked it.
So that's what Malfoy meant! Harry thought.
Obviously. Filch should be here right about now.
How do you know?
Future, remember? That's one thing I can tell you. In the other time line, you and Hermione had gotten caught by Filch because you forgot the cloak when you were going back down.
Harry and Hermione pulled the cloak off, and I spat my pendant out. Norbert thrashed around in her crate. I wonder why she made no noise before. I guess I'll never know. Finally, Charlie's friends arrived.
They were very friendly and cheery. They showed us the harness they had built and showed us how one should buckle in a dragon. Harry, Hermione, and I shook hands with Charlie's friends. They took off, Norbert strapped between them.
I made sure that Harry and Hermione were completely covered by the cloak. I wiped my pendant off on my shirt and touched the tiny indention. We walked down the stairs and saw two figures ahead. One looked like he was stooped over, and the other was a little over my size. It was Filch and Nott.
"Listen to me!" Nott shouted. "The Potter twins are supposed to be at the top of that tower!"
Filch ignored him. What a wonderful way to end the night!
A few weeks later, I was starting to get nervous: Exams were just next week! Mandy and I were on study overdrive the entire time.
On Friday afternoon, as I was studying some of the dates when this one famous wizard did something, Harry suddenly burst into my mind. Quirrell's given in!
I jumped, and my books fell out of my lap. Stop doing that! Would it kill you to think a little quieter? Wait, what did you say?
Quirrell must have finally told Snape his part of the protection.
For the last time-
Someone was threatening Quirrell! I was walking by a classroom, and I heard him pleading and crying. I think we should check it out.
No, Harry. Not when it's this close to exams. I'm already stressed out enough as it is. Shouldn't you be studying?
I am! Harry shouted indignantly.
The next morning, while I was sitting with the Slytherins during breakfast, notes were delivered to Draco and Nott. I read over Draco's shoulder and winced. "Ooh, good luck with your detention."
Draco was pale the next morning. As I sat down next to him, he said, "There's something hidden in the school! A centaur named Firenze told me. He saved me from something that was drinking unicorn's blood. Did you know that unicorn blood can keep you alive, even if you're about to die?"
All of that was said very quickly.
"Danielle, what's hidden in the school?" Draco asked quietly.
I pursed my lips. This was not supposed to be happening. Why was I meddling so much? Oh yeah. I was a main character. Maybe I could get away by telling him the whole thing. It was dangerous, but had to be done. "Listen to me," I whispered, "you must never tell a single soul about what I'm about to say. Students aren't supposed to know."
"I promise."
"What's hidden on the third floor corridor is something called the Philosopher's Stone. It produces the Elixir of Life, which can make someone immortal. You said something about something that was drinking a unicorn's blood. What's that about?"
"Our detention was to got into the Forest. Hagrid wanted us to separate: Nott with Hagrid and me with Hagrid's dog Fang. I was wandering around, and then I saw a hooded figure drinking a unicorn's blood. I centaur named Firenze frightened the figure off. I rode on his back, which angered the other centaurs. Firenze told me about unicorn's blood. He then asked me about who would want to do such a thing. Would you know?"
"Voldemort," I whispered. Draco shuddered.
"You're not supposed to say the name! Anyways, You-Know-Who's dead."
"Hagrid begs to differ, and so do I."
"Well, that's Hagrid. Why should you believe that oaf? Why do you believe Voldemort's still out there?"
"Hey! Hagrid's my friend! Don't talk about him like that! Sometimes, I get little twinges in my scar. Excuse me, I need to go talk to my brother."
I got up from the Slytherin table and ran to the Gryffindor one. I slid in between Neville and Hermione.
"I've got news," I said quietly. I quickly recounted everything Draco had told me.
"If Snape is getting the Stone for Voldemort…" Harry said. "Dani, he'll come after us and finish us off!"
"Harry, everyone says Dumbledore's the only one You-Know-Who was ever afraid of," Hermione said. "With Dumbledore around, You-Know-Who won't touch you." I was the only one that knew Dumbledore would be "on a trip".
A/N: I know it's been a while, but deal with it! I'm almost done writing the last chapter, so the next one should be up soon.