Year 1 – The Philosopher's Stone
Chapter 7 – The Dragon, and the Snitch
Chapter Summary: Harry discovers Hagrid has a dangerous secret, and suffers for his ban from the library.
Author: Khodexus
Rated T: For occasional graphic concepts and atmosphere. No cussing, no adult situations, no violence.
Disclaimer: I do not own any rights for the worlds or characters in Harry Potter. Those rights are owned by Scholastic Publishing Inc and J.K. Rowling. I do own the rights to my original characters depicted here, in as far as they differ from the worlds created by J.K. Rowling.
Flint thought their win against Ravenclaw was too narrow; they'd been behind 110 points when Harry had caught the snitch. And so over the spring break – the first two weeks of April – he had the team out practicing every day. Slytherin's third and final match was the next of the season, and only the Grifindor/Ravenclaw game was left after that. Even though they had half a term to prepare, Flint wasn't letting up in the least.
To make matters worse, the teachers all seemed to agree that they needed to be studying and working harder, so they all had plenty of homework to keep them occupied. Harry very deliberately stowed his 'stones research' books – as he'd come to refer to them – in his trunk, and refocused on his schoolwork. They knew more or less what they needed to know about the artifacts, and since they were banned from the library for the rest of the year, they had their work cut out for them studying for exams.
Draco did manage to get some of the other Slytherins to check out books for them, but it would have been a lot easier if they'd had library access the same as the rest of the school.
Harry had an idea about that, however, and it didn't take much to convince Draco to sneak out with him under the cover of his invisibility cloak to spend a little time in the library in the evenings. Harry was even more tired, especially on days he had quidditch practice, but it would hopefully all be worthwhile when it came time for exams.
"Hey look at this!" Draco whispered one night as they sat together using light from their wands to read by. He pointed to a page in the book he was reading about one of the potions they'd been working on in Snape's class. "I think we may have gotten this part wrong, what do you think? The book describes the scar rejuvenation potion as being sort of a reddish color, ours was kind of brown, don't you think? Maybe we need more tentacula sap?"
"I don't know." Harry whispered back, "I'm not sure I want to mess with it at this point; it still has to brew for a few more days, and we've already been working on it a week." They both jumped when something clattered further back in the library, like a few books falling from their shelves.
"I'll go see what that was." Harry muttered.
"Don't forget your cloak." Draco reminded him, handing Harry the silvery soft material. He put out the light from his wand and hid in one corner while Harry tip-toed between the shelves towards the source of the noise.
At first he thought he must have imagined the sound, but then he heard someone whisper. "How am I supposed to get past that?"
Harry paused, ready to turn around and go back the other way when he heard a second voice. "Everything has a weakness, just like that three-headed dog."
He paused, torn, glancing behind him, but ultimately his curiosity got the better of him, and he crept closer. Was this the same person who'd tried to get past Fluffy on Halloween? Apparently he had an accomplice…
"That looks like it, but the book doesn't say anything about how to stop it from strangling you?" The first voice said again.
Harry thought he saw a flicker of light around the corner of the closest bookshelf, and edged right up to it to try and peer past it. His heart leapt into his throat when something thumped to the ground, and he realized he'd knocked a thin tome from the shelf that hadn't been pushed in all the way.
"Someone's there?!" The first voice gasped.
"Quickly!" His companion hissed softly, and Harry heard swift steps padding away from him.
He let his breath loose all in a rush, his heart hammering in his chest. But when everything was silent for a few more moments he moved around the book case to see what was left there. A bunch of books had been hastily dropped onto a table next to a shelf, and one of them was open. He approached and picked it up daring a small light from his wand to see what was on the page. It was an herbology book, open to something called 'Devil's Snare'. He took the book back to where Draco was hiding.
"What do you make of this?" Harry asked, lighting his wand once more. He showed Draco the page, "I heard two men talking about this and the three-headed dog. He was trying to figure out a way to get past this stuff, I think."
Draco scanned the pages, and frowned a bit after a moment. "It's kind of vicious, a strangling plant. You said you heard them mention the three-headed dog?" They returned the book, then quietly left the library. Draco was silent – lost in thought – and when Harry tried to prod him he shushed him while he mulled it over.
"If it were me, I would have more than just one thing guarding the artifact. So maybe someone's got some of this devil's snare protecting it too?" He said at last.
"As if Fluffy wasn't enough? But if he's seen a second defense, that must mean he's figured out a way past Fluffy?" Harry did not like the sound of that.
"That could be, so whoever that was in there, they'll need to figure out how to get past that as well. I'll bet Professor Sprout knows all about devil's snare. Think we should ask her?"
"Like she'd tell us? If Dumbledore has some devil's snare protecting the artifact, who do you think put it there? Sprout's not going to tell us anything about it; students shouldn't really know about it in the first place."
"Oh right." Draco acknowledged. By that point they'd reached a corridor outside the entrance to the Slytherin common room. It was quite late, and they were both tired, so they made sure the invisibility cloak covered them completely, then slipped inside to head to bed, hopefully with no one realizing they'd ever been out.
When the new term started, their workload was even heavier. With the end of year exams looming, their schedules felt impossibly full. After the first arduous week – filled with late night studying and borrowed books – Harry and Draco decided that they really needed a few hours to let off some steam; they were starting to make mistakes. Harry's hand was cramping from all the notes he'd been taking, and Draco was complaining of having eye strain.
So Harry sent a note to Hagrid asking if they could visit that afternoon. Instead of writing back, Hagrid managed to find Harry in the courtyard, "'Ello 'Arry." He was fidgeting, and smiling, but looked a little out of sorts, "I got yer letter, I dunno if today's tha best day fer ya ter visit, but maybe ye'd like to come by another time?" he suggested.
"I don't know if I can, Hagrid." He sighed, even here they'd been studying. He set his books aside and stretched stiffly before explaining. "I'm swamped with work, and I just feel I need a little time off – Draco too – and it's been ages since we visited, I've hardly seen you since before Christmas. I need a break, and I don't know when I'll have another afternoon… sort of free."
Hagrid shuffled his big feet, "Awright. C'mon down ter me hut, then." He leaned closer and lowered his voice, "But keep it quiet, Ah've uh… been workin' on sommat… personal."
Harry nodded, and Draco was intrigued at the idea that there was something Hagrid was keeping secret. They did promise not to talk about it though, and Harry checked around just to make sure no one was paying too much attention.
There were a few Hufflepuff students nearby, as well as Peter Connolly strolling across the courtyard, but no one seemed to be paying them much mind. "What time should we come?"
"Whenever yer 'ave time, 'Arry. I should get back, got… er, business ter mind." He smiled, a warm twinkle in his eye that was a shade more jovial than Harry was used to seeing even from Hagrid. He patted Harry on the back before ambling off out of the castle, a bounce in his step that was more than a little out of place on a man his size.
"What do you suppose that was about?" Draco asked, and Harry shrugged.
They finished up what they were working on, and started down to the hut around mid-afternoon. It was a very nice day, one of the nicest they'd had so far this year, and Harry enjoyed being outside in the sunlight for a time. "I hope the weather is this good when we play our match against Hufflepuff." Harry commented, then stopped to knock on Hagrid's door.
Inside, the hut was like a furnace, and Draco immediately complained, "Why don't you open the curtains? It's nice outside, but you've got it sweltering in here…" he moved toward the window, but Hagrid stopped him, even though he was obviously hot and sweating into his beard.
"I can't, got ter leave it fer now. Jus' sit tight, an 'ave a drink." He poured them cups of tea, which were warm, but still helped them feel a little better. Hagrid put the teapot back on the window sill just outside the curtain and turned back to face them as they sat.
"Why's it so hot in here?" Harry asked, "What is it you're being so secret about, is it anything to do with the stone?"
"The what?!" Hagrid gasped and spluttered his drink, getting drops of dark liquid in his whiskers.
Draco grinned, but then quickly composed himself and built on Harry's lucky slip. "The stone Fluffy's guarding." He said, causing Hagrid to color more.
"Tha's Hogwarts business, how'd ye find out about that anyways? Someone's gonna think I told ya."
"It wasn't that hard, really." Harry shrugged, pretending nonchalance. "We knew how big it was since I saw you get it out of the Gringotts vault." Hagrid looked sheepish, and sat down rather suddenly, but didn't interrupt. "We knew someone was after it, because of the troll on Halloween, and we just did a little research and narrowed it down till only the stone was left. I bet we're not the only ones who figured it out either."
"Well yeah." Draco grinned, and added, "Whoever tried to get at it on Halloween found out about it long before we did."
"And don't forget whoever broke into Gringotts; that was even earlier." Harry finished.
"I don't want ye pokin' around in this." Hagrid told Harry, "Tha philosopher's stone is well guarded, and ye'll only get yerself in trouble if ya mess in Dumbledore's business. No one won't get near it, I promise. So there's nothin' fer you ter worry 'bout."
Harry and Draco shared a pleased sidelong look, knowing for certain now which stone was being guarded. Hagrid wrung his hands and looked at his feet, then glanced towards his fireplace.
Harry followed his gaze, "Hagrid? What is that?" Draco looked as soon as Harry asked the question, and they both stared at a subtly mottled, oblong, polished-black orb, baking in the heat of the kettle. Hagrid looked even more timid than usual. "Is that… an egg?"
"A dragon egg, I'll bet!" Draco interjected, "Those are illegal! Merlin's beard, how'd you get it? I've tried just about everything, but it just didn't seem possible."
"Weren't that 'ard, really." Hagrid shrugged, "I won it, off a stranger over at the Hogs Head."
"Do you know how to take care of it?" Draco asked, moving a little closer, with Harry not too far behind.
"Sure, I got a book from the libry, 'splains a lot 'bout this sort o' thing, like how ter keep 'em warm, and how ter identify differ'nt eggs. This 'ere's a…"
"Norwegian ridgeback." Draco's voice was the closest to reverent Harry had ever heard, and he smiled, enjoying his friends' mutual fascination. "Do you have a place to keep it? Your hut's made of wood, it'll go up like a firecracker if you don't do something about that."
"Didnae think 'bout that. Maybe Ah'll, uh…"
"Harry, didn't we learn a charm for…?"
"Oh yes, inflagro lentus, wasn't it?" Harry looked around, thinking it'd take a small army coming in here to bespell the place every day to keep it from going up in smoke.
"We could come by to help fireproof the house." Harry offered, "The charm only lasts about a day, but we could probably fit it into our schedules if we made it a routine."
"Yer really wanna help me with 'im?" Hagrid's eyes sparkled, and he was humming under his breath.
"Of course!" Draco assured him, and Harry's heart warmed that they were getting along so well, for once. "I've always wanted a dragon, but Father says it's too risky to even try to own one at home."
"We'll do what we can, but I just hope you don't get in trouble for it, we'll have to keep it secret."
"Was goin' ter move 'im down ter a spot in tha forest when he got bigger." Hagrid explained, "No law says Hogwarts can't 'ave a dragon in ther forest."
"Unless it burns it down." Harry half joked, but was certain they'd have plenty of time to find a more permanent solution, right now he was just sharing in their excitement.
They worked out a schedule, with Harry visiting Hagrid in the evenings after supper, and Draco coming by in the mornings before lunch. And whenever they had an hour or two free in the afternoon they'd both come by. In the days that followed, it was always hot in Hagrid's hut, but they were having fun with this new 'conspiracy'.
It was a Friday when Harry received a note from Hagrid with only two words on it. "Its hatching!" Harry and Draco skipped History of Magic in order to run down to the hut to watch. It was over an hour before the ugly little thing forced its way out of its sleek black-shelled egg, all folds and wrinkles with bulging eyes and little nubs where its horns would be. When it sneezed a few sparks – catching fire to Hagrid's beard – both Harry and Draco immediately began casting their anti-flame charm on any flammable object they could find, as Hagrid patted out his smoldering whiskers.
"What about his beard?" Harry asked. "That's obviously flammable too…"
"Don't think the charm works on beards…" Draco replied. "Remember, Flitwick says charms meant for objects can have unexpected effects when cast on people."
"Hair isn't alive though, so it might work."
"Where'd you hear that?" Draco blinked.
"I don't know, think it was in biology."
"Don't you mean herbology?"
"No, biology. It's a class in muggle school."
Draco just stared for a moment, "Muggle… school?! What do muggles have to go to school for?"
"Lots of stuff, apparently." Harry grumbled, "Most of it pretty boring compared to Hogwarts."
"Even so, it's still attached to him. How do you cast the spell on his beard, but not the rest of him?"
"Thanks all the same, Ah'll be fine, yer two." Hagrid was looking a little uncomfortable listening to their discussion. "It's fortunate yer didnae 'ave class this mornin', so ya could come down ter help me out with this."
"Actually, we kind of cut class…" Draco admitted.
"Why'd ya go an do a thing like that fer? You should get back right now before yer get into any more trouble."
"It was only History of Magic. I'll be surprised if Binns even notices we're gone."
"Binns is still teaching?" Hagrid blinked, "Blimey, 'e was ancient when I was yer age…"
"Actually, he's a ghost now. Plus, his class is probably over by…" At that moment they heard the Hogwarts bells chime distantly. "I think that means we're going to be late to next class?" Draco glanced at Harry.
"Oh no, you're right, and we've got Snape next!" Harry gasped.
"I'm sure he'll understand." Draco began, but Harry was already pulling him out the door.
They barely made it back in time for Potions, and fidgeted and whispered excitedly whenever Snape wasn't paying attention to them. Unfortunately, Snape was generally very attentive, and they only got a few whispered words in here and there when he was scolding a Gryffindor or examining someone's work across the room.
Then, after lunch, they then sat down and tried to figure out ways to expand their schedule even more to fit in additional time with Hagrid and his dragon over the following weeks.
"What about 'Scorpio'?" Draco asked Hagrid the next time he and Harry were able to visit together, reading from a list of names he'd written down on a sheet of parchment.
"I like Norbert just fine." Hagrid insisted, watching the little dragon run around the hut and play on the floor with Fang. Draco had been trying for the last half hour at least to convince Hagrid to rename the ugly thing. Harry just watched and listened, bemused.
" 'Firebrand'?" Draco continued, undeterred, "Or what about 'Rex'?"
"Don't like neither of those." Hagrid grumped, managing to grab the dragon before it could chew on Fang's ear. Draco had informed them that Norwegian Ridgebacks were venomous, and while Norbert might not have much venom yet – being so young – there was no sense taking unnecessary risks.
"What are we going to do about the poison once he starts getting bigger, and his teeth are longer?" Harry asked, since it was on his mind already.
"I've got an idea about that." Draco grinned, "Antivenom potions."
"Do you know where we're going to get something like that?" Harry wondered aloud.
"We can make it ourselves. We're both aces in potions class, so I'm sure we can brew up something that'll work just fine."
They each took turns playing with Norbert – though the dragon was a bit rough, and they had to be very careful. Hagrid already had some minor scratches from the thing's teeth and claws, and it was growing fast, already several inches longer than when it had hatched.
Harry and Draco snuck to the library that night to find books on antivenom potions, and after nearly an hour of searching, Draco found the exact one he wanted.
"We're not going to be able to keep this secret." Draco was saying on the way back from Hagrid's house, after a few more days had passed, sounding very disappointed to hear himself say it. "Norbert's just growing too fast; he's going to wreck Hagrid's hut. We have to figure out something to do with him. He's not old enough to be on his own yet, but we can't just keep him locked up with Hagrid all the time, his poison is going to become a problem, and he's starting to get a lot of fire in him, for a baby."
"I know, but what can we do? Maybe we can make a pen for him? Somewhere close by in the forest?"
"Maybe." Draco sighed, "This is turning into a lot more work than I'd expected, and it's wearing me thin."
"You were already thin, Draco. And I have quidditch practice too, on top of studying, homework, exams in a couple months, and Norbert." Harry teased.
Draco chuckled, "Guess you have me there."
They were almost late to Charms, and then Herbology after that. Harry suggested they needed to focus a little more on walking faster instead of discussing plans for the dragon.
"How's the antidote potion coming along?" Harry asked on the way to Doubles Charms class Wednesday morning.
"It's trickier than I thought, I still haven't gathered all the ingredients." Draco unrolled the recipe he'd copied so they could take a quick look while they walked.
"How are we even going to get most of that stuff?" Harry wondered as they looked over the ingredient list.
"I'm not sure." Draco paused, as a first year Hufflepuff walked past, and glanced their way. He waited until the boy turned a corner, though Harry thought the Hufflepuff had hesitated for just a moment before disappearing out of sight. "I could ask Severus, he's got a personal stash in his office, he might have some of this."
"I'd rather not involve him." Harry sighed, "I don't think he likes Hagrid, and if he suspects Hagrid's got an illegal dragon, he might get him fired."
"I know. I'll see if there's another way to make the antidote first, I'll…"
Harry held up a hand, spotting the same Hufflepuff boy when they got to the next intersection. Harry thought he'd been looking their way but he quickly vanished into a classroom just as he and Draco came into sight. He recalled he'd seen the boy around several times recently, and it occurred to Harry that he might be following them. "Maybe we shouldn't talk about this in the halls anymore." He said softly, as they went up a flight of stairs to get to their classroom.
Draco nodded, and they focused on their charms lesson, trying not to let the Ravenclaw students outdo them for the next two hours.
Draco managed to find some of his potion ingredients over the next few days, and somehow they kept Norbert from burning down Hagrid's house, but Harry and the other quidditch players were being hounded by Flint, since they only had one more week before their final match. "Here's a good one; 'Spike'!" Draco read from a new list to Hagrid.
"Why're ye still goin' on 'bout this?" Hagrid crooned, scratching the dragon under his chin and behind the side of his jaw, just where he seemed to enjoy it most. "Norbert's perfectly 'appy as Norbert, i'n't 'e?"
"Okay, how about 'Django'? That's an interesting name, isn't it?"
"You know Draco." Harry interjected, "I really don't think Hagrid's going to budge on this. You've come up with some fun names, but maybe you should just save them for when you have your own pet dragon?"
Draco's eyes lit up, and he grinned at Harry, "You think I'll manage it?"
"Yeah, maybe you can get a license for it or something when you're older?"
"I suppose it's possible…" Draco very happily mulled that thought over while Harry leapt onto the table to save his shin from being gnawed on by the dragon.
Saturday came, and both Harry and Draco had a little time off, so they headed out after lunch, and went to check on Hagrid. "I've got the anti-venom potion started." Draco announced. "It should be ready by Monday."
"Well, I hope we don't need it before then." Harry mused. Fang had been relegated outside since the dragon was very energetic, and seemed hungry all the time now. He'd also fully teethed and even Hagrid with his thick skin was taking extra care by wrapping his hands in tough cloth to play with Norbert. Harry was just as happy to sit on the table, with his limbs out of easy reach, while Draco was a bit torn between caution and wanting to be close to the dragon.
"How'd you get those last two ingredients anyways? I know we owled off for a couple things, but we couldn't find…" Draco's expression had gone a little sheepish, and Harry knew immediately he'd been 'up to something'. "What did you do?"
"I asked Severus." Draco informed his friends. "I told him I was working on an extra credit project, so he doesn't know what I need it for. It's just two ingredients, he won't be able to guess what I'm making just from that."
Harry glowered, but the effect was spoiled when Norbert jumped up into Draco's lap and nipped playfully at the front of his robe. "Careful, Norbert." Draco admonished. "Here, chew on this?" He grabbed a discarded bone from the floor and let Norbert clamp his teeth on one end while he played tug of war holding onto the other, all the while the dragon made the most vicious sounds Harry had ever heard from it, but its eyes were alight with glee, and its tail thumped the wood floor as it played.
"He's getting huge!" Draco said the next day, the moment they got inside. Norbert had grown nearly four times his length since he'd hatched the previous week.
"Aint 'e beau'iful?!" Hagrid's eyes shown as he smiled at the rampant dragon now crawling under the table and looking for food.
"Harry and I thought we might make a pen for him in the forest close to your hut, just out of sight, but big enough for him to have room to run around in, so he won't destroy your home." Draco was saying, hopping on a stool to avoid being rammed by the dog sized baby dragon.
"We might be able ter, but I can't jus' leave 'im."
"I'm sure he'll be alright for a few hours. We'll do it when he settles for a nap." Draco smiled, and Hagrid returned it. "Awright. I s'pose we'd better get star'ed on it sooner than later. Can ya two watch 'im, while I get some things set up?"
They did just that, keeping Norbert occupied and trying to tire him out, though it seemed after a while that they were going to tire out long before Norbert did.
Hagrid spent most of Sunday afternoon out in the forest preparing. When he returned later in the evening they still had to wait almost an hour for Norbert to settle down – finally exhausted – and curl up in the corner under Hagrid's bed.
The three of them went outside together, just to the edge of the forbidden forest, where Draco suddenly balked, "Uh, Hagrid, there aren't really werewolves in the forest, are there?"
"Not tha' I've ever seen." Hagrid assured him, "Centaurs though, but nothin' that'll hurt ya if yer with me er Fang."
Hagrid led them to a small clearing only a little ways into the forest. Draco had a spell he used to try and get all the leaves and debris out of the way, while Hagrid took care of some of the bigger rocks and such. Draco balked again when they started moving timbers Hagrid had placed at the edge of the clearing, "That's servant work…" he muttered to no one in particular.
"Draco! There's no servants we can ask to help us with this. If you want to help, we need to do this together. Hagrid can handle some of these on his own, but I need your help if we're going to lift any of them."
"Can't we just use that levitation charm?" Draco pointed his wand, and in a practiced movement, he cast the spell, "Wingardium Leviosa." then grunted as the heavy log rose into the air.
"Oh tha's brilliant!" Hagrid smiled, and Harry had to admit, even if they were almost too heavy for the charm, that levitating them was a lot easier than trying to move them manually, though Hagrid of course had no problem lifting them with his bare hands.
It took them a little while to get a fence set up, and they angled some timbers over the top to prevent Norbert from climbing the fence, or even flying away. It was big enough that even Hagrid could take several strides from one end to the other, and it would suit Norbert just fine, at least for a while.
"Now me and Draco will fireproof this, you go check on Norbert." Harry was already feeling a bit tired out, but he wanted to get this finished. They spent another ten minutes casting their fire-proof charm on every beam individually, then went back to Hagrid's hut, where he'd prepared some more tea and rock cakes for them.
They chatted a little longer, mostly about the dragon, then Harry stood and stretched. "Are we ready to move him tonight?" he asked.
Draco glanced outside to see the sun starting to set then suddenly froze, "Hagrid, someone's coming."
Harry went to the window and glanced out, "It's that Hufflepuff boy; the one who's been following us." He gasped. They tried to get Norbert to run under the bed by tossing some of his food – half a crate of dead rats and a bowl full of chicken blood laced with brandy – underneath, then sat down to pretend to drink tea as Hagrid answered the door.
"'Ello. Can I get yer somethin'?" He asked.
"Hello." The boy smiled, but it was a somewhat sinister looking smile to Harry's eye. He watched him carefully through the gap between the door frame and Hagrid's coat.
"I'm Zacharias Smith, I don't think I've ever come down to introduce myself before, and I had a little free time so I…"
A puff of flame jetted out from under the bed, and Harry jumped.
"What's that?" Zach tried to lean in to get a better look, but Hagrid blocked the doorway.
"Jus' 'avin' tea with 'Arry an' Draco." He stuttered, "It were nice of ye to come an' see me, but yer should probably come back another time."
"Norbert, no!" Harry hissed as the curious dragon emerged and started toward the open door.
Hagrid turned, and when he saw where the dragon was headed he quickly slammed the door in Smith's face. "Err, sorry, I'll talk ter ye later!" he called through the door.
Harry went to the window, and glanced outside. Zacharias wore an expression of pure glee as he turned and ran back towards the castle.
"I don't think he bought it." Draco muttered, peering over Harry's shoulder, "C'mon let's get Norbert out to the pen before he brings someone back to get us in trouble!"
Together they harnessed Norbert with a makeshift rope, and led him quickly outside and to the pen they'd constructed, arriving back at the hut just as Smith was returning with a teacher in tow. Harry's heart sunk into his stomach when Professor Snape's pale visage materialized out of the gloom of the freshly fallen night.
"Good evening, Hagrid." Snape began in his usual bored drawl, his gaze passing over Harry almost as if he wasn't there, and pausing briefly on Draco, who smiled thinly.
"Young Mr. Smith here was just telling me a rather… absurd story." He sneered at the Hufflepuff boy, who reddened in the face. "However, as it concerned two Slytherin students I decided to come check on it myself. Additionally, something Draco said to me recently gave me some cause for concern."
"I don' know what yer were tol'." Hagrid blustered, "But ever'thin's fine an' dandy 'ere."
"I'm sure." Snape moved forwards, towards the door, "Then you won't mind if I take a look inside."
Before Hagrid could stop him, he opened the door and stepped in uninvited. He paused and examined the room, with Hagrid crowding close behind. Harry had no idea what he made of the gnawed and splintered bones still strewn about. He very carefully examined what was in the cups, as well as several empty bottles of brandy, and other things nearby.
When he emerged he wore the exact same expression as he had before entering, and addressed Zacharias Smith first. "Mr. Smith. I will take this from here. I suggest you return to school. You won't want to miss dinner."
Zach nodded, looking as if he couldn't decide if he wished he could stay and find out what was going to happen, or wanted to leave to get away from Snape, but ultimately he turned and headed back up to the castle. "You as well, Potter, Draco. You should both return."
"Don't get him in trouble." Draco said rather suddenly, and Snape's brow rose in surprise, "Hagrid's my friend, so please don't get him in trouble."
This seemed to take the Potions Master aback, and for the first time in Harry's memory, he seemed at a loss for words. Finally he cleared his throat and said, "Draco. Tell me what's been going on, and I'll do what I can. You have my word."
Draco sighed, and looked a little dejected, but finally, after glancing at Hagrid's ashen face – he looked just about in tears – Draco said, "Hagrid got a dragon egg, he wanted to raise it and make a place for it in the forest, Harry and I helped him, by fireproofing his house, and helping him figure out how to take care of it, like building a pen for it to run around in, he was going to let it go, as soon as it was strong enough to survive on its own, and… well… you know I've always wanted a dragon, I couldn't help it, I had to help!"
This was the second time Draco had stuck his neck out for someone else, at the risk of getting himself in serious trouble, and Harry didn't know what to say.
Snape regarded Hagrid, who nodded, confirming Draco's story. "This is most unsuitable behavior, Hagrid. I'd wondered why you were falling behind in your duties, and to involve students as well… quite… irresponsible. Dumbledore will have to be told."
"Does he have to? Can't Hagrid just let the dragon go when it's big enough?"
"I'm sorry, Draco, we can't have a full grown dragon living in the forest. It would upset things too much. As for you." Draco flinched, and looked down, Harry held his breath, dreading whatever would happen next.
"It'll be fifty points from Slytherin." Snape finished after a short pause.
"What? You can't do that to…"
Snape interrupted Draco, "It should be fifty each. I'll also be assigning each of you detention. More is expected of you, Draco Lucius Malfoy. Now, get to dinner before I change my mind."
Draco stood there stunned, and Harry didn't really blame him. Snape had never taken points from Draco before. He had to drag Draco away to dinner; he wasn't sure he'd have made it on his own. Harry didn't really taste his food, and by the time they went up to get ready for bed, the news had spread that Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy had lost fifty points for Slytherin, losing them the lead for the house cup. They were still ahead of Gryffindor and Hufflepuff, but they weren't the most popular two students in Slytherin right then.
Flint hounded Harry even more during practice on Monday, and the rest of the team also seemed more than a bit cold to him. Harry grit his teeth and bore it, hoping they'd forget about it after a week or two. He was determined to win the points back somehow.
When they went to visit Hagrid that evening, everyone was subdued. "So what happened with Snape?" Harry asked, as they leaned against the edge of the paddock and watched Norbert running around the pen. "Obviously you haven't been sacked…"
"We tol' Dumbledore, together." Hagrid explained, "Dumbledore's made arrangements." Hagrid started to tear up. "Gonna send Norbert off ter Romania, where 'e'll be cared for by esperts until 'e's big enough ter release inter tha wild with other Dragons."
"That sounds like a good arrangement then." Draco gave Hagrid an encouraging smile. "Norbert will be in good hands."
"But wha' if 'e don't like Romania? Wha' if tha other dragons pick on him, 'e's still a baby afterall?"
"It'll be okay." Harry cut in. "This is for the best. You trust Dumbledore, don't you?"
Hagrid nodded, and seemed a little more cheerful as they spent the rest of the evening before dinner watching the 'little' dragon run and play.
On Thursday they returned once more to keep Hagrid company as he said goodbye to Norbert. They arrived right after lunch, and at first had some cakes Draco had brought for the occasion, then went out to the pen where Hagrid snuck a few of the cakes to Norbert, now nearly big enough for Harry or Draco to ride on. Some witches were to arrive that afternoon to take Norbert away, so they just chatted with Hagrid for several hours about nothing specific.
They even sang a couple songs to bid Norbert farewell, though Hagrid was off key, and Draco kept missing notes. It didn't matter; they'd all become very close through the whole ordeal and it was enough just to be there together to see it through.
The witches arrived just after 4-o-clock, and managed to get Norbert into a specially designed harness before flying off, carrying him away slung between their brooms. Hagrid, Harry, and Draco waved until they were out of sight, then Harry and Draco said goodbye to Hagrid so they could get back to the castle.
"Morsmordre! We never got to use my potion!" Draco gasped halfway up the hill.
"What potion?" Harry asked.
"My antivenom potion, it was ready on Monday."
Harry laughed, and it took a moment before he could compose himself enough to explain his mirth, "Think about what you just said, Draco, what was that potion for?"
Draco considered for a moment, then they both were laughing, all the way back to the Slytherin common room.
Harry ended up being almost an hour late to quidditch practice, but he really didn't care. His friends were more important to him. Plus, Draco had become such good friends with Hagrid throughout the whole affair with the dragon that Harry couldn't begrudge either of them the extra time, even if it meant getting scolded by Flint and forced to make penalty shots until he could get 2 in a row past Bletchley.
The next day Draco turned in his antivenom potion to Snape after their doubles class with Gryffindor. He really did get some extra credit for it, just as he'd suggested to Snape when he'd asked for the last ingredients he'd needed. Harry was a bit bemused by the event, but was happy for Draco. He deserved a little something extra now that Norbert was gone.
Author's Comments: I hope you all are enjoying this. Once again I'm sorry for the long delay in chapters. This chapter was a little tricky because it started off as part of the next chapter, but I kept adding scenes and rather than let it become as long as chapter 5, I moved a few scenes ahead. I had a lot to say here, however – more than I'd originally anticipated – and I felt it was important to get it all in here.
Hope it was worth the extra effort.
I'm going to try to post a new chapter once a month from here on out, I'll aim for the first of the month, or close to it. I think that'll be enough time for me to keep up and give you, my readers, the steady dedication you and this story deserve.
EDIT: Well, more edits, a lot of them small, but hopefully it adds up. Enjoy!
Once again the copyrights for the Harry Potter worlds belong to J.K. Rowling. All original characters depicted here and this story are copyrighted to me.