CHAPTER 13:

THAT'S A DRAGON'S EGG, ISN'T IT?

If there was one thing Severus Snape shared with Sirius Black at this time, then it was a joint delight in seeing the latest photos of Peter Pettigrew suffering, even if the rat was naked. GLaDOS had, using her holographic projector, even showed him video footage of the latest experiments done on him. Black was going to see the footage when he left St Mungo's for Aperture, but Snape was sitting back and watching it now, having even persuaded the House Elves to get him popcorn, a rare indulgence for the Potions Master. Albus wasn't happy when he learned of the rat's fate, but as Pettigrew was looking at either the Kiss or Azkaban, Snape appreciated GLaDOS making the Rat Animagus into something useful. To forgive is divine, they say. And Snape knew that neither he nor GLaDOS were gods, despite the latter's opinion on the matter.

Snape had to admit wholeheartedly, he was wrong about Potter. True, the boy shared some of his father's disrespect for authority and rules (school rules, anyway: he followed those in classes to the letter), and his annoying enjoyment of pranks, and his sense of safety was skewed, especially outside the classroom. But he was also intelligent in a way that he hadn't expected, even from Lily's son. The boy was at least respectful to Snape, but didn't hesitate to ask intelligent questions. Neither did his habitual partner, the Granger girl, who was brilliant once she got over verbatim regurgitation of facts and onto critical thinking. It helped that neither of them were in Gryffindor.

Snape wouldn't let them sit on their laurels, though. While he detested teaching in general, some students who caught his eye were more interesting to teach. Draco Malfoy was certainly a good student in Potions and what Snape had managed to teach him in Defence Against the Dark Arts. Draco lacked the political acumen and savvy of his father, but he was showing himself to be an excellent student in magic. Potter and Granger were also interesting, and gave superlative work and asked good questions. These three were the superlative ones.

In any case, Snape actually found himself fulfilling his life debt to James Potter, and his promise to the memory of Lily, not at all grudgingly. Rather, he did so with ease.

Apparently, today, as it was a Saturday, Potter had persuaded Granger to embark on an expedition with him, into the Black Lake, of all things. According to Dumbledore and Flitwick, who were the supervising adults, Potter had obtained from Aperture Science a pair of diving suits, but ones that used a breathable liquid. Snape had seen a Muggle movie a couple of years back called The Abyss, and had later learned that this was a real technology, if not actually refined enough (save for what Aperture developed, anyway) to work like it did in the movie(1). And he saw the breathable liquid in action with the videos of Pettigrew.

Despite the fact that Sirius Black was out of Azkaban (where Snape firmly believed he belonged, regardless of his innocence where the betrayal of the Potters was concerned), Snape thought that all was right with the world, with perhaps one nagging detail.

Quirrell.

Snape knew that Quirrell was the Dark Lord's agent, possibly even allowing himself to be possessed by the Dark Lord, which meant intimidating him could be dangerous. Sooner or later, Quirrell would try to make his way past the protections around the Philosopher's Stone, most of them designed to hinder or delay him long enough for Dumbledore or Snape to follow behind long enough to ensure that he got trapped by the Mirror of Erised.

Of course, allowing Quirrell free reign in a school of children was dangerous, as the incident with the Troll and the Bludgers Quirrell enchanted to attack Harry proved. Snape only allowed it to go on because there was a chance he might be free of one master, forever.

Snape grinned to himself as a notion struck him. Pettigrew was enjoying the hospitality of GLaDOS at Aperture. A shame Quirrell might not be able to be sent there, not without Dumbledore making a fuss. But if he got trapped in the Mirror of Erised…the notion of Quirrell and Voldemort being experimented upon was perversely attractive to Snape.

At the edge of the Black Lake, a small gathering of students, along with a couple of teachers, watched as a couple of small figures, in what looked like futuristic diving suits, lumbered out of the water onto the shore. It could have been a strange visitation of alien life at Hogwarts. Flitwick and Dumbledore, acting on instructions from Harry, gently removed the helmets, spilling out blue-tinted liquid, and gently held the two children as they began hacking up the liquid they had been breathing for the past few hours.

"Bloody hell, Harry, you're mental," Ron exclaimed as Harry and Hermione finished coughing up the liquid.

"It's been noted," Harry rasped, his vocal cords still recovering from being slightly anaesthetised, to prevent laryngospasm. Such a thing would have suffocated them when they were trying to breathe liquid instead of air. He was grinning his head off in spite of this, and frankly, so was Hermione.

"In future, I suggest Gillyweed," Dumbledore said. "It's perhaps less traumatic. Did the Merpeople treat you well?"

Hermione nodded. "They showed us all around the village. Thanks for letting them know we were coming," she rasped, before coughing.

"I speak to the tribe on occasion. My Mermish needs a bit of polishing every now and then. They're generally not friendly to humans, and certainly not strangers, but they were every bit as curious to see these suits as I was," Dumbledore said. "Twenty points to Ravenclaw for undertaking an interesting journey of your own accord. Now, let's get you to the boatshed, and get you changed. Those suits may be warm when the system is going, but now that you're above the surface, well, windchill and all that."

Once they had changed, Harry having the bulky suits shrunk by Flitwick and put in a bag to carry back, he was startled to find himself hugged by Hermione. "Thank you! That was a great experience, Harry! Okay, not so much the drowning in breathable liquid, but breathing it? Going into a Merpeople village? I never even dreamed of such things!"

"Uhh, thanks? Calm down, Hermione, it's okay. Breathe, don't forget to breathe. I need to breathe too, so need you to let go, please." All this time, she was denying that she was crazy enough to work at Aperture, when in reality, she just needed the right buttons pressed for the crazy to come out. Namely, a science and knowledge fangirl, and a rabid one at that.

Dumbledore and Flitwick were both laughing. Harry and Hermione didn't know it, but they were mentally comparing Hermione to Lily, with her own inquisitive nature and enthusiasm about learning. Of course, James Potter and Lily Evans loathed each other for most of their time at Hogwarts, with only James improving himself after the incident where Snape called Lily a Mudblood allowing them to have a friendship. Built on the ruins of that between Snape and Lily, sadly.

But perhaps they were seeing the genesis of a similar relationship. In its earliest stages, of course, but even so, it was something to treasure. And Dumbledore was glad that he had confirmed the Horcrux was no longer in Harry. The Boy Who Lived would continue to live…as long as Voldemort didn't come back.

Later, Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Neville headed up to Hagrid's hut, the two Ravenclaws regaling the two Gryffindors about their little excursion into the Black Lake. Ron was shaking his head in disbelief, while Neville had his eyes wide in astonishment.

"So, what's this Gillyweed stuff that Dumbledore mentioned?" Harry asked.

"I've heard of it," Neville said, frowning. He was definitely the go-to person, Harry thought, for anything where magical plants were concerned. "I don't know for sure, but, supposedly, it transforms you briefly. Gives you gills and flippers. It only does it for about an hour or so."

"Wow," Harry said. "I am so getting some. GLaDOS is going to love Gillyweed. I mean, magic, or Will-based Transmogrification Force, is a whole new frontier. I mean, has no wizard or witch ever tried to figure out seriously how this stuff works?"

"I guess they do that in the Department of Mysteries," Neville admitted.

Harry nodded, thinking about that place. It had been mentioned more than a few times, sounding like some top-secret research and development wing of the Ministry of Magic. And bloody interesting to boot. There'd have to be some interesting research in there into the nature of magic. Of course, most wizards and witches had the attitude to magic of, 'It works, so why bother explaining it?' Of course, there were those things about Gamp's Law of Elemental Transfiguration, and the Five Principal Exceptions, which he and GLaDOS were taking some interest in, having come across the term in one of the many books they had gotten in Diagon Alley.

"I think the Wizarding World needs more research and development," Harry declared.

"I think you need more medication," Hermione remarked, albeit with a smirk on her face, as they reached Hagrid's hut. The massive man had been a bit furtive lately. And the curtains were drawn. They knocked on the door, and Hagrid invited them in, albeit slightly reluctantly. For some reason, the interior of the hut wasn't just warm, it was stiflingly hot.

Hagrid was delighted to listen to Harry and Hermione talk about their experiences in the Black Lake. After a while, Harry asked, "Hagrid, it's pretty hot in here. Can we have a window open or something, please?"

Hagrid shook his head, but shot the fireplace a nervous glance. Harry and Hermione, remembering how appalling Hagrid was at keeping secrets, looked over, and saw, under the kettle, a massive black egg. Ron, who had followed their gaze, stared. "Hagrid…where'd you get that, mate? That must've cost you a fortune!"

"Won it a couple of nights ago," Hagrid said. "I was down in Hogsmeade, havin' a few drinks, when I got into a game o' cards with a stranger. Think he was glad to get rid of it, to be honest."

"I can see why," Hermione said, peering at the egg. "That's a dragon's egg, isn't it?"

Harry's eyes widened, and he darted over. As he examined the egg, he heard Hagrid say, "Not jest any dragon's egg, but a Norwegian Ridgeback. I've been doin'…well, a touch of light readin'." He pulled out a book, apparently from the Hogwarts library, and began holding forth on various procedures used for dragon-raising.

Ron, who was sitting next to Harry and Hermione as they stared at the fire, said quietly, "It's illegal. Dragon-breeding was outlawed by the Warlock's Convention in 1709, everyone knows that. I mean, if everyone had a dragon in their backyard, they'd be noticed by the Muggles. Besides, you can't tame them."

"Hagrid looks like he wants to give it a damn good try," Harry muttered. "How do you know this?"

"My brother Charlie works on a reserve in Romania, remember? And that thing about dragon-breeding is what most wizarding children get taught even before Hogwarts. There's a couple of native dragon breeds in Britain: the Common Welsh Green and the Hebridean Blacks. The Obliviators get a lot of their work thanks to dragon-sightings, using memory charms on Muggles who spotted dragons who stray from warded sanctuaries."

"And Hagrid is raising a dragon, illegally, in a wooden hut," Hermione muttered exasperatedly.

"Yeah, even by Aperture standards, that's crazy," Harry said quietly. "Seriously, fire is kept firmly away from living quarters."

"But he'll be heartbroken if the dragon is taken away from him," Hermione mused.

"We'll have to think of something, then," Harry said. "Hermione, do you feel up to the task of having a look through dragon-related legislation as well as anything in the Hogwarts charter?"

"Why? Do you think there may be a loophole?"

"Maybe. Meanwhile, I'm going to talk to GLaDOS, see if there's anything at Aperture that can help. Ron, I may need to pick your brains about whatever your brother may have told you about dragons. And Neville?" Harry called over to the timid boy. "Keep shtum about this."

Neville nodded. He already had a deer in the headlights look, of someone who knew too much. He was clearly hoping that he could just make sure nothing bad happened. But even as Harry returned to look at the dragon egg, he found himself worried. It was probably coincidence, perhaps nothing more than paranoia, but something told him that Hagrid getting a dragon egg was no coincidence. After all, if it was against wizarding law, how many people would wander around with a dragon's egg? Okay, wanting to offload it was understandable, but it was not even an open secret that Hagrid wanted to own a dragon. And Harry got a nasty feeling that Quirrell may have just made a move. The question is, did Hagrid say anything about how to get past Fluffy the Cerberus?

CHAPTER 13 ANNOTATIONS:

Hope you enjoyed this chapter. I'm getting Hermione much more friendly with Harry, so while it's a long way off for any serious Harmony, the seeds are there.

Review-answering time! CJ-T-Bone: Maybe we should get Ellen McLain to do one or something.

Zekrob: As mentioned in correspondence, this is no coincidence. I explicitly mentioned my reference to Nobody Dies.

coe mcgraph: No, none of those things will be involved. Well, not yet. But painful biological samples and electric shocks will be involved.

TehUnoman: I fail to see the relevance of the Milkshake song, so I'd have to say that there's plenty wrong with you. ;)

chaosglory626 and Imoneoldfart: I dunno whether Harry's still a Parselmouth, so I'll wait until later to determine that.

Taiyou Ryu: Sorry, you didn't get it. But maybe we should find a way to get Ellen McLain to sing Bohemian Rhapsody as GLaDOS.

1. I've got a fascination with breathable liquid. I can't remember whether I first saw it in The Abyss, or Neon Genesis Evangelion. But it is a real thing, though sadly, because it takes too much effort to breathe freely without causing a lot of carbon dioxide buildup, it needs to be used with a ventilator. The Abyss was one of the first big usages of it in pop-culture (though the Gerry Anderson live-action series UFO showed it at least a decade and a half earlier), and actually showed a live mouse actually breathing perfluorocarbon. It was released in August 1989, and Snape may very well have seen it.