Disclaimer – Everything you recognise belongs to JKR. All the rest is simply me playing in her sandbox.

-oOoOo-

The Cupboard Under the Stairs

Chapter 17

A beautiful snowy owl spiralled down towards the four-story ramshackle building, intent on its delivery. Spying an open window, Hedwig adjusted her wings. At the last second, her wings flared and she landed neatly on the sill.

"Hello, there, who do you belong to?" a portly older red-haired woman asked.

In answer, Hedwig shuffled around to hold out one leg.

Dusting off the flour on her hands, Molly Weasley bustled across the kitchen to grab up the water container and some spare owl pellets before moving across to the window.

"Ooh, what a beautiful owl," an excited voice squealed.

"Don't scare her, Ginny, it looks as though she's had a long flight," Molly admonished her daughter before placing the water and pile of treats in front of the owl. "Now, let's see what you've got there."

Hedwig waited patiently for the letter to be untied before dipping her beak down and taking a long drink.

Molly, meanwhile, was flipping the envelope over. Apart from the name 'Mr and Mrs Weasley' and the address, simply 'The Burrow', it was blank. She didn't recognise the handwriting either.

With a shrug, she opened the letter.

Dear Mr and Mrs Weasley,

I just wanted to write and say thank you for the Christmas gift that you sent me. The jumper's really warm and fits well. The fudge, too, was delicious.

With thanks,

Harry Potter.

Within seconds of having read the short letter, Molly was dapping at her eyes with her hanky.

"Oh, that dear, dear boy. What wonderful manners," she murmured.

"Who's it from, Mum?" Ginny asked, standing up on the chair in an effort to see over her mother's shoulder.

"It was just from Harry, dear, thanking us for the Christmas gift we sent him," Molly replied.

"Harry! Harry Potter! Really? Can I see? Can I see?" Ginny bounced on her chair in excitement.

Handing over the note, Molly watched with a smile as her overly excited daughter plopped herself down on the chair, the note firmly clenched in her hand.

After hearing the stories that the twins told about the small, shy boy that they'd befriended and finding out that he wasn't expecting any Christmas presents this year, her heart had gone out to him. She'd known both James and Lily. Indeed, she would have happily taken him in after that awful tragedy.

Her mind had been well and truly made up and she was already halfway through knitting his jumper before Albus had mentioned that Harry would be spending Christmas in the castle without any family and very few friends around to celebrate it with.

Now more than ever, she was glad that she'd followed her heart. She mentally made a note to herself to ask Arthur about maybe taking the poor boy in for some of the summer holidays.

-oOoOo-

"So, what's your secret, Potter?"

Harry froze, staring at the red-haired girl across the table from him. Finally he noticed the small smile playing around the corners of Susan Bones' mouth and his brain rebooted. That smile clearly meant that Susan wasn't asking about his life back on Privet Drive. Nor could she know about why Hagrid hadn't left his cabin in days and had all of the curtains pulled with smoke billowing out of his chimney.

"What do you mean?' he finally asked, his quill still poised above the potions essay that the ten of them grouped around the table were working on.

"This new work habit thing you've got going on," Susan replied, gesturing at the piles of books and parchment stacked around him.

"Yeah, Harry, you've gone from a guy who always seemed to just manage to pass everything to one of the top in the class in just a couple of months. The Hufflepuffs aren't the only one who've noticed either. So have us Ravenclaws," Lil Moon agreed.

Harry nervously glanced at Hermione, but either she hadn't heard or else she'd decided to stay out of this one. Her head hadn't move any inch, although he was certain that her quill had at least paused in her writing.

"Uh, nothing's changed," he eventually tried.

"Not buying it, Harry," Hannah Abbot stated firmly, "I'm with Susan and Lil on this. In the last couple of months, you've become the best in the year at Defence, you and Hermione keep switching who's top in Transfiguration, Charms and Astronomy. And yesterday you were practically dancing around the greenhouse after Professor Sprout gave you back our mid-term exam results."

"We're not complaining here," Susan put in. "We're the ones benefiting from the way you and Hermione have been trying to outdo each other in every piece of homework that we've been given. We're just curious, that's all."

Harry swallowed heavily. It was one thing to tell one person what he used to do before Hogwarts and during the first part of term here. Even that'd been a gamble. But Hermione had proven worth it. She'd become his best friend. The way that she'd been pushing him just enough with her teasing about how she'd never have to get on a broom again was all the motivation that he needed. And to be honest, he was starting to enjoy working hard like this. It even made him curious as to just how well he could have done if he'd always worked like this.

But then, it was quite another thing to tell others. He was already good friends with Neville and if it'd just been Neville asking, then he possibly would have told him at least a little of what his life had been like. Not as much as Hermione knew, but something at least.

And while he thought that in time that he could become friends with Susan, Hannah, Lil, Sally-Anne and the others, he just didn't feel ready to share that much with them yet. Safe topics like quidditch and homework and what happens in class was fine, but nothing too personal yet.

Something must have given away how he was feeling because, as the silence began to stretch out, Neville blurted out the one thing that would redirect their questions.

"He and Hermione have got a bet on. If Harry can beat her in at least one test for every subject, then he gets to teach her how to fly a broom properly!"

"Really?"

"Now that I've got to see!"

"I heard what happened at Madam Hooch's flying lessons. I didn't think anything'd get Hermione back on a broom again!"

The babble of excited voices was enough to finally make Hermione give an exaggerated sigh and lift her head.

"Yes, we've got a bet on. But no, he's never going to win," she flatly stated.

"I don't know, Hermione. With the way that Harry's been studying, I doubt it'll take him long to win," Lil teased.

"How close are you, Harry?" Terry Boot asked.

"Only History of Magic and Potions to go," he replied with a shy smile on his face.

"Just those two?" Sally-Anne asked, then after looking around the table, "I think that we can help you get those two. Lisa's the best in History and I'm sure that between the rest of us we can get your Potions mark up."

"Hey!" Hermione protested.

"Sorry, Hermione," Susan grinned, "but the chance to see you on a broom again is simply too good to pass up."

"Fine. You lot can help him all you want, but you know that Harry'll never win that bet," Hermione huffed, although the smile that threatened to escape from the corners of her mouth told what she really thought of the good-natured ribbing. "Even with all of your help, there's one thing that you've all forgotten."

"What's that?" Harry asked.

"Professor Snape!"

"Believe me, Hermione, that's one thing that I'll never forget," Harry replied gloomily.

-oOoOo-

The birth of any baby should always be the highlight of any day. But when that baby is a jet black, fire-breathing dragon, it's hard to celebrate. And when you add in that being in the possession of a dragon egg, not to mention hatching it and intending on raising said dragon iz completely illegal, it's becomes almost enough to make one throw up.

"But Hagrid, you can't keep him," Hermione pleaded, not for the first or even the hundredth time. "He needs to be with his own kind."

"Lil Norbert's with his mummy, what more does he need, eh?" Hagrid replied automatically, his mind, as anyone could see, more on putting the fire out that Norbert had started in his beard.

"Hagrid, he breathes fire and you live in a wooden house," Harry tried.

"Yeah, that's right. What's tha' got to do with it?"

Hermione threw her hands up in frustration. "I give up!"

"Bend down a bit, Harry. It'll make it easier to get a close up photo," Neville instructed.

Harry stared at his friend. Get down? Closer to the fire-breathing menace?

Still, he complied and promptly shot back up again the instant that Neville had taken the photo. Ignoring for a moment the illegality of Hagrid hatching a Norwegian Ridgeback Dragon, it was a once in a life-time experience and Harry had had no second thoughts about using up nearly a whole roll of film with taking photos of the egg and then Norbert.

Watching as Hagrid sloshed another bucketful of brandy mixed with chicken pieces into Norbert's feed container, Harry had a thought.

"Hagrid, how much is he going to eat when he gets bigger?"

"Dunno, Harry. The books reckon full grown Ridgebacks eat up to two dozen sheep a day, but it'll be years before he's up to eatin' that much."

"But Hogwarts doesn't have a herd of sheep," Neville tried.

"No worries, we'll cross that bridge when we get t' it," Hagrid waved away the concern.

"Come on, guys, I think Hagrid's too … busy … to listen right now," said Hermione.

"Er, right. We'll see you later, Hagrid," Harry waved as they made their way out of the cabin.

"We're going to have to tell someone," Hermione stated a few minutes later as they trekked back up towards the castle. "There's no way Hagrid'll be able to keep Norbert secret much longer and I'm betting that the bigger the dragon gets, the more trouble he's likely to get in."

"But who should we tell? I don't want to get Hagrid in trouble," said Neville.

"Professor McGonagall," Harry stated. "I know she's strict, but she's helped me before. I know that she'll help Hagrid as well."

Neville sighed. "Alright. When she we tell her?"

"Now," Hermione stated flatly. "The sooner we tell her, the sooner Norbert will be gone and the sooner we can get back to studying for the exams. They're only seven weeks away, you know."

The rest of the walk to the castle, along with the journey to Professor McGonagall's office was made in silence. At the last instance, as the three of them milled around outside her door, it was as though they all had second thoughts. That was until Hermione decided to take charge and marched the last few steps to knock solidly on the door.

"Come in."

One by one, the three plucked up their Gryffindor courage and entered Professor McGonagall's office. Neville, the last one in, also shut the door behind them.

"What can I do for the three of you?" Professor McGonagall asked from behind her desk.

After some slight shuffling of feet and looking at everywhere but at the Professor, it was Hermione that finally got the ball rolling.

"We've … we've come into some … information about … someone and we thought that we needed to tell you, but we don't want them to get into trouble."

"I see. I assume that this is about a student. A fellow Gryffindor?" Professor McGonagall asked.

"No, ma'am. Actually, it's not about a student at all," Hermione replied.

Professor McGonagall's eyebrows rose. "A teacher?"

"Um, not exactly," said Hermione, biting her bottom lip.

"It's Hagrid, Professor," Harry blurted.

"Hagrid? You better tell me everything," Professor McGonagall stated firmly.

"Well, he came into the possession of a dragon egg," began Harry.

"A Norwegian Ridgeback," Neville supplied.

Harry nodded before continuing, "and it hatched a couple of days ago."

Professor McGonagall placed one hand over her eyes and slowly shook her head. "Hagrid does realise that he lives in a wooden house, doesn't he?"

"We told him that over and over. But he's really stubborn and he's been taking really good care of it," Hermione put in, "but we think that it's more than even he can handle. He hasn't been able to do anything except look after Norbert since he hatched."

"Norbert?" Professor McGonagall asked and then, before they could reply, she held up one hand. "No, don't answer that. I know perfectly well Hagrid's propensity for naming the creatures he comes into contact with."

"He's always wanted a dragon. It was one of the first things that he ever told me," Harry smiled. "But we think he's bitten off more than he can chew. Do you think that you could do something without him getting into trouble with the Ministry?"

Professor McGonagall eyed each one of them intently before replying. "I honestly don't know. Charlie Weasley, one of my Gryffindor's from a couple of years back, works at a dragon reserve in Romania. I'll see if I can contact him and ask him to take Norbert off of our hands."

"Thank you, Professor," said Hermione.

Professor McGonagall nodded to the three of them as she got up from her desk and rounded towards them.

"You three head off to dinner. I'll go and have a little chat with our Gamekeeper. He and his love of dangerous animals is going to get someone killed one of these days," she finished half under her breath.

"Maybe you should see if Charlie would like to take Hagrid to the dragon reserve, too," Harry joked.

Professor McGonagall paused at her door, suddenly deep in thought. "That's may not be a bad idea at all, Mister Potter. Not a bad idea at all."