Chapter 6: Norbert
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Total Words: 22,226
Now that exams were approaching, Hermione began to write up study schedules and color code her notes during classes. She wanted to be prepared for her first year exams, and kept suggesting that Harry and Ron do the same.
"Hermione, the exams are ages away." Ron said to her one afternoon after she had offered to help them organize their notes.
"Ten weeks. That's not ages, that's like a second to Nicholas Flamel." She was rather snappish and irritable; the fact that her two friends weren't taking exams as seriously as she was did bother her.
"But we're not six hundred years old. Anyway, what are you studying for, you already know it all." Ron said reasonably.
"What am I studying for? Are you crazy? You realize we need to pass these exams to get into the second year? They're very important, I should have started studying a month ago, I don't know what's gotten into me..." Hermione began to fret.
She was glad that she had organized her schedule when all the teachers began thinking like her; they were piling on homework and stressing the importance of exams just as much as Hermione thought they would. She managed to drag Harry and Ron with her to the library a lot more now; she could tell that they were getting anxious as the teachers continued to stress, and she just wanted to help.
One afternoon, Harry, Ron, and Hermione were all in the library, studying hard (per Hermione's suggestion) and Ron finally threw down his quill in irritation.
"I'll never remember this," he burst out angrily, looking out the library window longingly. It was a beautiful day and Hermione could tell he resented being inside, but she knew it was for the best if they were to pass exams. Hermione didn't look at him until he suddenly said, "Hagrid! What are you doing in the library?"
Sure enough, Hagrid shuffled into view, looking guilty and hiding his hands behind his back. Hermione wondered why he looked so shifty, but Hagrid spoke before she could ask what he was hiding.
"Jus' lookin'. An' what're you lot up ter?" He turned the conversation around, now looking at the three of them like they were the guilty ones. "Yer not still lookin' fer Nicholas Flamel, are yeh?"
"Oh, we found out who he is ages ago," Ron said, brushing off Hagrid's stare. "And we know what that dog's guarding, it's a Philosopher's St - "
"Shhhh!" Hagrid said, his eyes widening and looking around to make sure that nobody was eavesdropping. "Don' go shoutin' about it, what's the matter with yeh?"
This time, Harry spoke, acting like he hadn't heard Hagrid's warning. "There are a few things we wanted to ask you, as a matter of fact, about what's guarding the Stone apart from Fluffy - "
"SHHHH!" Hagrid said, this time with more urgency. "Listen - come an' see me later, I'm not promisin' I'll tell yeh anythin', mind, but don't go rabbitin' about it in here, students aren' s'possed ter know. They'll think I've told yeh - "
"See you later, then," Harry said, cutting Hagrid off; he walked away, still hiding something in his hands.
"What was he hiding behind his back?" Hermione asked Ron and Harry, glad they were going to see him later so she could ask him directly.
"I'm going to see what section he was in," Ron said, walking off. He returned moments later with an armful of books - "Dragons! Hagrid was looking up stuff about dragons! Look at these: Dragon Species of Great Britain and Ireland; From Egg to Inferno, A Dragon Keeper's Guide."
"Hagrid's always wanted a dragon, he told me so the first time I ever met him." Harry said, looking at the books Ron had put down in front of him and Hermione.
"But it's against our laws. Dragon breeding was outlawed by the Warlocks' Convention of 1709, everyone knows that. It's hard to stop Muggles from noticing us if we're keeping dragons in the back garden 0 anyway, you can't tame dragons, it's dangerous. You should see the burns Charlie's got off wild ones in Romania," Ron said.
"But there aren't wild dragons in Britain?" Harry asked, sounding shocked at the idea. Hermione forgot that Harry hadn't studied too much about the wizarding world like she had; some ideas that she had come to terms with still seemed to shock him.
"Of course there are," Ron said bracingly. "Common Welsh Green and Hebridean Blacks. The Ministry of Magic has a job hushing them up, I can tell you. Our kind have to keep putting spells on Muggles who've spotted them, to make them forget."
"So what on earth's Hagrid up to?" Hermione asked, not liking the thought of what the answer might be.
...
Later on that evening Hermione, Harry, and Ron knocked on Hagrid's front door, only to be greeted with a brisk "Who is it?" before he opened the door and ushered them in quickly. Hermione couldn't help but notice that all the blinds were drawn and it was very hot inside; Hagrid even had the fire lit, though it was far too nice a day to need it for extra heat. He offered the three of them tea and sandwiches, which they refused.
"So - yeh wanted to ask me somethin'?"
"Yes. We were wondering if you could tell us what's guarding the Philosopher's Stone apart from Fluffy." Harry said. Hermione thought he was being very forward and hoped he hadn't upset Hagrid any more... Hagrid was looking rather cross now.
"O' course I cant. Number one, I don' know meself. Number two, yeh know too much already, so I wouldn' tell yeh if I could. That Stone's here fer a good reason. It was almost stolen outta Gringotts - I s'ppose yeh've worked that one out an' all? Beats me how yeh even know abou' Fluffy."
Hermione decided to try talking him into giving up some more information. In her warmest, most flattering voice, she said, "Oh, come on, Hagrid, you might not want to tell us, but you do know, you know everything that goes on round here. We only wondered who Dumbledore had trusted enough to help him, apart from you."
Hagrid's beard twitched; he was obviously smiling. His chest puffed out at her words as well - she had clearly chosen her words well. She glanced over to see both Harry and Ron beaming at her.
"Well, I don' s'ppose it could hurt ter tell yeh that... let's see... he borrowed Fluffy from me... then some o' the teachers did enchantments... Professor Sprout - Professor Flitwick - Professor McGonagall - Professor Quirrell - an' Dumbledore himself did somethin', o' course. Hang on, I've forgotten someone. Oh yeah, Professor Snape."
Although Hermione had expected all the other teachers, the fact that Snape had helped protect it did take her a little bit by surprise. He didn't seem as trustworthy as he was pretending to be.
"Snape?"
"Yeah - yer not still on abou' that, are yeh? Look, Snape helped protect the Stone, he's not about ter steal it."
Hagrid said this as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Hermione still wasn't quite convinced. If he had indeed been part of protecting the Stone, that means it would have been fairly easy to figure out all the other teachers' protections... except Quirrell's spell and how to get past Fluffy.
"You're the only one who knows how to get past Fluffy, aren't you? And you wouldn't tell anyone, would you? Not even one of the teachers?" There was obvious anxiety in Harry's voice as he spoke.
"Not a soul knows except me an' Dumbledore."
"Well, that's something." Harry sighed and wiped some sweat off of his forehead. It was getting too hot in the hut. "Hagrid, can we have a window open? I'm boiling."
Hermione noticed Hagrid glanced at the fire before answering. "Can't, Harry, sorry."
"Hagrid - what's that?"
As Harry spoke, something clicked in Hermione's brain. It looked like an egg... and Hagrid had been looking at books about dragons earlier when they had seen him in the library...
"Ah... that's - er - " Hagrid stuttered, nervously twisting his beard.
"Where did you get it, Hagrid?" Ron had made his way over to the fire and was now crouched over the black egg sitting on it. "It must've cost you a fortune."
"Won it. 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."
"But what are you going to do with it when it's hatched?" Hermione asked. She had no idea what kind of dragon it was, but she was sure that it would be dangerous to have around, and end up at least the size of Hagrid's hut. It was one thing to have a giant three-headed dog in the castle, but a dragon?
"Well, I've been doin' some readin'... got this outta the library - Dragon Breeding for Pleasure and Profit - it's a bit outta date, o' course, but it's all in here. Keep the egg in the fire, 'cause their mothers breathe on 'em, see, an' when it hatches, feed it on a bucket o' brandy mixed with chicken blood every half hour. An' see here - how ter recognize diff'rent eggs - what I got in there's a Norwegian Ridgeback. They're rare, them." Hagrid sounded both proud and excited. This made Hermione worry even more.
"Hagrid," she said, "you live in a wooden house."
But Hagrid had turned back to stoke the fire, humming to himself and smiling.
...
Hermione, Harry, and Ron now had the extra stress of worrying whether Hagrid was going to be found out for keeping an illegal dragon in his hut along with their studies. Hermione had made Harry and Ron study schedules in hopes of helping and been pestering them to stay focused on their exams, hoping to help them pass.
And then, one morning while they were having breakfast, Hedwig, Harry's snowy owl, brought him a letter with only two words written on it: It's hatching.
Ron had suggested they skip Herbology, but Hermione squashed that idea immediately.
"Hermione, how many times in our lives are we going to see a dragon hatching?"
"We've got lessons, we'll get into trouble, and that's nothing to what Hagrid's going to be in when someone finds out what he's doing - " she had began, but Harry interrupted.
"Shut up!"
Hermione turned to him to finish, but caught sight of Malfoy, who had stopped dead in his tracks to eavesdrop on their conversation. She closed her mouth at once and glared at him. How much had he heard?
Ron picked the argument up as soon as Malfoy was gone and the three were headed down to the greenhouses, and Hermione found herself talking back to him until they got to class, at which point they agreed that they would go and visit Hagrid during morning break. Once their lesson was over, they were among the first students to leave, hurrying over to Hagrid's hut to see how things had progressed.
"It's nearly out," Hagrid said in lieu of a greeting while he ushered them inside. The egg was now lying on the table with several deep cracks in the shell. There was a funny kind of clicking noise coming from it that made Hermione slightly uneasy. Still, she, Ron, and Harry drew chairs up to the table and sat down to watch what would happen.
Suddenly, there was a loud scraping noise and the egg split open; the baby dragon flopped onto the table. Hermione thought it looked rather like a crumpled umbrella with spiny wings and a long snout. Its eyes were bright orange. It sneezed, and sparks flew out of its snout and towards Hagrid, who looked breathtaken.
"Isn't he beautiful?" He reached out to stroke the dragon's head and it snapped at his fingers with sharp, pointy fangs. Hermione could sort of see what he was saying, but she knew that he would become a huge, wild creature very soon. It was all ready the size of the table. "Bless him, he knows his mommy!"
"Hagrid," Hermione said tentatively, still eyeing the dragon, "how fast do Norwegian Ridgebacks grow, exactly?"
But Hagrid never answered. Instead, his face went pale and he hurried to the window.
"What's the matter?"
"Someone was lookin' through the gap in the curtains - it's a kid - he's runnin' back up ter the school." Hagrid sounded scared.
Harry got up to the window first, closely followed by Hermione, then Ron. It was Malfoy.
...
The way Malfoy was now smirking and strutting about the school made Hermione very nervous; she knew that Harry and Ron were feeling the same way too. After what he had seen at Hagrid's, there was no telling when he would be found out and how much trouble he would get in. An illegal dragon wasn't something he could talk his way out of, either. So the three of them had spent all their free time down at the hut, in the dark, trying to talk some sense into the gamekeeper.
"Just let him go, set him free." Harry had said.
"I can't, he's too little. He'd die." Hermione's heart broke to hear how sad Hagrid sounded at the thought of letting his little dragon go, but she knew it would be for the best. He couldn't keep it in his hut - not only was it too small, but it was made of wood. And the dragon had grown three times in length since it was born. Smoke kept furling out of its nostrils and it would emit sparks at random times. Hagrid's hut was also littered with empty brandy bottles and chicken feathers.
"I've decided to call him Norbert. He really knows me now, watch. Norbert! Norbert! Where's mommy?" Hagrid had misty eyes and a motherly demeanor whenever he spoke to or about the creature, now called Norbert, and it pained the trio to watch it continue while they knew the possible consequences.
"Hagrid, give it two weeks and Norbert is going to be as long as your house. Malfoy could go to Dumbledore at any moment."
When Harry said this, Hagrid bit his lip and looked worried. "I - I know I can't keep him forever, but I can't jus' dump him, I can't."
Harry turned to Ron.
"Charlie."
"You're losing it, too," Ron said. Hermione rather agreed with this, but stayed silent, waiting to see where Harry went with this. "I'm Ron, remember?"
"No - Charlie - your brother, Charlie. In Romania. Studying dragons. We could send Norbert back to him. Charlie can take care of him and then put him back in the wild!"
Now that he had explained himself, both Hermione and Ron thought this was a brilliant idea.
"Brilliant! How about it, Hagrid?" Ron said, turning to him. He eventually agreed that they could send an owl to Charlie and ask.
...
Hermione felt like this was one of the longest weeks she'd had at Hogwarts. On a Wednesday night, Hermione found herself alone in the common room with Harry; the clock was chiming midnight when Ron burst through the portrait hole and pulled off Harry's invisibility cloak. He had been taking his turn down at Hagrid's hut, helping him feed Norbert (he was now eating dead rats.)
"It bit me!" Ron said angrily. His hand was bandaged and bloody and Hermione winced. "I'm not going to be able to hold a quill for a week. I tell you, that dragon's the most horrible animal I've ever met, but the way Hagrid goes on about it, you'd think it was a fluffy little bunny rabbit. When it bit me he told me off for frightening it. And when I left, he was singing it a lullaby."
When he'd finished, there was a tap on the window. It was Hedwig, with a letter clutched in her beak.
"It's Hedwig! She'll have Charlie's answer!" Harry rushed to the window to let her in. They all sat together and read:
Dear Ron,
How are you? Thanks for the letter - I'd be glad to take the Norwegian Ridgeback, but it won't be easy getting him here. I think the best thing will be to send him over with some friends of mine who are coming to visit me next week. Trouble is, they mustn't be seen carrying an illegal dragon.
Could you get the Ridgeback up to the tallest tower at midnight on Saturday? They can meet you there and take him away while it's still dark.
Send me an answer as soon as possible.
Love,
Charlie.
"We've got the invisibility cloak," Harry said once they were finished reading. "It shouldn't be too difficult - I think the cloak's big enough to cover two of us and Norbert."
Hermione and Ron nodded; anything to get rid of Norbert and the constant worry of when Hagrid would get into trouble.
The next day, however, they found that Ron's had had swollen two twice its original size and it had turned a rather sick shade of green. Hermione suggested the hospital wing, even though they were sure Madam Pomfrey would recognize what the bite was from. But by the afternoon, they had no choice. The bite wasn't getting better, and Hermione thought to herself that Norbert's fangs might be poisonous. She didn't want to get Ron into trouble, but she thought getting him medical attention was the best course of action and pushed until Harry and Ron agreed. Once their classes were over, Hermione and Harry rushed to see how Ron was doing, only to find him in a state.
"It's not just my hand, although that feels like it's about to fall off," Ron grimaced. "Malfoy told Madam Pomfrey he wanted to borrow one of my books so he could come and have a good laugh at me. He kept threatening to tell her what really bit me - I've told her it was a dog, but I don't think she believes me - I shouldn't have hit him at the Quidditch match, that's why he's doing this."
Hermione felt a pang of anger towards Malfoy, but pushed it aside. They had more important things to deal with first - like getting Norbert taken care of so that Malfoy couldn't get Hagrid into trouble.
"It'll all be over at midnight on Saturday," Hermione said soothingly, trying to help calm Ron down. He suddenly sat upright, his face going pale.
"Midnight on Saturday! Oh no - oh no - I've just remembered - Charlie's letter was in that book Malfoy took, he's going to know we're getting rid of Norbert."
This was a very unpleasant piece of news, but neither Harry nor Hermione could answer him, as Madam Pomfrey ushered them out of the hospital wing, saying that Ron needed rest. After they had left, Harry turned to Hermione.
"It's too late to change the plan now," he said. "We haven't got time to send Charlie another owl, and this could be our only chance to get rid of Norbert. We'll have to risk it. And we have got the invisibility cloak, Malfoy doens't know about that."
Although she knew Harry was right, Hermione felt anxious about the plan. Malfoy was trying to screw everything up. She was still deep in thought as she and Harry went down to Hagrid's hut to tell him what had happened. He didn't open the door, but a window instead so he could speak to them.
"I won't let you in. Norbert's at a tricky stage - nothin' I can't handle."
Hermione told him about Charlie's letter, watching the tears in Hagrid's eyes sadly. She wondered whether they were because Norbert would be leaving or he had just been bitten on the leg.
"Argh! It's all right, he only got my boot - jus' playin' - he's only a baby, after all." As Hagrid spoke, Norbert banged his tail on the wall. Harry and Hermione agreed that Saturday couldn't come soon enough.
...
When Saturday arrived, Hermione found it hard to worry about Hagrid's emotional well-being; she was worried more about what she and Harry were about to do. It was a dark, cloudy night and they had already met Peeves in the entrance hall - they'd waited under the cloak for him to leave before they made their way to Hagrid's hut. She was grateful that Norbert was packed in a crate when they got there.
"He's got lots o' rats an' some brandy fer the journey," Hagrid said, sadness weighing heavily in his voice. "An' I've packed his teddy bear in case he gets lonely."
Hermione wondered if Hagrid knew that the teddy was just a chew toy - it sounded an awful lot like its head was getting torn off inside the crate.
"Bye-bye, Norbert!" Hagrid said, sobbing, when they finally left. "Mommy will never forget you!"
The trip up to the tower was a big blur to Hermione; even the shortcut that Harry led them through didn't make the trip much easier. Norbert seemed to get heavier as they climbed and they began to worry about making it on time as midnight ticked nearer and nearer.
"Nearly there!" Harry finally panted as they reached the corridor leading to the tallest tower. Hermione didn't have the breath to answer him, but was thankful their journey was almost over. They froze as a lantern flared just ten feet away... it was Professor McGonagall, wearing a tartan bathrobe, a hair net, and a frown. She had Malfoy by his ear and looked furious with him.
"Detention! And twenty points from Slytherin! Wandering around in the middle of the night, how dare you - "
"You don't understand, Professor. Harry Potter's coming - he's got a dragon!" Hermione felt a fresh wave of anger. So he was trying to get them into trouble! This was something that could get them expelled! She silently cheered Professor McGonagall for catching him.
"What utter rubbish! How dare you tell such lies! Come on - I shall see Professor Snape about you, Malfoy!"
Hermione was glad that Malfoy hadn't had the brains to show Professor McGonagall the letter he had gotten from Ron... that would be hard evidence to dispute. She was so wrapped in her thoughts that she barely noticed that she and Harry had made it to the tower. Once they threw off the cloak, she broke into a jig.
"Malfoy's got detention! I could sing!" She said happily.
"Dont," Harry said, but he was smiling. They waited for about ten minutes before four broomsticks carrying shadowy figures approached them. It was Charlie's friends. The four of them were quite cheery and showed Harry and Hermione the harness that they had rigged up so that Norbert could be suspended between them safely as they buckled him in. Finally, they took off, and the two watched as Norbert disappeared into the dark, cloudy sky.
They quietly walked back down the spiral staircase, glad to not be carrying such heavy cargo now. Both Hermione and Harry had smiles on their faces - they had done it! Now Hagrid couldn't get into trouble, and neither would they!
Suddenly, they saw Filch's face appear seemingly out of thin air and at that moment, they both realized that they had forgotten the invisibility cloak at the top of the tower.
"Well, well, well... we are in trouble." Filch was smiling.