"What does he mean it's hatching? He lives in a wooden house!" Ron whisper yelled. He was not pleased that there was a fire breathing lizard on the grounds to accompany the three headed dog he had the misfortune of running into. For a school that seemed to pride itself in being the safest place in magical Europe, it didn't seem very safe. Dragons, Cerberuses (Cerberi he could he Hermione nag in his head), and what's next? Giant Spiders?

"He means that his egg is hatching. I think he wants us to watch."

"Well it will have to wait until after class. We can't afford to miss anything."

Ron was, for once, enjoying Hermione's train of thought. He would rather not have todeal with a baby fire breathing lizard. He didn't care how good Hagrid was with the little beast. He wanted to be away from it. Though if it was between that and the Weasley twins...

"Come on. We'll be late for Herbology," Hermione said leading the way. The two boys followed with less eager footfalls.

Bill was not enjoying his job to say the least. There was something off about the school. Something that made him shiver. It didn't quite feel like his Alma Mater. Though that could have been the copious amounts of garlic that was used throughout the DADA room. Honestly, there was such a thing as too much garlic. He really didn't care how many vampires Quirrell had made angry, this was ridiculous. He was more than half tempted to clean the room. He was sure the students would appreciate it as much as he would. But he wasn't here to clean. He was here to look for any indication that the DADA position was cursed. And that would take most of his time. Including time he would have to waste sitting through a few of the classes to see if anything happened on the job. The only thing he knew was that this teacher was possibly as annoying as Binns was boring or as Snape was terrifying.

He was going to bash his head into a wall before his work was done from all that stuttering. And it was only the first day! As it was, there was a time in which there was no class being taught by Quirrell, so he took advantage of that and took a walk around the grounds. Though considering what he had discovered upon walking, almost made him wish he was back in Quirrell's classroom watching him teach.

"Hagrid. What's with the blood?" Bill asked. He knew of Hagrid's expulsion from once upon a time ago. Accused of having been involved in the death of a girl known as Moaning Myrtle. The sight of a bucket of blood made Bill uneasy. Not that he had ever seen Hagrid do anything wrong, but there was evidence behind Myrtle's "passing" that led to Hagrid's suspicion.

"It's uh, fer the baby Kelpies."

"Baby... Kelpies. We don't have any-"

"Not since you've left, we've got some."

"Okay then... I'll just be going now," he said leaving the half giant. He'd have to talk to Charlie about these kelpies Hagrid said they had.

Part of him didn't want to know. But growing up with brothers like Fred and George made every little unusual quirk something to be checked on. Hopefully Charlie would be able to stomp out his fears. Baby kelpies. He was actually praying that it was in fact baby kelpies. Oh how the goblins would laugh at him now.

It took the better part of a half hour to find his brother scolding some underclass men from Gryffindor. Who they were, Bill paid no mind to. He had a mission.

"Baby Kelpies Charlie?"

His burnt faced younger brother turned to stare at him in confusion.

"Baby Kelpies? Here on the ground. Oh my- I need to get some fish guts right away-"

"Fish guts?"

"Yes. Need to get them on a regiment of eating mainly fish. Don't want any of the students getting eaten. Why?"

"Hagrid was taking a barrel of blood to them."

Charlie paled as though he were sick.

"You never give Kelpies blood! You need to give them substance! And blood mixes too well with the water!" Charlie exclaimed stomping off towards Hagrid's hut on the grounds.

"Wow!"

"Sounds like-"

"-fun!"

Bill whipped his head around to see two eagerly grinning red haired twin Devils. Huh. So that's who Charlie was yelling at. Oh... He shouldn't have said that.

"No you shouldn't have."

Damn. Did he say that aloud?

"Are we sure we really want to do this?"

"I've looked over the numbers. The dragon shouldn't be able to do a whole lot with how small it is. It's bite isn't poisonous unless it's a Norwegian Ridgeback at birth. So the most it make is smoke and small fire balls.

"How are you not concerned?"

"I've been practicing shield spells. I can protect us."

"Practiced? Or read?"

"Hermione's right Ron," Harry cut in to avoid an argument, "Besides, when else will we be able to see a dragon hatching?"

Ron grumbled as Harry knocked on the door. The door opened just a crack at first. But in a split second it was open fully, a half giant ushering them inside perhaps one of the hottest places any of them had ever been.

"Man Hagrid. You could have a sauna out here," Ron commented much to the half giant's confusion.

"He means to say it is rather hot in here."

Thank Harry for understanding some form of tact.

"Got to. Dragon's egg is breathed on by its mum. And since I'm his mum, got to keep him warm."

Hagrid walked over to the fire in the room and pulled out a black egg. Ron shivered despite the heat. It was pretty close. He could hear the scraping from the inside of the shell. Still, he didn't expect a piece of the shell to come flying at him. He instinctively raised his arms to protect his face from the flying object when nothing hit him. He lowered his arms to see Harry had plucked the launched shell from the air and prevented it from hitting Ron.

"Thanks. Bloody thing must be hot."

"Actually. It's just a little warm."

"That might just be where we are," Ron indicated pointing at the fire. Harry shrug his shoulders, keeping the piece in his hand. Another crack gathered the boy's attention back to the egg both Hagrid and Hermione were watching. One in awe, and one almost calculating.

In an instant, the shell shattered making Ron and Hermione jump. There, in a pile of glistening black shells was an endearingly ugly, leathery lizard with wings. A baby dragon.

It was cute in it's own way. The same way all babies are. Hagrid cooed at the little thing with love and adoring fondness. Even when it hiccuped fire onto Hagrid's beard, he still seemed to see it as his little angel that could do no wrong.

So enthralled with the little creature, he didn't hear the door being knocked upon. To be fair, no one else could hear it either over their pounding heart beats from the heat of the first fire ball.

They didn't even hear the door open. What they did hear was one of the least manly screams ever to be heard. Everyone jumped, whipping their head to the door to see Charlie Weasley. His eyes bugged and his nostrils flared.

"What is going on in here?"

So... Yeah. Baby dragon is here. And Charlie is thinking of baby Kelpies but there are none... And Fred and George know of baby Kelpies... As well as Bill... With a dragon on the grounds. This'll be interesting.

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