Summary of the last chapter

Harry and Professor Snape go to Gringotts (without Dumbledore's knowledge) and learn the content of Harry's parents' will. Sirius Black is his godfather, Mary McDonald his godmother. When she died shortly after Harry's first birthday, his parents named Alice Longbotton as his guardian. Harry also learns that Godric's Hollow was a safe house of the order and belongs to Dumbledore, but that Harry will become the heir to the former Potter residence in the Cotswolds, which was raided and burnt down by Death Eaters during the war. Harry buys a magical money bag and receives a list with his parents' possessions. Among the things the goblin sends to Hogwarts at Harry's request is his dad's old chocolate frog card collection, in which Harry finds information about Flamel.

A New Problem Arises

Not surprisingly, Harry ran into Hermione when he entered the library. She was immediately hooked when Harry told her what he had found on the chocolate frog card. Together, they were soon bent over the most relevant books on alchemy, and it didn't take long to find information on Nicholas Flamel.

Apparently he had managed what no other wizard had managed before him: the creation of a Philosopher's Stone: It not only transmuted all metals into gold, but also allowed the brewing of the Elixir of Life, which basically made the drinker immortal! Flamel was said to be over 600 years old! Supposedly, he enjoyed a quiet life in Devon with his wife Perenelle.

"Do you think that's what's hidden here in Hogwarts?" Hermione asked in a whisper, looking left and right to make sure no one was listening in. "The Philosopher's Stone?"

Tom pretended to mull the question over: "Would it be reasonable to hide such an item in a school behind a trapdoor guarded by a three-headed dog named Fluffy? Definitely not! Does it sound like something Dumbledore would do? Definitely 'yes'."

Harry agreed. "Seems like it.," he said to Hermione. "But I wonder why Dumbledore thinks it's safe there. Quirrell almost managed to kill Fluffy with the troll – or a least I think that was his idea."

"Worse," added Tom gloomily. "Do you remember what Hagrid said about Fluffy when he accidentally mentioned him to you? That he was a 'big ol' softy' when he heard music … wonder if that's how one gets past him."

"Oh my gosh!" exclaimed Harry, sitting up straight. "I totally forgot! He was all jittery after he let it slip, lamenting that he shouldn't have!"

"What?" asked Hermione, puzzled, as she wasn't privy to what Tom had said.

"I just remembered that Hagrid accidentally told me how to get past Fluffy!" Harry lowered his voice and leaned closer. "Music makes him mild as a dove."

Hermione stared at him with her mouth agape. "But that means the stone isn't safe! Hagrid is a right chatterbox, who knows who else he told!"

"We need to warn him," said Harry. "Remind him not to tell anyone, first and foremost not Quirrell."

"Let's go right away", said Hermione resolutely, putting the books away.

On their way out of the library they ran into Neville, who had been looking for them. He joined right in when they told him they had to see Hagrid, and Harry and Hermione brought him up to date as soon as they were out of the castle and thus away from prying ears.

Hagrid, for once, seemed not as happy to see them as he usually did. Harry noticed that all the curtains were drawn and wondered if his friend had been about to go to sleep early.

"Sorry, Harry, 's not a good time righ' now…"

"But – I'm sorry, Hagrid, it's rather urgent! See, we found out about the stone and …"

"Shh – not outside! Alright, come in yeh all. But mind, 's rather warm in here."

It was rather warm. In fact, it was downright stifling. The three friends were soon to find out why. Hagrid was not the only chatterbox around. Marvolo came slithering over from a bench he had been curled upon. While Hagrid was making tea, he crawled up Harry's arm to be closer to his ear.

"Hello, Speaker!" he hissed, more agitated than he usually was. Harry thought it might have to do with the warmth in the hut. "I like it so warm in here. But once the firebreather has hatched, I want to move to the castle with you. Warmth is good. Fire is not."

Harry had no idea what his little snake was talking about, but didn't want to ask. So far, he had listened to Hagrid's advice and not spoken to anyone about his ability to speak with snakes. Although surely telling Hermione and Neville couldn't hurt? They certainly wouldn't think him a dark wizard because of that, would they?

Before he could make up his mind, Neville suddenly drew in a sharp breath and pointed at the fire with a shaking finger. "Hagrid! Is that what I think it is?"

Harry and Hermione followed his gaze. Sure enough, there was an unusual object in the middle of the burning flames. It looked like a rather gigantic black egg.

"'S a dragon's egg!"proclaimed Hagrid proudly. "Always wanted ter have one. Won it from a chappy o'er at the Hog's Head two nigh's ago in a game o' cards, plain an' fair."

"A dragon's egg?" echoed Hermione, bewildered. "Like – with a live dragon inside that's going to hatch? But Hagrid … you live in a wooden hut!"

"Told you – he's not the sharpest tool in the shed," said Tom, and Harry got the mental image of him looking at a very blunt axe and shaking his head with regret.

Hagrid didn't seem overly concerned about that. He was all excited about his dragon and couldn't wait for him to hatch.

Neville raised another concern. "You do know that breeding dragons is illegal in Britain, don't you, Hagrid?" From the slightly guilty look in his eyes and his mumbling into his beard about 'stupid laws', he did.

"Yeh're not gonna tell anyone, are ye?" he asked, looking at them with frightened eyes.

"Of course not," assured Harry. He certainly wouldn't tell on his friend. But he'd do everything in his might to make him see reason. But first things first.

"Talking about not telling secrets to anyone … We know about the Philosopher's stone that Fluffy is guarding. You haven't told anyone that you can easily get past him by playing music to him, have you?"

Hagrid stared at him in dismay. "How did yeh find out 'bout the stone? Yeh're not s'pposed to know that!"

"It wasn't that hard to deduce once we found out who Nicolas Flamel was. The most important question is: Does anyone else know how to get past Fluffy?"

"'Course not! Only meself and Dumbledore. And well, yeh guys, seems like."

"It's really important you do not tell Professor Quirrell! We think he's the one who tried to steal the stone from Gringotts.

Of course, Hagrid wouldn't believe them. The teachers had all been asked to help set up protections for the stone. "Yeh surely don't believe Fluffy's the only thing guarding the stone, do yeh?"

"There are other protections in place?" Harry breathed a sigh of relief. Professors McGongall, Flitwick and Snape surely wouldn't blab about whatever they had come up with. But if Quirrell had been asked as well … wouldn't he know?

"Did Quirrell contribute as well?"

"Not sure." Hagrid scratched his beard. "Dumbledore asked everyone in the staff meeting and got many volunteers. But Quirrell's harmless, poor bloke. Scared o' his own shadow."

Harry wasn't so convinced of that, but he had not much to base his suspicions on. Just a gut feeling. And his gut didn't feel at ease when they left Hagrid that evening. The dragon was a new concern on top of it all, and, as it seemed, a much more imminent threat.

Hermione looked up dragons in the library right the next day, and found out that they didn't take long to hatch at all, if they were kept warm. And who knew how old the egg was when Hagrid had obtained it?

"They grow very fast, too," Hermione informed them, concern in her voice. "Depending on their race, they start breathing fire at about three weeks. Look!"

She pointed to the various books on dragons she had lying open on the library table. Where they lived, how they differed and how to raise them. Harry was astonished to learn that some dragons were native to Britain. Tom was astonished that there were books on how to raise dragons that said more than 'Don't!' in the first place.

"Heya, Hermione!" greeted one of the twins, as they passed them by on the way to their usual corner table. "You are not planning to start dealing in dragons, are you?"

"Not that we are the most law abiding citizens ourselves, but…"

"… dragon's are XXXXX classified creatures and highly illegal to breed and to sell!"

"I know that. I'm just looking at general information. Very interesting creatures."

"Yes, they are. You should ask our brother Charlie. He's a handler at a dragon reserve in Romania."

"Really?" Harry looked at the twins with interest. "What are they doing with dragons at a reserve?"

"Well, looking after them."

"Harvesting scales, teeth and blood."

"Those are very sought after potion ingredients."

"Actually, I'd very much like to speak to your brother!" said Hermione, beaming at them. "I really love dragons and would like to know more about the reserve. Who knows, I could become a dragon handler myself, one day. Sounds like a wonderful profession!"

"She's laying it on too thick," said Tom, but Harry could still hear the appreciation in his voice. "But kudos for her fast thinking."

Harry had no idea what Tom thought Hermione was thinking about, but he was perfectly fine with letting the conversation play out.

"Can you tell me how to contact Charlie?"

The twins seemed a bit astonished at her enthusiasm. But Hermione was known all over Hogwarts for her know-it-all nature by now, and so they didn't find it too surprising that she would like to get first hand information, even on such exotic topics. The idea that the bookish Ravenclaw might wish to become a dragon handler was a little more perplexing.

Hermione kept up her game of young dragon fanatic and got the contact details and whatever else there was to know about Charlie and the reserve.

Once the twins had left, Harry raised his eyebrow questioningly at his friends. "Care to tell me what that was all about?"

"Well, it's obvious, isn't it: There is no way we're going to convince Hagrid to get rid of the egg. But once the dragon is hatched, he will surely come to regret his decision, and then we need to have a Plan B. That's where Charlie comes in."

"You want to ask him if there might be a place for it at the reserve."

Hermione nodded. "That's the idea. We have to be careful what we tell him though, so as not to get Hagrid into trouble."

"Frankly, keeping that man out of trouble seems to be a full-time job," said Tom.

"We can try," Harry said in answer to both of his friends.

*'*'*'*'*'*

Dear Mr. Weasley,

You have been mentioned to us as a handler of dragons by your brothers, Fred and George, who told us that you work at a reserve in Romania.

We are very interested to know if you accept new dragons to the reserve, should you, by chance, happen to come across one, and look forward to your fast reply.

Kind regards

Hermione Granger, Neville Longbottom and Harry Potter

PS: Please keep this correspondence confidential!

"How long do you think it will take Hedwig to deliver the letter?"asked Hermione, who had no experience at all with international owl travel. Neither had Harry, so he shrugged, looking to Neville.

"I've never sent an owl abroad, but magical owls travel pretty fast. I'd say she might be back with a reply within the week."

"I hope he won't write to Dumbledore or the twins instead," said Harry, biting his lips. The concern came too late. Hedwig was gone.

"We'll worry about that when it happens," decided Hermione. "Same as with Quirrell and Fluffy."

Tom agreed. They didn't have the time to worry about dragons and trapdoors, the exams were fast approaching, and they should be concentrating on that. Hermione, had she been able to talk to him, would have backed him as well. She was already drawing up colour-coded revision schedules. They looked helpful, Harry had to give her that.

They were exiting Herbology, the last class on Tuesday, when Harry heard a loud hissing sound from somewhere near the greenhouse exit. At first, he thought he had imagined things, but the noise was insistent and getting more intense. It sounded like Marvolo.

Harry waited until most of the students had passed and started searching the ground. And indeed, there was his little snake, right beneath a bush near the greenhouse's exit.

"What are you doing here?" Harry asked in a very low hiss when he leaned down to pick up the snake. "How did you find me?"

"I'm not staying in that hut, Speaker," said Marvolo. "It's hatching."

Harry allowed the snake to curl around his arm underneath his cardigan. "It's okay," he hissed back soothingly. "I'll keep you with me for now. But we'll have to go back once more. I promise I won't leave you there."

"Look, it's Marvolo!" he said to his friends. "I wonder why he escaped. I'm going to check up on Hagrid. Do you want to come?"

And so they all made it to Hagrid's hut just in time to see a dragon hatch. It was quite a sight, and not one they would forget anytime soon. It was about the size of a small dog, a crumply, leathery looking thing, like a crossbreed of a bat and a lizard with a hint of chicken thrown in. It wasn't pretty.

When it sneezed, sparks were coming out of his nose already, which had the kids looking at each other in concern, but Hagrid was over the moon.

Harry made good on his promise and took Marvolo with him, hidden under his shirt, when they made their way back to the castle.

*'*'*'*'*

A week later at breakfast, Hedwig finally returned from her journey, and she had a reply letter in her beak.

Dear Miss Granger, Mr. Longbottom and Mr. Potter,

Your letter made me very curious indeed! I can't imagine how three first year students (assuming you're all in the same year) have 'happened to come across' a dragon, if that's what I think you've been hinting at in your letter.

In the highly unlikely event that you have, however, I'm pleased to inform you that the reserve accepts dragons that have been displaced, found, freed or confiscated.

We do not, however, deal in dragons as that is highly illegal, so please do not try to go and capture one.

Sincerely,

Charlie Weasley

Hermione frowned when she read the letter to her friends. "Do not go and try to capture one? We're three first years – what is he thinking?"

"I think he's kidding," said Neville. "Taking down a dragon takes more than one experienced adult wizard."

"Who knows?" said Tom. "From what we've learned so far, I wouldn't be surprised at all if wizards thought dragon capturing is something kids might be tempted to try. They send them to a school surrounded by a forest that has werewolves, trolls and all kinds of dangerous creatures in it and encourage their young to ride on broomsticks.

"At least he's taking us seriously, which is kind of surprising," said Harry, ignoring Tom, who insisted that it wasn't, really.

"Before we tell him anything more specific, we need to get Hagrid's approval. Hopefully, he will see sense by now."

*'*'*'*'*

Hagrid' s enthusiasm had indeed waned somewhat over the last week, which had seen Norbert – as Hagrid had dubbed the little Norwegian Ridgeback – more than triple in size. It was already getting crowded in the hut.

The dragon consumed great amounts of brandy and chicken blood and kept Hagrid up night and day. Tentatively, the kids put forward the idea of having him sent to a reserve, before he would be too big to be sent anywhere, least of all secretly.

It took a while for Hagrid to warm up to the idea, but eventually (when Norbert set fire to his beard) he reluctantly agreed that writing to Charlie sounded like a good idea. The trio left with heartfelt relief. Harry hoped that arranging for transport wouldn't take too long. Marvolo absolutely refused to move back into Hagrid's hut because of the fire hazard (and probably out of fear of being eaten). He and Tom were really one of a kind with their constant anxiety over safety issues.

So far, nobody had noticed the snake beneath his robes, and Harry, for lack of a heated terrarium, took Marvolo to bed with him during the night, where he slept coiled around Harry's leg for warmth.

For an entire week, Harry so managed to successfully hide his highly illegal pet snake. Until that fateful day in transfiguration class. Marvolo had gotten bored and a bit careless. Harry could feel him slither up along his arm and over his shoulder, and knew that the movement beneath his shirt would surely look odd to Lavender Brown, a Gryffindor who was sitting behind him. As he couldn't well tell his snake off, he tried to shift and sit up straight, so that the shirt wouldn't be stretched as tightly across his back.

He might have gotten away with that – if Lavender hadn't happened to have spotted the odd shifting of Harry's shoulder muscles, and if Marvolo hadn't chosen this moment to peep out of his collar. But it so happened, and Padma jumped up from her seat in fright, screaming at the top of her lungs.

Pandemonium ensued as Padma's reaction drew other students' attention as well, and of course, the attention of Professor McGonagall. The teacher blanched, even more so when Harry took Marvolo out of his robes at her firm request and she identified him as a highly poisonous viper. Harry's assurances that he was totally harmless and wouldn't hurt anybody fell on deaf ears.

Harry had never seen her so beside herself – she was usually so calm and collected. He tried to explain that his snake had been with him since the second day of school and had been living with Hagrid most of the time, but failed to come up with a reasonable explanation as to why he thought it was a good idea to bring him into the castle all of a sudden.

He was ordered to take Marvolo back to Hagrid right that instant, deducted fifty house points and told that he would be serving a detention, time and place to be determined once Professor McGonagall had cooled off.

That left Harry with quite a dilemma. Marvolo absolutely refused to be taken back to Hagrid and threatened that he would sneak back into the castle if Harry broke his promise. While Harry could empathize, he had no idea how to solve the issue.

"Ask Professor Snape," Tom recommended after having given it some thought. "He told you that he'd be there for you should you need help, and this is definitely the case now. If he hesitates or refuses, you can always subtly point out that he's breaking his word and act the part of a poor, disappointed-in-adults orphan because he's letting you down.

"I won't even have to pretend," said Harry. "If he refuses to help as he said, I'll be rather disillusioned with him. You're right. It's a good test to see whether he's true to his word."

And so Harry, instead of going to Hagrid, waited in front of the potions classroom for the lesson to end, so he could have a word with his head of house before lunch break.

To say that his Professor was surprised when Harry produced the viper from under his shirt was putting it mildly. Still, he showed once again that he had much better control of his reactions than most people and refused to show open concern or fear, though even his eyes had widened noticeably.

"His name is Marvolo," Harry explained. "He's really friendly and used to live with Hagrid. He's in need of a place to stay for the next couple of days. I have a terrarium and all, just no place to put it outside the castle."

"And why, pray tell, can't he stay with Hagrid as he did before?"

"Well … that is due to personal reasons of Hagrid's that I can't reveal without betraying his confidence," said Harry smoothly, since Tom had made him practice the sentence.

Professor Snape raised his eyebrow at that, but didn't push the question. "I see." He heaved the deep sigh Harry had been waiting for – the one that seemed reserved only for him. "Well, I suppose you might leave him here in my office – safely within his terrarium, mind you!"

Harry beamed at him. "Thank you, Professor! You're awesome, really!"

His head of house blinked confusedly.

"I bet he hasn't heard that often before," commented Tom drily.

"I fail to see why," Harry answered silently. "He pretends to be grouchy and nasty and barks all the time, but he's probably like Fluffy – a big softy on the inside."

"Don't think you can soften me up with flowers and compliments, Mr. Potter!" his Head of House growled at him. "The point loss, as much as it pains me, is totally deserved and so is the detention. I think Professor McGonagall let you get off lightly. Had the incident happened in my classroom, you'd be scrubbing cauldrons every evening until the end of the school year! I'm not going to intervene on your behalf."

"I wouldn't dream of it," assured Harry honestly. "I'll run over to Hagrid's and fetch the terrarium. I'll be right back! Thanks again!"

And with that, Harry ran off happily, despite the detention hanging over his head. He wouldn't mind polishing the silver in the trophy room – he'd done chores like that at home since he could safely hold the dishes. From what he had heard, Filch's threats of thumbscrews and whips were nothing but wishful thinking of a deeply sadistic mind – or a desperate attempt to instil a healthy respect for rules in the students.

Really, how bad could it be?

A/N: I stole one of Tom's lines from my dear beta, Dreamthrower. It was she who actually commented: I'm astonished there are books that say more on dragon raising than 'Don't!' :)