Chapter Seventeen

Time passed, but Malfoy hadn't used what he knew to his advantage. Harry and the others tried to reason with Hagrid about keeping the dragon, but he insisted he knew what he was doing. He'd named the dragon Norbert.

Norbert had grown much since the past week; now he was the size of a cat and stalking around the hut, fuming from his nose. Fang was hiding under Hagrid's bed, whining. Hagrid tried to show he'd been teaching Norbert some tricks, but the dragon didn't want to perform or wasn't interested in learning. Hermione laid a hand on Hagrid's arm.

"Hagrid, sooner or later, Norbert will either become too big to hide, or Malfoy will tell someone what he knows. You can't keep him too much longer!" Hagrid nodded sadly and gave a sniffle.

"I know, but I can' just turn 'em loose in the wild; he'd die!" Ron and Hermione continued to try to convince Hagrid that keeping Norbert was impossible while Harry was lost in thought. If they told Dumbledore, Hagrid could be in severe trouble for illegally raising a dragon in his hut. If they didn't act soon, Malfoy could tell someone what he knew, like Snape, that Hagrid had a dragon and that Harry and his friends knew about it and said nothing. Suddenly, Harry had a flash of inspiration. He turned to Ron and asked about his brother, Charlie.

"Your brother works at a dragon refuge in Romania; why couldn't he care for Norbert?" Ron looked mad at himself for not thinking of it, to begin with, and tried to convince Hagrid of the idea. Hagrid said he'd consider it and sent them back to the castle.

Ron wrote to Charlie about the hatchling and how Hagrid would get in trouble if it got out that he was illegally raising a dragon in his hut. Ron gave Harry the letter to post with Hedwig. A few days later, they received a reply from Charlie, saying he'd be glad to take Norbert to their reserve and would try to be discreet to keep Hagrid from getting into trouble.

Norbert was nearly as big as Fang now and was growing more vicious. Despite Hagrid's claims, the dragon had no intention of obeying any of Hagrid's commands and nearly set Hagrid's beard on fire when he got too close.

Harry and his friends told Hagrid that Charlie had written them back and that it was time to let Norbert go. Hagrid tearfully agreed as it had become abundantly clear that Norbert was rapidly becoming uncontrollable.

Charlie instructed them to meet him and his colleagues atop the Astronomy Tower at midnight. Harry and his friends waited until they were sure the rest of the castle was asleep, then met in the Common Room. The Invisibility Cloak was thankfully big enough to cover the three of them as they huddled close together; hopefully, it would also be big enough to cover Norbert.

They crept along the shadowy halls of the castle as Mano led the way. The ever-helpful appendage looked for any obstacle that could get them in trouble. Whenever Mano heard or saw something, he snapped his fingers and directed them to stay still until the danger had passed. Mostly, all they had encountered so far were a few floating ghosts roaming the castle.

At last, they reached Hagrid's hut and knocked on the door. Hagrid opened the door but looked puzzled that no one was there. Harry pulled the Cloak from his head and whispered that Ron and Hermione were there. Hagrid's eyes widened to see that Harry had an invisibility cloak, but there wasn't time to discuss it. He ushered them inside and closed the door.

Hagrid had built a large crate big enough to hold Norbert. The dragon was chained to the fireplace, growling, and blowing smoke from his nostrils. Hermione kept her distance and cast a sleeping charm on Norbert. The dragon yawned widely, showing every jagged tooth, then curled up, asleep. Hagrid unchained Norbert picked him up, placed him into the crate, and sealed it.

Hagrid started to cry again, so Hermione placed her hand on Hagrid's arm. He patted her hand and nodded, saying that it was time. Harry and Ron each grabbed a rope handle on the crate, then draped the Cloak over themselves and Hermione. The Cloak just barely covered everything. Hagrid opened the door and hurried them out.

It was slower going back to the castle and through the halls than it had been coming, and time was waning fast. Mano scurried on his fingertips, leading the way to the Astronomy Tower. Harry and his friends puffed for breath as they struggled to carry the crate and hurry along as quietly as they could.

At last, they reached the Astronomy Tower. Harry pulled the Cloak from himself and the others, and he and Ron thankfully set the crate down. Norbert was still snoring inside the crate; occasionally, smoke curled from the slats.

They waited a while but soon saw four figures flying through the night sky on broomsticks. Harry waved to the fliers to let them know where they were. The four landed their brooms and greeted the three.

"Ah, hello! You must be Charlie's brother!" said a burly young man. He held out his hand for Ron to shake.

"Charlie wished he could come, but he's busy with work." The dragonologist shook hands with Harry and Hermione as well. All four dragonologists wore scaly robes, boots, and gloves. Harry suspected their garments were made of dragon hide. The first one inspected the crate, listening to Norbert's snoring.

"I'm surprised it's sleeping soundly; most dragon hatchlings are pretty foul-tempered," He said. Hermione explained. She had charmed it to sleep to ease carrying it to the Tower. Two dragonologists waved their wands, made the crate feather-light, and then tied it to their brooms. Once it was secured, they gave their leader a thumbs up.

"We better go; transporting a dragon without permits is illegal and dangerous, especially if the hatchling gets rowdy. Thanks for the help, kids; give Hagrid our regards, and tell him not to worry; we'll take excellent care of Norbert!" The dragonologists hopped back on their brooms and took off into the sky. Harry turned to his friends and gathered up the Invisibility Cloak.

"We better get back to bed before we all get caught!" Harry said, but just as he was about to drape them all with the Cloak, the door to the Astronomy Tower burst open. Filch stood there grinning wickedly, holding up his lantern, which cast eerie shadows on his face.

"Oh dearie me, I'm afraid it's too late!" He chuckled. Filch led the three through the castle, down various sets of stairs. Hermione held back tears as she imagined the trouble they were in for. Ron looked pale, walking along, keeping his eyes on the ground. Harry knew they were in for it now. When Filch caught them, he stuffed his Cloak into his pocket and scooped up Mano. The hand was curled up in Harry's pocket, trembling; he was just as nervous as the rest.

Filch took them to Professor McGonagall's office and knocked on the door. The door opened to show the Head of Gryffindor dressed in a green dressing gown with her usually tightly bound hair flowing about her shoulders. Her face was a sneer of anger and disappointment. She motioned for the three to enter her office.

Harry walked inside and saw, to his displeasure, Malfoy standing smugly by the fireplace, his arms crossed. Harry stood before McGonagall's desk as Ron and Hermione were placed next to him. McGonagall stood behind her desk and glared at her three students. She took a deep breath before speaking.

"Nothing, I repeat, nothing, gives a student the right to roam the castle after hours, unchaperoned! I am deeply, profoundly disappointed in each one of you. You have disgraced Gryffindor's House and wounded my trust and faith in you." Hermione began to sniffle, and Ron looked like he would throw up.

"Explain yourself immediately!" McGonagall's voice quivered with anger as she struggled not to shout. Harry stepped forward.

"It's all my fault, Professor. I led Ron and Hermione into this mess and took full responsibility. I tried to help a friend in trouble but did not think things through rationally and tried circumventing the rules." Malfoy snorted and pointed a finger at Harry.

"They were trying to help that oaf, Hagrid, smuggle a dragon! They should all be thrown out of Hogwarts!" McGonagall shushed Malfoy and asked Harry if this was true. Harry regretfully nodded.

"Hagrid was raising a dragon he'd hatched from an egg. We tried to keep it secret to avoid getting Hagrid in trouble with Dumbledore or the authorities. We convinced Hagrid he couldn't keep it, so we contacted Ron's brother, Charlie, to send someone to pick it up. We arranged for them to meet us at the Astronomy tower. I was the one who arranged the meeting, and I asked Ron and Hermione to help me. If anyone should be punished for this, it should be me." McGonagall listened to Harry's explanation; her face was hard to read. She was still furious at her students for flagrantly breaking dozens of school rules. Still, she felt a bit of pride for Harry's honesty and accountability in trying to save his friends from trouble.

"Be that as it may, it was highly reckless of you three even to attempt such a thing! You should have come immediately to either Professor Dumbledore or myself. Your care for Hagrid is admirable, but as a student, it is not your duty or privilege to protect him. Neither can you accept sole responsibility for your friends' actions. They chose to follow you in this endeavor, and they, too, will be punished." She gave a disappointed shake of her head, and looked at them all with a steely gaze.

"As punishment for your actions, I shall remove 50 points from each of you." Harry and his friends blanched at this. 50 points each! Just like that, Gryffindor was put dead last in the running for the House Cup. McGonagall continued.

"All of you will be assigned detention, and I shall write to your families about your actions. The four of you shall be informed when your punishment shall occur and what shall be involved." Draco's head snapped up at this remark, and a look of confusion filled his face.

"I'm sorry, Professor, I think I heard you wrong; I thought you said the four of us?" Draco asked apprehensively. McGonagall sneered at Malfoy, a touch of amusement on her face.

"Oh no, Mr. Malfoy, you heard me correctly. Your telling me of Mr. Potter and his friends' actions wasn't a noble or honorable gesture; you only did it to get satisfaction at seeing them in trouble. And in doing so, you, too, were out of bed after hours without a teacher's permission. You, too, have cost Slytherin 50 points and will share the detention. I shall also speak with Professor Snape; I'm sure he will have some choice words to share with you."

Malfoy turned paler than usual and glanced at the others. Harry, Ron, and Hermione each gave Malfoy a satisfied smirk despite their circumstance. Again, McGonagall said she was very disappointed with her students and tasked Filch with escorting them back to their dormitories. The four students walked sullen and silent from McGonagall's office. Filch shook his head, muttering that they all got off lightly.

"There was a time when detention would find you hanging by your thumbs in the dungeons! God, I miss the screaming." Ron gulped, the color draining from his face, and Hermione gave a little yelp of horror; even Draco looked sick at the thought. Harry wished he'd been sentenced to hang for a while in the dungeons instead of costing Gryffindor over 150 points and dragging Ron and Hermione into this mess with him. He'd undergone similar treatment at Wednesday's hands when they 'played' together.

Harry and his friend were left at the Fat Lady portrait by Filch, who told them to go straight to bed or else he'd see they were punished even more severely. Then, with a firm arm on Malfoy's shoulder, he directed him towards the Slytherin Dungeon.

Harry and his friends went to bed, not looking forward to tomorrow. Hermione climbed the stairs to the girl's dormitory without speaking to Harry and Ron, who walked together to their room.

Harry and Ron lay in their beds, but sleep didn't come. Even Mano tossed and turned in his pillow all through the night. Harry had been hailed as a hero after the Quidditch victory against Hufflepuff. Still, now he knew his House would feel very differently come morning.