Chapter Eight
When it Rains it Pours
Giving Draco a black eye was what I needed to gain Ron as a friend. We were able to hold a conversation without bickering much to everyone's relief. Of course my relationship with Draco was strained to say the least. He gave me the cold shoulder when I tried to apologize to him two days later and ignored me whenever I attempted to talk to him. So, after a week of being ignored I decided to let him stew. He could approach me when he wanted.
I had bigger things to worry about anyways.
We expected Quirrell to crack but he was braver than any of us realized. The four of us would check to make sure that Fluffy was still on the third-floor corridor and my godfather was still in a foul mood. That was enough to tell us that the stone was safe. For now.
On top of worrying about the stone, Hermione and the teachers were starting to get stressed out about the end of the year exams. Easter holidays came up quickly and our homework was piled on so high that we spent the majority of it in the library studying.
"I'll never remember this." Ron moaned, looking out the window with a frown.
He wasn't the only one bored of studying. It was the first nice day we had in ages. All I really wanted to do was go outside and breathe in the fresh air. Instead I was trying to memorize dates for History of Magic. While not nearly as boring as learning from Binns, it was still not what I would call fun.
"Hagrid! What are you doing in the library?" Ron asked suddenly. I looked up to see Hagrid half hidden behind one of the bookshelves. The groundskeeper looked out of place in the library.
"Jus' lookin." He said so shiftily that Harry and Hermione both looked up from their studying as well. "An' what're you lot up ter? Yer not still lookin' fer Nicolas Flamel, are yeh?"
"Oh, we found out who he is ages ago," Ron said looking proud. "And we know what that dog's guarding, it's a Sorcerer's St-"
"Shh!" Hagrid looked around nervously to make sure that nobody was listening in. "Don' go shoutin' about it, what's the matter with yeh?"
Harry glanced at me and I fought back a smile.
"There are actually a few things we wanted to ask you. About what's guarding the Stone apart from Fluffy-"
"SHHH!" Hagrid hushed once again. "Listen- come an' see me later, I'm not promisin' I'll tell yeh anythin', mind, but don't go rabbiin' about it in here. Students aren' s'pposed ter know. They'll think I've told yeh-"
"See you later then." Harry nodded, looking a little smug.
I smiled at the black haired boy. That certainly was a success. Hagrid shuffled off with a frown, one hand behind his back trying to hide something from us.
"What was he hiding behind his back?" Hermione wondered.
"Do you think it had anything to do with the Stone?"
"Doubt it."
"I'm going to see what section he was in." Ron said and got to his feet. A minute later he came back with a pile of books in his arms, looking nervous.
"Dragons!" Ron whispered. I pushed aside my History of Magic homework and grabbed the closest book to me. From Egg to Inferno, a Dragon Keeper's Guide.
"Hagrid's always wanted a dragon…" Harry said slowly. "He told me the first time I ever met him."
A pit started to form in my stomach as I flipped through the book. It was basically a 'how to' on raising dragons. This did not bode well. We all looked at each other nervously. Hagrid wasn't rash enough to try and raise a dragon… right?
An hour later the three of us found ourselves in Hagrid's hut which was warmer than it should have been. All the curtains had been drawn and he had a blazing fire going on. The room was sticky from heat. I bit the inside of my cheek as I stared at the fire and the big black egg that was sitting underneath the kettle. This had to be a joke right?
"So- yeh wanted to ask me something?" Hagrid asked, pouring us all tea. I wanted to ask what exactly he was doing with that egg but I let Harry talk. The Sorcerer's Stone was a lot more important than the egg.
"We were wondering if you could tell us what's guarding the Sorcerer's Stone apart from Fluffy." Harry said rather boldly only to get a frown in return.
"O' course I can't. Number one, I don't know meself. Number two, yeh know too much already so I wouldn't tell yeh if I could. That stone's there for a good reason. It was almost stolen outta Gringotts. I suppose yeh've all worked that out and all? Beats me how yeh even know about Fluffy."
"You might not want to tell us but you do know- you know everything that goes on around here." Hermione said, laying the flattery on thick. A smile grew on Hagrid's face. It was almost too easy. "We only wondered who had done the guarding really. We wondered who Dumbledore trusted enough to help him apart from you."
I watched as Hagrid's chest swelled at her praise and Harry and Ron beamed looking rather impressed.
"Well I don' s'pose it could hurt ter tell yeh…. Let's see. He borrowed Fluffy from me and some teachers did some enchantments… Professor Sprout- Flitwick- Professor McGonagall- Quirrell… and Dumbeldore himself." He ticked off each name on his fingers and he spoke. "Hang on, I've forgotten someone. Oh yea… Snape."
"Snape?"
We all looked at each other in shock at that admission. I had no idea that Dumbledore trusted Snape that much.
"Yer still not on abou' that, are yeh? Look, Snape helped protect the Stone. He's not about ter steal it." Hagrid chided.
Everyone fell silent, trying to wrap their heads around the new information. Seeing the lapse in conversation, I decided to change the subject.
"Hagrid, is there any reason why you are trying to hatch a dragon egg?"
His head snapped over to me and he fiddled with his beard a bit nervously. The others glanced at the fire nervously.
"Ah… well… Yer too observant for yer own good. That's er…"
"Where did you get it, Hagrid? It must have cost you a fortune." Ron asked, crouching over the fire closely.
"Won it." He said rather excitedly. "Las' night. I was down in the village havin' a few drinks an' got into a game with a stranger. Think he was quite glad ter get rid of it to be honest."
"Not surprising." I almost rolled my eyes. "Dragon eggs are super illegal Hagrid. If you get caught with a dragon-"
"What are you going to do with it when it's hatched?" Hermione asked, cutting me off.
He pulled a large book out from under his pillow. I wanted to say that reading and actually raising a creature were two very different things but I held my tongue. Hermione looked about as skeptical as I did.
"Hagrid, you live in a wooden house." She said rather flatly but was ignored.
On top of the Sorcerers Stone and finals which were quickly approaching, we had to worry about what would happen if someone found out that Hagrid was housing a dragon. A very illegal dragon.
A few weeks later Hedwig brought Harry a letter that said that the dragon was hatching. It was a much needed break in the mountain of homework and revision that we had been doing.
Both Ron and I wanted to skip Herbology to go straight to the hut but Hermione wasn't having any of it. As soon as lessons ended for the day, the four of us quickly made our way down to Hagrid's hut. All eager to see the dragon hatch.
"It's nearly out." Hagrid said looking super excited as he ushered the four of us inside.
The egg was sitting on Hagrid's table. Deep cracks marred the otherwise smooth shell and something was moving inside, chirping. We all sat down around the table, watching it closely. Seeing a dragon hatch really was a once in a lifetime experience.
Suddenly, in one go there was a loud cracking noise and the egg split open. We all watched as the small, prune like creature flopped onto Hagrid's table. It stretched out its wings, blinking its bulging orange eyes.
The creature sneezed, a couple of sparks shooting out from its snout.
"Isn't he beautiful?" Hagrid murmured, stroking the creature's head. It snapped at his fingers but Hagrid's smile just grew. "Bless him, look he knows his mommy!"
"Hagrid… How fast do Norwegian Ridgebacks grow exactly?" Hermione asked slowly, looking nervously as the dragon sneezed again.
Hagrid was about to respond when the color drained from his face. With surprising speed he leapt to his feet and ran to the window.
"What's the matter?" Ron asked.
Hagrid looked back at us all nervously.
"Someone was lookin' through the gap in the curtains- it's a kid. He's running back ter the school."
We all paled at his words and crowded around the window. I couldn't help the curse that left my mouth as we watched the pale haired figure sprint back to the castle. I would recognize my brother anywhere.
The four of us immediately made a plan to get the dragon Hagrid dubbed as 'Norbert' out of the castle. Charlie, Ron's older brother who worked with dragons, was sending some coworkers to meet us at the tallest tower in the middle of the night for pickup.
Of course, multiple problems came up.
I tried to corner Draco multiple times about Norbert but was having no luck. He must have said something to the other Slytherin's because every time I tried to confront him, I had multiple first years and upperclassmen blocking me from seeing my brother. It was infuriating to say the least.
Ron got bit by Norbert and his hand swelled up so badly he ended up having to go to the Hospital Wing. Because his hand was a leaky puss that was nasty shade of green, Madame Pomfrey decided to make Ron stay the night.
Draco caught wind of this and visited Ron to taunt him. Somehow this resulted in Draco ending up with Charlie's letter.
It was too late to change plans. There was no way another letter would get to Charlie in time and it was only a matter of time before Draco decided to blab.
We decided that Harry and Hermione would take Norbert to the tower. Three people and the crate holding the dragon wouldn't fit under the cloak. I hated being left out.
I was feeling especially useless while I laid in bed, staring at the ceiling that Saturday night. Not only was I unable to talk to my brother but I couldn't even help them with the drop off. I suggested using me as a distraction if they really needed it but Hermione shot down that idea. I would more than likely get caught and they probably didn't need it since they had the cloak.
So here I was. I checked my watch for the thousandth time, barely able to make out the numbers in the dark. It was only eleven thirty. My nerves were on edge though. They were probably in the castle climbing the steps right now.
I closed my eyes, trying to will myself to sleep but there was no use. It felt like my skin was crawling with anticipation. It was just my nerves. I thought to myself but the sinking feeling in my stomach was telling me different stories.
Draco was out there too.
It wasn't just my anxiety that I was feeling.
I huffed to myself and clicked my lamp on. There was no use trying to sleep now. I checked my watch again. Eleven thirty four.
Merlin time was just dragging on.
Instead of lying there, stressing out about the uncontrollable, I started to sift through my bedside table trying to find something to distract myself with. I paused at the unfinished letter I started for Mother. That was a whole nother set of problems I didn't want to worry about. Instead, I pulled out the book Hermione lent me a week before. It was a muggle children's book that she loved. I was honestly wary about reading it.
Eleven forty five.
They were probably going to be another forty minutes if everything went smoothly. With a sigh, I pulled on my robe and slippers. I moved as quietly as possible as I made my way down to the Gryffindor Common room, trying my best not to wake up the other girls.
There were two upperclassmen studying in the common room but they didn't pay any mind to me. Instead, I clicked on one of the lights and sat in the corner the four of us frequented. It felt oddly empty without the others with me. My stomach twisted uncomfortably once again.
The upperclassmen left near twelve and Hermione's book was not doing much to calm my nerves. The growing pit in my stomach told me that something was seriously wrong.
It was nearing thirty after when the common room door finally opened. I jumped to my feet to greet Hermione and Harry when I stopped short. To my surprise, Neville came into the Common Room pajama clad with tears streaming down his face. The boy didn't even seem to notice me as he practically ran up to the boys dormitory. I turned back to Harry and Hermione who just entered, both looking pale and shaky.
"What happened?"
Harry quickly let me know that they were able to get Norbert out of the castle but forgot the Invisibility Cloak at the top of the tower and got caught. Draco had been snooping around, planning on getting them in trouble but got caught himself. Of course, Neville had overheard Draco's plan and tried to warn Harry and Hermione.
This resulted in everyone losing fifty points each and getting detention. I had a feeling that the other Gryffindors weren't going to take the loss of a hundred and fifty points very well… Suddenly I was very thankful that I had not tagged along.
"The important thing is that Norbert got out." I said after Harry finished explaining it all. I patted Hermione's arm trying to comfort her. She gave me a feeble smile that was anything but convincing. "Let's get some sleep. It's been a long night."
Hermione didn't say much as we made our way back up to the girls dorm. Instead she drew her curtains tight, sniffling. My heart twisted painfully as I laid in bed, listening to her try to stifle her cries.
