Chapter 31: Nighttime Capers
Harry POV:
"Alright, everything ready?" Harry inquired, looking around at his friends.
"I still think this is ridiculous," Hermione huffed from his left.
"So you aren't coming, then?" Ron asked on Harry's right.
"I never said that!" she protested.
"Neville, you sure you're alright with staying behind? There's still room under the cloak for one more," Harry offered, turning to the last member of the group who was sitting next to Ron. They were in the Gryffindor Common Room, huddled on the couch in front of the fireplace.
Neville shook his head. "It's fine. You need to get the egg away from Hagrid and then up to the Astronomy Tower. But you won't be able to do that if someone doesn't cause a diversion."
"We already have Draco and Filch set to 'ambush' us, so you don't have to do this," Harry pointed out.
"And don't forget Hannah and Susan! They'll be getting the House Elves to help set up some distractions as well," Hermione added.
"Yeah, but what do you think will happen once Draco and Filch figure out the duel was just a sham?" Neville pointed out. "Or if the House Elves don't want to help? We need a third option."
"He's right," Ron said, siding with the slightly pudgy Gryffindor. "Always think several moves ahead. That's how you win at Chess. And, if Fred and George have taught me anything, it's always to have a couple of back-up plans in case something goes wrong. Which it almost always does."
"Fair enough," Harry hummed, unable to deny their sensible points. He then glanced up at the clock that hung above the fireplace. "Alright, it's almost midnight. Time to go!"
He took the Invisibility Cloak from his pocket and threw it over the shoulders of himself and two of his friends. Then, they all stood up, hidden from view.
"Good luck, and don't get caught!" Neville said softly as the portrait of the Fat Lady swung open before closing a second later.
The trio tiptoed along the empty hallways, quiet as a whisper. Hermione had cast a Muffling charm to make their footsteps even quieter, and it wasn't long before they left the castle without so much as a single portrait noticing them.
Through the dark they hurried, racing across the grounds until they reached Hagrid's hut.
"Remember, Ron will hold the pot while Hermione keeps it nice and warm," Harry reminded his friends.
"We know, mate, just make sure not to drop the cloak on your end," Ron told his best friend.
"Hagrid? Hagrid are you there?" Harry asked as he thumped on the door when they reached it. "It's time!"
The door swung open, and the Groundskeeper looked around before blinking in surprise when Harry revealed his face, letting it look like it was floating eerily in midair.
"It's hatching!" Hagrid said excitedly as he ushered the children inside. He was so excited, he didn't even question the Invisibility Cloak they were using.
"It's what?!" Hermione squeaked in shock as the egg in the pot rattled loudly, and a hissing like a boiling teakettle rang out.
Hagrid eagerly took the egg out from the fireplace with a pair of mitts and gingerly laid it down into a tray full of rocks and sand.
Before their astonished eyes, the smooth shell began riddled with cracks, and then, in a moment they'd never forget for the rest of their lives, the top of the egg shot off, propelled by flames, and what emerged was a surprisingly cute brown and black lizard.
"Oh, it's adorable!" Hagrid cooed as it flopped around in the sand pit, trying to stand. "I'm gonna call him 'Norbert!'"
"Norbert?" Hermione uttered, bewildered by the choice.
"Well, this changes things," Harry muttered to Ron, who nodded, wide-eyed.
"No way we're getting that thing up to the Astronomy Tower without being noticed," Ron grumbled as it eeped cutely before tearing into the hunk of charred meat Hagrid laid in front of it.
"Aww! Look at it go! Only just born and yet it can eat like a champ!" the half-giant said.
The trio exchanged worried looks. "Harry, you better go to the Astronomy Tower and let Charlie know what's going on," Ron suggested.
"Right, on my way," Harry murmured, throwing his cloak back on and hurrying out of the hut back up to the castle. There was a moment of tension when Peeves floated by, giggling to himself, but he didn't notice Harry and the rest of the way to the Astronomy Tower was clear.
Breathing heavily by the time he reached the top of the tower, Harry had to nudge the door open with his shoulder.
'Next time… don't run… up the stairs…' Harry panted a bit.
"Is that you, Harry?" the red-headed member of the trio asked as the door to the Astronomy Tower opened with nobody seemingly there.
"Yes," Harry replied, showing his head by throwing back the cloak. He ignored the intakes of breath as they realized just what it was he was wearing. "But there's been a problem."
"A problem?" one of the other wizards outside the tower asked, a frown evident in his voice.
"Yes. The, uh, egg? It hatched just a little bit ago," Harry revealed.
"Well, dragon-crap," the third member of the dragon handler group uttered. "We're not prepared to haul one of those across the country!"
"We can whip up something," Charlie assured them. "A pot with a lid and a few charms ought to do the trick."
"True," the second handler said. "Where is it?"
"In the Groundskeeper's hut. I'll show you the way," Charlie said, before turning his head back to Harry. "Can you make it back as well, or do you want a ride?"
"Ride, please," Harry requested. "I barely made it past Miss Norris getting up here."
"Alright, hop on," Charlie offered. Harry got on, being very careful with his cloak, and he was
"So, I hear you're the Seeker on the Gryffindor team," Charlie said conversationally as they descended through the dark towards the tiny pinprick of light that was Hagrid's hut.
"Yeah," Harry nodded.
"Youngest in a century, is that right?"
"So they say. I just really like to fly," Harry said with a shrug.
"There's nothing like it," Charlie said with a fond chuckle. "Part of why I love working at the Reserve. You need a broom to fly from one end to the other, and to keep up with the dragons. Got to be careful, though. Fly too fast and they might chase you. But if you don't fly fast enough, then they will catch you."
"Yikes, sounds hazardous," Harry winced, earning a laugh from all three handlers.
"You don't know the half of it!" one of Charlie's coworkers cackled, a bit hysterically in Harry's opinion.
They landed shortly after, and quickly made their way inside the small dwelling at the edge of the Forbidden Forest.
"He was going to try raising a fire-breathing dragon in here?!" the hysterical member of Charlie's team exclaimed in disbelief.
"He claims he had it fire-proofed," Harry said lamely.
"Dragon fire can easily bypass most fire-proofing charms," Charlie said with a frown. "Unless you're using specialized anti-dragon wards then a dragon would torch this place the first time it sneezed. And then there's the size factor."
"They grow fast. Handheld one day, and a month later they're the size of a dog," the third member of the team noted.
"I'm so glad he decided to hand the dragon over before it got out of hand," Charlie sighed, running a hand over his face.
"He didn't want to at first, but when Susan and Hermione laid out all the rules he'd broken and the penalties for them, he relented," Harry said. "Although I think Ron and Neville also helped make up his mind, as they explained why Norbert would do better in the reserve with his own kind."
"Norbert? What kind of name is that?" one of the dragon handlers muttered. After that, they entered the small dwelling, and Hagrid's face fell when he looked up to greet the newcomers.
"Oh. Yer here," he said with a sad grumble.
"Sorry, Hagrid, but this is just how it works out," Charlie said apologetically.
"Just be glad our boss wants this dealt with nice and quietly, otherwise it could have caused a real stink and you'd be getting arrested. Fined at the very least," Team Member Two said grumpily.
"There's that, yes," Charlie confirmed.
"Okay, so, it looks healthy, that's good," Team Member Three said as he examined the hatchling. "Very nice scale color… wings appear to be intact… and it's a female! Incredible!"
"Norbert's a girl?" Hagrid uttered at the same time Hermione asked, "Why is that so important that the egg hatched a female?"
"Female Norwegian Ridgebacks are rare because of a number of factors, one of which being aggressive nest mates. Other females often find younger ones to be a threat as well, and so it's not uncommon for a female from a different nest to try and smash an egg if it will hatch into a female. I've got to say, that poacher might just have saved this little lady here when he stole her away. Now that she's hatched, we can make sure she makes it to adulthood," Team Member Three explained.
"Let's see… the carrying case we brought with us won't work, so let's see what we have around here. Mr. Hagrid, do you have any cages?" Team Member Two inquired.
"Oh, sure, sure, I've got something over here you can use." As the Groundskeeper looked around for something to put the hatchling in, Hermione continued to ask questions.
"Are there many dragon reserves? What sorts of dragons are there? Is it dangerous?" the bushy-haired girl jabbered.
"There are about a dozen reserves worldwide. One of the oldest and largest reserves in the world is the Romanian Reserve. Only one bigger is in Greenland, and the only one older is in China," Charlie said proudly. "But we have the most diversity over in Romania. We take care of all the dragon species native to the European mainland, like Ukrainian Ironbellies, Hungarian Horntails, Black Forest Dunklezhan, Swedish Shortsnout, and of course Norwegian Ridgebacks."
"Oh! Then, does that mean Greenland has all the ones for places like Iceland and England?" Harry asked.
"Correct! The Common Welsh Green and Hebridean Blacks were all relocated centuries ago to the Greenland Preserve alongside the Icelandic Diver and the Arctic Frostfiend," Charlie confirmed. "There are sites across the world that protect the other species of dragons, of course. But few have as many different species as the Romanian Reserve."
"Little ones all strapped in and ready to go, Weasley!" one of the dragon handlers called out as the door to a fireproofed carrying cage was closed, sealing in young Norbert.
"Anyways, we're really glad you found out what was going on, and informed us as soon as you did," Charlie Weasley said as he and his companions bundled up Norbert into her carrying case. "We'd been looking for the lost egg for weeks."
"Seriously?" Ron asked, surprised, and his older brother fondly tussled his hair, much to Ron's annoyance.
"Yeah. Someone broke into the reserve and stole a nesting Norwegian Ridgeback's egg. Badly wounded the mother in the process. First time in over forty years someone managed to actually steal an egg, too, so the other keepers and me were scrambling madly looking for it on the black market. Never would have thought it'd turn up in Hagrid's hands."
"Are dragon eggs that rare?" Harry asked in surprise.
"There aren't a lot of dragons left in the first place," Charlie said sadly. "And the reserves are some of the most heavily warded areas in the world. Can't have random dragons flying around, spooking the muggles, can we? Especially not with all their aeroplanes."
"That makes sense," Harry admitted with a nod.
"Now, you better hurry on back to the dorms. Don't want to get caught, do you?" Charlie teased as they walked out of the hut, Hargid staring forlornly after Norbert.
"Eh, it's fine. Malfoy and Filch are on the other side of the castle right now," Ron scoffed. "We can sneak past them no problem!"
"That so?" Charlie asked, eyebrow raised.
"Yeah, Draco challenged me to a duel back in February, but he didn't plan on attending, just was using the opportunity to sick Filch on me for being out past curfew," Harry explained. "However, we needed an excuse to help with smuggling Norbert away and for getting back into the dorms later, so I challenged Draco myself this time. Knowing how he thinks, he'll try and get me in trouble again. Our 'duel' is nothing more than an excellent distraction."
"For a Slytherin, he's not very, well, subtle, or all that imaginative," Hermione admitted. "You'd think the 'House of the Ambitious' would breed more cunning individuals."
"Clever!" Charlie smirked, then gave his brother one last hair-tussle before mounting his broom and flying off with his fellow dragon keepers.
"Come on, let's go," Harry said. They bid farewell to Hagrid, and then put the cloak back on.
Unfortunately, things started to take a turn for the worse when the invisible trio reached the grand stairwell. As they made their way up the staircase that led to the 5th floor where the Gryffindor Common Room was, a rumble ran through the steps, and everything suddenly began to move.
"Crap, the stairs are shifting!" Ron uttered, grabbing ahold of the banister as the whole set of staircases began to move and rearrange themselves. In seconds, the previous configuration of connections was undone.
"How did anyone think that moving staircases were a good idea in a school full of children?" Harry demanded in annoyance as the stairs they were on swayed uncomfortably.
"It's a defense mechanism," Hermione responded, though she looked a little green as she did so. "I read about it in 'Hogwarts: A History.'"
"Then why do they keep a defense mechanism active in a school full of children?" Harry uttered.
"Um," Hermione muttered, unable to reply. Thankfully their fun ride was soon over and she didn't have to find an answer. Bad news was, somebody had heard their moaning.
"Who's there!?" a nasally voice demanded, and Harry shivered when a cat meowed after him. The light of a bobbing lantern could be seen in the distance down a corridor and it was rapidly approaching the grand staircase.
"That's Filch!" Ron murmured nervously. "But he's supposed to be near the trophy rooms!"
"Looks like our little trick with Draco didn't work, and Neville couldn't distract him, either," Harry guessed. He looked around, grimacing as he saw that their staircase was no longer connected to the fifth floor, and instead linked up with a landing on the third floor.
Not just any part of the third floor, either, but the very one that Headmaster Dumbledore had declared off-limits.
However, the stairs the trio was on had also connected to the first floor, right in front of where Filch was. Faced with detention, there was only one choice to for Harry to make.
"This way!" Harry hissed, urging his friends to follow him.
"But that's the Forbidden Corridor!" Hermione gasped.
"Do you want to be caught by Filch? Or risk hiding in the mysterious hallway?" Ron shot back, and it took a few seconds before Hermione reluctantly said, "Corridor."
"Great! Now hurry!" Harry said, and they ran, keeping ahead of Filch, but just barely.
"Why aren't there any doors?!" Ron grumbled when they entered the forbidden corridor. To their surprise, there wasn't a single door in sight.
"No, wait, there, across from the portrait of the jousting centaurs!" Hermione pointed out.
"Damn, locked!" Harry hissed when he jiggled the handle desperately. Behind them, they could hear the cruel hissing of Miss Norris as she walked side by side with her equally cruel master.
"Step aside!" Hermione ordered, pushing Harry away. She then flicked her wand out and pointed it at the door. "Alohomora!" she chanted, and there was a faint click.
"Inside, now!" she hissed, and they piled in, hastily close the door behind them.
They heard Filch's footsteps pass them by, along with his demented mutterings about whipping students. The trio held their breath, and only let it go when they could no longer hear his mad ravings.
"Why do they even keep him around?" Ron huffed.
"Probably for the same reason they keep Snape around," Harry muttered darkly.
"Um, Harry? Ron?" Hermione squeaked out, her eyes focused on something behind them. Slowly, and with fear rising in their hearts, the two boys turned around, and looked up. And up. And up some more.
Somehow stuffed inside the cramped, tiny room they'd hurled themselves into was a mountain of fluffy, dark brown fur. Said fur was attached to a gargantuan, three-headed dog that was blinking slowly, waking up from a deep slumber.
"Jesus Tap-Dancing Christ!" Harry hissed out, borrowing a curse he'd overheard Edward use once.
"Let's go. We gotta go," Ron hissed, tugging on his friend's sleeves urgently.
"Yeah. Yeah, good idea," Hermione whimpered. She fumbled a bit before yanking the door open. Just in time, too, as one of the head's noses was twitching, and a low growl that rattled their bones filled the room.
The trio barreled out of the room, locking it behind them with a hastily uttered, "Colloportus!" from Hermione.
None of them dared to say a word, and simply started running through the halls towards the entrance Gryffindor Common Room. They'd been so startled they completely forgot to use Harry's cloak. Luckily, it seemed Filch was nowhere nearby and they were able to get through the moving staircases without incident.
"What the bloody hell is a giant three-headed dog doing in there?!" Ron whimpered as they booked it away from the dog-filled chamber.
"Why are you asking me?!" Hermione snapped.
"Shush! We're almost to the Common Room!" Harry scolded them under his breath. "You can have a mental breakdown when we're safe inside!"
"Tiddlywinks," he said aloud, causing the snoozing portrait to swing open, admitting them inside.
"Hey, you're back!" Neville said as he spotted the portal open up and the trio stumble through. "Sorry, a Prefect caught me before I could get to lure Filch away. I managed to pretend I'd gotten lost and only lost five points for being out past curfew…"
He trailed off as he saw their pale faces, and he groaned into his hands. "Oh, for Merlin's sake! What sort of trouble did you get us into now?"
"So, uh, we might have figured out why that corridor on the third floor is off limits," Harry said, and Neville groaned a little bit louder.
"Of course you did. Of course!"
"At least we got the dragon away safely," Ron said with a sigh as he slumped into the couch next to Neville.
"Wait, dragon? Not the egg?" Neville uttered. "Did it hatch?!"
"Yeah. Let me tell you about our night," Harry said, and he regaled the fourth member of their group about their little adventure, all the way up to the point they found the three-headed dog.
"Well… yikes," Neville muttered. "And now there's a new mystery afoot."
"Hopefully we'll know what the deal is with that Nicholas Flamel guy soon," Harry said, before a yawn burst out of him. He clapped a hand over his mouth, flushing red with embarrassment, and Ron sniggered at him, until a yawn escaped the red-head.
"We should probably get to bed," Hermione said, trying to hold back a yawn of her own. It was futile, however, and she also blushed red as she let out a jaw-cracking yawn.
After that, the students snuck back to their dorms, ready to go to sleep. As they settled down, though, Harry couldn't help but find that his mind was racing.
'What is going on in this school?' he couldn't help but wonder as he stared at the ceiling of his bed.
The next morning came far too quickly for Harry, and he desperately wanted to sleep in. It was the weekend, after all.
But, despite all the protests of his body, he sat up and got out of bed and ready for the day. The group had agreed to meet up at breakfast to discuss the events of last night with Hannah and Susan, as well as wait for Edward's response via Hedwig.
"Why does the sun hate us?" Ron grumbled as he staggered out of bed.
"I wish I was a plant," Neville said with a sigh, running a hand through his messy bed-head. "Then the sun would actually serve a purpose."
Harry only managed a nod in response as he yawned loudly, jaw cracking with the effort. Glancing around, the Boy-Who-Lived noticed that the other boys, Dean and Seamus, had already gotten up.
'I should find a way to do some homework or something with the other Gryffindors,' Harry mused. He liked his friend group, but he couldn't help but feel worry that Dean and Seamus might feel left out. He knew they hung out with some of the other First Years from Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw, but there was no reason not to invite them to a study group or something.
As he was thinking about this idea as he walked downstairs with Ron and Neville, he almost missed the curious looks Fred and George were giving him from their spot in a corner of the room. Why? Did they perhaps notice the group come in late last night? He didn't get an answer, as a couple seconds later, Hermione appeared.
"Good morning!" Hermione said cheerfully as she bounced down the stairs to greet her friends in the Common Room.
"You're too peppy this early in the morning, Hermione," Ron said with a slight groan. "Could you please turn it down a bit?"
"Oh, sorry," Hermione apologized, looking down at the ground, embarrassed.
"It's nothing to be ashamed of," Harry assured her. "But you're a morning person, and we… are not."
"Let's get breakfast," Ron suggested. "That's the only good thing mornings have going for them."
Hermione rolled her eyes at Ron's comment, but nodded all the same, and the quartet of friends exited the dorm and headed down to the Great Hall to meet up with the final two members of their group.
The two Hufflepuffs had bags around their eyes, while Hannah looked like she was about to use her omelet as a pillow.
"You two don't look good," Harry noted, before wincing at his choice of words. He hastily continued, "Everything alright?"
"Yeah, yeah, just… didn't get a lot of sleep last night," Hannah whined, Susan nodding in agreement.
"Sorry," Harry said.
"We appreciate the help you gave us, running distractions against Filch with Neville," Hermione assured the pair. Hannah and Susan shared a look with each other
"Actually," Susan began, before going quiet. She looked around before leaning in. "We found something last night while hiding from Filch."
"What did you find?" Harry asked, intrigued. What could have caused the two of them to lose sleep?
"We found this mirror," Hannah began, before yawning loudly.
"We a found a mirror that was in an unused classroom on the First Floor," Susan said, picking up from where her friend had left off. "It was… odd. Very odd."
"Odd how?" Hermione asked.
"When we looked into it, we saw things…" Susan said softly, looking down at her plate.
"Took us a while to figure out it wasn't showing the future or past or anything like that, but merely your 'heart's desire,'" Hannah said with an embarrassed shake of her head. "Though given how it had the instructions written on the dang thing, I feel really silly for not figuring it out sooner."
"To be fair, the 'instructions' were written backwards," Susan pointed out.
"Yeah, yeah," Hannah huffed.
"So, we've got a magical stone that does stuff normal witches and wizards say is impossible, a three-headed dog hiding in the 3rdfloor corridor, and a magical mirror that only shows your heart's desires in an unused classroom on the 1st floor," Harry said. "How much do you want to bet all three things are connected somehow?"
"No bet," Hannah drawled, and Susan let out a giggle as she nodded along with Hermione.
"So, you think the Philosopher's Stone will be hidden in the room the dog is guarding?" Neville asked nervously.
"What else could it be doing in there?" Ron asked. "We should find somebody to talk to about this. See if anyone knows anything about three-headed dogs."
"Let me guess, we're going to ask Hagrid," Neville said.
"Who else do we know that's crazy about dangerous magical creatures?" Ron laughed, and the others joined in, though Harry couldn't help but note that Susan's laugh was hollow, compared to the rest.
After breakfast, as the group left the Great Hall, Harry tapped Susan on the shoulder and motioned with his head towards a corner where they could talk. Susan nodded her head nervously, and walked with Harry over to the spot he'd indicated.
"I think I know what you saw in the mirror," he told her, and Susan flinched.
"Yeah?" she asked uncertainly.
"It was your parents, wasn't it?" Harry guessed, and her eyes widened for a moment before she nodded.
"I thought so," Harry said quietly.
"How'd you know?" Susan asked him, and he gave her a sad smile.
"Because that's probably what I would see if I looked in the mirror, too," he admitted.
Susan blinked at the Boy-Who-Lived, before a look of realization crossed her face. Then, she frowned. "You're going to tell me not to try and find the mirror again, aren't you?"
"Yes," Harry nodded.
"You're just like Hannah," she grumbled, though there was fondness to it. She then gave him a searching look.
"Why would you ask that of me?" Susan demanded softly. "You say your greatest wish is to see your parents again, but you won't use the mirror as well? Worse, you're also telling me not to?"
"And that's exactly why I'm asking you not to go back to the mirror," Harry begged. "Please believe me, I want to go find it, just as badly as you do. I-I don't remember my parents at all. I don't even have any pictures of them! But I know that if I go to that mirror, I'd never want to leave it. It would become an obsession. For both of us. I don't want that to happen."
Susan opened her mouth to argue, and Harry shook his head, cutting her off before she could speak. "Susan, you said the mirror only shows you what you want. Well, do you think your parents would want you to sit in front of a mirror all day?"
"No," she muttered, looking down.
"Susan, please don't go back to the mirror," Harry pleaded. "More than anyone I understand the temptation, and if you'd told me about this a year ago, I'd have gone with you to find it in a heartbeat. But now… now I have friends. People who like me. And I don't want to see any of them become sad. That includes you. And you will become sad if you try to rely on that mirror."
"You…" Susan huffed, tears in her eyes, but she nodded before wiping her face with her sleeves. "Fine. I won't go."
"Thank you," Harry said. Then, for some reason that he didn't really understand, he leaned in and hugged her. Susan went stiff in his arms, before relaxing after a second and returning his embrace.
"You suck at hugging," Susan murmured.
"I haven't had a lot of practice," he replied apologetically.
"We'll have to fix that," she said with a firm nod, and Harry meekly nodded back.
"Come on, let's go before they wonder where we are and why we're taking so long," Susan suggested as they broke apart. Then, they hurried off to find their friends so they could head down to Hagrid's hut. It was time to find out about this new mystery on the 3rd floor.
A few minutes later, Harry and his 'study group' were down at the hut near the edge of the Forbidden Forest. A quick knock on the door summoned a round of barking from Fang, as expected, but it took longer for it to open up than usual.
"Hullo?" Hagrid uttered, opening the door to his hut and looking down at the six of them with red, bleary eyes.
"Hagrid, have you been crying?" Ron asked, before letting out an "Oof!" as Hannah elbowed him in the ribs for his insensitive query.
"Sorry 'bout that, kids," he apologized. "I just miss little Norbert."
"We're very sorry we got Charlie to take Norbert away," Harry told him. "But it was for the best."
"I know that," Hagrid grumped. "Doesn't make it any easier to see yer baby leave."
"I'm sure if you ask, Charlie wouldn't mind letting visit in the future," Ron said, offering an olive branch to the large Groundskeeper.
That worked to cheer him up, and that made the kids themselves happy. Seeing Hagrid sad was no fun. Harry private felt like it was akin to looking at a depressed puppy. A very big and strong puppy with no sense of danger, but a puppy all the same.
'And thinking of puppies…' Harry thought to himself, feeling a faint flicker of amusement at the comparison.
"Hey, Hagrid, we had a question for you," Harry said as they filed inside the Groundkeeper's hut.
"Oh? Ask away," Hagrid replied, wiping his eyes with a handkerchief the size of a tablecloth.
"I had a question about magical creatures. What do you know about three-headed dogs?" Harry asked curiously.
"How'd you find out about Fluffy?!" Hagrid demanded, staring at the students in shock.
"Fluffy?" Hermione uttered in bewilderment, while Neville and Hannah shared an exasperated 'of course he'd name it that!' moment. Ron and Susan just looked like they were trying not to laugh.
"Yer not supposed t'be in the third-floor corridor! Dumbledore said it was off-limits!" Hagrid huffed.
"I never said anything about the third floor," Harry said slyly. "I was just curious because Muggles have a legend about three-headed dogs and I wanted to know what the wizards had."
"Ah, err, that is, I mean," Hagrid stammered as he realized he'd been caught.
"Hagrid, there wouldn't happen to be a giant, deadly dog-monster guarding a room in the third-floor corridor, would there?" Harry pressed. "Because that sounds incredibly risky."
"Well, first off, Fluffy is no monster," Hagrid huffed. "He's a Hellhound, and he's a good boy! Easy to take care of, even though he's stuck in the room guarding the… I mean, uh, he's not guarding anything!"
"Hagrid, if Dumbledore really wanted people to stay away from the hallway and that room, then he'd have done more than warn us away and keep the door closed with a lock a second-year charm could open," Susan pointed out dryly.
"Keeping a giant dog, three-headed or otherwise, inside a tiny room to guard something is very irresponsible and dangerous!" Hermione exclaimed. "And probably breaks a whole bunch of rules!"
"Of course, that is what she focuses on," Ron muttered to Neville and Hannah, who both snickered and nodded.
"Oh, no, Fluffy is very kind and playful! Perfectly safe! He'd never attack a student! And if he ever does get upset and rowdy, a little bit of music is enough to calm him down…" Hagrid protested, only to trail off as he realized he'd spilled the beans. Again.
"Hagrid… have you told anyone else about Fluffy?" Harry couldn't help but wonder.
"Err, no, of course not!" Hagrid quickly replied. Too quickly.
"Oh, lord, you told the person you got the dragon egg from, didn't you?" Harry realized as he stared at the nervous half-giant.
"What?! Ridiculous!" Hagrid spluttered. "Sure I had a couple o'drinks to celebrate winning the egg from the hooded bloke, and sure, he asked a lot of questions about what sort of animals I'd worked with before…"
Hagrid trailed off as he slowly began to realize that he might have, just maybe, told a random stranger about a guardian animal's weakness.
"Hooded bloke? So, you never saw who you got the egg from?" Ron asked, no doubt curious on behalf of his older brother. The dragon preserves would likely want to know who exactly it was that'd given Hagrid the dragon egg, so they could find out who'd poached it in the first place.
"No, never saw his face. And you can't tell anyone about Fluffy!" Hagrid pleaded. "It's very important that nobody besides Dumbledore and Nicholas Flamel know about him!"
"We promise, Hagrid," Harry vowed, and the Groundskeeper sagged in relief, before perking up a bit.
"Oh, look at the time! Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a busy day and a long night ahead. Gonna have to ask you kids to leave," Hagrid requested, ushering them out of his hut before he could reveal any more secrets.
When the door slammed shut, the six shared a look.
"Hagrid doesn't have a clock… or a watch," Ron mumbled. "How does that excuse work?"
Everyone shrugged in bewilderment and walked towards the castle.
"So, any bets on the thing guarded by 'Fluffy' being the Philosopher's Stone?" Harry asked, glancing at his friends.
"No," everyone replied with a deadpan expression on their faces.
"Yeah, that's what I thought," Harry sighed. "So… what next?"
"I think we just leave it alone," Susan offered. "If Dumbledore wants to protect the stone with his inefficient security measures, who are we to argue with him?"
Harry nodded in agreement, but he couldn't help but feel like he and his companions would end up slapped down and forced to deal with it anyways.
He wasn't sure where this feeling was coming from, though, but resolved to find an answer. 'Maybe I should ask Edward about Divination when I see him next. If those bones of his can predict the future, maybe I can, too.'
Nothing of note happened the rest of the day. The friend group did a bit of studying, and Harry decided to try and get a few other people to join them. Besides Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnegan, Justin Finch-Fletchley and Ernie Macmillan from Hufflepuff along with Terry Boot were invited along to spend time with Harry, Ron, and Neville, while Hermione, Hannah, and Susan had girl time with their counterparts in the other houses.
From all accounts, it turned out pretty well. At the very least, Harry no longer felt slightly guilty for excluding his fellow First Years from the circle of friends.
'I wonder if they'll join us for the hijinks in the future?' Harry couldn't help but wonder as they gathered in the Great Hall for a nice Sunday breakfast.
"Did you hear? Malfoy nearly got attacked by something in the Forbidden Forest last night!" Dean excitedly said to the other Gryffindor students at the table the next morning.
"Yeah, it had something to do with the unicorn attacks!" Seamus chattered eagerly, his accent coming in strong as his emotions rushed ahead.
"Wait, what?" Harry exclaimed, bewildered, a fork full of baked beans pausing halfway to his mouth. "Why was Draco in the forest in the first place?"
"Unicorn attacks?" Ron uttered. "But unicorns don't attack people! They run away!"
"No, I mean, it seems somebody has been attacking unicorns!" Seamus replied. "I heard it from Terry Boot in Ravenclaw, who heard it from Justin and Ernie in Hufflepuff, who overheard Professor Sprout discussing it with the other heads of house!"
"As for why the little Malfoy was there, it seems that was his punishment for being caught out past curfew the other night," Dean continued.
"That's…" Harry uttered, trying to come up with a word to define how stupid that was. "They made a student investigate a monster in the Forbidden Forest that was attacking other creatures within it?"
"I heard Hagrid was with him," Dean said.
"And his giant dog, Fang!" Seamus added.
"That dog's not that giant," Ron muttered under his breath.
"Fangs a total coward," Harry piped up before Dean or Seamus could wonder what Ron had meant. "And isn't the point of the forest that it is forbidden? As in, stay away from it? It's in the name, for crying out loud!"
"It does seem very reckless to have any student accompanying Hagrid on a monster hunt, no matter how safe it might seem," Hermione agreed. "I really don't think staying out past curfew warrants like that of punishment, either."
"Yeah, it's really weird," Padma agreed. "Why do you think it happened?"
"What if Lucius Malfoy finds out?" Lavender wondered. "He's on the school board! No way he'd let that happen!"
"Gran's also on the school board, and she says Lucius has been trying to get Hagrid fired for years," Neville said softly. "If Draco complains, it could become a whole thing."
"Do you think he will?" Harry asked in concern. He shot a curious glance over at the Slytherin table, trying to see what Draco might have been thinking.
Unlike how he normally acted, that morning Draco was very quiet and subdued, silently eating a bowl of porridge. Crabbe and Goyle were sitting closer to him than usual, and the Slytherins as a whole seemed oddly nervous.
'Looks like one of their own nearly being gutted by a unicorn-eating monster seems to have shaken their aura of invincibility,' Harry noted with interest.
Normally, the students in the House of the Snake acted like they were untouchable. And, in a way, they were. Between the high proportion of wealthy and influential purebloods and Snape's blatant favoritism, Slytherin students rarely got punished or had to suffer the consequences of their actions. But wild beasts didn't care how pure your blood was. Blood was blood and Harry was sure there were some hungry critters hiding in the trees.
The sudden bout of subdued humility wouldn't last very long, but Harry planned on enjoying it while he could.
'Hopefully, being saved by Hagrid will convince Draco to leave him alone, at least for now,' Harry hoped to himself.
"What's first on the schedule today?" Seamus asked, distracting Harry from his thoughts and dragging his attention back to the Gryffindor table.
"Herbology with the 'Puffs," Lavender said helpfully. "I can't wait! I heard we'll be learning about Many-Scented Orchids today!"
"You're interested in them?" Neville asked, surprised, and Lavender nodded eagerly.
"That's right! I heard you can make all kinds of perfumes with them!" Lavender replied. "Their oil is also what is used to make Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans!"
The idle chatter between students continued until they reached the greenhouses, which were one of the more interesting parts of Hogwarts. Where most of the castle was very medieval in design, the greenhouses were oddly modern, at least in appearance and function.
It was also the only class that seemed to take the concept of 'safety measures' into account for the students and provided gloves, goggles, and other safety gear. Perhaps they realized how dangerous handling poisonous or magical plants with their bare hands could be? Or maybe it was just Professor Sprout who was the odd one out among the Hogwarts staff?
'If only Snape's potion classes had the same level of preparedness,' Harry griped to himself as he tugged on a pair of thick leather gardening gloves.
"Good morning, students! Today, we will be learning how to tend to Many-Scented Orchids today!" Professor Sprout said cheerfully as class began. "Now, you'll want to be careful with how you handle them! The roses will make different scents based on the way they are treated!"
She flicked her wand, and two dozen flower pots floated over to each student, a single pink and orange orchid flower growing in them.
"Today, we will go over how to prune them, change their soil, and harvest the petals," Sprout said. "Does everyone have a flower?"
The lesson was interesting, if a bit smelly due some of the orchids emitting foul stenches whenever a student gripped the stem too hard, gave it too much water, or plucked a petal incorrectly. Harry was really impressed by Neville, though. The quiet young boy was the only student who didn't make a single mistake when it came to handling his plant.
"Great job, Neville!" Ron praised as the class ended and everyone fled the greenhouses to escape the cloying stink.
"Yeah, your hands were so steady," Harry said. "Not a trace of nerves in sight!"
"Longbottom Manor has a big garden," Neville said, blushing from the compliments he was receiving. "I like tending to it. It's peaceful."
"That's really neat," Hermione said. "I've tried gardening before. Is it hard?"
"It can be," Neville admitted. "But I think the hard work is worth it."
They then had to pick up the pace to make it to their next class of the morning.
"Hey, there's Hannah and Susan," Ron pointed out, spotting the two Hufflepuffs in the hallway.
"Morning, you two. Did you know Draco got attacked in the forest? And that there's a guy attacking unicorns?" Harry asked as they caught up to two Hufflepuff friends as they entered the Transfiguration classroom together.
"Yeah, we heard it from Justin and Ernie," Hannah confirmed.
"And then we double-checked it ourselves with Daphne and Tracy in Slytherin. They couldn't confirm the unicorn bit, but it does seem like Draco was spooked by something in the Forbidden Forest," Susan added.
"That still sounds so stupid every time I hear it," Harry muttered. "Why punish a student with near death like that?"
Then he paused and waited for Hermione to chime in. When she didn't, he looked over at her. He wasn't the only one. Everyone else in their friend group looked at her in concern. The bushy-haired witch blushed in annoyance and glared at them.
"What?" she demanded.
"Uh, usually you're so quick to defend the school," Ron pointed out.
"Yeah. And you also often have a quote or anecdote or factoid from Hogwarts, A History," Susan added.
"Yes, well, even I think venturing into a forest that was declared off-limits as some sort of punishment is a stupid idea," Hermione huffed.
"Fair enough," Harry said.
Their conversation was put on pause when Professor McGonagall entered, flicking her wand and sending a bunch of metal needles over to their desks.
"You've all learned how to turn a matchstick into a needle. Now, you will learn the opposite: how to a needle into a matchstick," she said brusquely. "This will require a bit more focus than usual, as unlike a needle, a match is made up of two distinct portions. The wooden part, or handle, and the head, which ignites when struck."
'Now this is interesting,' Harry mused to himself. A match was considerably more complex than a needle. Did the spell actually reproduce the chemicals in a matchhead, or was it merely mimicking it the look? Did a transfigured match still work in that case?
The lesson was fascinating, but Harry's mind was too distracted to take it in properly. He just couldn't stop thinking about Draco's misadventure in the Forbidden Forest, and also his worries with the third-floor corridor.
"You look distracted, Harry," Susan said, looking at him in worry as they sat at the Hufflepuff table for lunch. "Is everything alright?"
"Just can't stop thinking about the stone," he replied, keeping it vague in case anyone was listening.
"Ah, yeah, it's real mystery. Tempting, too," Hannah said. "Can you imagine? All the gold you could ever want, right at your fingertips!"
"But there's a giant dog guarding it," Ron said, not unreasonably. "It'd take a powerful wizard to overpower it!"
"Actually, that part wouldn't be too difficult," Harry admitted. "Even if we didn't already know what the secret to bypassing it was thanks to Hagrid. I mean, surely the library would have something on its breed?"
"That's… huh, that makes sense," Neville mused. "The Hogwarts library is the largest collection of literature in Wizarding Britain. If any place would have a book on, uh, Fluffy, it'd be here."
"So, who do you think would be the thief?" Harry asked, looking at his friends as they ate lunch. "It has to be somebody already in the castle. Probably a teacher."
"It's gotta be Snape!" Ron protested. "He was casting that hex on your broom at the Quidditch game!"
"And he was limping a bit for a day or two after the troll showed up," Susan added, tapping her chin thoughtfully, a nervous tick she'd picked up from Harry, who'd picked it up from Edward.
"He was?" Harry asked, surprised.
"He was. Didn't you notice?" Neville asked.
"To be honest, I just ignore him in class," Harry admitted, a snort of amusement from Hannah. "I listen to the instructions and then just tune him out. I have better things to do than listen to the greasy git insult me and my housemates."
"Harry!" Hermione said, scandalized. "You shouldn't say that about a professor!"
"Even if he is one?" Susan asked, earning another huff of laughter from Hannah.
"Yeah, he's a bloody tosser, and he sucks at teaching," Harry declared. "Come to think of it, this does paint a pretty bad picture of him. Maybe he really is trying to steal the stone!"
"No swearing!" Hermione scolded. "And it's all circumstantial evidence anyways! Next you'll say he's the one killing unicorns!"
"He teaches potions. That means he's got to know all sorts of different ingredient suppliers, right?" Harry asked, continuing his thread of thought. "He could have gotten the dragon's egg off the black market, and as a member of the Hogwarts faculty, he would have known about Hagrid's inability to lie properly and desire for a dragon of his own, and leverage it for information on what guards the stone. Perhaps he got injured trying to steal it, and that's why he was limping?"
"Just because he's, uh, somewhat biased against you, doesn't mean he's trying to steal the Philosopher's Stone," Hermione said exasperatedly. She looked around for an ally. "Right, Neville?"
"Um, well, maybe," Neville stammered.
"You too?" the bushy-haired witch asked, aghast at the lack of respect towards the Potions professor.
"I mean, he's not a very nice man," Neville replied weakly.
"Harry has a point," Susan claimed, swooping in to save Neville from Hermione's death glare. "A Potions master like Snape would probably know about black market suppliers for the hard-to-get ingredients. It's not beyond the pale he could have obtained the stolen egg."
"Assuming he didn't steal it himself," Hannah pointed out.
"Seriously?" Hermione asked, annoyed.
"Come on, Hermione, surely you can also see how much of a toss- I mean, bad teacher he is," Ron argued. "Why are you playing Devil's Advocate for him?"
"Because somebody has to!" Hermione said angrily.
"Alright, I suppose that's fair," Harry said, raising his hands to placate the upset witch.
"If it turns out we were wrong about our assumptions, you can always say, 'I told you so,'" Hannah told Hermione.
"Maybe I will!" she declared.
Harry couldn't help but laugh. Even if someone was trying to steal a magical artifact, it was nice to know he could rely on his friends, no matter what.
Author's Note:
If you'd like to read early chapters or just support the writing process, please check out Akashicrecordstrue on Patty-ron!