Chapter 170: Draco's Tips
It was just past one o'clock in the afternoon as Harry, Ron, and Draco walked back toward the castle.
Harry couldn't help but glance sideways at Draco, who had been frowning ever since they left Hagrid's hut.
"Draco, why are you frowning like that? Is it because of Hagrid?" Harry finally asked.
"Obviously," Draco muttered, then motioned for Harry to keep quiet so he could continue. "I double-checked—it is a Norwegian Ridgeback egg. That's… very strange."
"I've put up with you long enough!" Ron cut in, his voice rising. "Are you saying Hagrid lied to us?"
Draco smirked faintly, though a flush crept into his pale cheeks.
"Come on, Weasley. Don't you have a brother in Romania who works with dragons? You, of all people, should know this. Harry grew up in the Muggle world—he has an excuse."
Harry ignored Ron's scowl. "All right then—what are you getting at?"
"Trading dragon eggs privately is illegal," Draco said flatly. "The Ministry cracks down on it hard."
"But," Draco continued, "in Knockturn Alley, anyone carrying a dragon egg has an unspoken protection. People won't cross you if they think you can get your hands on something like that."
"Are those dark wizards completely insane?" Ron blurted. "Why don't they just—"
"Why don't they take advantage of him?" Draco cut in sharply. "Because dragon breeding is monopolized by Romania. That's why your brother Charlie had to leave home to work there."
He ticked points off on his fingers.
"A dragon's whole body is valuable—even its blood. Dumbledore himself is famous for discovering twelve uses for dragon's blood."
"And because of that," Draco went on, "the Ministry and Knockturn Alley both have special rules about dragons. You can't just buy or sell dragon products there—especially not a living egg. That kind of thing is so rare it's beyond price."
Harry frowned. "So the person who gave Hagrid the egg… didn't know what he was doing?"
Draco snorted. "Of course he knew. People don't just happen to have a dragon egg. Whoever gave it to Hagrid was after something in return—and he's probably already got it."
Harry and Ron exchanged a look. Neither spoke, but both silently mouthed the same words to each other: Philosopher's Stone.
---
The Next Day
After Charms class that afternoon, Harry and Ron made an excuse to leave the Ravenclaw students in their common room and hurried to Hagrid's hut.
"You've got questions?" Hagrid said as he opened the door. "I thought you were here to see the egg again."
But behind Hagrid, to their surprise, stood Draco Malfoy.
"What?" Draco drawled. "You didn't expect to see me here?"
"What are you two plotting behind my back?" Draco asked, narrowing his eyes.
Before Harry or Ron could reply, Hagrid suddenly muttered, "Hold on… this isn't about Nicolas Flamel, is it?"
Ron puffed out his chest. "Oh, we figured out who he was ages ago."
"What—this is about the Philosopher's Stone?" Draco's eyes widened in surprise.
"Merlin's beard!" Hagrid exploded, throwing his hands up. "How come all of you know about that?!"
"Hagrid, please," Harry said urgently, stepping forward. "This is about the Stone's safety."
The hut fell into a heavy silence. Hagrid hesitated, rubbing the back of his neck, then sighed.
"Well… since you've come this far…"
"The Stone is in Hogwarts!" Draco blurted before Hagrid could finish.
"Shut it, Malfoy," Ron hissed, shooting him a warning glare.
Harry pressed on. "Hagrid, please. Aside from Fluffy, did Professor Quirrell help set up the protections for the Stone?"
Hagrid's brows drew together. "How do you know about that?"
"This is important," Harry said softly. "Please tell us."
Hagrid shook his head. "First off, I don't know all the details myself. Second—blimey, you lot already know too much. But yes… the Stone is here for a reason. It was almost stolen at Gringotts. I reckon you know about that?"
"Hagrid, we only need to know if Quirrell's involved," Harry insisted, gripping Hagrid's huge hand. His bright green eyes—so much like his mother's—made Hagrid falter.
Hagrid swallowed. He thought of Lily. He thought of the night he'd carried baby Harry on Sirius Black's motorbike. His resolve weakened.
"Well… I suppose there's no harm in saying this much," Hagrid muttered.
"Yes. Professor Quirrell is involved. And don't you dare try to break in there! Dumbledore asked me for Fluffy, then had the other professors put their own enchantments in place—Professor Sprout, Professor Flitwick, Professor McGonagall, Professor Snape… and of course Dumbledore himself."
He fixed them all with a serious look.
"As long as Dumbledore's magic is on it, no wizard alive can take that Stone."
"But Hagrid," Harry pressed, "what about the man who gave you the egg? What did he look like? What did he ask you?"
Hagrid scratched his beard. "Don't know. He kept his hood up the whole time. That's normal in the Hog's Head—not unusual to see folks keeping to themselves."
"Did he ask about Fluffy?" Harry asked quickly.
Hagrid's face went pale. "Yeah… yeah, he did. Said he was curious about a three‑headed dog. So I told him—blimey, I shouldn't be telling you this—I told him Fluffy's easy to handle if you know how. Just play him some music and he goes straight to sleep—"
Hagrid froze, horror dawning on his face.
"Blast it! I shouldn't have said that!"
"The place guarding the Stone is dangerous enough," Hagrid went on, trying to recover. "Even if you get past Fluffy, there are other enchantments. Don't you three even think about trying anything!"
Draco, who had been crouching near the egg, suddenly scoffed.
"Big man, you're looking at the wrong detail. Think about it—who just walks around with a dragon egg in his pocket? That's illegal. And he just happens to be curious about Fluffy? Whoever that was—he wasn't some ordinary wizard."
Harry's stomach dropped. Draco's cold gray eyes met his.
> "Harry," Draco said quietly, "you think that man… was Quirrell, don't you?"
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If you like the story please give it some power stones and reviews. And if you want to read 40+ advance chapters or just want to support me please join my patreon at [email protected]/Translatingfanfics