"Expelliarmus!"
Neville shouted, and Hermione's wand flew out of her hand, landing on a nearby cushion.
"It worked!" Hermione cried out excitedly, not bothering to pick up her wand but rushing to hug Neville instead.
"Excellent, Neville!" Theo applauded vigorously, then helped Hermione retrieve her wand and returned it to her.
Neville finally broke into a smile, happily saying, "I tried it at home, and my grandmother was really pleased. She said my father couldn't even cast a Disarming Charm in his first year!"
"Is this a new wand?" Michael examined his wand.
"Yes," Neville said, showing off his new companion. "Cherry wood, unicorn hair. Mr. Ollivander said it's perfect for me."
The first time they chose a wand, that wonderful feeling of finding half of themselves remained fresh in every young wizard's memory. They each touched Neville's wand and confidently declared that he would surely become an excellent charms master.
As they chatted and laughed, the door of the Umbrella House slid open. Neville looked back and saw a frowning Harry enter. He enthusiastically called out, "Harry, you're here too!"
"Hello, Neville," Harry said hurriedly. "Oh, Hermione—great, you're here too! Michael, do you know where Wade is?"
"He went to the library to borrow books, he should be back soon—do you need him for something?" Michael asked.
"—It's Hagrid," Harry said. "He invited Hermione, Neville, and Wade to his cabin as guests."
—The gamekeeper? That big guy…
Michael subtly raised an eyebrow.
Hogwarts students often saw Hagrid's wooden cabin across the lawn, but not many went near it. In the students' eyes, the extraordinarily burly Rubeus Hagrid seemed very intimidating. Some students also thought he was just a castle servant and didn't even know his name.
More often, the gamekeeper's name was associated with the Weasley twins, who were frequently said to have been caught by him coming out of the Forbidden Forest.
He hadn't expected Harry to have such a good relationship with him—but why was he inviting Wade?
As they spoke, Wade also came in through the door, carrying books. After hearing about Hagrid's invitation, he put down his books, and the group headed to Hagrid's cabin together.
On the way, Harry told them, "Hagrid said—the baby dragon is about to hatch, and he wants us all to see it. After all… not many people get to witness a dragon hatching with their own eyes… right?"
Harry's voice grew softer and softer under Hermione's incredulous stare.
"I can't believe it—he actually knows he's raising a dragon!" Hermione said indignantly. "He lives in a wooden house!"
"Don't—Hermione—" Harry whispered. "Just for today, don't argue—Hagrid's really looking forward to this—"
Hermione's face tightened, and she gave a reluctant nod.
At the door of the wooden cabin, Harry stepped forward and knocked. Hagrid opened the door, looking very pleased.
"Hurry up, you're just in time!" Hagrid said excitedly. "The baby's coming out any minute!"
Harry stepped inside, his steps suddenly stiffening.
Ron was also sitting in the small wooden cabin. He turned his head to look over, then quickly avoided their gazes, staring intently at the dragon egg as if studying the patterns on its shell.
Hermione looked from one to the other, a little at a loss.
"Come on in, don't just stand there."
Hagrid was completely oblivious to the subtle tension between them. With a sweep of his large hand, he ushered both of them into the cabin. He then bent down and said to Wade, "I'm glad you could come too, Wade. Not many people get to see a baby dragon hatch, and I guessed you'd be interested, right?"
"Of course, thank you for the invitation, Hagrid," Wade said with a smile. He walked in, ignoring the awkwardness of the other three, and sat on an empty chair nearby, looking with great interest at the "cracking" dragon egg on the table.
—This was a dragon!
Even if it was a Western lizard-dragon, who wouldn't want to see one hatch!
As he sat down, Wade thought he saw something strange. He looked up and saw a thin, soft bundle of white hair hanging from the ceiling, tied with several copper pots, like some sort of ethnic decoration.
In Hagrid's messy cabin, those white hairs had an unusually clean and sacred appearance.
Hermione was eager to find a topic of conversation and immediately asked, "What animal's hair is that, Hagrid?"
"Oh, that's unicorn hair, pulled from their tails when they get caught on branches in the forest." Hagrid initially didn't pay much mind, but seeing Wade staring at it, he said, "Oh, Wade, you're studying alchemy, right? Take it, use it. I have more if you need it."
He generously pulled off a large handful and directly handed it to Wade.
Wade tried to refuse, "It's too valuable, Hagrid! A single intact unicorn tail hair can cost 10 galleons."
Ron, whose face had been stern, nearly tumbled off his chair. He stared in astonishment at the white hair he had thought was from a horse's tail, his eyes almost popping out.
The Weasleys had seven children and usually lived in great frugality. When he was at school, he didn't even have a single new item—he wore his brothers' hand-me-down robes, used an old wand, old textbooks, and even his pet was an elderly rat his brother didn't want anymore.
Ron, in all his life, had never saved more than one Galleon in pocket money.
"It's nothing," Hagrid shook his head, saying dismissively. "I often find it in the forest—"
He forcibly gave all the unicorn tail hair to Wade.
Hagrid's reasoning was actually quite simple—on the night the Potters died, it was Hagrid who carried baby Harry from the ruins, and from that moment, he felt a strange sense of responsibility towards this small, vulnerable life. When Harry turned eleven, he personally went and brought Harry into the wizarding world.
Hagrid looked at Harry with a parental affection. When he learned that Harry was being looked after by Wade at school and had learned many useful spells from him, Hagrid had been thinking about how to repay Wade on Harry's parents' behalf. Now, seeing Wade interested in something he happened to have, he naturally gave it away happily.
Hagrid himself probably couldn't articulate his complex thoughts, but Wade sensed a few of them. He glanced at Harry, who remained oblivious, and accepted the gift.
—The value of the gift didn't matter; he would always have a chance to repay him.
"Look, it's coming out!" Hermione suddenly exclaimed.
The eggshell cracked and crunched, and a small white snout emerged. Then, the black baby dragon struggled to squeeze out, its spiky wings flapping onto the table with a thud, and a few sparks of fire shot from its nostrils.
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