After Ron finished interrogating her, Anne excused herself to Fanny and went straight to Professor Sprout's greenhouse. She wanted to stay as far away from the Golden Trio as possible.
Even though she was very curious about the dragon, who hadn't heard stories about dragons as a child?, she forced herself to let it go. She had thought dragons wouldn't appear until the Triwizard Tournament in fourth year. But now, with an actual dragon lead dangling in front of her... how could she not be tempted?
Still, she reminded herself what getting too involved with the main characters could lead to: danger, misadventures, or even ending up as a prime target for the Dark Lord. No thanks. Best to squash her curiosity now.
By dinner, Anne had safely returned to the Slytherin table and finally exhaled in relief. But she still felt uneasy under the frequent, fleeting gazes from three people over at the Gryffindor table.
The next day passed.
Nothing happened.
Two days.
Still nothing.
Three days.
Absolutely nothing.
Four days went by.
Again, nothing, except that every time she sat at the Slytherin table, she could feel those three pairs of eyes on her, whispering behind her back.
After a while, it started gnawing at her like a kitten scratching at the door of her brain. Her thoughts wouldn't stop spinning.
One voice said: What if Hagrid really has a dragon? That would be incredible! What kind? What does it look like? Does it breathe fire? Was it hatched from an egg? What do dragon eggs even look like?
Another voice warned: You shouldn't get mixed up with the main characters. You're a side character. Ordinary. You don't have plot armor. Don't be stupid. Don't die trying to act interesting.
And yet another voice reasoned: Come on, relax a little. You've been in the magical world for a while now. You've learned quite a lot. What real danger could happen in the first year? The scariest thing is facing Quirrell and You-Know-Who at the end, and the protections around the Stone. Just don't go near it. But a dragon? Maybe even a baby one? Or a dragon egg? How many chances like that will you ever get?
All three voices tangled in her head, driving her mad.
On the fifth day, that afternoon, Slytherin had no classes. Anne was helping Professor Sprout organize herbs in Greenhouse Two. In Greenhouse One, Gryffindor and Ravenclaw were having Herbology together.
Just as the bell rang, two people grabbed Anne by the arms and dragged her out of the greenhouse.
They ran so fast that Anne didn't even have time to react. By the time she realized what was happening, they'd already pulled her quite a distance.
It was, of course, Harry and Ron.
"Put me down! I can run on my own!" Anne shouted, angry. "What are you two doing?!"
Harry and Ron exchanged glances... and ran faster. Once they were far enough from the greenhouses, they finally let her go. Anne was fuming and nearly reached for her wand.
Thankfully, Hermione quickly stepped in. "Anne, please don't be mad! I know we shouldn't have dragged you like that, but this is really important. And it's about you, too."
Harry and Ron nodded rapidly. Anne took a deep breath, calming herself, though her tone was still cold. "Fine. What is it?"
"We don't have time to explain now. We need to get somewhere first!" Hermione said hastily.
"Where to?"
"Hagrid's hut!"
The four of them arrived at Hagrid's cottage. When Hagrid let them in, Anne's eyes immediately locked on the table in the center of the messy room, on it was an egg, cracked down the middle.
She couldn't help stepping closer, her gaze fixed on it.
"See?" Ron said smugly. "Told you she'd be interested in a dragon. No one isn't interested in dragons!"
Hermione elbowed him in the ribs.
Anne ignored Ron and asked Hagrid, who was also staring at the egg, "It's about to hatch, isn't it?"
Hagrid nodded heavily. The egg made a faint crackling noise. The room went silent. Five people held their breath and watched.
Then came a sharp scratching sound, the egg cracked open.
A small dragon flopped out, awkward and wrinkled like a black umbrella. Its wings were lined with tiny spikes and disproportionately large compared to its body. A big snout, knobby horns on its head, and bulging orange-red eyes gave it a fierce look.
It sneezed, and a few sparks flew from its nostrils.
Hagrid reached out and gently patted its head. "Ain't it beautiful?" he said.
The baby dragon opened its mouth to show a row of sharp teeth.
"Merlin's beard!" Hagrid exclaimed. "It knows I'm its mum!"
Anne crossed her arms. "I don't think that's a 'mum recognition' reaction. More like 'feed me.'"
Hagrid nodded thoughtfully and turned to find something for the baby dragon to eat.
Anne looked at the trio. "Okay. Now, who wants to explain why you dragged me here?"
They looked at each other, no one speaking. Anne raised an eyebrow.
Right then, Hagrid gasped and ran to the window. "Someone's out there! A boy! I saw a boy spying just now, he ran off!"
Harry rushed over to the window and shouted, "It was Malfoy!"
Anne couldn't stop the massive eye-roll. "GOD. Of course it was."
Hagrid hastily stuffed the baby dragon into a wooden box he'd prepared days earlier. Ron and Harry bolted to the door like they were going to chase Malfoy, while Hermione leaned against the window.
Anne looked around and felt like she was watching a bunch of panicking children. Well, they were children. And they had made a mistake. As for Hagrid... well, mentally, he was a child.
Harry and Ron returned moments later, out of breath. They couldn't catch Malfoy.
Hagrid tucked the box high up on a shelf in the corner, like that would actually keep it hidden.
Hermione turned to Anne, who was still calmly standing in place.
"Alright! Everyone calm down!" Anne's voice rang out, steady and clear. "This has already happened. Malfoy won't report it immediately. You can't undo what's done. So the only thing to do now is figure out how to handle it."
"Why?" "What should we do?" "What about the dragon?" "Anne?"
Four voices. All eyes on her.
At that moment, Anne thought of a senior colleague from her past life in investment banking, always calm in a crisis. When something goes wrong, the first thing you do is calm down. Then break the problem into pieces. That's how you solve it best.
She spoke again, cool and composed. "Malfoy won't run straight to the professors, he doesn't have any solid evidence."
"But he saw it!" Ron burst out.
Anne gave him a flat look. "Yes, he saw it. But so what? He runs to a professor and says, 'I saw a dragon in Hagrid's hut'? Do you think any of them will believe that?"
Finally, someone's brain switched on.
"Right! Dragons haven't been seen in years. No one's going to believe a first-year student," Hermione said, nodding seriously.
"But what if Snape believes him?" Harry interjected. "He's always trying to catch me doing something wrong."
Anne turned her gaze on Harry and spoke quickly. "I don't know why you hate Professor Snape so much. But even if he believes you, let's say a first-year tells you that the person they hate most and Hagrid are secretly raising a dragon. Would you just run over and search the hut? And if there's nothing there? How would you explain to the Headmaster that you stormed into someone's home because of a student's word? Harry, please, use your brain."
Harry was momentarily stunned into silence.
Anne glanced around the room and then checked her watch. Her voice was even, her tone steady, her words measured. "Now. Harry, Ron, Hermione, you three need to get back to Herbology. You're already very late, and even Professor Sprout can lose her temper eventually."
She turned to Hagrid. "As for your dragon, don't worry for now. Nothing's going to happen yet. You can take it out of the box and feed it something. We'll come back here after class to discuss what to do next. Alright?"
The three of them exchanged glances and nodded.
As Anne stepped out of Hagrid's hut, a bitter winter wind howled past. She sighed deeply.
"What a terrible day... Why did I let myself get pulled into this?"
As the trio ran past her, both Harry and Ron gave her complicated looks. Hermione, on the other hand, beamed and said cheerfully, "Anne, you're amazing!"
To which Anne could only scream internally:
I don't want to be amazing!! That's a DRAGON!!
A/N: I rewrote the final scene multiple times, especially Anne's dialogue controlling the situation. Balancing tone and pacing made a big difference, it's a useful writing skill, so take notes! That said, I was a little conflicted while writing this chapter... Is it too soon to reveal more of Anne's true personality? Hahaha.
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