As usual, History of Magic was dry and dull. The only student still paying full attention was likely Hermione from Gryffindor. Even Draco had resorted to reading other books during the lecture.
He thought he could get through class in peace—but a certain little princess clearly had other plans.
"Is the team really that busy lately?"
Using her textbook to block Professor Binns' line of sight, Pansy asked Draco in a seemingly casual tone.
But her wandering gaze and the tight grip of her hands gave her away—this wasn't as offhand as she tried to make it sound. Clearly, she'd noticed something.
"Busy? I haven't even gone to practice."
"...What?"
Pansy blinked in surprise, clearly not expecting Draco to be that blunt.
For a moment, she was at a loss for how to respond.
Draco shot her a mildly annoyed glance.
"If you've got something to say, just ask. Trying to probe me won't get you anywhere."
"I—I wasn't probing you! I'm not that nosy!"
Flustered and embarrassed, Pansy stomped lightly on his foot. Her words might have been defiant, but the flush creeping up her cheeks betrayed her guilt.
The truth was, after not seeing Draco in the common room for several days, Pansy had started missing him. Naturally, she became curious about where he'd been going.
At first, she assumed he was busy with Quidditch practice—but when she couldn't resist heading to the pitch to check, she realized Draco hadn't been there in ages.
Honestly, Draco might've been the laziest captain and player Hogwarts had ever seen.
In the end, all Pansy really wanted was to know what he'd been up to.
"So? If you're not in the common room, where've you been sneaking off to?"
Pouting with puffed-up cheeks, Pansy looked more like a sulking puppy waiting for its owner than someone truly upset.
Her expression was so pitiful that Draco almost reached out to pinch her cheeks.
"How should I put it... I just can't leave it alone."
Draco knew full well that he couldn't let the dragon situation slip, but he didn't want to lie to Pansy either. So, he gave her a vague answer.
"Can't leave what alone?"
Pansy, who knew him too well, could tell he didn't want to talk about it. Not wanting to push him away, she scrunched up her little nose and mumbled to herself in confusion.
To be honest, Pansy wasn't the kind of girl who needed to understand everything. She had the sharpness of a queen but also a bit of harmless willfulness that made her endearing. Simply put, she was a precociously refined little witch.
Pansy, for once, was seriously bothered—maybe even alarmed. That's why she had tried to get Draco talking.
She had noticed that Gryffindor's nosy little cat had been eyeing Draco more and more lately, though she wasn't quite sure why...
And just as Pansy had guessed, since that day, Draco had been spending most of his time at Hagrid's hunting lodge.
To be precise, he was going there for Norberta. Otherwise, there was no way Draco Malfoy would ever step foot in a place as filthy and rustic as that.
By the way, Norberta was the little one's name. Although Hagrid had stubbornly insisted on calling her Norbert—arguing it was clearly a boy's name—Draco and the dragonling had worked together to change his mind. Hagrid had eventually agreed... after crying his heart out, of course.
"I brought them—these are the books that Draco... that he recommended. Take a look—'The Species of Dragons in Great Britain and Ireland,' 'From Egg to Nirvana,' and 'A Guide to Raising Dragons.'"
Hermione arrived at the lodge, arms full of library books, placing them one by one in front of Hagrid while explaining where each came from.
She almost gave herself away—it was obvious the titles were all from Draco's suggestions.
"Oh, this is wonderful, Hermione! I don't even know how to thank you for doing this for our little darling."
Hagrid beamed, sliding a mug filled with some dark, unidentifiable liquid toward her, then nervously rubbed his hands, worried he might accidentally damage the books.
Hermione returned his joy with a stiff smile, then subtly nudged the suspicious drink across the table—placing it in front of Draco, who was too busy playing with Norberta to notice.
"Oh my god!"
Hermione hadn't even had time to smirk at her little prank when a loud voice and a heavy thud startled her. She froze, thinking someone had caught her.
It was Ron, who had just slammed one of the books onto the table.
His rough movement sent some of the black liquid splashing across the surface. Hermione frowned in displeasure, completely baffled by Ron's behavior.
"Ron?"
Harry, who had been quietly watching Norberta playing with Draco, also flinched at Ron's sudden outburst, confused about what had gotten into him.
All eyes turned to Ron—except for Draco, who was still focused on Norberta.
"Are you really going to let this... this dragon stay here?!"
Ron had originally planned to use this moment to drive Draco out, but for some reason, he shifted tactics and turned his sights on Norberta instead.
"This is illegal! You all know that, right? The Warlocks' Convention of 1709 passed a law banning dragon ownership. Every wizard should be aware of that."
Ron's words made Harry and the others tense. For young wizards like them, the idea of breaking the law was still intimidating—and Hagrid, who had almost once been to Azkaban, had already gone pale.
Being pureblood, Ron actually knew a decent amount about dragons.
When he saw Hermione looking worried, he hesitated, then continued more seriously.
"If we keep a dragon in the backyard, how long do you think it'll take before Muggles notice? And dragons aren't exactly easy to train. Doesn't matter what breed—every single one is dangerous. You should see Charlie's burn scars. Wild dragons in Romania left those on him."
Charlie, of course, was Ron's older brother who worked at a dragon reserve in Romania.
And Ron wasn't exaggerating—dragons grew at an incredible rate. It wouldn't be long before Norberta outgrew the lodge entirely.
"So, Hagrid, you've got to get that dragon out of here—fast!"
"..."
"..."
Ron's words made Draco's fingers still as he played with Norberta.
He was starting to understand what Ron was really planning...