Only Lucien and Hagrid remained in the hut.
Lucien set down his empty teacup, thought for a moment, and finally chose a similarly direct approach.
"Hagrid, I have a somewhat impolite request. I need your help."
"Oh, all right. What is it?"
Hagrid had his back to Lucien, carefully turning the dragon egg so it would rest more comfortably in the fire.
Faced with Hagrid's straightforward response, Lucien hesitated briefly before continuing.
"If possible, could you let me raise this dragon egg?"
This time, Hagrid did not answer at once. The only sounds in the room were the crackle of burning wood and the kettle coming to a boil.
Several minutes later, Hagrid muttered,
"Lucien, do you really need it?"
"Yes."
There was another stretch of silence. Hagrid's deep, rough voice came out slightly hoarse.
"Then… you'll take good care of it, won't you?"
But before Lucien could answer, Hagrid continued to mumble,
"I know, Lucien, you're a good person, and very smart. You understand far more than I do. You'll definitely be able to take better care of it, but…"
"But… sob.. but my dream is to raise a dragon. And it was so hard to finally get someone to give me a dragon egg…"
"That… sob.. that fellow was really a good person. Even though he covered his face and wouldn't let me see him, he bought me lots of wine and chatted with me, from dragons to Cerberus. Oh, he must be someone who truly loves magical creatures…"
The more Hagrid spoke, the more confused Lucien became.
No—why was Hagrid crying?
And the person who gave him the dragon egg was Quirrell, wasn't it? Wasn't this clearly an attempt to pry for information?
Lucien was rarely at a loss, and for a moment he didn't know how to comfort Hagrid.
"Lucien, you have to treat it well."
"I've already decided on a name for the little fellow, even though it hasn't hatched yet—Norbert."
"Actually, Harry and Hermione are right. I know it. Dragons grow very fast and are hard to hide. But you have that magical, gourd-shaped container…"
"Sob… you.. sob.. you must bring Norbert to see me often in the future…"
As he spoke, Hagrid pulled out a dirty, coarse handkerchief, wiped his tears, and then blew his nose loudly.
Then, putting on thick baking gloves, Hagrid prepared to take the dragon egg out of the fireplace to hand it to Lucien, turning his head away as if he couldn't bear to look at it again.
"Uh, Hagrid, I'm still only in my first year, and I'll be at Hogwarts for several more years. That makes it sound like I'm going to run away with Norbert, but you'll be able to see it easily during the day."
As he spoke, Lucien had already stopped Hagrid's movements.
"Just leave the dragon egg here. Once it starts hatching, the process can't be paused halfway."
Hagrid immediately pulled his hands back, awkwardly patting the tangled beard on his chest.
"Sniff.. Oh—oh, I'm sorry. I sob.. really didn't know."
"Ah, Lucien, you really do know so much. It really is more suitable for you to take care of Norbert…"
Hagrid grew dejected again, and Lucien could only try to comfort him.
"I only learned it from a friend. If you want to learn, I'll definitely tell you everything."
"In that case, if Norbert has offspring later, or if there are other dragon eggs or young dragons, I'd like to ask you to help raise and look after them. Would that be all right?"
At this, Hagrid's eyes lit up.
"Really? I can take care of another one?"
Lucien smiled as well.
"Of course, as long as you're willing."
Hagrid nodded again and again.
"Then I'm definitely willing. My dream is to raise a dragon, and if I can raise two....…"
Watching Hagrid relax and drift into his fantasies, Lucien quietly let out a sigh of relief as well.
He needed to raise a dragon to repay the annual loan for the Magic Weaving Technique.
He also had to accompany it for at least half a year, and the remaining time would be used to search for other dragons.
Hmm, Norbert was a Norwegian Ridgeback, which meant he would have to subdue the Norwegian Ridgeback species and make it the leader of the pack.
In the future, whenever he encountered dragon eggs or young dragons, the chances would be quite high, and he would also be able to fulfill Hagrid's wish.
Hagrid was a good person, someone who would go to great lengths for a friend, so a promise made to him naturally had to be kept.
...
One morning.
Crack, crack—!!
A faint cracking sound echoed through the small wooden hut.
Lucien and Hagrid, squatting nearby, stared intently at the black dragon egg in the fireplace.
The original orange-yellow firewood had been completely replaced by blazing gold flames.
Hagrid, already used to these "magical flames," suddenly slapped his forehead, jumped to his feet, hurried over to the table, pulled out a piece of parchment, and began writing, whistling to summon the owl outside the hut.
"I have to tell Harry and the others that Norbert is about to hatch!"
After explaining himself, Hagrid sent the letter off with the owl, then squatted back down beside Lucien, nervously watching the dragon egg amid the blazing golden flames.
A tiny crack had already appeared on its surface.
He thought Norbert would be born very soon, but aside from that crack, there was no further progress.
As time passed, Hagrid couldn't help growing anxious.
"Lucien, is this normal? It's been over an hour!"
"Don't worry. A dragon's hatching process takes a long time as well. For the Norwegian Ridgeback species, from the appearance of the first crack to full birth, it usually takes about four to eight hours."
Lucien gently waved his hand, signaling Hagrid to stay calm.
On one hand, this was knowledge he had learned from Newt. On the other, Lucien was also observing the situation inside the eggshell with his Eye of Peering Magic.
The magical circuitry within the young dragon was completely normal and developing very robustly.
It seemed the Net Fire of the divine beast Qilin had worked well. At the very least, Norbert would not be at a congenital disadvantage.
Coincidentally, Ravenclaw had no classes that morning, so Lucien stayed behind with the dragon egg.
Click, click—!!
A clearer sound came from inside the shell.
At the same time, there was a knock at the door.
Harry and his two friends arrived together.
Lucien noticed that their hands and robes were smeared with mud, clearly just back from Herbology class.
Hagrid and the four young wizards gathered around the dragon egg.
Suddenly, with a sharp scraping sound—The shell split open!
A small dragon flapped its wings and crawled out of the egg.
Faint golden traces clung vaguely to its jet-black scales.
Compared to its body, its wings were unusually large, and they were covered in short, sharp spikes.
Hagrid reached out and touched the little dragon's head, only for it to bite his finger.
Hagrid immediately jumped to his feet, his face pale.
Harry thought he was hurt and was about to ask anxiously when he heard Hagrid say in a trembling voice,
"Someone's peeking outside!"
________
o(*≧▽≦)ツ💫 Read up to 12+ chapters in advance on P@treon/DarkDevil1