"Of course it is." Hagrid said.
"Then why are you still keeping it?"
Hagrid stammered for a long time, unable to form a complete sentence. He'd always been a creature of instinct and never once considered the consequences. He knew it was illegal, but he wanted to raise it anyway.
"Hagrid, have you thought about what you'll do when it hatches?"
Harry was just as curious about the dragon egg, though he wasn't as obsessed as Ron and Malfoy. Not having grown up in the wizarding world, a dragon felt much like an animal from the zoo—just a big, fire-breathing lizard, really.
"I'll just keep 'im 'ere! I've read all about how to raise dragons, and I've already got brandy and chicken blood ready. He's a Norwegian Ridgeback, a rare one..."
"But a Norwegian Ridgeback is a fire dragon, and your house is made of wood..."
Ron looked around the hut. He didn't think the place could withstand a single breath of dragon fire.
Hagrid ignored him, humming a tune as he poked at the fire, as if he hadn't heard a word Ron said. The group was once again reminded that Hagrid never planned anything.
"You should sell it to me! I'll pay any price!" Malfoy suggested.
"No chance! I'd never sell 'im to a Malfoy!" Hagrid shouted excitedly. But as soon as he said it, he realized his tone was too harsh—he was talking to Draco, not Lucius Malfoy. So he added, "But you can come and see 'im."
"Really?!"
Malfoy, who had been dejected by the refusal, was instantly re-energized. As he left, his eyes lingered on the fireplace, filled with a look of longing. He truly adored dragons.
But little Malfoy didn't notice the other pair of eyes behind him, staring at the egg with an even more intense passion. From then on, whenever someone mentioned going to the Forbidden Forest to see Hagrid, Malfoy was the most enthusiastic of the lot, more so than Ron and Harry combined. And he never complained once.
The dragon egg brought a small measure of comfort to the team's busy and exhausting morning training sessions.
---
Time flew by, and the date for their meeting with Dumbledore drew closer. One morning, after their workout, Hedwig brought them a note with only four words: "He's about to hatch."
After their classes were done, the group went to Hagrid's hut. And just as he'd said, the little dragon was about to be born. A small crack had appeared on the egg, and it was shaking violently, with the movement growing wilder over time, accompanied by a constant cracking sound. With a shrill scraping noise, a tiny, wrinkly creature wriggled out. The little dragon sneezed, sending a few sparks flying from its nose.
"Isn't he beautiful?" Hagrid murmured. He reached out a hand to stroke the dragon's head. The little dragon instantly bit down on his finger, showing off its pointy teeth.
"Oh, look! He knows his mummy!"
"Want to have a feel?"
Ron looked at his hand, then at the sharp teeth in the dragon's mouth. "I don't think so." He was pretty sure the dragon didn't see Hagrid as its mother, but as food.
"Bah, wood. Tastes awful."
Dudley heard the dragon say this. It couldn't bite through Hagrid's skin.
Magical Creature Speech, activated.
"Hagrid, if I'm not mistaken, a Norwegian Ridgeback can outgrow your hut in less than a month," Neville said in a muffled voice. He had made a point of looking up how to raise Norwegian Ridgebacks.
The truth was even more dramatic than Neville had said. The little dragon grew at least three times its size in just one week. It wouldn't even take a month; in another week, Hagrid wouldn't be able to keep the little dragon in his hut. It was only after the dragon's fiery breath nearly set the hut on fire that Hagrid finally came to his senses.
The issue of the dragon's future was now a serious problem. The group gathered in a circle to discuss what to do.
Malfoy once again offered a suggestion: "You should give him to me. My manor is quite large..."
"Draco," Dudley cut him off before he could finish. "Your father, Lucius, wouldn't allow it. In fact, he'd probably turn Hagrid in. The truth is, Malfoy Manor isn't built to house a dragon."
"Your father and Professor Dumbledore have never gotten along."
Dudley was speaking the truth. Unless Draco could somehow become the head of the Malfoy family, this option was off the table.
"My suggestion is to put him back in the Forbidden Forest."
The Forbidden Forest was a place of legend, with countless books on magical creatures mentioning the many inhabitants within its borders: unicorns, Acromantulas, Thestrals, Hippogriffs, and Gryffins. It was even rumored that a dragon lived deep within the woods.
Don't disturb the sleeping dragons, it was one of the unofficial mottoes of Hogwarts. To release the dragon back into the Forbidden Forest was, in a way, returning it to nature.
"But he's too small," Hagrid said. "He'll die without my care."
"He won't," Dudley shook his head. "As long as it has enough to eat, a Norwegian Ridgeback can reach maturity in just one month."
"I think you should know that better than anyone."
In this world, dragons grew at an extraordinary speed, unlike those in other fantasy worlds that took centuries or even a millennium to mature. Of course, in return, the dragons here didn't grow to be hundreds of feet tall, possess genius-level intelligence, or wield absurdly powerful Draconic magic. While still incredibly strong, they weren't as powerful as one might imagine.
"Even if you won't think about yourself, you should think about Professor Dumbledore."
"I don't imagine you want to cause him trouble, do you?"
"All right, but I'll miss him."
Hagrid seemed to be swayed by Dudley's words. And he certainly didn't want to cause Dumbledore any trouble.
"We can raise him in the shallow part of the Forbidden Forest for a bit. When he's big enough, he'll leave on his own. If your bond is strong enough, maybe he'll even come back to visit you."
Hagrid agreed to Dudley's plan.
A week later, when the little dragon had grown to the very limits of what the hut could hold, Hagrid took him to the edge of the Forbidden Forest. And in less than three days, the dragon, whom Hagrid had named Norbert, vanished without a trace.
"Norbert's gone, he doesn't want his mummy anymore," Hagrid sobbed at first, blowing his nose loudly. But his sadness only lasted a few days before he was distracted by another piece of news.
Word was going around that a Manticore had been spotted in the northern woods of the Forbidden Forest.
Upon hearing this, Hagrid, with Fang at his side, excitedly went to the northern part of the forest to lie in wait. He said he wanted to try and breed a Manticore himself.
---
At midnight, under the full moon, not even the bright moonlight could pierce through the thick, black trees. The Forbidden Forest, made up of these dark woods, was like a giant black hole, cut off from the rest of the world.
The glow from fireflies and the light from some magical plants provided a weak glow that kept the forest from being completely dark. Whispers and rustling sounds came from all around. It was the sound of leaves rustling in the wind and the calls of nocturnal creatures. It was exactly like the eerie forests in fairy tales.
A bright light suddenly swept through, casting a circular beam that lit up a good portion of the forest. The magical creatures caught in the light let out terrified shrieks and vanished into the darkness.
A high-powered flashlight?
Hogwarts wouldn't have anything like that.
It was a light spell.
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