The next evening arrived in the blink of an eye.
"So you two are going too?" Charlie looked at Anthony and Hector.
"Of course. Though I'm not entirely sure it's safe," Anthony said with a cheerful grin.
Hector lowered his voice. "More people means more chances to get caught."
"It's nothing," Charlie said, nodding. "You just want to say goodbye to the dragon. No harm in that."
He pulled out his pocket watch and checked the time. "We'll need to handle a few other things before curfew, though."
Around nine o'clock that night, Charlie led Anthony and Hector down to Hagrid's hut.
"Norbert's grown another size," Hagrid said, his eyes brimming with tears. Only now, when it came time to load the little dragon into the crate, did Hagrid finally understand he couldn't control it anymore.
The dragon thrashed wildly, its long serpentine neck stretching out as it snapped at Hagrid again and again.
"It's a beast. Its place is in the sky, the mountains, the forests, the lakes and the sea. Charlie, you were right. I can't keep it locked up here forever. Little one… goodbye. You're leaving your mum now."
As he spoke, Hagrid placed a bottle of brandy and a small teddy bear inside the crate.
Charlie stepped forward and looked down at the dragon. With a flick of his wrist, a handful of golden sand appeared in his palm. He sprinkled it gently into the crate.
"Charlie, what's that?" Hagrid asked quickly.
"Something to help it settle down," Charlie said with a small smile.
Sure enough, moments later the dragon's eyes grew heavy. It stopped struggling and drifted off to sleep.
"Oh—thank you," Hagrid said. He added a few dead chickens to the crate. "This way it'll have something to eat and drink when it wakes up hungry."
Once everything was ready, Hagrid sealed the crate.
At midnight—curfew—there came a knock at the door. Harry and the others had arrived.
The moment they stepped inside and pulled off the Invisibility Cloak, Harry started complaining. "Sorry we're late. Peeves was in the entrance hall batting a tennis ball against the wall. We had to wait until he left before we could sneak out."
"No problem. We still have time."
Charlie drew his wand and tapped the crate. "Wingardium Leviosa."
Just like the Levitation Charm lifted people by their clothes, the crate—and the sleeping dragon inside—became much lighter.
Harry and the others draped the Invisibility Cloak over the crate and climbed underneath it. Lifting it took almost no effort at all.
The group headed toward the castle.
"You're sure this won't get us in trouble?" Harry asked from under the cloak.
"Filch will be busy tonight," Charlie said simply.
Ron opened his mouth to say something, but Charlie cut him off. "If you're going to chat while sneaking around after curfew, you're being way too bold."
Honestly, even Hermione's footsteps sounded a little loud to him. The good little witch had no experience with this sort of thing.
Charlie treated curfew and Filch like they didn't exist. His edge came down to one thing—his hearing.
To catch every tiny sound in the empty castle, he had to stay completely silent himself.
As midnight crept toward one o'clock, the group climbed flight after flight of stairs.
Charlie had taken the lead. Just as they neared the top of the tower and were about to climb one more level, he suddenly raised his hand.
Everyone behind him froze instantly, holding their breath, not daring to make a sound.
Charlie turned quietly and gestured toward the shadows below the stairs.
Under his guidance, the group slipped into the darkness beneath the staircase.
Moments later, footsteps echoed above them—two sets.
"Detention!"
The people hidden under the stairs exchanged glances. They recognized Professor McGonagall's voice, sharp with anger.
"Who got caught?"
"Slytherin loses twenty points! Sneaking around in the middle of the night—what were you thinking?!"
"You don't understand, Professor," another voice said. The sound made Harry and the others under the cloak grin despite themselves.
It was Malfoy.
"Charlie and Harry are planning something bad up here tonight. I heard them."
The voices were getting closer—right above their heads now, coming down the stairs.
"Complete nonsense. I just came down from the top of the tower. How could I have missed them? I can't wait to see what Snape does with you."
Professor McGonagall marched Malfoy past without noticing the hidden group. Under the cloak, Harry and the others were practically shaking with the effort of holding in their laughter.
A moment later the footsteps faded. No one moved right away. Instead, they all turned to look at Charlie.
He kept his hand raised, signaling them to wait.
Half a minute passed before he finally waved them forward.
The rest of the climb felt almost easy, especially with the good news that Malfoy was heading for detention. They all moved a little lighter.
When they reached the top of the tower, Harry pulled off the cloak with a grin. Ron whispered, "Malfoy's getting detention. I'm so happy I could sing."
"Just think the song," Charlie said with a quiet laugh.
At midnight, four brooms descended from the darkness.
Anthony stepped forward and greeted them warmly. Among the four riders, the tall red-haired one with freckles was obviously Ron's older brother.
"Senior, I bet you were a beast on the Gryffindor Quidditch team back in the day."
"Oh—thanks," Charlie Weasley said with a grin and a nod.
He was huge—solid muscle, with old scars visible on his wrists. The kind of man who could stop a crying kid just by walking past.
The group chatted for a minute, then tied ropes to the four corners of the crate. Each rope was fastened to one of the brooms.
"This way it won't jostle him around," Charlie Weasley said. He shook Harry's hand and offered a few more quiet thanks.
"Alright then. Goodbye, friends."
They mounted their brooms and rose into the night. Moments later, only five dark specks remained against the sky.
"Alright," Harry said lightly. "Let's head back to the common room."
"You three go on ahead," Charlie told them.
"What about you?"
"Oh, we've got a couple of other little things to take care of," Anthony said with a smile.
Harry and the others didn't press. They left in high spirits. Norbert was gone. Malfoy was getting detention. What more could they ask for?
Once they were out of sight, the top of the tower fell quiet. Hector stared up at the dark blue sky.
"What's wrong?" Charlie asked.
"I keep feeling like something's… off."
"You've said that a few times lately," Anthony muttered. "So what exactly feels wrong?"
"It's just… this whole mess wrapped up way too easily. It feels too simple."
"You were hoping for some epic five-level, six-general adventure or something?" Anthony asked, eyebrows raised.
"No. I mean—how the hell is Hogwarts this easy to sneak into?"
Or maybe—
Hector's voice trailed off. A moment later a genuinely alarming thought hit him.
"The headmaster knew," he said quietly. "The headmaster let Charlie Weasley and the others come into the school to take the dragon away."
Professor McGonagall was the deputy headmistress. From the way she'd just dragged Malfoy off, she clearly hadn't known anything about this.
Which meant the only person above her was Headmaster Dumbledore.
Headmaster Dumbledore had known everything—and allowed it to happen.
"What?" Anthony stared at him, half-incredulous. "No. You're overthinking this, right?"
He turned to Charlie.
Charlie smiled and nodded. "I agree with him."
At the same time, he bent down and picked up the silvery, fluid fabric that had fallen to the ground.