Knock, knock, knock!
"Hagrid, we know you're in there! Open the door!" Harry knocked anxiously on the wooden door of Hagrid's hut, with Richie, Hermione, and Ron lined up behind him.
Creak. The wooden door slowly opened a crack.
"Harry? Oh, and the rest of you?" Hagrid's giant face appeared behind the crack. He clearly hadn't expected them, and his eyes darted around nervously. "Sorry, I don't have time to entertain you kids today..."
"We know about the Sorcerer's Stone!" the Golden Trio blurted out in unison. Richie just stood there, happily tagging along for the ride.
"Oh!" Hagrid swung the door fully open and stepped back inside. The four of them immediately filed into the hut.
"We think Snape is trying to steal the Stone!" Harry practically shouted the second they were inside.
"Snape? I thought we were past that." Hagrid shrugged, subtly stepping sideways to block whatever was resting on his battered red sofa.
"Hagrid, we know he wants the Stone, we just don't know why," Ron added.
Hermione noticed Hagrid's stiff, defensive posture. She blinked and quietly slipped around behind him.
Richie, meanwhile, noticed the two books sitting on the table: Dragon Species of Great Britain and Ireland and From Egg to Inferno: A Dragon Keeper's Guide.
"Er, those are just for... light reading," Hagrid said, following Richie's gaze. He frantically scooped up the library books and shoved them behind his back.
"Listen to me. Snape is one of the professors protecting the Stone! He's not going to steal it!"
"One of the professors?" Ron asked, confused. "There are multiple professors protecting it?"
"Of course there are multiple layers of protection. Otherwise, Snape would have just stolen it by now!" Hermione chimed in before Hagrid could answer.
"Merlin, Snape really crossed the wrong kids," Hagrid muttered, hearing Hermione's absolute certainty. "Look, just relax. Nobody is getting past Fluffy. Nobody except me and Dumbledore..."
"Oh, I shouldn't have told you that." Hagrid slapped a massive hand over his mouth in frustration.
"Nobody can get past Fluffy? Except you and Dumbledore?" Harry visibly relaxed at the news.
But just then, Hermione, who had completely flanked Hagrid, spotted the anomaly on the armchair.
"Hey... is that an egg?"
The other four froze.
Hagrid reacted first. He spun around, scooped up the bundle of clothes on the sofa, and clutched it tightly to his chest. "Oh, you didn't see anything! You don't know anything! I am absolutely not secretly trying to hatch a dragon egg!"
Silence fell over the hut.
Hagrid groaned, yanking at his thick beard. "I am such an idiot!"
"A dragon egg?!" Ron's eyes bulged. "According to the Warlock's Convention of 1709, dragon breeding is highly illegal, Hagrid!"
"How do you know that?" Hermione stared at Ron in utter shock. She couldn't believe he had just cited actual magical legislation off the top of his head.
"Did I not mention? My brother Charlie is a head dragon keeper at a reserve in Romania," Ron said, lifting his chin proudly. He turned back to Hagrid. "Where did you even get it?"
"Won it." Seeing the jig was up, Hagrid sighed and laid his cards on the table. "I was down in Hogsmeade last night, having a few drinks, playing a little game of cards with a stranger. Honestly, it was an easy win. He just gave it to me."
"Now, don't any of you go getting any ideas! I'm an adult. Only adults can do things like this."
With that, Hagrid gently pulled the egg from his coat and set it carefully on the table. "You'll keep this a secret for me, won't you?"
The four kids crowded around the table, staring in awe.
Richie inspected the massive, mottled brown-and-black egg—about the size of an ostrich egg—with genuine curiosity.
A dragon? A dragon in the magical world?
In the Western fantasy lore Richie remembered from his past life, dragons were god-like beings. They soared through the skies, wielded immense magic, mastered arcane secrets, and possessed unparalleled wisdom.
But in this world? Dragons were basically just massive, low-intelligence magical beasts that couldn't cast spells and purely relied on their absurd physical biology to survive.
Guess it depends on the universe, he mused. Still, getting to see a real dragon egg up close was definitely a bucket-list moment.
"We're your friends. Of course we'll keep it a secret!" Harry nodded earnestly. But then he hesitated. "But... where are you going to keep it?"
"The Forbidden Forest, obviously." Hagrid's thick beard twitched as he smiled. "Once it's big enough, I'll take it out there. I reckon it'll be great mates with Aragog!"
"Aragog?" Ron blinked. "What kind of magical creature is friends with a dragon?"
"Oh, he's an Acromantula I raised. Just a misunderstood sweetheart, really," Hagrid answered casually, wrapping the egg back up in the clothes.
"Oh, Merlin." Ron violently shuddered. "Hagrid, that is disgust—"
Harry quickly clamped a hand over Ron's mouth. "Compassionate! Very compassionate!"
Ron was deathly afraid of spiders. Hearing that Hagrid was raising a giant, flesh-eating spider had instantly triggered his fight-or-flight response. Luckily, Harry was quick on the draw.
Unaware of the near-insult, Hagrid laughed. "Right then! Any of you fancy a rock cake? They're perfectly crisp and delicious."
Having chatted for a while, the kids were actually feeling a bit hungry. They all nodded.
Hagrid carefully placed the dragon egg on his bed, then pulled a tin from his cupboard and took out a few cakes. He dropped them on the table before sinking into his armchair, which let out a loud, agonizing creak under his weight.
"Go on, dig in. We can chat more about the egg while you eat. I was just reading that..." Hagrid was absolutely glowing, radiating the proud, sacred aura of an expectant mother.
"Well, if you really don't know what to do, I guess I could write to Charlie..." Ron offered, trying to be helpful and make up for his earlier outburst. He grabbed a rock cake from the table and bit down hard.
CRACK!
Ron froze stiff. Slowly, he opened his mouth and pulled the rock cake away. A single tooth was left standing proudly, deeply embedded in the pastry.
Seeing this, Richie and the others instantly pulled their hands back from the tin.
"My toof..." Ron gave them a pained, half-crying smile.