Chapter 135: Hatching the Dragon Egg, Three Worried Kids
In Hagrid's hut.
Leonardo was prodding the logs in the fireplace with the poker, stirring them so the flames would burn higher.
It was mostly for show.
According to what Newt had taught him, a dragon egg needed its mother close by, breathing on it constantly, bathing it in warm air, and, at intervals, washing it in small bursts of dragonfire. The latter was the real key.
A dragon's magical fire burned at an extremely high temperature and carried a special magical quality that fed the egg and the growing hatchling within.
Plain woodfire could just about coax the shell to crack, but the dragon that came out would struggle later. Its development would lag behind.
So while Hagrid was out, Leonardo had asked Aurelius to lace the logs with a thread of cleansing flame, that near‑pure gold fire.
With that, the egg had all the heat it could want.
Leonardo had also asked Aurelius to hold the flame within Newt's recommended range. He had no desire to turn a dragon egg into roast dragon.
The unique magic in dragonfire was harder to replace. He was hardly going to drag a grown dragon here to breathe on the egg. With a dragon's temper, the mother might decide her egg made a good snack.
His intuition said a Qilin's cleansing flame might have its own wonders.
After the last few months, Leonardo had come to trust his instincts, his peculiar "inspiration", quite a bit.
"Leonardo, you have done enough. Sit down and have a rest. Try one of my stoat sandwiches," Hagrid said, setting tea and a plate of something on the little round table and taking the poker from him.
Leonardo eyed the tray. Very Hagrid.
He lifted a cup of tea and took a cautious sip, leaving the stoat sandwiches entirely alone. Instead, he grabbed one of the rock cakes, murmured a few softening charms on the sly, and then bit in.
Aside from being incredibly hard, the cakes were actually quite tasty.
"By the way, Leonardo," Hagrid said, "you said dragon eggs need really high heat to hatch. This fireplace…"
"It is fine. I have already mixed magical fire into it. It may not match dragonfire, but it is far better than ordinary logs."
Hagrid clapped his hands, delighted. "Thank you! You really are a good sort, Leonardo."
That left Leonardo a little speechless. He did, in fact, want that egg.
Not for free; he meant to compensate Hagrid. He just had no idea how to bring it up.
Bang, bang, bang.
A loud knock shook the door. Hagrid hurriedly shoved the egg deeper into the fire and hung a kettle over the flames to hide it.
Leonardo noticed the kettle was completely dry; he shook his head and flicked his wand.
A silent Aguamenti filled it with clear water.
"Oh, it's you, Harry. Get in, you lot," Hagrid called, opening the door.
All three of them arrived together. The heat inside hit them at once. It was spring already, and yet the fire was roaring.
Leonardo sat in his now customary place by the hearth.
After greeting him, Harry, Ron, and Hermione took seats and, faced with the offer of stoat sandwiches, wisely and unanimously declined.
"Hagrid, I will get straight to it," Harry said. "We want to know, besides Fluffy, what other protections there are on the Philosopher's Stone."
"No, no. I can't tell you that. You know far too much as it is," Hagrid said, shaking his head rapidly. Then he added, "And I do not know, so I could not tell you anyway."
The three of them traded looks. Leonardo sipped his tea, unbothered. In the end, it was Hermione who spoke.
"Hagrid, nothing that happens here escapes you," she said. "We just want to know who else designed the protections."
She paused, then laid it on a little thicker. "Besides you, who else could Professor Dumbledore trust with something so important? Who else could help him?"
Hagrid's chest swelled, and a pleased, proud smile spread across his face. Harry and Ron flashed Hermione thumbs‑up behind his back.
Leonardo, too, raised his opinion of her. Early on—and really all the way through—she was the brains of the trio.
She had hit Hagrid's soft spot in one go. Sweet‑tongued little witch.
"Well," Hagrid said with a cough, "no harm in telling you that. I lent him Fluffy, and the other professors each set up something of their own."
He lifted his mug and drank deeply, lost in thought. "Professor McGonagall, Professor Flitwick, Professor Sprout, Professor Quirrell, Professor Snape…
"And of course, Dumbledore himself added something."
All three of them latched onto the same name.
"Professor Snape as well?"
"Course," Hagrid said, as if it were obvious. "He is a Hogwarts professor, in he? Why would he want to steal the Stone? There, that rules out your main suspect…"
While Harry, Ron, and Hermione were still trying to puzzle out who might be after the Stone, Harry's gaze snagged on something in the fire.
A big, black… egg?
"Hagrid, what's that?"
Hagrid stiffened, tugging at his beard. "That, er, that's…"
Ron stepped closer to peer. Hermione said seriously, "Hagrid, that's a dangerous creature. The fire it breathes is terrifying, and…"
She looked around. "You live in a wooden hut."
That made Hagrid lift his chin. He grinned. "No worries. Leonardo's already put fire‑proofing and water‑proofing charms on the place and the furniture.
"And I have done a lot of reading…"
He went to fetch his books. In the gap, Hermione shot Leonardo a suspicious look, surprised he already knew Hagrid had a dragon egg.
Leonardo calmly drank his tea, as if he had not noticed her stare.
"Here, look," Hagrid said, dropping back into his chair with an armful of books. "Egg's got to stay in the fire. Once it hatches, you give the little tyke a bucket of brandy mixed with chicken blood every half hour. Can you imagine? That much to drink for something so small!
"This one's a Norwegian Ridgeback, see. Leonardo told me that, and I checked in the book. He was right!"
"Ah, my dream has always been to raise a dragon. Well, before that, it was a three‑headed dog. And before that, an Acromantula…"
He hummed to himself as he poked the fire.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione tried several times to talk sense into him, but Hagrid had an answer ready every time. He seemed to have very clear ideas about what to do with the egg and the hatchling that would follow.
Leonardo stayed quiet. The three of them eventually stopped pushing.
After a little more talk, they stood up to go.
They did not have the time. There was too much to do. Guard the Stone from whoever wanted to steal it, keep Hogwarts safe, and now worry about Hagrid raising a dragon.
The three of them were more anxious by the day.
School life brought its own burdens. The year‑end exams were drawing nearer, and homework for every subject was stacking up.
Leonardo's extra tutoring came with its own finals, too. Fortunately, his syllabus overlapped well with Hogwarts' curriculum, so it doubled as revision.
Hermione was, of course, thrilled. Harry and Ron, far less so. They both remembered very clearly how Leonardo had said, "Some students feel the current workload is a bit light, so we will pick up the pace…"
Their first, uncharitable suspicion had been Hermione. It sounded like the sort of thing she would say. But on second thought, it did not fit. Hermione would have said it in front of everyone, not quietly to Leonardo.
Each was sure the other would never ask for more work. Brothers understood one another. They would follow Leonardo's lead and study hard, but they would never volunteer for extra.
That left two likely culprits. Malfoy, and the new girl from Slytherin, Daphne Greengrass.
Malfoy was clearly the prime suspect, but the boys could not fathom his motive.
Either way, they had set their sights. If they wanted any peace in the future, they would have to ferret out the traitor.