Chapter 136: Hagrid in Tears, Norbert
Only Leonardo and Hagrid were left in the hut.
Setting his empty teacup down, Leonardo hesitated for a moment, then decided to be just as blunt.
"Hagrid, I have a rather shameless favour to ask. I was hoping you could help me."
"Oh, sure. What is it?" Hagrid said, back to him as he gently turned the dragon egg, trying to settle it more comfortably in the fire.
Faced with that open friendliness, Leonardo's voice paused, but he forced himself to go on. "If possible… could you let me be the one to raise this dragon?"
This time, Hagrid did not answer straight away. The only sounds in the hut were the crackle of the logs and the bubbling kettle.
Several minutes passed before he rumbled, "Leonardo, do you need it badly?"
"Yes."
Another silence. When Hagrid spoke again, his rough voice was hoarser than before. "You will look after it properly, then?"
Before Leonardo could answer, Hagrid muttered on, "I know you will. You are a good lad, Leonardo, and clever. You know more than I do. You would do a better job of it, but…
"But my dream has always been to raise a dragon. It took me so long to have someone give me a dragon egg…"
His voice broke. "He was a good sort. Would not let me see his face, but he bought me drinks, sat with me, and talked. Dragons, three‑headed dogs… he must love magical creatures too…"
The more Hagrid said, the more lost Leonardo felt.
Why is he crying?
And that "good sort" who had given him the egg was clearly Quirrell. How could that not be a setup?
Leonardo, for once, had no idea how to comfort him.
"Leonardo," Hagrid said thickly, "you must treat it well.
"I had even picked out a name for the little one before it was even born. Norbert.
"Harry and Hermione, they are right. I know. Dragons grow fast, and they are hard to hide. But you have that… that enchanted flask of yours…"
He sniffed. "You must bring Norbert back to see me, often…"
He dragged out a filthy, rough handkerchief, wiped his eyes, and blew his nose hard. Then he pulled on a pair of heavy oven gloves and reached toward the hearth to lift the egg out for Leonardo, turning his head away as if he could not bear to look.
"Er, Hagrid," Leonardo said, "I am only in my first year. I will be at Hogwarts for years yet.
"You make it sound as if I am going to run off with Norbert and never come back. You will see him all the time."
As he spoke, he stopped Hagrid's hands. "Leave the egg in there. Once hatching starts, you cannot just stop halfway."
Hagrid snatched his hands back and patted his tangled beard, embarrassed. "Oh. Sorry. I did not know.
"You see? You really do know more. Norbert is better off with you…"
His shoulders slumped again. Leonardo tried to soothe him. "I only learned it from a friend. If you'd like to know, I'll be happy to teach you as well.
"That way, when Norbert has offspring in the future, or when there are other eggs and hatchlings, I can ask you to help raise them. How about that?"
At that, Hagrid's eyes lit up. "Really? And… could I look after one of them?"
Leonardo grinned. "Of course. So long as you are willing."
"Willing?" Hagrid said, nodding so hard his hair bounced. "Of course, I am willing. My dream is to raise a dragon. If I could raise two…"
Watching Hagrid relax into happy daydreams, Leonardo quietly let out a breath.
He needed to raise a dragon of his own to repay the Magical Pathway Weavecraft loan, and he would have to spend at least half a year with it, with more time set aside for seeking out other dragons.
Norbert was a Norwegian Ridgeback. That meant conquering the Norwegian Ridgeback breed, making him king of his kind.
With eggs and hatchlings both, he was bound to see more in the future. He could use those chances to satisfy Hagrid's dream.
Hagrid was a good man, the sort who would risk himself for a friend. Leonardo meant to keep his promise.
…
One morning.
Crack. Crack.
A faint fracturing sound echoed through the hut.
Leonardo and Hagrid crouched by the hearth, eyes locked on the black egg in the fire.
The orange‑yellow woodfire was gone, replaced entirely by red‑gold flame.
Hagrid, now quite used to the "magical fire", suddenly slapped his forehead, jumped up, and hurried to the table. He pulled out a scrap of parchment and began to write, then whistled for the owl outside.
"I have to tell Harry and the others. Norbert's about to hatch!"
He tied the note to the owl's leg and sent it off, then dropped back down beside Leonardo, staring at the egg in the red‑gold flames.
A hairline crack had appeared on the shell.
They thought Norbert would emerge quickly now, but the crack was all that came.
Time dragged on. Hagrid grew more and more anxious. "Leonardo, is this normal? It has been over an hour."
"Do not worry," Leonardo said, waving a hand. "Dragon hatching takes time. For Norwegian Ridgebacks, it is four to eight hours from the first crack to full emergence."
Part of that was simply what Newt had told him. Part was what he could see with the Peeking Fiend's Eye as he watched the life inside the shell.
The hatchling's pathways were perfectly healthy, thriving.
The Qilin's cleansing flame was doing its work. At least Norbert would not be behind from birth.
By chance, Ravenclaw had no classes that morning, so Leonardo stayed by the egg.
Crack, crack.
A clearer sound came from within.
At the same moment, someone knocked on the door.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione arrived together.
Leonardo noticed the dirt on their hands and robes. They had clearly just come from Herbology class.
Hagrid, plus four first‑years, crowded round the hearth.
With a grating scrape, the shell split.
A small dragon flopped free of the fragments.
Its scales were pitch black, with faint threads of gold running through them. The wings were broad for such a small body, covered in short, sharp spines.
Hagrid reached out and stroked its head. Norbert promptly closed his jaws on Hagrid's finger.
Hagrid shot to his feet, face gone white.
Harry thought it was pain and opened his mouth to ask after him, but Hagrid's voice shook as he said, "There's someone outside. Watching."