"You can understand how I feel, can't you?" Hagrid asked, tears glistening in his eyes as he looked at Charles.
Charles actually could.
A small life hatched before your very eyes—it felt almost as if you were its parent, watching it come into the world.Of course it was difficult to simply let it go.
However, Hagrid's emotions were far too intense.Even knowing that sending Norbert to the dragon reserve was the best option, he still refused.
A true parent, no matter how reluctant, would never stop their child from going somewhere better.
"You have to send him to the dragon reserve—unless you'd rather end up in Azkaban," Hermione said sharply.
Breaking school rules was one thing, but breaking the law? That was unthinkable to her.
"I don't have to send him away, do I? I could keep him in the Pokémon sanctuary, couldn't I?" Hagrid looked at Charles almost pleadingly.
But Charles wasn't moved.If it were a beautiful girl, maybe—but Hagrid? No chance.
"You're being unreasonable, Hagrid," Charles said helplessly. "Even Pokémon of different species often don't get along."
He gestured slightly as he explained."Think of Pidgey and Spearow, or Seviper and Zangoose—they fight and hunt each other all the time. Now imagine putting a magical creature among them.They're not even the same kind of existence."
"It's not that I don't want to help you, but do you really think Norbert could live safely in a Pokémon sanctuary? The other Pokémon would never accept him. They'd attack him—maybe even kill him!"
Anyone who had ever bred Pokémon would know—even within the same egg group, if the parents were different species, their offspring rarely got along.
If Norbert were sent to the sanctuary, he'd be in danger before he ever grew up—and once he did, he'd become the danger.
Either way, leaving him there wasn't an option.
"Then I'll just keep him hidden in my hut… or in the Forbidden Forest!" Hagrid declared, as if making up his mind.
"It wouldn't take more than a few weeks for Norbert to burn your hut down," Hermione warned. "And the Forbidden Forest? What if he flew away?"
Harry added, "Think about it, Hagrid—if you secretly raised a dragon, what would Professor Dumbledore think?"
At the mention of Dumbledore, Hagrid's expression crumpled into grief and guilt.
"I—I've let Dumbledore down… he trusted me, and I disappointed him!"
Charles sighed inwardly as Hagrid went on crying.A grown man, sobbing endlessly—it was grating enough on its own. But worse, the solution was right in front of him, and Hagrid was too selfish to see it.All he cared about was that he couldn't part with Norbert.
"You knew he'd be disappointed, and yet you still did as you pleased," Charles said sharply. "I almost think you did it on purpose."
That struck Hagrid hard. Even Harry and the others hadn't expected Charles to speak so harshly.
"Professor—" Hermione began, as if to plead with him not to be so severe.
But this was only the beginning.
"You're far too selfish, Hagrid!" Charles's tone was firm and cold.
"What—I—I'm not!" Hagrid stammered through his tears.
"Oh, really?""I gave you that egg, and just because you wanted to raise a dragon, you forgot everything Dumbledore warned you about! You told the secret of how to put Fluffy to sleep to a dark wizard who wanted to steal the Philosopher's Stone. Have you already forgotten who stood up for you when you were expelled?Who let you stay at Hogwarts in the first place?"
"And now—you've gone and raised another dragon behind Dumbledore's back!What if the Ministry of Magic finds out? They'll say Rubeus Hagrid is keeping dangerous creatures again. Fifty years ago—"
"That wasn't Aragog's fault!" Hagrid shouted, cutting him off.
"Yes, I know it wasn't," Charles said coldly. "It was the work of Slytherin's heir. But the Ministry doesn't care about that. All they'll see is that you're a man with a record—and now you're keeping a banned dragon. Do you want Dumbledore to have to pull strings to get you out of Azkaban again?"
"I… I only ever cause trouble…" Hagrid muttered miserably.
"Professor, you're being a little—" Harry started.
Charles immediately placed a hand on Harry's shoulder and pressed him back down, silencing him. Ron and Hermione exchanged nervous glances and kept their mouths shut.
'What do we do? The professor's angry!' Hermione mouthed.'How should I know?' Ron grimaced, not daring to move.'You're closest to him, aren't you?' Hermione whispered to Harry.Harry quickly shook his head, gesturing helplessly—he wasn't about to step into this.
Even though Charles's anger was directed solely at Hagrid, the trio hung their heads like guilty children.
"More importantly—have you even thought about Norbert?" Charles demanded.
Everything else he'd said was secondary.After all, Dumbledore understood Hagrid's flaws better than anyone, and this entire situation was probably within his expectations—though not quite like this.
"You said Norbert can't live without you? That's nonsense. Dragons aren't ducks—and even ducks can grow up on their own!"
"Norbert doesn't need you," Charles continued, his eyes locking onto Hagrid's. "He needs his own kind.He belongs with dragons! Not Hogwarts, not Pokémon!"
"But I hatched him myself… he's so small… if he leaves me, he might die…"
"In fact, he won't," Charles interrupted. "The dragon handlers in Romania have far more experience than you. Unlike you, they actually know what they're doing. You didn't even know how to hatch a dragon properly—you borrowed a storybook from the library!"
"H-how did you know I borrowed a storybook…" Hagrid asked weakly.
He had indeed borrowed a pile of books—barely skimming the titles, just grabbing anything with "dragon" on the cover. One of them really had turned out to be a children's storybook.
But he hadn't told anyone that.
"That's not important," Charles said coolly. "What matters is—Norbert needs his own kind. Do you understand? His own kind!"
When he spoke those words, his gaze bore straight into Hagrid's eyes, leaving nowhere to hide.
His own kind.
The phrase echoed again and again in Hagrid's mind.
"…Alright, alright." Hagrid wiped his tears away. "I'll send him off."
Harry and Ron blinked in confusion—why had Hagrid suddenly given in?Only Hermione seemed to have realized something, but she said nothing.
(End of Chapter)