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Chapter 103 — Catch Malfoy!!
Harry's questioning didn't make Hagrid loosen up at all.
He stubbornly shook his head. "Can't tell yeh. Students shouldn't know these things."
But after Hermione deployed her infamous slap-the-table glare technique — something Darren secretly believed she learned from Professor McGonagall — Hagrid caved.
"Alright, alright! The protections on the Philosopher's Stone…" he muttered. "Dumbledore borrowed Fluffy from me. Then there's Professor McGonagall… Professor Flitwick… Professor Quirrell… Professor Sprout… an' of course, Professor Snape."
He puffed out his chest proudly.
"Yeh don't still think Snape's tryin' to steal it, do yeh? Look! He even set up one of the protections!"
Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Darren exchanged uneasy looks.
If Snape had helped design the defenses, then he probably knew exactly how to get past everyone else's protections.
Meaning the only obstacles left were Fluffy… and Quirrell.
"Hagrid, you haven't told anyone how to get past Fluffy, right?" Harry asked urgently.
"'Course not!" Hagrid said proudly. "Only Dumbledore knows!"
"That's good… Darren—HEY!"
Harry turned around just in time to see Darren reaching curiously toward the dragon egg's firepit.
"Oi! Don't touch tha'! Yer gonna get burned!" Hagrid yelped, scooping Darren up by the arms like a teddy bear.
Darren hopped down and said excitedly, "Hagrid, I think your dragon egg is a Norwegian Ridgeback! They're rare — and the book says they're beautiful when they grow!"
Hermione groaned. "Darren, I thought you would be the calm one!"
"Come on, Hermione," Ron said dreamily. "No man has ever resisted the charm of dragons."
"But you're boys!" she snapped.
Still, she didn't drag Darren away. Instead, she slowly drifted closer to the egg, curiosity winning out over indignation.
They spent the entire afternoon in Hagrid's hut — discussing dragon care, correcting Hagrid's dangerously misguided ideas, and piecing together a sane incubation routine using the books Hagrid had brought.
They eventually agreed on a name for the baby dragon: Norbert.
By the time they trudged back to the castle, Hermione looked half-dead.
"I didn't know Darren liked animals," she muttered. "But… he really is kind to everyone — so of course he'd be kind to animals too."
"No, no," Ron said proudly. "That's just dragon charm. You wouldn't understand."
"Exactly! Girls don't get it," Harry added.
Hermione's eye twitched. "Maybe you two need more homework."
In the following days, Harry and Ron regretted those words deeply. Hermione's wrath translated into daily hours of strict homework drills. Darren would occasionally sneak over to help, but Hermione pretended not to see.
Her standards for Darren were different — he had already finished all first-year coursework and was now reading advanced texts. As long as Darren wasn't being bullied, Hermione let him be.
One afternoon, just as Harry and Ron were about to collapse from homework exhaustion, a note slid under the table.
It was from Hagrid:
It's hatching.
Harry and Ron shot up from their chairs. Anything — literally anything — was better than homework.
They dragged Hermione and woke Darren from a comfortable nap, and sprinted down to Hagrid's hut.
By the time they arrived, a deep crack had split the dragon egg.
"It's comin' out!" Hagrid cried.
They crowded around. The egg splintered, trembled, and slowly cracked open.
Darren suddenly remembered the phoenix egg he once ate (by accident… mostly). He discreetly broke off a tiny piece of shell and slid it into his mouth.
Blegh.
It tasted like burnt rocks. Never again.
"Wow!" Ron shouted.
The baby dragon emerged — completely.
And Darren immediately lost all interest.
This thing… was hideous.
Jet-black scales. Bony wings. A snout like a smashed teapot. Horns, pimples, orange-red bulging eyes…
He honestly thought it might be uglier than a lizard.
"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Hagrid whispered tearfully, just as Norbert bit his finger.
"See? It knows its mum…"
He practically shoved Norbert at Darren.
Darren took one look at the sparks shooting from its nostrils and backed away politely. "Hagrid, newborn animals shouldn't be handled too soon. They can get sick from outside bacteria."
[Ding! Holy Father Value +100]
[Ding! Holy Father Value +50]
Most of that came from Hagrid, who was now crying openly. Hermione contributed the rest — she believed Darren was genuinely concerned for Norbert's health.
Harry and Ron, meanwhile, kept their distance, looking vaguely ill.
"AH! IT'S MALFOY!" Harry suddenly shouted.
Darren turned just in time to see Draco's pale head vanish behind the hut.
Without hesitation, Darren cried out, "I'll go after him! If he tells anyone about the dragon, Hagrid will be expelled!"
[Ding! Holy Father Value +50]
[Ding! Holy Father Value +60]
[Ding! Holy Father Value +100]
[Ding! Holy Father Value +80]
With those rapid-fire rewards chiming in his head, Darren sprinted after Draco —
not for duty, of course…
…but because he desperately wanted to stop thinking about that hideous creature Hagrid called "beautiful."
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