Categories > Books > Harry Potter > Son of a Snake
Baby Norbert
Because of Harry's . . . "ingenuity," he suffered no injuries from jumping off his broom while over 200 feet in the air. He did, however, sit through a long series of very long lectures. First, from Madam, Hooch, then Madam Pomfrey (whose speech was twice as long and three times as harsh), then Dumbledore popped in to put in a few words, then Severus, then . . . Daphne and Hermione.
Which we join already in progress . . .
"And, if you ever do anything that reckless ever again, I will never speak to you again, Harry Potter!" Hermione yelled. They were sitting on the edge of the Black Lake, throwing rocks and listening to the birds. Or, they would be if Harry hadn't almost killed himself the day before.
"Hermione, I'm sorry. I just . . . I thought it was my best option," Harry sighed. He was getting tired of all this. He already knew what she was going to say next.
"Harry," Hermione continued, "you need to trust the professors more! They're . . ."
"Teachers?" Daphne offered. Honestly, even she was beginning to think this was taking too long. Especially since Hermione's reasoning seemed to be best summarized as "Follow the teachers blindly!"
"Exactly!" Hermione cried at Daphne's suggestion. "They're wiser, and more skilled than us, and they're the ones we're supposed to listen to!"
Harry sighed. "All right, Hermione," he said, knowing better than to argue with the logic his mother had taught him. "I promise I'll be more careful from now on. Why don't we go see Hagrid?" Hopefully, a trip to the gentle half-Giant would take the girls' minds off recent events.
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Neither girl was fooled by his attempt at distracting them, judging from their frowns and angled eyebrows, but they agreed to walk over to the Groundskeeper's hut. Hagrid lived in what most people would consider a small home; for someone as large as the half-Giant, it must have been tiny, but he seemed very fond of it. It was always tidy and full of the scents of extremely strong tea and Hagrid's infamous rock-hard cakes. So, when the trio walked up to Hagrid's door and smelled smoke and . . . something that was neither tea nor cakes, and Hagrid opened the door only part of the way to tell them "Bit of a mess. You might want to come back later," they were all surprised.
Then, they heard a scratching sound.
Hagrid disappeared back into the hut, leaving the door wide open. The trio tentatively stepped inside. One thing was obvious; there was no mess. Hagrid was hunched over the fireplace, pulling a large object out of the flames. "Ow, ooh, ooh" he said, holding the dark object in his hands. It was about the size of Hagrid's own head and shiny. Hagrid placed in on the table, where it wiggled on its own accord.
"Hagrid," Harry asked, "what is that?"
"Oh, that" Hagrid replied. "Well, uh, that's a dragon egg, that is."
"A DRAGON EGG?" Daphne cried. Harry and Hermione spun around to look at her. The blonde witch was leaning over the table, her eyes wide. Her mouth needed another moment to properly form words. "Hagrid . . . dragons are illegal. What are you thinking?"
"Well, it'll be tough, I imagine, but I got everything I need right 'ere," the Groundskeeper replied, pulling out a book that looked as old as the castle itself. "See," he said opening it, "it says you gotta keep the egg in a fire, 'cause their mother's breathe on 'em . . ."
"Hagrid," Hermione interrupted, "you live in a wooden house!"
"Ah, don't worry 'bout that," Hagrid replied. Whatever he was going to say next was cut off by a sharp crack-ing.
Crack! Cra-cra-a-a-ck! "Bra-arrh! Grar."
The egg was broken, and there, in the center of the table, was a tiny, black and brown,
dragon. All four stared at the little reptile. It was about a foot long, with leathery wings attached to its forearms like a bat. It had a slender tail that was roughly as long as its body. Its small feet slipped over the remains of its own egg.
"Isn't 'e cute!" Hagrid cried. His eyes even began to tear up a little. The tiny dragon turned to look up at him. "Awwwww, 'e knos 'is mummy! 'Ello, Norbert," he said, using one of his large fingers to rub under the infant dragon's miniscule jaw.
"'Norbert?'" Harry asked.
"Well, 'e needs a name, don't 'e?" Hagrid replied. "An', according to this," he lifted the book again, "'E's a Norwegian Ridgeback."
"I've read about those in Fantastick Beasts and Where to Find Them," Hermione interrupted. "They're among the largest dragon breeds on Earth." Hagrid missed the veiled criticism.
"Hagrid," Harry asked, "where did you get the egg?"
"Oh?" Hagrid asked, clearly lost in the wonder of his new pet. "Oh, I won 'im off a fellow in the pub."
"Did you know him?" Daphne asked.
"Nah," Hagrid said. "'E kept 'is 'ood up the 'ole time. Seemed glad to be rid of 'im, now that I think about it . . ."
"Well, he was carrying an illegal dragon egg," Daphne noted. "He probably wanted to get rid of it before the Aurors caught up with him."
Hagrid, however, was distracted when 'Norbert' coughed fire onto his beard. The half-Giant quickly fanned his beard. "'E'll 'ave to be trained up a bit, of course," he said, as though he was talking about an unruly puppy. The little dragon coughed again, only letting out a few sparks this time. Harry almost thought it was amused at them.
Later, Harry, Hermione, and Daphne were trudging back up to the castle. "What is he thinking?" Hermione asked.
"My mum mentioned that Hagrid's always a dragon," Harry said. "I guess . . . he just couldn't resist the chance to finally own one."
"It's still really dangerous," Hermione insisted.
"Agreed," Daphne said. "My parents told me that it's impossible to really control dragons. They're the person . . . person-i-fin . . ."
"Personification," Hermione offered.
"Right," Daphne replied, smiling at her friend. "The personification of the power and chaos of the world itself."
". . . Do you think Hagrid's hut can handle the power and chaos of the world?" Harry asked.
His fiancé snorted. "Heck, no."
Hermione nodded in agreement, though her mind was filled with ideas.
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Over the next two weeks, the three would make it a habit to visit Hagrid whenever they could. The Groundskeeper was pleased to have them over; he needed all the help he could get. Norbert was growing fast. It was only the thirteenth day since his hatching, and already the winged creature looked big enough to be the offspring of Fang, Hagrid's slobbery pet boarhound.
"Hagrid," Daphne said, "you can't keep him here much longer." She and Harry were attempting to keep the beast occupied as Hagrid prepared its meal of finely chopped, bloody meat. Hermione, meanwhile, was restacking the firewood Norbert had enthusiastically scattered all over the floor.
"Aw, come on, Daphne," Hagrid whined. "'E's just a baby. 'E'll learn to be'ave, you jus' wait an' see."
"Hagrid," Hermione said, replacing the last block of wood. "Maybe you should consider talking to Professor Dumbledore. Maybe he can . . . help," she offered, weakly.
Hagrid gave a non-commental grunt. Harry sighed and handed the rowdy dragon off to Hermione, who came over to give her friends a break from dealing with the no-longer-tiny terror. He opened his mouth to try to offer help, but, instead cried out "Malfoy!"
Everyone turned toward Harry, who was pointing toward the small, round window of the hut. "I just saw him," Harry insisted. "He was standing with his face against the glass. He must have run off . . ."
"Back towards the castle," Hermione completed.
They were all silent for a moment, just a moment. Then, Hagrid said, "You four 'ad best be off. You ain't supposed to be down 'ere this late."
"Are you sure, Hagrid," Harry asked. The half-Giant was just as kind and friendly as his mother had described him to be, if not more so. The thought that he was probably about to get in trouble was . . .
"Ah, I'll be all right," Hagrid insisted. "Come on, off with you, now." The enormous man gently herded the three out the door.
"If you need help, Hagrid," Harry said, "you can tell us. Right?" he said looking to the girls beside him.
"Of course," Hermione said. Daphne silently nodded, but without a trace of doubt or reluctance.
Hagrid's eye twitched, just a little. 'Don't you go worrying about me, none," he said. "You just get yourselves back up to the castle before someone sees you."
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Once again, the three found themselves returning to the castle from Hagrid's hut with heavy thoughts on their minds. They wanted to run, but it had just stopped raining; the skies overhead were still rumbling and flashing, the ground was an uneven mess. Hermione and Daphne each fell once and need the other two to catch her and help her back up. Harry nearly walked out of his shoe twice.
Finally, they made it back through the castle doors—just in time to meet a smirking Malfoy, and an unhappy looking Professor McGonagall.
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Author's Note: Again, sorry this one was so short. Hopefully, the next one will be more interesting (you all probably know what it is already, anyway).
Because of Harry's . . . "ingenuity," he suffered no injuries from jumping off his broom while over 200 feet in the air. He did, however, sit through a long series of very long lectures. First, from Madam, Hooch, then Madam Pomfrey (whose speech was twice as long and three times as harsh), then Dumbledore popped in to put in a few words, then Severus, then . . . Daphne and Hermione.
Which we join already in progress . . .
"And, if you ever do anything that reckless ever again, I will never speak to you again, Harry Potter!" Hermione yelled. They were sitting on the edge of the Black Lake, throwing rocks and listening to the birds. Or, they would be if Harry hadn't almost killed himself the day before.
"Hermione, I'm sorry. I just . . . I thought it was my best option," Harry sighed. He was getting tired of all this. He already knew what she was going to say next.
"Harry," Hermione continued, "you need to trust the professors more! They're . . ."
"Teachers?" Daphne offered. Honestly, even she was beginning to think this was taking too long. Especially since Hermione's reasoning seemed to be best summarized as "Follow the teachers blindly!"
"Exactly!" Hermione cried at Daphne's suggestion. "They're wiser, and more skilled than us, and they're the ones we're supposed to listen to!"
Harry sighed. "All right, Hermione," he said, knowing better than to argue with the logic his mother had taught him. "I promise I'll be more careful from now on. Why don't we go see Hagrid?" Hopefully, a trip to the gentle half-Giant would take the girls' minds off recent events.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Neither girl was fooled by his attempt at distracting them, judging from their frowns and angled eyebrows, but they agreed to walk over to the Groundskeeper's hut. Hagrid lived in what most people would consider a small home; for someone as large as the half-Giant, it must have been tiny, but he seemed very fond of it. It was always tidy and full of the scents of extremely strong tea and Hagrid's infamous rock-hard cakes. So, when the trio walked up to Hagrid's door and smelled smoke and . . . something that was neither tea nor cakes, and Hagrid opened the door only part of the way to tell them "Bit of a mess. You might want to come back later," they were all surprised.
Then, they heard a scratching sound.
Hagrid disappeared back into the hut, leaving the door wide open. The trio tentatively stepped inside. One thing was obvious; there was no mess. Hagrid was hunched over the fireplace, pulling a large object out of the flames. "Ow, ooh, ooh" he said, holding the dark object in his hands. It was about the size of Hagrid's own head and shiny. Hagrid placed in on the table, where it wiggled on its own accord.
"Hagrid," Harry asked, "what is that?"
"Oh, that" Hagrid replied. "Well, uh, that's a dragon egg, that is."
"A DRAGON EGG?" Daphne cried. Harry and Hermione spun around to look at her. The blonde witch was leaning over the table, her eyes wide. Her mouth needed another moment to properly form words. "Hagrid . . . dragons are illegal. What are you thinking?"
"Well, it'll be tough, I imagine, but I got everything I need right 'ere," the Groundskeeper replied, pulling out a book that looked as old as the castle itself. "See," he said opening it, "it says you gotta keep the egg in a fire, 'cause their mother's breathe on 'em . . ."
"Hagrid," Hermione interrupted, "you live in a wooden house!"
"Ah, don't worry 'bout that," Hagrid replied. Whatever he was going to say next was cut off by a sharp crack-ing.
Crack! Cra-cra-a-a-ck! "Bra-arrh! Grar."
The egg was broken, and there, in the center of the table, was a tiny, black and brown,
dragon. All four stared at the little reptile. It was about a foot long, with leathery wings attached to its forearms like a bat. It had a slender tail that was roughly as long as its body. Its small feet slipped over the remains of its own egg.
"Isn't 'e cute!" Hagrid cried. His eyes even began to tear up a little. The tiny dragon turned to look up at him. "Awwwww, 'e knos 'is mummy! 'Ello, Norbert," he said, using one of his large fingers to rub under the infant dragon's miniscule jaw.
"'Norbert?'" Harry asked.
"Well, 'e needs a name, don't 'e?" Hagrid replied. "An', according to this," he lifted the book again, "'E's a Norwegian Ridgeback."
"I've read about those in Fantastick Beasts and Where to Find Them," Hermione interrupted. "They're among the largest dragon breeds on Earth." Hagrid missed the veiled criticism.
"Hagrid," Harry asked, "where did you get the egg?"
"Oh?" Hagrid asked, clearly lost in the wonder of his new pet. "Oh, I won 'im off a fellow in the pub."
"Did you know him?" Daphne asked.
"Nah," Hagrid said. "'E kept 'is 'ood up the 'ole time. Seemed glad to be rid of 'im, now that I think about it . . ."
"Well, he was carrying an illegal dragon egg," Daphne noted. "He probably wanted to get rid of it before the Aurors caught up with him."
Hagrid, however, was distracted when 'Norbert' coughed fire onto his beard. The half-Giant quickly fanned his beard. "'E'll 'ave to be trained up a bit, of course," he said, as though he was talking about an unruly puppy. The little dragon coughed again, only letting out a few sparks this time. Harry almost thought it was amused at them.
Later, Harry, Hermione, and Daphne were trudging back up to the castle. "What is he thinking?" Hermione asked.
"My mum mentioned that Hagrid's always a dragon," Harry said. "I guess . . . he just couldn't resist the chance to finally own one."
"It's still really dangerous," Hermione insisted.
"Agreed," Daphne said. "My parents told me that it's impossible to really control dragons. They're the person . . . person-i-fin . . ."
"Personification," Hermione offered.
"Right," Daphne replied, smiling at her friend. "The personification of the power and chaos of the world itself."
". . . Do you think Hagrid's hut can handle the power and chaos of the world?" Harry asked.
His fiancé snorted. "Heck, no."
Hermione nodded in agreement, though her mind was filled with ideas.
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Over the next two weeks, the three would make it a habit to visit Hagrid whenever they could. The Groundskeeper was pleased to have them over; he needed all the help he could get. Norbert was growing fast. It was only the thirteenth day since his hatching, and already the winged creature looked big enough to be the offspring of Fang, Hagrid's slobbery pet boarhound.
"Hagrid," Daphne said, "you can't keep him here much longer." She and Harry were attempting to keep the beast occupied as Hagrid prepared its meal of finely chopped, bloody meat. Hermione, meanwhile, was restacking the firewood Norbert had enthusiastically scattered all over the floor.
"Aw, come on, Daphne," Hagrid whined. "'E's just a baby. 'E'll learn to be'ave, you jus' wait an' see."
"Hagrid," Hermione said, replacing the last block of wood. "Maybe you should consider talking to Professor Dumbledore. Maybe he can . . . help," she offered, weakly.
Hagrid gave a non-commental grunt. Harry sighed and handed the rowdy dragon off to Hermione, who came over to give her friends a break from dealing with the no-longer-tiny terror. He opened his mouth to try to offer help, but, instead cried out "Malfoy!"
Everyone turned toward Harry, who was pointing toward the small, round window of the hut. "I just saw him," Harry insisted. "He was standing with his face against the glass. He must have run off . . ."
"Back towards the castle," Hermione completed.
They were all silent for a moment, just a moment. Then, Hagrid said, "You four 'ad best be off. You ain't supposed to be down 'ere this late."
"Are you sure, Hagrid," Harry asked. The half-Giant was just as kind and friendly as his mother had described him to be, if not more so. The thought that he was probably about to get in trouble was . . .
"Ah, I'll be all right," Hagrid insisted. "Come on, off with you, now." The enormous man gently herded the three out the door.
"If you need help, Hagrid," Harry said, "you can tell us. Right?" he said looking to the girls beside him.
"Of course," Hermione said. Daphne silently nodded, but without a trace of doubt or reluctance.
Hagrid's eye twitched, just a little. 'Don't you go worrying about me, none," he said. "You just get yourselves back up to the castle before someone sees you."
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Once again, the three found themselves returning to the castle from Hagrid's hut with heavy thoughts on their minds. They wanted to run, but it had just stopped raining; the skies overhead were still rumbling and flashing, the ground was an uneven mess. Hermione and Daphne each fell once and need the other two to catch her and help her back up. Harry nearly walked out of his shoe twice.
Finally, they made it back through the castle doors—just in time to meet a smirking Malfoy, and an unhappy looking Professor McGonagall.
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Author's Note: Again, sorry this one was so short. Hopefully, the next one will be more interesting (you all probably know what it is already, anyway).
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