Walking the Halls

Chapter Four

"Today we wanted to go see Hagrid," Harry says.

Draco nods. "Did you send him an owl?" he asks.

He shakes his head.

Draco whistles. Regulus comes from where he was flying. Draco writes a short note.

"Here's a treat. Be good," he says.

He headbutts Draco's cheek.

"I'll be fine," he says.

He coos.

Draco nods. "I'm certain," he says.

Reggie headbutts his cheek again and flies away.

"Is everyone done eating?" he asks.

They nod.

He says, "I can't believe I had to ask the house elves to serve us here for that."

Harry's bottom lip juts out.

"I thought you learned something useful," he says.

Harry scowls.

Draco rolls his eyes.

"Hagrid, we're here," Draco says. He knocks on the door. 

Hagrid opens the door. "What are you doing here?" he asks.

"Reggie brought you a note saying we were coming," he says.

He nods fast. "Right. Get in here," he says.

Draco walks in, followed by Harry, Ron, and Hermione.

"Why are you acting skittish?" Draco asks. It's never good when Hagrid is acting like he's about to be arrested, he might be about to get arrested. 

He turns to Draco. "Wha' are you talkin' about?" he asks.

He raises an eyebrow. "Hagrid, you're acting like you killed someone and hid their body here. More likely, you have an illegal animal here," he says. He always has illegal animals, but it feels like this one is worse than usual judging on Hagrid's darting eyes and sweat. The sweat might be from the furnace of a house they're standing in. 

He hisses. "I don' know wha' you're sayin'," he says.

Draco sighs. He goes to the fire. "A dragon?" he asks. He remembers this vaguely. He tried to tell another teacher, but they did not believe him, or they did not care. 

"No." He wipes his hands on his apron. 

"Hagrid, you cannot have a dragon here. Not only is it dangerous for you and Hogwarts but it's also dangerous for the dragon. You cannot keep a dragon happy here. Your house is made of wood. What were you thinking?" he says. 

"He'll be small for some time," Hagrid says. He glances around the room. 

Draco goes to the window and pulls the shades closed. "It is illegal, and dragons grow a lot faster than you seem to think. Even if they do take a while to grow you still have the possibility of them burning your house down. You are Hogwarts's groundskeeper. Can you really say you can do your duties with a baby dragon?" he asks. All animals are difficult to take care of but especially specialty creatures. 

He opens his mouth and then closes it.

"That's what I thought. Ron get in contact with Charlie, let him know we have a dragon that needs to be picked up," he says. Ron's eyes widen. 

"No," Hagrid says.

"Yes." Draco wipes some sweat off his forehead. 

Harry leans over his shoulder. "Isn't it just an egg?" he asks.