Daughter of a Criminal

Norbert

Later that evening Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ann ran across the wet ground to Hagrid's hut. They knocked on the door and Hagrid answered. He had oven mitts the size of dinner plays on his hands and an apron.
"Hagrid," Harry said.
"Oh hello. Sorry, don't wish to be rude, but I'm in no fit state to entertain today," Hagrid said as he closed the doors and the four of them said at once, "We know about the Sorcerer's Stone!," At these words, Hagrid then opened the door.
"Oh," Hagrid said, letting them in. They all went into Hagrid's small hut that was a one room building with hams and pheasants hanging from the ceiling. There was also a black cauldron hanging over a blazing fire and a massive bed with a patchwork quilt over it in the corner. Sitting next to the wooden bench by the fire was a large black boar-hound named Fang. As they made their way in, Harry and Ron sat on the wooden bench while Hermione and Ann sat in the large armchair across from them that could fit two or three people.
"We think Snape's trying to steal it," Harry said.
"Snape? Blimey, Harry, you're not still on about him, are you?," Hagrid asked "Hagrid," Harry said,
"We know he's after the Stone. We just don't know why," Ann added
"Snape is one of the teachers protecting the Stone! He's not about to steal it!," Hagrid said
"What?," Harry said.
"Wait... Protect it?," Ann said,
"From who?," Ron asked
"None of your business! Now, if you don't mind, I'm a bit preoccupied today," Hagrid said as he tried to direct the four in the direction of the door, but nobody moved.
"Wait a minute. One of the teachers?," Harry said
"Of course! There are other things defending the Stone, aren't there? Spells and enchantments," Hermoine said
"That's right. Waste of bloody time, if you ask me," Hagrid said as Fang sniffed Ron who was trying to get away worried that Fang would bite his head off.
"Ain't no one gonna get past Fluffy,Not a soul knows how. Except for me and Dumbledore. I shouldn't have told you that. I shouldn't have told you that," Hagrid said. Suddenly, the cauldron hanging over the fire was making a rattling sound. Hagrid hurried over to the cauldron and picked up something.
"Ooh! Ooh! Ooh! Ooh!," Hagrid said as he pulled out the very hot object with his oven-mitted hands. Hagrid hurried over to the table and placed something that was large, oval-shaped, and kinda shiny. Everyone got up quickly and crowded around the table to get a good look.
"Uh, Hagrid? What exactly is that?," Harry said
"That? It's a... its um…," Hagrid stuttered
"I know what that is!," Ron said
"A real dragon egg," Ann said in awe
"But Hagrid, how did you get one?," Ann asked
"I won it. Off a stranger I met down at the pub. Seemed quite glad to be rid of it as a matter of fact," Hagrid said when suddenly the egg then started rattling and cracking as everyone became terrified. Then... CRACK!! Pieces of egg shells flew off as a dragon appeared. It squeaked and slipped on a piece of an egg shell. "Is that...A dragon?!?!," Hermoine asked terrified.
"You bought a dragon egg?!?!," Harry said
"That's not just a dragon is it Ron?," Ann asked,
"That's a Norwegian Ridgeback! My brother Charlie works with these in Romania," Ron said
"Isn't he beautiful? Oh, Bless him, look. He knows his mummy. Hehe. Hallo Norbert," Hagrid said petting the dragon
"Norbert?," Harry asked.
"Yeah, well, he's gotta have a name, doesn't he?," Hagrid said as he scratched Norbert's chin with his finger.
"Don't you, Norbert?," Norbert looked up at Hagrid and squeaked. Ron giggled.
"I've never touched a Norwegian Ridgeback before, I've only seen one in an enclosure when my family and I went to visit him one time. Most of the time, Charlie would send pictures of them in the post," Ron said.
"Lucky," Ann said
"Can I touch it?," Ron asked, ignoring Ann
"Be my guest, I'm pretty sure he doesn't bite," Hagrid said
"Pretty sure?," Ann asked. Ron put his finger out to touch Norbert's head when Norbert went around bit Ron on the side of the hand.
"OW!!," Ron yelled, pulling his hand away quickly and Norbert turned, backed up, and hiccuped, causing a fireball to shoot from his mouth and hit Hagrid's beard.
"Ooh!! Oooh, ooh, ooh," Hagrid said as he patted down his beard to put out the flames.
"Well... He'll have to be trained up a bit of course," Hagrid said
"Ron! You're bleeding!," Hermoine said
"Way too state the obvious," Ann said as she grabbed a rag hanging off the armchair and wrapped it around Ron's left hand tightly. Then Hagrid spotted someone outside looking from the window
"Who's that?," he said. Harry got a quick glimpse of the person who was spying and recognized him right away.
"Malfoy," Harry said.
"Oh dear," Hagrid said.
"Malfoy?," Ron asked,
"How did he find us?," Ann asked
"I don't know. We better head back. Come on," Harry said as everyone scrambled for the door and ran back to the castle. As the four of them made it to the castle, they walked back through a dark corridor with Ron trailing behind them.
"Hagrid always wanted a dragon. He told me that the first time I met him," Harry said. Then they suddenly noticed movement ahead of them.
"Quick! Hide!," Hermione whispered. It was Professor McGonagall in a nightgown who had Malfoy by the ear.
"Detention!! And twenty points from Slytherin!! Wandering around in the middle of the night, how dare you…," she shouted
"You don't understand! Harry Potter's got a dragon and he's hiding it here in the castle!," Malfoy argued
"Nonsense!! How dare you tell such lies! Now, come on! I shall see Professor Snape about you, Malfoy!," The door slammed behind McGonagall and Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ann came out from behind a stone pillar.
"Malfoy's got detention? I can't believe what I'm hearing. It's like music to my ears. I could sing!," Ann said
"Please don't," Harry said. Ignoring his protests Ann began whisper singing until Harry elbowed her hard in the side. As they were walking, Ron was starting to become queasy and dizzy all of a sudden. Every now and then, his vision would become a bit blurry.
"I mean it's crazy. Buying a dragon's egg and raising it on your own. I have pictures of them. Have you seen how big they get? They're huge!! They don't stay small like... Norbert. I mean really?! Why couldn't he have just gotten a cat or another dog for Fang to play with or a little fluffy rabbit?," As Ann kept talking, her voice seemed distant to Ron. He couldn't take another step and stopped while the others kept walking a couple feet away not even realizing he was still behind them.
"And to make matters worse, Malfoy knows," Hermione said.
"I don't understand," Harry said ,
"Oh come on Harry, think about it! If you had gotten a dragon as a pet instead of an owl or cat or frog, what do you think would happen to the dragon?," Hermoine asked. It wasn't until Ron started to moan that it got everyone's attention.
"Ron? Are you okay?," Harry asked. Then suddenly, Ron collapsed onto the stone floor.
"Ron!!," Ann yelled. They all ran and knelt down to see if he was okay and noticed that Ron's wound on his hand was getting worse.
"That dragon that bit him, is not... poisonous, is it?," Harry asked
"I don't think so," Hermione said.
"Come on! We need to get him to the hospital wing!," Ann said as she and Harry helped Ron up off the floor and laid his arms on their shoulders dragging him along. It took them quite a while to make it to the marble stairs. "There's no way we're dragging him up all those stairs," Harry said
"Come on. We have to keep going," Ann said
"I can't!," Harry said
"Oh here, Wingrudum Levosia," Hermoine said making him float
"Good one Hermione," Ann said as she walked after a floating Ron. They finally made it to the hospital wing, Harry knocked on the door and Madame Pomfrey answered.
"Why are you two out of bed?," Madame Pomfrey said when she saw Harry and Ann. Then she peered around the corner and saw Hermione with Ron floating alongside her and Madame Pomfrey panicked.
"Oh dear!," Madame Pomfrey said as she went over to Ron to assess him.
"What happened?," she asked the three
"Uh…," Harry said.
"A dog bit him!," Ann lied. Harry and Hermione looked at her surprised by what she was telling Madame Pomfrey.
"A dog? In the middle of the night? Bit this poor boy? Is this true?," Madam Pomfrey asked the three
"Yes," Harry said. Ann and Hermione nodded in agreement.
"Right then, I'll take over from here," Madame Pomfrey said as she pulled out her wand and took him inside.
"All of you off to bed! Now!," Madame Pomfrey directed them.
"He's gonna be okay, isn't he?," Ann asked.
"I'm not sure yet, I'll let you know in the morning," Madam Pomfrey said as she closed the door behind her and the three walked back to the common room silently. Morning came and went. At around lunch time, they still haven't heard any news on Ron. Harry, Ann, and Hermione sat in the Great Hall in silence. Hermione didn't even look up at them from her book she was reading. Harry ate his fish and chips quietly while Ann played around with her chips quiet for the first time in her life.
"Try and eat something, Ann," said Harry who saw she hadn't had anything off her plate.
"I can't, I'm worried about Ron. We haven't heard from Madame Pomfrey yet," Ann said. Then Seamus, Lee, Dean, and Neville joined up with the three.
"Oi! Where's Ron? He's missed the whole morning!," Seamus said
"He's in the hospital wing!, " Fred said.
"Hospital wing?," Neville said as he looked over at Harry and Ann.
"What happened?," Dean asked. Harry and Ann looked away.
"Madame Pomfrey says he got bit by a dog in the middle of the night," George said.
"The thing is. We don't believe a word of it," Fred added
"Yeah. We think he got bit by some snake that slithered into the boys dormitory," George said
"Or a poisonous spider that crawled in his bed that wanted to cuddle with him," Fred said. The Weasley twins laughed. Hermione slammed her book shut and Fred and George stopped immediately.
"That's not funny!," Hermione said. She got up, picked up her books, and walked briskly out of the Great Hall.
"What? We were only having a bit of a laugh," George said
"So,. Have you been to see him?," Lee asked them
"Of course!," Fred said.
"He's up and awake right now begging Madame Pomfrey to leave, but she wouldn't let him," George said. Harry and Ann looked over at the Weasley twins surprised.
"He's gonna be okay then?," Ann said.
"Yeah! Madame Pomfrey told us this morning," Fred told the two. Harry and Ann got up quickly and ran out of the Great Hall and headed straight to the hospital wing where they found Ron sitting up.
"Ann!! Harry!!,"Ron yelled.
"Hey!," Harry said, going over to hug him.
"Idiot, never do that again," Ann said, hugging Ron tightly. Ron hugged her back.
"Don't worry you can't get rid of me that easily," Ron said as Ann pulled away.
"You had us worried. Do you remember anything that happened last night?," Harry asked,
"Well,The last thing I remember was going down the corridor with you guys and not feeling too good and... I guess that's when I passed out. I've been begging Madame Pomfrey all morning to have her release, but she's one strict lady. Did anything happen while I was in here?," Ron asked
"No," Harry said.
"Nothing," Ann said
"Good. Cause we need to tell Hagrid to get rid of that... that thing," Ron whispered. Harry and Ann knew exactly what Ron meant.
"But how? Hagrid's had that dragon egg for quite some time and now that it's hatched, I don't think there's any way for us to convince him to release it," Ann said
"And, where do you suppose we're gonna release it? We can't just release it into the Forbidden Forest. It's too dangerous," Harry added
"Wait, I have an idea. Harry, can I borrow your owl for a moment?," Ron said
"Uh...Yeah. Sure. But, why do you need to use Hedwig?," Harry asked
"Charlie..." Ron said.
"Charlie? Did the poison cause you to get amnesia or something? Cause that's Ann and I'm Harry," Harry said
"His brother from Romania!," Ann said.
"He works with dragons... the same ones that Hagrid has," Ron said
"That's right! You told us this at Hagrid's hut," Harry said
"There you go," Ann said. Harry rolled his eyes.
"So, here's the plan,I'll send Charlie an owl about Norbert and he and his crew can come on over and pick up Norbert before Malfoy or anyone else finds out," Ron said
"That's brilliant! But, what about Hagrid? He's gonna find out that we took Norbert," Harry said
"Not unless we tell him," Ron said.
"Everyones looking at me,huh?," Ann said as Ron and Harry nodded
"I'll go down there and tell Hagrid," Ann said. They proceeded with Ron's plan and Ann went down to Hagrid's hut to explain to him what happened and the plan for Norbert's departure. Hagrid didn't take it very easy.
"Just let him go, Hagrid! Set him free," Ann said frustrated
"I can't! He's too little. He'd die," Hagrid pleaded
"That thing almost killed Ron! You have to let him go before it tries to kill anyone else," Ann said
"Look, I feel bad for what happened Ron, but it wasn't Norbert's fault. He was only trying to defend himself. He doesn't know what he did was wrong," Hagrid said
"That's because he's a dragon, Hagrid!! Look. I know you think that dragons are very misunderstood creatures. But, Hagrid, you have to understand that Norbert's gonna be a big fire-breathing creature that can't be tamed. Norbert's not a dog you can train easily," Ann argued
"Give me two weeks and I'll prove it. Norbert can behave and can be trained," Hagrid said.
"Two weeks and he'll be as long as your house. Malfoy already went to McGonagall and he'll go to her again at any moment to prove to her that there is a dragon and who knows what Dumbledore will do to Norbert if he can't get a hold of someone to get rid of it," Ann said. Hagrid sat down on his arm chair biting his lip trying to hold back the tears.
"I...I know I can't keep him forever, but I can't jus' dump him. I can't. I just can't," Hagrid said
"Norbert will be at a good home where Charlie and his crew will take very good care of him. And he'll meet other dragons like him and learn how to survive out there in the wild. He'll be safe," Ann said. Hagrid pondered on it for a moment and reluctantly agreed to the plan. Back at the hospital wing, Ron was finishing writing the letter to Charlie explaining what happened and the plan to come to Hogwarts to retrieve Norbert. Ann ran to the hospital wing to tell the others. "He said yes!," Ann cheered. Hedwig then took the letter from Ron and flew out the window. As the following week dragged on, Harry, Hermione, and Ann were sitting alone in the common room, long after everyone else had gone to bed. The grandfather clock chimed midnight when the portrait hole burst open. It was Ron. Hermoine went over to him.
"Ron you're out!!," Ann screamed. She got up and ran up to hug him, almost completely knocking him over. Ann finally released Ron
"How are you feeling?," Hermoine asked
"Better. My hand's a bit sore though. I'm not going to be able to hold a quill for a week, but I'll be alright," Ron said. Then, there was a tap on the dark window. "It's Hedwig!" Harry said as he ran to the window to let Hedwig in and retrieve the letter. He opened it and read it aloud quietly:
Dear Ron,
How are you? Thanks for the letter -- I'd be glad to take the Norwegian Ridgeback, but it won't be easy getting him here. I think the best thing will be to send him over with some friends of mine who are coming to visit me next week. Trouble is, they mustn't be seen carrying an illegal dragon. Could you get the Ridgeback up the tallest tower at midnight on Saturday? They can meet you there and take him away while it's still dark. Send me an answer as soon as possible.
Love,
Charlie.

They looked at one another.
"We've got the invisibility cloak. It shouldn't be too difficult. I think the cloak's big enough to cover two of us and Norbert,"Harry said
"Alright. So, who's going?," Hermoine asked
"Ron and I will go," Harry said.
"Are you insane? Ron just got out of the hospital wing!," Ann whisper-yelled
"I can carry Norbert with my right hand!," Ron argued.
"Yeah. And besides, we need you and Hermione to make sure Malfoy doesn't find out about our plan," Harry said
"Nope I'll go," Ann said
"Abusloty not," Ron argued
"Norbet could bit you again, I'm not risking it," Ann said
"You'll have to cause I'm going," Ron said facing Ann
"Merlin's beard Ron,"
"Is that a yes?," Ron asked
"As long as you promise not to die," Ann said begrudgingly

The next morning, there was a hitch. Malfoy on-purposely ran into Ron, who was on his way to the Great Hall with Ann, down a corridor and knocked his books out hands.
"Watch where you're going, Weasley!!," Malfoy said. He and the gang of goons, Crabbe and Goyle, laughed. Ron glared up at him as picked up his books. But then Malfoy bent down to pick up something that fell out of one of Ron's spellbooks. Ann reached down as well but Malfoy got to it first. Malfoy started reading and went pale before Ann grabbed the letter from him. Ron scrambled to pick up everything including the letter from Ann and ran to the Great Hall. When they got to the Great Hall, Ron told Harry, and Hermione what happened. "It's too late to change the plan now," Harry said.
"So what do we do now?," Hermoine said.
"We haven't got time to send Charlie another owl and this could be our only chance to get rid of Norbert. We'll have to risk it. And we have got the invisibility cloak, Malfoy doesn't know about that," Harry said.

It was a very dark, cloudy night when the time finally came for Charlie to arrive with a couple of friends to take Norbert away. Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ann walked out to Hagrid's hut to help him with Norbert. Hagrid had Norbert packed and ready in a large crate. "He's got lots o' rats an' some brandy for the journey. An' I've packed his teddy bear in case he gets lonely,'' Hagrid said. They could hear ripping noises coming from inside the crate, which meant that Norbert ripped the teddy bear's head off.
"Bye-bye, Norbert!," Hagrid sobbed as Harry and Ron covered the crate with the invisibility cloak and Harry stepped underneath it. Then Ann stepped in and lifted one side of the crate.
"Uh... Ann? What are you doing? I thought we said Ron and I were carrying the crate," Harry said
"I'm stepping in for Ron, his hand has been bothering him and he's still pretty queasy after the potion Madame Pomfrey told him to take for dragon bites, so I decided to lend a hand," Ann said
"Wait," how did Pomfrey know? Did Malfoy tell her?," Harry asked
"No, Ron confessed it was a dragon that bit him, not a dog," Ann said as Hagrid was still sobbing
"Mommy will never forget you!," Hagrid sobbed. Midnight ticked nearer as they hauled Norbert up the marble staircase in the entrance hall, along the dark corridors, up another staircase, and then another. Harry and Ann finally reached the corridor beneath the tallest tower while Norbert was thrashing about in his crate. About ten minutes later, at the top of the tower, four broomsticks came swooping down out of the darkness. Charlie's friends appeared and showed Harry and Ann the harness they'd rigged up, so they could suspend Norbert between them. They all helped buckle Norbert safely into it and then Harry and Ann shook hands with the others and thanked them very much. Finally, they watched as Charlie's friends took off with Norbert and out of sight into the cloudy night sky. Harry and Ann went back down the spiral staircase with light hearts. Norbert was gone, and Malfoy was in detention. They were looking forward to sleeping through the night happily and to celebrate in the morning. But, as they stepped into the corridor, their happiness was short-lived. Filch's face appeared in the shadowy darkness.
"Well, well, well. We are in trouble," Flinch said as the two realized that they had left the invisibility cloak on top of the tower.