meant to be (1)

42

We would have felt sorry for Hagrid when the time came for him to say goodbye to Norbert if we hadn't been so worried about what we had to do.

Harry and I were going to bring Norbert up the tower, because Ron was still in the hospital wing and Hermione was scared of being caught by someone.

It was a very dark, cloudy night and we were a bit late arriving to Hagrid's hut because we had to wait for Peeves to get out of our way in the Entrance Hall, where he'd been playing tennis against the wall. Hagrid had Norbert packed and ready in a large crate.

"He's got lots o' rats an' some brandy fer the journey." said Hagrid in a muffled voice. "An' I've packed his teddy bear in case he gets lonely."

From inside the crate came ripping noises that sounded a lot like the teddy was having his head torn off.

"Bye-bye, Norbert!" Hagrid sobbed, as Harry and I covered the crate with the Invisibility Cloak and stepped underneath it ourselves. "Mummy will never forget you!"

How we managed to get the crate back up to the castle, we never knew.

Midnight ticked nearer as we heaved Norbert up the marble staircase in the Entrance Hall and along the corridors. Up another staircase, then another - even on of our shortcuts didn't make the work much easier.

"Nearly there" Harry panted Harry as we reached the corridor beneath the tallest tower. We hadn't been talking, mainly because we were both tired of carrying the heavy dragon.

Then a sudden movement ahead of us made us almost drop the crate. Forgetting that we were already invisible, we shrank into the shadows, staring at the dark outlines of two people grappling with each other ten feet away. A lamp flared.

Professor McGonagall in a tartan dressing-gown and a hairnet, had Malfoy by the ear.

"Detention!" she shouted. "And twenty points from Slytherin! Wandering around in the middle of the night, how dare you-"

"You don't understand, Professor, Harry Potter's coming - he's got a dragon!"

"What utter rubbish! How dare you tell such lies! Come on - I shall see Professor Snape about you, Malfoy!"

The steep spiral staircase up to the top of the tower seemed the easiest thing in the world after that.

Not until we stepped out into the cold night air did we throw off the Cloak, glad to breathe properly again.

"Malfoy's such an idiot." I said while we were sitting down. Norbert was thrashing in his crate and we were waiting for Charlie's friends to arrive.

"Look at those stars" said Harry.

"They're pretty." I agreed.

"They reminded me of you, Jules" Harry said. I looked at him.

"I thought you said that I looked like Norbert?" I asked, chuckling.

"Yeah, I did say that, didn't I?" he answered. "But  I was just a joking, I didn't mean it."

"I know" I said, smiling at the boy.

A bit later, four broomsticks came swooping down out of the darkness.

Charlie's friends were a cheery lot. They showed Harry and I the harness they'd rigged up, so they could susspend Norbert between them. They all helped buckle Norbert safely intoo it and then Harry and I shook hands with the others and thanked them very much.

At last Norbert was going... going... gone.

We slipped back down the spiral staircase, our hearts as light as our hands, now that Norbert was off them. No more dragon - Malfoy in detention -  what could spoil our happiness?

The answer was waiting at the foot of the stairs. As we stepped into the corridor, Filch's face loomed suddenly out of the darkness.

"Well, well, well" he whispered. "we are in trouble."

My stomach twisted horribly. We had left the Invisibility Cloak on top of the tower.