Christmas came and went, bringing with it snow and yet more cold. Hogwarts was truly beautiful at this time of year, thought Orla. The large, decorated trees in every corridor, the enormous one in the Great Hall, the tinsel wrapped round the banisters, and she was pretty sure she had heard a rumour about an enchanted snowman somewhere in the North Tower. She had then celebrated the New Year with her friends by drinking Butterbeer, that some of the older students had nicked from the school kitchens, and by trying to catch up on her DADA homework from Quirrell. They had to write a small essay on minor curses and jinxes; Orla had chosen to write about the Curse of the Bogies. Then one breakfast, a couple of weeks into January, there came a chance to get revenge on Potter, and hopefully get him kicked out of school. Orla and Draco were just leaving the Hall when Potter's white owl brought him a letter. Granger and Weasley looked excited by the contents and were talking in hushed voices, so they crept closer to hear them.
"Hermione, how many times in our lives are we going to get to see a dragon hatching?" Weasley was saying, well, more like whining. A dragon, thought Orla. Weren't they made illegal in Britain centuries ago? Draco seemed to have the same thought, as his eyes widened a little.
"We've got lesson's," snapped Granger. "We'll get into trouble, and that's nothing compared to what will happen to Hagrid if anyone find out what he's doing-" Potter jabbed her in the ribs a little.
"Hush, Malfoy and Rowle are listening," he hissed. The three of them walked off, leaving Draco and Orla confused, but intrigued. They followed Potter, Granger and Weasley down to Herbology, where they spent the next hour and a half learning about Devil's Snare and the Lumos Solem spell. At the end of the lesson, Draco and Orla made their excuses to their friends and followed Potter, Granger, and Weasley down to Hagrid's hut, making sure to stay well out of sight. Once they were safely inside, Draco followed Orla through the vegetable patch filled with humongous veggies, and crept up to the window. The scene inside was something like neither of them had ever seen before. The three of them were sat around a large table, with Hagrid, and in the middle, was a big, black egg. About as big as Draco's head, if not bigger. A dragon's egg. As they watched, a crack appeared in the side of the egg, then slowly a nose appeared, followed by a claw, and then a wing. Within less that a minute, a tiny, baby dragon was born on the table in front of them. Orla gasped. The tiny creature stumbled forward, tripped over it's own wings and coughed. With the cough however, came fire, setting Hagrid's beard alight. Orla couldn't help but let out a burst of laughter, then quickly covered her mouth with her hand. It was too late however, as 4 faces turned to the window. The pair of them didn't know what to do, so they just ran, and didn't stop until they got to their common room.
"Salazar, Salazar," panted Draco, as the wall disappeared in front of them, allowing them to run through. Ignoring the looks of the third years already in there, they flung themselves onto one of the sofa's, panting.
"What do we do now?" she asked.
"Let's wait and see," Draco replied. "Potter's bound to mess up, just give it time."
*****
A few days later, Weasley was taken to Madam Pomfrey in the hospital wing, with a large, green, swollen hand. It looked like the dragon had bitten him.
"Excellent," grinned Draco. "Want to come with me while I laugh at him?" Orla grinned.
"Yeah ok, it'll be funny." Crabbe and Goyle pulled Draco to one side.
"What the hell is the matter with you two?" he demanded.
"Her," snapped Crabbe. "Yo're still spending all your time with her."
