The Stone

Chapter Twenty-Six

So now they all had something else to worry about: what might happen to Hagrid if anyone found out he was hiding an illegal dragon in his hut.

"Wonder what it's like to have a peaceful life," Ron sighed, as evening after evening they struggled through all the extra homework they were getting. Hermione had now started making revision timetables for Bella, Harry, and Ron, too. It was driving them mad. 

Then, one breakfast time, Hedwig brought Harry another note from Hagrid. He had written only two words: It's hatching.

Bella and Ron wanted to skip Herbology and go straight down to the hut. Hermione wouldn't hear of it. 

"Hermione, how many times in our lives are we going to see a dragon hatching?" Bella said.

"We've got lessons, we'll get into trouble, and that's nothing to what Hagrid's going to be in when someone finds out what he's doing-"

"Shut up!" Harry whispered.

Malfoy was only a few feet away and he had stopped dead to listen. How much had he heard? Bella didn't like the look on Malfoy's face at all.

Bella, Ron, and Hermione argued all the way to Herbology, and in the end, Hermione agreed to run down to Hagrid's with the other three during morning break. When the bell sounded from the castle at the end of their lesson, the four of them dropped their trowels at once and hurried through the grounds to the edge of the Forest. Hagrid greeted them looking flushed and excited.

"It's nearly out." He ushered them inside.

The egg was lying on the table. There were deep cracks in it. Something was moving inside; a funny clicking noise was coming from it. They all drew their chairs up to the table and watched with bated breath.

All at once there was a scraping noise and the egg split open. The baby dragon flopped onto the table. It wasn't exactly pretty; Bella thought it looked like a crumpled, black umbrella. Its spiny wings were huge compared to its skinny jet body and it had a long snout with wide nostrils, stubs of horns and bulging, orange eyes. 

It sneezed. A couple of sparks flew out of its snout.

"Isn't he beautiful?" Hagrid muttered. He reached out a hand to stroke the dragons head. 

"Define beautiful," Bella said, still looking at the dragon as it snapped its fingers, showing pointed fangs.

"Bless him, look, he knows his mummy!" said Hagrid.

"Hagrid," Hermione says, "how fast do Norwegian Ridgebacks grow, exactly?"

Hagrid was about to answer when the colour suddenly drained from his face- he lept to his feet and ran to the window. 

"What's the matter?" Harry asked him.

"Someone was lookin' through the gap in the curtains - it's a kid - he's runnin' back up ter the school"

Bella and Harry bolted to the door and looked out. Even at a distance, there was no mistaking him.

Malfoy had seen the dragon.

*

Something about that smile lurking on Malfoy's face during the next week made Bella, Harry, Hermione, and Ron very nervous. They spent most of their free time in Hagrid's darkened hut, trying to reason with him.

"Just let him go," Harry urged. "Set him free"

"I can't," Hagrid said. "He's too little. He'd die"