Chapter 89 - Norbert
After Hagrid heard my voice, he called from inside.
"Arthur? Jus' a second!"
A moment later, the door opened halfway.
Hagrid stood in the doorway, his huge frame blocking most of the room behind him. It looked very much like he was trying to hide something.
"Hello, Hagrid."
"Hello, Arthur."
I smiled.
"Won't you invite me in?"
Hagrid looked nervous.
"I'd really like ter, but not right now. Could yeh come tomorrow?"
I raised an eyebrow.
"Tomorrow?"
"Yeah. Not really right ter come uninvited, yeh know."
I sighed.
"Hagrid, are you really trying to hide the dragon from me?"
Hagrid froze.
"What dragon?"
"Yes, the dragon."
His eyes widened.
"How d'ye know about him?"
"Harry told me."
Hagrid looked completely flustered.
"Oh, umm...."
"Now, can I come in?"
Hagrid thought for a few moments but ultimately he stepped aside.
"Alright. Come in."
As soon as I entered, he hurriedly shut the door and locked it. He looked exactly like a guilty man trying not to get caught. Keeping a dragon illegally inside a hut was wrong to begin with.
The moment I stepped inside, my eyes landed on the dragon.
Norbert was sitting near the fire, chewing on what looked like a burnt rat. The young Norwegian Ridgeback, despite being less than couple month's old, was already larger than Fang, Hagrid's pet dog. Black scales covered her body. Small wisps of smoke drifted from her nostrils every few seconds.
The dragon paused as he sensed the new creature in the hut and looked at me.
For a second, Hagrid looked worried. I could almost see him imagining all the terrible possibilities.
Norbert stared at me and then she sniffed the air. Slowly, she walked towards me.
Hagrid became tensed and warned me.
"Arthur, careful-"
I ignored him as I could sense no hostilities from Norbert.
The dragon reached me and sniffed my robes, my hand and finally my face.
Hagrid held his breath as he waited for the consequence.
But instead of biting me, Norbert suddenly licked my hand.
As I leaned down to her height, she licked my face, just like a pet dog.
Hagrid was so shocked at her behaviour that his jaw nearly dropped
I reached forward and scratched beneath her chin. Norbert immediately closed her eyes in satisfaction. Then I continued to rub the top of his head.
The dragon leaned into my hand happily. Honestly, he looked more like a puppy than a dragon.
Hagrid stared at us slack jawed.
"How did yeh do that? He's not this gentle with anyone!"
I shrugged.
"I'm good with animals Hagrid, have you forgotten that dragons are animals too? Just slightly more dangerous ones."
Hagrid scratched his beard and shook his head.
"Now that yeh mention it...I should've remembered. How could I forget?"
"Exactly."
"Yeh remind me of all those stories about Newt Scamander."
I laughed.
"I'm nowhere near Newt Scamander's level. But I do get along with animals."
Norbert nudged my arm again, demanding more attention. I continued scratching the dragon's neck. Then I casually said,
"And Hagrid, it's a her."
"What?"
"The dragon is female."
Hagrid blinked.
"What?"
I pointed at the dragon. Hagrid immediately shook his head.
"No. He's Norbert. He's male."
I looked at him.
"Have you checked her gender properly?"
Hagrid opened his mouth then closed it. No words came out.
He scratched his beard nervously.
"Well, I... didn't exactly check."
"That's what I thought."
Hagrid looked at the dragon, "So yeh mean ter tell me that Norbert is actually a girl?"
I nodded, "Yes."
Hagrid looked completely stunned.
Time passed as I played with Norbert and talked with Hagrid.
The dragon seemed perfectly happy. She would occasionally nudge my hand with her snout whenever I stopped scratching under her chin. It was honestly a little funny. If someone walked in right now, they would never believe this was a dragon.
Hagrid sat nearby and watched us in amazement.
After a while, he asked, "What did Harry tell yeh about it?"
"He asked me to help move the dragon."
Hagrid's face immediately became sad. His voice cracked.
"Yeah, she'll be goin' now. I raised her from an egg. Fed her every day. Watched her grow."
A few tears rolled down his beard. He wiped his eyes.
"An' now she's goin' away."
Hagrid had one of the softest hearts I had ever seen. He was a giant of a man, but emotionally he was closer to a child when it came to animals.
I patted his arm.
"Don't worry, Hagrid. She's just going somewhere she can grow safely."
"I know," Hagrid said with a sniff. "Still hurts, though."
A few moments later he looked at me.
"I'm sorry yeh and Harry an' the others have ter do this."
I shrugged.
"It is better if we do it. But for helping you, I need a promise."
Hagrid immediately nodded.
"What is it? I'll do anythin', but nothin' illegal."
I raised an eyebrow, "Hagrid this is also illegal, you know."
He looked away.
"Well... I wasn't tryin' ter hurt anybody."
"I know. But this is still illegal."
Hagrid sighed.
"Yeah. Fair enough."
"So, you will promise to do something, and it won't involve anything illegal."
He nodded, "Alright. I'll try."
"Good."
A couple more hours passed. Norbert had settled down and was lying beside the fireplace.
Then there was a knock on the door.
Hagrid immediately stood up.
"Who is it?"
A familiar voice answered from outside.
"It's us."
Hagrid hurried over and opened the door. A moment later three figures appeared from beneath the Invisibility Cloak.
Harry, Hermione and Neville.
Ron was still in the hospital wing recovering from Norbert's bite.
As soon as they entered, Hermione and Neville noticed me and they froze.
Harry quickly spoke, "I asked Arthur to help."
The two relaxed a little but they were still tensed.
I crossed my arms with a serious look on my face, "Before we start, I want to make something very clear."
All three immediately stood silently and looked ashamed.
"What you did was dangerous, irresponsible and illegal."
Three heads lowered together.
"Sorry."
"I expected this from Harry and Ron, but Hermione? You are probably the brightest student in the entire year. But somehow these two managed to drag you into this."
Hermione winced and looked even guiltier.
Neville, meanwhile, looked like he wanted to disappear.
Hermione sighed, "Stupidity seems contagious, Arthur."
I pointed at her, "Exactly."
Harry looked betrayed.
"You're both being mean."
"We're being accurate," Hermione replied.
I nodded.
"At least one intelligent person is still present."
Harry groaned.
Then I looked at all three.
"You should have told me when the egg hatched. I would have helped, you know. Its not like I would have reported Hagrid."
---
End of Chapter 89 - Norbert