Refocusing, Harry said "Hagrid, you need a license to raise dragons, plus he's going to get really big, while you could maybe handle him for a while, there are full teams of people who work with these things. Norbert should probably be at a dragon sanctuary, with other dragons."
"Aw, Harry, I'd be takin' real good care of 'im. I promise." Hagrid said, his eyes once more glancing at the bundle in front of his fireplace.
"Even so, without a license if he was ever found you'd be arrested. Sure, you could probably keep him here unseen for a couple months, but what if he starts breathing fire? You live in a wooden house near a forest. One uncontrolled spark and most of the area around Hogwarts is in flames!" Harry said, frustration in his voice.
Hagrid's eyes widened at that, and he seemed to glance around. He fought within himself for a moment, and sighed. "Yeah, yer probably roight Harry. But what am I gonna do? I don't know how to get in contact with a dragon sanctuary, and if Dumbledore found out, I could lose me job!"
Lavender chimed up. "Ooh! I can help. The Weasleys have an older brother, Charlie, he works at a dragon sanctuary. The twins were telling people about it when people were asking why they were staying at Hogwarts over the holidays. They could probably send him a letter and see if he could take it."
"Wouldn't I get in trouble for having a dragon still?" Hagrid asked.
"Probably not, in 'The Definitive Defensive Dictionary of Dark Creatures and other Daemons' it talks about how the duty of care if you find a Griffin egg or hatchling, beyond ensuring that it's abandoned or orphaned, is to ensure its safety, and then contact your nearest sanctuary. Griffins also need a license, so while they aren't as dangerous as dragons, the procedure is probably the same." Harry said, happy to have really studied up on that book. It had certainly proved to be his favorite one, although he would tell Hermione that his favorite was the one she got him, which was his second. A little lie to make her feel better was worth it in his eyes, besides he did really like the book.
"So it's settled. Hagrid, you're going to try and keep little Norbert here safe and secret while I get the twins to write to their brother. We'll get him to come and take little Norbert here to the sanctuary, and we'll have fond memories of getting to help this cute little guy." Lavender said, once more gushing at how cute she thought Norbert was.
Harry couldn't see the aspects she found cute about it other than its size in comparison to normal dragons, its limbs were thin and gangly, and its eyes bulged out of its head. He'd trust her word though, and he did imagine that in time he would also find it cute, were they not planning on moving it away.
"Oh, thank you four so much. If ya hadn't a been here I might've lost everything." Hagrid said, solemnly looking at Norbert. "Shame though, always wanted to raise a dragon."
"There are plenty of dragon breeders out there Hagrid, but you're the only person in the world who has managed to breed Thestrals." Harry said, remembering Hagrid's accomplishments. After Hagrid had mentioned them, Harry had done some research with Hermione's help. Hagrid's Thestral colony was famous among magical beast enthusiasts.
A couple weeks later, the plan to get Norbert to Charlie's Dragon Sanctuary was a rousing success. The twins had been more than happy to help, they liked Hagrid, and knew that Charlie would do anything to help Hagrid, and also work with dragons. So this was perfect. Charlie, as well as two other dragon handlers had arrived and safely put Norbert in a travel case, and the entire Sphinx Club was invited to watch them transport it away. Charlie and Hagrid got on like a house on fire, and Charlie was more than happy to talk about what it was like to train dragons. Charlie mentioned his hopes that after he got his mastership in Care of Magical Creatures, which required a minimum of five years working with magical creatures, he had hoped to come back to Hogwarts and teach the class, or at least assist the current professor as an apprentice. A letter the next week had said that Norbert had been a perfectly healthy Norwegian Ridgeback, and had taken up with a family of Hungarian Horntails, a closely related Dragon species. Norbert also turned out to be a Norberta, as proper sexing revealed her to be female, which meant someday Norberta might lay eggs of her own. Hatched in captivity female dragons were a rarity, so the hopes that she may come to accept humans enough to be considered 'tame' while also being a breeding mother were very high.
Academics-wise, the Sphinx Club continued to dominate across the board, with improvements trickling down, due to students having classmates they can go to with questions as well as the teachers, giving those who were struggling more 1 on 1 time with professors.
Harry was somewhat nervous when Professor Quirrel asked him to stay after class one day in the beginning of June.
"What did you want, Professor?" Harry asked, worried. Harry had of course been doing very well in class, but was worried perhaps he was doing too well, and not allowing other students to participate. Harry simply enjoyed the subject matter of defense that much, even if Professor Quirrel's teaching style was something Harry didn't particularly enjoy.
"Settle down Mr. Potter," Quirrel stuttered out, a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes on his long face. "I simply wished to congratulate you on your performance in this course, and offer you a challenge."
"Thank you Professor, I quite enjoy Defense Against the Dark Arts, learning about spells and creatures is very enjoyable to me. What is this challenge?" Harry said, some of the tension leaving his body. Some tension was always present whenever Professor Quirrel was around though, his very nature seemed to infect everyone with the same anxiety that seemed to plague him daily.
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