Squeak!
The small wooden door opened, and Hagrid saw that it was Argus, instantly relaxing.
"Oh, it's you! You startled me!"
"Oh, right, Hagrid, I brought you a gift!" Argus shook the bottle of wine in his hand.
At Hogwarts, there were quite a few teachers who enjoyed drinking. Even the most serious Professor McGonagall would often go to the Three Broomsticks for a drink.
Not to mention Hagrid, the wine connoisseur!
Upon seeing the wine, Hagrid hesitated noticeably, glancing around the room and then at Argus.
"Come in, Argus."
As soon as he entered, Argus felt an overwhelming heat.
Even though it was winter now, the indoor temperature was unusually high.
"It seems my good teacher has followed the same old path."
"A Norwegian Ridgeback egg isn't cheap; Quirrell's wallet is going to be emptied."
"No wonder he's in such poor spirits. After buying the Norwegian Ridgeback, he probably didn't even have money left to buy potions!"
Argus's thoughts put Hagrid on edge.
"What's wrong, Argus?"
"Is it too hot? I've turned the stove up a bit too high. Maybe we should open the door to let some air in."
Glug glug!
The pot by the stove shook.
Hagrid immediately rushed forward to block Argus's view, opening his mouth as if to say something.
Finally, he stepped aside and pulled a huge egg out of the pot.
"This is... a Norwegian Ridgeback egg?"
Even without knowing the plot, Argus's knowledge base was enough to figure out the origin of this egg.
"That's right! Hahaha..."
"I knew it! Argus, you love these cute little guys just like me!"
Hagrid visibly relaxed after revealing the truth and carefully took the dragon egg out of the pot.
"I won this from a stranger, and somehow he seemed to be hoping I would lose it."
"You don't want to keep it as a pet, do you? It doesn't look like much now, but it won't be long before it grows as big as your house."
"If anything goes wrong, it will only face certain death."
Argus really didn't want anything to happen to Hagrid.
He didn't know if Harry would run into Snape and Quirrell while wearing the Invisibility Cloak at night, just like in the original story.
But one thing was certain: without Hermione, Harry and Ron found absolutely no information about Nicolas Flamel.
Nine times out of ten, they wouldn't come to Hagrid for help.
This Norwegian Ridgeback would no longer be taken away by Ron's brother Charlie as it was in the original story.
Click! Click!
The dragon egg suddenly throbbed violently, followed by a crisp sound of the eggshell breaking.
"Look, Argus, it's out!"
Hagrid excitedly grabbed Argus's shoulder, the force of which caused Argus to cry out in pain.
"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry!"
Hagrid hurriedly let go of Argus's hand and apologized, but was soon drawn to the baby dragon in front of him.
"What a beautiful little guy,"
"Look at this little guy, he thinks I'm his mother!"
As Hagrid spoke, he touched the baby dragon's head with his finger, and didn't seem to care when the baby dragon bit him.
Hello, Norbert.
"Argus, it's playing with me!"
"Would you like to give it a try?"
Argus managed a weak smile.
"Um... I guess I'll pass."
He didn't think he had the same resistance as Hagrid; if he were bitten by a Norwegian Ridgeback, he would have to be rushed to the hospital.
Before he could finish speaking, Norbert coughed violently a few times and spat out a mouthful of flames.
It almost burned off Hagrid's beard.
"It seems it still needs some training."
Who's there?
The figure outside the cabin window caught Hagrid's attention.
Upon hearing the sound, the figure vanished instantly.
Argus opened the door and saw a head of red hair rushing down the path.
"Ron? Why is he secretly peering through the window?"
Hagrid looked puzzled.
"Whatever his reason, Norbert's existence has been exposed, and it's best to move him as soon as possible."
"If you don't mind, the acolytes recently built a dragon farm where you can put Norbert."
"It won't keep you from taking care of it."
Argus never expected that even after so much time had passed, Ron would still be staring at him so intently.
He couldn't help but curse himself for his carelessness.
Hagrid hesitated for a moment: "We're friends, Ron shouldn't tell on us, right?"
"Hagrid, you know about what happened between Ron and me."
"If it's just you alone, of course he won't tell on you, but it's different if I'm included."
"Besides, if he wasn't guilty, he wouldn't have been peering through the window and heard your voice; he could have just come in."
Argus shook his head, shattering Hagrid's fantasy.
"Do we really have to do this? Norbert has only just emerged from his shell!"
"It's still so small, it can't be without its mother!"
Hagrid looked sorrowful, gazing longingly at the baby dragon on the table.
"This is the best way."
"If you leave it in the acolytes' dragon farm, you'll still have a chance to visit it. But if you get caught by the Ministry of Magic..."
"You know better than I do what will happen next."
Hagrid seemed to be thinking about what happened in Aragog, and his expression became even more sorrowful.
After a long while, he sat down in a chair, feeling dejected.
"Argus, when are you going to send someone to pick up Norbert?"
"As early as tomorrow night."
"Ah...so fast, is it possible to..."
Argus showed no mercy, interrupting Hagrid's pleas.
"Hagrid, we can't gamble."
"Let's hide Norbert first. I'll send someone to pick him up tomorrow."
...
Meanwhile, Ron stumbled back to the Gryffindor dormitory.
"What's wrong, Ron?"
Seeing Ron's flustered state, Harry couldn't help but ask.
"Harry, you'll never guess what I just saw!"
"What did you see?"
"I just went to Hagrid's place with that evil Slytherin, and I saw that they were secretly keeping dragons in the house!"
"Are you following Argus again?" Harry frowned.
"Our task now is to find Nicolas Flamel as quickly as possible! To find out what Snape wants!"
Why do you always keep staring at Argus?
Ron was furious: "Have you forgotten what we saw on the third floor last time? He must have some secret! We can't just sit idly by!"
"But Hagrid is our friend, and you'll get him killed by betraying him!"
Ron immediately deflated.
He was indeed jealous and disgusted with Argus, but he didn't want to harm Hagrid because of it.
"Then let's go tell Professor McGonagall!"
"I can't just stand by and watch that evil Slytherin corrupt Hagrid!"
With that, he walked toward Professor McGonagall's office.
Harry had no choice but to follow behind.
When Ron and Harry brought Professor McGonagall to Hagrid's hut, it was already empty.
Only Hagrid and Fang were gathered around the fire, roasting something.
"Professor McGonagall? Harry and Ron? What brings you here?"
Hagrid recalled Argus's words of advice and felt an overwhelming sense of relief.
The look in his eyes as he glanced at Ron and Harry couldn't help but carry a hint of disappointment.
"Excuse me, Hagrid, there are some things I need to confirm with you." Professor McGonagall's expression was serious as she picked up her wand and gently waved it.
A pale silver light filled Hagrid's hut, and after about two minutes, Professor McGonagall finally breathed a sigh of relief.
She gave Hagrid an apologetic smile.
"Excuse me, Hagrid, I just heard from Mr. Weasley that you and Mr. Grindelwald are keeping a dragon in the cabin, so I came to check on it."
"Impossible, Professor McGonagall! They must be mistaken!" Hagrid used his loud voice to cover up his guilty conscience.
I think so too.
Professor McGonagall smiled at Hagrid, then turned to look at Ron, her eyes turning stern.
"Mr. Weasley, I think you need to explain?"
"Lying, sneaking out during curfew, and slandering classmates! Have you forgotten what Mrs. Weasley said when she came to school last time?!"
Ron wanted to argue, but when he heard his mother's name, he immediately deflated, hanging his head and not daring to speak.
"Because of your violation of school rules, I will deduct fifty points from your Gryffindor grade! And you will be confined for a week!"
"And you, Mr. Potter!"
Harry felt wronged, as if he had been wronged.
Ron breathed a sigh of relief.
As long as I don't tell my mom, anything is fine!
Anyway, this isn't the first time points have been deducted, so let them be!
He just couldn't figure out how Argus had returned to school so quickly.
...
Share Powerstones for Bonus chapters!