It was the weekend, and Hogwarts was quiet at night. A full moon hung in the sky, emitting a gentle light. Occasionally, a few owls would fly by, and a few night cats would meow. It was a peaceful scene.
However, in a basement of Hogsmeade Village not far away, an explosion was brewing.
"Damn it," Malfoy cursed under his breath.
The gentle golden liquid in the crucible began to boil, and the bubbles churned. It first became a strange pink color, then a bright red, and finally a black color. The reaction became more and more intense, like a surging wave, rolling endlessly. More and more bubbles began to separate from the liquid, making popping sounds.
"Two months of work, destroyed in a day." Malfoy looked at the black liquid and couldn't help but sigh. It was obvious that he had failed when he was one-third done. He was brewing the Spirit Blessing Potion.
"What exactly went wrong?" He sat on the ground and began to think hard, frowning. He had forgotten about the failed potion that was still boiling.
"Crackle, crackle." A strange sound pulled him back to reality from his thoughts.
"Armor Protection!" Malfoy instinctively used this spell. His intuition told him that if he didn't use it, he would be the first transmigrator to die in an experiment.
As soon as he finished speaking, there was a "boom" and a violent explosion occurred in the basement. The huge impact and turbulent airflow brought him to the corner of the wall, and dust flew all over the sky.
"Cough, cough." Malfoy slowly got up from the ground and coughed twice. He looked at the messy basement and the potion that was flowing everywhere, and he couldn't help but reveal an ugly smile.
"After the experiment, the chemicals should be recycled." This sentence appeared in his mind out of nowhere. "I'm really regressing." Malfoy held his forehead in pain, not knowing if it was because of his own negligence or because of the explosion just now.
"There's no other way, I can only use it." Then, his eyes suddenly sharpened, like an eagle that had found its prey and was ready to pounce.
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The Easter holiday was much more boring than the Christmas holiday. The students had endless homework, and the final exams were coming soon. They had to revise.
However, the iron triangle of Gryffindor did not seem to be studying quietly in the library. To be exact, they were not studying at the moment. They were attracted by a dragon.
Not long ago, they had been reading in the library. Hermione had drawn up her revision plan and colored all her notes in different colors. She had also written a few motivational words on the title page, such as' I must surpass someone 'and so on. Harry was looking up "White Fresh" in A Thousand Magical Herbs and Mushrooms when Ron tossed his quill aside. He looked out the window of the library. The sky outside the window was clear and bright, blue like the color of forget-me-nots. There was a smell of summer coming in the air.
Under normal circumstances, some would be serious, some would be lazy, and then spend a peaceful day like this. However, today was obviously an abnormal situation.
"Hagrid. Why are you here?! " In the library, Ron shouted. Hagrid walked over and hid something behind his back. Of course, this kind of hiding was useless. They soon found out that Hagrid was collecting information about dragons.
After that, they followed Hagrid to the door of the small house in the hunting ground. They did not express their curiosity quickly. Instead, they asked some questions about the Philosopher's Stone.
As an intelligent person, Hermione managed to get all the information out of Hagrid after many exchanges. They knew that Snape was one of the professors protecting the Philosopher's Stone, as well as information about the Cerberus. Of course, they became more suspicious of him. The three of them thought that it would be easier for Snape to steal the Philosopher's Stone when he had taken precautions.
Their focus now was on dragons.
"Hagrid, can you open the window? I'm dying from the heat. "
"No, Harry, I'm sorry," Hagrid said. Harry noticed that he glanced at the fireplace. Harry turned to look at the fireplace too.
"Hagrid — what's that?" Harry asked.
Actually, he already knew. In the middle of the fireplace, under the kettle, lay a big black egg.
"Ah," Hagrid said as he twirled his beard uneasily. "That's — oh."
"Where did you get it, Hagrid?" Ron said as he squatted by the fire to look more closely at the egg. "It must have cost you a fortune!"
"I won it," Hagrid said. "Last night, I was drinking in the village and playing cards with a stranger. To be honest, that person probably couldn't wait to get rid of it. "
"But what are you going to do when it hatches?" Hermione asked.
"Oh, I've been reading." Hagrid said as he pulled out a big book from under his pillow. "I borrowed this from the library — Raising Dragons for Fun and Profit — of course, it's a bit out of date, but it's very comprehensive. Put the eggs in the fire because their mother breathes on them. Look, it says here that when it hatches, feed it a barrel of brandy and chicken blood every half an hour. Look here — how to tell different eggs apart — I got a Norway Ridgeback. It's very rare. "
Instinct told Hermione that this was illegal. She wanted to talk Hagrid out of it, but when she saw how excited Ron, Harry and Hagrid were, she didn't know what to say. She had learned a lesson from the Levitation spell — to be tolerant of your friends. Thinking of friends, she thought of someone. "Am I a friend to him?" she asked herself.
"Hermione? Hermione? " Ron said. "Don't just stare. Come and look at the egg. I'm sure you've never seen one so big."
"All right." Hermione forced herself to look at the thing she didn't care about. But strangely, the thought of a new life growing out of it made her feel less repulsed, and even a little hopeful.
The sun was setting on the hut, and they realized how late it was.
"We've got to go, Hagrid," Harry said.
"We'll be back," Ron said, waving at Hagrid from the doorway.
"Me too," Hermione said, nodding gently.
Then, one morning at breakfast, Hedwig brought Harry a note from Hagrid. There were only four words on it: Almost out of the shell.
Ron didn't want to go to the herbal class, and wanted to go straight to Hagrid's hut. Hermione was adamant.
"Hermione, how many times in our lives can we see a baby dragon come out of its shell?"
"We have to go to class, or we'll get into trouble. If someone finds out what Hagrid did, he'll have worse luck than us —"
"Stop it," Harry warned in a low voice.
In herbalism class, Ron was debating with Hermione. In the end, Hermione agreed to go with them to Hagrid's hut during the morning break. When class was over, the bell rang from the castle. The three of them dropped their shovels and hurried across the field towards the edge of the forbidden forest. Hagrid met them, his face flushed with excitement.
"It's almost out." He let them into the hut. The egg was lying on the table, and there was a deep crack in it. Something kept moving inside, making a very playful clicking sound. They all moved their chairs closer to the table, held their breath, and watched closely.
Suddenly, with a shrill scraping sound, the egg split open. The baby dragon flopped unsteadily on the table. It wasn't very pretty; Harry thought it looked like a crumpled black umbrella. Its spiny wings were especially large compared to its thin, black body. It also had a long nose with white nostrils. There were horns on its head, and its orange-red eyes protruded outwards.
It sneezed, and sparks flew from its nose. "It's pretty, isn't it?" Hagrid murmured. He put out his hand and stroked the baby dragon's head. The baby dragon bit his finger, showing its long, sharp teeth.
"Good heavens, you see, it knows its mother!" Hagrid said. "Hagrid," Hermione said, "how fast does a Norse Ridgeback grow?" Hagrid was about to answer, but suddenly his face went white.
"There's someone outside the window," he said. As he spoke, he leaped into the air. His gigantic body seemed to have blocked out the light, and everything below him was pitch-black.
"It's you!" When they opened the door, Ron and Harry's faces changed. Hermione pursed her lips, thinking of something.
"You've been eavesdropping on us!" Ron raised his wand. Normally, he wouldn't have had the courage to do this to Malfoy, the strongest of the year, but now he didn't have a wand.
A wizard without a wand might be worse than a Muggle, was what many wizards thought.
"Don't come over!" Ron snapped, but Malfoy still walked into the room step by step.
A green light shot out from Ron's wand, and he shouted, "I won't let you get away with this!"
"No!" Hermione shouted anxiously. However, neither Hagrid nor Harry paid attention to her. They were both stunned by the current situation.
"I hate it when people point wands at me," Malfoy said flatly.
"Armour!"
The green light seemed to have hit an invisible wall and stopped abruptly, giving people a strange feeling that they had used the wrong force. Then, the light bounced back at a faster speed than when it came.
"Ron, are you okay?" The green light hit Ron, and he couldn't help but fall back a few steps. Harry and Hermione hurriedly helped him up, and couldn't help but ask with concern.
Harry raised his head and looked at Malfoy with a resentful expression.
"Don't look at me like that." Malfoy shrugged. "I was just defending myself. If I didn't resist, I would be the one showing my ugly side now."
After saying that, Ron burped, and a few slugs fell from his mouth to his thigh.
He continued, "Only a Dark Wizard would point a wand at someone who doesn't have one. Just like a regular army wouldn't point a butcher's knife at a civilian, they would only fight with their real opponents." Malfoy paused for a moment, then continued, "But it seems that a civilian like me is more powerful."
It was obvious that he had made up this sentence on the spot, although it did sound reasonable.
"You were the one who eavesdropped on us first!" Harry said loudly, but he wasn't confident enough and was a little shaken.
"A law-abiding citizen has the duty to report illegal acts. Let me think, hmm, what is written in the 'Magical Animal Protection Act'?" He lowered his head and pretended to be deep in thought. Suddenly, he snapped his fingers. "Taming a dragon without permission will result in a prison sentence of five to ten years. Moreover, our keeper seems to have a criminal record. He will probably be punished even more," Malfoy said in a casual tone.
Hagrid's beard trembled unnaturally a few times. He had been maintaining this posture since just now.
"As for the accomplice," he touched his chin, and said, "in prison?"
He saw the three of them turn pale in an instant. Ron even spat out a few more snot.
"Not to that extent, but it's very likely that he will be expelled. I think our academy will be happy to see Gryffindor's grades drop." He started to make up a story, but it was reasonable enough to fool a few people.
What a joke. Would Dumbledore allow such a thing to happen?
However, it was obvious that Harry was scared stiff. In his eyes, being expelled was worse than death. Gryffindor's honor would be tarnished because of him. He would rather go to prison.
"So, are you going to report us?" Hermione tried her best to calm down. She was the only one who could maintain her composure, but it was only on the surface. Her delicate fingers were clenched tightly, and her pale knuckles had long betrayed her.
"He's not such a person, he's not such a person," Hermione repeatedly said to herself, and then waited for his answer in torment.
"Ha …" Ron wanted to speak, but he spat out a few more snot on the ground. "Hermione, don't ask him. He's Snape's student. There's definitely a conspiracy." Ron used all his strength to say this.
"Tongue Lock!" Malfoy cast another spell.
Ron's mouth started to bulge. He wanted to spit out more snot, but his mouth was sealed again. His cheeks were bulging bigger and bigger, and soon his throat was bulging too. His breathing started to become difficult.
"You're going to kill him." Hermione was obviously frightened by this scene, and cried out. "Undo it, please," she said with a sobbing tone.
"Stop the curse immediately," Malfoy said softly.
Ron spat out all the snot in an instant. He lay on the ground, panting heavily. He looked at Malfoy with hatred, but quickly lowered his head. He was afraid.
"To most people in this world, death is the ultimate fear. Lord Dark Devil is the same. I believe you've learned your lesson. Don't interrupt when others are talking. "Malfoy still looked indifferent.
"What do you want?" Harry plucked up his courage and asked. It was obvious that the scene Ron had just shown was deeply engraved in his mind. He only wanted to know what Malfoy wanted.
"A deal, a fair deal. However, it's obvious that you can only understand it as coercion." Malfoy shrugged helplessly. He was obviously helpless about the current situation.
"What deal?" Hermione hurriedly asked.
Malfoy did not answer her directly. He slowly said, "A Norway Ridgeback, a type of fire dragon. It grows very quickly. It can grow to twice its original size in a week."
"This big guy's house will not be able to contain this fire dragon sooner or later. Perhaps because of its aggressive nature, without proper training, it will cause a disaster sooner or later."
"Have you all forgotten about that monster? If we were to divide the strength of mystical creatures, who knows how much stronger this dragon will be when it grows up. "
"If there's a problem, you won't be going to an ordinary prison. You might be going to Azkaban. Mr. Big Guy Hagrid, the taste of a dementor must not be good."
Hagrid suddenly staggered and almost fell to the ground. Azkaban's deterrence was too strong.
"It's more likely that because the disaster it will cause is too great, it will need to be humanely destroyed."
"No!" Hagrid suddenly cried out in grief. "Nob is just a child." He crouched down with his hands on his head, as if he could already imagine the scene.
"I can help you. You only need to pay a small price," Malfoy continued.
"What price? How?" Harry asked quickly. He no longer cared whose student Malfoy was or what conspiracy he was plotting.
"To show my sincerity, I'll tell you the method first. That's me." Malfoy pointed at himself. He continued, "My father has a lot of investments all over Britain, and some in the world. There's a dragon farm in Romalia, and my father has a lot of shares there. It should be the best choice to send the dragon there."
"How can I believe you?" Ron asked suspiciously.
"I'm really sad for the intelligence of the Weasley descendants." Malfoy could not help but hold his forehead. "If I'm lying to you, can't you report me? Think about what your brother Charlie does for a living. "
Hagrid said in surprise, "That little guy Charlie also studies fire dragons there. He told me that he's also in Romania. "Then his voice lowered." But I can't bear to leave Nob. " He began to sob. It had to be said that seeing a big man cry in front of him made Malfoy feel uncomfortable.
"Then what do you want?" Harry asked in a small voice.
Malfoy stared at Hermione for a while, making her feel very uncomfortable.
"What does he want?" Hermione's heart raced under his stare. She thought of a possibility, and her cheeks flushed. "Impossible, impossible," she said to herself, trying to calm herself down.
"I just need a bottle of dragon's blood," Malfoy suddenly said, straightening his posture.
Hermione, who was in a dilemma, heard this request and sighed in relief. But she also felt a little lost. She pursed her lips, thinking about something.
"No, you can't do that to him. He's only a child." Hagrid suddenly went crazy again. He hugged Nob tightly, repeating this sentence over and over again.
"Then I can only act as a Young Pioneer and expose the evil forces." Malfoy turned to leave, telling a joke that he thought was funny.
"That's right, Britain doesn't seem to have any Young Pioneers." He seemed to have thought of something.
"I'll promise you on behalf of Hagrid," Harry said.
"Harry, how could you …" Ron seemed to be in a better state now, and quickly tried to dissuade him.
"We have no other choice," Harry said in a low voice. Harry said in a low voice. He had to admit that it was not right to treat Gryffindor as brave or reckless. There was Peter Pettigrew in that group, but there was also Regulus Black in Slythrin. Harry displayed the wisdom and decisiveness that he should have at the moment.
"I wish us a happy cooperation." Malfoy turned and extended his hand, smiling.
"Happy cooperation." Harry also extended his hand, forcing himself to smile in what he thought was a kind way.
"My father should be sending someone over next week. By then, this dragon should have grown a lot. Be prepared, don't let anything happen," Malfoy said.
"We're not like you," Ron said fiercely.
"Hehe, that's for the best." After saying that, Malfoy slowly stepped out of the door. He then added, "One last piece of advice. Please remember that it's a dragon!"