Chapter 57: Hagrid's Dragon
Under Hermione's persistent questioning, Harry and the others revealed the information they had gathered.
"Dumbledore hid a Philosopher's Stone on the fourth floor at Hogwarts?!" Hermione was surprised. She hadn't expected the legendary achievement of alchemy to be hidden in the castle. The thought excited her.
Harry shared his concerns with Hermione.
"Professor Snape? You're overthinking it. I know he's unpleasant, but he wouldn't steal from Dumbledore," Hermione shook her head, defending Snape. "He might be a pawn, deliberately thrown out as a smokescreen by the mastermind behind all this, diverting attention while they make their move."
Ron exchanged a glance with Harry, expressing his frustration at Hermione's naivety.
He waved off Hermione impatiently, "Miss Know-It-All, you always see the teachers as saints. But you haven't taken Potions with Slytherin; you don't know Snape's true nature. You haven't seen the way he looks at Harry—believe me, Snape is capable of anything."
With that, Ron led Harry and Neville away from the library. Harry couldn't argue, so he just gave Tom and Hermione an apologetic smile.
Hermione, still fuming, unleashed a torrent of complaints as soon as they were out of earshot. "Are these people out of their minds? Suspecting a professor of stealing from Dumbledore? Their evidence doesn't hold up! Besides, I don't see anyone here wanting to steal the Philosopher's Stone."
Clearly, Hermione was irked by her moniker, "Miss Know-It-All." Despite her anger, she and Tom carefully analyzed the available information and reached a consensus: someone wanted to steal the Philosopher's Stone, but there was no evidence pointing to a specific professor. The one attempting to steal the Stone was likely the same person behind the troll incident.
However, when Snape, in a fit of rage during a Potions class, found countless excuses to deduct nearly twenty points from Ravenclaw, Hermione's patience with him reached its limit.
After leaving the Potions classroom, she complained, "Just by observing his behavior, I can understand why he's seen as a major antagonist by Harry and the others—"
Suddenly, Tom tugged at Hermione's robe sleeve. She looked at Tom, and her expression froze—Snape was standing behind them, staring down at them.
"If you've finished gossiping, clear the way," Snape said. Although the previous words didn't explicitly identify who was being discussed, Snape had guessed.
Hermione was terrified. She stared at Snape's hollow, silent eyes, feeling as if her brain had frozen. But miraculously, Snape simply ordered them to make way and walked past them, without deducting any points.
Wiping the cold sweat from her forehead, Hermione pulled Tom towards the exit. However, Tom soon realized they were not heading to the Great Hall.
"Hermione, where are you going?"
"To Hagrid's. Hagrid has had the books for three days now, and it's the perfect time to act. Let's go." Hermione smiled; she was sure Hagrid had secretly acquired a dragon egg and was contemplating how to hatch it. Since Hagrid had the information, now was the best time to see it unfold.
"Are you planning to report him?" Tom was skeptical. He was worried that Hermione, with her stubborn nature, would report Hagrid—keeping dragons was illegal. It seemed like something she might do.
Hermione widened her eyes, hastily denying, "No, no, don't say such things! I'm just curious about dragons. Think about it, we can now observe a dragon egg up close and, in a few days, witness a baby dragon hatching. Maybe Hagrid will even let us raise it together! How many opportunities like this do we get in a lifetime?"
This explanation intrigued Tom. Moreover, he had a deeper motive: a dragon would be an extremely rare transformation ingredient, and Hagrid's cabin presented the best opportunity. Tom knew that to touch a dragon, one needed to either be very familiar with it or become very familiar.
Thus, the two arrived at Hagrid's cabin. All the curtains were tightly drawn, and thin plumes of smoke rose from the chimney. Hermione knocked persistently until Hagrid, after confirming their identities, allowed them in, promptly closing the door behind them.
Upon entering, a wave of heat hit them. The source was the fireplace, burning vigorously despite the arrival of spring.
Ignoring Hagrid's invitation to try his freshly stewed beef and pancakes, Tom and Hermione stared fixedly at the object of their interest in the fireplace—a large, black dragon egg beneath a teapot.
Hagrid brought a basin of stewed meat and a plate of pancakes, warmly inviting them, "Try it! Freshly stewed beef!" However, Tom and Hermione were unmoved, their attention focused on the dragon egg.
Hagrid, sensing their eagerness, explained, "Oh, that's..."
"Didn't expect to witness the hatching of a Norwegian Ridgeback dragon egg in one's lifetime!" Tom's excitement was palpable.
Hagrid, feeling
relieved, confirmed their suspicions. "Exactly! You've got sharp eyes!" He pulled out "Raising Dragons for Fun and Profit" from under his pillow, flipping to the chapter on identifying dragon eggs. Together, they carefully analyzed the details on the egg, proving it was indeed a rare Norwegian Ridgeback dragon egg.
"You should know how to care for it, right? You should be prepared now," Hermione warned kindly.
"Of course! Look, it's written here. After it hatches, feed it a bucket of brandy mixed with chicken blood every half an hour."
Hermione shook her head. "I mean, Hagrid, don't forget your house is made of wood..."
Ignoring Hermione's advice, Hagrid eagerly showed them the details, and finally, they reached an understanding. They agreed to take care of the dragon together when it hatched.
Hagrid was delighted. These two clearly knew a lot about dragons, and more importantly, they didn't seem averse to them. For Hagrid, finding people with shared interests who wanted to raise a dragon was a rare occurrence.
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(End of this chapter)