20: Norberta and The Forbidden Forest

[3rd Pov]

As morning dawned, the castle stood tall and imposing against the landscape, its turrets and spires dusted with a layer of snow. The Easter holidays had arrived, and some of the white blankets that decorated the school grounds were starting to melt.

Inside the Slytherin common room, a seemingly common suitcase was lying on the ground of one of the dormitories. If one were to open the suitcase, one would find an inconspicuous trapdoor, that led to a long corridor.

The walls were made of fine dark oak wood, the same material used for the craft of the suitcase. As one walked along said corridor, multiple doors stood side by side. Some were labeled, others were not.

At the end of the hallway, stood a lone red double door. The knobs were made of something akin to gold, while the door itself had a strange symbol carved into it, a triangular shape that consists of three distinct objects: a vertical line, a circle, and a triangle.

Behind the door, stood a workshop. The workshop was lined with tall shelves, packed with jars filled with strange and exotic ingredients. Every surface was cluttered with an array of magical tools and instruments, from crystal balls and divining rods to intricate wands and enchanted compasses.

At the center of the room stood a large wooden workbench, cluttered with a multitude of books and parchments, with several bubbling cauldrons simmering away on the burners.

"A drop of dragon's blood - some unwillingly given pixie dust - and acromantula's venom..." Near one of the cauldrons, Alaric was making a rather complicated expression.

"I don't have that," he muttered. "I've already used up what I got from Grandfather," He hurriedly flipped the pages of a book he was using as an aid, looking for a replacement, one that didn't cost as much as 100 galleons a pint.

"Highly doubt that Mother would buy me any of the sorts if she knew what potion I'm trying to make," he said, slightly dropping his shoulders. "I really have to start and make my own money. A project for the summer I guess..."

While a quill magically wrote something on a notebook beside the boy, he was pacing back and forth, his chin resting on his hand.

'Didn't Hagrid mention something about having an Acromantula pet...?' Upon the sudden realization, Alaric quickly left his suitcase, not before locking it and setting some protection and detection charms. He didn't want anyone snooping around.

Turning into a raven, he flew past one of the few windows that weren't submerged by the Black lake, in the direction of the groundskeeper's hut.

__________

Hagrid had a normal day. As soon as the sun threatened to color the sky blue, he made his way to the third floor of the school. Fluffy was rather large, so the three-headed dog was quite a glutton.

After feeding his dear pet, he walked to the Care of Magical Creatures' ground, where Professor Kettleburn kept most of his objects of study. Most of the creatures weren't hostile, so the half-giant didn't face much trouble while taking care of them.

After a patrol around the borders of the Forbidden Forest, he quickly returned to his hut.

He was quite excited you see. A gentleman he met in a bar sold him a dragon's egg for dirt cheap. It was his dream since infant of having a dragon.

The egg needed a lot of heat to hatch, so he placed it inside a heating cauldron. He was no expert as to know the exact temperature, but he figured it would be enough.

As he covered the cauldron with a lid, he heard a gurgling croak from outside. 'A raven?' he thought.

Paying little attention to it, his door was knocked on. "Hagrid?" Someone called for him.

The towering man grunted, but quickly opened the door, just to see a silver-haired boy standing there, a small smile on his lips.

"Alaric?" he said, "Wot are yeh doin' here at this hour, boy?" boomed Hagrid's deep voice as he towered over the young wizard.

"I was just taking a walk, Hagrid," Alaric said, his smile never fading. "I was out for some fresh air, and I ended up remembering that you said you were quite familiar with Acromantulas. Mind telling me some of the stuff you know?"

Alaric's tone was rather persuasive, and Hagrid had a soft spot for the Grindelwald boy. The kid had helped him numerous times this year, taking care of some creatures and doing some tasks he didn't have time to do. The fact that Alaric did it in turn to learn more about certain magical beings also helped.

Hagrid's expression softened slightly, and he let out a gruff chuckle. "Fresh air, eh? Well, there's nothin' like a bit of fresh air to clear the 'ead."

"Come in, come in!" bellowed Hagrid's hearty voice as he swung open the door to his cozy cabin.

The cabin was cluttered with an array of curious objects and magical trinkets, from the stuffed thunderbird in the corner to the jars filled with glowing insects on the shelves. Fang was resting near the fireplace, loudly snoring.

Hagrid himself sat at a rough-hewn wooden table in the center of the room, a steaming mug of tea clutched in his massive hands. His beady eyes twinkled as he gestured for Alaric to take a seat opposite him. He was wearing a ruffled apron, while his hands sported dragon-hide gloves, normally used when handling high temperatures.

Alaric eyes stopped on the heating cauldron, that appeared to be cooking something. The lid was rattling, and some smoke came out of it.

"Making dinner?" Alaric asked. Hagrid noticed his gaze and began to sweat.

"Ah," said Hagrid, fiddling nervously with his beard. "That's – er ..."

Alaric approached the cauldron, and his eyes widened when he noticed the giant dark egg.

"Where did you get it, Hagrid?" said Alaric, crouching over the fire to get a closer look at the egg. "And don't tell me you've found it on the side of the road. That won't burn it with me,"

After Hagird told Alaric how he obtained the egg, the boy sighed. "Who in their right mind would sell a dragon's egg for that price?"

"Right?" said Hagrid, his eyes widening in disbelief. "Apparently, the man wanted to get rid of it and 'ad no idea what he was givin' away!"

"And what do you plan to do when it hatches?" asked the boy.

"What do you mean?"

"Hagrid, your house is made out of wood," he said.

__________

[Alaric's Pov]

After Hagrid eventually told me about his pet Acromantula, he flew in my raven animagi form to the forbidden forest. I visited the place quite a few times, especially when I needed to practice my more obscure spells.

I was making steady progress in mastering the spells I had already learned from Grandfather's notebook. As for learning new ones, those that actually sparked my interest were the most complicated, so I wasn't exactly close to succeeding in casting them.

Protego Diabolica was the spell I was more inclined to learn from them all. After hearing the stories about its power, I immediately used it as leverage against Grandfather for sending us to Hogwarts.

Unfortunately, I underestimated the sheer complexity of the spell. The dark curse could be described as an unholy offspring of the protection charm and the Fienfyre curse. I was highly proficient in both spells, but combining them wasn't easy.

As for the pendant, after the incident in the restricted section, it didn't give any signals whatsoever. I was extremely excited about the prospect of learning completely new magic but for some reason, the necklace didn't react, no matter what I did.

Some hours later, eventually, I found the Acromantula's colony. Disguising my smell, I carefully flew over them, spotting what I assumed to be the nest's mother and father.

Our meeting wasn't anything special. The moment I revealed myself, I was instantly surrounded by hundreds of small Acromantulas. After a 'peaceful' conversation, I left the colony with about 2 liters of venom, of course, 'willingly' given.

I quickly flew out of harm's reach, basking in the gentle glow the moon provided. My feather's shinned more than ever, their pitch-black color almost glowing.

The soothing breeze caressed my wings, and the occasional creature's howl set a comfortable atmosphere for my flight.

__________

A few days went by. Eventually, Hagrid's dragon hatched, and the man was jumping around like a little girl. Initially, the half-giant named it Norbert, but after I and Lys recognized it as a female, the Norwegian Ridgeback was named Norberta. She was quite cute, if we don't factor in the times she almost set Hagrid's hut on fire.

Lys's friends also found out about the dragon. I was ready to obliviate them, but Hagrid himself said they wouldn't tell anyone.

Apparently, Ron's second oldest brother, Charlie, works at a dragon's reserve in Romania, and after we, somehow, convinced Hagird that Norberta would grow safe there, the Potter clique sent the creature off with Charlie's friends.

"Uhhhhh..." grunted my sister. We were spending some family time in the library, but her head was yet to lift from the table.

"It's just detention Lys, not the end of the world," I said, closing the older leather book. Her little group was caught by Professor McGonagall when they were sneaking out to hand Norberta to her now caretakers.

She remained unresponsive, silently wailing. I stood up and sat by her side, and patted her shoulder. "Do you need your dear brother to keep you company during your daunting punishment?" I jokingly said.

However, she turned to me, her eyes red because of the tears, and nodded her head.

I sighed. "Okay then, I'll meet you later,"

__________

[3rd Pov]

The following night, Lysandra, Hope, Harry, and Ron, accompanied by Malfoy, went to the Groundskeeper's hut to begin their detention. Hagrid came striding towards them out of the dark, Fang at his heel. He was carrying his large crossbow, and a quiver of arrows hung over his shoulder.

"Abou' time," he said. "I bin waitin' fer half an hour already,"

"It's her pet," said Hope, eyeing the bird. The Raven turned to her, before poking her head. "Hey! I'm going to fry you, you little shit!"

The rest of the kids, except Malfoy, chuckled, while Hope tried to catch the large bird.

"I'll be back at dawn," said Filch, his wrinkles forming a frown, seeing the kids having a laugh, "for what's left of them," he added nastily, and he turned and started back towards the castle, his lamp bobbing away in the darkness.

"Right then," said Hagrid, "now, listen carefully, 'cause it's dangerous what we're gonna do tonight an' I don' want no one takin' risks. Follow me over here a moment." He led them to the very edge of the Forest. Holding his lamp up high he pointed down a narrow, winding earth track that disappeared into the thick black trees. A light breeze lifted their hair as they looked into the Forest.

After Hagrid showed the unicorn blood to the kids, he separated them into two groups. Ron, Hermione, and Hope in the first, and Draco, Harry, and Lysandra in the second.

The Forest was black and silent. A little way into it they reached a fork in the earth's path and Harry, Draco, and Lysandra took the left path while the others took the right. They walked in silence, their eyes on the ground. Every now and then a ray of moonlight through the branches above lit a spot of silver-blue blood on the fallen leaves.

"W-what's that?" said Malfoy, pointing to a dark-hooded figure a few feet away from them. The figure had its head lowered over the missing unicorn's body, and it was drinking the creature's blood from a wound.

The hooded figure raised its head and looked right at Harry, unicorn blood was dribbling down its front.

Malfoy let out a girlish scream and bolted away, followed by Fang. Lysandra was a few feet away from Harry, her eyes fixed on the figure, a scowl on her face.

The moment the figure hunched closer to the Potter boy, the raven on Lysandra's shoulder suddenly transformed into a silver-haired boy, with his wand already pointing to the figure.

The target was immobile for a second, staring at the newcomer. A frown was the only thing he was able to make, as a spell immediately shot out from Alaric's wand.

"Candidus Impetus!" A white blast came from the tip of his wand, before engulfing the figure like a ferocious tide.

**********

A/N: Two chapters for the first-year to end. I'll double-release tomorrow if you guess what Alaric will be doing during summer vacation.

Hope you enjoyed!