After having seen Snape and Quirrell, mere inches away from the most horrific kiss known to mankind, the three raced off to the common room, comfortable in their new evidence of Snape's supposed crimes. "Hey guys," Ron called as the three entered. "Fred and George swiped some cakes from the kitchens to celebrate the win." Rigel couldn't help but wonder how a group of students could so often forget that they could simply request the house elves bring them snacks and drinks, but he wasn't going to make the elves work harder by reminding these lazy pricks. 'Ron would never get off his lazy ass, probably getting off on the power like his mother.' Rigel watched the celebratory party from the fire, a quietly requested cup of grape juice in hand, while Jasmine was praised and hollered and Hermione found a chair near him, learning as much as she could about the giant, three-headed dog that was guarding the stone. 'Her brain never stops working, does it? Doesn't always work WELL, but it doesn't stop.'
The next few weeks were spent preparing for exams, which was agony for any friend of Hermione's. "You really should organise your notes better Rigel, it helps you retain information."
"Hermione, I score the same grades as you for theory in every useful lesson they teach besides potions, which even you know is just Snape being an old bat." She couldn't argue because she'd tried to 'help,' him a few weeks earlier only to realise his homework was rather similar to her own, though more concise and understandable even for Ronald, which amazed the young witch. "Maybe you should practise your wand motions again, you still overemphasise movements and move your wand in stages. It's a spell, not a cookbook." The frizzled hair witch had left Rigel's notes alone for the most part after that, instead targeting Jasmine and her other roommates, though Padma would occasionally study with them in the library, butting heads with the headstrong Gryffindor. While Jasmine was much smarter than the original Harry, there were still the same traits of ADHD that made her a terrible studier. Everyone in their friend group apart from Padma and Hermione were aghast when they found out Rigel used a self-writing quill for homework, pointing out they were only banned in class and during exams, though Hermione still huffed at the bad habits, and inappropriate behaviour he had for using it in front of them. Lavender and Parvati joked that she was just jealous she hadn't figured out the loophole first. He'd been using them to give him extra time to work on practical spells, physical training and even relaxing, as the amount of homework the professors gave was obscene, especially McGonagall, who had provided accelerated difficulty taskwork.
No one had approached the stone as far as the trio could tell, though Quirrell was looking worn out. Gaunt and thin. Like butter spread over too much bread. 'Probably be needing to attack some unicorns soon.'
During the Easter holidays which had provided so much homework even Hermione was stressed, Rigel and Jasmine were in the library with Daphne, though she was sitting at the table next to them, for social protection. Draco had lost a lot of respect after being forced to hand over 800 galleons in his own house, but his family could afford it, so it was better to provide an excuse. Rigel had spent an increasing amount of time with Daphne, curious as to whether the natural occlumense was anything like the fanfictions described her. So far she had been polite, emotionless and a little lonely, only friends with a half-blood Tracey Davis and Bullstrode, though less so.
"Hey Hagrid," Jasmine greeted the moving mountain. "What're you doing in the library?"
"Uh, I'm…'ere for a book?"
"On…?"
The groundskeeper let out a loud sigh, the sheer force of his breath flapping the pages of Jasmine's books. "Come by later and I'll show you, just keep it to yerself mind." As he left, Jasmine waltzed into the section he had been standing in, dragging out the scrolls and books on raising dragons.
"I think I've got a pretty fair idea," she whispered, despite the fact Daphne was far too distracted with her own herbology studies to care about Hagrid.
An hour later after the three had eaten their meals, they ducked down to Hagrid's hut. If it wasn't for the dragon, Rigel probably wouldn't have come. Not because he disliked Hagrid, because he had to admit Hagrid was possibly the kindest soul, he or any other wizard could possibly have the pleasure of meeting, but just because the snacks he offered were terrible. 'What even are rock cakes,' he'd wondered trying the mysteriously solid lump of dough the first time he tried it. Dragon breeding was illegal in Britain, which explained the drawn curtains and the panicked voice when the small wizards knocked on his door. "It's Jasmine, Rigel and Hermione. You invited us." Technically, he'd only invited Jasmine and Rigel, but Hermione had figured out how to manipulate the giant into telling all sorts of information he hadn't planned on spilling.
"Holy F-Morgana it's hot," Rigel gasped, catching himself when the giant gave him a look.
"So, you wanted to ask me something?"
"A few things actually," Hermione chirped up, her hair already frizzing up from the humidity in the room. "We wondered if there was anything else besides fluffy guarding the stone?"
"Now you know I can't be telling you that. The information is supposed to remain kept between us and Dumbledore." Hermione's grin grew at his slip.
"Oh, come on, Hagrid, you might not want to tell us, but you know everything that goes on around here," said Hermione in a warm, buttery voice. Hagrid's beard shifted and they could tell he was smiling. "We only wondered who had done the guarding, really." Hermione went on. "We wondered who Dumbledore had trusted enough to help him, apart from you." 'If Hermione didn't go into politics, it would truly be a waste. She's an excellent manipulator for an eleven-year-old,' Rigel observed, watching her flatter and flame his pride.
"Well, I don't suppose it could hurt to tell yer that … let's see … he borrowed Fluffy from me … then some of the teachers did enchantments … Professor Sprout, Professor Flitwick, Professor McGonagall," he counted them on his fingers, "Professor Quirrell, and Dumbledore himself did somethin', of course. Oh yeah, Professor Snape too."
"Snape?" Jasmine startled, almost spilling her ridiculously sized teacup.
"That's what I've been saying. He's been protectin' it."
"Not based on what we heard after the last game," she muttered under her breath. "You're the only one who knows how to get past Fluffy, aren't you, Hagrid?" said Jasmine anxiously. Not even one of the teachers?"
"Not a soul knows except me an' Dumbledore," said Hagrid proudly.
"Well, that's something…Hagrid, I don't mean to impose, but it's really hot in here." Everyone was covered in a fine sheen of sweat, both girls and Hagrid with their hair stuck to their red faces. Rigel couldn't even cast a cooling charm as it could affect the baby dragon, and there was no way he was harming his first dragon, especially an unhatched one.
"Sorry, but it's for a reason Jasmine," he said, glancing towards the fire that sat between them. Hermione had already been filled in on Hagrid's illegal breeding project, and although disappointed in his disregard for the law, was excited to see a dragon firsthand. Inside the very fire that he had boiled the kettle for their tea, sat a large black egg. Shiny smooth and the size of a Quaffle, though, markedly more egg-shaped.
"Where'd you get it?" Rigel asked, knowing, but still being forced to guide the conversation.
"Won it," said Hagrid. "Last night. I was down in the village havin' a few drinks and got into a game of cards with a stranger. Think he was quite glad to get rid of it, to be honest."
"But what are you going to do with it when it's hatched?" said Hermione.
"Well, I've been doin' some reading'," said Hagrid, "Keep the egg in the fire, 'cause their mothers breathe on them, ya' see, and when it hatches, feed it on a bucket of brandy mixed with chicken blood every half hour. What I got there's a Norwegian Ridge-back. They're rare, them." He looked very pleased with himself, but Hermione didn't.
"Hagrid, you live in a wooden house."
Rigel looked around, "At least the foundation's stone," he said with a small dose of mockery, but Hagrid was too busy humming and being overall chuffed with his dragon egg. That night Rigel sent a letter to his grandfather describing the dragon's stage and its breed, figuring that Hagrid could at least get some closure knowing it would be placed with dragons in Germany where the magical creature treatment laws were much harsher than in eastern Europe. There was a lot those countries had to offer, but modern views on laws were not one of them.
A few more days of anticipatory waiting left the three anxious, and the built-up excitement only grew when Hagrid's chicken scrawl of a letter came in the morning. "It's Hatching." "Should we go see it now?" Rigel asked, both not wanting to attend Herbology and trying to attract Malfoy's attention.
"But we have class Rigel. We'll get into trouble, and if someone finds out Hagrid's going to be in a lot worse than-"
"Shh!" Jasmine interrupted, watching Draco who had stopped to listen barely six feet away. 'Good, the group needs to go into the forest to see the unicorn feasting. And I want to see if merely surviving Voldemort would be enough for a magical boost. I doubt it, but there's no reason to miss out."
The three went to Herbology, dealing with a particularly vicious stinging nettle, and as soon as the bell for morning break sounded, they raced through the courtyard and down the green towards Hagrid's hut. "Good, yer 'ere. It's just about to hatch." Hagrid looks positively ecstatic and ridiculous. Red-faced and giddy while wearing an apron. The egg was sat in a towel nest on the table, deep cracks running across its surface. The egg was definitely rattling, swaying slightly with the baby dragon's attempt to break free.
In a sudden burst of movement, the egg fell apart and a spindly black mess of leathery skin and oversized wings splayed onto the table. 'He really is beautiful,' Rigel thought as he watched the creature take its first shaky steps. Jasmine seemed slightly less impressed, but was equally amazed by the creature. Rigel's winder also came from his mage sight, which illuminated the dragon like a lamp, as dragons are known as magic and fire-made flesh. Rigel had wondered where phoenix came into that equation, but the soft glow was unmistakable, even more, powerful than when Rigel saw Corvin, whose magic ability and familiarity made him visible to his mage sight. "Umm, Hagrid? How fast do Norwegian Ridgebacks grow exactly?" Hermione asked, looking around the hut.
Hagrid didn't answer, pale-faced by the sight of a pale-faced ferret peering through the window, now racing back off to the castle. The next stage of Rigel's plan was far trickier. He had to somehow get Malfoy to know when the group would try and move the dragon, without him or the girls knowing he did it. But he was nothing if not creative. Using a self-writing quill, he created a diary, filled with meaningless nonsense and tedious day-to-day things, none of which was interesting or useful for Malfoy. However, he knew that by dropping it, with the date and rough plan, excluding the invisibility cloak of course, Malfoy could find out and it be deemed an accident, or even better, he could accuse Malfoy of stealing it.
It took only two days for Arcturus to send a reply, having organised for some dragon handlers and magi zoologists to come and receive the infant dragon. The crew would arrive on the weekend, which gave Rigel three days to 'lose' his diary and persuade Hagrid to hand him in to his family's dragon sanctuary.
The diary was an easy job, simply left behind on a table after potions, while convincing Hagrid involved a small amount of emotional blackmail, explaining the treatment the dragon would receive if Hagrid was arrested, and the impact it could have on Dumbledore and the three kids if Draco snitched. With no small amount of tears and fanfare, the plan was a go.
Hermione had supported the plan, but was against breaking the rules, to neither Jasmine nor Rigel's surprise, so that Saturday night, the two of them hid themselves under the invisibility cloak of Death, and snuck out to Hagrid. Hagrid had packed the cage with cooked chicken brandy, as well as a small stuffed rabbit, which Jasmine assumed would be shredded before they got to the astronomy tower. It took almost five minutes of Hagrid's sobbing goodbyes before they could leave to carry out the mission, not that Norbert made it easy for them. The squawking and trilling dragon needed to be muffled, but the two managed to haul the cage, with a levitation charm on Rigel's part, up to the top of the astronomy tower, where two grizzled blonde brothers stood anxiously with their brooms. Dropping the cloak almost startled one of them into stepping off the edge of the tower clutching his heart while the other reached for his wand before recognition set in.
"Is that it?" The braver of the two asked in a deep voice.
"Or a damn convincing cat," Jasmine spoke quietly, her joke only making the two senior wizards scoff, taking the dragon cage and strapping it to their broom. In the books, it required four wizards to strap the dragon between them, but unlike in the books, it hadn't taken three weeks to get the dragon moved, in fact Rigel had managed it in under one, so the creature was only the size of a German shepherd, rather than a bear.
"You can tell Lord Black that the dragon is in safe hands now heir Black. We need to get out of the wards before someone spots us, so farewell young heirs."
"Yes, goodbye." The clumsy wizard followed, mounting his broom and following his brother, as the two heirs laughed, glad to be rid of the fire-breathing dragon and potential trip to Azkaban for Hagrid. Not to mention Malfoy's detention, though they would soon follow him. Rigel noticed the speed at which they had climbed the tower, assisted by the weightlessness of the muzzled dragon, and realised Malfoy might not have been caught yet. Luckily, the cloak had been left during Jasmine's moment of relief as the dragon was carried off, and Malfoy's poncy footsteps were just around the corner.
"THERE PROFESSOR!" a whiny voice shrieked. "I knew Potter and Black were sneaking around at night moving a dragon."
"Miss Potter and Mr Black. I can't say I'm not disappointed in your behaviour sneaking around at night. Though, I can't see any evidence of a dragon, Mr Malfoy. I trust the two of you have no idea what Mr Malfoy is referring to?"
"Of course not, Professor. Draco went to pull out the diary Rigel had made, unaware the ink was bought from Zonko's joke shop through owl post, and was designed to vanish all written content within 48 hours of being applied to parchment. As he rifled through the now-blank book, he screamed in frustration.
"This book had evidence of their plans professor, you have to believe me."
"Poor little Draco," Rigel snarled, somehow managing to keep his innocent grin on his face despite the mockery in his voice. "Wherever would I have found a living dragon, let alone one small enough to carry through the castle?"
"From the giant oaf Hagrid," he hissed.
"Mr Malfoy, not only did you disrespect a member of staff in my presence, but accused him of committing a serious crime, and involving students in their crimes."
"Without evidence," Rigel added, barely keeping his innocent façade in place. Jasmine was confused as she'd seen the diary, but had heard her friend complaining to Neville that it went missing during potions. She was seething at the thought of Malfoy having stolen her friend's diary, only held back by McGonagall's presence and a tight grip on her wrist from her godbrother.
"Mr Malfoy it seems you will need to be taught a lesson. Minus 60 house points, for your accusations and breaking of curfew. You will also be coming with me to discuss detention with Professor Snape. Now as for the two of you. Minus 30 points each for your breaking of curfew, and you will join Mr Malfoy in the first of what I'm sure will be several detentions." Jasmine had almost left for joy seeing the low point penalty, however, slumped upon hearing that the two of them would be forced to spend time with Malfoy. Even the thought of Malfoy getting more than them couldn't cheer her up much.
Unfortunately, upon returning to the common room under McGonagall's watchful eyes, the two found out that Neville had also been caught up and around at night. 'Shit, fully forgot that happened. The movie kind of glossed over it so I forgot,' Rigel's thoughts didn't help the poor boy though, who although more confident, was still terrified of three things. Voldemort, Snape and his Grandmother, one of whom would be receiving an owl sometime tomorrow.
Neville had also been stripped of thirty points, taking Gryffindor further from the House cup, as Malfoy had only lost 60 for his infraction. This put Gryffindor in third ahead of Hufflepuff, though only just, and without enough Quidditch chances to earn a win for the House Cup. Rigel couldn't have cared less about the loss of house points, but McGonagall halted all private lessons for the week before the detention, after which they could resume. Focused on studying as much of the course material as possible, the trio had begun to study together in earnest, with many of their Housemates scorning them. 'The points provide literally no bonus for these lazy shits anyway,' Rigel thought looking around the common room one night. 'There are third years worse than me at almost every practical class, yet they have the audacity to complain about lost opportunities.' No one said anything to him, perhaps concerned that he might snap as he did to Malfoy, the memory of him stabbing the young heir fresh in their minds, however, that didn't mean he and his friends couldn't hear the whispering. Lav and Parvati hadn't ever doubted him and had immediately sought to hear his side of the story first, showing growth since the rumour incident. Hermione had known the truth the whole while, and had helped the three study as much as she could to show her support.
Almost a week before exams and just over a week since the dragon smuggling, Jasmine, Rigel and Neville each received the same notice. "Your detention will take place at eleven o'clock tonight. Meet Mr Filch in the entrance hall. Signed, Professor McGonagall." 'Time to go face Quirrelmort, for the first time. At least I'll get to see a unicorn.'