22nd April 1992
"Are you sure about this?" asked Harry, as we were having dinner that night in the Great Hall. Although our attention kept shifting to the High Table, where the teachers were having their supper.
"Relax, it's not like I am going to tell him straight that Hagrid's got a baby dragon in his hut. I know how to be tactful. I will just ask for his opinion on how to deal with a hypothetical situation," I explained in a low voice, so as not to alert the people sitting nearby.
As the teachers finished their meal and stood to return to their rooms, the four of us shared a look and made for the exit as well. We caught up with our quarry as he got off the staircase on the third floor.
"Professor Kettleburn," I called out, "Do you have a moment, sir?"
Professor Silvanus Kettleburn taught Care of Magical Creatures at Hogwarts. The man's passion about the subject equalled Hagrid's. Unfortunately, he didn't share the half-giant's durability or strength. Coupled with his own recklessness, the CoMC professor has lost all his limbs, save one arm and half of one leg. It seems the loss of almost all his limbs have forced him to take life at a quieter pace. Still, despite all his injuries, he has a surprising amount of good humour.
"Of course, my boy," said the professor, turning towards us. "What can I do for you?"
After introducing ourselves, I continued, "Professor, I heard some of the other students talk that you spent some time working in a Dragon Conservatory. Is that true?"
"Why indeed, yes. I spent a few years working at the Canadian Dragon Sanctuary. Picked up a lot of useful things about dragons, even though I lost a hand to a particularly belligerent Hungarian Horntail," said Professor Kettleburn with a chuckle, raising his prosthetic hand.
"Right. Well professor, hypothetically speaking, if I knew someone who knew someone else, who had come across a Dragon egg without understanding the legal issues that might crop up..."
I had only gotten upto this point, when Professor Kettleburn gave a great sigh and put his remaining hand on his face. "Oh Merlin's saggy pants! What has Hagrid done now?" he asked with a resigned voice. We all looked at him with surprise.
"Er...I didn't say anything about Hagrid, Sir." I said cautiously.
"You didn't have to. Trust me Mr Carter, this is not the first time that Hagrid's love for magical creatures has landed him in a spot of trouble. It is usually the school staff that bails him out of the mess. Now, why don't you tell me exactly what has happened this time."
We shared a look, and then told professor Kettleburn how Hagrid had received a dragon egg from a stranger. He wasn't surprised about the egg, although he was about the species.
"A Norwegian Ridgeback, you say? Those are rare alright. And it hatched this morning?" he asked, to which we nodded. "Very well, not to worry, I will take care of it. I have some friends in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. They will backdate an authorisation form, allowing me to incubate a Dragon egg that has been donated to the school. We will raise it here for a few months, until it is old enough to be safely transported via portkey." the professor explained.
"Sir, isn't it illegal to hatch or raise a dragon without a licence?" I asked.
"Indeed, it is. Luckily however, I have a licence for both breeding and raising dragons. After all, sometimes NEWT level students wish to do a CoMC project on a level XXXXX creature, particularly dragons. As their teacher, it is my duty to guide them properly." he explained. "Anyway, there is an exception to the normal rules on dragon breeding, particularly for 'educational purposes', to familiarise the students of the various magical schools with the creatures. In a day or two, once the paperwork is done I will take custody of the newborn dragon from Hagrid. He will, of course be allowed to assist me and the NEWT level CoMC students in raising it until the end of the school year, when it will be sent to a Dragon Conservatory, sometime this summer."
We looked at one another and could see the shared relief all of us felt. "Thank you, Professor. You've done more than we could have hoped for," I said.
"Don't mention it, children," he said with a chuckle, "Now if you will excuse me, I have a bone to pick with Hagrid. To think he hatched a Norwegian Ridgeback and didn't invite me. The sheer gall of that man."
We all laughed good-naturedly as the Professor made his way towards Hagrid's cabin, eager to see the baby dragon. And that's how you do it, folks. When in doubt, delegate. With this, the Dragon dilemma is taken care of, with no points lost and no insane trips to the Forbidden Forest filled with acromantulas and unicorn-killing Dark Lords.
"Well, that went rather splendidly," Hermione said, as we made our way to the dormitories. "Professor Kettleburn seems like a nice man. I hope we get to study with him in our third year."
Yeah, that's not gonna happen. The man may be sturdy, but even he has his limits. If it goes according to 'canon', next year will be Kettleburn's last year at Hogwarts. And we will be welcomed into CoMC by Hagrid and his magical menagerie of monsters.
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4th June 1992
The month before the end of year exams passed by in a flurry of revision. Harry, Hermione, Neville and I kept working into the night, trying to remember the ingredients in potions, memorizing the dates of magical discoveries and Goblin rebellions. And it wasn't just us. The library was packed these days with students trying to cram as much as they could before the exams.
In other news, Norbert's name was changed to Norberta after Professor Kettleburn confirmed her gender. She was being fed a foul mixture of cow's blood, sheep's brains, goat's innards and warm brandy everyday. For the first few weeks, only the CoMC students and Hagrid had access to her. But in a few weeks, the dragon had grown too big for Kettleburn's classroom and was relocated to a pen near Hagrid's cabin, which had been warded to keep her from trying to leave.
Since then, nearly every Hogwarts student had been by at least once to see the rapidly growing dragon. According to Kettleburn, she was in perfect health and would be transferred to the Romanian Sanctuary via portkey in early July. Everytime we met Hagrid, he'd thank us for ensuring Norberta's stay and regale us with her adorable murderous antics.
A week before the exams, Harry told us that he had heard Quirrel being threatened by someone, whom he assumed was Snape. Hermione proposed that we should go to Dumbledore. But as we had no evidence, it would be our word against Snape's and we all knew who the teachers would believe. So, all we could do was put our trust in Fluffy's capabilities.
I knew that Fluffy was already compromised, but I kept that information to myself. Although there have been a few changes, the endgame was still on track. I felt bad for keeping my friends in the dark, but it was better than them being in danger because they knew things they shouldn't. I told myself it would be over soon and then I would be able to let them in on some of my secrets.
Soon the exams were upon us.
For two weeks we were bombarded with written and practical tests. Professor Flitwick had us tapdance a pineapple across the desk. Professor McGonagall made us turn a mouse into a snuffbox. Snape had us brew a Forgetfulness potion. Harry and Neville told us that though their potions weren't the deep blue they were supposed to be, they had managed a mid-range blue and a light blue potion respectively.
History of Magic was the final exam, which was held today in the morning. Once it was over, we wandered down to the lake and sat under a tree. As we were enjoying our moment of reprieve, Harry suddenly leapt to his feet.
"What's wrong, Harry?" asked Neville.
"I have just thought of something," said Harry. "Don't you think it's a bit odd that what Hagrid wants more than anything else is a dragon and a stranger turns up who just happens to have an egg in his pocket? How many people wander around with dragon eggs if it's against wizarding law?"
We all understood the implication and soon were making our way to Hagrid's cabin. We found him sitting in an armchair, shelling peas into a large bowl.
"Hullo," he said, smiling. "Finished yer exams? Got time for a drink?"
"Hagrid, I've got to ask you something," said Harry quickly. "You know that night you won Norbert? What did the stranger you were playing cards with look like?"
"Dunno," said Hagrid casually, "he wouldn' take his cloak off."
At seeing our concerned faces, he elaborated. "It's not that unusual, yeh get a lot o' funny folk in the Hog's Head...that's the pub down in the village. Mighta bin a dragon dealer, mightn' he? I never saw his face, he kept his hood up."
"What did you talk about, Hagrid? Did you mention Hogwarts at all?" Harry pressed on.
"Mighta come up," said Hagrid as he tried to remember. "Yeah...he asked what I did, an' I told him I was gamekeeper here...He asked a bit about the sorta creatures I look after...so I told him...I can' remember too well 'cause he kept buyin' me drinks...Let's see...yeah, he had ter be sure I could handle a dragon...So I told him, after Fluffy, a dragon would be easy."
"And did he...did he seems interested in Fluffy?" Harry asked, trying to keep his voice calm.
"Well yeah...how many three-headed dogs d'yeh meet even around Hogwarts? So I told him, Fluffy's a piece of cake if yeh know how to calm him down, just play a bit o' music an' he'll go straight off ter sleep..."
Hagrid suddenly looked horrified. "I shouldn' have told yeh that!" he blurted out. "Forget I said that! Hey...where're yeh goin'?"
But we weren't listening to Hagrid anymore. We made our way to the Entrance Hall in silence, where Harry proposed telling Dumbledore all we have found. Before we could go any further, Professor McGonagall came around carrying a large pile of books.
"What are you three doing inside?" she asked.
"We want to see Professor Dumbledore," said Hermione, rather bravely.
"Professor Dumbledore left ten minutes ago," she informed us. "He received an urgent owl from the Ministry of Magic and flew off for London at once."
"He's gone?" Harry said frantically. "Now?"
"Professor Dumbledore is a great wizard, Potter, he has many demands on his time..."
"Professor, it's about the Philosopher's Stone..."
Professor McGonagall clearly wasn't expecting to hear that. The books she was carrying fell out of her hands in shocked surprise.
"How do you know....?" she spluttered.
"Professor, I think...I know...that someone's going to try and steal the stone. I've got to talk to Professor Dumbledore."
"Professor Dumbledore will be back tomorrow," she said finally. "I don't know how you found out about the stone, but rest assured, no one can possibly steal it. It's too well protected."
"But, Professor...."
"Potter, I know what I'm talking about," she said shortly. "I suggest you all go back outside and enjoy the weather."
But we didn't. As we stepped out we were accosted by Snape, who seemed to be in a rather good mood. I thought it was because he wouldn't have to teach anyone for almost 3 months. Everyone else thought it was because Snape was going after the stone tonight.
We tried to set up a lookout on him but unfortunately it didn't work. Worse, when Professor McGonagall found Harry and Neville skulking around the third floor corridor, she almost lost it and sent them packing straight away. Left with no other choice, we decided to try and get to the stone before Snape. Harry sent Hedwig with a note to Dumbledore explaining the situation, and after dinner once the common rooms cleared up, we made our way to the forbidden corridor.