Draco patted his chest and assured Hagrid, "Don't worry, Hagrid, Norbert will live well."
Ron quickly added, "Yes, I promise too."
"Thank you, Draco, Ron," Hagrid said, looking at the two of them with gratitude. He wiped his tears with his large hands. "You must make sure the dragon reserve takes good care of Norbert."
Ian watched this dramatic "entrustment" from the side. His heart was calm, and he even felt like yawning.
Cassandra quietly tugged on Ian's sleeve and whispered, "Wasn't our original goal to ask about the Philosopher's Stone? How did we end up here... dealing with a dragon?"
"Yeah, I almost forgot why we came here," Hermione whispered, sounding a little exasperated.
Ian gave a slight smirk and hooked his little fingers with the two young witches. "Hagrid won't say too much today. Let's leave it for now; I'll come back another day to ask."
As soon as Ian finished speaking, the other three finished agreeing with Hagrid on the plan to send Norbert away.
"Then let's meet in the Astronomy Tower two nights from now," Draco suggested. "I'll write to my father and have him send someone professional."
"I'll write to my brother too," Ron added.
"No problem. I'll put Norbert in a box, and we'll send him off together," Hagrid said, his eyes reddening again.
Ron and Draco each reached out and patted the half-giant reassuringly. "Don't worry, Hagrid, Norbert will be fine."
"Oh! My little Norbert, he's still so young..." Hagrid lamented.
Ian: (￣_￣|||)
This overly emotional farewell scene is honestly too much to bear.
After agreeing on the details for Norbert's departure, the group left Hagrid's hut together.
Ian walked in front, holding a little witch's hand in each of his.
"Ian, why didn't you let me keep asking?" Hermione asked, looking up at him in confusion. "We haven't finished yet!"
"Hagrid won't say too much," Ian replied with a shrug. "Even if we keep asking, we won't get any more answers."
"That's true. Hagrid's loyalty to Dumbledore is almost blind," Cassandra said thoughtfully. "Even if we had solid evidence that Professor Snape wanted to steal the Philosopher's Stone, Hagrid wouldn't believe it. He trusts anyone Professor Dumbledore trusts."
"Cassandra's right," Ian agreed, giving Cassandra's hand a light squeeze. "So we need to think about this carefully."
"But..." Hermione began, clearly still concerned.
"Don't worry, little Hermione." Ian smiled and gently pinched Hermione's cheek. "I've got this."
Reassured by Ian's confidence, Hermione chose not to press further.
"Hermione, forget about the Philosopher's Stone for now," Draco interjected, raising an eyebrow. "The most important thing right now is sending Norbert away. I've already written to my father, and he'll send someone in two nights."
"Yes, I need to write to my brother too," Ron echoed.
Ian glanced at the excitement on their faces, his mouth twitching slightly.
He truly didn't understand their love for dragons. What was so appealing about a creature that could breathe fire and potentially roast them alive?
Over the next two days, the group busied themselves preparing for Norbert's departure.
Finally, on Saturday night, the six of them gathered in the Astronomy Tower as planned.
"Why hasn't Hagrid arrived yet?" Harry asked, glancing around anxiously.
"Don't worry, Harry. It's just the agreed time," Ian said, checking his watch and offering reassurance.
As if on cue, a figure appeared on the stairs.
"I'm here! Sorry to keep you waiting," Hagrid said, his voice heavy with emotion. He placed a large, weighty crate on the ground. "Norbert, my poor baby Norbert, you're leaving so soon…"
Sob… sob…
"Hagrid, stop crying," Ian said, feeling a headache coming on. "Norbert is going to the dragon reserve where he'll live a good life. You should be happy for him."
"Yes, Hagrid, Ian is right," Draco chimed in quickly. "Once Norbert gets to the reserve, someone will take great care of him. He'll be just fine."
"I... I know," Hagrid sobbed, "but I just can't stop crying."
"Alright, Hagrid, enough tears. Let's send Norbert off quickly," Ron added, trying to help.
Hearing this, Hagrid wiped his tears with a giant hand and opened the large crate. Inside, Norbert had grown considerably—he was now big enough to nearly fill the entire box.
Curled up in the crate, Norbert perked up at the sight of Hagrid. The little dragon immediately lifted his head and affectionately nuzzled Hagrid's hand.
Hagrid had packed plenty of raw meat and small fish to ensure Norbert had enough to eat on his journey. He had even placed Norbert's favorite blanket in the crate for comfort.
Reluctantly, Hagrid spent a long time saying goodbye, petting Norbert one last time before gently closing the lid of the crate.
Draco checked the time and urged, "Let's go. We need to get Norbert to the top of the tower so the people we arranged can take him."
"Okay, okay," Hagrid muttered, walking ahead with the large crate in his arms.
Ian and the others followed Hagrid as they made their way to the top of the Astronomy Tower.
The process of sending Norbert off went more smoothly than they had anticipated.
By the time Draco and Ron carried the crate to the top of the tower, the people who were waiting to collect Norbert had already arrived.
"Master Malfoy," one of the individuals sent by Lucius greeted Draco respectfully.
Draco puffed up with pride, wearing a smug expression that practically screamed look at me.
Ian, thoroughly unimpressed, rolled his eyes before reaching out and smacking the back of Draco's head.
Pretentious much? Ian thought. No one's allowed to be more pretentious than me!
"Ah!" Draco exclaimed, rubbing the back of his head as he turned to Ian with an accusatory glare.
"Pfft~!"
A clear laugh came from one of the people who had come to meet them.
Everyone turned to see a man with red hair and freckles.
"Hi, everyone," Charlie Weasley greeted them with a smile.
"Charlie!" Ron shouted excitedly, waving at his brother.
Charlie waved back with a grin before stepping forward and patting the crate. "Is this Norbert? Don't worry, Hagrid, we'll take good care of him."
As Charlie spoke, he pulled out his wand and cast a lightening charm on the crate. The heavy box instantly became easier to lift.
"Then I'll leave him to you, Charlie..." Hagrid said, his eyes red and teary.
Charlie smiled reassuringly, exchanged quick goodbyes with everyone, and left with Norbert.
As Charlie and his team disappeared into the night, Hagrid couldn't help but start wiping his tears again.
"Alright, Hagrid, enough crying," Ian said, patting Hagrid's shoulder. "Let's head back."
Sniffling, Hagrid nodded.
Ian and the others accompanied him down from the Astronomy Tower, escorted him back to his hut, and then turned to leave.
"Finally, Norbert is gone," Draco said, stretching. "We can all breathe a sigh of relief."
"Yeah," Ron agreed. "I hope Norbert will be happy in his new home."
As they walked away, a familiar figure suddenly appeared in front of them.
"Fuck... It's over.." Ian muttered under his breath. He quickly pulled Cassandra and Hermione behind him, positioning the other three in front.
Professor McGonagall stood before them, her face stern and eyes narrowing at the group. "Would anyone care to explain why you're here? And don't tell me it's to look at the stars."
Ian and the others exchanged glances, but no one spoke.
They certainly couldn't tell Professor McGonagall that Hagrid had secretly raised a dragon and they'd just helped send it away under the cover of darkness, could they?
"What? Are you all mute now?" Professor McGonagall's expression darkened further. "If you can't give me a reasonable explanation, you'll all be in detention tomorrow!"
"Professor, we have nothing to do with dragons!" Ron blurted out in a panic.
Ian, Draco, and Harry: "..."
No way, mate. Did you just—
"What dragon? Ron, are you calling Draco a dragon again?" Ian's mind worked quickly as he pulled Draco forward. "Hey, little dragon, Ron says he has nothing to do with you."
Draco, catching on immediately, composed himself and sneered. "Ian, I have nothing to do with that Weasley too."
"That's right! I have nothing to do with Malfoy!" Ron chimed in quickly, his head bobbing like a nodding toy, clearly hoping Professor McGonagall would buy it.
Professor McGonagall: "???"
"What are you all on about? Dragons? What nonsense is this?" Professor McGonagall frowned deeply. "I simply asked why you're here. What are you hiding?"
"Uh..." Harry's gaze darted nervously. "Professor McGonagall, we really are just... here to stargaze. We're not hiding anything!"
"I don't care what excuses you're making. Wandering the castle at night is a serious violation of school rules!" Professor McGonagall's stern gaze swept over the group. "You six—fifty points will be deducted from each of your houses!"
"What?!" The six of them cried out in unison.
Ian felt particularly aggrieved. He had worked so hard to earn points for Slytherin, and now this?
Between himself, Cassandra, and Draco.. they'd lose a total of 150 points.
But then again, Gryffindor was losing 150 points too.
With that thought, Ian's mood improved considerably.
"Not only that," Professor McGonagall continued, "you six will accompany Hagrid on patrol in the Forbidden Forest tomorrow night."
"Ah!" Another collective groan of despair echoed from the group.
Professor McGonagall fixed them all with a stern look. "I hope this incident serves as a lesson for all of you."
With one final cold glance at the six of them, Professor McGonagall turned on her heel and left.
_________
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