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Chapter 35: Troubles
Chapter 35: Troubles
It was clear that teachers hoped their students would be top students, or at least pretended to be.
After the match, classes entered the final sprint towards the end of the term. They assigned a mountain of homework, making the Easter break far less enjoyable than Christmas. With Hermione reciting the Twelve Uses of Dragon's Blood or practicing wand movements beside you, it was hard to relax.
The only silver lining was that Liam had become the main target of Hermione’s focus. He looked exhausted, partly because he was not only keeping up with the classwork but also constantly absorbing the knowledge he had learned at the emporium.
For example, he would sit by the fireplace in the common room every day, using the excuse of a mysterious Eastern tradition to take the pulses of curious classmates. Fortunately, Liam was only 11, which spared him from being labeled as a pervert.
Despite this, Liam still tried his best to keep up with Hermione. This was good news for Harry and Ron, as Liam’s efforts meant Hermione had less time to nag them.
However, the teachers assigned so much homework that they had to spend most of their free time in the Library, sighing and yawning as they struggled to complete the heavy workload.
“I’ll never remember this,” Ron finally exclaimed one afternoon, throwing down his quill and staring wistfully at the forget-me-not blue sky outside the window. It was a beautiful day, but homework kept them cooped up in the Library.
Harry was buried in A Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi, searching for "White Fresh", when he suddenly heard Ron say, “Hagrid! What are you doing here?”
Hagrid shuffled over, hiding something behind his back. He was wearing a mole skin coat, which seemed out of place.
“Just looking around,” Hagrid said, his voice evasive, which immediately piqued their interest. “What are you doing here?” he suddenly became suspicious. “Still looking for Nicolas Flamel, are you?”
“Oh, we figured out who he is ages ago,” Ron said proudly, “and we know what that dog is guarding—the Philosopher's Stone—”
“Shh—” Hagrid interrupted, “listen—come see me later. Remember, I didn’t promise to tell you anything, but don’t go shouting it here. Some things students shouldn’t know. They’ll think I told you—”
“Alright, see you later,” Harry said.
Hagrid shuffled away.
Liam, who had been disturbed by the commotion, looked up with a puzzled expression at Hagrid.
In his memory, Hagrid wasn’t much of a reader, and the Library was practically a no-go zone for him. Plus, he recalled something was about to happen, so he decided to see what Hagrid was reading to confirm his suspicions.
A few minutes later, Liam returned with a stack of books and dropped them on the table, startling Hermione, who was engrossed in her writing.
“What are you doing?” Hermione asked, slightly annoyed, while Harry and Ron looked at Liam in confusion.
“Dragons!” Liam whispered, “Hagrid is looking up information on dragons! Look at these: Dragons of Great Britain and Ireland, From Egg to Ash, A Dragon Keeper’s Guide. I don’t know why he’s reading this. Could he really have a dragon?”
“That’s impossible,” Ron said, “the 1709 Wizards' Congress officially banned dragon breeding. Everyone knows that. If we kept a dragon in the back garden, it would be hard to keep it hidden from Muggles—besides, they’re hard to control and very dangerous. You should see the burn marks on Charlie’s body from the Romanian Longhorns. Not to mention, live dragons and dragon eggs are strictly regulated. Even if they were available on the black market, they’d be way out of Hagrid’s budget.”
"Hagrid has always wanted a dragon. He told me that the first time I met him. Maybe he really can get one", Harry said.
"But what does Hagrid actually want to do with it?" Hermione, a bit confused by the boys' discussion, asked.
"I think we should just ask him. Guessing around here isn't going to get us anywhere", Liam concluded.
An hour later, they knocked on the door of the Gamekeeper's Hut. They were surprised to find all the curtains drawn tightly. Liam thought this was a bit suspicious, especially since Hagrid's windows were high and the glass was frosted, so anyone outside wouldn't see much even if the curtains were open.
Hagrid first shouted, "Who's there?" before letting them in and quickly closing the door behind them.
The hut was stiflingly hot. Despite the warm, sunny day, the fireplace was blazing with a roaring fire. Hagrid poured them tea and offered them some Weasel Sandwiches, which they politely declined.
Then, Harry started trying to draw information out of Hagrid, attempting to figure out what kind of traps were guarding the Philosopher's Stone.
Under Hermione's somewhat naive flattery, Hagrid revealed that each professor had set up a trap. However, Liam suspected that Hagrid was deliberately letting this information slip. Despite his large, burly appearance and somewhat simple demeanor, Hagrid was in his sixties. With his life experience, he wouldn't be easily tricked by first-year students.
Indeed, this must be part of Dumbledore's Chosen One cultivation plan. In the original world, Dumbledore likely thought Quirrell was just trying to steal the Philosopher's Stone on his own or at someone else's behest, not realizing that Voldemort was possessing the back of his head. Otherwise, with Dumbledore's character, he wouldn't risk Harry Potter facing Voldemort directly and being hit by the Killing Curse.
As Harry's questioning of Hagrid came to a pause, Liam, pretending to be curious, pointed to a large, black, and charred egg lying under the kettle in the fireplace and asked, "What's this? Is it something to eat?"
Hagrid looked a bit uneasy and hedged, "That's—oh—"
"This is a Class A Restricted Item according to the Ministry of Magic", Ron said, squatting by the fire and examining the egg more closely.
"And it's about to become a Class S item", Liam added after a closer look.
"What?" Harry was confused, not understanding what Ron and Liam were hinting at.
Seeing the puzzled looks on Hermione and Harry's faces, Liam explained:
"According to the Ministry of Magic's classification of dangerous items, a Dragon Egg is a Class A Restricted Item, and a Live Fire Dragon is a Class S."
"How can that be?" Harry exclaimed. "Every student has a pair of Dragonhide Gloves, and an ounce of Dragon Liver only costs one Galleon. How can such common items be so strictly regulated?"
"It's simple. Most dragon products on the market come from Blooded Dragons", Ron explained, turning to look at Hagrid.
"It must have cost you a pretty penny!"
"I won it", Hagrid said. "Last night, I was drinking in the village and played cards with a stranger. Honestly, I think he was glad to get rid of it."
Watching Hagrid's animated expression, Liam felt that this was a new problem in the making.
(End of Chapter)
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