Chapter 95: Hatching
Chapter 95: Hatching
"Expelliarmus!"
Neville shouted, and Hermione's wand flew out of her hand, landing on the cushion beside her.
"I did it!" Hermione exclaimed joyfully, not bothering to pick up her wand as she rushed over to give Neville a hug.
"Well done, Neville!" Theo applauded enthusiastically and then helped Hermione retrieve her wand, returning it to her.
Neville finally broke into a smile, his eyes shining with happiness. "I practiced at home, and even my grandmother was pleased. She said my father didn't learn how to cast the Disarming Charm until his second year!"
"Is that a new wand?" Michael asked, eyeing Neville's wand with interest.
"Yes," Neville said, proudly showing off his new companion. "It's made of cherry wood and unicorn hair. Mr. Ollivander said it suits me perfectly."
The feeling of finding their perfect wand match was still fresh in the memory of every young witch and wizard present, and they took turns touching Neville's wand, confidently predicting that he would become an excellent Curse Breaker.
As they chatted excitedly, the door to the umbrella shop slid open. Neville turned and saw Harry walking in with a furrowed brow. "Harry, you're here too!" he greeted warmly.
"Hi, Neville," Harry said hurriedly. "Oh, Hermione—great, you're here too! Michael, do you know where Ved is?"
"He went to the library to borrow some books. He should be here soon," Michael replied. "Are you looking for him?"
"It's about Hagrid," Harry explained. "He invited Hermione, Neville, and Ved to his hut."
—The gamekeeper? That big guy…
Michael raised an eyebrow slightly.
Students at Hogwarts often caught glimpses of Hagrid's hut from across the lawn, but not many ventured close. The abnormally tall Rubeus Hagrid appeared rather intimidating to most students. Some even considered him merely a servant of the castle and didn't know his name.
When it came to the name of the gamekeeper, it was more often associated with the Weasley twins, as stories of them being dragged out of the Forbidden Forest by him were commonplace.
Who would have thought that Harry would have a decent relationship with him? But why is he inviting Ved?
As they spoke, Ved walked in, his arms full of books. After hearing about Hagrid's invitation, he put down the books, and they all set off together toward Hagrid's hut.
Along the way, Harry filled them in on the details. "Hagrid said—the little dragon is about to hatch, and he wants us to witness it. After all... not many people get to see a fire dragon hatching... right?"
Harry's voice trailed off as he met Hermione's disbelieving gaze.
"I can't believe he knows he's raising a fire dragon!" Hermione exclaimed angrily. "He lives in a wooden house!"
"Hermione, please—not today," Harry pleaded in a low voice. "Hagrid's really looking forward to this."
Hermione's face was taut, but she reluctantly nodded.
When they reached the hut, Harry knocked on the door, and Hagrid opened it, looking delighted.
"Come in, quick! You're just in time!" Hagrid said excitedly. "The baby's about to hatch!"
Harry stepped inside, his footsteps faltering slightly.
Ron was already seated within the small hut, and he glanced over at them before quickly averting his gaze, fixing his eyes on the dragon egg as if studying the patterns on its shell.
Hermione looked around, unsure of what to do or say.
"Come on in, don't just stand there!" Hagrid urged, his large hand sweeping the air and ushering them both into the hut.
Hagrid lowered his head and said to Ved, "I'm glad you could make it, Ved. Not many folks have witnessed a dragon hatching. I reckon you'd be interested, am I right?"
"Of course, thanks for the invitation, Hagrid," Ved replied with a smile. He stepped inside, ignoring the awkwardness of the other three, and took a seat on an empty chair nearby, eyeing the dragon egg on the table with great interest as it made cracking noises.
"It's a dragon!"
Even though it was a Western lizard dragon, who wouldn't want to witness such a sight?
As Ved sat down, he felt like he had seen something strange. He looked up and noticed a slender, soft, white hair hanging from the ceiling, mixed with a few copper pots, resembling some sort of ethnic decoration.
In Hagrid's messy hut, those white hairs seemed unusually clean and sacred.
Hermione, eager to find a topic of conversation, asked, "What animal's hair is that, Hagrid?"
"Oh, it's unicorn hair, pulled from the tail and hung on a tree branch in the woods," Hagrid replied, not paying much attention. But seeing Ved staring at it as well, he continued, "Oh, Ved, you're studying alchemy, aren't you? Take it, it might be useful for you. I have plenty more."
He generously pulled out a large handful and handed it directly to Ved.
Ved refused, "It's too valuable, Hagrid! A single complete unicorn tail hair is worth 10 galleons."
Ron, who had been scowling, almost fell off his chair. He stared at the white hairs, which he had assumed were horse tail hairs, and his eyes nearly popped out of his head.
The Weasley family had seven children and lived very frugally. When Ron went to school, he didn't have anything new—he wore his brothers' old robes, carried an old wand, used second-hand textbooks, and even his pet was an old mouse that his brother had discarded.
In all his life, Ron had never had more than one galleon in pocket money.
"It's nothing," Hagrid shook his head, not thinking much of it. "I often find them in the woods—"
He forcefully stuffed the unicorn tail hairs into Ved's hands.
Hagrid's thoughts were actually quite simple—on the night Harry's parents died, Hagrid had carried the infant Harry out of the ruins. At that moment, he felt a strange sense of responsibility for this weak, fragile little life. And when Harry turned eleven, Hagrid personally went to bring Harry into the wizarding world.
Hagrid saw Harry as his own child. When he learned that Harry was being taken care of by Ved at school and had learned many useful spells from him, Hagrid had been thinking of ways to repay Ved on Harry's behalf. Now that he saw Ved admiring something he had, he was more than happy to give it to him.
Hagrid's complex thoughts were something even he himself might not be able to fully explain, but Ved understood a part of it. He glanced at the oblivious Harry and accepted the gift.
"The value of a gift doesn't matter, there will always be an opportunity to repay the kindness," he thought to himself.
"Look, it's coming out!" Hermione suddenly exclaimed.
The eggshell cracked, and a white snout poked out. Soon after, a black baby dragon struggled out, its wing bones making a "pat" sound as they hit the table, and a few sparks shot out of its nostrils.
(End of Chapter)
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