Ron's shout shattered Hermione's fleeting impression that he "sort of knew a few things."
"Don't be daft, Ron. Dragon eggs are supposed to hatch over fire," Hermione said tartly, and Ron shut his gaping mouth.
The kids all piled onto the little stools in Hagrid's hut. After greetings, Sean read up on dragon-rearing points while he kept the egg warm with a Fire-Making Charm—mimicking a mother dragon breathing on it.
The scorching flames roasted the egg and turned the hut into a furnace. Hagrid had shut every window and yanked all the curtains tight. Harry was nearly sweating.
"Nice ter see yeh—an' you too, Justin," Hagrid said to the three first, then turned to Justin.
"Sean's mentioned you loads, Hagrid. I'm really glad to finally meet a magical creatures expert," Justin said.
"Oh, now—don' say that—there's so much ter learn about beasties—how could I be an expert?" Hagrid went bashful.
Harry and Ron were skeptical. Apart from Harry's quiet faith in Hagrid, both he and Hermione thought the flattery was unlike Justin. But Justin's next line made everyone nod "Ah, that explains it."
"Sean said so."
"Is that true?" Hagrid beamed and looked to Sean behind his book.
The book lowered. Sean's calm green eyes met Hagrid's, and he gave the faintest nod.
More than "expert"—Hagrid was not far off "master"; getting on with centaurs alone was no small feat.
Hagrid straightened his back, his mood all over his face—now all smiles—and insisted they try his stoat sandwiches. It took some doing, but the kids politely declined.
They moved on to picking the dragon's name.
Seizing the moment, Justin asked, "Hagrid, this is my first time here…right?"—plainly: how did Hagrid recognize him?
"Oh, you've been on here a week," Hagrid said, pointing to a parchment map with just three names: Sean, Hagrid, Justin—Sean's latest test version, now covering most of the castle and the Forest. For different floors, it could even pop up a precise 3-D inset map. Justin gaped.
"What a marvelous bit of alchemy…" he murmured.
…
In the end, the dragon was christened Norbert. Everyone liked it, and they left the hut as night fell.
"When the little 'un hatches, I'll use this to call yeh!" Hagrid waved the Planner Map at the door; Harry and Ron had no idea what it was.
"Sean—if I'm not mistaken…" Hermione recognized it at once.
"Still in testing," Sean nodded.
Harry and Ron were baffled—they figured the two must be passing encrypted notes. But there was no time to wonder: homework piled up, and first-year exams loomed. Hermione's revision schedules tightened; each day was busy and exhausting.
Sean stayed busy too. He added everyone's names to the Planner Map, cloaked by a Disillusionment Charm—names showed or hid as needed. Anyone could also opt out by "erasing" their button's trail—no one wanted to be tracked all the time.
That day, Sean was ten points from pushing the Planner Map to Expert. As he prepared to make a copy for each member, "Hagrid" lit up with a red exclamation mark.
Sean tapped it with his wand; Hagrid's big portrait popped up: "Requesting assembly."
Everyone was still revising. Sean drummed his fingers; heads turned.
"The dragon's about to hatch."
…
Ron immediately wanted to skip Herbology and sprint to the hut. Hermione flatly refused.
"Hermione—how many times in a life do we get to see a baby dragon hatch?"
"We have class. We'll get in trouble—and if anyone finds out what Hagrid's done, he'll be worse off than we are—"
They argued from the Hope Nook to the Greenhouse—until Harry hissed, "Shut it—"
Hermione's warning proved right: Malfoy was standing there, listening. No telling how much he'd heard.
Faces fell.
While the worry weighed on the castle crew, Sean—free that afternoon—was almost excited at the Forest's edge. He'd been there early with Hagrid, watching the egg. Some creatures imprint on the first being they see; Sean wasn't sure dragons did, but he was curious.
The egg lay on the table, a deep crack across it. Something inside kept shifting—click-click—like a toy.
"Oh—Harry—where are they—" Hagrid paced, anxious.
At last Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Justin arrived—Ron still clutching a trowel from Herbology; they'd come at break.
Under their eyes, the dragon hatched.
Newborns make for soft hearts: though it looked like a crumpled black umbrella, it did bring that "new life" thrill. In the joy, Sean heard his panel ping:
[You gained Master-level closeness with the magical creature: Norwegian Ridgeback (Norbert). Proficiency +300]
It caught him off-guard; he didn't notice the hatchling crawling toward him. The little dragon sneezed, scattering sparks. Hagrid whooped:
"Isn't he beautiful?"
The "beautiful" little dragon nosed toward Sean—and his wand. When its snout bumped Sean's fingers, Hagrid couldn't help reaching out and patting its head.
The baby clamped his finger, flashing tiny fangs.
"Look—he knows his mum!"
Hagrid beamed.
"I think…he likes Sean better," Hermione said, unconvinced.
~~~
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