"Expelliarmus!"
Neville shouted, and Hermione's magic wand flew out of her hand, landing on the cushion nearby.
"It worked!" Hermione cheered, ignoring her wand for the moment and rushing over to give Neville a hug.
"Amazing, Neville!" Theo clapped enthusiastically, then picked up Hermione's wand and handed it back to her.
Neville finally broke into a smile, happily saying, "I tried it at home, and my Gran was thrilled. She told me my dad couldn't even do the Disarming Spell in his first year!"
"Is that a new magic wand?" Michael sized up his wand.
"Yes." Neville showed off his new partner to everyone: "Cherry wood, unicorn hair. Mr. Olivander said it suits me perfectly."
The first time you're chosen by a magic wand, that strange feeling like you've found a missing half stays with every young wizard. They all took turns touching Neville's wand, and each of them said confidently he was sure to become an outstanding magic spell master.
While they were chatting and laughing, the big door of the Umbrella House slid open. Neville looked back and saw Harry walk in, frowning, and greeted him enthusiastically: "Harry, you're here too!"
"Hi, Neville." Harry replied hurriedly. "Oh, Hermione—awesome, you're here too! Michael, do you know where Vid is?"
"He went to the library to borrow some books, should be back soon—are you looking for him?" asked Michael.
"—It's Hagrid," said Harry. "He wants me to invite Hermione, Neville, and Vid over to his cabin."
—Gamekeeper? That big guy…
Michael raised his eyebrows slightly.
Hogwarts students often saw Hagrid's cabin across the lawns, but few ever got close. Because in their eyes, the massive Rubeus Hagrid looked pretty scary. Some students even thought he was just a servant to the castle, not even knowing his name.
The name of the gamekeeper was most often associated with the Weasley Twins, after all—they'd often heard those two were caught by him in the Forbidden Forest.
Who'd have thought Harry actually got along with him—and why did he want Vid?
As they spoke, Vid walked in from outside, carrying his books. After hearing about Hagrid's invitation, he put his books down, and the group headed off together to Hagrid's cabin.
On the way, Harry told them, "Hagrid says—the baby dragon's about to hatch, and he wants us all there to witness it. After all… not many people get to see a fire dragon hatch with their own eyes…right?"
Seeing Hermione's incredulous look, Harry's voice grew quieter.
"Unbelievable—he actually knows he's raising a fire dragon!" Hermione complained angrily. "He lives in a wooden house, for Merlin's sake!"
"Don't—Hermione—" Harry said softly. "At least don't argue today—Hagrid's really looking forward to this—"
Hermione tightened her face, and reluctantly nodded.
When they reached the cabin door, Harry stepped up and knocked. Hagrid opened the door, looking absolutely delighted.
"Quick, you got here just in time!" Hagrid said excitedly. "The baby's about to come out!"
Harry walked inside and suddenly paused mid-step.
Ron was sitting in the cabin too. He turned his head to look, then quickly avoided their gaze, staring hard at the dragon egg as if he was studying the patterns on its shell.
Hermione looked at this person and that, a bit at a loss for what to do.
"Come on in, don't just stand there."
Hagrid hadn't noticed the awkward tension between the group at all. Sweeping with his big hand, he ushered everyone inside. He lowered his head and said to Vid, "I'm glad you could come, Vid! Not many get to witness a baby dragon hatching, so I guessed you might be interested, right?"
"Of course, thanks for the invitation, Hagrid." Vid smiled, replying. He walked in, ignoring the awkwardness between the other three, and settled into an empty chair, staring with fascination at the dragon egg crackling on the table.
—It's a dragon!
Even if it's just a western lizard dragon, who wouldn't want to see that up close!
As he sat, Vid thought he glimpsed something strange. Looking up, he saw a bundle of long, slender, silvery-white hair hanging from the ceiling, alongside several copper kettles, resembling some kind of ethnic decoration.
In Hagrid's messy cabin, those white hairs seemed oddly pristine and sacred.
Hermione, eager to find any topic to talk about, instantly asked, "What animal's hair is that, Hagrid?"
"Oh, that's unicorn hair, pulled from the tail and sometimes caught on tree branches in the forest." Hagrid wasn't too bothered at first, but seeing Vid staring at it as well, he added, "Hey, Vid, you're studying alchemy, aren't you? Take some—if it's not enough, I've got more."
He generously tore off a huge handful and shoved it straight into Vid's arms.
Vid pushed back. "That's way too valuable, Hagrid! A single unicorn tail hair goes for 10 galleons."
Ron, who'd been sitting stiff-faced, nearly fell out of his chair. He stared at the white hair he'd thought was just horsehair, his eyes nearly bulging out.
The Weasley family had seven kids and lived pretty tightly. At school, he wore hand-me-down robes, carried an old magic wand, borrowed used textbooks, and even had a pet—a grumpy old rat—that his brother didn't want anymore.
Ron had never managed to save more than a single galleon in pocket money his whole life.
"It's not worth much." Hagrid shrugged, unconcerned. "I find them all the time in the forest—"
He pushed all the unicorn tail hair onto Vid, whether he wanted it or not.
Hagrid's reasoning was simple. The night the Potters died, Hagrid was the one who carried baby Harry out of the wreckage, wrapped in his blanket. From that moment, he felt a strange responsibility for this tiny, fragile life. By the time Harry turned eleven, Hagrid had personally gone to bring him into the wizarding world.
When it came to Harry, Hagrid felt almost like a parent. And once he heard Harry was getting help from Vid and had learned lots of useful spells, Hagrid genuinely wanted to repay that somehow, to stand in for Harry's parents. Now that Vid found something he liked—something Hagrid happened to have—he was only too happy to give it away.
Even if Hagrid didn't fully understand his own complicated feelings, Vid felt it. Glancing at the oblivious Harry, Vid took the gift.
—The value of a gift doesn't matter; he'd always find a way to return the favor.
"Look, it's coming out!" Hermione suddenly cried.
The eggshell cracked and splintered, revealing a white-snouted head. Soon after, a black baby dragon struggled to squeeze out, its wing bones thudded onto the table, and its nose spat sparks of fire.