Chapter 30
Hagrid carefully took the dragon egg from his arms.
It was a large, pitch-black egg, about the size of Hagrid's hand. It felt icy cold to the touch, with a somewhat rough shell. If no one mentioned it was a dragon egg, most people would mistake it for a rather rounded black stone.
Gabin switched to his magical sight.
The egg's superfluous structures faded away, revealing its essential form to Gabin.
Inside the dragon egg, the magical pathways were not complex: two arcs of equal length curved from either end to meet, and from that junction extended a third, longer arc.
It resembled a dragon with its two wings spread and head raised, or perhaps a simplified crown.
The egg itself was composed of countless tiny triangular magical circuits woven tightly together, forming a hard protective shell around the life within.
Gabin was certain that even if Hagrid accidentally dropped it onto the floor, the egg would not crack or suffer damage—at most, the little one inside might feel a bit dizzy.
Assuming it had a head at this stage.
With a flick of his wand, Gabin summoned the notebook from nearby into his hand, while a quill flew over from another direction.
Throughout, his eyes remained fixed on the egg, utterly absorbed.
"Oh, Gray, are you going to draw it? That's a brilliant idea—recording this little one's growth moments. I love it!" Hagrid said happily.
Seeing Gray's interest in the egg delighted him; he had found a kindred spirit with the same passion.
"Best put it down now. Holding it forever isn't practical. Maybe you should start preparing to hatch it."
Glowing points of light appeared in midair, forming words that floated before Hagrid.
Hagrid nodded in agreement and gently placed the egg on the table. He then piled soft blankets from the nearby sofa into a little nest to keep it from rolling off.
He let out a long breath. Truth be told, carrying it back from outside had kept him on edge the whole way, terrified something might go wrong.
Gray began sketching the magical pathways he had just observed into his notebook, right beneath his notes on the *Incendio* charm.
He had a feeling this might finally help him understand the fire spell that had always eluded him.
Hagrid paced excitedly back and forth nearby, unsure what to do with himself.
He had raised many magical creatures, but never a dragon—his experience in that area was practically zero.
Then his eye fell on the book Gray had left aside.
*Dragon Breeding for Pleasure and Profit*
Perfect! That was it!
Hagrid smacked his left palm hard with his right fist, a childlike grin spreading across his face.
He picked up the thick volume. In Hagrid's hands—each the size of a dustbin lid—the book looked like a mere pamphlet.
Hagrid opened it carefully and began squinting through the pages.
Truth be told, he hadn't touched a book since "graduating" fifty years earlier. The dense lines of text now made his head spin.
"This one? This? What dragon is this again?" Hagrid muttered, flipping through in an attempt to match the egg's features to the descriptions, but he grew dizzy without finding anything useful.
Gray noticed.
He turned to look at Hagrid, and glowing words appeared in the air.
"It's a Norwegian Ridgeback egg. The relevant section is on page 152 of *Dragon Breeding for Pleasure and Profit*. For hatching, place it in a fire to mimic a mother dragon's breath and provide sufficient heat."
"Oh, right, is that so?" Hagrid flipped rapidly through the book until he found the Norwegian Ridgeback entry. But the text was overly complicated and wordy, with a long passage devoted to the breed's origins and history.
Dragon researchers generally believed its ancestors came from South Africa—perhaps one of the tree-dwelling dragons there—though without solid evidence, it remained only a theory.
Gray watched the clear bewilderment on Hagrid's rugged, wild face and sighed inwardly.
"Once it hatches, feed it a bucket of chicken-blood brandy every half hour. If possible, take it outside often to let it feel the wind. Open, spacious environments help young dragons develop psychologically."
Hagrid read the floating words and exhaled in relief.
"Thanks ever so much, Gray. Without you, I'd have no idea what to do."
Gray couldn't resist asking: "Hagrid, how did you learn what you know about magical creatures before this?"
Hagrid scratched his head. "Most of it came to me in dreams, like I was born knowing how to care for 'em. The rest I picked up by asking Professor Kettleburn, the Care of Magical Creatures teacher. He's a very kind old man."
Through his magical sight, Gray observed that Hagrid's life circuits only partially resembled a normal human's; the rest followed a strange, unfamiliar structure.
Moreover, Hagrid's circuits were far thicker and sturdier than most people's, granting him resistance to many spells.
It must be the inherited memory from his giant blood, Gray thought.
But Hagrid's mother had left early and never taught him how to tap into that power.
Since his father was human, the giant heritage in Hagrid's blood was likely incomplete—otherwise it would be hard to explain the lack of dragon-related knowledge.
Perhaps that very incompleteness drove Hagrid's intense desire to raise a dragon: a call from the blood in his veins.
Or perhaps he simply loved dragons, as he loved all magical creatures—each one adorable in his eyes.
The only differences were big cute versus small cute, rare cute versus common cute.
Gray could only speculate based on what he knew of Hagrid; he had no way to confirm the truth.
Still, Hagrid's lack of knowledge in this area gave Gray an opportunity to get involved in raising the dragon.
"It seems you're not very familiar with this, Hagrid. I've read a few books on dragon breeding—perhaps I can help you raise this one together."
Hagrid's face lit up at Gray's words.
"That'd be brilliant, Gray! I knew it—you love this little one just like I do." Hagrid was so overjoyed he nearly jumped; he even tried to scoop Gray up for a spin, but Gray dodged nimbly.
"Go prepare now. Stock up on plenty of chicken-blood brandy. Also get some cabbage leaves and fire seeds—these will help it develop faster and breathe fire sooner."
Gray listed the necessary items for Hagrid to fetch, while he himself continued sketching the egg's magical pathways.
Even if he didn't fully understand them yet, recording them could only help.
Hagrid began rummaging through cupboards and drawers for the supplies. The chicken-blood brandy would need to be bought specially—though he had some in the hut, it clearly wouldn't be enough.
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