Harry Potter

As the school year continued along, Hermione started to get more energetic and muttered to herself out loud, as though something was starting to eat at her. At the same time, the number of assignments the teachers handed out increased as well. It was with about ten weeks left in the school year and two weeks till the Easter Holidays that someone finally asked what was wrong.

"Granger, what is with that incessant muttering?" Unfortunately, it was Malfoy who was the one to broach the topic. Since joining the study group and being folded into the 'friend group', Harry could say that Malfoy wasn't too bad. He was just big headed and a loudmouth.

"The final exams are coming up. We need to pass them in order to get to second year," Hermione said nervously, apparently working on some sort of study schedule while Tanya rolled her eyes. Crabbe, Goyle, and Lily still got private tutoring sessions with Tanya, but there were also times that the four of them rejoined the main study group, like today.

"Hermione, what are we currently doing?" Tanya asked.

"Uh, studying?" Hermione asked, looking at Tanya nervously. Harry smirked along with Ron and Malfoy while others snickered at what was about to come.

Tanya had a wicked habit of pointing out how stupid someone was being with very pointed questions or very sarcastic remarks and actions. Never directly calling them foolish, but making her opinion very clear.

"And what are we studying for?"

"Charms?"

"Hmm? Really? I thought we were studying to pass our classes and to not bring shame on our House with failing marks, but if you say we are studying for Charms… I guess we should make sure our Charms are up to stuff." With a flick of her wand, Tanya sent a gust of air to mess up Hermione's already incredibly bushy hair.

Red faced from embarrassment, Hermione focused on Tanya. "Fine. Locomotor Wibbly."

Tanya managed to jump out of the way of the spell, causing Lavender to be hit instead.

"I'm sorry," Hermione started to apologize to Lavender, only to get a spell shot at her that she barely ducked under. From there, the spells began flying fast and loose, laughter erupting as they fought each other.

—-

Even with Hermione being reminded that they had been studying all year to do well on the finals, the work the teachers had assigned found them all in the library during the Easter Holidays. Something they were all grouchy about as they broke up into smaller groups and caught sight of the beautiful blue sky outside the window, nary a cloud to be seen.

Harry tried to stay focused on the work, looking up 'dittany' in 'One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi' to double check he had the right answer, when Ron groaned out loud.

"Hagrid, what are you doing here?" Ron asked, causing Harry to look up to see the large man sheepishly hide something behind his back.

"Jus' lookin'," he said, in a shifty voice that got their interest at once. "An' what're you lot up ter?"

"Studying," Ron groused, tossing his quill down.

Hagrid chuckled at Ron's antics before leaning in to whisper conspiratorially. Though Harry thought the large man in the mole skin coat looked less like a conspirator and more like a mountain attempting to be a hill.

"How about later you take a break and come visit me?"

"Would about an hour be acceptable?" Tanya asked, having been paying attention without lifting her eyes from her work.

"Yeah. That'll be good."

Tanya looked up with a smile that put the hairs on Harry's arms on end as she looked at Ron. "Then, so long as Ron finishes the assignment he is currently working on, we would be happy to join you."

Ron groaned, dropping his head into an open book. "I'm almost done," he complained.

"And you are the one at this table not finished with that essay. The rest of us have moved onto the next assignments."

Hagrid chuckled and patted Ron on the shoulder. "I'm sure you're doing fine, lad."

"What was he hiding behind his back?" Hermione idly asked.

"Whatever it was, he clearly was embarrassed about it," Tanya said in a very firm voice, looking at Hermione while all of Harry's hair stood on edge and tingled. "It might be very personal and you should not pry."

Harry felt Tanya was thinking of something very specific, but he couldn't even begin to guess.

"Uh, right," Ron said, swallowing thickly. "What did you guys put as a Class XXXX dangerous beast?"

Harry was thankful for the change in topic as they began discussing the assignment Ron had been working on.

Soon enough Ron finished his assignment and they packed up and headed down to Hagrid's hut. They were surprised to see smoke rising steadily from the chimney and the curtains pulled shut. Hagrid called, "Who is it?" before pulling the four in quickly, shutting the door firmly behind him.

It was stifling inside, with a blazing fire going. Hagrid made some tea and offered some stoat sandwiches which only Tanya accepted.

"Are you feeling alright?" Tanya asked, looking at the little area of Hagrid's face not covered in hair. "Chills? Fever?"

"What? No no. I'm fine," Hagrid said with a grin and a wave of his hand.

"Do you mind if we open a window then? It is a bit warm in here."

"I, uh, can't let you do that," Hagrid said. Harry caught him glancing at the fire.

"What's that?" Harry asked as he spotted something under the cauldron.

"That, err, well…"

"Blimey!" Ron shouted at noticing what Harry saw. "Hagrid, where did you get that? It must of cost a fortune."

"Won it," said Hagrid. "Las' night. I was down in the village havin' a few drinks an' got into a game o' cards with a stranger. Think he was quite glad ter get rid of it, ter be honest."

"What is it?" Hermione asked as she and Tanya took a few steps closer to get a better look.

"A dragon's egg," Ron answered before turning to Hagrid with an accusatory look. "Isn't this illegal? I thought dragon breeding was outlawed by the Warlocks' Convention of 1709."

"Well, err, yeah. I suppose," Hagrid looked a bit sheepish. "But I've always wanted a dragon."

Harry felt the hairs on the back of his neck tingle slightly.

"I'm sure you have informed the Headmaster of your winnings then. It would be difficult to hide a dragon long term in this hut after all," Tanya said before daintily taking a sip of tea. "And I'm sure he could find a way to allow you to keep the dragon under some sort of educational thing."

"Err, well, no. Not yet that is, but I, uh, suppose I could go shortly," Hagrid seemed incredibly uncomfortable under Tanya's steady gaze.

"Hmm? Well, none of us are busy. We can go with you to try and convince him of how it could be a valuable educational experience for us." Tanya set her cup down and Harry knew the discussion was over.

"Well, I would hate to bother the Headmaster, he is a very busy man, you see."

"Nonsense," Tanya said, stepping to the door and opening it before returning her gaze to Hagrid, fixing her cold gaze on the far larger man.

Harry might have laughed at Hagrid being cowed by the smallest girl in their year, but the memory of the troll came unbidden to his mind and he remembered that despite everything, Tanya was also the most dangerous person in their year.

"The Headmaster has always made time for me. I'm sure he'll make time for you."

With no further argument, Hagrid meekly shuffled out of the hut and began the trek up to the castle with the four first years in tow.

It was not long before they were at the gargoyle statue, Harry and Hermione having tried to bolster Hagrid's confidence while Tanya stayed steadfastly silent and Ron chipping in occasionally.

"We are here to discuss a matter with the Headmaster," Tanya told the statue.

"Fizzing wizzbees," Hagrid said, causing the statue to move aside right away, rather than the wait Harry was expecting. Hagrid didn't look at Tanya's curious gaze. "Might as well get it over with," He muttered.

The five headed up the stairs and Hagrid knocked on the solid door.

"Come in," Dumbledore called out through the door.

"Hagrid," Dumbledore said with a twinkle in his eyes before looking over the students above his half moon glasses. "To what do I owe the honor?"

"Well, you see, I uh," Hagrid started nervously.

"Mr. Hagrid found and acquired a potentially highly educational opportunity for the school, but there are a couple of issues he needs to address with you before this opportunity can be utilized to its fullest."

"Oh, and what opportunity might that be?" Dumbledore asked smiling at the Not a Lie Tanya said.

"Yes, well, I uh got. You see, I was," Hagrid was clearly very nervous about the situation.

"He informed us that through certain confidential contacts, during his time off work last night he came into possession of a dragon's egg. Safely liberating it from a possible dragon breeding program."

"A dragon's egg you say?" Dumbledore's eyes widened at that, seemingly surprised.

"Uh, yes. A Norwegian Ridgeback if I identified the egg rightly," Hagrid said.

"Hmm, interesting." Dumbledore steepled his fingers in front of himself. "And what precisely are the educational opportunities you were thinking of?"

"How often would we get to see a dragon hatching?" Ron asked excitedly before Hermione grabbed his arm and whispered something in his ear.

"Hmm, I suppose that would be a rather unique situation, though I would need to know what we will be doing with the dragon after it hatches."

"Care of magical creatures is an elective course. I would imagine the students could learn a lot helping care for a newly hatched dragon," Tanya suggested.

"Charlie would have loved it if he was still here," Ron added.

"I suppose he would. If I remember correctly, your brother moved to Romania to help raise dragons." Dumbledore stroked his beard. "I will have to bring this to the Board of Governors, unfortunately, as a few of the laws are tying my hands from simply approving anything on this matter, but I will try to get this through."

Harry, Ron, and Hermione cheered while Tanya smuggly folded her arms and Hagrid wept in joy.

"Oh, and Rubeus, we will need to have a discussion later about your duties and free time and how they intersect later," Dumbledore added on after the excitement died down.

"Yes sir," Hagrid said, still grinning like… Harry was about to compare Hagrid to a school girl, but the only girl Harry knew that compared was Lily. So Hagrid was grinning like Lily?

Harry chose not to think too hard on that as they started leaving the Headmaster's office.

"Ron, you said that dragon breeding was outlawed in what?" Tanya asked.

"The Warlocks' Convention of 1709?" Ron said, uncertain. "Everyone knows that."

"Not everyone would remember the year so readily," Tanya said. "Good job. Keep that head for dates and you should do well on the history exams."

"Huh?" Ron stopped for a moment, confused, before rushing to catch back up.

—-

Lucius Malfoy

Swirling his glass, Lucius watched as the deeply golden liquid moved in the tumbler before bringing the glass up to his nose and taking in the bouquet. Fire, burning flesh, and salt. A lovely vintage made decades ago along the northern coast of Scotland. Taking a sip, Lucius allowed the liquid to linger on his tongue for a moment before swallowing to savor the flavor. While the acid flavors of the flame were present on the taste, there was also dark fruit, somewhere between a dark cherry and a plum, along with a meatiness. Somewhat akin to the crust of a steak cooked over a hot wooden fire and served with a dark sauce.

Lucius's contemplation of the whisky was interrupted with the arrival of an owl. A rather standard specimen, so not one of his wealthy acquaintances. Plucking the letter from the owl, Lucius waved the bird to the stand near the window of his office. The letterhead confirmed that the letter was from Hogwarts, though whether his son had done something foolish enough to warrant Dumbledore's personal involvement or this had to do with his position as head of the Board of Governors was left unsaid currently.

Reaching into the drawer of his desk, Lucius pulled out his letter opener, a silver knife with a deep green emerald carefully placed at the pommel, and sliced open the envelope before reading the message.

Lucius carefully placed the opener down and picked his glass back up and gave the spirit inside another swirl before taking an idle sip. It would appear Dumbledore had come across an interesting item and desired to utilize it for educational purposes. That he was coming to the Board of Governors for approval meant that there were legal barriers in his way. Lucius smirked to himself before draining his glass. While it might only be a mild benefit, the fact Dumbledore was asking at all meant Lucius could score some political points.

"Dobby!" Lucius called out, hearing a pop nearby announcing the house elf's arrival. "Inform Narcissa I have some business at Hogwarts to take care of and may be a little late for dinner."

"Yes Master!" Dobby responded before popping away.

Lucius grabbed his cane and put on his traveling robes before stepping outside his manor doors and apparating to Hogsmeade near the gates to Hogwarts' grounds. Stepping past the gates, he strolled up to the castle and made his way through the school to the gargoyle blocking the path to the Headmaster's office. Lucius likely could have just Flooed to the office, but the method lacked dignity, having to stoop into a dirty fireplace.

"Lucius Malfoy here to see Dumbledore on school business," Lucius told the statue, only having to wait a moment before the thing got out of his way and allowed him to enter the office where several other members of the Board of Governors were already waiting. "What is this opportunity that you found, Dumbledore?"

"Ah, Lucius! So good of you to arrive," Dumbledore said with a smile before picking up his candy bowl. "Chocolate covered coffee bean? A particular student put me onto these and they are rather energizing. Quite exceptional."

Lucius waved the offer away. "I would rather not. Your letter pulled me away from preparing for dinner with my wife. I do find it rather distasteful to keep Narcissa waiting."

Dumbledore chuckled as he set the bowl down. "Of course, of course." Dumbledore looked into Lucius's eyes with a degree of seriousness. "A student, a Ms. Degurechaff, brought to my attention earlier today that a member of staff had acquired a dragon's egg and suggested that the hatching and raising of a dragon could be a rather interesting learning opportunity for the Care of Magical Creatures class."

'Ms. Degurechaff was involved and wanted this?' Lucius thought to himself for a moment. That could mean a few different things. Including that she was simply a child excited at the opportunity to see a dragon up to her wishing to utilize dragons in her future plans of conquest. Lucius thought quickly before smirking. "She is right of course, but such an endeavor would be dangerous. Especially when it first hatches. Too many people nearby could either put the dragon or the students in harms way."

"I had already put some thought into that matter. Silvanus as the Care of Magical Creatures professor will, of course, be there, as will the staff member that got the egg. I was thinking of allowing five students at most to be there for the hatching, though it seems only fair that Ms. Degurechaff and her three friends that came with her to report the egg be among those five."

Lucius narrowed his eyes as he saw through the rather obvious ploy Dumbledore was pulling.

"Now, officially, the only fair way to choose that final student would be something akin to pulling names out of a hat."

"And unofficially?"

"Oh, I'm sure no one needs to know how many names were in the hat should the Head of the Board of Governors desire to favor a particular student in getting the opportunity."

Lucius looked at the other Board Members briefly as he thought about it. The Members of the Board were firmly in his pocket, so they would say nothing. This was an interesting opportunity to further tie the Malfoys in with Degurechaff should she prove to be the Dark Lady he thought she was to be. And, really, if Lucius was honest to himself, the biggest reason was thinking how excited he would have been as a child to get to see a dragon be born. It was an opportunity that even money was unlikely to purchase.

"I am sure my son would look forward to a chance at getting to see a dragon hatching," Lucius said, returning Dumbledore's gaze.

"Wonderful." Dumbledore clapped his hands together. "In that case, I do believe this meeting is done. I have some paperwork to fill out and a few things to arrange. I'll owl the paperwork for your approval once everything is in place."

Lucius nodded and turned on the spot to leave.

—-

Harry Potter

The first morning after the end of Easter Holidays, Dumbledore stood up to make an announcement.

"Thanks to a member of staff and four students, a unique opportunity has arrived at these fine halls. The Care of Magical Creatures classes will be spending the rest of the year focusing on dragon husbandry. As only a few of you are in that, this announcement would ordinarily not affect you, however I am sure nearly all of you would be most interested in seeing a dragon being hatched."

A murmur swept through the hall at the excitement of there being a chance to see a dragon, a real life dragon, being hatched.

"Hagrid is going to be so excited to find out," Ron whispered.

"I'm sure he, as a member of staff, has already been informed," Tanya said, though she also looked a bit more excited than normal.

"Now, we can only safely allow five students to be present for the hatching. The first four of those slots will go to Misters Potter and Weasley and Misses Granger and Degurechaff for rightfully bringing the dragon egg to my attention. Furthermore, ten points each for appropriate actions for the school."

Harry could feel the eyes of most of the school turn towards him. He nervously smiled, but was pleased that the Gryffindor table seemed mostly happy that the four first years managed to earn a few points, pushing Gryffindor up in the House Cup.

"Now, there are a lot of you who would clearly love to go see the hatching too, and there seems to be only one way to fairly choose," Dumbledore said before pulling out a bright pink hat covered in silver mushrooms. "Blind luck!" Dumbledore shoved his hand into the hat and began moving, grabbing around before pulling out a slip of paper. "And the lucky student is… Draco Malfoy!"

Harry looked over to Draco and saw he looked a bit surprised at the announcement before relaxing his face as he accepted the polite applause of his fellow Slytherins while a lot of the other students around the hall groaned at having an opportunity they didn't know about just a couple minutes ago pass them by.

After a moment to allow the students to calm down, Dumbledore continued his announcements, "Now, as we will be having a dragon on school grounds, some safety precautions will have to be put into place. Firstly, a dragon enclosure is going to be built. Unless accompanied by an approved staff member, such as a Head of House, Care of Magical Creatures Professor, or the Groundskeeper, students will not be allowed to approach the dragon enclosure once the dragon hatches. Should any student be bit by the dragon, they are to immediately report to the Hospital Wing for care. Lastly, the meeting location for Care of Magical Creatures will be relocated closer to the Groundskeeper Hut as nearby the Hut is where the Dragon enclosure will be built."

With his announcements out of the way, Dumbledore took his seat and the excited chatter began again, along with those near Harry and his friends asking questions on how they found out about the dragon's egg.

The following week, about the only thing anyone could talk about was the dragon. Excitement buzzed as everyone speculated what kind of dragon it might be, discussed the differences between different dragons, and whether they might get a chance to ride it.

The last one was shot down quickly whenever a member of staff heard it as being too dangerous.

After nearly a week of anticipation, Professor McGonagall stopped by where Harry and his friends were eating breakfast with a kind expression and handed them passes. "You four are excused from classes today, though makeup work will be assigned to you. In the meantime, it is hatching. Hagrid will be waiting for you. Oh, and do bring your gloves."

Harry and Ron began eating faster to hurry up and get down to Hagrid's hut. Looking over at the Slytherin table, Harry saw Draco was also eating faster. Hermione ate a few more bites and Harry could not see any difference in Tanya's eating pace, despite the speed the food disappeared off her plate. Soon, they all got up and headed to their dorms to grab their gloves.

Ron and Hermione were excitedly chattering about the dragon birth. Ron was excited at getting to see one at all and Hermione was curious about how it was going to happen. Even Tanya had an excited energy about her. Draco was already at the hut with his gloves when they got there, looking uncomfortable, even as he smiled.

"Hello Draco, excited to see a dragon born?" Tanya asked.

"Of course," Draco said with his head held high.

Tanya stepped by Draco and knocked on the door firmly.

"Comin'!" Hagrid called from inside the hut. The door opened up and the five of them entered the hut. Professor Kettleburn, a worn man with wooden hands and legs and a bandage covering an eye and half his face, was already sitting at the table with a steaming cup of tea, the dragon egg sitting in the middle of the table on an old towel.

"So you're the ones that get to see this," Kettleburn said, his scarred face grinning before turning back to the scratching sounds coming from the egg. "Well gather round and get comfortable, this may take a bit."

They gathered around the egg, still radiating heat, and Harry was glad that the windows were open and they didn't have to hide the egg from prying eyes.

"How long does it take for a dragon to hatch?" Draco asked as the egg wobbled in place.

Kettleburn stroked his chin in thought. "About a month from being laid I believe."

"I was readin' up on it an' the Chinese Fireball is usually the quickest at a week," Hagrid said as he busied himself making tea for everyone.

"I meant, how long are we supposed to wait now?" Draco said.

"Oh that?" Kettleburn asked with a chuckle. "Couldn't say. This is my first time seeing a dragon hatching. Couldn't tell you how far along it is in breaking out now. I would guess a few hours. Don't chickens take about three?"

Hagrid shook his head. "Nah. They take 'bout seven usually once yeh start seeing the cracks." Hagrid pointed towards one of the cracks in particular on the dragon egg. "These started showing a few hours ago, so it should on'y be a coupa hours."

Harry noticed the excitement seemed to leave Ron and Draco a bit at the mention of waiting hours. Professor Kettleburn must have noticed the disappointment as he got up. "Since we got a bit of time, how about I show you kids the enclosure me and the older students worked on for the dragon as it gets bigger?"

"Yeah!" Ron said excitedly.

"That sounds nice," Tanya said, standing up along with the others as Kettleburn led the group along the edge of the forest till they got to a mound of grass covered stone with a large opening on one side to an opening. Around the opening was a large fenced area including a pair of troughs, a stone bench just inside the fenced area along with another in the overhanged area under the mound. Kettleburn began describing what they had done and some of the other things they included for the dragon, joy on his face as Tanya, Hermione, and Draco paid attention. Harry and Ron were looking around in awe as it sunk in how big the dragon was going to get. The opening was so tall that even Hagrid wouldn't be able to touch the ceiling and the area was larger than the Common Room was. And it was all for just one dragon.

"Blimey, how big is the dragon going to be?" Ron asked out loud.

"Norwegian Ridgebacks can get up to about eight meters depending on gender," Kettleburn said gleefully. "And I'm thinking we are likely to be getting a girl."

"How can you tell?" Hermione asked.

"Well, dragon researchers had noticed an odd trend with dragons. Most animals have a pretty even split of genders unless there is something specific that can cause a discrepancy, and the researchers noticed that depending on how hot the fire the egg was sitting in was, determined the chance of a male being born. The hotter, the more likely you get a boy."

Tanya snorted and muttered something to herself that Harry didn't hear.

"Why is that?" Ron asked.

Kettleburn shrugged. "Couldn't tell ya to be honest. They only figured that out in the past couple of years, so they are still doing research on it."

"Probably efficiency," Tanya said as she wandered over to inspect the stone fence.

"Oh? How so?" Kettleburn asked.

"A single male is much more capable of fertilizing multiple females than a single female being fertilized by multiple males, so to keep the species going it is biologically better to favor a higher female population ratio. To that end, if the egg temperature is what determines gender, then it makes sense to make the temperatures to achieve a male harder to reach. So dragon genders have efficiently created a system to guarantee that there are more females around to keep the species as a whole going."

"Hmm," Kettleburn looked thoughtful for a moment. "I'll have to write to some friends of mine, but that is a good thought. Ever thought about becoming a magizoologist when you grow up?"

Tanya shook her head. "I had not given it much thought. I am not even sure of all the different career prospects I could be looking at within the magical world."

Kettleburn nodded to himself as he placed a hand on Tanya's shoulder. "Well give it some thought. You might like it. At least sign up for Care of Magical Creatures when you get to third year to see if you are interested in the field."

"I will," Tanya said with, to Harry's eyes, a wide smile.

After a bit more looking around, they returned to Hagrid's hut and chatted for a while as cracks began appearing more and more on the egg. Shards broke off the shell and Harry could see the membrane. Tanya and Hermione kept asking questions to Hagrid about how this compares to a chicken egg hatching as a line of broken shell began forming down the egg along with funny clicking noises.

All at once there was a scraping noise and the egg split open. The baby dragon flopped onto the table. It wasn't exactly pretty. Harry thought it looked like a crumpled, black umbrella. It had spiny wings, huge compared to its slim black body. Its snout was long with wide nostrils, head topped with the stubs of horns and it had large, bulging orange eyes.

It sneezed. A couple of sparks flew out of its snout.

"Isn't she beautiful?" Hagrid murmured. He reached out a hand to stroke the dragon's head. It snapped at his fingers, showing pointed fangs.

"Careful there," Kettleburn said, reaching a hand out to pull back Hagrid's.

"Bless her, look, she knows her mommy!" said Hagrid.

"Maybe, but you gotta be careful. We don't know how venomous she is yet."

"Venomous?" Harry asked, looking at the dragon again.

"Oh yes, Norwegian Ridgebacks are known to have a venomous bite," Kettleburn said.

Tanya already had her gloves on and started to reach out before looking to Kettleburn. "May I?"

"Gently now," he instructed her as she began to pet the dragon, her eyes never leaving the thing. Hagrid gushing about how adorable it was. Harry looked over at Draco and Ron as he pulled on his own gloves to give the dragon a pet as well.

While they were there, they got to help with the dragon's first feeding, a mix of chicken blood and brandy. It wasn't a lovely mix, and Hermione and Draco were particularly squeamish about the blood, but Tanya's calmness about dealing with the blood seemed to help the others deal with it better.

Overall, it was a lot fun, though Harry was concerned about Hagrid. Hopefully he would remember there were things other than the dragon to take care of.