Chapter Twenty
Over the next few days, the Gryffindor team trained restlessly. They knew that having Snape against them would reduce their chances immensely. Oliver Wood had become consumed by the upcoming match and was often hysterical during their training. Harry felt completely drained in the evenings after hours of classes and then having to take orders from Wood. He hadn't endured anymore Judo since his last trip to the Room of Requirement. The match against Hufflepuff was set to take place on Saturday. If Professor Snape wasn't the referee, Harry would have approached the match in much better spirits. Hufflepuff had a good team but were nothing compared to Gryffindors team.
The way the House Cup stood, Slytherin were first but not many points separated them from Gryffindor. Slytherin had lost their match against Ravenclaw which put them at three hundred and fifty points. If Gryffindor won against Hufflepuff then they would be at four hundred, therefore taking the lead. As Wood had reminded them constantly, it had been over seven years since Gryffindor held the top spot of the House Cup and it now rested on their shoulders to renew its glory.
Hermione was fretting over Snape. She had given up trying to stop Harry playing and informed him the night before the match that she would take her wand with her and keep close watch on Snape. Harry was getting quite nervous himself. He felt like he was walking into an unknown danger that could only be felt. He didn't know what to expect from Snape and could only hope that nothing would go astray.
As Saturday dawned a low mist lay on the land. The grass was dewy and the air was moist. The sun hung in the sky like a beacon, but it was pale and the sky was an empty grey. Breakfast was a quiet affair for the Gryffindor team and when Snape entered the Great Hall, he received a number of glares from the table.
A resounding bell rang from somewhere in the castle. The Gryffindor team stood up and prepared to leave for the stadium. Harry glimpsed Oliver Wood; pale faced making his way out of the Great Hall. He knew how much Oliver wanted this and Harry wouldn't let Snape get in the way of his or anyone else's dream. As Harry rose from the table he caught Ron's anxious look. Hermione and Ron were the only ones who knew what having Snape near Harry meant.
Harry turned to leave but Hermione grabbed his wrist. "Please take care of yourself," she said pleadingly.
All Harry managed was a reassuring smile before he made his way silently down the aisle between the two tables. The sun was still struggling to shine over the grounds as Harry retrieved his Nimbus Two Thousand from the broom shed. He then made his way into the changing rooms and pulled on his scarlet Quidditch robes. He could hear the footfalls of the hundreds of students outside and wondered would Snape act in front of a large crowd of people. Wood gave his usual pre match analysis telling the team who to look out for. He warned them to play the cleanest game of Quidditch they had ever played, therefore not giving Snape fuel to start a fire.
They made their way out to the pitch and the roaring from the crowd reached their ears. Harry could almost feel the beating of the voices in the ground. The wind was whistling through the stands and Harry had an image of far away seas and of restless waters. He turned to see Professor Snape looking as sallow as ever, eyeing him with a strange look Harry had never witnessed. It wasn't fury or anger, more of a curious look. He quickly looked away and caught Oliver shaking hands with the Hufflepuff Captain. The balls were released and the game began.
Harry immediately flew after the snitch, dodging a few Chasers. He evaded a Bludger and lost sight of the snitch after that. He looked around and saw Snape searching the stands. But he didn't have enough time to see what stand as he ducked another Bludger.
He was panicking now as a sudden thought hit him. What if Hermione was in danger too? She also knew about the Philosophers Stone. He flew higher into the air and circled the stadium trying to find Hermione. She was staring at the game biting her finger nails in anticipation. She looked up at him for a moment, worry etched on her face. Her eyes seemed to burn into him and a sudden urge to fly down to her caught him, he didn't know what it was. He had never felt that way. He pulled his eyes away from her, feeling suddenly weak and exposed. He had to end it. If the match was finished then the danger would subside.
He flew lower into the stadium. Sometimes the snitch would fly near another player so as to avoid capture.
He was becoming distracted by small things like the Weasley twins gold watches or gold bracelets worn by the female players. Just as he was about to change direction he spotted the small golden ball whizzing by Oliver Woods head. The Hufflepuff Chasers were making a move on the goal and Snape had progressed up the pitch. Harry shot towards the snitch which switched directions again and went straight towards Snape. Harry only had a few seconds to think about his next move and decided to follow. He dived and then levelled his Nimbus out so he and the snitch were now in a straight line. All he had to do was grasp it but Snape was now right in front of him.
There was no sound as the crowd held their breaths anxiously watching Harry heading for a head on collision with the Potions professor. But Harry leaned forward, one hand in the air, and grabbed the snitch. He then pulled with all his might and missed hitting Snape by mere centimetres. Hufflepuffs spectators groaned defeated and Gryffindor roared ecstatically.
When Harry landed on the soft grass he was out of breath. Oliver then rushed over excitedly and pulled him into a manly hug. "We did it. First for the Cup now, Harry. First!" Harry smiled feeling genuinely happy for the first time in a while. Ron came barrelling over and slapped Harry on the shoulder, then his brothers grabbed him into a family hug.
Gryffindors streamed onto the pitch, cheering and shouting delightedly. They gathered around the team and started chanting. Harry couldn't hear their words though. He fought his way from the smothering crowd and started searching frantically for Hermione. He hadn't seen Snape. What if he had gone after her?
People started getting angry at him and giving him dirty looks as he pushed past them and shoved them out of the way. He couldn't see her anywhere. He made it out onto the side of the pitch where nobody stood, suddenly feeling an emptiness deep within him. "Harry," said a voice behind him. Harry spun around and exhaled deeply as his eyes landed on Hermione. He was so relieved he could barely speak. She gave him a confused look that started him into speech. "I thought…maybe…Snape…you know,' he said, finishing lamely. She actually seemed pleased that he had been worried.
"Thank God that's over. It was a great catch. For a moment I thought you were going to fly into Snape," she said. "So did I," said Harry darkly.
They walked slowly back into the crowd. It was only then that Harry noticed that Hagrid wasn't present. "Did you see Hagrid at all?" he asked puzzled by his absence. Hermione also looked around over the heads of the students. `No, I didn't see him during the match either."
Ron broke away from the raucous crowd, a smile plastered on his face. "Hey Ron, did you see Hagrid," Harry asked uneasily. Hagrid had been to every game since the beginning of the year and Harry knew he was a Quidditch fan. Ron's smile faltered as he tried to think if he had seen the giant of a man. "Nope I don't think so. But you should have seen Snape. He looked right pissed," he then saw their anxious faces. "Why don't we go down to his hut?"
They agreed and Harry got changed quickly. By the time he had come back out the crowd had moved toward the castle. Harry once again put his broom in the shed and then made his way down to Hagrid's hut. The lights were on which was a good sign and when they got near the door they could hear shuffling coming from inside the wooden door. Harry knocked on the door. "Who's there?" Hagrid barked back out at them. Hermione looked quite shocked while Ron looked affronted. Harry took no heed of Hagrid's evasiveness. "It's us," he shouted back through the door. There seemed to be a pause then "Listen Harry…I'm a bit tied up at the mo….I migh' get t'see ye next week or sumthin'."
Harry looked confusedly at the door. "Hagrid…is something wrong," Harry said, fearing something had gone wrong with the protection of the Stone. "Jus' come back later on in the week, `k Harry," said Hagrid's voice impatiently. Harry thought for a moment. "Let us in, Hagrid, or I'll take the door down," he said finally. He was becoming terse and wanted to know what Hagrid was up to.
Ron was looking at Harry, wide eyed, as if he had gone insane. Hermione stood silently not making a move. Then she seemed to find her voice "Harry,' she said as if trying to calm a ferocious creature down, "maybe we should…just go," motioning towards the castle with a wave of her hand. Harry took a step away from the door and whispered "Hermione, he might be keeping something from us. What if somebody threatened him?"
Hermione didn't know what to say. He seemed to be very concerned. The clouds overhead seemed to darken and the sun was completely smothered. A shadow spread across the grounds. "Okay," said Hermione, earning a frightened look from Ron. "But try and get him to allow us in first," she pleaded.
Harry once again stepped up to the door. "Hagrid, we're not leaving. So you can either let us in or….we….er…break the door down," he said pathetically. There was a scraping noise and then the sounds of a lock being unbolted. Hagrid looked somewhat sad but there was a strange gleam in his eye. "I suppose ye can c'min," he said beaten.
The three of them entered the small cabin apprehensively, but stopped on the threshold when they saw what lay on Hagrid's round table. Hagrid quickly pushed them through and shut the door behind them. The remnants of a huge black egg lay cracked on the table. And standing amid the remains was a small dragon. Its spiny wings were huge compared to its skinny jet body and it had a long snout with wide nostrils, stubs of horns and bulging, orange eyes. Hermione gave a small whimper as if she was on the verge of tears. Ron looked at the dragon in awe mingled with fear. Harry gulped wishing he had taken Hermione's advice and just gone back to the castle. "A dragon," said Harry hesitantly. "He must've cost you a fortune, Hagrid. Where did you get him," asked Ron, completely ignoring Harry.
"I won him down the pub. Some Irish bloke had too much to drink and then wanted to play a game o' cards. Bad combination, "he said merrily. Harry had a feeling that Hagrid was quite proud of this. He always had known that Hagrid liked magical creatures. Whenever Harry had a query about a creature he was studying Hagrid seemed to have the answer. But he didn't think that Hagrid would go this far.
"I can't believe this. A Norwegian Ridgeback. They're quite a rare breed," declared Ron.
Harry looked at Ron with raised eyebrows. "My brother Charlie. Dragon keeper," stated Ron.
"Gonna call him Norbert," announced Hagrid with tears in his eyes. "You can't keep him!" cried Hermione. "You live in a wooden house," she exclaimed, waving her hands at the walls which had roosters, pots and pans hanging out from them. "Hermione's right, Hagrid. Dragons evolve at an alarming rate. Soon he's going to be bigger than your house," explained Harry. Hagrid then became very evasive. They spent the next few minutes trying to persuade Hagrid to come to a compromise about Norbert but he wouldn't budge. He wanted to keep him. "I've always wanted one. Ever since I was a small lad," he expressed, tears now making their way down his cheeks into his tangled beard.
Ron who was fascinated at first by Norbert became less enthusiastic when Norbert tried to chew his hand off. It didn't help that every time Norbert sneezed, a great spurt of flame issued from his snout.
"We have to do something. If he keeps it, it'll kill him," Ron said fearfully. They were sitting in an empty classroom trying to come to some sort of solution to this horrific problem. A chill wind blew through the castle and made its way into the dark classroom. Hermione shivered in the cold. Harry removed his jacket and placed it on her shoulders. She smiled sweetly and thanked him. Harry knew from the way she didn't object that she was indeed freezing.
"First the Philosophers Stone, then this," said Harry irritably, going to sit on a table. "We have to try and convince him to give Norbert up," said Hermione earnestly.
"Excuse me, were you not there. We just tried to do so. He's not going to just release him into the wild, Norbert would be killed instantly,' exclaimed Ron.
"You don't have to be so rude,' retorted Hermione. Ron was about to answer but Harry quickly intervened. "Stop it. The two of you. This is no time to argue amongst yourselves. We have to deal with this problem first."
Suddenly Harry got an idea. "Charlie," he muttered. "Ron," said Ron emphasizing the name as if teaching words to a five year old. Harry looked up at Ron. "No, your brother Charlie. Can't he take Norbert? You said yourself that he was a rare breed," clarified Harry.
Ron thought for a moment. "I'll write to him and see what he can do. I'm pretty sure he'll want to take him. That's a great idea," said Ron impressed. "But what about Hagrid?" said Hermione worriedly. "He won't want to let him go."
They stood there in silence for a while, each of them thinking through plans to persuade Hagrid. It wasn't going to be easy but they had to get rid of Norbert or Hagrid would be either sacked or killed. Darkness had quickly descended on the castle and the windows were plastered with a deep blue sky. Pale stars were beginning to appear over the edge of the menacing forest. "One way or another Hagrid will see that he can't tame Norbert," said Harry.
"The question is," said Hermione staring out through the window at Hagrid's small hut "how long will it take him?"
Hagrid nearly lasted a week before he conceded that Norbert would be better off in a place where he could act like a dragon and not a killer pet dog. Charlie had written telling Ron that it would be no problem and he would be grateful to receive such a notorious breed of dragon. He was sending over a group of workers who would collect Norbert and bring him to London. From there he would be transferred to Romania.
Hagrid took some nasty bumps during the week. His house was set alight three times, Harry having to extinguish the fires with a Watering Charm. Norbert liked to chew on almost everything. Hagrid's table, chairs, bed, kettle and fingers were just some of Norbert's favourites. Hagrid had almost stopped his game-keeping duties altogether, being too busy hiding and feeding Norbert. Harry and Hermione also with Ron made regular trips to Hagrid's in order to go through their final plan for Norbert's removal. Charlie had told them to meet the group he had sent over at the tallest tower at midnight on Saturday. It was now Friday and they had finally got everything organised.
Harry was on his way to the library to meet Hermione when he bumped into Malfoy. Harry was a bit put off at the smug look on his face. He also wore a nasty grin. "Watch where you're going Potter or are you just preoccupied with other matters," he whispered. Harry gave him a dangerous look and Malfoy stalked off. It was only then that Harry noticed that Malfoy had just come out of the library. A deadly thought rushed through Harry's head. He quickly walked into the library and ran to the back where he suspected Hermione to be. She was sitting down, a book open in front of her. And sitting across from her was Ron. "Please tell me that you weren't talking about Norbert," whispered Harry. "Yeah, I was telling Hermione that I figured the Astronomy Tower was the tallest of the castle. Why? What's wrong?" asked Ron confused.
Harry sighed deeply. "I think Malfoy knows." He told them of his encounter with Malfoy. "He must have overheard you," finished Harry. "I can't believe this," cried Hermione loudly. There was a shuffling of feet and a severe looking woman appeared at the end of the packed bookshelf. "Ms. Granger, please," said a harassed and shocked Madam Pince. Hermione apologized sincerely and Madam Pince walked away but not without a warning glance. "This is going to change the plans a bit. One of us will have to follow Malfoy tomorrow night. He'll probably alert someone while we're on our way to the Tower," said Harry.
"I'll tail Malfoy. You two get rid of the dragon," declared Ron. A silence fell between them as they thought about what they had to do. "This is going to be extremely difficult," laughed Hermione but Harry knew inside she would probably prefer to cry.
Since Gryffindor triumphed over Hufflepuff and were now leading the race for the House Cup, Slytherins had become unbearable. They especially hated Harry because he had won the game for them the week before. Harry was always receiving vicious looks from students of Slytherin. They often said cruel things about him. Harry had tried to ignore them but it was always difficult to block out the foul mouthed idiots that followed him to classes. More than once he got very riled up and nearly attacked the offenders but Hermione was always there to calm him down.
The worst thing about the Harry vs. Slytherin enmity was that Harry had to endure Malfoy more than usual. And now with the knowledge of Norbert, Malfoy had the upper hand. He was constantly flaunting in front of Harry trying to get a reaction out of them, it was like a very sinister form of black-mail. Saturday crawled by and Harry spent the whole time worrying about what they had to do.
They left Ron at the entrance to the Fat Lady's corridor. He was going to search for Malfoy. From what they had gathered Malfoy had been planning something with Crabbe and Goyle. Ron would head to the Astronomy corridor and hopefully either stop Malfoy or meet up with Harry and Hermione safely. The whole point of Ron doing this was to stop any further interruption in their plans. Harry had offered him the Cloak but Ron said it was more important for them to have it. Harry secretly agreed.
It was a cloudy night and the stars made no appearance. The grounds where extremely dark and they crept slowly down to Hagrid's lit cabin. Harry knocked on the door quickly. When it opened Harry felt a pang of sadness for Hagrid. His eyes were red and puffy from crying. Inside his cabin was a right mess. Everything seemed to have been broken up. "He didn' want to get inti the crate. Bu' I put his teddy bear in an' he had no problem. He's just a baby after all," cooed Hagrid into the wooden crate which was shaking violently and had loud banging coming from within it.
Hermione gave Hagrid a sympathetic look. "He'll be okay Hagrid. Once we get him out of here, he'll be with other dragons, he'll be fine," offered Hermione. "But what if he doesn't fit in. What if he's excluded?' Hagrid moaned. "He will fit in," said Harry rolling his eyes. He was growing terse. Hagrid said one more goodbye and then Harry and Hermione lifted the crate and made their way out the door. The crate was quite heavy and also difficult to hold. Harry tried taking most of its weight so Hermione wouldn't have to. It was also harder to carry when they were covered with the Invisibility Cloak.
"You could've been a bit nicer back there you know," said Hermione as they struggled across the wet grass. "Hermione, we wouldn't have made it outside the hut if I hadn't of sped up the dealings a bit," said Harry defensively. Of what he could see through the darkness, Hermione had just given him an angry glare. He sighed "Fine. I was a bit impatient. But please try and remember the situation we're in. We're carrying an illegal dragon through a castle with hundreds of people in it. I don't know about you but I'm a bit nervous,' explained Harry. "So am I," replied Hermione. "What if we don't make it? We'd be expelled!"
"You won't be expelled Hermione. I swear."
They crept silently through the Entrance Hall and then up the marble staircase. There wasn't a sound to be heard and they tried to walk as silently as they could. They were thankful that Norbert had stopped his banging and wondered whether he was asleep. The combined weight of the crate and also the way in which they had to move, left them gasping for air. They stopped for a few moments to rest but then they heard a shout from somewhere behind them. Harry thought it might be Ron. "Come on. We have to go,' he mouthed to Hermione and they both heaved the crate up again and made their way down the corridor. Because of the absence of the moon the corridors were unusually dark. They finally reached a corridor that wasn't lit at all. "This is the Astronomy corridor," whispered Hermione in Harry's ear. Harry for some reason felt momentarily frozen but he soon got back to himself. They found the spiral staircase leading up out onto the roof tower. It was difficult hauling the crate up the spiral staircase as it was narrow. When they reached the outdoors they ripped the Invisibility Cloak of them and shut the door leading up from the staircase.
Under the Cloak it had been very stuffy and warm, so they took a few deep breaths when they made it to the top. Charlie's friends arrived a few minutes later on broomsticks. They were a cheery lot and were also very chatty. They were explaining all about the different dragon breeds as they examined the crate with Norbert. They then showed them the harness they had rigged up to help carry the dragon. Harry and Hermione waved them off as they disappeared into the night. "Who do you that shout was from?" asked Harry as he lifted up the cloak. "I don't know. I just want to get back to Gryffindor Tower," she said darkly.
They quickly made their way back down the staircase and they nearly ran straight into Filch. He was sniffing about, holding up a lantern and peering into the darkness. They edged around him and scurried to the other end of the corridor. When they had gone two floors down Hermione whispered "He was looking for something." Harry didn't reply. He thought he had heard something from the other end of the corridor. It was the direction in which they were going. Suddenly he heard running footsteps and a grey figure appeared out of the darkness. Then two other larger figures appeared. Harry gulped and grabbed Hermione, pulling her into the shadows, even though they were covered by the Invisibility Cloak. Then Harry recognized the first figure. It was Ron. He was now hiding behind a statue watching the progress of the other two figures. "Stay here and under no circumstances move," he whispered to Hermione. He lifted up the Cloak and stepped out from under it. Hermione tried to grab him but he shook his head frantically at her. "Ron," he hissed. Ron nearly jumped from fright. `Harry, its Crabbe and Goyle. Malfoy went to get Snape. These two chased me all the way here," he whispered.
Harry pulled out his wand and stepped out from behind the large statue. "Leave…Now. Go back to your common room," Harry commanded. Ron also stepped out from behind the statue. "You're not the boss of us and you can't tell us what to do," said one of the still figures. "We know…that's Malfoy's job," said Ron. The two figures were about to take a step forward when a cold voice could be heard coming from down the corridor. "Mr Crabbe and Mr. Goyle, I presume," said Professor Snape. Harry and Ron stared into the darkness in horror. But Crabbe and Goyle who already knew they were caught leaped forward and grabbed Harry in a tight grip. `Ron, to the left. Go," he said trying to get Ron to move over to Hermione so she could cover him with the Invisibility Cloak. Ron copped on and moved to the left. "Hey! He disappeared," said Crabbe stupidly.
Professor Snape had reached them. His wand was lit and was now the only source of light. Malfoy stood behind him. His dark eyes pierced Harry who was still struggling against Crabbe and Goyle's half-nelson. "Well, Well, Potter. Out of bed. After dark. Tut tut tut," He stopped and leered at Harry. Harry felt a fury roar within him as he watched what was supposed to be his teacher, do nothing to stop Crabbe and Goyle as they tightened their grip. They had now lifted Harry off his feet.
"Let him go," Snape drawled when he saw Harry grit his teeth in pain. Harry fell to the ground in a heap. "What were you doing roaming the castle in the middle of the night?" Snape asked dangerously. Harry didn't answer. He didn't make a sound. Then Malfoy started in "I heard Weasley and that Granger. They said they were getting rid of something. And I heard Weasley mention the Astronomy Tower." Harry could hear the excitement in Malfoy's voice. But then it struck him that Malfoy didn't know what they were getting rid of. He didn't know about Norbert. "WHAT were you doing?" Snape repeated becoming increasingly infuriated. Harry went to stand up but Goyle kicked him in the side and Harry fell back to the ground. "You said there was another," said Snape turning to Malfoy. Before Malfoy could answer Crabbe started. "We saw one sir. But he disappeared." Snape lifted his eyebrow. "What do you mean `disappeared'," said Snape impatiently. "One minute he was there. The next he wasn't," explained Goyle.
Harry nearly laughed at how stupid it sounded. Snape looked furious. He bent over and grabbed Harry by his collar. "Were you alone?" His eyes boring into Harry's made Harry feel as if he was being searched. Harry tried to think of anything but what had happened that night. He then shut his eyes and turned away from Snape. Snape let go of him. Snape drew himself up to his fullest height, so that he towered over Harry who was still on the ground.
"I'm afraid, Potter," again he spat the name "that you've just lost your house the lead for the House Cup." Harry felt his breath hitch and he raised his head to look at Snape. An evil smile appeared on Snape's features. "One hundred points will be taken from Gryffindor House. Twenty points will be taken from Slytherin." "But sir," started Malfoy." "You were out of bed, Draco," said Snape in a bored voice. Malfoy didn't react. It was only twenty points. Nothing compared to what Harry had lost.
Snape turned to leave but just then Malfoy aimed a kick at Harry. He then kicked him in the stomach which winded Harry, who because of Crabbe's renewed grip couldn't react. Suddenly the kicking stopped. Harry looked up to see Snape grabbing Malfoy by the scruff of the neck and shaking him. "What do you think you're doing!"
Harry was shocked to see Snape react like this. He didn't think that he cared. "You can serve detention with Potter,' Snape shot at Malfoy. Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle sulked off with Snape striding ahead of them. Harry picked himself up slowly from the ground. His ribs ached and his head was sore. He couldn't believe it. One hundred points lost because of him. He was extremely glad that Hermione and Ron weren't caught.
He slowly made his way back to Gryffindor Tower. When he entered the portrait hole he found Hermione and Ron standing waiting for him. He was quite relieved to find they had left as soon as they could. He hadn't wanted them to see him being tortured by Snape. He had a feeling Hermione would've gone insane. "I can't believe you did that,' said Ron in awe "you took the rap for both of us." Harry looked up at him. "Well I wasn't exactly innocent," he said dryly. "One hundred points," moaned Ron, shaking his head.
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