[Note: Read up to Chapter - 181 on P patron at: p-atreon.com/Knockturn_Alley]
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Early morning.
It was the first week back after the holidays, and all the little wizards were run off their feet.
Some were frantically making up for the holiday homework they'd "forgotten" to do. The professors, in a rare show of mercy, had given them a week's grace. But if they didn't finish it in time, the punishment would be brutal.
And of course, that didn't mean they were excused from this week's homework either.
Over breakfast, Harry and Aris both received a letter at the same time.
"It's from Hagrid!" Harry said, looking at Aris with excitement. "He's invited us to watch something—he says…"
Harry quickly glanced around to make sure no one was eavesdropping, then lowered his voice to a whisper.
"He reckons the dragon egg is about to hatch—tonight!"
"Seriously? Then we can head over this afternoon!" Ronald's eyes lit up straight away. "It's the weekend anyway, and we can't go to Hogsmeade… why not? It's a dragon!"
"Although it's definitely not as powerful as Iris, it's still a dragon, isn't it?"
Aris gave a small nod, thought for a moment, then said, "Shouldn't be a problem. I'll try to make time. Besides, Iris will be curious about meeting the little dragon too. I'll bring her along when the time comes!"
The three of them then turned their eyes towards Hermione.
"Of course I'm in. Who wouldn't want to see a dragon, right?" the little witch shrugged.
They quickly finished their breakfast, since everyone had other things to get on with.
Harry, for one, was itching to try out his new Invisibility Cloak. Someone had left it neatly folded on his bed in the dormitory—it looked like a Christmas present, though he swore he had no clue who it was from. The note inside the box made it clear the cloak was meant for him. What shocked him most was learning it had once belonged to his father.
Ronald, meanwhile, planned to spend the day in the Gryffindor common room, showing off the Fireball Spell. Word had spread fast, and plenty of curious classmates wanted to see it in action.
Of course, Ronald reckoned the best part was that holding a fireball in one hand just looked dead cool! For instance, Seamus was fascinated by the spell and kept badgering Ron to teach him.
Naturally, Hermione went off to the lab with Aris. Over the past few days, she'd been learning new elemental magic and how to apply elemental energy in spells under his guidance. She felt her strength had improved massively compared to before. That's why she was always keen for Aris's tutoring—no more faffing about with embarrassment or tsundere pride. Truth be told, she'd simply grown used to his teaching over the holidays, and bit by bit she'd put aside her stubborn pride.
After the lot of them left the hall, two sneaky figures slipped over to Malfoy at the Slytherin table and plonked themselves down.
"Master Malfoy, did you hear the news?" Goyle and Crabbe glanced around shiftily and whispered.
"What is it now?" Malfoy looked up, clearly irritated.
squinting as he leaned in. "Reckon they're planning to break school rules?"
"Dragon eggs?" Malfoy frowned.
"Looks like the gamekeeper, Hagrid, got hold of one…" Crabbe added, lowering his voice. "Think they'll get punished if we grass them up?"
"You two really haven't got anything better to do?" Malfoy snapped, clearly fed up, and started to stand. But before he could leave, Goyle and Crabbe shoved him back into his seat.
"Draco, don't you want revenge?"
"Potter's always against you—don't you want to put him in his place?"
"Yeah, what's up with you? You've been acting odd since the holidays. You've been ignoring us—did we do something wrong?"
The pair looked at Malfoy with genuine confusion, doubt flickering in their eyes.
"You'd best not meddle with them," Malfoy muttered darkly.
Thinking of Aris's methods, Malfoy couldn't help but shiver. At this point, he didn't dare say much more, only warning them coldly:
"Harry Potter and Master Aris get on well. If you don't fancy ending up dead for no reason, you'd best not provoke them!"
"Shafiq?" Goyle blinked, staring at him. "What did you just call Shafiq? Master Aris???"
"What's wrong with you, Draco? Why are you talking about Shafiq so respectful all of a sudden? Pansy and the others said you even bowed to him on the train. What's going on in that head of yours?"
Crabbe frowned too, giving Malfoy a look like he was seeing him for the first time.
"Anyway, do as you please—but don't say I didn't warn you."
With that, Malfoy turned sharply on his heel and left.
Goyle and Crabbe were left gaping at each other.
"So… what do we do now?" Goyle muttered.
The two of them weren't used to this. They usually just tagged along behind Malfoy, letting him make all the calls. Thinking for themselves wasn't exactly their strong suit.
"How about we grass them up to Professor Snape?" Crabbe suggested.
"Yeah, that makes sense. That way we don't have to face Shafiq ourselves, and we still give them a proper kicking. Best of both worlds!" Goyle's eyes lit up.
"I heard them say they'd be heading to Hagrid's hut tonight. If we tip Snape off after dinner, they'll have no chance of slipping away!"
The two of them shared a sly glance, quickly hiding their grins. Then, acting as if nothing had happened, they grabbed a few doughnuts and sauntered out of the Great Hall.
Later that evening, after dinner, Aris and his lot hurried down towards Hagrid's hut. On the way, Aris summoned the little red dragon back.
After her time playing in the Forbidden Forest, Iris had clearly grown a fair bit. Her belly looked rounder, and the two horns on her forehead were now faintly glowing.
"Hi, Iris!" Hermione greeted the little red dragon at once.
After that, the two of them hugged Iris and started playing with her.
Even Aris was shoved aside by the little red dragon.
If he didn't already know Iris was a girl, he might've thought this cheeky little dragon had a thing for women—since she always wriggled her way into their arms. With boys like Harry, though, she couldn't care less. Proper proud, that one.
Crunch!
Aris and his mates had just reached Hagrid's hut when the door swung open, almost as if Hagrid had been waiting by it.
"Oh, thank Merlin you're finally here!" Hagrid boomed, waving them inside before turning to Aris. "Aris, come and have a look! This little 'un's about to hatch!"
"You've got more experience with this sort of thing. What was Iris like when she was born? Blimey, I'm nervous… what if this little fella doesn't take to me?"
"You know, I've been looking forward to this little fella's birth for nearly a month!"
"Don't worry, Hagrid," Aris reassured him. He glanced at the fire-dragon egg and said with confidence, "He should be out soon… though it might still take a bit longer."
In truth, Aris hadn't the faintest idea when the hatchling would actually arrive. When Iris was born, all he'd really done was give a drop of blood—the system had handled the rest. No hatching, no waiting around. Still, if Hagrid was so certain the egg would hatch tonight, then chances were, he was right.
Time ticked by slowly.
To pass it, Hagrid laid out some food for them—rock-hard biscuits and overly greasy sweets. Aris wisely kept well away from both. Harry and Ron, on the other hand, weren't so lucky. One nearly cracked a tooth on a biscuit, while the other gagged and downed half a jug of water to wash away the taste.
Worth saying though—the pumpkin juice at Hagrid's was top-notch.
Maybe it was down to the hybrid breeding, but the flavour was odd—strange even—yet it suited Aris's taste. It was the only thing here he didn't mind eating.
"Oi, it's moving!"
Ron, who'd been glued to the dragon egg the whole time, suddenly shouted.
"Blimey, it's about to hatch… it's really about to hatch!!!"
Hagrid's eyes welled up instantly. He looked like a proud mum watching her firstborn, staring at the egg in the crucible as though nothing else in the world mattered. His hands fidgeted helplessly, not knowing where to put themselves.
"Carrot?" Hermione gave Aris a baffled look. "Hagrid's even named the dragon before it's hatched? That's… too much!"
"Why, d'you reckon it's wrong for him to raise a dragon?" Aris asked with a grin.
"Of course it's a problem!" Hermione whispered back firmly.
"Professor Dumbledore would never allow him to keep a dragon here, would he?"
"Then why do you think the professor let me keep one?" Aris said, scratching under Iris's chin like she was some pampered pup.
That little move instantly rubbed Iris the wrong way.
"Of course Iris is different!" Hermione said firmly, clutching the little red dragon in her arms. "She's our partner, cleverer than most dragons by far. How could she be the same as the rest?"
"Fair enough, I was only having a laugh!" Aris muttered, feeling the dragon's resentful glare on him. He rubbed his nose awkwardly and wisely dropped the subject.
Soon enough, everyone's eyes were drawn to the little fire dragon egg sitting in the crucible.
A jagged crack had already appeared on the shell, and a faint clicking sound echoed out.
Knowing what was about to happen, Hagrid hurriedly shoved on a pair of thick gloves, carefully lifted the egg from the blazing crucible, and set it gently on the table.
Crack… crack…
The sound of the shell breaking grew louder and sharper.
On the table, the fire dragon egg began to split apart at a pace you could see with the naked eye.
Then, with a sharp crack, a tiny head poked through the eggshell and slowly lifted itself free.
Iris, the little red dragon, perked up at once. She fluttered her wings lightly and landed on the table, peering curiously at the newborn fire dragon wriggling out of its shell.
"This little fella's got a proper bit of fire in him!"
Still, Iris looked unimpressed and gave the hatchling a gentle swipe with her claws.
"Ahem—!"
The little dragon squeaked, stumbled back two steps, and coughed out a few sparks from its mouth.
"Aris, mind your dragon, will you? She's scaring the poor mite!" Hagrid quickly scooped up the newborn and stroked its back in comfort.
"Hagrid, I'd put him down if I were you, or you'll have your beard singed clean off when he breathes fire," Aris warned, remembering the scene from the original story.
"It's fine," Hagrid said cheerfully, still fussing over the hatchling. "The little chap's only just hatched—he won't be spitting flames yet!"
"Woo~!" little dragon nuzzled against the back of Hagrid's hand affectionately.
But, right on cue, a few sparks spluttered out of his mouth. They were hotter than expected, and the moment they touched Hagrid's beard, it caught alight. In an instant, the whole room filled with the acrid smell of singed hair.
"Hagrid…" Harry and the others looked like they were about to burst out laughing but didn't quite dare. They scrambled for some water and managed to douse the flames, leaving Hagrid's beard only half-charred.
"I knew it…" Aris shook his head helplessly.
"You cheeky little rascal, don't muck about with fire!" Iris roared at the tiny fire dragon.
Maybe it was the sheer pressure of the Red Dragon's aura, or just the natural dominance of her bloodline, but the little dragon instantly cowered in Hagrid's arms, trembling. He lowered his head towards Iris in clear submission.
"Aris… your dragon's a bit much!" Hagrid grumbled, exasperated.
"You daft oaf, I was only sticking up for you! Or would you rather I let the little lad burn your whole beard clean off? Hmph!" Iris lifted her head proudly, snorting with a smug look on her face.
"Alright, Iris!" Aris scooped the little red dragon into his arms, stroking her gently. "Hagrid's just fussing over the newborn, he doesn't mean to blame you…"
Then he turned to Hagrid. "Are you really planning on keeping this dragon cooped up in your hut? That's hardly proper. Best let Dumbledore know and have him placed with Iris, deep in the Forbidden Forest!"
"Otherwise, the parents and governors will never allow a beast like this to stay here. And besides…" Aris's eyes suddenly sharpened. Before anyone else could react, he flicked his hand towards the window. A startled yelp came from outside — someone had clearly been eavesdropping.
"Draco?" Aris asked, baffled.
Given his current standing with the Malfoy family, Draco shouldn't have been skulking about here. So what was going on?
"Master Aris, I only came to warn you…" Malfoy blurted the moment he was caught, a flicker of panic on his pale face. "Goyle and Blaise overheard your chat… They've probably already gone to tell a professor by now!"
But before anyone could respond, a low, oily voice drifted in from just beyond the door.
"A little late for warnings, wouldn't you say?"
It was Snape.
Every young wizard in the room froze. Their hearts sank as one dreadful thought hit them all —
We're done for. We've been caught breaking school rules… and of all people, it's Snape who's found out.
Punishment was now a dead cert.
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Drop Power Stonessssssssss!
[Note: Read up to Chapter - 181 on P patron at: p-atreon.com/Knockturn_Alley]