(TL NOTE: Chapter 122 is missing because the author took a break from the story to update readers about his publishing schedule.)
After Dudley finished speaking, he simply turned and walked toward the dormitory, ignoring the looks of stunned disbelief on Harry, Ron, and Hermione's faces.
"He can't be serious, can he?" Ron said, staring at Dudley's retreating back. "I mean, he actually wants to raise that dragon?"
Harry hesitated for a moment before nodding grimly. "Generally speaking, once Dudley decides on something, no one can change his mind."
"So what do we do?" Hermione asked, her voice laced with worry.
"Pretend we don't know," Ron replied with a shrug. "We can't exactly go and report Dudley and Hagrid, can we? Hopefully, this is just a momentary craze. After a while, when they lose interest, they'll send the dragon away."
The next day, after their afternoon class, Dudley approached the group.
"I'm going to Hagrid's hut to take a look. Do you want to come with me?" Dudley asked, grabbing some food from the dining table and making sure to get extra milk.
"Uh... is it safe?" Harry asked.
"It's no problem."
"Alright then, let's go together." Harry called Ron and Hermione, brought some food, and headed straight for Hagrid's hut.
After Ron knocked, Hagrid opened the door a small crack. Seeing it was Dudley and his friends, he opened the door completely.
"Come in quickly." Hagrid waved his hand, glanced behind them, and after confirming no one was following, quickly closed the door.
"Hagrid, we brought you some food, and Dudley also brought you some milk..." Harry began, but his words trailed off as he saw Dudley walk up to the huge dragon egg in front of the fireplace and pour milk onto it bit by bit.
"It drinks milk?" Ron asked, looking at the scene in disbelief.
"Habits can be cultivated," Dudley said with a smile. "For now, at least, it seems to like it."
"Thank you," Hagrid said, taking the food from Harry's hands. "To take care of Norbert, I haven't been out to eat for several days." He started gobbling down the food.
"Norbert?" Hermione looked at Hagrid in confusion.
"That's the name I gave it. What do you think, not bad, right?" Hagrid said with a smile.
The corners of Harry, Ron, and Hermione's mouths all twitched slightly.
"I checked the books. Although there's no clear record, this Norwegian Ridgeback should hatch within a week," Dudley said after finishing with the milk.
"That's about the same time I estimated. You can all come and witness Norbert's birth then," Hagrid happily invited them.
"Alright... okay." Harry nodded. He was indeed still a bit curious about dragons, even though he knew this magical creature was very dangerous.
"But honestly, Hagrid, you have to consider what to do after it grows up. Norwegian Ridgebacks grow very fast. It will only take a short time for it to become bigger than your house," Ron said.
"I know, so I plan to raise it in the Forbidden Forest then," Hagrid said.
Ron muttered under his breath, "Did you ask if the creatures in the Forbidden Forest agree?"
"They shouldn't have any objections. In the Forbidden Forest..."
Before Hagrid could finish his words, Dudley, who was stroking the dragon egg, suddenly changed his expression and got up to look out the window.
"What's wrong?"
Seeing Dudley's action, the faces of the others all changed. It was a familiar pattern. Dudley's almost preternatural ability to sense danger meant that any unusual action from him sent a jolt of alarm through the rest of them. It had been verified many times.
"Someone's here," Dudley said, looking outside. It was already pitch black, and almost nothing could be seen beyond the faint light spilling from the castle in the distance.
"Are we being followed?" Hermione said with a pale face.
There was no problem with them coming to Hagrid's hut, but the presence of an illegal dragon egg changed everything. If they were caught, the trouble would be immense.
Ron and Harry's faces turned somewhat pale. They had committed quite a few offenses before. If they were caught again related to a fire dragon egg, Professor McGonagall would probably really expel them. Hagrid's face was as white as paper, and he froze on the spot.
"Don't worry, it's not someone from the castle," Dudley said quickly, seeing their fear.
"Not from the castle? What do you mean?" Harry asked.
"It's from the direction of the Forbidden Forest. I think I probably know who it is. Besides, have a little confidence in me. Unless Professor Dumbledore himself decided to follow me, no one else would get this close without me knowing," Dudley added with a light laugh. "Will you wait here, or come with me to take a look?"
"Who is that person?" Ron immediately asked.
"From the aura I sense, it's somewhat familiar. Guess who we know from the Forbidden Forest?" Dudley said.
"Firenze?" Harry's eyes lit up. This was the only creature from the Forbidden Forest they knew.
"Who? What are you talking about?" Hermione was completely confused.
"Let's go, we'll talk as we walk." Dudley opened the door of the hut and was the first to walk out.
"Hagrid, we'll be right back," Harry said goodbye and hurried after Dudley.
"Be careful, you guys. Fang, go with them. I'll be right there." While telling Fang to follow, Hagrid quickly went to hide the dragon egg. Going into the Forbidden Forest at this time, Hagrid was worried about his friends.
"When we got detention out here before, we met a centaur," Ron explained to Hermione as they walked. "He told us some things, but it was all about prophecies and planets moving around... stuff we couldn't make any sense of."
"You... had an experience like that while on detention?" Hermione asked, extremely surprised.
"Well, you should have joined us in dealing with Malfoy," Harry joked from the side. "Then you could have become a glorious member of the detention club too."
"Thanks, but I'm glad I didn't join you," Hermione quickly shook her head.
Dudley walked at the very front. He could already see the tall figure hidden in the darkness of the Forbidden Forest.
Dudley understood. Centaurs held great faith in fate and the movements of the stars. And having experienced another, far more mysterious world, Dudley knew better than anyone the true power of fate and prophecy. Sensing Firenze's presence wasn't a coincidence, it was a sign. That's why he had to investigate. He believed that Firenze would not appear here for no reason. This centaur must have discovered something.
"Good evening, Dudley, Harry." Firenze walked out from behind a large tree and stood where the moonlight could shine on him.
"Good evening, Firenze. It's great to see you again," Dudley said with a smile.
(TL NOTE: Unfortunately, my LOTR: Playing Minecraft in Middle-earth book was mistakenly flagged as spam on Webnovel and removed. I'll re-upload it under a different title by today at the latest. Thank you for your patience!)