Whether it was Sean constantly using his wand to help the little dragon hatch, or his natural affinity with magical creatures kicking in, Norbert's affection level was shooting up like crazy.
That gave Sean real hope: he could probably finish the Dragon Cookie before the International Alchemical Conference.
Dragons grow insanely fast. Norbert couldn't stay in Hagrid's hut much longer. Sean figured he had maybe three weeks to push the affection up another 3,000 points and hit Friendly (Apprentice).
So he cleared his schedule and basically moved into Hagrid's hut, studying dragon behavior while raising Norbert exactly by the book.
While Hagrid fumbled around feeding Norbert dead rats, Sean had already ordered all kinds of meat from Gladrags. In just a few days, the little dragon doubled in size.
That had Harry and the others seriously freaking out—especially since Malfoy had definitely been snooping.
"Two more weeks and Norbert's gonna be as long as Hagrid's house," Hermione said, frowning.
"And Malfoy could run to Dumbledore any second," Ron groaned.
Harry suddenly spun toward Ron.
"Charlie."
Ron blinked. "You're losing it, mate. I'm Ron, remember?"
"No—Charlie! Your brother Charlie! The one in Romania who studies dragons. We can send Norbert to him. Charlie'll take care of him and release him into the wild."
"Brilliant!" Ron and Hermione lit up.
…
Compared to their panic, Sean—who already knew how this ended—was totally chill.
At this rate, Norbert would hit Friendly in another week. Sean relaxed a little and started thinking about other projects.
The Planning Map had finally reached Expert. He was only two mid-tier alchemical creations away from unlocking the Expert Alchemist title.
One morning:
Sean was just enjoying some pumpkin sweet-milk when the ceiling exploded into chaos. Hundreds of owls swooped in, circling the Great Hall and dropping letters and packages on everyone mid-conversation.
A huge, lumpy parcel smacked Neville right on the head. He pulled out… an automatic hair-curler.
And a note:
Don't forget to tidy the clothes you take off.
Too bad Neville had no clue how the thing worked. The second he touched the handle, it started rolling like mad across his back.
The whole Hall cracked up. Hermione and Justin finally had to pin a flailing Neville down while the other wrestled the curler off him.
Sean watched quietly, an idea forming.
Caretaker's office.
The place still had that weird oppressive vibe, but it was way brighter and cleaner now. The windows magically mirrored Hogwarts' weather—fluffy white clouds drifting by, birds occasionally streaking past.
Mr. Filch was watering flowers. On the windowsill sat Mrs. Norris's favorite purple violets. Flowers never survived in here before there was sunlight.
"Mr. Filch."
Sean knocked.
"Come in quick, Green."
The snapping doorknob was chomping away like crazy. Sean tapped it once with his wand and it froze.
New trick—he'd gotten so familiar with alchemical constructs and their internal magic flows that he could stall them with a tiny pulse of power, or even break them outright.
Sean pushed the door open, broom in hand. Filch spotted it immediately.
"It's a Cleansweep, sir. It'll help you keep the castle clean."
Sean's eyes were practically sparkling.
The idea came from wizarding household gadgets—like the self-washing sink at the Burrow or the auto-mending knitting needles.
Now Sean had built a self-cleaning broom, enchanted with a will through Transfiguration and engraved with Scouring Charms and Disillusionment Charms.
That way Filch wouldn't lose his mind every time kids tracked in mud.
One rainy-day Gryffindor Quidditch team alone could keep the poor man scrubbing all night.
At the office door, Filch just stood there stunned. Sean was gone before the caretaker managed to say thank you.
"Ah—Mrs. Norris, Mrs. Norris…"
In the end he just hugged his cat and retreated inside.
The Cleansweep also started doing chores around Hope Cottage. The gang actually discovered it before the Planning Map.
Another week later.
Back at Hagrid's hut, Norbert was now the size of a big moving box. Sean directed buckets of meat while the dragon chowed down.
You have gained affection from the magical creature Norwegian Ridgeback (Norbert) to Apprentice standard. Proficiency +10
Today was the day Norbert hit Friendly.
And today was the day he'd be sent away.
Exactly like Sean expected, Ron had gotten in touch with Charlie. Charlie's friends were coming to the Astronomy Tower tonight to pick Norbert up.
"Careful," Sean couldn't help saying as Hagrid tried to hug the dragon.
"Heh heh—no worries! He only bit my boots—he's just playing! Still just a little baby, isn't he?"
The "little baby" slammed his tail against the wall—bang bang—rattling the windows like crazy.
Sean was starting to suspect that when Hagrid thought magical creatures liked him, part of it was just that they'd given up trying to kill him.
Then came the pitch-black, cloudy night.
The five kids from Hope Cottage were a bundle of nerves and excitement.
They were breaking curfew—and smuggling a dragon while doing it!
Norbert was stuffed in a huge crate. Sean cast a Levitation Charm to float the thing; otherwise Harry and the others had no clue how they'd carry it.
Walking through the dark grounds, Sean was once again casually breaking every school rule in the book.
Harry and the others huddled under the Invisibility Cloak, hearts pounding so loud they were sure someone would hear.
Sean and Justin had cast Disillusionment Charms. The castle that looked ancient and friendly by day now felt like a giant monster ready to swallow them whole. Everyone except calm-as-ever Sean let their imaginations run wild.
Harry worried Malfoy had already ratted them out to Dumbledore and they were walking straight into expulsion.
Hermione worried about Mrs. Norris popping up anywhere and getting them caught by Filch.
Ron—because nerves had killed his appetite—was wondering if they could swing by the kitchens after dropping off Norbert.
So up the marble staircase they went, through pitch-black corridors, up one flight, then another…