Chapter 135: Hatching a Dragon Egg, The Trio’s Growing Worries - Hogwarts Loan Magic System!!!!

At Hagrid's hut, Lucien was poking at the firewood in the fireplace with a poker, coaxing the flames to burn hotter.

It was mostly for show.

According to Newt's teachings, hatching a dragon egg required a mother dragon's constant warm breath, with occasional bursts of low-intensity dragon fire. That fire was the key.

A dragon's magical flames burned at extreme temperatures and carried unique magical elements that nourished the embryo's growth and development.

Regular firewood flames could, at best, get the egg to hatch.

But the baby dragon's later development would suffer.

So, while Hagrid was out, Lucien had Luster mix a wisp of its purifying fire—nearly pure gold in color—into the firewood.

That ensured the egg got the heat it needed.

Of course, Lucien followed Newt's guidelines, having Luster carefully control the fire's temperature range to avoid turning the dragon egg into a roasted snack.

As for the special magical elements in dragon's breath, Lucien couldn't quite replicate those.

Catching an adult dragon to help hatch the egg wasn't an option—knowing their fiery tempers, it'd probably just gobble the egg up as a snack.

Still, Lucien's gut told him the qilin's purifying fire might have an even more remarkable effect.

After his recent experiences, Lucien had grown to trust his instincts—or rather, his unique sense of intuition.

"Lucien, you've been working hard. Take a break and try one of my ferret sandwiches," Hagrid said, setting tea and snacks on the round table before taking the poker from Lucien's hands to tend the fire.

Lucien eyed the table. The spread was very Hagrid.

He picked up a cup of tea and sipped it, steering clear of the ferret sandwiches—a true culinary crime. Instead, he grabbed a rock cake, discreetly casting a few softening charms before taking a bite.

Rock cakes were tough as nails, but honestly, pretty tasty once you got past the texture.

"Hey, Lucien, you said dragon eggs need high heat, right? Is this fireplace enough?" Hagrid asked.

"No worries, I've mixed in some magical fire. It's not quite dragon's breath, but it's way better than regular firewood," Lucien replied.

Hagrid clapped his hands excitedly.

"Thanks, Lucien! You're a real good guy."

That made Lucien pause. Truth was, he wanted that dragon egg for himself.

Not that he'd swindle Hagrid—he'd compensate him, of course—but how to bring it up?

Knock, knock, knock—

A loud rapping at the door interrupted his thoughts. Hagrid quickly pushed the dragon egg deeper into the fire and hung a kettle over it before heading to answer the door.

Lucien glanced at the kettle, noticing it was bone-dry. Shaking his head, he flicked his wand, silently casting Aguamenti to fill it with water.

"Oh, it's Harry! Come on in, all of ya!"

The trio—Harry, Ron, and Hermione—stepped into Hagrid's hut, immediately hit by the stifling heat. It was spring, yet the fireplace roared like it was midwinter.

And there, by the fire, was Lucien.

After exchanging quick greetings with him, the trio sat down. When Hagrid offered them ferret sandwiches, they all politely—and wisely—declined.

"Hagrid, no beating around the bush," Harry said. "Besides Fluffy, what else is guarding the Philosopher's Stone?"

"No, no, no, I can't tell ya that! You lot already know too much!" Hagrid waved his hands frantically, then added, "Besides, I don't even know, so I've got nothin' to tell ya!"

The trio exchanged glances, while Lucien sipped his tea calmly. Finally, Hermione spoke up.

"Hagrid, nothing in this school gets past you. We just want to know who else set up protections for the Stone."

She paused, then added in a sweet tone, "Besides you, who else could Dumbledore trust to help?"

Hagrid's face lit up with a proud grin. Harry and Ron quietly gave Hermione thumbs-up.

Lucien, too, was impressed. No wonder Hermione was the brains of the group—not just early on, but the whole way through. She'd hit Hagrid's weak spot perfectly.

Clever girl, Lucien thought.

Hagrid cleared his throat. "Well, I s'pose it's fine to say. I lent 'em Fluffy, and some of the other professors set up their own magical protections."

He took a big gulp of tea, reminiscing. "Like Professor McGonagall, Professor Flitwick, Professor Sprout, Professor Quirrell, Professor Snape…"

"Oh, and o' course, Dumbledore himself added somethin' to it."

The trio perked up at one name.

"Snape's involved?" they asked in unison.

Hagrid looked at them like it was obvious. "Yeah, he's a Hogwarts professor, ain't he? Why would he steal the Stone? There ya go, your only suspect's cleared…"

While they mulled over who might really be after the Stone, Harry's eyes caught something in the fire.

A large, black, egg-shaped thing?

"Hagrid, what's that?"

Hagrid tensed, tugging at his beard. "Er, that's, uh…"

Ron, curious, stepped closer to inspect it. Hermione, looking serious, said, "Hagrid, that's dangerous. Those things breathe terrifying flames, and…"

She glanced around. "You live in a wooden hut."

Hagrid puffed out his chest, chuckling. "No worries! Lucien's already charmed the house and furniture to be fire- and water-proof."

"Plus, I've read loads of books…"

While Hagrid rummaged for a book, Hermione shot Lucien a suspicious look, clearly wondering how long he'd known about the dragon egg.

Lucien just sipped his tea, pretending not to notice.

"Look here!" Hagrid returned, waving a book. "Says dragon eggs need to be kept in fire. After they hatch, you gotta feed 'em a bucket of brandy mixed with chicken blood every half hour. Can you imagine? A little fella drinkin' that much!"

"Mine's a Norwegian Ridgeback, Lucien told me. I checked the book later, and he was right!"

"Oh, my dream's always been to raise a dragon. Well, before that, it was a three-headed dog. And before that, an Acromantula…"

Hagrid hummed a tune as he tended the fire.

The trio tried to talk him out of it, but Hagrid had clear plans for the egg and the dragon that might hatch.

Noticing Lucien wasn't saying much either, they gradually dropped the subject.

After a short chat, Harry, Ron, and Hermione said their goodbyes.

They had a lot on their plates lately.

Protecting the Philosopher's Stone from falling into the wrong hands, keeping Hogwarts safe, and now worrying about Hagrid raising a dragon.

The trio was getting more and more stressed.

On top of that, end-of-year exams were looming, and schoolwork was piling up.

Lucien had mentioned his own final exams, but luckily, they overlapped with Hogwarts' curriculum, so it was like early revision.

Hermione was thrilled, of course. Harry and Ron, not so much. They vividly remembered Lucien saying, "Some students mentioned the workload's been too light, so we're stepping things up…"

It wasn't exactly fair, but Harry and Ron's first thought was to "suspect" Hermione had said it. Then they realized that didn't add up—Hermione would've said it to everyone's face, not privately to Lucien.

That left two suspects: Malfoy, obviously, or that new Slytherin girl, Greengrass.

Malfoy was the prime suspect, but they couldn't figure out his motive.

Still, Harry and Ron were determined. For the sake of their future peace, they had to find the snitch!

Chapter 135 - Chapter 135: Hatching a Dragon Egg, The Trio’s Growing Worries