Inside the small cabin, only Lucien and Hagrid remained.
Setting down his empty teacup, Lucien hesitated for a moment before deciding to be straightforward. "Hagrid, I've got a big favor to ask. Could you help me out with something?"
"Oh, sure thing! What's up?" Hagrid replied, his back to Lucien as he carefully turned the dragon egg in the fireplace, making sure it rested comfortably in the flames.
Hagrid's easygoing response made Lucien pause, but he pressed on. "If it's alright, could I take care of that dragon egg?"
This time, Hagrid didn't answer right away. The only sounds in the room were the crackling of burning wood and the bubbling of the kettle.
After several long minutes, Hagrid's deep, gruff voice rumbled, sounding a bit hoarse. "Lucien, do you really need it?"
"Yeah," Lucien said simply.
Another stretch of silence followed. Hagrid's voice dropped even lower. "You'll take good care of it, right?"
Before Lucien could respond, Hagrid mumbled on, "I know you're a kind person, Lucien, and real smart—way smarter than me. You'd probably do a better job looking after it, but…"
His voice broke. "But my dream's always been to raise a dragon. Finally, someone gave me a dragon egg…"
"Sob… That fella was a good guy, even if he kept his face hidden. He treated me to loads of drinks, chatted with me about everything from dragons to three-headed dogs. Oh, he's gotta be someone who loves magical creatures…"
The more Hagrid spoke, the more confused Lucien felt. Wait, was Hagrid crying? And wasn't it obvious that the guy who gave him the egg was Quirrell, clearly fishing for information?
Lucien, caught off guard, wasn't sure how to comfort him.
"Lucien, you've gotta treat it right," Hagrid said, his voice trembling. "I'd already picked out a name for the little guy—Norbert. Harry and Hermione were right, I know. Dragons grow fast, and they're hard to hide. But you've got that fancy gourd container…"
"Sob… You'll bring Norbert to visit me sometimes, won't you?"
As he spoke, Hagrid pulled out a grimy, rough handkerchief, wiping his tears before blowing his nose loudly. He slipped on thick oven mitts, preparing to lift the dragon egg from the fire to hand it to Lucien, but he turned his head away, as if he couldn't bear to look at it.
"Uh, Hagrid, I'm still a first-year," Lucien said quickly. "I'll be at Hogwarts for years. It's not like I'm gonna take Norbert and disappear. You'll see him all the time."
As he spoke, Lucien gently stopped Hagrid's hands. "Keep the egg here. Once it starts hatching, you can't interrupt the process."
Hagrid quickly pulled his hands back, awkwardly brushing at his tangled beard. "Oh, right, sorry! I didn't know."
He sighed. "You really do know more, don't you, Lucien? Norbert's better off with you…"
Seeing Hagrid slump again, Lucien tried to cheer him up. "I just learned this stuff from friends. If you want, I'll teach you everything I know. And if Norbert has babies someday, or if I come across another dragon egg or hatchling, how about you help raise them?"
Hagrid's eyes lit up. "Really? Could I look after more than one?"
Lucien grinned. "Of course, as many as you want."
Hagrid nodded eagerly. "Oh, I'd love that! My dream's to raise a dragon, but two? That'd be…"
Seeing Hagrid relax and start to daydream, Lucien let out a quiet sigh of relief. He needed to raise a dragon to fulfill the terms of his magical structuring technique's annual debt, which meant spending at least six months with it and finding other dragons.
Norbert was a Norwegian Ridgeback, so Lucien's goal was to master that species, maybe even make Norbert a leader among its kind. If he came across more eggs or hatchlings later, he could make good on his promise to Hagrid.
Hagrid was a good guy, the kind who'd do anything for a friend. Lucien meant to keep his word.
…
One morning, a faint crack sounded in the cabin.
Lucien and Hagrid crouched by the fireplace, eyes glued to the black dragon egg. The orange-yellow flames had turned a vivid crimson-gold.
Used to these "magical flames," Hagrid suddenly slapped his forehead, jumped up, and rushed to the table. He scribbled a note, whistling for an owl outside.
"Gotta let Harry and the others know—Norbert's about to hatch!" he explained, sending the owl off with the letter before squatting back down beside Lucien, staring nervously at the egg in the crimson-gold flames.
A tiny crack had appeared on its surface.
They thought Norbert would hatch soon, but nothing happened after that initial crack.
As they waited, Hagrid grew antsy. "Lucien, is this normal? It's been over an hour!"
"Don't worry," Lucien said, waving a hand to calm him. "Dragon hatching takes time. For a Norwegian Ridgeback, it can take anywhere from four to eight hours from the first crack to fully emerging."
Part of this came from what he'd learned from Newt, but Lucien was also using his Eye of Insight to monitor the egg. The hatchling's magical pathways looked healthy and strong. The Qilin's purifying flames had done their job—Norbert wouldn't be at any disadvantage from the start.
Since Ravenclaw had no classes that morning, Lucien stayed by the egg.
Crack, crack.
A louder sound came from the eggshell.
At the same moment, a knock sounded at the door. Harry, Ron, and Hermione hurried in, their hands and robes smudged with dirt—probably fresh from Herbology class.
With Hagrid and the four young wizards gathered around, a sharp scraping noise broke the silence.
The eggshell split open.
A small dragon scrambled out, flopping onto the floor. Its black scales shimmered with faint traces of gold. Its wings, oversized for its body, were covered in short, sharp spines.
Hagrid reached out to pat the dragon's head but yelped as it bit his finger. He shot to his feet, his face pale.
Harry, thinking he was hurt, started to ask, but Hagrid's trembling voice cut him off.
"Someone's watching us from outside!"