Whether it was because Sean kept using his wand to help incubate the hatchling, or because his own magical-creatures affinity was kicking in, the baby dragon's closeness rose very fast.
That made Sean see a real chance of crafting a Dragon Cookie before the International Alchemy Congress.
Dragons grow at a remarkable pace; it was never going to stay in Hagrid's hut for long. Sean had roughly three weeks to push Norbert's closeness up by three thousand points—reaching "Familiar (Journeyman)."
So Sean cleared large blocks of time to be at Hagrid's hut—studying dragon behavior while raising the hatchling exactly as the books advised.
While Hagrid was frantically feeding dead rats to the baby, Sean had Store Manager ship in assorted meats. In just a few days, the little dragon had doubled its size.
That left Harry and the others genuinely anxious—especially since Malfoy seemed to have peeked their secret.
"In two more weeks, Norbert will be as long as Hagrid's house," Hermione said, frowning.
"And Malfoy could go to Dumbledore any time," Ron groaned.
Harry suddenly turned to Ron. "Charlie," he said.
"You've gone barmy," Ron replied. "I'm Ron, remember?"
"No—Charlie—your brother Charlie. In Romania. The dragon researcher. We could send Norbert to him. Charlie can handle him and return him to the wild."
"Brilliant!"
Ron and Hermione lit up.
…
Compared with their fretting, Sean—knowing how this ends—remained calm. At this rate, in one more week Norbert's closeness would reach Familiar; Sean allowed himself to shift focus and prepare something else.
The Planner Map reached Expert, and Sean was now only two mid-tier alchemical items away from unlocking the Expert Alchemy title.
One morning, just as Sean started on pumpkin-sweet milk, a great clamoring sounded overhead. Hundreds of owls wheeled into the Great Hall, dropping letters and parcels into chatting crowds below.
A bulging package thumped onto Neville's head. He pulled out an automatic curling wand—and a note:
[Don't forget to tidy your clothes after changing.]
Unfortunately, Neville seemed to forget how to use the curling wand; the moment he touched the handle, it whirred merrily at his back, curling nonstop.
Laughter erupted across the hall until Hermione and Justin, resigned, pinned Neville's flailing arms while yanking the wand free.
Sean watched in silence—and had an idea.
Caretaker's Office.
Though that faint oppressive air still lingered, the place was now brighter and cleaner. A window now charmed to mimic Hogwarts weather showed soft white clouds drifting by; now and then a bird cut across. Mr. Filch was watering a flower—a violet Madam Norris liked best—on the sill. In a room with so little sun, flowers had once stood no chance.
"Mr. Filch," Sean called, knocking.
"Come in, Green," Filch rasped.
The biting doorknob lunged and gnawed; Sean tapped it with his wand and it went still. That was a new discovery—because he understood alchemical constructs and their internal magic flows, he could nudge a tiny pulse of magic to stall them—or even break them.
Sean nudged open the door with…a broom. Filch's eyes fixed at once on the odd broom.
"This is a cleaning broom, sir—it can help you tidy the castle," Sean said, eyes bright.
The cleaning broom was inspired by those enchanted domestic tools in wizarding homes—like the Burrow's self-washing sink or self-mending knitting needles. Sean had made an automatic sweeping broom—will granted via Transfiguration and etched with Cleaning and Disillusionment Charms.
That way, Mr. Filch wouldn't be so furious at mud tracked in by students. One post-rain muddy first-year could keep him scrubbing for an hour; a single Gryffindor Quidditch team on a wet night could fill his entire evening.
At the office door, Filch usually froze like this—stunned—until Sean left, and still hadn't found a "thank you."
"Ah—Madam… Madam…" he muttered at last, clutching Norris and retreating into the office.
The cleaning broom also "volunteered" to do housekeeping in the Hope Room; it actually became common knowledge there even before the Planner Map.
A week later.
Sean was at Hagrid's hut. Norbert was now the size of a large packing crate; Sean levitated a bucket of meat to feed him.
[You gained Journeyman-level closeness with the magical creature: Norwegian Ridgeback (Norbert). Proficiency +10]
Today Norbert became "Familiar" with Sean.
And today, Norbert was leaving.
As Sean had expected, Ron had contacted his brother Charlie, who was sending people to take Norbert from the Astronomy Tower.
"Careful," Sean said, eyeing Hagrid who was about to scoop Norbert up.
"Heh—s'alright, he only bit me boot—he's playin'—he's just a wee 'un," Hagrid chuckled.
The "wee 'un" banged his tail against the wall, rattling the windows.
Sean now reasonably suspected that part of why Hagrid believed beasts "liked" him was because…they had no idea what else to do with him.
Night fell—black and low with clouds.
The five from the Hope Room were excited and on edge. They were going to sneak out—smuggling a dragon.
Norbert was packed into a big cardboard box; Sean lifted it with Wingardium Leviosa, because Harry and the others had no idea how to carry it.
Crossing the dark grounds, Sean once again faithfully broke school rules.
Under the Invisibility Cloak, Harry and the others could almost hear their own hammering hearts.
Sean and Justin wore Disillusionment; and in the night, the venerable castle seemed like a devouring beast. Apart from Sean's calm, the others couldn't help thinking the worst.
Harry worried whether Malfoy had already told Dumbledore and they'd be expelled on the spot. Hermione fretted about omnipresent Mrs. Norris and getting caught by the caretaker. Ron, nerves fraying and underfed, was already wondering whether they could detour to the kitchens afterward.
They climbed the marble stairs of the Entrance Hall and slipped down pitch-dark corridors—up one flight, and another, and another…