[ Location: Gryffindor Common Room ][ Date: Late February, 1992 ]
"Vivan, put me down."
"No. It's for magical research."
"It's for your amusement," Neville Longbottom squeaked, currently floating three feet above the rug.
"It's both," I admitted, sweat beading on my forehead.
[ Ability Active: Telekinesis. ]
I was multitasking.
Holding Neville in the air (Weight: ~110 lbs).
Spinning a textbook around my head (Weight: 2 lbs).
With my wand
"Wingardium leviosa"
Eating a licorice wand
'Multitasking is hard. My brain feels like it's doing algebra in a sauna.'
"Please?" Neville asked politely. "I think I'm going to be sick."
I sighed and lowered him gently onto the sofa. "Fine. But you make a great dumbbell, Neville. Never let anyone tell you otherwise."
Shikamaru, who was sleeping on the adjacent armchair, cracked one eye open. "You are noisy. Training is a drag."
"Says the ninja who hasn't moved since breakfast, aren't that your training" I retorted.
The portrait hole swung open. Hermione marched in, looking like a woman on a mission. She had returned from break with a tan (skiing with parents) and a terrifying amount of energy.
"I found him!" she announced, slamming a massive book onto the table, waking Shikamaru fully. "I found Nicholas Flamel!"
Harry and Ron looked up from their game of Exploding Snap. "You did?"
"I checked this out weeks ago for a bit of light reading," Hermione said breathlessly.
"This is light?" Ron stared at the tome, which was thick enough to kill a man.
Hermione ignored him. "Listen to this: 'Nicholas Flamel is the only known maker of the Philosopher's Stone!'"
The boys looked blank.
"The what?" Harry asked.
"Honestly, don't you two read?" Hermione huffed. "The Philosopher's Stone! It turns any metal into gold and produces the Elixir of Life! It makes you immortal!"
"Immortal?" Ron's eyes went wide. "That means... you never die?"
"I think that's what immortal means, Ron," I chimed in, grabbing a handful of Bertie Bott's Beans. "Gold and immortality. No wonder Snape wants it. Or... someone else."
'Voldemort, bro look like walking wall socket, wait did nose job trend came from him!!'
"We have to tell Hagrid," Harry said. "He needs to know we know."
[ Location: Hagrid's Hut ][ Time: 3:00 PM ]
It was sweltering inside the hut. The fire was roaring despite it being a mild day. Hagrid was making tea and sweating like a fountain.
"Hagrid," Harry started. "We know about the Stone. We know about Flamel."
"Oh," Hagrid looked nervous. "Well... good. Now ye can stop meddlin'."
"We're not meddling," I said, eyeing the massive black egg sitting in the middle of the fire. "We're concerned. Mostly about fire safety. Hagrid, why is there an egg in the fireplace?"
Hagrid shifted uncomfortably. "Ah. That. Won it. Down at the pub. Greek fella. Seemed glad to get rid of it, actually."
"Hagrid," Hermione whispered, horrified. "That's a dragon egg."
"Norwegian Ridgeback," Hagrid beamed. "Rare, them are."
"And illegal," Ron added. "Very illegal."
CRACK.
The egg shook. A jagged line appeared on the shell.
"It's coming!" Hagrid squealed, grabbing oven mitts.
We crowded around the table. The shell burst open. A small, scaly, spiny black lizard flopped out. It sneezed, sending a jet of sparks onto Hagrid's beard.
"Bless you!" Hagrid cooed. "Look! He knows his mummy!"
"He looks like a suitcase with teeth," Shikamaru observed from the corner.
The dragon—Norbert—turned its orange eyes toward Shikamaru. It hissed.
"Troublesome lizard," Shikamaru muttered.
Suddenly, Norbert lunged. It snapped at Ron's hand.
"Ow!" Ron jumped back. "It bit me!"
"He's just playing!" Hagrid defended the beast.
Norbert opened his mouth again, aiming for Hermione this time.
'Oh no you don't.'
[ Ability Active: Telekinesis. ]
I just clamped its jaws shut.
Clamp.
Norbert looked confused. He tried to open his mouth. He couldn't. He shook his head, squeaking indignantly.
"Vivan?" Hermione looked at me.
"Just putting a muzzle on the baby," I grinned, tapping my temple. "Safety first."
Hagrid frowned. "Eh? What's wrong with him? Why ain't he roarin'?"
"Maybe he's shy," I lied.
Suddenly, a sound came from the window. The click of a latch.
We all spun around.
Through the gap in the curtains, a pale face with slicked-back blonde hair was peering in.
"Malfoy," Harry hissed.
Malfoy's eyes widened as he saw the dragon. He turned and ran.
"He saw it," Hagrid gasped, dropping the teapot. "He saw Norbert!"
"We're doomed," Ron moaned. "He'll tell Dumbledore. He'll tell everyone!"
"We have to get rid of it," Hermione said ruthlessly. "Now."
"But he's just a baby!" Hagrid wailed, tears leaking into his beard.
"He's a fire hazard with wings, Hagrid," I said, standing up. "And Malfoy is going to sing like a canary."
'I could stop him,' I thought, looking at the door. 'I could use Telekinesis to trip him. I could erase his memory if I use the Obliviate spell, which is one of the spell I found very usefull.'
I hesitated.
'If Malfoy doesn't tell, we don't get detention. If we don't get detention, we don't go to the Forbidden Forest. If we don't go to the Forest, Harry doesn't see Voldemort drinking unicorn blood. He doesn't realize the stakes and I don't get unicorn to sell'
'The plot needs Malfoy to be a snitch and I need unicorn to sell to gain more points from lloyd. Wait I can just go alone too hmm I will do that later and I don't want to make to much changes and he is watching this too, Second strongest dark wizard I need to get him out from Numengard castle for...'
I sat back down. "Let him go. We need a plan to move the dragon."
"Charlie," Ron said, clutching his bitten hand. "My brother Charlie. He works with dragons in Romania. We can send Norbert to him!"
"Brilliant," Harry said. "We'll send a letter."
"And in the meantime?" I asked, looking at the dragon, which was currently trying to chew through the metal kettle.
"We babysit," Hermione sighed.
[ Location: Hogwarts - Astronomy Tower ][ Date: Saturday Night ]
The plan was simple: Smuggle the dragon up to the highest tower, hand it off to Charlie's friends, and don't get caught.
Simple in theory. In practice, carrying a crate containing a squirming, fire-breathing dragon up spiraling stairs while under an Invisibility Cloak was... difficult.
"It's heavy!" Harry whispered.
"It keeps moving!" Hermione hissed.
We were under the cloak—Harry, Hermione, and the crate. I was walking behind them, using Metamorphmagus to blend into the darkness.
Shikamaru and Ron were in the hospital wing (Ron's bite had turned green; Shikamaru claimed sympathy pains to get a bed).
"Almost there," I whispered from the shadows.
We reached the top. The night air was cool.
Four broomsticks swooped down out of the darkness. Charlie's friends. They were cheering.
"Got the package?" one of them asked, grinning.
"Take it," Harry panted, shoving the crate at them. "Please. Take it."
They harnessed the crate between their brooms. Norbert gave a muffled roar from inside.
"Bye, Norbert!" Hagrid called from the grounds below we could hear him sobbing.
They flew off. The dragon was gone.
"We did it," Hermione breathed, leaning against the parapet. "We actually did it."
Harry grinned. "And Malfoy didn't catch us."
"Yeah," I said, looking at the door. "About that."
The door to the tower opened.
Argus Filch stood there, holding a lantern. And behind him, looking smug, was Professor McGonagall.
But they weren't looking at us. They were looking at... nothing?
"I distinctly heard voices," Filch wheezed.
Harry and Hermione were still under the cloak. I was blended into the wall.
"Perhaps it was the wind, Argus," McGonagall said sternly. "Or perhaps..."
She stepped onto the roof.
And then, disaster.
Harry, in his relief, had left the cloak slightly open at the bottom.
Norbert's teddy bear which Hagrid had insisted we pack fell out of Harry's pocket.
Plop.
McGonagall stared at the teddy bear.
"Potter," she said, her voice freezing the air. "I know you're there."
Harry pulled off the cloak. Hermione looked like she was going to faint.
"And Mr. Frostwell," McGonagall added, looking straight at the 'empty' wall where I was standing. "Your camouflage is impressive, but you are breathing rather loudly."
I dropped the illusion, stepping out of the stone texture. "Evening, Professor. Lovely night for astronomy?"
"Detention," McGonagall said. "All of you."
I glanced at Malfoy, who was stepping out from behind Filch, grinning like he'd won the lottery.
"And you, Mr. Malfoy," McGonagall turned on him.
Malfoy's grin faltered. "Professor?"
"You are out of bed after hours," she said briskly. "You will join them."
Malfoy's jaw dropped. "But... I caught them!"
"And broke the rules to do it. Detention. For four students."
"Five," a sleepy voice said from the stairs.
Shikamaru walked up, rubbing his eyes. He was wearing his pajamas.
"Shikamaru?" I blinked. "You were in the hospital wing!"
"I sensed trouble," he yawned. "Thought I should come help. Troublesome timing."
McGonagall looked like she was about to explode.
"Five students," she corrected, her voice trembling with rage. "Ten points from Gryffindor. Each."
"FIFTY" Harry choked.
"Each?!" I calculated. '50 points Damn. The school is going to lynch us.'
"Follow me," McGonagall snapped.
As we marched down the stairs, Malfoy looked terrified. Harry looked crushed. Hermione was crying silently.
I looked at Shikamaru. "Why did you come?"
"Shadow Bind didn't hold the dragon well earlier," he muttered. "Felt like I owed you one."
I smiled, despite the looming disaster.
'The Forbidden Forest awaits.'
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