"Quick question, Hagrid. What exactly are you planning to do once the egg hatches? Keeping dragons is illegal, and it won't take long at all before the thing gets far too big to hide," Julian said seriously, making Hagrid go stiff before an embarrassed look crossed his face.
"You know, I hadn't really thought that far ahead, but I'm sure I'll come up with summat," Hagrid said dismissively, though Julian had no intention of letting that answer stand.
"Maybe you could write to Newt Scamander. With how much he loves magical creatures, he would probably be more than willing to help," Julian suggested helpfully.
"Mr. Scamander's a busy man. Wouldn't want to bother him over something like this," Hagrid said, clearly trying to avoid the idea.
"Well, if we send him a letter and he can't help, then we can figure out another plan after that, can't we?" Julian said reasonably.
Hagrid let out a defeated sigh. "You're right, of course. But I'd like to wait until the little one's hatched before I send that letter," Hagrid replied, and Julian accepted that since he also wanted to witness a dragon hatching. It was a rare and incredibly valuable opportunity, and there was no reason to waste it if it had fallen into his lap.
...
Later, within his mindscape, Celebrimbor had a very different suggestion, one Julian found completely unacceptable.
"You should kill the vile creature before it hatches. Dragons are greedy, violent monsters that ought to be exterminated down to the very last one," the old elf said seriously.
"Maybe that was true in your world, but here they're basically just oversized fire breathing lizards," Julian shot back, refuting the elf even as he dodged a punch aimed at his face.
"We shall find out soon enough," Celebrimbor said before faking another strike and then driving a kick into Julian's face hard enough to snap his head back from the force.
...
A week passed after that, and during breakfast Harry received a letter from Hagrid containing only two words.
{It's hatching}
They immediately began discussing it, which Malfoy overheard. The group skipped class and headed straight for the hut, which was much cooler than before now that Hagrid had put out the fire for the hatching. The egg rested on the rough wooden table, shifting every so often while scraping noises came from inside it. Everyone watched with held breath as cracks spread across the shell and it slowly split apart before finally opening fully to reveal the dragon hatchling inside.
It was an ugly little black thing with rough, wrinkled skin and two large leathery wings where its front legs should have been. To Julian's magical senses, though, it was an entirely different matter. The magic in the air shifted and sang the instant the dragon truly entered the world. It was strange and beautiful all at once, and in Julian's opinion that alone made the trip worthwhile, because it finally revealed why nobody had ever managed to transform into a magical beast using the Animagus ritual.
If every magical beast's birth is like this, then the reason nobody becomes one is because they never gain the worldly resonance magical beasts receive at birth, he thought excitedly. Wizards never receive any such resonance from the world when they are born or when their magic awakens, so they can only become the nearest nonmagical animal that matches their personality. In theory, if I can figure out how to trigger that worldly resonance during the Animagus ritual, I should be able to take the form of a magical beast when I transform. Or I could die for tampering with the ritual that way. More research is definitely needed, he thought seriously.
Julian had no doubt at all what magical beast he would become if he succeeded, since his very soul was made from the integrated spirit of one. Taking that shape would be enormously beneficial, not to mention the prestige that would come with pulling off such a feat. The only animagus in history to assume the form of a magical beast, a title like that would inspire awe and jealousy all across the world. It would also help lessen the impact when he revealed his immortality later on.
The dragon carefully looked at every single person in the hut, but its attention locked onto Julian almost immediately. Curious about the reason, Julian stepped toward it, only for the creature to unexpectedly retreat in fear.
"I thought dragons were supposed to be fearless and wild. This one seems sort of... not, I guess?" Tracy said in confusion.
Julian knew exactly why it was behaving that way. To the dragon's senses, it was standing in the presence of a larger and more powerful creature, or at least that was what instinct was telling it. Just like in the book, Malfoy also spotted the dragon and hurried back up to the castle, leaving most of the group worried about what he intended to do with that information.