Chapter 31 — A Stranger’s Wager

Hagrid took so long to answer that Harry knocked twice. When the door finally opened, there was only room for a head and one enormous shoulder. Hagrid wore an apron, and heat rolled out past him into the cold.

‘Bit late for a visit, isn’t it?’ he asked. Something clattered inside, drawing his attention over his shoulder before Harry could finish assuring him that we would be quick. ‘Sorry. Busy tonight. Come back another time.’

The door closed almost against Harry’s nose. Ron looked from him to me, plainly expecting somebody to improve on that welcome. I stepped closer to the wood and raised my voice just enough to carry through it.

‘Hagrid, we know about the Philosopher’s Stone. We wanted to ask you something.’

Heavy footsteps returned immediately. Hagrid pulled the door open, checked the grounds behind us and ushered us inside with a sweep of his arm. Whatever he had been doing, he apparently preferred it to having that conversation on his doorstep.

A fierce fire filled the hearth, with a large pot suspended above it. Fang lay close to the opposite wall and raised his head as we entered, making no attempt to investigate our hands for food. I could understand his reluctance to move. My face was prickling from the heat, and I had barely crossed the threshold.

‘Snape wants the Stone,’ Harry began. ‘We found out about Flamel, and I heard him threatening Quirrell over Christmas.’

Hagrid shut the door and turned back with a weary expression. ‘You’re still on about Professor Snape? I passed on what you told me about the match to Dumbledore. He knows.’

That answered one question I had brought with me, though it told us nothing about what Dumbledore had done with the report. Harry started explaining the conversation with Quirrell, while Hagrid edged towards the fireplace. When Hermione suggested that Snape might be trying to learn how to bypass another teacher’s protection, Hagrid stopped moving.

‘Professor Snape’s helping protect the Stone himself,’ he said. ‘Dumbledore trusts him with it. Doesn’t that tell you something?’

‘It tells us he’s involved.’ I unfastened my coat, trying to get some air beneath it. ‘We didn’t know which teachers had helped.’

Hagrid looked as though he would have preferred us to take a different lesson from his answer. ‘Nobody’s getting past Fluffy anyway. Only me and Dumbledore know how to manage him, so you can stop worrying and get back before—’

The pot rocked against its hook. Hagrid broke off and hurried to the hearth as another knock sounded from inside it. I followed far enough to see him reach for a pair of thick gloves.

‘What are you cooking?’ I asked. The lid scraped sideways, and he pushed it clear with considerably more care than he usually gave our tea.

He lifted out a dark, lumpy object larger than my head. Heat shimmered above it as he carried it to the table, hissing through his teeth despite the gloves. When he set it down, the thing moved. Ron drew in a breath and leaned forwards, then stopped himself before bringing his face too close.

‘Hagrid, where did you get that?’ he demanded. There was more admiration than alarm in his voice.

‘Won it. Fellow in a pub.’ Hagrid could no longer hide his pleasure, and he looked round at us as if inviting congratulations. ‘Been looking after it since.’

Harry asked what it was. Ron explained that Charlie had shown him pictures of dragon eggs, which made Hermione take a firm step away from the table. She began asking whether Hagrid seriously intended to hatch a dragon at Hogwarts, but a pale crack appeared across the shell before he answered. His attention went straight back to it.

A pointed nose worked through the opening. We watched a black foot push against the shell, widening the crack until fragments slid onto the table. The creature inside struggled after them and collapsed in a heap of damp limbs and crumpled wings. One wing stuck to a piece of shell; it tugged itself free and opened a mouth crowded with tiny teeth.

Hagrid bent over it with both hands hovering. ‘There y’are,’ he murmured. ‘There y’are, little fellow.’

I looked away from the dragon long enough to notice his face. All the hurry and secrecy had disappeared, leaving him so openly delighted that I felt briefly intrusive. He removed one glove and offered a finger, cooing encouragement as the hatchling tried to stand. Ron whispered that it looked like a Norwegian Ridgeback, pointing out the developing ridge along its back.

‘Beautiful, isn’t he?’ Hagrid said. ‘Thinks I’m his mum.’ He lowered his finger, and the dragon lunged for it. ‘Steady, Norbert. No need for that.’

Harry repeated the name with some surprise. Hagrid replied that he had to be called something, then turned back to his new charge. Norbert struck at a fragment of shell, missed and produced a small burst of flame. The ends of Hagrid’s beard glowed before he brushed them out, laughing as though this were a charming effort at conversation.

Fang got up and moved beside the door. I stayed well back from the table while Harry and Ron watched Norbert attempt to climb onto Hagrid’s wrist. It was the first living dragon I had seen, and I wanted a closer look too. Hagrid’s beard provided an excellent reason to resist the temptation.

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‘How big will it get?’ I asked Ron. He glanced at the walls before answering that the hut would certainly not be big enough. Hermione had found a book beside the hearth and was checking its open pages, apparently unwilling to settle for an estimate that vague.

I moved aside to give her room. The empty pot still hung above the fire, and looking at it brought me back to the reason for our visit. Hagrid had just assured us that almost nobody knew how to get past his dog. He had also acquired a dragon egg from somebody he described only as a fellow in a pub.

‘What was the wager about?’ I asked. Hagrid continued rubbing Norbert’s head with the side of a finger, so I tried again. ‘The man who gave you the egg. Did he ask about Fluffy?’

His hand stopped moving. ‘How’d you know that?’ he asked, looking at me with surprise.

The others turned towards us. I felt my stomach tighten and asked what the stranger had wanted to know. Hagrid seemed pleased to explain, as if I had reminded him of an especially successful evening.

‘How I’d manage a three-headed dog,’ he said. ‘The heads sleep in turns, see, so there’s always one awake. Thought he’d caught me out with that.’

‘And you told him how you do it?’ I kept my voice level, though Harry had already moved away from the table. ‘What did you say?’

‘Music. Play something gentle and Fluffy goes straight off, all three heads.’ Hagrid smiled at the memory. ‘Fellow handed over the egg when I explained. Fair wager.’

Harry stared at him. ‘You told a stranger how to get past the dog guarding the Stone. After saying only you and Dumbledore knew.’

‘Wasn’t like that, Harry. We were talking creatures.’ Hagrid looked round the table, apparently searching for somebody who understood the distinction. Norbert had caught the edge of his discarded glove and was pulling at it with both forefeet braced against the wood.

‘He brought something you wanted,’ I said. ‘Then he asked you a question hardly anybody could answer. Did you get his name?’

Hagrid admitted that he had not, but plenty of strangers passed through the pub. That was true enough; it did nothing to improve the sequence of events. I was about to ask what the man had looked like when something scraped outside the window. Hagrid’s head came up at the same moment as mine, and a face vanished beyond the glass.

‘Someone’s out there,’ he said. I reached the door first and pulled it open, letting in a gust of air which suddenly felt far colder than it had on the way down.

A boy was running towards the castle. Ron shouted for us to stop him, but I was already following, trying to see where the path had frozen. Whoever it was might have heard considerably more than a discussion of illegal pets. The thought of losing him made it difficult to judge my pace sensibly.

He had a lead and kept looking over his shoulder. I concentrated on where I was putting my feet, gaining a little whenever he hesitated. My breath began to scrape in my throat before he cut off the track. His shoes broke through the crust of snow beside it, slowing him enough for me to catch up.

I hooked a foot behind his ankle and brought him down, nearly falling with him. He scrambled away on his hands, but I caught his collar and hauled him round. Moonlight showed me a pale, furious face, and some of the pressure behind my ribs eased. Malfoy was an unpleasant surprise, though a more manageable one than the stranger I had begun imagining.

‘Enjoying the view?’ I asked, breathing hard. His attempt to wrench free pulled at my fingers, and I tightened my grip.

‘Get off me, Mercer!’ He kicked at the snow, trying to find enough purchase to stand. Harry, Ron and Hermione reached us before he managed it.

Hagrid remained in the doorway behind them. A crash from inside the hut made him turn back, leaving us with Malfoy and very little time to decide what to do. I asked what he had heard. He smiled up at me despite the fist twisted in his collar.

‘Enough to get the great oaf in trouble. He’s keeping a dragon.’ He looked past me at Harry. ‘Wait until the teachers find out. You can all pack your trunks.’

He had not mentioned Fluffy or the Stone. That did not prove he had heard nothing about them, but the dragon seemed to be the discovery he valued. I pulled him upright, making him stumble before he found his balance.

‘You sound very confident for someone caught peering through a window,’ I said. He tried to straighten his collar and discovered I had not let go.

‘You wouldn’t dare do anything.’ His voice was less steady than the words required. He glanced at the others, then towards the castle.

I followed his glance before looking at the trees. ‘Four of us, one of you, and all that forest. I could knock you senseless and leave you under a bush. Who do you think would find you first?’

Malfoy stopped pulling at my hand. For a moment he seemed to take the threat seriously, and I could feel how easy it would be to keep frightening him. Hermione said my name sharply behind me. I loosened my grip before answering her.

‘I’m not putting him in the forest.’ I looked back at Malfoy. ‘Relax. You can go.’

He stared at me, rubbing his throat where the collar had pressed. Ron stepped forwards as I released him, but Hermione caught his sleeve. I had got Malfoy’s attention through fear; now I needed something that might survive his return to the safety of the castle. He was already watching Harry with the expression I remembered from the flying lesson.

‘Go on, then,’ I said. ‘Tell a teacher. Just don’t come back afterwards pretending you’ve beaten us yourself.’

‘You think I care what you think?’ He pulled his robes straight with an angry jerk. I moved aside, giving him a clear path towards the castle.

‘I think you care who wins. We’ve argued and fought, and I haven’t gone looking for a teacher to finish it for me.’ It was a convenient account of our rivalry, especially with his collar still crumpled from my hand. I pressed on before he could examine it. ‘You want to be our rival? Face us. Or take the easy way. It’s your choice.’

Malfoy looked at Harry, then Ron. His breathing had slowed, but his ears were still red. I waited without stepping back into his path, hoping he would accept the version of events that let him leave with some pride. There was no reason he had to choose it.

‘You’ll regret this,’ he said at last. He walked away quickly, refusing to run while we were watching.

Ron waited until he was well clear before turning on me. ‘That was stupid. He’s going straight to a teacher.’

‘I don’t think he’ll mention the dragon.’ I brushed wet snow from my hands, feeling the cold now that I had stopped running. ‘He wants to prove he can get us himself. I made telling look like admitting he couldn’t.’

‘You hope you did,’ Hermione said. She watched Malfoy reach the castle steps. ‘And you’ve given him something else to be angry about.’

Ron said he had possessed quite enough reasons already. I could hardly dispute that, or pretend I knew what he would do once we were out of sight. Behind us, a furious little screech came from Hagrid’s hut. I turned towards it and told the others to come along; making Malfoy hesitate had not solved the problem waiting on the table.