16 Mistakes (1/2)
Quirrell, however, must have been braver than they'd thought. In the weeks that followed he did seem to be getting paler and thinner, but it didn't look as though he'd cracked yet. Whenever Harry passed Quirrell these days he gave him an encouraging sort of smile, and Ron had started telling people off for laughing at Quirrell's stutter. Arth would just silently watch with a blank face.
Hermione, however, had more on her mind than the Sorcerer's Stone. She had started drawing up study schedules and colorcoding all her notes. Harry and Ron wouldn't have minded, but she kept nagging them to do the same.
”Hermione, the exams are ages away.”
”Ten weeks,” Hermione snapped. ”That's not ages, that's like a second to Nicolas Flamel.”
”But we're not six hundred years old,” Ron reminded her. ”Anyway, what are you studying for, you already know it all.”
”What am I studying for? Are you crazy? You realize we need to pass these exams to get into the second year? They're very important, I should have started studying a month ago, I don't know what's gotten into me. I mean look at Arth, he's been studying since before Christmas.”
Ron turned around in horror.
”Is what she said true? Don't tell me it is.”
Arth just gave a shrug. ”I just went over the course books a couple times. No biggie.”
”NO BIGGIE? No wonder you looked sick and tired all the time, you weren't resting but torturing yourself with self given homework.”
”I find studying quiet relaxing.”
”And that's why you were all sick and pale?”
”...”
”Both if you are monsters, who studies during the holidays?”
”People who are successful in life,” replied Arth with a grin leaving Ron speechless.
Unfortunately, the teachers seemed to be thinking along the same lines as Hermione. They piled so much homework on them that the Easter holidays weren't nearly as much fun as the Christmas ones. It was hard to relax with Hermione next to you reciting the twelve uses of dragon's blood or practicing wand movements or while you could hear the constant scribbling of Arth's quill.
They spent most of their free time in the library with her, trying to get through all their extra work.
”I'll never remember this,” Ron burst out one afternoon, throwing down his quill and looking longingly out of the library window. It was the
first really fine day they'd had in months. The sky was a clear, forget-me-not blue, and there was a feeling in the air of summer coming.
”Hagrid! What are you doing in the library?”
Hagrid shuffled into view, hiding something behind his back. He looked very out of place in his moleskin overcoat.
”Jus' lookin',” he said, in a shifty voice that got their interest at once. ”An' what're you lot up ter?”
He looked suddenly suspicious. ”Yer not still lookin' fer Nicolas Flamel, are yeh?”
”Oh, we found out who he is ages ago,” said Ron impressively. ”And we know what that dog's guarding, it's a Sorcerer's St -”
”Shhhh!” Hagrid looked around quickly to see if anyone was listening. ”Don' go shoutin' about it, what's the matter with yeh?”
”There are a few things we wanted to ask you, as a matter of fact,” said Harry, ”about what's guarding the Stone apart from Fluffy -”
”SHHHH!” said Hagrid again. ”Listen - come an' see me later, I'm not promisin' I'll tell yeh anythin', mind, but don' go rabbitin' about it
in here, students aren' s'pposed ter know. They'll think I've told yeh -”
”You should just not tell us that if it's that's important-”
”See you later, then,” said Harry while hurriedly covering Arth's mouth.
Hagrid shuffled off.
”Come on Arth, why you got to ruin it for us, there's no harm in knowing.”
”It will if it has anything to do with that dog.”
”What was he hiding behind his back?” Asked Hermione thoughtfully.
”Do you think it had anything to do with the Stone?”
”I'm going to see what section he was in,” said Ron, who'd had enough of working. He came back a minute later with a pile of books in his arms and slammed them down on the table.
”Dragons!” he whispered. ”Hagrid was looking up stuff about dragons! Look at these: Dragon Species of Great Britain and Ireland; From Egg to Inferno, A Dragon Keeper's Guide.”
”Maybe Hagrid is raising a dragon,”. Said Arth in a joking manner.
”Hagrid's always wanted a dragon, he told me so the first time I ever met him, ” said Harry. ”He might just want to learn about them. We can ask when we meet him later.”
When they knocked on the door of the gamekeeper's hut an hour later, they were surprised to see that all the curtains were closed. Hagrid called ”Who is it?” before he let them in, and then shut the door quickly behind them.
It was stifling hot inside. Even though it was such a warm day, there was a blazing fire in the grate. Hagrid made them tea and offered them stoat sandwiches, which they refused.
”So yeh wanted to ask me somethin'?”
”Yes,” said Harry. There was no point beating around the bush. ”We were wondering if you could tell us what's guarding the Sorcerer's Stone apart from Fluffy.”
Hagrid frowned at him.
”0' course I cant, he said. ”Number one, I don' know meself. Number two, yeh know too much already, so I wouldn' tell yeh if I could. That stone is here fer a good reason. It Was almost stolen outta Gringotts - I s'ppose yeh've worked that out an' all? Beats me how yeh even know abou' Fluffy.”
”Ron and Harry led us straight to him. Charming specimen, wish I knew how to calm him down.”
”Blimey, you met him? Isn't he quiet the fella? but I'm not going to tell you anything more.”
”Come on Hagrid, we only wondered who had done the guarding, really.” Hermione went on. ”We wondered who Dumbledore had trusted enough to help him, apart from you.”
Hagrid's chest swelled at these last words.
”Well, I don' s'pose it could hurt ter tell yeh that... let's see... he borrowed Fluffy from me... then some o' the teachers did enchantments... Professor Sprout - Professor Flitwick - Professor McGonagall -” he ticked them off on his fingers, ”Professor Quirrell -- an' Dumbledore himself did somethin', o' course. Hang on, I've forgotten someone. Oh yeah, Professor Snape.”
”Snape?”
”Yeah, yer not still on abou' that, are yeh? Look, Snape helped protect the Stone, he's not about ter steal it.”
”You're the only one who knows how to get past Fluffy. aren't you, Hagrid?” said Harry anxiously. ”And you wouldn't tell anyone, would you? Not even one of the teachers?”
”Not a soul knows except me an' Dumbledore,” said Hagrid proudly. ”Well, that's something,” Harry muttered to the others.
Arth frowned.
”Hagrid, are you actually keeping a dragon in here, the temperature is too hot for you to say that you like the heat, and it is the optimal temperature for raising baby dragons... no way.”
Arth ran toward the fireplace.
Sure enough, in the very heart of the fire, underneath the kettle, was a huge, black egg.
”Ah,” said Hagrid, fiddling nervously with his beard, ”That's er...”
”Where did you get it, Hagrid?” said Ron, crouching over the fire to get a closer look at the egg. ”It must've cost you a fortune.”
”Won it,” said Hagrid. ”Las' night. I was down in the village havin' a few drinks an' got into a game o' cards with a stranger. Think he was quite glad ter get rid of it, ter be honest.”
”But what are you going to do with it when it's hatched?” said Hermione.
”Well, I've bin doin' some readin' , said Hagrid, pulling a large book from under his pillow.
”Got this outta the library - Dragon Breeding for Pleasure and Profit - it's a bit outta date, o' course, but it's all in here. Keep the egg in the fire, 'cause their mothers breathe on I em, see, an' when it hatches, feed it on a bucket o' brandy mixed with chicken blood every half hour. An' see here - how ter recognize diff'rent eggs - what I got there's a Norwegian Ridgeback. They're rare, them.”
He looked very pleased with himself, but Hermione didn't. ”Hagrid, you live in a wooden house,” she said.
But Hagrid wasn't listening. He was humming merrily as he stoked the fire.
”Hagrid, you do know thatbaby dragons grow fast? It'll be bigger than your hut after about about a month or so.”