Hermione flipped through the books about dragons on the table, saying with some confusion, “These are all books about raising dragons. Is Hagrid planning to raise a dragon?”
Harry replied, “Hagrid told me the first time we met that he’d always wanted to raise a dragon. Don’t you think raising a dragon is a cool thing?”
Ron retorted, “But raising dragons is illegal. Since 1709, the Dragon Ban Act was officially passed, prohibiting Wizards from privately raising dragons, especially on estates, as it’s too easy for Muggles to discover. Moreover, dragons are temperamental creatures. The scars on Charlie’s body were all left by wild dragons in Romania.”
“I heard my dad say that the Ministry of Magic even has a ‘Memory Wipe Secret Unit’ specifically for when Muggles see dragons. They not only erase Muggles’ memories but are also said to arrest Dark Wizards who illegally sell dragons and dragon eggs. Dragon eggs are Class A restricted trade items strictly controlled by the Ministry of Magic. Even if they were genuinely available on the black market, the price would be extremely high, certainly not something Hagrid could afford.”
After hearing Ron’s rebuttal, Harry was a bit puzzled: “Why? Every student can buy a pair of dragon-hide gloves, and an ounce of dragon liver only costs one Galleon. Plus, I’ve seen many wands in Ollivander’s wand shop that contain dragon heartstring. Why are such common items so strictly controlled?”
Ron continued to explain, “It’s simple, most dragon products on the market are sub-dragon products, not pureblood dragons.”
“As for Ollivander’s wand shop, he is an exception. wands have a special meaning for Wizards, and Ollivander’s wand shop has close cooperation with the Ministry of Magic, so it’s not strange for him to get real dragon heartstring. Although Hagrid guards the Forbidden Forest at Hogwarts, he doesn’t really seem like someone who would have the means to get a dragon egg.”
Harry, after hearing Ron’s explanation, still said earnestly, “But Hagrid really has always wanted to raise a dragon. What if, just maybe, he could get one?”
Hermione was a bit confused by Harry and Ron’s discussion: “If it’s not about raising a dragon, then what is Hagrid looking for these books for?”
Chen Yu spread his hands: “It’s no use guessing here. Why don’t we go and see? Ron is tired of reading anyway, so it can be a break.”
Everyone agreed with Chen Yu’s suggestion and got up to leave, but they were all stopped by the librarian, Madam Pince.
She glared at the four of them with vulture-like eyes, not speaking, but merely pointing at the books Ron had carelessly left on the table.
“Oh… sorry.”
Ron, knowing he was in the wrong, shrank his neck.
Everyone put the books back on the shelf, and only then did Madam Pince let them leave.
The group of four quickly arrived at Hagrid’s hut.
Unlike the usual quiet hut, white smoke was continuously billowing out of the chimney, making it seem as if Hagrid was cooking.
Chen Yu led the way and knocked on Hagrid’s wooden door.
As soon as the door opened, a wave of heat rushed out.
Harry and Ron felt a bit uncomfortable; it was too hot inside. Even though it was April and the weather outside was mild, a fierce fire was still burning in the fireplace.
Within two minutes of entering, they started to sweat.
After entering, Chen Yu’s eyes darted around, and when he saw the large, blackened egg roasting on the fire in the fireplace, he secretly rejoiced.
Hagrid enthusiastically led the four Little Wizards inside, then prepared to make sandwiches for them by putting jerky made of ferret meat into bread.
Although Chen Yu felt he could eat quite a variety of things, compared to Hagrid, he seemed to be a minor wizard facing a great one.
He decided against the ferret sandwiches; Chen Yu stated he couldn’t appreciate them.
The four politely refused.
Seeing their refusal, Hagrid wasn’t angry. Instead, he brewed a cup of strong tea for each of the four Little Wizards, placed pieces of rock cake and other jerky on the table, then moved the pot next to the table and sat down. His massive body perfectly blocked the view of the Little Wizards, preventing them from noticing the large black egg behind him.
“Come on, eat something! Don’t be shy. Chen Yu, I remember you said you just throw the meat and cakes into the pot to boil, right?”
With the previous example of the meat and bread stew, Harry, Ron, and Hermione also knew how to eat rock cakes and quickly helped Hagrid throw the rock cakes and jerky into the iron pot to boil.
As the number of people in the house increased, another stove for cooking was added, and the temperature inside the house began to rise continuously.
Before long, the entire house was like a sauna, and the faces of the Little Wizards were flushed red from the heat.
Ron was the first to give up and tried to open a window for ventilation, but Hagrid stopped him.
The three noticed that Hagrid was acting strangely; he seemed somewhat agitated, and he preferred to repeatedly wipe away sweat in the steaming hot house, like being in a sauna, rather than opening a window for ventilation.
“Hagrid, why are you making the house so hot?”
Ron complained unhappily.
“I can’t help it, I’ve caught a bit of a cold recently, and I only feel better in a warm place.”
Hagrid said, feigning a few coughs, then looked at the meat and rock cakes boiling in the pot.
“Looks like it’s almost done, ready to eat.”
“You all still have homework to finish this afternoon, don’t you? Go back as soon as you’ve eaten.”
This made Harry, Ron, and Hermione begin to suspect something.
Harry didn’t want to go back just yet; he wanted to figure out many things.
He started trying to trick Hagrid into talking, attempting to understand what mechanisms were guarding the philosopher’s stone.
With Ron and Hermione’s slightly childish flattery, Hagrid told everyone that each professor had set up a mechanism under the wooden door.
Chen Yu somewhat doubted Hagrid’s words, suspecting he might have deliberately revealed them.
Even if Hagrid did seem a bit simple, as someone with over 60 years of life experience, it was unlikely he could be easily tricked into talking by a first-year Little Wizard.
Perhaps, this was all part of Dumbledore’s plan, a component of his savior-training scheme.
However, Dumbledore probably only thought Quirrell was being manipulated or wanted to steal the philosopher’s stone himself, never imagining Lord Voldemort would be attached to the back of Quirrell’s head.
Otherwise, given Dumbledore’s character, he would never let Harry face Lord Voldemort directly at such a young age.
What’s the difference between this and a novice hero seeing the final boss blocking the entrance to the starter village?
If not for his mother, Lily Potter, casting a magical spell called “Protection Charm” on Harry, which prevented Quirrell from touching Harry, then Harry Potter could have had a different protagonist.
While Harry, Ron, and Hermione were trying to trick Hagrid and distract him, Chen Yu had already moved behind Hagrid, carefully observing the large, blackened egg in the center of the fireplace.
“Is this a dragon egg? It’s all black and doesn’t look very pretty.”
Upon hearing Chen Yu’s words, Hagrid immediately stood up with a jolt and turned to look at Chen Yu.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione, from behind Hagrid’s massive body, peered through the gaps and saw a large black egg, about the size of their own heads, nestled beneath the kettle in the very center of the fire.
Harry voiced the same question as Chen Yu, asking Hagrid, “Is this really a dragon egg?”
“This is…” Hagrid nervously twirled his beard, speaking evasively, seemingly trying to brush it off.
Ron squatted by the fireplace, also carefully examining the large egg, wanting to touch it with his finger, but considering the temperature of the flames below, he gave up on the idea.
“This dragon egg, why is it a bit different from what I imagined? Charlie told me some dragon eggs look covered in scales, majestic and extraordinary, but this one looks too ordinary.”
Harry and Hermione also squatted down to look at the dragon egg in the fireplace.
After the novelty of the dragon egg wore off, Ron stood up and asked Hagrid, “This dragon egg must have cost you a lot of money, right?”
“It didn’t cost anything, I won it!”
As soon as the topic of the dragon egg came up, Hagrid animatedly recounted his experiences from yesterday: “Yesterday, I was drinking in the village, and a stranger came to play cards. He lost the dragon egg to me.”
“Dragon eggs are contraband, to be honest, I bet that person was probably desperate to get rid of it! I just got a great bargain.”