Chapter 34 How to make the baby dragon remember you (Patreon)

One hour later, they knocked on the door of the guard's hut at the hunting ground.

Hagrid first shouted, "Who's there?" After receiving a response, he allowed them to enter the hut and quickly turned around to close the door.

As soon as they entered, they immediately noticed that all the curtains inside were tightly drawn. Despite it being a warm and sunny day, the fireplace was still roaring, and the cabin was oppressively hot, making it feel suffocating.

As Maca walked in, he glanced at the burning pile of charcoal under the fireplace. He had already guessed that Hagrid had made the temperature so high because he was obviously incubating dragon eggs. Sure enough, a large, black egg lay on the burning red charcoal, with an empty kettle hanging above it.

Hagrid brewed tea for them and brought ferret sandwiches, but the trio's minds were not focused on eating at the moment, so they politely declined. However, Maca thanked Hagrid and took a piece to taste.

"So, you have something to ask me?" Hagrid said, furrowing his brow.

"Yes," Harry said, thinking there was no need to beat around the bush, "We don't know if you can tell us what other mechanisms guard the Philosopher's Stone besides Fluffy."

Hagrid frowned at them.

"Of course, I can't tell you," he said, "Firstly, I don't even know myself. Secondly, you already know too much, so even if I did know, I wouldn't tell you. That stone is here for a good reason. It was almost stolen from Gringotts... I suppose you've figured all that out too, haven't you? I can't understand how you know about Fluffy."

"Oh, Hagrid, you probably didn't want to tell us, did you? You must know. What happens here, how could anything escape your eyes?" Hermione said in a sweet, flattering tone.

Hearing his somewhat intimidating tone, Maca couldn't help but recall his own unfortunate experience of trying to please Ms. Gray. He involuntarily looked up at Hagrid, whose beard was raised, and then at Hermione, who was acting obediently.

"Actually, we just want to know who designed those mechanisms," Hermione continued, "We want to know who else Dumbledore believes can help him besides you."

Upon hearing those last words, Hagrid straightened his chest, and Harry and Ron smiled at Hermione with satisfaction.

"Well, it won't hurt to tell you guys. Let me think... He borrowed Fluffy from me and then had a few other teachers perform spells."

"Professor Sprout, Professor Flitwick, Professor McGonagall—" he counted on his fingers, "Professor Quirrell... and, of course, Dumbledore himself cast a spell. Wait a moment, I forgot one person... Oh, yes, it was Professor Snape."

"Severus Snape?" Harry exclaimed in surprise.

Maca swallowed the last bite of his sandwich and then brushed off the crumbs from his hands. He said, "Clearly, there's nothing strange about that. Except for Professor Quirrell, all four are heads of houses, so it's normal, isn't it?"

"Yeah, are you still suspicious of him, huh? Look, Severus Snape also helped protect the Philosopher's Stone. He wouldn't go and steal it."

Maca looked at Harry and Ron, who wore skeptical expressions. He knew that it was because Harry's father, James, had taught Severus Snape a lesson too harshly, which directly led to Harry being constantly targeted by Severus Snape.

"You're the only one who knows how to get past Fluffy, right, Hagrid?" Harry asked eagerly. "You won't

tell anyone, not even the teachers, will you?"

It seems that Harry might have received some news.

"No one but me and Dumbledore." Hagrid proudly said.

Harry couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief and couldn't help but say to Hagrid, "Hagrid, can we open a window? I'm feeling really hot."

"No, Harry, I'm sorry."

Hagrid replied while subconsciously glancing towards the fireplace. Now, it was obvious that everyone had noticed.

"Where did you get it from, Hagrid?" Ron said, crouching by the fire and examining the large egg more closely, "It must have cost you a lot of money!"

"I won it." Hagrid said, "Last night, I was drinking in the village and playing cards with a stranger. Honestly, that person probably couldn't wait to get rid of it."

"But what are you going to do once it hatches?" Hermione asked.

"Hagrid seems to be doing some research. Didn't you already find out in the library?" Maca smiled and said, "Hagrid, remember to tell me as soon as this little one hatches."

"Oh, you like it too, huh? Of course, I'll let you know." Hagrid happily smiled and continued, "I just checked, it's a Norwegian Ridgeback, quite rare."

He seemed proud, but Hermione didn't think much of it. "Hagrid, don't forget that you live in a wooden house."

However, Hagrid didn't pay any attention. He was tending to the fire and humming a cheerful tune.

"But I have to say, Hagrid, you have to hide it," Maca suddenly changed his tone and said seriously, "You should know that it's illegal to raise a dragon privately."

He paused, seeing that Hagrid didn't seem to care much, and continued, "Young dragons grow in size quickly, and they instinctively learn to fly early. Have you thought about where to hide it? You can't hide it in this hut. I don't want to see you and it being taken away. I want to see it grow up!"

Upon hearing this, Hagrid appeared a little disheartened. To be honest, he also knew that he couldn't keep it forever.

"Ron, if I recall correctly, your brother Charlie works at the dragon reserve in Romania, right?" Maca turned to ask.

"Oh, yes. I think that's a good idea." Harry understood Maca's intention, "Hagrid, Ron's brother Charlie studies dragons over there, and they have a dragon sanctuary. He can take care of it for you!"

"Oh... no, I can't bear to part with this little one." Hagrid wiped his eyes, "It hasn't even seen me yet."

Harry and the others exchanged glances and were about to continue persuading Hagrid, but Maca waved his hand.

"Before we contact Charlie, I want you to meet the dragon. After all, you've successfully hatched the egg, and it will soon break out of its shell." Maca smiled, "You can keep it for a while, while it's still small enough to fit in your cabin."

"Yes, yes, I think that's a good idea." Hagrid looked tenderly at the dragon egg in the fireplace, as if he were looking at his own child.

It didn't take long. One day, during breakfast, Maca the owl brought him a crumpled note with just a few words: It's about to hatch.

During the lunch break, Maca grabbed some food from the table and confidently walked towards Hagrid's cabin with a large sack in hand.

"You're here, Maca," Hagrid looked extremely excited and greeted her with a flushed face. "You're a little late and missed the scene of it hatching. But it's alright, the little guy is lively now, much more active than when it first hatched."

Maca was pulled into the cabin by Hagrid with great enthusiasm, and he was met with a thick black smoke with sparks.

"This little one has a strong desire to attack! By the looks of it, it might be a female dragon!" Maca drew her wand and waved it, dispersing the black smoke in front of him.

"Oh, but I think it's a male, and see how handsome it is," Hagrid's eyes were shining with starlight, indicating his genuine affection for these powerful magical creatures.

Maca didn't pay much attention to Hagrid's differing opinion, as it was indeed difficult to determine the gender of a newborn dragon.

He nodded casually and observed the baby dragon crawling around with its wings supporting its body near the fireplace. Deep in thought, she remarked, "Fire dragons are challenging to tame. They become highly intelligent in adulthood and, most importantly, possess formidable attacking abilities."

While speaking, he took out a potion bottle from her bag. The bottle contained a thick, fiery red liquid, which he held and shook in his hand. It was a sizable bottle, quite heavy when placed in his outer robe.

"What is this? Dragon blood?" Hagrid inquired upon seeing it.

"No, it's not," Maca shook her head. "This is made from the blood of a Firehorned Whale... well, it's a tempting treat, at least for a Norwegian Ridgeback."

"Hagadim leviosa (note 1)."

Maca placed the bottle on the table, uncorked it, and recited a levitation spell. He controlled a small mass of faintly glowing red liquid, keeping it steadily suspended on the tip of his wand.

The young dragon immediately caught a whiff of the scent and excitedly stumbled over, attempting to climb Maca's leg to reach the enticing food.

Maca firmly pressed it down to the ground.

He looked up at Hagrid and said, "If its mother were a true dragon, she would do the same. Hagrid, watch closely."

With that, Maca swallowed the sticky, hot, and pungent liquid in one gulp.

Instantly, the young dragon squirmed and chirped, but Maca exerted force to keep it firmly pinned to the floor.

"The nutritional value of this is quite high, but it's challenging for humans to consume," Maca's face turned slightly blue. "And it's really hot! It burns the mouth!"

Hagrid clearly understood Maca's intent and nodded earnestly, as if committing all the steps to memory.

Once the young dragon gradually ceased its struggles and looked at Maca with longing, he loosened his grip that had held it down.

"Try it, little one," he scooped another small portion and controlled it to float towards the dragon's mouth.

"Hagrid, you have to do this every day until it remembers the feeding sequence," Maca explained. "If it can remember before Charlie takes it away, it will remember you for the rest of its life."

"Of course, this will make it remember you. In fact, most dragon breeds live solitary lives as adults and are not overly friendly with their mothers. It's in their nature."

These dragon-taming methods were what Maca had seen in the Ravenclaw Chamber. Besides the ones he demonstrated to Hagrid, there were further training techniques, but they were less humane, and he believed Hagrid wouldn't appreciate them.

"That's fantastic! If Nobert remembers me because of this, I'll definitely thank you, Maca," Hagrid exclaimed, giving Maca a tight hug that nearly suffocated him.