Infinity and Magic

“Quickly now, an’ close the door behind ya!” Hagrid said as all of them scurried into the room.

There was a sense of excitement in the air, as thick as the heat in it while everyone gathered to wait for the dragon.

“Take the egg out of there Hagrid.” Alucard said from a corner of the hut, noticeably less sweatier than last time but considerably more cautious for it as he instructed the giant at the gentle removal of the egg from the kettle using giant gloves.

There was a giant bowl at the table, filled halfway with water that Draco had placed for the egg to be dropped into.

Anos knew the process by sight; the cold water would help suddenly cooling the egg and making it a tad easier for the hatchling to break out quicker and more eager out of it. He had known the process in words but seeing it occur in front of him was surreal and trancing all the same.

He was telling as much to Harriet and Hermione and explaining about Dragon hatching to them both when the egg began to shake slightly. It was unnoticeable to the naked eye but for the ripples in the water surrounding the egg.

Alucard and Simon were the only other two aside from him to notice and a moment later so did Lan and they all leaned in closer, with the fireplace now thankfully without firewood Alucard was more easier in his movement and Anos considerably more sober.

The egg shook this way and that at first, without rhyme or reason as everyone gathered around it with Harriet standing in the front besides Anos; the only thing closer to the egg was Hagrid’s belly as he jovially made comments about the egg.

Then there came a clear direction to the eggs movement, it tilted slightly upwards as if  wanting to sit up on itself and the sight was comical. The hatchling was clearly trying to break out from the side submerged in the water thankfully and was having an easier time of it.

There was a slight crack and then all at once the shell broke apart to reveal the little dragon underneath who seemed surprised at the pieces of egg that still covered him.

“Here let me help.” Anos stepped forward and gently washed it down in the water, carefully using the time provided by the dragon being confused about its surroundings to clean it and leave him washed and dried at the table by the end of it; when it began to nip at his fingers.

“Well, have a look at her, now that she’s clean.” Anos said, stepping backwards.

Everyone leaned in to get more than the glimpses afforded to them in between Anos’s insistent washing of the hatchling and they saw the small dragon already struggling to stand on its forelegs that also served at its wings.

It was green of skin, like fresh grass revealed after snow thaws at winter’s end, and its long and serpentine neck had a set of orange eyes adorning them that was as bright as the flames which had licked its egg.

The end of the dragon’s limbs were darker and scalier, with the front one holding onto it’s leathery wings that it tried to beat every once in a while as everyone ‘Oohed and Aahed’ at it’s moments, taking pride at the reverence shown by everyone while Anos simply watched it with a sense of familiarity, making sure it did not fall off the table.

After several breaths the spell around the dragon seemed to break like sounds of the city at morn, Hagrid riled himself up and looked at Anos confused.

“Norbert is a she?” Hagrid asked while Hermione warily stepped forward even as Harriet held the gaze of the dragon, tilting her head and making the little dragon copy her movement in earnest.

“Yeah.” Anos replied as Lan took the now dirty towel from his hand.

“Where should I put this?” Lan asked Hagrid, who seemed confused still about the whole thing.

“Put er in the bucket o’er there with all the res’.” Hagrid said but Anos shook his head in turn.

“Not if you don’t want to buy another wardrobe by the next day or live with the smell of rotten egg hanging over you for the rest of your days. It still has egg pieces and juices stuck to it, you can’t exactly take it somewhere for someone else to deal with and you can’t bury it in the Forbidden Forest because the scent is too strong, someone might get agitated. Know any clean place to bury it?” Anos asked and Hagrid hummed to himself while the dragon chirped at the table as Draco drew close, making its gaze follow his finger.

“Gimme, I’ll have something don’ about it. But how can yer tell that Norbert uh Norberta is a she?” Hagrid asked.

“They’re much more aggressive.” Anos replied and as if to prove his words the dragon breathed a plume  of smoke from its face as well as its nostrils.

“Hey, shouldn’t it be a wyvern since it has no front legs?” Draco asked even as he watched the small cloud of smoke with fascination.

“ It lacks forelimbs except its wings yeah, I don’t know why exactly it’s not a wyvern but it’s something to do with the leathery wings and a lack of scale around certain parts.” Anos said, pointing with familiarity at the dragon’s body to show what he was talking of.

Now, Norberta seemed to gaze at him and blink, before slowly crawling forward and lying on its belly in front of him.

Hagrid seemed to chirp happily as he put off his glove and went to tickle the young dragon before his hand was stopped mid motion with a warning.

“Wouldn’t do that if I were you, Norberta’s types are like cats as hatchlings only much more dangerous for their venom glands. The belly is a lie.” Anos said and Draco snickered as if in on some joke between only the two of them.

“Here.” Anos wore his own black gloves and gently used a finger to tilt the dragon over which gave way with a sound that bordered on whining. Before he began to scratch lightly all along the length of its spine, the bone jutting out shivering as the dragon happily lied down, showcasing that it was about the length of Anos’s forearm from head to tail.

“Here, now you do it. Gently.” Anos said, guiding Hagrid.

While the dragon seemed displeased at the change of soft nimble hands with large daft ones it quietened after a moment of complaining, deciding that something for now was better than nothing at all, and that it could of course showcase it’s displeasure at a later date by making it’s nest in Hagrid’s large beard.

“Some of us should head back.” Alucard said and Simon gave a whine at it, same as the dragon who somehow seemed to sense the meaning of the words as Anos spoke to it, seeing how conversant the hatchling could be and calming it while being surprised all the more that it seemed to calm at his voice.

After a moment of haphazard conversation everyone decided if some of them were going then all of them should, it was a couple of hours past noon at the least, maybe some more.

“We can’t all just rush out, that’ll be suspicious. Go in groups of two.” Hermione said and then it was fighting over who would go in the first group.

“I’ll go.” Anos said, feeling surprisingly happy but nervous that everything had gone safely, the sound of the dragon was soothing to him.

“No,  you stay and help feed the beast. It seems to like you, wonder what that says about you yourself.” Alucard said, and Anos couldn’t help but smile at the joke even as Hagrid gave an indignant sound of ‘Its Norberta not a beast’.

“Well then Bloodsucker you seem to like me too, it must speak very low of me as well huh beast.” Simon said, happily agreeing to go with the first group alongside Alucard and Hermione.

Anos sat with Harriet and Hagrid, feeding the dragon from a bucket of brandy mixed with chicken's blood in regular intervals, having to explain to Hagrid about the correct way to hold the dragon and to make it burp so it did not accidentally light sparks with its breath.

They never did notice the mop of greasy black hair that watched from the window before scurrying off even after Anos turned to leave.

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