The lingering warmth of Christmas had yet to fade. Hogwarts Castle was still covered in a thin layer of snow, and the frost flowers on the windowpanes shimmered faintly in the moonlight.
The first week after the holidays was filled with a lazy yet excited air. The students were both reluctant to return to class and thrilled to see their friends again.
Julien Black returned to school in just such a mood.
The winter sunshine in Bordeaux and the magical lessons with his grandfather in the Chamber of Secrets were certainly things to miss, but Hogwarts' towers, the dust in the library, and the real starry sky in the Ravenclaw Common Room were also where he belonged now.
Time passed quickly. That evening, Julien was looking up information on Ancient Runes in the library, but before long, his head was spinning.
It was rather too early for a first-year like him to be studying Runes. But perhaps because his grandfather had taught him a few obscure spells over the holidays, a book titled Is All Ancient Magic Dark Magic? had come to mind. Many of the ancient spells in it involved Runes.
As he was doing eye exercises by the Black Lake, a girl's voice called out to him.
"Julien! What are those strange movements?" Lyria stepped out from behind a huge beech tree, a few unmelted snowflakes clinging to her cloak.
"Oh, I'm practicing an Eastern magical technique—acupressure," Julien replied casually. "Look, this is pressing the temples, then circling around the eye sockets! Impressive, right?"
"Haha, very impressive!" Lyria's cheeks were faintly flushed by the cold wind, but her ice-blue eyes sparkled with excitement.
"I'm done joking around. You came at just the right time! I'm going to Hagrid's. Come with me!"
Julien was a little surprised. Lyria usually kept to herself, and aside from necessary exchanges in class, she hardly ever invited anyone anywhere.
Seeing his confusion, Lyria volunteered that Hagrid was one of the few people who put her at ease. He treated all creatures equally and never asked about her origins or her tribe's secrets.
"Hagrid? This late?" Julien glanced at the sky.
"He said there's something 'special' he wants to show me tonight." Lyria gave him a mysterious wink, a childlike anticipation in her voice. "Come on, don't dawdle!"
Julien couldn't refuse her, so he followed the girl from the northern lands over the soft snow toward the gamekeeper's hut.
Warm orange light shone from the hut's windows, making it seem especially cozy against the dark backdrop of the Forbidden Forest.
As soon as they entered, they heard Hagrid's booming, excited voice, mixed with a strange sound that was part cat's purr and part dog's bark. It was none other than Hagrid's cowardly hound, Fang.
"...Shh! Quiet, Fang! Don't get excited. You have to be quiet, or someone will find out!" Hagrid lowered his voice, but his excitement was unmistakable.
Julien and Lyria exchanged a glance, both seeing the same confusion in the other's eyes. They knocked softly.
"Who is it?" Hagrid's voice sounded a little tense.
"It's me, Lyria. And Julien."
The door creaked open, revealing Hagrid's huge, scruffy face. When he saw them, he first looked relieved, then somewhat flustered. "Oh! You two! Come in, come in! It's freezing out there!"
As soon as they stepped inside, Hagrid's Neapolitan Mastiff, Fang, bounded over and licked Lyria's face twice, as if they knew each other well.
Then he suddenly noticed Julien behind her and stopped, tilting his head at him as if to say, "Who's this? Never seen him before."
The fire in the hut's hearth was roaring, filling the room with warmth. But the most eye-catching thing was the enormous egg on the huge oak table in the middle of the room. Gray-black patterns covered its surface.
The giant egg seemed about to hatch. Something inside was tapping against the shell. "Knock, knock, knock."
"Whoa, Hagrid, what's that...?" Julien's eyes were immediately drawn to it. He remembered this part: Hagrid was hatching a dragon egg. What a rare sight!
Hagrid's face turned bright red. He clumsily tried to hide the egg, but seemed afraid of breaking it, making his movements both comical and endearing.
"Uh... Nothing, nothing! It's just... a... well... a special pet egg! That's right, it's about to hatch!"
Lyria had already stepped up without a hint of hesitation. She reached out and carefully touched it with a finger. The next moment, she stopped breathing.
"Wow, this is a dragon egg!!!" Lyria cried out in shock.
"Shh—!" Hagrid nearly jumped out of his skin. He hurriedly clapped a hand over her mouth. "Keep your voice down! My dear girl! This is a secret!"
Just then, someone knocked on the hut's door again. This time, the knocks were hurried and flustered.
Hagrid went deathly pale. "Oh no! It can't be..." He flailed about, apparently trying to find somewhere to hide the little dragon.
Seeing Hagrid in a panic, Julien frowned and went to the door. He peered outside through the peephole.
Three figures stood outside, somewhat blurred in the moonlight, but he immediately recognized the boy with round glasses and a lightning-shaped scar on his forehead.
"It's Harry, Ron, and Hermione," Julien told Hagrid as he turned back.
Hagrid's expression shifted from alarm to embarrassment. He let out a helpless sigh and opened the door.
"Harry! Ron! Hermione! What are you doing here?" Hagrid asked, doing his best to sound calm.
"Hagrid, we need to talk to you!" Harry blurted out before even entering. "We... found out someone wants to steal the Philosopher's Stone. We think it's Snape!"
Ron and Hermione nodded vigorously beside him, their faces full of worry and determination.
However, when the three entered the hut and saw Julien and Lyria standing by the hearth, they froze.
"Julien? Lyria?" Harry asked in surprise. "What are you doing here too?"
"We came to visit Hagrid," Lyria replied simply, her gaze drifting back to the enormous egg in the middle of the table.
The atmosphere turned a little awkward. Harry and the others clearly hadn't expected to run into anyone else here, especially Julien. They had meant to have a secret conversation with Hagrid about the safety of the school.
Hagrid seemed to realize this too. He rubbed his hands together, his eyes darting around. "Uh... Since everyone's here, why don't we have some tea and Rock Cakes?"
As Hagrid poured tea for the young wizards, he said, "Snape? Why are you still suspecting Professor Snape? He's one of the people protecting the Philosopher's Stone..."
He covered his mouth. "Oh dear, I shouldn't have told you that."
"What? Then it's even more dangerous..." Ron said urgently.
Hagrid immediately cut him off. "All right, listen to me. This isn't something you should be worrying about. Just focus on your studies."
"But, Hagrid..." Hermione chimed in anxiously.
"Knock, knock, knock."
Hermione was about to say more when the sound came again from the giant egg on the table.
"Hagrid, what's that? An egg?" Hermione and the others had only just noticed the strange sight on the table.
"Whoa!" Ron gasped too. "Goodness, that's no ordinary egg. It's a dragon egg, and it's a Norwegian Ridgeback. Whoa!"
Ron's brother Charlie studied dragons in Romania, and Ron had visited him there.
"Crack—"
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