Hatching the Norwegian Ridgeback

Today is Friday, and there's only one Potions Class this morning.

"Harry, why is it Potions Class today?"

"If Professor Snape didn't take attendance like Professor Sprout, and Potions Class was as free as Herbology, that would be great!"

"If we miss it—how many times in our lives can we see a baby dragon hatch?" Ron said, his voice initially lowered, but gradually becoming more and more husky.

"Stop talking." Harry quickly stuffed a sausage into Ron's mouth. "The key issue now is that the dragon egg is still in Hagrid's hands. Does that mean Hagrid didn't tell Dumbledore about our concerns? No, that shouldn't be the case."

"Could it be that Dumbledore Hogwarts us to use this to break Romania's monopoly on dragon breeding? Or perhaps Hagrid simply concealed the existence of the dragon eggs?" Harry frowned.

His friend Hagrid never imagined that Harry could glean so much from just a simple letter.

"Does that mean Charlie will go back to work in Britain?" Ron exclaimed excitedly.

Although his other brothers were also good to him, the Weasley Twins would play pranks on Ron when they saw that he was in a bad mood, using the embarrassment of being pranked to distract Ron; Percy would give Ron Scabbers, whom he had raised, since Ron didn't have a pet; Bill, on the other hand, was too far away from Ron in age and they hadn't lived together much.

But Charlie was the only brother Ron truly loved.

He was a genius Seeker in Gryffindor, and if he hadn't studied dragons, he would definitely have represented Great Britain. As Quidditch fanatic, Ron's regard for Charlie is self-evident.

Charlie also cherished his younger brother. As a wizard's second life, Charlie was willing to replace his wand, specifically leaving his perfectly good old wand to Ron. In the original timeline, if Ron hadn't been in a flying car and hit the Whomping Willow, that wand would probably have stayed with Ron for life.

Harry was completely oblivious to the joy in Ron's eyes; his mind was preoccupied with the dragon egg and the Philosopher's Stone. This led Harry to misinterpret Ron's expression, assuming Ron was going to skip class. "Ron, are you crazy! We have to go to class, or we'll get into trouble, and it'll expose what Hagrid did. He'll be in even worse shape than us..."

Ron is indeed Ron. Even Ryan, who was openly listening, didn't expect Ron to say that because of Harry's words, "Harry, you mean skipping class! That's right, Harry, you're Snape's favorite student. If you just say a few words, we can go see the dragon eggs!"

As for the outcome, Harry naturally refused outright.

So, during Potions Class, Snape witnessed this scene: he saw Lily as a continuation of her, his brow furrowed, while Ron, the red-haired monster beside him, couldn't hide his excitement, looking very pleased.

Then Ron, looking completely innocent, was subjected to Snape's sarcastic remark, "Your head is so full of weeds, I think the Sorting Hat is broken. Why don't you take it off and go to Hufflepuff?"

"I don't think Hufflepuff will want him either!" Dudley suddenly chimed in. During his time with Hufflepuff, Dudley had come to value Hufflepuff's honor more than his own pride.

What Ryan found most interesting was that it was Snape who indirectly insulted Hufflepuff.

Dudley and the other Hufflepuff vented their emotions more on Ron.

After Dudley finished speaking, the other Hufflepuff also looked indignant. Even Hannah and Ernie, who were on good terms with Ron, looked displeased after exchanging a few words with him.

Just as Dudley to make a fuss, Snape acted as if he hadn't heard a thing, perhaps because in his eyes, Dudley was, after all, a relative of Lily's. He simply stopped picking on Ron and turned to look at Harry, whose mind was completely elsewhere, still thinking about the dragon egg incident.

Harry finally snapped out of his daze after Snape's incessant, exaggerated, and awkward praise.

In his eyes, what suddenly appeared was Professor Snape, who was trying hard to squeeze out a concerned expression from his sallow face, and his aggrieved brother Ron.

All of this happened so suddenly that Harry almost had to stir the Potions twice more, but thankfully his superb Potions skills saved him.

Otherwise, all that would happen is a small-scale explosion, and the only ones who would suffer are himself and Ron next to him.

Finally, in this tense atmosphere, the class came to an end.

Harry hurriedly sought out Anthony, the most prestigious first-year student besides himself, and instructed him that this time he would not lead them back to the common room, but instead let them follow the older students back to the common room to avoid encountering Peeves.

Hermione is actually more prestigious among the first-year students. Her habit of being a know-it-all, which she brought from the Muggle world, makes her seem like a benevolent philanthropist to the starving in Ravenclaw.

But now that Hermione is with Ryan, for some reason, he doesn't want Ryan to know.

Ryan is no ordinary wizard; he might have the ability to take the Philosopher's Stone from the forbidden area on the fourth floor. Harry felt he couldn't take that risk. Human nature can't withstand testing, and he didn't want to lose Ryan as a friend and the mentor he hoped would be when he obtained the Resurrection Stone.

So, Ryan, who was practically invisible next to Hermione, grinned mischievously as he looked at Harry was hurriedly pulling Ron out of the castle.

How naive! As long as they're at school, Harry and his friends can't escape my sight, Ryan thought, sensing Harry's little scheme.

In Ryan's view, Harry and Ron first left the castle, then hurriedly ran across the field, heading towards the edge of the Forbidden Forest.

Hagrid greeted them, beaming with excitement.

"They'll be out soon." He led them into the hut.

"Hagrid, close the doors and windows properly, and don't be careful not to be seen." Draco's voice suddenly rang out from behind Hagrid, who was pressing his face tightly against an egg with a deep crack on it.

It's a dragon egg! It's lying on the table, and something inside is constantly moving, making a very amusing clicking sound.

Draco's appearance did not surprise Harry. When Harry learned that the dragon egg was still there, he already understood where Draco went after disappearing alone every night.

Although Ron didn't understand, out of curiosity about the dragon egg, he didn't question Draco about why he was there. Instead, under Hagrid's command, he firmly sealed the hut.

Then they all moved their chairs closer to the table, held their breath, and watched intently.

Suddenly, with a screeching sound, the egg cracked open.

A creature with spiky wings, jet black in color, and a long nose was swaying and flapping on the table.

This is the Norwegian Ridgeback. It looks like a crumpled black umbrella, with white nostrils, horns on its head, and protruding orange-red eyes.

Then it sneezed, and a few Mars flew out of its nose.