"Tris, we've got a problem." The day after the dragon hatched, Ron and Harry stopped Tris, looking miserable.
"What?" Tris was stretching his arms and legs, warming up for his morning run.
Perhaps the students had realized that running wouldn't turn them into Tris. Only a dozen or so still bothered with morning runs, and they barely interacted with one another.
Even so, Harry and Ron lowered their voices. "Draco... saw the baby dragon hatch yesterday."
"Oh?" Tris nodded, looking unsurprised.
"Why aren't you reacting?" Ron stared at the calm Tris in disbelief. "Do you know what that means? He'll tell the professors."
"Right. Has he told them yet?" Tris asked casually.
"Er... I don't think so?" Harry said uncertainly. "If he had, Professor McGonagall would've given us detention already, wouldn't she?"
"Exactly. So he hasn't said anything yet. What are you panicking for?" Tris glanced around but couldn't see Draco.
Compared with the other students, Draco was actually doing fairly well. He still went for a morning run two or three days a week, though he hadn't shown up today.
"But, but he's bound to tell them sooner or later, isn't he?" Ron clutched his head. "Detention would be getting off lightly. What if we get expelled? Mum will kill me."
"Hagrid's the one keeping the dragon. What are you panicking for?" Tris looked in puzzlement at the frantic Harry and Ron. "As long as you don't get caught wandering around at night by a professor, you should be fine.
"Even in the worst case, if you do get caught leaving Hogwarts Castle at night, you'll only get a couple of days of detention. How big a deal could that be?"
"Hey, you've got a point!" Ron thought it over, and the panic immediately vanished from his face. "If