The expressions on all three faces froze.
"What did you say?" Harry wondered if he had misheard. His brain stalled for a moment.
Hermione took a sip of apple juice, her expression calm.
"I said the dragon in today's task is my pet."
"..."
After a brief silence, Harry shook his head sharply. "But didn't the Ministry of Magic bring it here...?"
"Who told you a dragon brought here by the Ministry of Magic couldn't be mine?" Hermione interrupted, setting down her glass. "Come on. Seeing is believing."
Without explaining further, she turned and headed toward the Forbidden Forest.
Harry, Draco, and Ginny exchanged glances. Despite all their doubts, they instinctively followed her.
Under the cover of night, the edge of the Forbidden Forest felt even more shadowy and mysterious than it had during the day.
Several enormous metal cages stood in a clearing, holding the dragons that had competed in the task. A few dragon handlers from the Ministry of Magic stood guard nearby. Hagrid was among them, trying to soothe one of the dragons with an enormous slab of meat.
Hagrid looked surprised when he saw Hermione approaching with the other three. "Hermione? Harry? What are you doing here?"
"Coming to see my pet." Hermione walked straight toward the largest cage, which held the Hungarian Horntail.
"Hey! Lady Witch, it's dangerous!" one of the handlers called out at once.
Hagrid grew nervous too. "Hermione, this Hungarian Horntail has the worst temper of the lot. Be careful!"
He wasn't worried about Hermione. He was worried about the dragons.
If they failed to recognize who they were dealing with and tried to bite Hermione, he feared she would slaughter them on the spot.
As a dragon lover, Hagrid was especially concerned.
Hermione walked up to the cage as though she