Harry told Lorne and Hagrid his thoughts about Snape and the Philosopher's Stone.
But the adults remained perfectly calm.
"Stop worrying, Harry. Professor Snape is one of the professors protecting the Philosopher's Stone. Dumbledore trusts him, too. He wouldn't steal it."
Hagrid reached his conclusion outright.
"Don't worry. Hogwarts is very safe. Even if something really did happen, it wouldn't be for young wizards like you to deal with."
Lorne nodded beside him.
Hagrid was right. Unfortunately, Dumbledore didn't think so. If Lorne remembered correctly, everything happening now was part of Dumbledore's test for Harry.
The Invisibility Cloak, the Mirror of Erised, the Philosopher's Stone.
Eleven years ago, they had relied on a baby to save the Wizarding World. Eleven years later, they were putting that same baby through trials, hoping to use him to fight Voldemort again.
Lorne scoffed at the idea.
"All right, all right, we'll keep an eye out." Lorne was just about to reassure the three youngsters when he noticed that the dragon egg in the pot had floated to the surface. "Hagrid, your egg's almost cooked... oh, no, I mean it's about to hatch."
Hagrid stopped paying attention to Harry and the others. He had been fretting over having no one to show off his dragon egg to.
Pulling on thick gloves, Hagrid set the egg from the pot on the table. The black shell cracked inch by inch, and a tiny claw suddenly thrust out of it.
"It's a dragon egg?" Hermione exclaimed in delight.
"Actually, it's a Norwegian Ridgeback." Ron had finally come across something he knew about. "My second-oldest brother studies these."
"Oh, what a lovely little fellow." Hagrid's eyes were full of affection. "Norbert, come to Mummy."
"Norbert?"
"That's his name. He ought to have a name."
Lorne kept his eyes on the window. He remembered that Draco would follow the trio all the way here, not only catching them out overnight but also reporting Hagrid for keeping a dragon.
To repay Hagrid's kindness, Lorne used the Levitation Charm to draw the curtains.
He wasn't sure whether those events would still happen now that they had the Magic Mobile Phone, but it never hurt to take precautions.
Draco was indeed outside the window. With the curtains in the way, he couldn't tell what was happening inside the hut, but he had seen Harry and the other two enter it with his own eyes.
He was going to report them!
Having seen a dragon, Harry and Hermione looked thoroughly satisfied. Only Ron was still thinking about the Philosopher's Stone.
"But Snape really did jinx Harry's broom. Could he have fooled Dumbledore?"
"Professor Snape, Mr. Weasley."
The three looked up in sudden realization. A stern-faced Professor McGonagall stood in the doorway, with a smirking Draco beside her.
"Fifty points each," Professor McGonagall pronounced. "To make sure you learn your lesson, all four of you will report to Mr. Filch for detention."
The smile froze on Draco's face.
"Wait, Professor, have you made a mistake? Did I just hear you say four?"
Professor McGonagall was uncompromising. "Yes, Mr. Malfoy. You also broke curfew, and you will serve detention with your classmates."
Draco felt like crying, but no tears came. Detention wasn't much of an issue. The important thing was that "each" in "fifty points each" included him.
Now he would be called an "honorary Gryffindor" again.
Fifty points. Professor Snape would probably chop him up as finely as Potions ingredients.
On the first day of detention, Filch handed the four of them over to Hagrid.
Along the way, he kept frightening the four young wizards, saying that if he were in charge of their detention, he would tie ropes around their thumbs and leave them hanging in the dungeon all night.
Ron reassured the others in a whisper, "He's lying. George and Fred told me the worst they had to do was sort out Filch's jars and bottles, or clean the corridors and toilets."
Lorne had stayed at Hagrid's all this time. Counting the days, it was nearly time for Voldemort to make his move.
"Wait, we're going into the Forbidden Forest?" Draco challenged. "Didn't Dumbledore say it was off-limits? And I've heard there are giant spiders in there, and werewolves."
"And more besides, lad." Filch hated every wizard who broke the rules equally.
Hagrid was doing well. He hadn't lost Norbert, and Fang and Norbert played very well together.
Lorne stepped out of Hagrid's Hut. "I'll come along, Hagrid. I'd like a walk, too."
To show Hagrid his determination, Lorne had demonstrated his invincible Levitation Charm many times. Hagrid now had complete confidence in Lorne's abilities.
"Just as well. We might split up tonight."
Draco's words had frightened Ron. "But the giant spiders..."
"Come on, boys and girls." Lantern in hand, Hagrid strode ahead.
Lorne made an inviting gesture. "You'd better walk ahead of me. Otherwise, neither Hagrid nor I will know if you fall behind."
The four young wizards hurried after him. Fang barked and walked along one side of the group.
There wasn't a glimmer of light in the Forbidden Forest at night, and the branches resembled dried bones. Beneath their feet lay a layer of humus soaked with blood. Every step was soundless, leaving them with nothing to hear but their own heartbeats.
The air was damp and thick. Hagrid, who was leading the way, suddenly crouched his enormous body down and dipped a finger into the silvery-white liquid beside his feet.
"What's that?"
"Unicorn blood," Hagrid answered. "It's what we're here for. When I was collecting their saliva earlier, they told me someone in black was hunting them."
"The good news is, whoever it is seems to know about the curse on unicorn blood, too. They've been struggling with it and haven't killed them."
"Whatever the case, it's a danger. We'll split up and try to find that poor fellow. Ron, Hermione, you two come with me. Draco, Harry, you two stay close to Director Lorne."
"It's this dangerous, and we're still splitting up?" Draco questioned again.
Lorne gently patted Draco's shoulder and reassured him. "He's desperate enough to want to drink unicorn blood. He must be incredibly weak. Trust me, all right?"
Seeing that Lorne and Hagrid had already gone their separate ways, Draco had no choice whether he believed him or not. He jogged a few steps to catch up with Lorne and Harry.
"If my father knew I was being made to work as a servant at Hogwarts, he'd definitely complain to Dumbledore." Draco looked around fearfully.
"You're scared, Draco," Harry said with certainty.
"Scared?" Draco put on a tough front and sneered. "However scared I am, at least I wouldn't be like someone who waited until I had no time to play, then overtook me without having to face my skills."
Harry had boasted to Hermione and Ron more than once about his first-place ranking in Wizard Legend, and immediately understood what Draco meant.
"Whose fault is it that you don't have time? Just because you're not playing, does that mean nobody else is allowed to?"
The two bickered noisily, and Lorne made no attempt to stop them. He had no attention to spare for them now. He had to stay intensely focused.
He had a feeling that Voldemort was nearby.