Chapter 42: Dragon.
"Congratulations, on winning against Hufflepuff." Draco said sitting across Hermione opening his books.
"Thanks." Hermione replied taking out a paper from her bag and giving it to Draco.
"What is it?" Draco asked.
"I drew up a study schedule for you." She said, "The exams are only 10 weeks away so you need to prepare."
Draco looked at the schedule and sighed, "I can still pass, I guess."
"Just passing isn't enough." Hermione said, "You need to at least get some good grades, unlike Harry and Ron you are at least good in a couple of subjects."
"Che, can you not keep bringing up their name." Draco said clicking his tongue, "It's kinda annoying."
"Well, I am friends with them, so even if I don't want to, their names will still come up in our conversation." Hermione said color-coding her notes.
"Anyway, forget about them." Draco said resting his arms on the table. "Do you want to have a bet with me?"
"What kind of bet?" Hermione asked, stopping her work.
"Let's see, who will get better marks at the exam." Draco replied smiling, "The loser will have to do one thing the winner says."
"Why would I accept a bet with you?" Hermione said, "You already have me teaching you everything I know in History and Astronomy and plus you have your own strength with potions, botany, charms, and transfiguration."
"Hey, com'on we both know, that you are decent enough to get good marks on your exam on charms and Transfiguration, as for Potions and Botany, even though I am good at it, they aren't going to give me extra marks for writing something way off, so even in that we can tie. The only place we can challenge each other in History and Astronomy. You have been teaching me both these subjects for this whole year now, so you know that I am not very good at it." Draco said, "So why are you so afraid of accepting the bet?"
Hermione thought for a while and asked, "So you will do anything I ask for?"
"Yes, but only if you win otherwise you will have to do one thing I ask of you." Draco said smirking, "Are you afraid of losing to someone who you have been teaching?"
"Hmph! Who's afraid of losing?" Hermione snorted, "Fine! I will accept your bet but don't regret it later on."
"I won't." Draco said with confidence.
"But from now on until the exams, I won't teach you anything, anymore." Hermione said.
Draco thought for a while and nodded, "Fine."
Both of them shook their hands on it, when Hermione suddenly said, "What is he doing here?"
Draco turned back to find Hagrid acting sneaky. At the same time, Ron and Harry walked in towards them and they looked at Hagrid weirdly as well.
"Hagrid, what are you doing here?" Hermione asked.
"Jus' lookin'," he said, in a shifty voice that got their interest at once. "An' what're you lot up ter?" He looked suddenly suspicious. "Yer not still lookin' fer Nicolas Flamel, are yeh?"
"Oh, we found out who he is ages ago," said Ron impressively. "And we know what that dog's guarding, it's a Philosopher St --"
"Shhhh!" Hagrid looked around quickly to see if anyone was listening. "Don' go shoutin' about it, what's the matter with yeh?"
"There are a few things we wanted to ask you, as a matter of fact," said Harry, "about what's guarding the Stone apart from Fluffy --"
"SHHHH!" said Hagrid again looking towards Draco. "Listen - come an' see me later, I'm not promisin' I'll tell yeh anythin', mind, but don' go rabbitin' about it in here, students aren' s'pposed ter know. They'll think I've told yeh --"
"See you later, then," said Harry understanding as he glared at Draco.
Hagrid shuffled off quickly.
Hermione sighed, seeing her friends behavior and looked awkwardly at Draco.
"So the dog's guarding the Philosopher stone on the third floor, huh?" Draco said laying back on the chair with his eyebrows raised.
"Were you eavesdropping on our conversation?" Ron said looking at Draco angrily.
"I have to be an idiot like you to not figure it out, even after hearing you talk so loudly." Draco said, "And if you don't want people to overhear you then learn to close your loud mouth."
"You--"
"Shut up, Ron." Hermione said, "You were the one who revealed the whole thing acting smug about finding Nicholas Flamel, even if someone deaf was here, they would have still understood it."
Ron didn't say anything and just sat there with his mouth half open.
"Sigh! Calm down Hermione, Ron didn't mean that." Harry said, "We just didn't realize that he was here."
"Stop mentioning me, as if I am a ghost." Draco said smirking, "Or are we not using names against another Dark Lord."
Harry stiffened up after he heard Draco, The rumors had died down in Hogwarts ever since he had won the match but right now, hearing someone directly call him a dark lord, he froze up.
"Malfoy, shut your mouth." Ron said gnashing his teeth.
"It's Black now, Weasley." Draco said looking at Harry's face but seeing his facial expression not changing he figured that he still didn't know about Sirius. "And besides when a Dark Lord is talking with another Dark Lord, a peasant shouldn't speak."
"Do you think Harry is like you?" Ron said.
"Draco, don't." Hermione said not wanting them to fight, because she knew the result would end up in Ron ending up worse than before, she knew to ask Ron wasn't going to work so she asked Draco to stop instead.
Draco rolled his eyes and stood up packing his bag, "If your friend Harry was like me then he would have been more useful." he said walking away, "Hermione, don't forget our bet?"
Hermione nodded and sighed in relief.
"Ron, you should stop provoking Draco." She said, "Even if you want to do it, at least make sure not to do it with someone who has defeated you in the past."
"I have learned more spells than before." Ron said awkwardly, "Besides why do always keep on siding with Malf-- Black whatever his name is."
"Ron--"
"Don't stop me, Harry. We are friends, aren't we? But why does she always keep supporting Draco." Ron said
"Because I consider him a better friend than you." Hermione said not even flinching, "When you were talking behind my back he was still my friend and he still is and besides do you really think that with a couple of spells you learned in the past month, you will be able to defeat him."
Ron was silent, he didn't expect Hermione to be so forward. Hermione herself was surprised by her own reaction, 'Maybe he rubbed off on me.' She thought.
"Okay! She is right Ron." Harry said, "We were at fault due to not being careful and besides you really need to stop provoking Draco, at least until we can fight him off."
Ron didn't expect Harry to side with Hermione as well, "Sigh! Fine I will try." he said giving up.
"What was Hagrid hiding behind his back?" asked Hermione thoughtfully after Ron had calmed down.
"Do you think it had anything to do with the Stone?" Harry suggested.
"I'm going to see what section he was in," said Ron, He came back a minute later with a pile of books in his arms and slammed them down on the table.
"Dragons!" he whispered. "Hagrid was looking up stuff about dragons! Look at these: Dragon Species of Great Britain and Ireland; From Egg to Inferno, A Dragon Keeper's Guide."
"Hagrid's always wanted a dragon, he told me so the first time I ever met him, " said Harry.
"But it's against our laws," said Ron. "Dragon breeding was outlawed by the Warlocks' Convention of 1709, everyone knows that. It's hard to stop Muggles from noticing us if we're keeping dragons in the back garden - anyway, you can't tame dragons, it's dangerous. You should see the burns Charlie's got off wild ones in Romania."
"But there aren't wild dragons in Britain?" said Harry.
"Of course there are," said Ron. "Common Welsh Green and Hebridean Blacks. The Ministry of Magic has a job hushing them up, I can tell you. Our kind have to keep putting spells on Muggles who've spotted them, to make them forget."
"So what on earth Hagrid up to?" said Hermione.
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When they knocked on the door of the gamekeeper's hut an hour later, they were surprised to see that all the curtains were closed. Hagrid called "Who is it?" before he let them in, and then shut the door quickly behind them.
It was stifling hot inside. Even though it was such a warm day, there was a blazing fire in the grate. Hagrid made them tea and offered them stoat sandwiches, which they refused.
"So -- yeh wanted to ask me somethin'?"
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