Chapter Text
Night had fallen…
And with it came my limped but hurried steps towards Hagrid’s hut.
My boots pressed into the grass-laden earth with dull, sodden thuds as I crossed the grounds of Hogwarts, the scent of damp soil and cool night air filling my lungs. A breeze moved across the grounds, gentle and persistent, but the protective spells and runes woven into my robes dulled its bite until all that reached my skin was a soft, placating warmth. Each step slightly dragged in the muck, the effort leaving a quiet ache in my limbs, yet whenever my thoughts drifted to the older Omega ahead of my person - my lovely lioness - the discomfort seemed to fade into irrelevance.
For a moment, my gaze lifted skyward.
The moon hung high above the castle grounds, vast and luminous among the scattered stars. Its pale glow washed over the landscape, painting the grass, the towers, and the winding paths in silver light that felt almost reverent, as though the night itself had paused to admire the view. Normally, such a sight would have drawn me into deeper contemplation, my mind turning toward difficult questions and half-formed theories.
But tonight, I didn’t linger.
My feet kept moving, steady and purposeful, carrying me forward toward the objective that waited somewhere ahead in the dark.
“Shite…” I cursed under my breath as mud littered my boots. “Hagrid and his need to be close to magical creatures… Arsehole.” I added, but didn’t really put any weight on the second curse that left my lips.
It was just unfortunate circumstance that the Scottish Highlands had gotten some rain in the evening and the terrain became muddy when I needed to cross this certain path. I planned to Scourgify and purge myself of the filth that now was on my person, well everything, before anyone saw the state I was in.
This plan was doomed to fail, my face no doubt paler than my already pale complexion, because I had just spotted two other persons who were seemingly waiting for me…
Luna and Longbottom.
The two of them waved at me as their eyes followed my movements and I hurried to them so we could move this along. The last thing we needed was for someone from Hogwarts to catch us out here and punish us to the nth degree. I wasn’t above serving a bit of time in detention, more time to pursue old times and let my mind soak in knowledge, but time was of the essence and that would give Professor Quirrell an advantage over us.
“Lumos.” Luna whispered, a soft light encapsulating us so the area wasn’t as dark and then turned to me with a warm smile. “I’m surprised the Brightest Witch of her Age is late for anything…” She teasingly added.
“Bones are achy because of the damnable rain...” I responded grumbling and growling all the while. “Let’s just get on with it for Salazar's sake, yes?”
The Beta Ravenclaw didn’t seem the least bit offended by my harsh words and the Omega Gryffindor frantically nodded without saying a word. He also didn’t seem to omit as many Omega pheromones around my person, which meant that he was acclimating to me. It attested to my growing apathy for keeping up my social walls, but another part of my very being screamed out that I should always be vigilant.
That I should always keep those walls up…
That I should always show strength instead of weakness.
It was very Slytherin of me to have these thoughts, for my inner psyche and Alpha hindbrain to repeat these thoughts like a mantra, but I wanted to change for the better.
I could still be vigilant and hold true to the friendships I was forming.
Those in House Slytherin were known for being frigid, but I had only known that same frigidity for the past five years, and I yearned for warmth that wouldn’t hurt me so…
“And nothing else wrong?” Luna asked as they briskly walked to the hut. “The faeries seem to be in a tizzy around you.”
“Tizzy?” I repeated, a disgruntled grunt coming from the depths of my soul. “I tried accioing my wand, but I had a bit of accidental magic and decimated my favorite pair of boots!” I hissed. “Then when I tried to reverse the effects of said accidental magic… the now repaired boots turned into miniature lions! For Merlin’s sake, I have no idea why my magic is acting like this.”
The three of us were within reach of the hut now, but Luna left me with some parting words before I knocked on the door.
“You should remember to take things slow, Hermione.” Luna advised, her words taking on a serious and dreamy tone. “One doesn't simply fly on their broom after they have injured themselves. Caution must be implemented, my dear Slytherin friend. Magic is a wonderful thing, but one must remember to work with the flow and not against it.”
Was I working against it?
I had already been peeved because of the rain, my joints, the stress of being here at Hogwarts…
Did I push instead of pull?
I huffed and shook my head.
“I will take your words into advisement, Luna.” I replied.
And that was all I was going to say on that matter.
My hand came up to the door, fingers curling into a fist, before I knocked on the door of Hagrid’s hut. I wrapped my knuckles on the wooden door three times and waited for the large wizard to come open it. The Beta Ravenclaw stood to my right, picturesque under the moonlight, and Longbottom stood to my left. He was fidgeting a tad while trying to shield himself for the night’s cool winds. As with his pheromones, I was also starting to adapt to his presence and could see us having a healthy respect for one another. He needed to prove himself first and show some of those Gryffindor qualities of his. I could see how he had been overlooked and trodden on by his fellow Housemates, but it was always the quiet ones you had to be careful of…
He could be of use if someone built up that confidence of his…
Maybe I could whip him into shape, bea- metaphorically beat knowledge into that mind of his, and watch to see if he rose to the occasion when it mattered most…
Or maybe him and Luna could fornicate already so he could build that confidence other ways…
My thoughts were interrupted, my very Slytherin thoughts, and we were now witness to Hagrid in his night robes. He had opened the door, shock written all over his very rugged face as he looked at us, and his cheeks turned a deep shade of red. I thought such a large man blushing like a blithering school girl was rather adorable and smirked at him.
“Hagrid.” I said in a polite greeting.
“Oh… Hullo…” Hagrid muttered, eyes still a tad wide. “Beta Hagrid, at yer service, but… an’ I’m sorry ‘bout this… I ain’t in no fit state ter be entertainin’ terday…” He finished, his hand already starting to close the door.
But I wasn’t easily deterred.
My hand caught the wooden door just before it closed and I winced in pain, but I soldiered on. I could’ve used my pheromones to subdue Hagrid and, it was likely what others would’ve done, but I wanted to be a different kind of Alpha.
I was used to witches and wizards abusing their status.
My Alpha hindbrain agreed with the sentiment.
Even though my Slytherin tendencies demanded it, I was not about to abuse my dynamic for my own gain. I wasn’t like others in my House and refused to become that which I despised. I sometimes wondered why the Salazar-be-damned hat sorted me into that festering House of pure-blooded gits. I knew logically that I demonstrated some of the qualities that a Slytherin would have, but was it my experiences that made me so or was I born this way?
Nevermind that…
I have a large wizard to talk to…
“We know about the Philosopher’s stone, Hagrid.” I said, coldness seeping into my tone. “We should have a chat.”
“Oh…” Hagrid replied, his face falling and considerably paling. “Tha’s a problem…” He added while walking back into his hut and leaving the door open so we could follow.
And follow we did.
“We have come to the conclusion that Professor Quirrell is trying to steal said stone.” I bluntly said, matching Hargid’s footsteps as he fed more wood to the fireplace. “We don’t know why he is after it, one might assume he could want immortality, but a squirrely wizard like him must have another motivation.”
Odd that he doesn’t use magic to stoke the flames…
The Beta Ravenclaw and the Omega Gryffindor settled themselves on the bench while I remained standing with my arms crossed. I had rather not sit on unfamiliar things and dirty myself with his germs. I knew that magic could fix a cold or even mend broken bones, but there was still Muggle in me yet and I wouldn’t take any chances. I’m sure Luna would outright call me a hypocrite if I told her I had no problem sitting on Minerva’s armchair, but she was my soulmate and Hagrid wasn’t.
Plus, Minerva was a woman and smelled lovely while Hagrid…
I scrunched up my nose and wondered how a Beta could smell even more horrid than Alpha’s.
“Not Professor Snape?” Hagrid gruffed, his gravelly voice taking me out of my thoughts. “Most’d suspect her if yeh were in yer shoes.”
“Hermione has vouched for the Professor…” Luna butted in and Hagrid swung his large frame to look at the other Beta. “... And we trust Hermione.”
“We do.” Longbottom added. “If Hermione says it isn’t Professor Snape then we believe her. I… suspected the Professor, but my bias against Slytherins runs deep…” He continued, his Adam's apple bobbing as he roughly swallowed. “Hermione has shown me that not everyone from House Slytherin is the same.”
“Well, yeh’d all be righ’.” Hagrid responded, his voice softening some. “Professor Snape’s not after the Stone, but protectin’ it. An’ Professor Quirrell, hm?” He added while stroking his bushy beard. “More trouble…”
So he didn’t know about Quirrell?
Did Albus?
Surely the old fool did…
“But… What I do know is that there is a cacophony of spells and enchantments that are protecting the stone along with the Cerberus. There has to be. I’m no fool and neither is Headmaster Dumbledore.” I said, leveling Hagrid with a hard stare. “Morgana, Hagrid… A Cerberus? On school grounds?”
“Fluffy?” Hagrid said, his eyes now as wide as saucers. “Yeh know abou’ him? Well… the spells an’ enchantments are a waste o’ bloody time if yeh ask me, but Fluffy? Ain’ a soul knows how ter get past Fluffy ‘cept me an’ Dumbledore.” He confidently said and then cursed under his breath. “Shouldn’ have told yeh tha’. Should not have told yeh tha’.”
“The truth sets one free, you know?” Luna added from where she sat, her eyes alight with mischief, and beside her was Longbottom trying to hold in his laughter.
“Never much ‘ad a problem with tellin’ it anyway…” Hagrid mumbled as he turned back to the fireplace when there was a clattering noise coming from the cauldron. “Oh! Ooh! Oh! Ooh!” He excitedly yelled, an egg now in his mittened hands, his person quickly coming to the table and setting said egg down.
The Beta Ravenclaw and the Omega Gryffindor also joined us in looking at the egg.
“Hagrid…” I warily said, my eyes narrowed on the egg that now sat on the small table.
My Alpha hindbrain was sounding the proverbial alarm at the moment.
“Wow…” Luna dreamily added, her eyes sparkling with excitement.
“Uh… What is it?” Longbottom dumbly asked, his face filled with confusion.
Hagrid’s eyes snapped away from the egg he had been studying with near-reverent fascination and squarely landed on Longbottom. The change was immediate and color drained from his face as the question settled over the room like a curse finally spoken aloud.
The fire behind the large Beta crackled and popped in the hearth, far too loud in the sudden silence.
Hagrid’s breath caught in his chest, stumbling in uneven starts, and the enormous groundskeeper looked for all the world as though someone had just hexed him in the arse. His wide eyes flicked from the Omega Gryffindor to the egg and back again, guilt and panic warring across his features as the warm, flickering light of the hut threw his expression into sharp, uneasy relief.
“That? Tha’s a…” Hagrid stumbled, his eyes periodically darting from the egg and to us three as he tried to form a complete sentence. “It’s, er…”
“I know!” Luna interrupted, hands excitedly clapping together. “It’s a dragon egg… Isn’t it! Oh, how lovely! Dad and I have always wanted to see a dragon up close, but we haven’t had the pleasure yet… But… How did you procure the cute egg?”
There she goes again…
Calling pernicious creatures…
…cute once again…
“I… I won it, off a stranger I met down at ‘ogsmeade…” Hagrid answered, his eyebrows furrowing as he spoke. “Seemed quite glad to be rid o’ it, as a matter o’ fact…” He continued, but was interrupted when the egg started to shake and crack.
The shell shook some more…
And cracked…
And jolted the table until…
Pieces of the shell splintered in every direction, embedding themselves into the wooden walls of the hut, a shriek pierced our ears that had all of our hands protecting our precious eardrums, and, by Merlin, a miniscule dragon lay in the center. The baby dragon stretched its wings and blinked owlishly at us, but seemed to be calculating who now surrounded it, who was now observing its first moments of life. My gaze lingered on its form and I was intrigued to see a dragon up close. It had ridges down its back while brown scales rippled in the moonlight that was coming from the window behind it. The dragon’s head seemed disproportionate to its body and its demeanor was positive in nature.
“What…” Longbottom sputtered, his Omega pheromones flaring as he backed away from the table.
“A Norwegian Ridgeback!” Luna helpfully offered while leaning to get a closer look at the newly born dragon. It nipped the air, but then chirped at Luna who beamed back at it. “I read an older tome that described how a Norwegian Ridgeback carried off a whale near the coast of Norway. It caused quite a stir and many Muggles had to be Obliviated because of the incident.” She explained, her child-like wonder prominent as she cooed at the dragon.
“Isn’ he a beaut?” Hagrid added as the dragon looked at him and chirped once again. “Ahh! Bless the little blighter! He knows his mum.” He added with a hearty chuckle, his hand reaching out the pet the dragon, and him nuzzling Hagrid’s hand. “Hullo, Norbert!”
“Norbert?” I parroted, my face screwed up in disgust at the odd name.
“Well… it’s a fine name…” Longbottom replied, still some centimeters away from the table. “I think…”
“Exactly! A dragon like ‘im’s gotta ‘ave a name, don’t ‘e?” Hagrid said with a huff and more scratches to… Norbert’s chin. “Don’ you?” He cooed. “Eh? Dee-dee-dee!”
But it seemed…
Norbert got to stimulated by his eventful hatching and spit flames directly at Hagrid
The large Beta jerked backward as flames burst from the minuscule dragon’s mouth with startling force. Fire roared outward in a sudden, violent plume, the heat striking my skin like a physical blow. I instantly felt it. The dry, blistering warmth that stole the breath from my lungs. Behind the creature, Hagrid yelped as the blast caught the edge of his beard, the thick hair curling and smoking where the fire licked across it. The half-giant frantically swatted at the singed strands, embers drifting down around him as the hearthlight and dragonfire merged into a single, furious glow.
But my body had already begun to betray me.
The heat locked my muscles in place, my chest tightening until every breath felt shallow and wrong. My throat constricted as if invisible hands were closing around it, and the room blurred at the edges of my vision. Sweat trickled down my spine despite the chill that had suddenly taken hold of my limbs.
And then the past came rushing back.
For a terribly horrid moment, the small burst of flame before me was no longer contained within the walls of a hut on the grounds of Hogwarts. Instead, I saw blue fire. It was unnatural and the hungry flames were greedily licking at the walls of the home I had once known. I could almost feel them again, searing against my skin, devouring everything they touched. The scent of smoke thickened in my lungs, choking and suffocating, and somewhere in the distance I heard screaming.
My parents.
Their voices twisted through the roar of the fire, raw with terror as the flames consumed the house around them. Past and present folded together until I could no longer separate the two. All I remembered was dragging my useless body across the floor, desperate and helpless, hauling myself toward the door while my whole world burned behind me.
I was a coward.
You’re a coward…
I was a worthless peon who did nothing when faced with a life-or-death decision…
Nothing…
My parents crossed the veil because of me…
Yes…
Something in me, something truly vile, pushed that narrative with resounding force until I felt my knees buckle. My burn scars burned even hotter, my mind screaming out into the void, and my charred heart painfully clenched at the words.
But I felt gentle hands encircling my body and felt them steady me before I fell to the floor of this hut.
I could smell their scent and another scent that I recognized.
Both of their scents brought my senses and mind back to the present.
My eyes fluttered open, a pained rumble coming from deep within my person, and I was greeted by three gazes who looked at me with varying degrees of worry…
“Salazar's snakes…” I growled, my voice reverberating off the walls of the hut.
The miniscule dragon had been subdued by Longbottom’s and I’s pheromones, now forgotten in the grand scheme of things that had just transpired, but I was becoming increasingly uncomfortable with all the attention.
I had these…
…flashbacks before, these thoughts before, and dreams that had plagued me since my parents death, but they had never been in the presence of others like this.
The voice in my head that said these horrid things had waned over the years and seemingly came back with a damnable vengeance because of this puissant flashback.
“I’m fine.” I rumbled, my voice rough and scratchy, but my words didn’t seem to alleviate their worry. “Merlin, I said I’m fine!” I hissed, my nostrils flaring, my pheromones pumping out my distress into the air at an alarming rate.
The silence that preceded my outburst was deafening.
Luna was the one who had kept me from falling, but decided her touch wasn’t welcome at the moment.
It was the Omega Gryffindor that cautiously approached me from the other side of the room, his pheromones stronger than they ever had been before, and cut through that silence.
“Hermione…” Longbottom shakily said, his hands reaching out for me, but stopping at my rigid reaction. “Respectfully… You aren’t fine. None of us…” he started to say, gulping some air down and breathing heavily. “None of us gave a second thought to how you would react to a fire-breathing dragon. It may have been a shock to all of us that Hagrid had a dragon, but we should have thought ahead about the implications. And for that… I’m sorry, but you need someone right now-” He tried to explain, but Hagrid interrupted him.
“I’m sorry to interrupt lad, but who is that?” Hagrid said, his finger pointing over to the frosted window behind us.
All of us turned to see who was at the window and it was…
Draco Malfoy!
Moronic git is spying on us…
The arse is dead if I catch him…
He will regret poking his nose into my affairs…