Better Be Slytherin!

perform well.'

'Yes,' Severus agreed, letting none of his worry about the boy show. Nor any of his exasperation at being put off about Quirrell. Or so he thought.

'When was the last time you spoke to Quirinus about his . . . possible loyalties?'

Frowning, Severus said, 'A month ago? Six weeks? I've no idea. Why? Do you have more information? Has he figured out a way to get past Fluffy?' It was the only trap he knew would give everyone but Hagrid trouble, and Hagrid would have trouble with all of the others, having little magic of his own anymore, and no wand.

'Not to my knowledge, dear boy. Not to my knowledge. But . . . I imagine you were circumspect enough at that meeting. Discreet, were you not? Gave no hint to Quirinus that you might be anything but a helpful pawn in his Lord's plans to return?'

'I . . .' His frown deepened. He had played his part well. What was Dumbledore getting at? He decided to ask. Perhaps, this once, Albus would give him a straight answer. 'What are you talking about, Albus? Do you suspect Quirrell knows I'm not one of His agents anymore?'

Dumbledore smiled softly. 'Not at all. I merely speculate that, to the untrained eye seeking knowledge, a conversation of that sort would terribly, mistakenly illuminating.'

No. Not even this once.

TBC . . .

A/N: Thanks to everyone who reads and/or reviews! You're all made of awesomesauce!

Stay tuned for the next exciting episode, with Dragons and Draco and more hijinks than you can shake a stick at.

*Chapter 47*: Chapter 47

Better Be Slytherin! – Chapter 47

By jharad17

Warnings: None

--HPHPHPHPHPHPHP--

Previously on Better Be Slytherin:

What was Dumbledore getting at? He decided to ask. Perhaps, this once, Albus would give him a straight answer. 'What are you talking about, Albus? Do you suspect Quirrell knows I'm not one of His agents anymore?'

Dumbledore smiled softly. 'Not at all. I merely speculate that, to the untrained eye seeking knowledge, a conversation of that sort would terribly, mistakenly illuminating.'

No. Not even this once.

--HPHPHPHPHPHPHP--

Harry stared at the black-shelled egg on Hagrid's table, watching it crack open even wider. The dragon egg was the most amazing thing he had ever seen, except maybe Quidditch or unicorns or the Mirror of Erised, and he was almost as excited as Hagrid, who was clapping his big hands together, his face lit with joy.

'Where did you get it, Hagrid?' said Teddy, cocking his head to the side as he did when he was thinking deeply. 'It must've cost you a fortune.'

'Won it,' said Hagrid. 'Las' night. I was down in the village havin' a few drinks an' got into a game o' cards with a stranger. Think he was quite glad ter get rid of it, ter be honest.'

'But what are you going to do with it when it's hatched?' said Millie.

'Well, I've bin doin' some readin',' said Hagrid, pulling a large book from under his pillow. 'Got this outta the library -- Dragon Breeding for Pleasure and Profit -- it's a bit outta date, o' course, but it's all in here. Keep the egg in the fire, 'cause their mothers breathe on 'em, see, an' when it hatches, like it's 'bout ter now, ye feed it on a bucket o' brandy mixed with chicken blood every half hour. An' see here -- how ter recognize diff'rent eggs -- what I got there's a Norwegian Ridgeback. They're rare, them.'

He looked very pleased with himself, but Teddy didn't. 'Hagrid, you live in a wooden house,' he said.

Hagrid happily ignored him as a bit of shell fell off, followed by a gout of flame from within the egg three inches high.

All at once there was a scraping noise and the egg split open. The baby dragon flopped onto the table. It wasn't exactly pretty; Harry thought it looked like a crumpled, black umbrella. Its spiny wings were huge compared to its skinny jet body. It had a long snout with wide nostrils, the stubs of horns and bulging, orange eyes.

It sneezed. A couple of sparks flew out of its snout.

'Isn't he beautiful?' Hagrid murmured. He reached out a hand to stroke the dragon's head. It snapped at his fingers, showing pointed fangs. 'Bless him, look, he knows his mommy!' said Hagrid as he reached for the bucket of chicken blood and brandy.

The dragon sank its snout into the mixture, and loud slurping sounds came from within the bucket. 'Do you see that?' Millie exclaimed. 'It's so cute!'

Harry didn't know about cute, but the baby dragon was certainly interesting. And a bit frightening to tell the truth. Yet he and Teddy merely nodded, going along. Suddenly, the baby dragon reared up out of the bucket, snout covered with blood and flapping its wings as if it had seen something. Harry turned in time to catch a glimpse of a face at the window, one topped with red hair. Weasley!

Harry darted out the door in time to catch the boy before he'd gotten far. 'Ron, wait! Please!'

Ron Weasley turned, looking pale in the early evening gloom. 'That's a dragon, that is. They're not