The Intelligent Potter

*** Present

"Practise, today, 8:00." Wood said immediately, "Come, and I'll personally see your skill and explain some things about our strategy and Quidditch."

Harry nodded, not sure whether it was a good thing or a bad thing.

"Don't tell the rest of your classmates. You can be a surprise." McGonagall said.

Harry nodded.

*** Later, Quidditch Pitch

"What did Professor McGonagall want with you?" Hermione asked, lots of people listening in.

"Oh, just to tell me that Professor Snape wanted to give me a detention and to explain myself." Harry said casually, deflecting the conversation to the evils of Severus Snape.

Automatically, the class burst into complaint about the unfairness of the oily potions master.

*** Christmas Day

Harry was shaken awake by Hermione.

"What are you doing here?" he asked sleepily.

"It's Christmas!" Hermione squealed at him.

"But why are you in the boys dorm? I thought you couldn't cross to the other gender's dorms."

Hermione shrugged, "Boys can't enter the girls' dorms, but we can enter any dorm we like."

"That's vaguely s.e.xist," Harry protested, before suddenly remembering the good news he'd been waiting to tell Hermione.

"You're part of the Quidditch team!" Hermione responded excitedly, "There hasn't been a first-year on the Quidditch team for-"

"-A hundred years, or so McGonagall says." Harry finished, not paying attention to the conversation, as he finally noticed a few packages lying at the bottom of his bed.

"What are those?" he asked, a bit confused.

"Why, Christmas presents, of course!" Hermione exclaimed, before ripping into the wrapping of one of them, "Let's open your gifts!" she added a bit belatedly.

Harry sighed and ripped into a gift himself.

He blinked as a silvery cloth fell onto his l.a.p and suddenly he could see straight through his l.a.p and directly onto the bed.

"Huh," he said, "I think someone gifted me an invisibility cloak."

Hermione read the card, "It used to belong to your father!" she said, "But the card isn't signed so we don't know who sent it."

Harry peered at the handwriting. He could remember the loopy scrawl from somewhere, but he couldn't for the life of him remember where it was from.

Then it came to him all of a sudden.

Dumbledore!

It was Dumbledore's writing, he was sure of it. He'd read copies of Dumbledore's papers on the usage of dragons' blood, and they featured the same loopy scrawl, that was why his handwriting was so familiar to Harry.

"Dumbledore," the boy whispered.

"Excuse me?" Hermione said, confused.

"Dumbledore sent me this cloak!"

*** Later

"Looks like something is burning in the Gamekeeper's cabin." Harry noted and began to walk in the direction of it.

Hermione looked and her eyes widened, "Oh! Do you think something is burning down!?"

"Perhaps, still can't hurt to check."

"We could get burnt." Hermione countered dryly.

Harry looked amused, "Not if we're careful" and twirled his wand between his fingers, a spray of water coming out of his wand to land on Hermione's shoes, making the bookish girl jump with an "eep" of surprise.

Harry laughed.

Hermione frowned, "But the water conjuration spell is third year!"

Harry smiled, "I learn what I need to."

They hurried towards Hagrid's cabin.

Harry knocked on the door smartly.

"I don't think Hagrid is in. If he were here, he would've put out the fire himself." Hermione said, just as the burly Gamekeeper opened the door.

"Harry! Hermione! Nice to see you guys." Hagrid greeted.

"Hello Hagrid, we saw smoke and came over to see whether there was anything wrong." Harry said.

Hagrid looked away guiltily.

Harry narrowed his eyes, he hadn't missed Hagrid's expression, it would have been practically impossible, "Hagrid, what are you hiding?"

"Errrr, nothing?" Hagrid replied, almost like a question.

Harry peered around the house and his eyes came to lie on a small reptilian green figure near Hagrid's fireplace… a small green reptilian figure that was breathing fire near Hagrid's fireplace.

"Hagrid…" Harry said slowly, "You have a dragon in your house, do you know how many laws you're breaking?"

Hagrid seemed to deflate a bit, "I've always wanted ter raise a dragon… and when the bloke offered… I couldn't resist."

Harry was instantly on alert, "Hagrid… which bloke offered you a dragon egg, a restricted and dangerous item that is destroyed on sight by the ministry?" Harry said, exasperatedly.

"Errrr… won it from a fellow in the Hog's head, he was wearin' a cloak and all, didn't look too suspicious, least not for the Hog's Head types…" Hagrid said with uncertainty, only now feeling the suspicion he should have when he was offered the highly illegal item.

Harry shook his head, "Hagrid, you cannot keep a dragon in your house, your wooden house, it'll be burnt down, you need to open up to Professor Dumbledore, he's helped you out in the past and he isn't the sort of man who seems to care about the legality of these kinds of things." Harry said, there were many things that Harry wouldn't trust Dumbledore with, but Hagrid's welfare wasn't one of them, Dumbledore had done vouched for Hagrid to get him his job, even when Hagrid had been in possession of the giant spider. Also, knowing Dumbledore, he probably already knew about Hagrid's dragon anyway.

Harry spent the rest of the time convincing Hagrid that telling Dumbledore was the right thing to do, it wasn't hard because Hagrid already viewed Dumbledore in a very positive light.

*** Outside the headmaster's gargoyle, a little while later

"We need to see the headmaster." Harry said.

"Password." The gargoyle replied in a monotone.

Harry rolled his eyes, "Why does the headmaster need a password, he would be so much more accessible to students, if they were allowed to request to talk with the Headmaster."

"An excellent idea, Mr. Potter, one I may actually consider." Said the Headmaster's smiling voice from behind them.

Harry and Hermione spun around to face Dumbledore who was standing with a toast in his hand.

"Just fetching a snack from the kitchens." Dumbledore said in his grandfatherly way before waving his hand and having the gargoyle move aside so they could ascend.

"I must ask why you need to see me." The Headmaster of Hogwarts asked idly on the way up, deciding not to glean Harry's mind until necessary.

Harry waited a second while Dumbledore closed the door before replying, "Hagrid has come into possession of a dragon, and we need to help him get rid of it, and you seem to be the ideal person to help."

The Wizened Professor nodded, he knew that Hagrid had a dragon, but he was waiting to see what Hagrid would do, but of course, if his help was asked, he would provide it.

"I know a dragon tamer, Charlie Weasley, who can pick up the dragon on short notice, tell Hagrid not to worry." Said Dumbledore, "But since you two have been involved in an illegal operation in every sense of the word, I shall have to punish you…"

Harry felt annoyed on the inside, it had been a gamble to come to Dumbledore.

"… 5 points from Gryffindor and a detention with Hagrid." Dumbledore said happily.

Harry nodded, exasperated at the Headmaster's weird sense of humour.

*** That weekend.

Charlie and his friends showed up to retrieve Norbert from Hagrid.

"Hey, how're ya doing, Charlie!" Hagrid rumbled.

"Good and yourself, I've come to pick up a dragon that Dumbledore said you had found."

"Yeah, got 'im right here." Hagrid said, gesturing to his fireplace where the Welsh Green was relaxing on the hot coals, snoring peacefully.

Charlie smiled at the dragon, like the dragon lover he was, "Come with me baby, you'll have an AMAZING home in Romania!"

*** End of Chapter