The Silent Bookstore Manager at Hogwarts

Of course, Harry knew that Malfoy wouldn't let this go easily. It wasn't that he knew much about Malfoy, but rather that he had heard about the Slytherins' exploits. Losing to Gryffindor was one of the few things they couldn't accept, so they would definitely want to get revenge.

"Let's travel together these next few days, that way we'll at least have a chance to deal with any people we encounter."

Ron and Hermione made this suggestion to Harry. They knew more or less about the Slytherin people, so they simply became Harry's bodyguards.

The dragon egg's movements were becoming increasingly obvious, and Harry knew their movements were also becoming more and more obvious. After all, they couldn't completely erase their tracks, and anyone who paid close attention would discover that their destination was Hagrid's hut.

"Ron, I remember you said... your brother Charlie works at the Dragon Sanctuary, right?"

Sitting in Hagrid's hut, feeling the intense heat from the roaring fire, Harry suddenly asked a question.

"Yes, he wrote me quite a few letters, but I guess he never saw a Norwegian Ridgeback egg hatching up close like this."

As Ron spoke, he had already gotten somewhat used to the high temperature here. Logically speaking, the flames of a simple fireplace shouldn't be that hot, but Harry's rhythmic roaring flames did add a lot of surprises to the little house.

"Think of incubation as a forging process. You need to ensure the material's activity while allowing it to grow. That's the mystery of life; their growth potential cannot be evaluated in a normal way..."

Red whispered instructions to Harry from the side. As a prospective blacksmith who had studied "The Bell and the Bronze" and "The Commandments of the Hammer and the Anvil," Harry naturally took his mentor's words to heart.

However, he still used his magic cautiously. He was facing a life that had not yet been born. Hagrid, Ron, and Hermione had been looking forward to this for a long time, and he could not afford to make any mistakes at this time.

Amidst the flames, the dragon egg trembled. Harry instinctively stopped casting his spell, staring intently at the tiny life that could be born into the world at any moment. Hagrid, hearing the commotion, immediately moved closer, completely ignoring the lingering heat.

"Click, click..."

Cracks appeared on the eggshell, and Hermione and Ron held their breath. An ugly little creature struggled to break through the shell. The first thing it saw was the enormous Hagrid. Its ingrained fear of giants made it instinctively bare its teeth, trying to scare Hagrid away with its most primal action.

"Harry, look!! This little guy!!! It's so energetic!! It's talking to me right now..."

Hagrid was overjoyed and wanted to hug the little Norwegian Ridgeback, which terrified the baby so much that it wished it could immediately go back into the egg and put the shell back together.

"Hagrid, is it possible that you scared it?"

Harry reached out his hand, and to his surprise, the Norwegian Spinosaurus almost instantly moved next to Harry, even rubbing its head against Harry's palm.

"It seems it still remembers the people who helped it hatch, doesn't it?"

Red spoke, gently stroking the Norwegian Ridgeback Dragon's body. Although the dragon was just a newborn cub, it could already breathe dragonfire. It was just that it had been frightened by Hagrid earlier; otherwise, it would have used a burst of fire to trim Hagrid's beard and hair.

"Are you really not going to come closer and touch him? Actually, Norman is quite docile."

Upon hearing this, Norbert turned to look at Hermione and Ron, then turned around and faced away from them, but remained close to Harry, seemingly enjoying the lingering warmth.

"Alright, alright, stop petting the little guy. He's probably hungry now and it's time to eat."

Hagrid walked over carrying a bucket of raw meat, and Norbert eagerly took a bite, even biting Hagrid's finger. However, the latter didn't seem to feel hurt at all and even laughed and said something.

"This little guy is so clingy; he's already started licking my fingers."

"Now I understand why Hai-ge can be the ranger of the Forbidden Forest. Ordinary magical creatures probably can't bite through his skin, right?"

Harry couldn't help but mutter that this was really too bizarre. Norbert, chewing on his meat, shook his head, glanced at the tall Hagrid, and finally, as if confirming something, wobbled back to Harry's side, still chewing on his meat.

"Harry? Does it want to eat with you? This..."

Hermione stared in disbelief at Norbert's actions, her mouth agape. She knew that animals develop a special affinity for the first person they see after hatching, but wasn't Norbert seeing Hagrid? Why was he even willing to share food with Harry?

"No, it just wants to eat cooked meat but can't breathe fire to cook it. Theoretically speaking, it's calling out, 'Mommy, I'm hungry.'"

Red calmly explained, then took out his wand. The evenly emitted flames quickly wiped away the blood from the meat, releasing the aroma of roasted meat that was still tempting even without any seasoning.

Harry took a deep breath and looked at Norbert. It was a strange feeling, a new life being born through his hands, especially when this tiny life approached him and Red so innocently...

"Wait a minute, why is it so affectionate towards you?"

Harry suddenly looked at Red. Red hadn't interfered with Norbert's incubation, so why was Norbert so unguarded against Red?

"Probably because..." Red waved his wand, releasing magic freely, which transformed into a protective shield over Hagrid's hut. This was an evolution of armor, but Red wouldn't normally use it.

"Perhaps Norbert remembered my taste?"

Harry saw that Red didn't want to reveal the truth at all, so he didn't say anything more. He could feel that Norbert was indeed getting close to Red and him, and that was enough. Although the time they could watch Norbert grow up was destined to be very short, anyone would know that it was already incredible to be able to form a friendship with a Norwegian Ridgeback.

"Speaking of which, everyone should try to come over at a certain time recently. Also, Hai-ge, you'd better keep it well hidden. Because of certain things, Slytherin has probably already set their sights on Harry, and they won't let go of this good opportunity to report him openly."

Red's words made Hagrid's expression change. He quickly protected Norbert and nodded repeatedly.