CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Hagrid had Norbert packed and ready in a large crate.
“He’s got lots o’ rats an’ some brandy fer the journey,” said Ha-
grid in a muffled voice. “An’ I’ve packed his teddy bear in case he
gets lonely.”
From inside the crate came ripping noises that sounded to Harry
as though the teddy was having his head torn off.
“Bye-bye, Norbert!” Hagrid sobbed, as Harry and Hermione
covered the crate with the Invisibility Cloak and stepped under-
neath it themselves. “Mommy will never forget you!”
How they managed to get the crate back up to the castle, they
never knew. Midnight ticked nearer as they heaved Norbert up the
marble staircase in the entrance hall and along the dark corridors.
Up another staircase, then another — even one of Harry’s short-
cuts didn’t make the work much easier.
“Nearly there!” Harry panted as they reached the corridor be-
neath the tallest tower.
Then a sudden movement ahead of them made them almost
drop the crate. Forgetting that they were already invisible, they
shrank into the shadows, staring at the dark outlines of two people
grappling with each other ten feet away. A lamp flared.
Professor McGonagall, in a tartan bathrobe and a hair net, had
Malfoy by the ear.
“Detention!” she shouted. “And twenty points from Slytherin!
Wandering around in the middle of the night, how dare you —”
“You don’t understand, Professor. Harry Potter’s coming — he’s
got a dragon!”
“What utter rubbish! How dare you tell such lies! Come on — I
shall see Professor Snape about you, Malfoy!”
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