You're Being Hugged, Harry

by David Silver

37 - True Shattering

Professor Trelawney sat up stiffly, glaring at what she had seen. She got up and marched over to Dumbledore's office to knock firmly on it. "Sir? We can't keep ignoring this."

The door swung inwards with Dumbledore's hand on it. "It's a bit late to be making loud shouts, isn't it?" He stroked his beard once. "What has you in such a tizzy?"

"It's all out of balance." She threw a hand up. "Even the little things. If you woke up tomorrow with two heads, I wouldn't be too very much surprised, and that shouldn't be comforting."

"I should imagine not." He nodded in a soft gesture. "But all that was ever certain was that we can't see the future clearly, prophecy or two excepted."

She grabbed his shoulder. "Even those aren't a promise, not anymore. All of it, fell apart. This isn't a drill, or a joke."

"I have trust, faith if you will." He held up his hands placatingly. "This will pass, and we will be stronger for it. Keep an eye on it, but let's not dissove into outright panic." Dumbledore gestured inside. "Care for a cup? A fine blend. It'll help calm things down."

They had much to discuss, but few answers would come that evening.

---

Sprout looked at Harry oddly. "What's all this about then?"

"Ma'am." Harry dipped his head. "It's about a certain stone, that you helped protect."

She scowled at that and reached to bop her equine student on the snout. "What would you be doing out at this time of day worrying about what ain't not a bit of your business!"

Harry rubbed his snout ruefully. "We're really sorry to bother you, Professor Sprout. But I saw Professor Snape sneaking around and got worried...please, anything you could share might help."

Sprout pursed her lips, looking them over. Finally she sighed. "This isn't a tale for young ears. But seems like ye won't be resting without some peace of mind."

She ushered them into her warm, earthy cottage. Soon mugs of hot cocoa were passed around as Sprout considered what to reveal.

"That Stone you mention...well, let's just say it's being kept locked away for good reason. Many covet its power." Her expression grew distant. "If it fell into the wrong hands, terrible things could happen."

She took a bracing gulp of cocoa. "Now I won't be telling ye outright how my enchantments guard it! But I will say ol' Severus insisted on adding quite a few nasty hexes alongside mine. Probably thought my charms weren't up to snuff!" She laughed heartily.

Harry and Hermione exchanged meaningful looks. A back door...

"Not to fret though." Sprout smiled. "Even with all Severus' extra nonsense, ain't no breaching my protections! That Stone's safer than Gringotts so long as this old badger watches over it."

Somehow, her fierce assurance did help set Harry's mind at ease. They finished their cocoa amid more lighthearted chatter before heading back into the night, the secrets of the Stone still secure, at least for the time.

---

"One thing bothering me." Harry looked around the room to Ron and the two tsukis. "I don't think Hagrid needed it quite that warm for a simple cold."

Ron shook his head. "I was trying to be polite about it, you know? He's a nice enough guy. If he wanted it warm, it's his house."

"Sure, sure." Harry shrugged softly. "Just... It keeps bouncing around, you know?"

Arnavon hopped up to his paws. "Hagrid is nice. If you're wondering, why don't we just ask him?"

Harry smiled at his large friend. "Why don't you? I mean it. He has a soft spot for you, and I doubt he'll be very defensive if you ask. In his eyes, you're an adorable thing, not a threat at all."

Arnavon fluffed up with a smile. "I am fluffy." He considered that together, his fluffiness, and their goals. "I will ask then. If he doesn't want to say, I'll hug him!" That was a dire threat from any tsuki, their hugs quite a potent weapon. "Gently," he added. "But he is big. He can take a good hug." With a twitch of his tail, he jumped right out the window, lost to sight.

Tillybell inclined her head, watching him go. "He's so brave," she sighed out. One could almost see the hearts in her eyes.

Harry chuckled. "Hopefully Hagrid finds his curiosity more endearing than nosy."

The wait for Arnavon's return felt strangely tense. Tillybell paced, fretting over imagined scenarios.

"What's take so long? He lost? He hurt?" She frowned with a shiver, visions of how it all could have gone wrong, dancing in her mind.

Harry rested a reassuring hoof on her arm. "I'm sure he's fine. Hagrid probably offered him rock cakes and tea. Might be a while..."

Sure enough, a short while later, Arnavon came bounding back through the open window with his usual exuberance. Tillybell tackle-hugged him in relief.

"Well? What did you find out?" Harry asked once Arnavon could breathe again.

"Hagrid is very nice!" Arnavon declared. "He gave me a stoat sandwich and talked about creatures for a long time."

Seeing Harry's impatient expression, he added "Oh right! He said he had a...dragon egg? He won it playing cards! Isn't that exciting?"

Harry and Ron exchanged startled looks. "Blimey, no wonder it was roasting in there!" Ron exclaimed. "Hagrid's gonna have his hands full when that thing hatches! Also kinda illegal... Ain't supposed to go breedin' dragons."

Harry held up his hooves. "This is Hagrid. You know he wasn't trying to cause any trouble. He just saw an exotic critter and thought he had to protect it."

Arnavon bobbed his head. "Hagrid is good. How do we help him?"

Harry looked to Ron.

Ron huffed softly. "Right, well..." He stroked his chin thoughtfully. "Shoot... We have to get it out of the school, that's for sure, to start."

Harry paced, tail swishing. "Hogwarts isn't exactly equipped for rearing dragons. But we can't turn Hagrid in - he'd be devastated."

"What if you sent it off to Romania?" Ron suggested. "My brother Charlie helps care for dragons there. He could take it to a sanctuary!"

Arnavon's eyes shone. "I could deliver it! Dragons aren't very heavy when they first hatch."

Tillybell frowned. "How would we even get it though? Hagrid loves his creatures - he won't want to let it go."

They all pondered silently. Then Harry perked up.

"What if it 'escaped' on its own one night? We could leave some subtle clues to lead it toward Romania. By the time Hagrid realizes it got out, it'll be too late!"

Ron grinned. "Blimey, that just might work! Then Charlie and his crew could secretly send word they 'found' a lost dragon. Hagrid would be thrilled it has a proper home."

Arnavon showed a powerful arm, curling it in a display. "Why not take it? Once it's out of Hagrid's, I could give it a hug and take it away. I am an owl." He stood to his full height, proving he was actually not an owl, at least physically. "I can deliver this mail."

Harry laughed at the idea. "It is a dragon, it'll bite and claw and probably be really ornery. You sure you want to deliver that kind of mail?"

Ron looked between Arnavon and Tillybell. "Think you can handle that?" He dug around and pulled out an old photo. "Here's a picture of the place. That help?"

Arnavon fell to all fours and got in so close his nose touched the photo. "Yes. I can get there. Sneaky, not let 'muggle' humans see me. In, deliver dragon, out." He nodded with building confidence. "Hug test."

Tilly hugged her mate from the side. "Show that dragon you know hugs." She smooched his cheek, warming it swiftly. "Be good owl!"

Harry watched their antics fondly. "There is still the problem of how we sneak it away without Hagrid realizing."

"Oh I know!" Arnavon piped up. "Replace it!"

Seeing their confused looks, he elaborated, "Tsuki do it sometimes. A mother doesn't want to lose kits, so she replaces them right away if something happens." He nudged his head at Tillybell. "Hagrid wouldn't know the difference."

Tillybell bobbed eagerly. "We could find a similar egg in the forest. Hagrid would never suspect."

Ron clapped his hands. "I bet I could charm a hollow egg just enough to give it that dragonish vibe. Switch it for the real one while Arnavon has the baby smuggled off."

Harry grinned wide. "By George, I think we've got it. Operation Dragon Drop is a go!"

The friends traded high-fives and hoof-bumps, camaraderie swelling. Soon enough they'd be facing danger and drama, but just then spirits soared with mischief and daring purpose.

Ron proved to be the one to find a suitable egg, getting Arnavon's nod of approval. "Close." He felt over it softly with his furry paws. "Close. Not the same, exactly, but close."

"Close'll have to do. What's off?" Ron worked with Arnavon to tweak and play with the egg, getting it as close to a dragon egg, at least on the outside, as possible.

With the egg ready, they pressed it into Arnavon's waiting paws. "Delivery, begin!" He saluted sharply before tucking the egg into a little backpack he had on. "Wish me luck." He vanished with a strong bounce, on his way.

Tilly huffed at where Arnavon had been. "Want help." But there hadn't come up room for her to do that. She looked to Harry. "Smart. How help?"

Harry snickered a little. "I have a name, and it isn't 'smart', though thanks for that. Why don't you practice while he's gone. You can show off the progress you made when he gets back."

Her eyes widened at the proposal. "Good idea. See. Why smart." She patted Harry on either shoulder, then bounded to a quiet corner to begin.

Ron watched their oversized owl disappear into the night. "How long d'you reckon his trip will take?"

"A few days at least." Harry did some swift calculations. "He'll have to be extra careful once he gets near more crowded areas. Best not draw muggle notice."

A worried crease formed between Ron's brows though. "What if someone here realizes he's gone missing? We'll have to cover for him."

Tilly suddenly popped up from her task with a gasp. "I'll pretend to be Arnavon!"

She bounded over to them, striking a pose with belly thrust outwards. "See? I'm a big fluffy owl who loves letters and hugs," she declared in a goofy deep voice.

Despite her silly act, Harry's tail swished with amusement. "You know...that may just be crazy enough to work. No one looks that closely at Arnavon. Just stay in our room and don't act too odd if anyone stops by."

Ron hummed softly. "That's all good, but she's one tsuki, and there used to be two."

Harry shook his head at Ron. "But one tsuki is easy to explain. The other one's out, not even unusual. Two would be a bit odd. Two for any length of time? No, something's wrong." He leaned in, voice dropping to a whisper, "And it gives her something to do to help, don't go spoiling it."

"Right, yeah." Ron snapped his fingers. "Clever. They'll never see through it."

Elsewhere, Arnavon knocked on a thick wooden door.

Hagrid opened it and spread his arms. "Arnavon!"

Arnavon crashed into Hagrid, the two meeting in a fierce hug from either side. Hagrid was one of the few humans he could do that to, and expect a good hug in return. "It's good to see you. Can I come in?"

"Of course." Hagrid waved him in, getting out of the way. "What brings you by? New aches?"

"No." Arnavon casually tossed the whole plan out. "We have a good place for your egg, where your dragon will be cared for." He smiled a little goofily. "They think I'm stealing the egg, but you are too good of a friend. I can't steal from you."

"About that..." Hagrid pointed to where a little dragon peeked up out of a pot, blinking its reptillian eyes at Arnavon.

Author's Note:

Arnavon is kind of the worst secret agent ever.

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Comments

[Booster Spice]

Norberta eere but us Chickens soups.

[howard035]

Harry should write his Aunt Twilight for advice.

[David Silver]

11830012
Aunt Twilight is always a good idea.