The Black Bloodline of Hogwarts

The Christmas spirit had not yet faded, and Hogwarts Castle was still covered with a thin layer of snow, with frost flowers on the window frames shimmering in the moonlight.

The first week after the holiday was filled with a lazy yet slightly excited atmosphere—students were both worried about returning to the classroom and excited to see their friends again.

Julien Black returned to school with this feeling.

While he fondly remembers the warm winter sun of Bordeaux and his grandfather's magical lessons in the Chamber of Secrets, he also finds his true home in the towers of Hogwarts, the dust of the library, and the real starry sky in the Ravenclaw common room.

Time flies. That evening, Julien was in the library looking up some information about ancient runes, and soon he was feeling dizzy and his head was spinning.

It was indeed a bit too early for a first-grader to be studying runes, but perhaps it was because his grandfather taught him a few unorthodox spells during the holidays that a book titled "Is Ancient Magic All Black Magic?" came to mind, in which many ancient spells involved runes.

Just as he was doing eye exercises by the Black Lake, a girl's voice called out to him.

"Julien! What strange thing are you doing?" Liria emerged from behind a giant beech tree, a few unmelted snowflakes still clinging to her cloak.

"Oh, I'm practicing Eastern magic—pressure point techniques," Julien replied casually. "Look, this is pressing the temples and rubbing around the eye sockets! Impressive, isn't it?"

"Haha, awesome!" Liria's cheeks were slightly flushed from the cold wind, but her icy blue eyes sparkled with a joyful light.

"I'm not kidding anymore, you've come at the perfect time! I was just on my way to Hagrid's, come with me!"

Julien was somewhat surprised. Liria had always been a loner, and aside from necessary interactions in class, she almost never invited anyone out.

Just as he was wondering, Lyria told him that Hagrid was one of the few people who could make her feel relaxed because he treated all creatures equally and never questioned her origins or the secrets of her tribe.

"Hagrid? It's so late?" Julien looked at the sky.

"He said he has something 'special' to show me tonight." Liria winked mysteriously, her tone tinged with childlike anticipation. "Let's go, stop dawdling!"

Julien couldn't dissuade her, so he followed the girl from the North, trudging through the soft snow towards the hut guarding the hunting grounds.

The cabin's windows let in a warm, orange glow, making it appear especially cozy against the backdrop of the dark, forbidden forest.

As soon as they entered the cabin, they heard Hagrid's loud, excited voice, mixed with strange sounds that resembled a cat purring but also barking. Needless to say, it was Hagrid's cowardly hound, Tooth.

"...Shh! Keep your voice down, Tooth! Don't get excited, you have to be quiet, or you'll be discovered!" Hagrid lowered his voice, but his excitement was palpable.

Julien and Liria exchanged a glance, both seeing confusion in each other's eyes. They knocked softly on the door.

"Who is it?" Hagrid's voice carried a hint of nervousness.

"It's me, Liria. And Julien."

The door creaked open, revealing Hagrid's stubble-covered face. He saw the two of them, initially relieved, then looking somewhat uneasy. "Oh! You two! Come in, come in! It's cold outside!"

As soon as Hagrid entered, his Neapolitan Mastiff, Tooth, pounced on her and licked her face twice, as if they were old friends.

Then it suddenly saw Julien behind it, stopped moving, tilted its head and looked at Julien, as if to say, "Who is this? I've never seen him before."

The fireplace inside the cabin was burning brightly, providing extra warmth. But the most striking feature was a huge egg resting on a massive oak table in the center of the room. The egg's surface was decorated with gray-black patterns.

At this moment, the giant egg seemed to be about to hatch, and some creature inside was "thumping" against the eggshell.

"Wow, Hagrid, this is...?" Julien's eyes were immediately drawn to it. He remembered that this should be the scene where Hagrid hatches the dragon egg. This is quite rare.

Hagrid's face flushed red. He awkwardly tried to hide the egg, but seemed afraid of breaking it, making his movements both comical and endearing.

"Uh...it's nothing, nothing! It's just...a...um...a special pet egg! Yes, it's about to hatch!"

Liria moved closer without any hesitation, extending a finger to touch it cautiously. The next second, her breath caught in her throat.

"Wow, this is a dragon egg!!!" Liria exclaimed in surprise.

"Shh—!" Hagrid was terrified and quickly covered her mouth. "Keep your voice down! My little darling! This is a secret!"

Just then, there was another knock on the door of the cabin. This time, the knocking sounded more urgent and flustered.

Hagrid's face turned deathly pale. "Oh no! It can't be..." He frantically tried to stuff the little dragon somewhere to hide it.

Seeing Hagrid's flustered state, Julien frowned, walked to the door, and looked out through the peephole.

Three figures stood outside the door, somewhat blurry in the moonlight, but he immediately recognized the boy with round-framed glasses and a lightning bolt scar on his forehead.

"It's Harry, Ron, and Hermione," Julien said, turning to Hagrid.

Hagrid's expression changed from fear to embarrassment. He sighed helplessly and opened the door.

"Harry! Ron! Hermione! What brings you here?" Hagrid asked, trying to appear calm.

"Hagrid, we need to talk to you!" Harry said bluntly before even entering the house. "We...we've discovered someone's trying to steal the Philosopher's Stone. We think it's Snape!"

Ron and Hermione nodded vigorously, their faces filled with worry and determination.

However, when the three entered the cabin and saw Julien and Liria standing by the fireplace, they were all stunned.

"Julien? Liria?" Harry asked in surprise, "What are you doing here?"

"We've come to play with Hagrid," Liria replied simply, her gaze involuntarily drifting to the enormous egg in the center of the table.

The atmosphere became somewhat awkward. Harry and his friends clearly hadn't expected to run into anyone else here, especially Julien. They had originally planned to have a secret conversation with Hagrid about the school's safety.

Hagrid clearly realized this as well. He rubbed his hands together, his eyes darting around. "Uh... since everyone's here, how about some tea and some rock cakes first?"

As Hagrid poured tea for the young wizards, he said, "Snape, why are you still doubting Professor Snape? He's one of the protectors of the Philosopher's Stone..."

As he spoke, Hagrid covered his mouth, "Oh dear, I shouldn't have told you."

"What? That's even more dangerous..." Ron said anxiously.

Hagrid immediately interrupted him, "Alright, listen to me, these are not things you should worry about. Just focus on your studies."

"But, Hagrid..." Hermione said anxiously from the side.

"Knock knock knock"

Just as Hermione was about to say something, the giant egg on the table made a sound again.

"Hagrid, what's this? An egg?" Hermione and the other two only then noticed the unusual thing on the table.

"Wow!" Ron exclaimed in surprise. "Goodness, this isn't an ordinary egg. It's a dragon egg, and a Norwegian Ridgeback Dragon at that! Roar!"

Ron's brother Charlie studies dragons in Romania, and Ron has been there to see him.

"Click-"