Norbert was sent away

"This way, Professor," one of the twins said, walking confidently up the wooden stairs.

Anthony followed and whispered, "You shouldn't be here."

"You shouldn't either, Professor Anthony." The other twin grinned, his teeth catching the faint light in the dim cellar. "We can't let you get into trouble before you even make it to the Burrow. Mum would kill us—'Ungrateful boys!'"

He shrieked, placing his hands on his hips in a perfect imitation of Mrs. Weasley. "'Professor Anthony even gave you an owl!' No, Professor, we won't let that happen." He then glanced at the box labeled Norbert. "But if we'd known you were actually going to use this passage, we might have shown you another way. Just a little more... complicated."

The slow footsteps above them grew closer. The door creaked open a crack, revealing the back of a bald head reflecting the shop's light.

Anthony quickly freed one hand and grabbed Weasley's elbow, trying to pull him behind him, but the redhead just stood there confidently, a smirk on his face, listening to the commotion upstairs.

Suddenly, a loud "Ouch!" rang out from the store. Footsteps scrambled chaotically, followed by hurried conversations:

"What happened?"

"Who remembers the Vanishing Spell?"

"Poor kid, did he faint?"

The bald head in the doorway disappeared.

"Let's go, Professor." The young man nudged the door open just a little wider, ducked down, and darted out swiftly, as quick as a weasel.

Inside Honeydukes, everyone's attention was fixed on the center of the shop. A tall bucket of gumdrops blocked Anthony's view, but the air was filled with frantic chatter. The banging from Norbert's box blended seamlessly into the surrounding noise.

Anthony hurried after his student, sneaking Norbert's crate past the counter, weaving around the shelves stocked with chocolate frogs, Bertie Bott's Every-Flavour Beans, Fizzing Whizzbees, and Drooble's Best Blowing Gum. He gave Hagrid's coat a subtle tug—Hagrid, who was still engrossed in whatever chaos was happening in the middle of the shop—before slipping outside.

Together, Anthony and George peered through the window, hoping they hadn't caused too much trouble for Honeydukes.

...

"Merlin's beard, Henry, you're lucky you got out!" Hagrid finally emerged, draping his coat over his arm as he squeezed through the doorway. He grabbed the box from Anthony. "Norbert—oh! Weasley!"

The red-haired teen whistled. "Rescue mission successful—Professor Anthony and Hagrid, safely extracted." He pulled out his wand, pointed it toward the shop, squinting like he was aiming at something. "Hiss, let him go. Run away, hiss."

A surprised shriek erupted from the crowd inside. A colorful, gummy-like snake shot out of the shop window and slithered away at an unnatural speed.

"We'd better go," George muttered, tucking away his wand.

"See you at the usual place, Fred!"

Before Anthony could protest, George grabbed his arm and took off running.

Passersby glanced at them curiously, ignoring Anthony—who was still under the Disillusionment Charm—and instead calling after George: "Oi, Fred! Where's your brother? What have you done this time?"

"Old Roger Snake, you deserved it!" George shouted back.

Hagrid lumbered after them, looking utterly confused. "Wait—er... George, right? Why are you even here?"

Norbert thrashed violently in the crate, releasing an angry plume of black smoke.

Just then, another red-haired figure sprang up from the crowd, laughing. "Old Roger Snake, you deserved it! Brought to you by Fred Weasley, George Weasley, Emory Shinn, and Roger Davies! Contact me by owl if you're interested!"

He grinned mischievously, then ran toward the exit. Just before disappearing, he stopped, grabbed the glass door, and shouted back: "Remember the code: hiss hiss hiss! Get 10% off!"

...

They finally reached the outskirts of Hogsmeade, where the hustle and bustle of the village faded into quiet countryside.

The wind howled across the moors, sweeping over the open fields. Hagrid trudged along behind them, and Norbert continued to thrash about in his crate, the wooden slats groaning under the strain.

As George led them away, he said, "We knew you had a purpose in asking about the Hogsmeade passage, Professor, but we didn't expect you'd use it so soon."

"How did you know I used it?" Anthony asked.

"Well, we have a few little secrets," George laughed. "Anyway, we found out that someone who shouldn't be in the castle had entered and was lurking near the statue. We immediately knew something was up. So... who's Norbert?" He glanced again at the crate in Hagrid's arms.

"How much did Charlie tell you?"

"Pretty much everything. He keeps nothing from us," George said confidently, but Anthony just gave him a knowing look. George sighed. "Alright, Professor... We know you needed to get to Hogsmeade from Hogwarts, and it was very important that no one saw you. We also know it had something to do with getting Norbert out of there."

They arrived at the door of a seemingly abandoned cabin, where George suddenly stopped. "This is it! Dear guests, allow me to proudly introduce—" He shoved the door open, sending sawdust and dust cascading down. "Ah—sneeze! The most sneeze-inducing place in all of Britain."

"A—choo!" Hagrid sneezed loudly as he hunched over and stepped into the dilapidated wooden house.

"So, Norbert?" George asked eagerly, rubbing his nose as he stretched his neck to get a better look at the restless little creature inside the crate. "I must know what you did with our secret passage. Be fair, Professor—we saved you. If it weren't for us, what would you have done, Professor Anthony?"

Anthony pursed his lips and tapped his wand against Norbert's crate, Transfiguring it into the same shape as the candy crates in Honeydukes' storeroom. The Transfiguration notes he'd received for Christmas—along with his own practice—hadn't gone to waste. He shook his head and said, "Just because students can't cast spells over the holidays doesn't mean I can't... Now, Mr. Weasley, what spell do wizards most often use when dealing with Muggles?"

"Confundus Charm?" George guessed, before grinning. "Ah, I see. Clever, Professor."

At that moment, Fred burst through the door, slightly out of breath. "Good afternoon, Professor Anthony. Good afternoon, Hagrid. How was my blackout, George?"

"Brilliant!" George declared.

The twins exchanged a high-five before Fred turned to them eagerly. "Alright, so—who's Norbert?"

Norbert pushed up the lid, and a brief flash of fire flickered inside the crate. More ashes spilled from the gaps.

"Blimey, no way?" Fred whispered, stepping closer. "Hagrid, you've got a dragon?"

Hagrid tried—unsuccessfully—to hide his pride as he said, "Well, yeah, that's right. A Norwegian Ridgeback. We call him Norbert..."

George raised an eyebrow. "That explains a lot. I was wondering why we had to use a secret passage. Plenty of standard spells don't work on dragons... I just hope Charlie doesn't end up like Professor Kettleburn when he gets home."

Fred, always perceptive, turned to Anthony. "Are you on good terms with Honeydukes, Professor?"

Anthony smiled. "Not bad. As you can imagine, I'm a regular customer—maybe not their biggest, but big enough. As long as Norbert doesn't burn down the warehouse, they should tolerate me... hopefully."

Charlie's friends looked delighted to see Fred and shook his hand. "Charlie's brother, aren't you? He's shown us pictures of your family... Are you Fred or George?"

"Take a guess," said Fred cheerfully.

A wizard with dark robes turned to Anthony. "And you must be Professor Anthony? Charlie mentioned that Hagrid would be easy to spot."

Anthony shook hands with them. "Yes, yes, that's me. Thanks so much for coming."

"Come on, Hagrid and the other Weasley are waiting in the cabin," said Fred. "We decided not to move that hot and cold creature around too much, so you'll have to walk a bit more."

"That's wise," said the leading wizard, falling into step beside Anthony. "If we could have entered Hogwarts, there'd have been no need for all this sneaking around. But no problems, I take it?"

"Other than finding myself with an extra Weasley or two?" Anthony grinned. "No, everything went smoothly. The crate reinforcement and fireproofing spell you sent were incredibly useful."

A brown-haired witch interjected, "Charlie wanted to come, but we convinced him to save his annual leave. He asked us to pass along his thanks to your owl—apparently, she flew straight into the sanctuary?"

"That wasn't my owl, actually. Just one of the Hogwarts mail owls. Do sanctuaries usually get mail like that? I think I might have written the wrong address."

The brown-haired witch chuckled. "You did write the wrong address, Professor Anthony. We usually send letters to nearby towns, and someone from the reserve picks up the mail at the post office every day. That owl was probably the first one to ever fly directly into the reserve."

Anthony made a mental note to visit the Owlery and check on the brave messenger when he got back.

When they reached the shed, Hagrid was equally impressed by the owl's determination. "That poor bird dropped the letter and flew off without even waiting for a reply... I went to the shed to send another letter, but she just chirped at me and scolded me before taking off."

"Do you think five strips of bacon will be enough?" Anthony asked, sounding genuinely concerned.

...

Fred and George insisted they had to be home before dinner. "Try not to burn the cabin down, Professor," Fred joked. Then, with a quick farewell, the twins hurried off.

Hagrid's eyes were red and swollen as he watched Charlie's friends prepare to take Norbert away. They smeared a special potion over the dried meat and reached into the crate. Norbert eagerly ate the food and, within moments, fell into a deep sleep.

"Oh, Norbert!" Hagrid choked, his voice trembling. "My poor Norbert! Your mother will never forget you!"

The steady sound of Norbert's snoring came from inside the crate.

The dragon handlers, who mentioned having "special connections" that they couldn't discuss, warmly invited Anthony and Hagrid to visit the dragon sanctuary in Romania on Charlie's behalf.

Anthony shook their hands. "We'll definitely be coming, won't we, Hagrid?"

"Hmm? Oh... yeah..." Hagrid mumbled, sniffling as large tears splashed onto the dusty floor.

Anthony patted his arm. "Norbert would be glad to see you again. He'll be well taken care of, safe, and surrounded by others of his kind."

Hagrid sat motionless at the table, the setting sun casting long golden streaks through the broken window. For a moment, he almost looked like a stone statue.

Anthony escorted the dragon handlers to the door. "I won't follow you any further, but travel safely."

"No worries, Professor Anthony!" the lead wizard laughed. "Most people run in the other direction when they see us coming."

They carefully placed Hagrid's lovingly decorated trunk inside a travel bag and slung it over one of their backs. "It's heavy. Hagrid, you've really taken good care of him. Farewell, Professor Anthony."

Anthony stood in the doorway, watching them walk away, their figures gradually growing smaller as they disappeared into the fading light.

Suddenly, Hagrid bolted upright, ran to the door—smacking his forehead against the doorframe—and bellowed, "Norbert! Norbert!"

His voice echoed across the open wilderness like a thunderclap before being carried away by the wind. Hagrid stared after the departing figures, his gaze fixed on the bag carrying Norbert. Then, with a heart-wrenching howl, he suddenly turned and pulled Anthony into a bone-crushing hug.

"Oh my God, Hagrid!" Anthony exclaimed, leaning against the doorframe and reaching out to steady the enormous man.

Tears streamed down Hagrid's thick beard, and he wiped them away carelessly, sobbing uncontrollably. "Norbert's gone!"

Anthony raised his head, searching for something reassuring to say. "We can go to Romania to visit him. We'll go there in a few days, okay?"

"Norbert's left..." Hagrid choked out. "Henry, you don't understand how far Romania is! The Keeper of Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts can't leave the school for too long. I can't just go visit him... I'll never see him again! Oh, Norbert! No matter how long he waits, I won't be able to go!"

"Key keepers should have holidays too," Anthony reasoned. "You could hand the keys over to Minerva or Dumbledore and take some time off. If that doesn't work, just quit and go work at the dragon sanctuary. I bet they'd want you—you heard what they said. You took great care of Norbert."

Hagrid let out a weak laugh. "No, Henry, you don't understand. I'm not going anywhere but Hogwarts. Dumbledore trusts me—this is my home, and I'm not leaving."

There was a long pause before he sobbed again. "But Norbert... Why, Henry? Why?"

"What do you mean, why?"

"Aragog is getting old. Fang will get old too..." Hagrid sniffed loudly. "But Norbert could've lived a long time! And now he's gone!" A massive tear splashed onto Anthony's shoulder.

"Oh, Hagrid." Anthony tilted his head up, trying to read the half-hidden expression beneath Hagrid's wild beard and hair. "I don't know the answer either, but you'll have new friends, okay? Life is like a river—it keeps moving forward, and along the way, we pass by a lot of rocks."

It might be hard for a river to turn back, but the stones would always remain in the water. Anthony thought of his own past friends—the ones he never reached out to again after his resurrection. He still remembered their nights walking through the streets, talking about potatoes, the night sky, and cars. Throwing bread to the seagulls. Drinking until the streetlights cast golden reflections on the cobblestone roads before flickering out.

"I hate this," Hagrid muttered. "I don't want new friends. I want my old ones. I want Norbert." He mumbled something incoherent and started crying again. "But I'll never see him again! He's going to be all alone. What can I do?"

"There, there, Hagrid," Anthony said, patting his back. "You'll meet again in the afterlife."

"Really?" Hagrid asked, momentarily forgetting how absurd and feeble that reassurance was.

"Really," Anthony said firmly.

If there was a god of death in this world, he had to be the god of humans, dragons, and even beetles. And if he wasn't, Anthony swore he'd crack his skull with one of Hagrid's rock cakes.