**Chapter 78: The Soul-Stealing Dragon Egg! Hehehe, Stop Struggling!**

"Hagrid, besides the three-headed dog named Fluffy, what other obstacles are there to protect the Sorcerer's Stone?"

As Harry spoke, he couldn't help but inch closer to Dylan.

—This place was hot enough to melt a person!

"Sorry, I can't tell you that. I don't even know myself," Hagrid shook his head. "Even if I did, I wouldn't say."

He looked at Harry, his brow furrowing. "Why are you so obsessed with finding out so much? You already know more than enough!"

"We want to protect the Sorcerer's Stone!"

"Shh—the Stone is being protected by the school. It's not your responsibility," Hagrid said, raising a finger to his lips. "Have you forgotten? They even dared to break into Gringotts!"

Hermione blinked. She believed Hagrid wasn't lying—it seemed he genuinely didn't know what obstacles came after Fluffy.

After a moment of thought, she decided to approach the question differently.

"Hagrid, I believe you're the one person in the entire school that Dumbledore trusts the most. Otherwise, he wouldn't have borrowed Fluffy from you to serve as the first line of defense for the Sorcerer's Stone."

Hagrid's face remained expressionless, but his beard twitched repeatedly.

Clearly, Hermione's flattery had hit the mark—Hagrid was trying to suppress a smile.

"You don't have to tell us what comes after, but can you at least tell us which professors are involved in protecting the Stone?"

"Oh, there are quite a few," Hagrid said, then quickly covered his mouth.

But after a moment, he realized there was no harm in sharing that much.

He stammered, "Well, from what I know, several professors were asked by Dumbledore to contribute their magic."

"Like who?" Harry pressed.

"Like Professor Sprout, Professor Snape, Professor McGonagall, Professor Flitwick... oh, and Professor Quirrell too!" Hagrid counted on his fingers. "And of course, Dumbledore himself cast some protective spells."

"So, trust me, with so many professors guarding the Stone, no one's going to get their hands on it."

Harry and Hermione exchanged worried glances, both frowning.

Meanwhile, Dylan, who wasn't particularly concerned about the Sorcerer's Stone, had noticed the roaring flames in the fireplace.

The intense heat in the room was largely due to the fire burning in the hearth.

He spotted something black and egg-shaped nestled within the flames.

Instantly, Dylan's interest was piqued, and he walked over to the fireplace.

"Is that a dragon egg? What kind of dragon is it?"

Hagrid's expression froze when he saw Dylan approach.

He had tried to hide the egg with a pile of firewood—how had Dylan noticed?

Hagrid opened his mouth to deny it, but Harry chimed in, "We noticed you've been reading books about raising dragons in the library, Hagrid. Do you really want to raise a dragon?"

"..."

The words caught in Hagrid's throat. He sighed heavily.

"Alright—alright! Fine, it *is* a dragon egg. A Norwegian Ridgeback, to be exact."

"A Norwegian Ridgeback?"

Because of his lessons with Professor Snape in Potions, Dylan hadn't just learned how to brew potions.

Under Snape's supervision, he had also studied numerous books on magical creatures.

—Often, materials from these creatures were used in potion-making.

A true Potions Master had to be able to identify valuable ingredients from any magical creature on sight.

So, as soon as Hagrid mentioned the Norwegian Ridgeback, Dylan's mind immediately recalled its characteristics.

This breed of dragon was a fierce, carnivorous species known for its aggressive nature. It had four legs, two wings, and venomous fangs. It resembled the Hungarian Horntail but lacked the tail spikes and had a distinctive black ridge along its back.

Unlike other dragons, Norwegian Ridgebacks didn't harbor extreme hostility toward humans. Instead, they preferred hunting large mammals.

—They could even hunt aquatic creatures, which was rare among dragons.

"If I had an adult dragon, I could harvest its blood daily, pluck a tooth or scale now and then, or even take a piece of its liver and regrow it with magic."

The materials would be endless!

Almost as soon as this thought crossed his mind, Dylan felt a strong urge to experiment. What if he used the Imperius Curse on the dragon while it was still in the egg?

What would happen?

Could he make the dragon obey him after it hatched? Could he even turn it into his pet?

"From what I understand about the Imperius Curse, no matter how skilled a wizard is, it's nearly impossible to control an adult dragon with it."

Dragons, in every aspect, were far more powerful than three-headed dogs like Fluffy.

And Fluffy was already a creature with extremely high magical resistance.

So, attempting to control an adult dragon with the Imperius Curse was practically impossible.

"Still... why not give it a try?"

Dylan had already changed the visual effect of his wand's magic from pink sparkles to a colorless, transparent one.

Therefore, in front of the first-year wizards like Harry, and Hagrid—who wasn't a wizard at all (though he could perform magic but was forbidden from using it, and thus remained clueless about many spells)—Dylan didn't think they would notice his spellcasting process.

Besides, the dragon egg wouldn't cry out…

Thinking this, Dylan pretended to crouch by the fireplace. His wand didn't move an inch, but his eyes narrowed slightly, and his focus sharpened.

"Imperio!"

Having mastered the Imperius Curse to its highest level, he could perform wandless magic effortlessly. Combined with the fact that his magical output had no visible effects, the curse silently seeped into the black dragon egg right before Hagrid and Harry's eyes.

As the curse took effect, Dylan's consciousness was pulled by an invisible force, suddenly establishing a strange connection with the soul inside the dragon egg.

"It's not a fully formed soul."

In the depths of that chaotic consciousness, Dylan sensed a state of ignorance—a soul still in its infancy, like a sleeping,Naive creature with no clear awareness or thoughts, only instinctive stirrings.

At the same time, Dylan also felt the soul's longing for life and its resistance to his magic.

"Even though it's not fully formed, this soul has an innate wildness and is actually trying to resist my Imperius Curse?"

Dylan was surprised.

So, dragons start building their magical resistance even before they're born? Isn't that racial trait a bit too overpowered?

But the more he thought about it, the more excited he became.

After all, the dragon egg could only resist his curse to a certain extent, not completely nullify it. So, he could simply increase the power of the Imperius Curse! If once wasn't enough, what about three, five, or even ten times?

"Tenfold Imperius!"

Dylan activated his special ability, sending ten colorless, transparent waves of magic into the dragon egg. He could clearly feel the intense soul fluctuations and resistance from the unformed creature inside.

"Heh heh heh, stop struggling."

Dylan chuckled inwardly.

After ten Imperius Curses were cast, the soul inside the egg initially resisted with all its might, but soon, it fell completely silent.

At this moment, Dylan could even sense how the embryonic dragon's soul was developing. It felt incredibly surreal, as if he were being enveloped by the egg itself.

He was witnessing the birth of life!

"How marvelous…"

Dylan couldn't help but murmur.

Hagrid, who had walked over, lit up with excitement, as if he had found a kindred spirit. He grinned warmly and said repeatedly, "Right?!"

"It's just an egg, yet it sits so peacefully in the flames, like it's in its own cradle! This is the miracle of life—the power born from blazing fire!"

Hagrid looked at Dylan, who was crouched on the ground, with admiration in his eyes.

No wonder so many professors liked this student!

Most people would either feel indifferent or disgusted when they saw this black, fire-dwelling dragon egg. Many wouldn't even recognize what it was.

But this kid could instantly appreciate its beauty!

"It seems Dylan loves magical creatures as much as I do!"

After Dylan stepped away, Ron was once again enveloped by the intense heat. Feeling uncomfortable, he wanted to get a closer look at the dragon egg and moved over to Dylan's side.

Feeling the coolness emanating from the ice crystals around Dylan, Ron shivered in relief.

"Hagrid, where did you get this dragon egg?"

Hermione also came over, peering at the black egg in the flames. Its surface was rough and uneven, like a lump of clay or a clump of coal. It wasn't very large, curled up in the fire, and if you didn't look closely, it could easily be mistaken for a half-burnt rock.

"I bet Hagrid spent a fortune on it. Where did you get so much money? Do Hogwarts gamekeepers earn that much?" Ron quipped.

"My salary isn't high at all…" Hagrid began, but before he could finish, Ron suddenly had a thought. He crouched next to Dylan, tilted his head, and looked up at Hagrid.

"You didn't capture magical creatures from the Forbidden Forest and sell them to get this egg, did you?"

"Of course not!"

Hagrid's eyes widened.

"My job is to protect the creatures in the Forbidden Forest. How could I capture and sell them? I'm getting angry just hearing that!"

Ron blinked. "Sorry."

Hagrid huffed in his deep, gruff voice. "I won this in a card game with a stranger at the Hog's Head in Hogsmeade!"

"He seemed eager to get rid of it, and I got lucky, winning several rounds in a row."

"Oh?"

Dylan's interest was piqued.

"Who would gamble a dragon egg in a card game while drinking? Even if they wanted to get rid of it quickly, they could've handed it over to a dragon sanctuary or a specialized breeding facility and gotten a reward. Why bother winning your meager salary?"

"—You said it yourself, your salary isn't high."

Dylan looked at Hagrid. "That stranger couldn't have been after your body, could they?"

Hagrid was stunned.

Dylan recalled that Quirrell had managed to extract a lot of information from Hagrid. He couldn't remember exactly how, but after learning the origin of the dragon egg, a thought occurred to him.

Could that stranger who played cards with Hagrid have been Quirrell?

"Did you talk about anything else while playing cards with him?"

Hagrid paused, then nodded his large head. "Of course, we chatted. How can you play cards without talking?"

"He was also a magical creature enthusiast. He mentioned some things even I didn't know."

Dylan raised an eyebrow. "So, did you happen to mention Fluffy?"

Hagrid froze. "Wait, are you saying…"

Dylan clicked his tongue. "Yes. You didn't tell that stranger that Fluffy falls asleep to music, did you?"

"I…" Hagrid's body stiffened, and his hand clenched slightly.

**"Boom!"**

The chair beside him was abruptly knocked over, crashing to the ground with a loud clatter.

"Was that person deliberately trying to get information out of me? Was their goal the Sorcerer's Stone?!"

Dylan nodded. "From what I can tell, that seems to be the case."

Hagrid's body swayed as if he might collapse. "Oh no—oh no! I actually told someone who wants to steal the Sorcerer's Stone how to get past the defenses?!"

"It must have been Quirrell!" Ron blurted out.

"What, Professor Quirrell?" Hagrid was stunned again. "You can't just accuse him of wanting to steal the Stone because of what happened last time, can you?"

"He tried to kill Harry! Does that sound like a good person to you?" Hermione rolled her eyes.

Dylan shook his head. "It's fine. Fluffy is just the first line of defense, right? There are still the other professors' traps after that."

"—And besides, you got a dragon egg out of it."

But Hagrid was still deeply anxious and distraught. "How is this fine?!"

Dylan stood up, feeling the faint resistance emanating from the dragon egg once again.

"*Imperio* (Imperius Curse) ×10!"

*Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...*

As he felt the resisting force gradually weaken, Dylan once again sensed the soul connection.

He turned back to Hagrid. "Look, no matter who wants to steal the Sorcerer's Stone, Dumbledore will be prepared."

"Instead of worrying about something you can't stop, why not think about what you're going to do with this dragon egg?"

Hermione nodded in agreement. "We'll stop Quirrell! But—do you really plan to hatch this dragon and raise it?"

Hagrid sighed heavily. "I understand what you're saying—I understand!"

**(End of Chapter)**