AUTHOR NOTE – This is a series of one-shots that will deal with Harry Potter characters reacting differently to canon events, almost always in a way which would result in wrecked relationships. It is not my intention to bash per se, but there will be a fair number of rage-fueled interpretations of character actions that I could see other characters having.

AUTHOR NOTE 2 – Set in Book One, before Norbert is flown away

"Hello Norbert, mummy loves you!" crooned a happy Hagrid. He knew that he would soon have to give up his little baby dragon, so he was making the most of the few days he had left with Norbert.

It wasn't fair that he couldn't keep his dragon! Greatly misunderstood creatures, they were. It seemed like whenever he found an interesting creature, he was forced to give it up. Why couldn't people just see the beauty in the little darlings?

A knock on the door interrupted his trip down memory lane of all the creatures he had let go of over the years. Looking nervously over at Norbert playing in the corner, he whispered silently. "Shhh… Norbert, be quiet for mummy".

Norbert growled in response.

Hagrid chuckled lightly. "Such a scamp!"

Hagrid opened the door just a crack to see who had knocked. To his surprise it was Poppy Pomphrey, the school's healer. He couldn't remember the last time she had visited… or if she had ever visited.

"Poppy? What can I do for you?"

Poppy's normally cheerful expression (well, when she wasn't fixing up a student) was replaced by an extremely stern one. "May I come in Hagrid?"

Hagrid's eyes darted over to Norbert. The dragon that he wasn't technically supposed to have (in the sense that it was wildly illegal).

"Errr…. Now's not a good time, Poppy? How's about I come up to the castle in 'bout an hour?"

Poppy's expression transformed from stern to icy. Her voice was extremely measured, as if she was intentionally keeping herself calm. "Either open the door, Hagrid, or I will blast it into splinters. The choice is yours."

"Poppy!?"

"I will tear your hut to its foundations if I need to, Hagrid! DO… NOT… TEST… ME!"

A shocked Hagrid pulled the door open and stepped aside. Poppy walked into the room and her eyes immediately fell upon Norbert ripping into a hanging leg of lamb. She sighed.

"I had really hoped I was wrong, Hagrid. I had really hoped that Ronald Weasley had come across a wild dragon in the Forbidden Forest. I had hoped… but this had your signature all over it."

Hagrid's eyes widened in surprise. "Ron told ya!?"

Poppy huffed. "Of course, he didn't! He's a teenage boy trying to protect someone he considers to be a friend. His lies were poorly thought and clearly contradicted by the physical evidence. The boy is just lucky that recognizing dragon bites is a part of my training. So, how did he end up being bitten?"

Hagrid looked sheepish. "Well… he was helpin' feed Norbert, and… he must have frightened the poor baby. I set him right, of course, Poppy! I told him that he shouldna scared Norbert, if he didna want to be bit!"

Poppy nodded. "So, you're saying he was completely to blame?"

"Right!"

"And, did you tell him to head directly to the hospital wing?"

"Nah, twere just a small nip. And it was after curfew anyways. I didna want to get him into trouble."

Poppy ground her teeth together. "Of course! You wouldn't want him to get caught out of his common room after curfew, while heading to the hospital wing to treat the bite that he received from the dragon you were illegally raising. That would just be silly!"

Hagrid gulped. "Now Poppy…"

Poppy brusquely cut him off. "What breed is Norbert?"

"Wha?"

"What breed is your dragon? I need to know the appropriate antidote to use to finish treating the venom."

"Venom!? Norbert's a Norwegian Ridgeback, but he doesn't have venom! I've been nipped tons without a problem."

Poppy's voice strained with forced calmness. "Norwegian Ridgeback are known for their venomous bites. Never mind that for now. Who else has been around your dragon? Who else have you brought in on the secret?"

"Poppy! I'm not going betray Harry and Hermione after they helped me with… I shouldna said that!"

Poppy finally lost her restraint and began to shout. "Rubeus Hagrid, how could you be so… thoughtless!? Do you have any idea what you have done? Not only have you illegally bred a dragon, on school grounds I might add, but you have corrupted three first year students into being your co-conspirators. You have used your influence as a school official to turn three children into criminals, because you care more about your own selfish desires than the fates of the children you are supposed to care for! If you wanted to breed dragons illegally, then you should have done somewhere else and left the children out of it!"

Hagrid balked. "Poppy, it's not their fault. They tried to stop me! I'm even sending Norbert away in a few days!"

Poppy glared at Hagrid. "I don't care! More to the point, that should be the least of your concerns right now! I said that I need to treat the venom in Ronald Weasley's wound, and you are more concerned about me pointing out how you broke the law. You said it was Mr. Weasley who was to blame for being bitten, but that is a load of hippogriff dung! Mr. Weasley is a first-year student, with absolutely no training in dragon care. You put a child in a dangerous situation, a child who foolishly trusted you, and you are responsible for any harm that befell him. Are you so self-absorbed that you cannot even see that you did anything wrong!?"

"Poppy…"

"I AM NOT FINISHED! The absolute worse thing you did was not immediately take him to me for medical care. Your half-giant heritage provides you with a fair amount of immunity to toxins, but Mr. Weasley has none of that immunity. Norbert's venom had been lingering in Mr. Weasley's hand for days before he came to me. And he only came once the pain was overwhelming. He almost waited too long, all because he wanted to protect you! Had he waited even an hour longer, he would have likely lost his hand. Another six hours, and it would have been his life. SIX HOURS!"

Hagrid's skin paled, as his knees gave out. He collapsed onto his butt with a hut shaking loud thud. Norbert screeched in concern.

Poppy's eyes filled with a moment of concern, before they hardened again. She stopped yelling, but no warmth could be found in her voice. "Mr. Weasley will be fine. Severus always ensures I have powerful general-purpose antidotes, and that gives me a few days to get the proper antidote from Saint Mungo's Hospital. Now that I know the breed, I will have him on the mend in a couple of hours. As for you… I asked to talk to you first. I had hoped you didn't know Mr. Weasley was injured, or that he disobeyed your instructions to see me, or that you at least recognized you were at fault. But… you disappointed me."

Poppy shouted towards the door. "You can come in now."

A squad of aurors came in. They split up. One group stunned and caged Norbert, while the other group arrested Hagrid.

As a defeated Hagrid was led outside, he saw the form of a concerned Albus Dumbledore running down to meet him. He suspected that Dumbledore, great man though he was, would not be getting him out of this mess. Looking over at the caged Norbert, he spoke up. "Poppy, what're they goin' do with Norbert?"

Poppy's voice warmed slightly. "We are going to test him, to see if he is a carrier for Dragon Pox. If not, then he will be transferred to a Dragon Reserve. If he is…"

Her voice became like steel. "If he is a carrier, then you had better stop worrying about the dragon and pray that none of the children have been infected!"

As he was led off the school grounds, a depressed Hagrid prayed that little Norbert would be alright.