Over the next week, Hector and his friends felt as though they were running into Malfoy much more often. The thinly veiled malice on Malfoy's face made Harry, Ron, and Hermione extremely uneasy.
Ron had already suggested to Hector more than once that they cast a Memory Charm on Malfoy. Even though Hector repeatedly emphasized that he didn't know his own strength and that a botched spell might result in Malfoy having to take a train straight back to Malfoy Manor—while Hector himself would have to ride a broomstick straight to Azkaban, which wouldn't help even if his grandfather was Dumbledore, and might actually make things worse—Ron was not deterred at all by Hector's warning. In fact, he looked visibly more excited, practically begging Hector to make Malfoy forget who he was. Ron brought up this idea even more frequently, making Hector consider testing the power of the Memory Charm on this utter fool first.
As for Harry and Hermione, they were spending most of their time in Hagrid's gloomy hut. Hagrid's baby dragon was already three times its original size, and Hagrid was running himself ragged just trying to manage it. Norbert—the name Hagrid had given the little dragon—could now breathe flames a foot long, and a single sneeze from it spelled a major disaster for Hagrid's wooden hut. Hagrid had been forced to put his duties as gamekeeper aside, throwing himself entirely into caring for his little darling.
Chapter 47