Harry Potter and the Cataclysm

After returning to the dormitory, Carnie found it completely empty. He had no idea where Harry and the others had gone, but without wasting time, he called over the Weasley twins and Hermione.

"Alright, time to divide the spoils," he said, placing everything out on the table.

1 Dragon Crystal 4 Bottles of Dragon's Blood 8 Dragon Teeth 21 Dragon Scales 11 Mystery Eggs (Bird eggs and snake eggs got mixed up…)

Carnie spoke first. "Ahem, I'm most interested in the Dragon Crystal. You guys can split the rest. I'll just take this one thing."

"No way!"

"Absolutely not!"

The Weasley twins objected immediately.

"You found the crystal. Of course, it should be yours! And you put in the most effort—it's not fair if you only take one thing."

"We only need Dragon Blood, Dragon Teeth, and some scales. That's more than enough for us," George and Fred said after a brief discussion.

Carnie turned to Hermione. "What about you?"

"I don't mind… I didn't do much anyway," she replied softly.

In the end, the four bottles of Dragon's Blood were split evenly. Each person received two Dragon Teeth and four Dragon Scales.

An extra scale remained, making it difficult to divide evenly, so Carnie suggested leaving a few scales for Harry and Ron, letting them decide how to split it among themselves.

As for the eleven eggs, no one wanted them, so Carnie kept them all.

"Hahaha! Dragon Scales! We hit the jackpot this time!" Fred cheered, holding one up to admire.

"And Dragon Teeth—these would fetch a fortune if sold! Or they could make excellent armor!" George added excitedly.

"Pfft, it's just Dragon Scales…" Carnie remained unimpressed.

"You don't get it, do you?" George's eyes sparkled.

"These days, most dragons don't even have scales anymore," Fred explained.

"That's right! Most dragon-based protective gear is made from Dragon Hide, but Dragon Scales are far rarer!"

Carnie thought back and realized… they were right.

"Okay, anyone know where the kitchen is?" Carnie suddenly asked.

"We do! It's right by the Hufflepuff common room. We sneak in all the time for midnight snacks!" the twins boasted.

"Perfect. Then I'll trouble you two to grab lunch for us while I go take a bath. I reek of dragon blood," Carnie said shamelessly.

The twins glanced at each other.

"Rock, paper, scissors!"

Before Fred could react, George grabbed his share of loot and dashed off. "I'm taking a bath too! See you in the common room!"

Fred sighed in defeat. "Guess it's me making the trip…"

Before heading out, Hermione placed her things on Carnie's bed. "Can I leave my stuff with you? I don't need to carry them around."

After his bath, Carnie returned to find a feast waiting for him. The Weasley twins had already started eating, and Harry, Ron, and Neville had also joined them.

"Ugh, I'm starving. Where's Hermione?" Carnie asked, grabbing a plate and stacking it with chicken legs.

"Carnie, is it true?!" Ron's eyes gleamed as he grabbed his robes.

"You really got Dragon Scales?!"

Harry looked equally hopeful.

"Of course. You guys should've been there—you missed out big time." Carnie shook his head in mock regret. "If you had come, we could've brought even more back."

Ron nearly choked on his food, looking devastated.

Harry and Ron had never seen a real dragon before. Most wizards had only read about dragons in books or seen drawings of them. Unless you were lucky—or extremely unlucky—you wouldn't encounter one in your lifetime.

Carnie casually tossed five Dragon Scales onto the table.

"Here. Split them however you want."

Ron's eyes widened. "Harry, you take three, I'll take two. That way, I'll have repaid my debt for the wand!"

Carnie narrowed his eyes. Smart move, Ron. Smart move.

Harry, of course, didn't care about the numbers. He was already rich.

"By the way, how's your meditation practice going, Harry?" Carnie asked while chewing on a drumstick.

"I still can't sense Qi like you, but I do feel something…" Harry frowned slightly, recalling the sensation he had when he first held his wand in Ollivander's shop.

"Magic talent is high, huh? That works too." Carnie nodded.

After finishing lunch and handing over the Dragon Scales, Carnie turned his attention to his newest experiment.

The Eggs.

If I incubate them with magic or Qi, what will hatch? Magical beasts? Or Eastern-style spirit beasts?

He leaned toward the Eastern theory, hoping they could one day transform into human forms.

The snake eggs—would they hatch into a White Snake or Little Green? The bird eggs—would they become a phoenix or just regular sparrows?

Carnie wrapped the eggs in a blanket, bundling them together.

Now, how do I channel energy into them? Should I try a direct transfer? Would that be too aggressive?

He decided to test it out.

Grabbing one egg, he cupped it in his hands and channeled a tiny wisp of Qi toward the shell.

CRACK!

The egg shattered instantly.

"…Well, that was a bird egg."

Okay. Direct infusion = bad idea. The shell can't withstand that level of force.

Instead of forcing Qi inside, he decided to bathe the eggs in Qi-infused mist, like how he absorbed ambient Qi during meditation.

Carnie held both hands over the eggs, channeling spiritual energy into a fine mist. A white haze spread over the eggs, wrapping them gently.

He had no way of knowing if the eggs were actually absorbing it—but at least this method didn't break them.

"What… are you doing?"

Harry had been watching from his bed.

"Trying to hatch a spiritual pet," Carnie replied, completely serious.

Harry squinted at the bundle. "What kind of eggs are these?"

"Snake eggs and bird eggs."

"…Want to bet on which hatches first?" Carnie smirked.

"Bird eggs!"

"Snake eggs!"

Harry and Ron glanced at each other, each picking a side.

Carnie added, "No rewards for guessing right."

"Lame," they said in unison, immediately losing interest.

That night, Carnie meditated near the window, cradling the blanket of eggs in his lap.

He channeled a portion of his energy toward the eggs as he cultivated.

Harry, watching from his own bed, noticed something strange.

From his angle, it looked like Carnie was glowing under the moonlight.

Weird… He rubbed his eyes. When he looked again, it was gone.

Meanwhile, Carnie had arranged the eggs to be fully exposed to the moonlight.

Eastern legends say spirit beasts absorb the essence of the moon and sun… Let's see if that works here.

He checked their condition.

The Qi mist was wrapping the eggs perfectly.

Success!

For seven to eight nights, Carnie continued this routine.

During the day, he left the eggs wrapped in blankets inside his bed. At night, he meditated with them in his lap under the moonlight.

He prayed that whatever hatched would be female—otherwise, he'd feel cheated.

Eventually, only three eggs remained.

The others had lost their reaction to Qi, growing completely cold.

Carnie checked with Hagrid, who confirmed that the unresponsive eggs were "dead".

A few more nights passed.

By now, only one egg still absorbed energy.

Under the moonlight, its shell shimmered like crystal.

It had turned from a dull white to a translucent pearl-like color.

Holding it in his palms, he could feel it trembling slightly.

It's close to hatching.

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