We’ve reached the halfway point in the A to Z Challenge!

Today we have:

N is for Norbert, the Norwegian Ridgeback

Yay for more Harry Potter geekiness!  Today I thought I’d share a bunch of takes on one dragon: the adorable Norbert, the Norwegian Ridgeback that the lovable half-giant gameskeeper Hagrid hatches from an egg he received in trade in the first book of the series.

The featured image above is the official art for Norbert drawn by artist Mary GrandPré, as seen in Chapter 14 of the original release of the American edition of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (Bloomsbury, 1998).

Next, we have another beautiful interpretation of Norbert by artist Jim Kay from the newly released Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone Illustrated Edition (Bloomsbury, 2015).  This photo comes from Alliyah’s blog Risk to Write and her post Harry Potter Illustrated in All the Colors, which has even more pictures from this amazing tome.

While looking around, I also found this limited edition collectible statue called “Hagrid’s New Arrival” by Mattel, available on Amazon.  It doesn’t say specifically that this is supposed to be Norbert, but it’s a pretty good guess and I thought it was close enough to include here. 🙂  It’s quite a pricey figurine though, at $100 — wow!

And finally, I had to include a fanart, because there are just so many talented artists out there and I love to show them off.  This is Norbert the Norwegian Ridgeback by Indian deviantartist Mayank Kumar.  I love the dragon, of course, he’s so cute!  But the expressions on the trio’s faces — Oi, blimey! and Oh, how interesting… and Seriously, Hagrid, this is really close… — are also wonderful. 🙂

All right, that’s it for Harry Potter the letter N today.  Come back Monday for the start of week three of the A to Z Challenge, and stay creative!

Image credits:
Norbert by Mary GrandPre
Norbert by Jim Kay
Hagrid’s New Arrival statue
Norbert, the Norwegian Ridgeback by Mayank Kumar