Norbert was a Norwegian Ridgeback dragon who was illegally hatched and briefly raised by Rubeus Hagrid at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in 1992. The effort to care for and later smuggle Norbert off the Hogwarts grounds was a significant event for Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger during their first year. It was later revealed that Norbert was, in fact, female, and she was renamed Norberta upon her arrival at the Romanian Dragon Sanctuary.
The dragon egg that would produce Norbert was won by Rubeus Hagrid from a hooded and disguised stranger (later revealed to be Professor Quirrell acting on behalf of Lord Voldemort) during a game of cards at the Hog's Head pub in Hogsmeade. Hagrid eagerly took the egg back to his hut on the Hogwarts grounds and incubated it in his fireplace. Harry, Ron, and Hermione were present in Hagrid's Hut when the egg finally hatched. The newly-born dragon, which Hagrid named Norbert, was described as looking like a “crumpled black umbrella”. Despite his affection for the creature, whom he treated like a baby, Hagrid quickly discovered how dangerous a young dragon could be. Norbert grew at an alarming rate, developed a fiery temperament, and his bite was venomous, as Ron Weasley discovered when Norbert bit his hand, requiring medical attention.
Realizing that raising a dragon at Hogwarts was both illegal and unsustainable, Hermione Granger convinced Hagrid that Norbert had to be sent to a proper sanctuary. They contacted Ron's older brother, Charlie Weasley, who worked with dragons in Romania. Charlie agreed to have some friends, who were visiting on business, pick up the dragon. The trio planned a covert, late-night operation to transport Norbert in a crate to the top of the Astronomy Tower, the tallest point in the castle, where Charlie's friends were scheduled to meet them. Using Harry Potter's Invisibility Cloak for concealment, they successfully handed Norbert over. Unfortunately, they were caught on their way back to their dormitory by Argus Filch, having been discovered by Draco Malfoy, which resulted in a severe loss of house points and a detention in the Forbidden Forest.
Norbert was safely transported to the Romanian Dragon Sanctuary, where he could live among other dragons. Years later, during the buildup to the Battle of Hogwarts in 1998, Hagrid reunited with Charlie Weasley, who provided an update. Charlie informed a delighted Hagrid that “Norbert” was actually a female dragon and that the keepers in Romania had renamed her Norberta. He also noted that she was “a right vicious little thing,” which was typical for Norwegian Ridgebacks.
As a hatchling, Norbert was a black dragon with spiny wings, a long snout with wide nostrils, bulging orange, ping-pong ball-sized eyes, and stubby horns. His fangs were noted to be venomous. Despite Hagrid's view of him as a harmless baby, Norbert was inherently wild and dangerous, as is the nature of his species. He sneezed sparks and set fire to Hagrid's beard on one occasion. His bite was severe enough to cause Ron's hand to swell to twice its normal size and turn a sickly green color from the venom. Charlie Weasley later confirmed Norberta's aggressive nature was normal for a Norwegian Ridgeback.
As a Norwegian Ridgeback dragon, Norbert possessed abilities inherent to his species from birth.