Chapter 225. The Habits of Rats
When Neville realised it was his name that had been called, he couldn't help falling into a panic.
But in the end he still made his way to the front and, under Adrian Wesson's guidance, reached out a trembling hand towards the Thestral.
For a moment Neville felt as though he were touching some sort of skeleton; the sensation at his fingertips made him shiver.
However, the Thestral didn't react to his movements at all, merely standing quietly where it was.
"Very good, Mr Longbottom."
Wesson said approvingly, "One point to Gryffindor."
A faint flush rose on Neville's pale face; he hadn't expected he could actually earn points for his House.
"Now, into pairs."
Wesson waved his wand, and in the air an outline of a Thestral traced in silver points of light shimmered into being so the students could see more clearly.
"You may try to make contact with the Thestral, or feed it something. If any of you can manage to have a Thestral carry you for a short flight, you'll receive a hefty number of points."
The students immediately set about it with excitement.
Although Thestrals looked frightening, most of the students felt at least a little curious about such a peculiar creature.
Besides, making contact with an invisible animal was a very cool thing.
As for Wesson, he stood to one side watching this lot, so as to stop them from making trouble.
"Mr Finnigan, you're touching the Thestral's head, not its backside—wait! Get your hand out, your finger's gone up its nostril…"
"Don't try to force your way onto the Thestral, Mr Malfoy; it may throw you—oh, what did I say? Let me see, I think I brought Essence of Dittany…"
At last, class was over, and Wesson wiped the sweat from his forehead.
This lot were truly boisterous.
Thankfully, he had chosen from the more docile batch of Thestrals, and they hadn't got angry at the students' antics.
Otherwise there would surely have been a major incident today.
As the students left one after another, Wesson called Hermione back.
"What is it?"
Hermione asked in puzzlement, a trace of weariness still between her brows.
"You look a bit tired," Wesson said quietly. "You used a Time-Turner this morning, didn't you?"
"How did you—"
Hermione's eyes flew wide, but she calmed down quickly.
For a professor like Wesson, knowing of the existence of Time-Turners was perfectly normal.
So, she had no need to hide it in front of Wesson.
"Yes," Hermione admitted, rubbing her forehead. "I attended three classes at the same time."
"I thought as much," Wesson nodded. "Your body probably hasn't adapted yet to the strain of using a Time-Turner. I think taking every single class isn't a very good idea."
"But I don't want to miss any class at Hogwarts; they're all extremely interesting," Hermione said stubbornly.
Well, except Divination.
She wondered whether she could still drop it now…
While Hermione was thinking, Wesson handed her a small box about two palms across.
"What's this?"
Hermione took it and, in one motion, opened the lid, surprised to find many little vials inside.
"The right potions can help you a bit," Wesson explained with a smile. "Some calming draughts and Invigoration Draughts. These will last you for a while; if you need more, you can come to me anytime."
Wesson was, in fact, rather worried about Hermione.
He knew a Time-Turner was extremely draining and made people feel immensely anxious.
"Oh, I can't…"
Hermione wanted to refuse; these potions were obviously expensive.
But Wesson cut her off, steering her towards where Harry and Ron were lingering. "Of course you can accept them. But I must remind you: these potions can't overcome all the after-effects of a Time-Turner. You still need proper rest."
Just then, Harry and Ron came over.
"What are you talking about?" Harry looked at the two of them in puzzlement.
"Oh, nothing." Hermione closed the box and held it in her arms, smiling nervously. "I just asked a few questions."
She mustn't reveal any information about the Time-Turner; she had promised Professor McGonagall.
Even to Harry and Ron, it was the same.
At that moment, Ron's robes suddenly wriggled about.
"Scabbers! Stop it!"
He fumbled and pulled a fat rat from his pocket.
Wesson cast a glance at the round little rat and noticed one toe missing from a forepaw.
By the look of it, that was Peter, without a doubt.
"Ron," Wesson said casually, "I don't think bringing a pet to class is a good choice."
"Today was just an accident." Ron cupped Scabbers carefully in his hands. "I was going to take him to the hospital wing. He seems a bit agitated lately. And he's lost a lot of weight; maybe I should buy some rat tonic for him."
Though Ron did his best to soothe him, Scabbers only seemed more out of sorts, scrambling back and forth over Ron's hands as though greatly frightened.
Wesson watched this scene thoughtfully—
—By rights, although Peter knew Sirius was looking for him, his reaction shouldn't have been this intense.
Perhaps he was being influenced by certain rat habits.
After all, an Animagus transformation was a special branch of Transfiguration that let a person become almost truly an animal.
Just like Wesson himself: when he became a hedgehog, he carried some hedgehog habits—wanting to sleep as soon as winter set in, or liking to curl himself into a ball.
"I don't think Madam Pomfrey will know how to treat a rat," Wesson said, shaking his head.
Ron lowered his head in disappointment.
Wesson suddenly felt a twinge of pity; Ron truly liked Scabbers.
Poor kid.
It would be best to resolve this quickly.
Tomorrow he planned to pass the matter on to Albus Dumbledore and let Dumbledore find a way to handle it.
With that thought, Wesson produced a small vial of potion from who-knew-where and handed it to Ron. "Give this to Scabbers to try first. It's a rat tonic I keep on hand."
"Thanks!"
Ron accepted the tonic in delight, then seemed to realise something and looked at Wesson in surprise. "Er… Professor Wesson, why do you have this? Do you keep a rat too?"
"You should take a look at what I teach," Wesson said with a smile. "Besides that, I've got owl tonic, toad supplements… oh, and there are ones for wizards as well. Do you need any?"
"No need."
Ron shook his head at once; the rat tonic was enough.
What he didn't know was that Wesson had added something extra to that dose of rat tonic.
Of course, nothing poisonous—just some "sleep-inducing ingredients".
So long as Scabbers took the supplement, he would keep wanting to doze off.
Wesson needed him to stay by Ron's side the whole time, without suddenly slipping away.
"Well then, I'll be off, everyone," Wesson waved to the three of them. "I have to take these Thestrals back to the Forbidden Forest."
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