Chapter 216: Scabbers and the Werewolf
Chapter 216: Scabbers and the Werewolf (Please subscribe, favorite, and recommend)
The holiday ended the next day, and school resumed with the first class being Care of Magical Creatures. Standing in the snow-covered playground for two hours in January was not a comfortable experience, but Hagrid had a creative idea: teaching the students about Fire Lizards.
During the lesson, the students collected dry twigs and leaves to keep the fire burning, while the Flame-loving lizards scampered over the burning, white-hot logs. To everyone's surprise, this class was much better than expected.
After the class, Liam went to ask Hagrid about the Hippogriff. Hagrid informed him that, thanks to Dumbledore's guarantee, he was not held responsible for the incident. However, he and the Hippogriff were required to attend a hearing in London on April 20th.
Liam could only comfort Hagrid, knowing that the Dangerous Creatures Committee had been bought off by the elder Malfoy. No matter how well Hagrid prepared, it wouldn't make a difference, and Dumbledore wouldn't want to create a fuss with the Ministry of Magic over such a minor issue.
However, it was clear that the Hippogriff did not deserve to die. Liam decided to discuss the matter with the Centaur Tribe in a few days. When the executioner came, he could steal Buckbeak and hide him with the Centaurs. Of course, he couldn't tell Hagrid about this plan, as it would surely leak out before they could act.
After class, Ron found Liam in the Common Room with his Scabbers.
"Liam, can you help me check on my rat? It's been getting worse since the summer vacation, and I can't figure out why."
"Ron, I can treat humans, but I'm not a pet doctor", Liam said with a helpless look.
"The pet shop owner said it's nearing the end of its life. I know he can't cure it, so I was wondering if there's anything we can do to make it more comfortable."
"How about euthanasia? In the Muggle world, if a pet can't be cured, its owner often chooses to let it die painlessly to avoid further suffering."
As soon as Liam said this, he saw Scabbers desperately trying to wriggle out of Ron's hands. Peter Pettigrew must really have a strong will to survive.
"It seems to be quite active now, so it probably wants to live. Is there another way?" Ron said, and Scabbers immediately calmed down. Liam was now certain that this rat was an Animagus. While magical world animals were intelligent, they could only understand simple human speech. Terms like euthanasia were beyond their comprehension.
"Let me take a look." Liam took the rat from Ron. He really wanted to strangle it, but remembering Peter's past deeds, he suppressed the urge.
"Maybe a change of environment will help." Liam said after pretending to examine the rat. "Why don't you leave it with me for a while? Just put it in a cage, though, since I'm not its owner, and it might run around if left free."
"That sounds like a good idea. Wait a moment." Ron ran back to the dormitory and returned with a cage containing Scabbers and a paper bag.
"Here, the paper bag has food I bought for it. Give it ten pellets a day." Ron handed the items over.
"Don't worry, I'll take care of it", Liam said confidently. He felt a bit relieved, as he had finally taken control of an uncertain factor. Scabbers, now in Liam's bedroom, seemed less agitated, perhaps because he felt safer away from Ron and Sirius Black.
After dealing with Scabbers, Liam entered the Emerald Dream that night to greet his friends in the Forbidden Forest. He just happened to run into Aunt Betty, who looked particularly joyful. Aunt Betty told him that Wolf would be coming to the edge of the Forbidden Forest the next day to meet them.
The next day, right after their Defense Against the Dark Arts class, Liam and Hermione rushed to the edge of the Forbidden Forest. The snow-covered forest was unusually quiet, and Wolf was pacing back and forth under a tree. The circle of footprints on the ground showed that he had been waiting for quite some time.
After exchanging pleasantries, Liam presented his gift. Wolf opened it with a smile. "Thank you so much for bringing me this gift from your long journey. The purest South American rubber ball, with a magical charm to ensure it won't get bitten through like the ones I've been playing with lately. And this book of American plants. You really thought of everything."
"We're friends, after all. It's the least we could do", Liam said, using magic to clear a small clearing. He then sat on a tree stump and began to catch up with Wolf.
"Did you know? The centaur Old Bachelor Bane is getting married. His bride is Bettie."
"The one who looks so rugged?" Liam said, sounding somewhat incredulous. He found it hard to imagine the rough centaur with the refined Aunt Betty.
"Rugged, maybe. But the other centaurs in the village say that when Bane was young, he was the village's top hunter and the most handsome centaur. He and the prettiest girl in the village, Bettie, were an enviable couple. Unfortunately, centaurs value reproduction, and after Bettie was cursed, she rejected Bane's advances. Since then, Bane has neglected himself, letting his fur grow wild and his temper worsen."
"But", Wolf said, his ears perking up, making him look more like a husky. "Recently, the curse on Bettie was lifted, and she has agreed to Bane's proposal. I heard that it might have something to do with your adventure in Brazil. Is that true?"
"I suppose you could say it was a matter of serendipity. I managed to defeat the Dark Wizard who cursed Aunt Betty back then", Liam replied.
"No wonder Bettie said she would send you a gift after a while", Wolf said, a look of realization on his wolfish face.
After finishing their conversation about Aunt Betty, Hermione joined in and began sharing her experiences from Brazil. Wolf interjected with some recent happenings in the Forbidden Forest.
As they chatted, Wolf suddenly stopped and sniffed the air forcefully.
"What's going on?" Liam asked, curious as Wolf circled around them, sniffing.
"I can smell the scent of one of my kind on you", Wolf said seriously.
"One of your kind?" Liam immediately recalled that Wolf was a descendant of a very special werewolf, so he must be referring to werewolves.
After circling Liam and Hermione twice, Wolf focused on Hermione's backpack.
"What do you have in your backpack?" Wolf asked, his expression serious.
"Just the things I used in class today", Hermione said, pulling out her books one by one, which Wolf sniffed carefully. There was nothing unusual about the first few books, but when Hermione pulled out a brown, old-looking notebook, Wolf's expression changed.
"Right, it's the scent of my packmate on this notebook", Wolf confirmed after a few more sniffs. He then looked up at Hermione. "Can you tell me where you got this notebook?"
(End of Chapter)
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