Chapter 325. The Truth of the Fire Salamander
At the same time, in Hagrid's hut, Adrian Wesson cradled a cup of tea and sat contentedly in a broad wooden chair.
Why was he here?
Just ten minutes earlier, he had finished Care of Magical Creatures and was strolling leisurely along the gravel path back to the castle.
Then one of the Blast-Ended Skrewts Hagrid kept suddenly appeared and attacked him.
Of course, an attack of that level posed no threat to him; the unfortunate Skrewt had its tail severed and died on the spot.
Hagrid, for his part, wasn't bothered—after countless melees there were only ten Blast-Ended Skrewts left; one fewer didn't matter.
"I think Blast-Ended Skrewts are a complete failure,"
Wesson said, frowning as he watched Hagrid turn the Skrewt's reeking corpse over and over. "Hideous to look at, not very bright, and dangerous besides. Even the carcass is worthless."
"Oh, Professor Wesson, that's where you're quite mistaken." Hagrid lifted his head, a guileless grin showing beneath his bushy beard. "Don' yeh think they're adorable creatures? An' they're a fascinatin' subject to observe."
Without a flicker of expression, Wesson swished his wand and cast an Air-Freshening Charm (which he had learnt from One Hundred Household Charms),
and only then did the overpowering stench of rotten fish and prawns fade a little.
"I still strongly suggest we add 'em ter the curriculum," Hagrid said ardently. "The students are dead tired of the common magical creatures and need somethin' fresh."
"Oh, that won't be necessary."
Wesson declined.
He still wanted to maintain his good impression among the students.
"By the way," Wesson suddenly changed the subject, "how are things with Madame Maxime?"
"W-what… what about them?"
At Wesson's words, Hagrid immediately became tongue-tied.
Wesson raised an eyebrow. "Aren't you courting her?"
"Ahem,"
Hagrid choked on his tea and waved his hands in a fluster. "Where'd yeh hear that rumour, Professor Wesson? I never said such a thing."
Seeing this, Wesson laughed to himself.
He took a slow sip of tea. "All right, but I think that's what everyone believes."
That said, Hagrid had recently shed the "gentleman" get-up and gone back to his usual rough-and-ready image—Wesson still found that more down-to-earth.
"Have you two had no contact at all?" Wesson pressed.
"Er… well…" Hagrid ducked his head, mumbling even more than usual. "We… erm… write now an' then… an' Madame Maxime is a bit sensitive. She seems ter be avoidin' me."
"Avoiding you? Does she dislike you?"
Wesson sat up at once—coworker gossip was always exciting.
"Oh, she don' dislike me," Hagrid denied hastily. "It's just that we've had differences on a few issues…"
"Knock, knock!"
At that moment, there came a rapping on the door.
Hagrid, relieved, sprang up to open it.
Moments later, Harry and the other two hurried into the hut.
"Hagrid, do you have any peppers?"
Harry asked as he looked around the room, and noticeably paused when he saw Wesson there.
Wesson inclined his head slightly to him.
He had noticed the fire salamander in Harry's hands, but…
Why did this salamander feel a bit off?
While Wesson was puzzling over it, Hagrid fetched a big handful of dried peppers from a wooden crate at the side.
Then he took the salamander from Harry, prised its jaws open with practised ease, and stuffed a few dried peppers inside.
However, just as he was about to toss the salamander into the fireplace, an accident occurred.
The salamander let out a piercing scream, and its body began twisting and contorting violently.
Its scales shed away in a rush, its body swelled, and in the blink of an eye it turned into—Neville Longbottom!
"Cough, cough, cough!"
Neville collapsed onto the floor, face flushed scarlet as he hacked. "Water… is there any water!?"
"Merlin's beard!"
Hagrid cried out, knocking over the teapot on the table in his panic. Scalding tea splashed everywhere, and Neville sprang up with a yelp.
Ron drew his wand, tried to conjure water, and managed to soak both Neville and himself through.
In an instant, the hut was in chaos.
Poor Neville.
Half a minute later, the commotion finally subsided.
Wrapped in Hagrid's shaggy moleskin overcoat, Neville curled up shivering on a chair.
"So, Mr Longbottom," Wesson looked over at him, "can you tell us why you turned into a fire salamander?"
All eyes fixed on Neville.
At this point, Neville's face was even redder than when he'd been choked by the peppers.
"Malfoy gave me a biscuit," he said in a voice barely above a whisper, "and then I turned into that…"
"How could you think of eating something Malfoy gave you?" Ron was aghast. "Even those two dolts, Goyle and Crabbe,
wouldn't just stuff whatever someone hands them into their mouths."
"On that point, I reserve judgment," said Hermione. "Those two are far dafter than Neville. But… you still shouldn't eat what other people give you, Neville. Especially when that person is Malfoy."
Neville shook his head. "I didn't. Malfoy forced me. He said it was bought in Hogsmeade."
"Malfoy…" Ron clenched his fists. "Just you wait, Neville—I'll get your own back for you."
"Violence is forbidden, Mr Weasley," Wesson reminded him.
"Oh, I know."
Ron replied, baring his teeth in a grin, a strange light flashing in his eyes.
As for Malfoy, he wasn't worth taking seriously in Ron's mind.
"Malfoy," Hagrid muttered under his breath, "nothin' good ever comes from the Malfoys…"
Just then, Harry suddenly remembered something and said to Neville, "You probably ate one of Zonko's Joke Shop's prank Transfiguration biscuits. Fred and the others mentioned it to me—there are loads of biscuits in that shop that can turn a person into different animals. And lately they've been developing similar products themselves."
"George and Fred?" Ron whipped his head around. "They told you their plans? They didn't even tell me, their younger brother!"
Harry didn't explain—this needed to be kept secret.
In private, he had struck a deal with the Weasley twins. If he could win the Triwizard Tournament, he would take one thousand Galleons of the champion's prize and give it to the twins as start-up capital, in exchange for a share of their Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes.
Ah, yes, the twins had even decided on the shop's name.
He had seen the things the twins invented—tremendously amusing—and… it might even be a successful investment. He couldn't rely on the money in his parents' vault forever; he needed a bit of income to ensure his living expenses.
He remembered his teacher had said that by the time he graduated he would no longer have to worry about money.
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