Chapter 12: Scabbers and the Rat Tonic

For Kyle, who was used to traveling by airplane or high-speed trains, the journey on the Hogwarts Express, a vintage steam train, was turning into quite the ordeal. At first, the excitement of riding the legendary train and the aura of Hogwarts helped keep his spirits high, but after a few hours, the novelty wore off, and the train's limitations became glaringly obvious.

It was slow—really slow. Kyle figured the train could barely reach 80 kilometers per hour, which didn't even compare to modern cars. The ride wasn't smooth either. After a while, Kyle felt nauseous, as if his breakfast might make a return appearance. Reading to pass the time became impossible.

Thankfully, Cedric's presence made the trip more bearable. Cedric was chatty, and once the conversation about professors had wrapped up, Kyle asked him about other aspects of Hogwarts. Cedric eagerly answered every question, even volunteering to share funny stories and pointing out some quirky portraits Kyle would encounter at school. A lot of what Cedric shared was new to Kyle, and his curiosity was piqued.

In return for Cedric's company, Kyle offered to pay for snacks for the rest of the trip—biscuits, chocolate frogs, cauldron cakes, the works.

Cedric happily accepted, and they enjoyed the food together. However, one topic made Kyle silently shake his head in disbelief—Cedric, like many other wizards, couldn't resist teasing about how students were sorted into houses.

"You've got to catch a Golden Snidget in the Great Hall within ten minutes to get sorted," Cedric said with a straight face.

Kyle pulled the corners of his mouth into a polite smile and decided not to respond. At least Quidditch is more believable than dragons, he thought. Cedric's mischievous sense of humor was on full display.

"By the way, Kyle, have you thought about which house you'd like to be in?" Cedric asked, popping a Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Bean into his mouth. "I hope you'll get into Hufflepuff, but a clever wizard like you might be more suited for Ravenclaw."

Before Cedric could finish his sentence, his face contorted in disgust. "Oh no… ox liver," he muttered, barely managing to swallow the offending bean.

Kyle chuckled, taking a flavored bean for himself. "I've thought about it, but I don't have a strong preference for any particular house," he said casually. "And I'm not great at finding balls, so I'm not sure I could catch the Golden Snidget in ten minutes. I'd just be happy if any house would take me."

Hmm... black pepper steak, Kyle thought after chewing the bean. Not bad.

"Don't worry," Cedric laughed. "You'll manage just fine. It's really not that hard."

Just as they were chatting, the compartment door slid open. Both Kyle and Cedric turned their heads, expecting to see Fred or George, but instead, it was another Weasley—Percy.

Percy stepped into the compartment, his usual air of seriousness about him. "Kyle, Fred told me you were here. Ah, you must be Cedric Diggory. I'm Percy Weasley, nice to meet you."

Cedric, slightly puzzled by Percy's formal introduction on the Hogwarts Express of all places, nodded politely. "Yes, it's nice to meet you too, Percy Weasley," he replied, though he clearly felt like they were at some kind of official event rather than on a school train.

Kyle had to suppress a laugh at the awkwardness of the situation. He waited for Percy and Cedric to finish their polite small talk before asking, "Percy, what can I do for you?"

Although Kyle knew all the Weasley children fairly well, he and Percy didn't interact as much. But Percy wouldn't seek him out for no reason.

"I'm sorry to bother you, but I do have something on my mind," Percy began, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a scruffy, old rat. "Scabbers hasn't been himself lately, so I wanted to ask if you still have some of that rat tonic you gave him before. I'd like to buy some, if possible."

"Rat tonic?" Kyle looked at the mangy rat in Percy's hand, missing a front paw, and smiled, narrowing his eyes. "Of course I have it. Just a moment."

Kyle rummaged through his suitcase and pulled out a small bottle filled with red liquid. He handed it over to Percy. "You know the drill—three drops once a week. This should last a while."

"Thank you," Percy said, accepting the bottle eagerly. He hesitated for a moment, then pulled out three silver Sickles from his pocket, his face turning red as he offered them to Kyle. "I know this might not be enough, but it's all I have right now. I'll pay you back the rest as soon as possible."

Kyle waved off the concern, taking just one Sickle and pushing the others back toward Percy. "One is more than enough. It's just rat tonic, nothing special. How could it be so expensive?"

Percy looked down at the single Sickle in his hand, his face flushing even more as he alternated between gratitude and embarrassment. After a long pause, he sighed softly. "Thank you, Kyle."

"It's just a normal transaction," Kyle replied casually.

"No, I understand," Percy said with a bitter smile. "If it were just an ordinary rat tonic, it wouldn't have kept Scabbers alive for eleven years. This must be something special from Mr. Scamander. Only someone as skilled as him could keep a common field rat alive for this long. If this tonic were on the market, it'd probably sell for at least ten Galleons."

Kyle inwardly grimaced. He really wanted to tell Percy that Scabbers' longevity had nothing to do with the rat tonic, and that the concoction wasn't worth anywhere near ten Galleons. In fact, it wasn't even made by Newt Scamander—it was his own creation, and a relatively simple one at that. But revealing too much could raise unwanted questions, especially about Scabbers' true identity as Peter Pettigrew. Kyle had no desire to attract attention from Dumbledore or anyone else just yet.

Still, he hadn't been entirely idle when it came to Percy's pet. Aside from providing the tonic, Kyle had once warned Percy that rats exposed to too much magical energy would eventually be rejected by their own kind. Percy, initially skeptical, had believed the advice once Kyle attributed it to Scamander, and had since adopted it as gospel. Percy clearly cared deeply for Scabbers. He'd even built a special little den for the rat in his room and avoided handling him too often. Unless he had no choice—like today—Scabbers was usually allowed to roam freely.

Noticing Kyle's silence, Percy decided not to linger. "Anyway, thank you, Kyle. If you ever have any academic questions, feel free to ask me. And after graduation, I'll repay you with more supplies."

With that, Percy hurried out of the compartment, leaving Kyle and Cedric sitting in awkward silence. Eventually, Cedric broke the ice.

"So... can you still get rat tonic from Mr. Scamander?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

Kyle shrugged, not making a big deal of it. "I make it myself. Not just rat tonic, either—pretty much all types of pet tonics. It's not hard, just a bit of a hassle, so most people don't bother learning how."