71: Cat VS Rat

The first week of October came by. The weather got colder, accompanied by a blustery gust, and the first signs of snow started to show around the castle. Everybody was in a better mood than usual, whether because they finally had a proper DADA professor or because the first Hogsmeade weekend was fast approaching; no one was certain. 

Every girl, from the fourth year to the seventh, would walk around in groups, whispering and giggling with each other, trading ideas of what to wear for the first outing of the year, what boy they wanted to go on a date, and so on. 

Due to this, older male students who'd wanted to ask out the girls who made their hearts flutter found themselves with an obstacle they could've never imagined: those girls' friends. 

That was, of course, a problem that didn't concern most of the third-year students. They still were at the age where there were more important matters than snogging someone behind the Three-Broomsticks. 

Alaric, for example, reckoned that spending an evening at Zonko's Joke Shop taking inspiration would be a much better way to enjoy his first official Hogsmeade visit than sharing a Butterbeer with one of the dozen or so bold enough girls who asked him out on a date. 

To be fair, Alaric was becoming quite popular with the opposite sex. He'd lost some of his baby fat, his face looked more chiselled, and his lips were plumper. Even though he still had a boyish look to him, girls were starting to show their interest in him.

His friends had made a point to joke about it every time they noticed this, and even Daphne, who usually remained stoic in most of her interactions with people outside their little group, didn't seem quite above publicly humiliating anyone that tried to pique Alaric's interest. 

"Al, her forehead sticks farther than her nose,"

"Al, she had the Jellylegs Jinx cast on her last year and it made her cry,"

"Al, she handles a wand about as well as she could a live eel. Covered in margarine,"

"Well, I didn't say yes, did I, Daphne?" Alaric said in exasperation on a late afternoon when the two and a sleeping Theodore sat under a tree by the Black Lake, where Alaric was helping the girl with some Charms homework. "Now, can you focus? I'm dying for a meal, and we have to finish this before Blaise and Tracey come back from the Chess club," 

"Yes, Mr Grindelwald," She joked. But soon was staring at him dazedly again. A gust of wind ruffled her and Alaric's hair. The sun was setting, bringing out the gold in their heads, contrasting with her electric blue eyes and his icy ones. The look in them made Alaric regret sniping at her.

"You alright?" He asked. 

"Fine," she said, then looked Alaric square in the eyes. "Can I ask you something?" 

Alaric nodded. 

"I guess, it's just... I know I pry a bit, but... I mean, I know it's not my business, but you erm... You've been looking kind of low these days, and... did you er — what happened between you and... and Lysandra?" She finally asked. 

Although feeling reluctant to answer, Alaric was quite grateful that Daphne was trying to come out of her shell and ask questions that were really none of her business. He'd noticed how she, Tracey, Blaise, and Theodore would avoid mentioning his sister at all costs during their conversations in the past weeks, and for the tone Daphne used, it seemed it wasn't only her that wanted to know. 

"You could say that...," He said while chewing his lip. "...we're not on talking terms at the moment," 

"But she's always looking for you," Daphne said, staring straight ahead at some Dementors who stood guard, barely moving her lips. "Since w-when?" 

Leaves crunched under Alaric as he shifted uncomfortably. "The morning before the first DADA class. Remember? Her friends were staring daggers at me," 

Occlumency barely helped contain the tumultuous emotions within him.

Alaric watched Daphne as she nodded slightly. She didn't seem surprised. Had Lysandra told her anything? 

His eyes twinkled for a moment, but he stopped himself. She was his friend. 

Alaric watched her cautiously for a moment. "Why are you even bringing this up a month later?"

"I... we were worried about you," said Daphne, fiddling with her hands. "I guessed I should've given you some more time before asking. Sorry," 

"Don't be," He quickly said, holding her hand and smiling at her. "Thank you. It shows you and the rest care," 

__________

That night, sheets appeared in each common room for the students to fill their names in. 

"Hogsmeade!" exclaimed Ron, pointing at a notice that had appeared on the battered old bulletin board in the Gryffindor common room. "End of October. Halloween!" 

He had his pet rat in his lap and was sitting by the fire near Hermione, Lysandra, Harry, and Hope. Scabbers, the rat, was deathly pale compared to his normal colour. His fur had fallen off in chunks, and now, instead of his usual plumpness, he seemed sickly and thin. 

Lysandra was too busy to hear him. She was furiously writing down something on a parchment scroll, only to scribble over it and write again. As for Hermione, she had her pet cat, Crookshanks, nestled between her arms, looking intently at the rat in Ron's lap. She, however, clearly heard Ron. 

Harry and Hope too heard him, but instead of looking excited, sulked even further in their respective armchairs. Hermione seemed to read their mind. 

"I'm sure you'll be able to go next time," She said, scratching Crookshakns behind his ears to calm him down. "They're bound to catch Pettigrew soon," 

"But he hasn't even been sighted once!" Hope sat up abruptly and bellowed. "Mum will never let us out of the castle by the look of things," 

"Pettigrew's not fool enough to try anything in Hogsmeade," said Ron, siding with the twins. "If you two ask your mum nicely, she'll let you go. The next one might not be for ages —"

"Ron!" said Hermione. "Harry and Hope are supposed to stay in school—" 

"They can't be the only third years left behind," exclaimed Ron. "Ask your mum, you two. I'm sure she'll listen—" 

"Yeah!" Harry also sat up, having made a decision, and walked towards the portrait hole. "I think we will. C'mon, Hope, let's go," 

Lysandra yawned. She really wanted to go to bed, but she still had a star chart to complete and a magical number sequence to do. Not to mention the parchment on her lap; a list full of possible places she would be able to find Alaric hanging around. She was now adding some Hogsmeade possibilities, in case she went looking for him there. 

"You can copy mine if you'd like, Lys," Hope said when she saw Lysandra get a large unfinished chart from her bag. She labelled the last star with a flourish and shoved the chart to Lysandra before leaving with her brother. 

Hermione, who disapproved of copying, pursed her lips but didn't say anything. Crookshanks was still staring unblinkingly at Ron, flicking the end of his bushy tail. Then, without warning, he pounced

"OY!" Roared Ron, seizing a pillow as Crookshanks sank four sets of claws deep inside it and began tearing ferociously. "GET OFF, YOU STUPID ANIMAL!"

Ron tried to shake the cat away, but Crookshanks clung on, spitting and slashing.

"Ron, don't hurt him!" squealed Hermione; the whole common room was watching; Ron whirled the pillow around, Crookshanks still clinging to it, and Scabbers came flying out of the pocket he had hidden in. 

"CATCH THAT CAT!" Ron yelled as Crookshanks freed himself from the remnants of the pillow, sprang over the table, and chased after the terrified Scabbers.

George Weasley made a lunge for Crookshanks but missed; Scabbers streaked through twenty pairs of legs and shot beneath an old chest of drawers. Crookshanks skidded to a halt, crouched low on his bandy legs, and started making furious swipes beneath it with his front paw.

Lysandra had placed down her quill and hurried over. She grabbed Crookshanks around the middle and heaved him away to Hermione. With her wand drawn, she flicked it at the drawer, and the piece of furniture rose slightly above the carpet. But Scabbers wasn't there anymore. 

"Where's Scabbers?" asked Ron anxiously. He then looked furiously at Hermione. "You did this! Keep that cat away from him!" 

"Crookshanks doesn't understand it's wrong!" said Hermione, her voice shaking. "All cats chase rats, Ron!"

"There's something funny about that animal!" said Ron, who was looking frantically around the room for his rat. "It kept staring at Scabbers the whole evening!" 

"Oh, what rubbish," said Hermione impatiently. "Crookshanks could smell and see him, Ron, how else d'you think —"

"That cat's got it in for Scabbers!" said Ron, ignoring the people around him, who were starting to giggle. "And Scabbers was here first, and he's ill!" Ron marched through the common room and out of sight up the stairs to the boys' dormitories.

Lysandra had to bite her lower lip to stop herself from laughing. To be honest, she'd never say it to Ron's face, but that rat gave her the creeps. And now that he looked like a decaying rat inferi, she definitely didn't want to be too close to it. 

She glanced over to Crookshanks, his wild mane pressing against Hermione. She hadn't noticed at first, but the cat seemed to have a small ring on his paw, hidden by all the orange fur. Dirty, it had mud all over it, but its distinct black colour caught Lysandra's eyes. 

"What's that?" She asked Hermione, pointing at the cat's paw. 

"Hm?" Hermione was definitely confused. She shifted Crookshank's position in her arms and lifted the paw to the candlelight to properly see. 

Lysandra's eyes widened. She could recognize that ring anywhere. 

"Crookshanks! Where did you get — Isn't this..." Hermione started but choked on her words when looking at her friend. 

A deep scowl was etched deep into her face. With her hand outstretched, Lysandra reached for Crookshank's paw. 

Usually, the cat was quite friendly with any of Hermione's friends, and also most of the students at the school. With Lysandra, he was especially docile, and Lys knew exactly why, but she still didn't plan on disclosing her furry form. 

However, when she tried to take the ring out of his paw, Crookshanks hissed and shook so badly, that Hermione dropped him on the ground, scratch marks all over her arms. 

"C-Crookshanks!" Hermione called worriedly, but the cat was gone in the same manner Scabbers had disappeared. She, Lysandra, and some other Gryffindors looked around the room, but to no avail. Both Scabbers and Crookshanks were gone. 

"That was my brother's ring..." Lysandra muttered to Hermione when the two sat on a sofa by the fire. Her lips trembled as she spoke, and her eyes turned glassy. Over the course of the last month, Hermione had learned to see the signs whenever Lysandra was about to cry. She quickly gave her a hug. 

"Don't worry. I'm sure he just lost it," Hermione said in a soft voice. "I know where my cat usually hangs around outside of the common room, so in the morning, we can go and get the ring from him,"

"But why did he react like that?" Lysandra asked, leaning her head on Hermione's shoulder. 

"Maybe Crookshanks really likes the ring," Hermione guessed, rubbing her back. "But he'll listen to me, and you'll have the ring back in no time. Then, we can go to your brother and punch him in the mug with it," 

"Who are you, and what did you do with Hermione Granger," Lysandra laughed, knowing very well Hermione only said that to cheer her up. 

If Alaric thought that she'd let him ignore her for the rest of the year, he was very much mistaken. 

**********

A/N: Don't forget to leave reviews and comments so I can get feedback! 

Fun fact! Tom Felton almost didn't play Draco — he auditioned for the roles of both Harry and Ron.

Hope you enjoyed the chapter and don't forget to vote!