Due to a teaching accident in Charms class, the afternoon Flying lesson was canceled.
Although the effects of Seamus's dazzling spell had mostly faded, some young witches still felt as if their vision was blurry. Naturally, they weren't in any condition to take a Flying lesson.
This gave the first-year witches a break for the afternoon.
After lunch, Ethan arrived at the Gryffindor table. He greeted the twins and then plopped down beside Hermione.
“Why are you here? Don’t you have your senior to hang out with?”
Hermione rolled her eyes at Ethan, swallowing the food in her mouth.
“Why would I hang out with my senior?”
Ethan was puzzled. What was Hermione talking about?
“You, you… haven’t you been having lunch with your senior these past two days?”
“You guys were even laughing together!”
Hermione realized she might have said the wrong thing, but she had no choice but to continue.
“I’m from Ravenclaw. Is there a problem with me having lunch with Ravenclaws?”
Ethan immediately countered. It didn’t matter what he did with his roommates, but he definitely didn’t want to ruin his image in the little witch’s eyes.
“N-no, there isn’t!”
Hermione’s confidence faltered. She wanted to argue back, but she wasn’t sure what to say.
“Then why did you make me cry when we first met, making me lose face?”
Thinking about that incident made Hermione upset. She and her senior were laughing and having fun together, but with Hermione, he made her cry.
“I was just trying to tell you that there are always people better than you. It’s not good to be too proud. Didn’t you become more diligent in your studies and excel afterwards?”
Ethan acted as if he were giving her advice for her own good.
“That’s true,” Hermione pondered for a moment. But she quickly followed up with another question: “But why did you call me ‘Big-Tooth’?”
Big-Tooth was a sore spot for her. As the daughter of a dentist, she was quite concerned about her teeth. But her front teeth were larger than most people's, which made her reluctant to be reminded of it.
“Just tell me, aren’t your front teeth big?”
“I did that so you’d remember me, remember?”
“Isn’t it so that you won’t forget me after meeting me once?”
After a barrage of questions, Hermione fell into a deep thought, occasionally bursting into laughter.
Ethan was already talking to Harry and Ron, mainly Ron.
“Ethan, don’t you know?”
“Scabbers is my family.”
“That’s three Sickles a day, think carefully about it.”
“The first wand cost seven Galleons, an owl twenty Galleons. You don’t want those?”
Knowing Ron’s weakness, Ethan continued to tempt him.
The Weasley family had too many children, and they basically had no pocket money. The older children and the only daughter, Ginny, were alright, as they had new wands, books, and robes, but as the youngest son, Ron had to make do with secondhand items. Do you think he wouldn’t desire those things?
“Scabbers has been at my house for ten years, and now he sleeps in the same bed as me. I treat him like my brother.”
“Do you still care about those things?”
“I’ve already told you, I won’t do anything to harm Scabbers. I’ll return him to you in the same condition as when you gave him to me. This is basically free silver Sickles!”
Ethan wore an expression of disbelief, as if he couldn’t believe his eyes.
“Ethan, you’ve misunderstood, Scabbers is my brother!”
“The price!”
Ron looked at Ethan with a heartbroken expression.
The deal was finally struck. Ethan successfully rented Scabbers for two Galleons a week, or thirty-four Sickles a week.
Ron was very satisfied with the deal. Two Galleons, at eleven years old, even if he saved every bit of pocket money he wouldn’t have accumulated two Galleons.
The moment the deal was struck, Ron personally went to the Gryffindor dormitory to fetch Scabbers and handed him over to Ethan, afraid that Ethan might change his mind.
Rats in Diagon Alley shops cost one Galleon for a whole cage. This wasn’t a magical creature, it was just used for experiments or as live food.
Hogwarts didn’t sell them, which was why he was able to snatch a bargain.
“So, that’s that, I’ll return Scabbers next week!”
Ethan, carrying the cage with Peter Pettigrew inside, greeted everyone before leaving.
“Ethan, be careful. I don’t know what experiment you’re doing with Scabbers, but he’s already ten years old and very old. Don’t torture him too much.”
Before leaving, Ron specially reminded him.
Ron cared about Scabbers, who belonged only to him. But he had only just gotten Scabbers from Percy, and they didn’t have a deep connection.
What was a little bit of affection in the face of two Galleons?
If he could add a little more, it wouldn’t just be Scabbers, he would even go do the experiment himself.
On the other hand, Ethan went straight to the eighth floor and entered the Room of Requirement.
The moment he entered the Room of Requirement, Scabbers frantically struggled in the cage, already knowing where he was and that no good would come of it.
When Ron handed him over to Ethan, he already felt a sense of foreboding. But what could a rat do other than run and bite?
The moment he was put into the cage, his fate was sealed.
After taking Scabbers out of the cage, Ethan casually cast a spell.
“Crucio!”
While there were other spells that could undo an Animagus form, none were as convenient and efficient as the Cruciatus Curse.
The rat, who had been lively and searching for an escape route, suddenly collapsed, rolling on the ground and screaming in pain.
He never thought that a first-year witch would know the Unforgivable Curse, let alone dare to use it so openly, and even have the heart to use it on a small rat.
Had he fallen behind the times? Were young witches this fierce now?
“You’re pretty tough!”
Ethan sneered, then cast another Cruciatus Curse.
This time, the rat was foaming at the mouth, but the effect was there. The excruciating pain caused him to almost faint, and he could no longer maintain his Animagus form.
The rat’s body began to contort, eventually transforming into a short, fat, balding middle-aged man with small eyes, some gray hair, a pointed nose, and dirty clothes. He really did look like a fat rat come to life.
But his current condition wasn't good. He was lying half-dead on the ground, struggling to get up but failing.