As the two were chatting, suddenly, a commotion erupted in the distance. Glenn and Hermione turned to look and discovered that the crowd was making a fuss in chaos, apparently frightened by something.
Glenn stepped forward, positioning himself in front of Hermione, activating his enhanced senses and extending his perception toward the source of the disturbance.
"Crookshanks?"
He saw their orange furry cat nimbly weaving through the crowd's feet. Thanks to Hermione making Crookshanks jog with her and the little girl every day after discovering the creature had gained too much weight, and controlling its diet, Crookshanks's figure clearly wasn't developing in a pig-like direction. Moreover, after training, the cat's running was obviously much more agile than before.
"That's Crookshanks. She seems to be chasing a rat."
After confirming the information, Glenn began providing live commentary for Hermione.
"Ah, a rat? But Crookshanks doesn't catch rats!"
Hermione was bewildered. Since Crookshanks had joined their big family, Hermione had never seen this creature catch rats—she wasn't even interested in rodents.
She had once placed the little white mice Glenn used for experiments in front of Crookshanks, wanting to try teaching her to catch rats. But Crookshanks didn't even glance at the poor little white mouse and swatted it away with one paw.
Could it be a different breed?
Hermione thought to herself, then asked Glenn.
"What kind of rat is it?"
"Should be the one Ron Weasley keeps."
"?!"
You can't go catching other people's pets, Crookshanks!
Seeing in Glenn's live commentary that Crookshanks was about to extend her claws toward Ron's little pet, Hermione hurriedly pulled out her wand and pointed it at the air.
"AccioCrookshanks!"
Under Hermione's deliberate control, the gentle magic of the Summoning Charm lightly lifted the running Crookshanks and, while she looked completely bewildered, carried her into the air before flying toward Hermione.
"Heave-ho."
With a flick of her wrist, the wand disappeared. Hermione stretched out both hands to catch the flying ball of Crookshanks.
Feeling the weight in her hands, Hermione silently thanked goodness they'd put the little creature on a diet, or this would definitely have knocked her down hard.
Crookshanks, held in Hermione's arms, recovered from the shock of suddenly being airborne and began struggling slightly in the little girl's embrace. Her round, bright eyes kept turning, searching the crowd for her target.
"Ah, no! That's someone else's pet!"
Moving away a little paw that was pressed against her face, Hermione changed her grip on Crookshanks, grasping the cat's scruff—the key to feline destiny—while her other hand gently supported the cat's soft bottom.
Crookshanks immediately settled down.
Mm, now she was being obedient.
Glenn glanced at Crookshanks, then at Hermione, pulling out a handkerchief to help Hermione wipe the little paw prints from her face and clean the black dust from Crookshanks's paws.
"We need to find Ron and apologize. I bet his pet was scared badly by Crookshanks."
Enjoying Glenn's face-wiping service, Hermione thought for a moment before saying this.
Glenn wasn't surprised by this and nodded, then sensed Ron's position in the crowd.
"Over there."
Glenn pointed in a direction. Hermione understood and walked toward that direction carrying Crookshanks, with Glenn silently following.
At this moment, Ron was tenderly holding his frightened and exhausted rat Scabbers, constantly checking the little mouse all over to see if anything was missing.
"Excuse me, thank you, excuse me~"
Just then, a familiar voice often heard in classrooms sounded behind him. Ron thought for a moment and immediately realized it was the owner of that bloody cat that had tried to catch his Scabbers—Hermione Granger.
After hesitating briefly, he still turned around, looking without much friendliness at Hermione, who was constantly pushing through the crowd.
And the orange cat she was carrying.
"Sorry, Ron. I didn't keep a close enough watch on Crookshanks, which led to this happening. I'm truly sorry!"
Upon seeing Ron, Hermione got straight to the point and immediately apologized to him.
Ron was stunned. The complaints he'd wanted to blurt out got stuck in his throat.
He really hadn't expected to receive such a straightforward apology from this brilliant little witch.
This was quite surprising, honestly.
He blinked, opened his mouth, not knowing what to say, and could only make vague sounds of acknowledgment.
"I'll keep a strict watch on our Crookshanks from now on, and I'll also tell her not to bully your pet anymore, so please forgive her."
She lifted Crookshanks up slightly to emphasize the creature's presence.
However, Crookshanks's threatening eyes were clearly searching for Scabbers, who had been so frightened before they arrived that he was hiding somewhere on Ron's person.
Hermione keenly noticed this, then without changing expression used her free hand to cover Crookshanks's eyes.
Crookshanks: What has obscured my vision?
Glenn behind Hermione spoke up, producing several potion bottles from seemingly nowhere.
"Your rat shows signs of sleep deprivation and malnutrition, along with mental tension and anxiety. As an apology for Crookshanks's behavior, I have some nutritional potions suitable for rodents and potions that can ease mental stress and emotional agitation. Please accept these as compensation to help improve your rat's condition."
This was naturally the conclusion Glenn had reached by analyzing Ron'sScabbers through his enhanced senses.
Although cats chasing mice was natural instinct, it was rather strange that Crookshanks, who had previously shown clear disinterest in rodents, would suddenly be interested in Ron Weasley's rat. This couldn't help but make Glenn curious about this particular rat as well.
But there didn't seem to be anything particularly special about it.
Looking left and right, he couldn't detect anything unusual, so he let it go and casually retrieved these few potion bottles from his magical storage to help apologize for their cat.
The two-person apology combo left Ron completely bewildered. He numbly accepted the potion bottles Glenn handed over and mechanically nodded.
"So, you forgive Crookshanks then?"
Observing Ron's current expression, Hermione knew the matter was settled and asked accordingly.
"Ah, yes. I'm actually feeling a bit embarrassed now. These things must be quite expensive, right?"
Ron finally came to his senses and scratched his head somewhat sheepishly as he replied.
"No problem, it's just a small matter. As long as Crookshanks can be forgiven, it's all brilliant~"
Speaking Glenn's thoughts for him, Hermione snapped her fingers with a mischievous smile, then cheerfully explained what had happened to the young wizards who had gathered around to watch the excitement, before dispersing the crowd.
"Phew, that's settled, and it was quite easy too. I thought Ron would keep harping on about this, especially since he seems to treasure that rat of his."
Seeing that Ron said nothing more and the crowd had completely dispersed, Hermione and Glenn walked side by side into the distance. She sighed lightly, spread her hands, and commented thus.
"Maybe we were too swift and decisive, and Ron Weasley didn't have time to react properly."
Glenn held Crookshanks with one arm, helping to smooth her fur, and speculated thus.
"That's true, but this is just our style. We can't change our approach to accommodate others, right? Anyway, the result was good."
"Mm, so, shall we take a walk?"
"Sure, and let's bring this little troublemaker along to give her some moral education."
Hermione put on a mock stern expression, waved her fist, and poked Crookshanks's belly with her finger.
Crookshanks protested with an indignant meow and rolled her eyes.
Hmph, foolish humans! You'll regret this!
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