When Neville discovered that he was the one being called upon, his face went ashen white and he couldn't help but fall into panic. His face flushed with anxiety, and his hands began trembling at his sides as all eyes turned toward him with expectant gazes.
But in the end, summoning courage from somewhere deep within, he slowly walked to the front with hesitant steps. Under Adrian's gentle guidance and encouraging nods, he tremblingly extended his hand toward the Thestral.
For a moment, Neville felt like he was touching some kind of bone frame wrapped in the thinnest layer of skin, and the sensation from his fingertips—cold, and solid, made him reflexively shiver.
However, the Thestral made no reaction to his tentative touch, simply standing quietly in place with an almost supernatural patience. Its white, pupilless eyes gazed ahead with peaceful indifference, as if it understood the boy's fear and chose to remain still for his comfort.
"Very good, Mr. Longbottom."
Adrian said approvingly, his voice warm with genuine praise, "One point to Gryffindor."
A slight blush appeared on Neville's pale face, spreading across his cheeks, he hadn't expected that he could actually earn points for his house. The small victory felt epic to someone who so rarely experienced academic success.
"Now, pair up."
Adrian waved his wand, and silver points of light appeared in the air like fallen stars, outlining the silhouette of a Thestral so the students could see its body clearly. The magical outline shimmered showing the creature's true body.
"You can try to make contact with the Thestrals, or feed them something if you've brought appropriate treats," Adrian continued, his eyes scanning the eager faces before him. "If any of you can get a Thestral to carry you for a flight, you'll earn a substantial amount of points—though I must warn you, these creatures choose their riders, not the other way around."
The students immediately began moving excitedly, their earlier uneasiness giving way to curiosity and competitive spirit. Although the Thestrals looked frightening with their skeletal appearance and dragon-like heads, most students were somewhat curious about these peculiar creatures. The prospect of earning house points added an extra incentive to overcome their fears.
Besides, making contact with an invisible animal was quite cool, it would make for impressive stories to tell in their dormitories later.
As for Adrian, he stood nearby watching the students ready to prevent them from causing trouble or putting themselves in danger.
"Mr. Finnigan, you're touching the Thestral's head, not its rear end—wait! Pull your hand out quickly, your finger has gone into its nostril..." Adrian called out with alarm, watching as Seamus fumbled.
"Don't try to forcibly climb onto the Thestral's back, Mr. Malfoy, it might throw you off... Oh, I told you so." Adrian sighed as Draco landed on the grass. "Let me look for it—I brought some dittany essence for exactly this sort of situation..."
The clearing was filled with a mixture of nervous laughter, confused shouts, and the occasional cry of surprise as students made contact with creatures they couldn't see. Some stood with their arms outstretched, waving them through empty air, while others moved more cautiously, guided by those who could actually see the Thestrals.
Finally, when class time ended with the distant chiming of the castle bells, Adrian wiped the sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand.
The afternoon sun had grown warm, and managing a class of third-years interacting with invisible magical creatures was more exhausting than he'd anticipated.
These students were truly troublesome.
Fortunately, the Thestrals he had selected were from the relatively gentle batch, creatures who had grown accustomed to student interactions over the years. They hadn't gotten angry at the students' clumsy antics, showing remarkable patience with the fumbling attempts at contact.
Otherwise, there would have been real chaos today—possibly involving injured students and panicked Thestrals taking flight.
As the students left one by one, their voices gradually fading as they headed back toward the castle, Adrian called out to Hermione with a gentle tone.
"Is something wrong?" Hermione asked puzzledly, her brow still showed traces of fatigue.
"You look a bit tired," Adrian said quietly. "You used the Time-Turner this morning, didn't you?"
"How did you—?"
Hermione's eyes widened suddenly in shock, her eyes showing a mixture of surprise and panic. But she quickly calmed down.
It was perfectly normal for Adrian, as a professor, to know about the existence of Time-Turners. Such powerful magical artifacts wouldn't be distributed without the faculty's knowledge, especially not to students.
So, there was no need for her to hide it from him.
"Yes," Hermione rubbed her forehead wearily and admitted, "I attended three classes at the same time. It's... more draining than I expected."
"I thought so," Adrian nodded with understanding sympathy. "Your body probably hasn't adapted to the burden of using the Time-Turner yet. The temporal displacement alone can cause significant stress, the mental strain of living the same hours multiple times. I don't think taking all the courses is a good idea."
"But I don't want to miss any of Hogwarts' courses—they're all very interesting," Hermione said stubbornly.
'Well, except for Divination,' she thought privately.
She wondered if it was too late to drop that class now...
While Hermione was thinking, Adrian reached into his teaching robes and handed her a small box about the size of two palms.
"What's this?"
Hermione took it carefully and opened the lid, surprised to find it contained many small bottles arranged in neat rows.
"Good potions can help you somewhat," Adrian explained with a caring smile. "Some sedatives and invigorating draughts—these should last you quite a while. The blue ones will help you sleep when your mind is racing from time-based displacement, and the golden ones will give you energy when you need it most. If you need more, you can come find me anytime."
Adrian was quite worried about Hermione.
He knew that Time-Turners were extremely draining and could cause tremendous anxiety. The constant shifting between timestreams could fragment one's sense of reality, and the academic pressure of attending multiple classes simultaneously would be overwhelming for anyone.
"Oh, I can't—"
Hermione wanted to refuse, her cheeks flushing with embarrassment. These potions were obviously quite expensive.
But Adrian interrupted her with a gentle firmness, pushing her toward Harry and Ron, who were still lingering nearby with curious expressions. "Of course you can accept them, but I still need to remind you that these potions can't help you overcome all the aftereffects of the Time-Turner. You still need to get proper rest, real sleep in real time."
At this point, Harry and Ron approached with cautious steps.
"What are you two talking about?" Harry asked, looking puzzledly at both of them.
"Oh, nothing," Hermione closed the box and held it to her chest protectively, smiling nervously. "Just asked some questions about the course material."
She couldn't reveal anything about the Time-Turner—she had promised Professor McGonagall.
Even to Harry and Ron, her closest friends.
Just then, Ron's robes suddenly began moving erratically, as if something was struggling frantically within the clothes.
"Scabbers! Stop it!"
He frantically pulled a fat rat from his pocket. The rat's black eyes darted around wildly.
Adrian glanced at the plump rat and noticed it was missing a toe on its front paw. By the looks of it, that was undoubtedly Peter—the man who had betrayed Harry's parents and lived in disguise for over a decade.
"Ron," Adrian said casually, though his eyes remained fixed on the trembling rat, "I don't think bringing pets to class is a good choice."
"Today was just an accident," Ron said apologetically, carefully holding Scabbers in his palm. "I'm planning to take him to the hospital wing. He seems rather agitated lately, more so than usual. Also, he's lost a lot of weight recently—maybe I should buy him some more Rat Tonic."
Although Ron was trying his best to calm him, stroking the rat's fur with soothing motions, Scabbers seemed even more disturbed. It crawled all over Ron's hands as if extremely frightened.
Adrian watched this scene thoughtfully—
Although Peter knew Sirius was looking for him, he shouldn't be reacting this intensely in a simple Care of Magical Creatures class.
He was probably being influenced by some rat instincts, the animal nature overwhelming his human consciousness.
After all, being an Animagus was a special form of transfiguration magic that allowed a person to truly become an animal, adopting not just the physical form but some of the behavioral patterns as well.
Just like Adrian—when he transformed into a hedgehog, he would also carry some hedgehog habits, such as wanting to sleep all winter or liking to curl up in a ball when stressed.
"I don't think Madam Pomfrey would know how to treat rats," Adrian shook his head. "Her expertise lies with human ailments, not small animal medicine."
Ron's face fell, disappointment clear in his blue eyes.
Adrian suddenly felt a bit sorry for him—Ron really did love Scabbers as a pet, caring for the creature as he had few possessions but treasured what he had.
'Poor child,' Adrian thought. He has no idea he's been caring for his family's betrayer all these years.
It would be better to resolve this matter quickly, before the truth came out in some more traumatic way.
Tomorrow, he planned to reveal this to Dumbledore and let the headmaster figure out how to handle such a situation.
With this in mind, Adrian produced a small bottle of potion from somewhere within his robes and handed it to Ron.
"Try giving this to Scabbers first. It's Rat Tonic that I keep in stock."
"Thank you!"
Ron accepted the tonic with delight, his face brightening considerably. Then he realized something and looked at Adrian strangely, tilting his head with curiosity. "Um... Professor Westeros, why do you have this? Do you also keep rats?"
"You should look at what I teach," Adrian smiled with good humor. "Besides this, I also have owl tonic, toad supplements, cat strengthening potions... Oh, I have ones for wizards too. Do you need any?"
"No, thank you."
Ron quickly shook his head—the rat tonic was enough, and he didn't want to impose further on his professor's generosity.
However, what he didn't know was that Adrian had added something extra to his rat tonic during its preparation.
Of course, it wasn't anything poisonous—just some "sleep-inducing ingredients" that would make the creature drowsy and compliant.
As soon as Scabbers took the tonic, it would want to doze off constantly, making it less likely to cause scenes or attempt escape.
Adrian needed to make sure it stayed put with Ron and wouldn't suddenly run away before the truth could be properly revealed.
"Well, I'll be going then, everyone," Adrian waved to the three of them. "I need to escort these Thestrals back to the Forbidden Forest before darkness falls."
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