NOVEL NEXT Chapter 175: Died Imperceptibly
After the wizard who bought a two-tailed salamander at the counter left, Ron approached the counter.
Ron said to the witch behind the counter, "Please take a look at my rat. Since I brought him from Egypt, his color has changed a bit."
"Put him on the counter," said the witch, pulling out a pair of thick black glasses from her pocket.
Ron took Scabbers out of his pocket and placed him next to the large rat cage.
The other rats stopped performing their jumping tricks. They all moved towards the wire cage and stared at Scabbers with curiosity.
They seemed fascinated by this unique rat, but they could never imagine that this rat was not really a rat, but an animagus.
Compared to the brightly colored rats in the cage, Scabbers looked particularly shabby.
"Well," the witch said as she grabbed Scabbers, "how old is this rat?"
Ron replied, "I don't know, but he's very old, and he used to belong to my brother."
The witch studied Scabbers carefully, her eyes moving from his damaged left ear to his front paw, where a toe was missing. She clicked her tongue.
"A common garden rat like this can only live for about three years at most," said the witch. "I suggest, if you want something that will live a little longer, you might want to choose one of these..."
The witch pointed to the shiny black rats in a nearby cage.
However, Ron was clearly unwilling to part with Scabbers, the only thing in the Weasley family that truly belonged to him aside from his new wand.
"Well, if you don't want to get another one, try this rat supplement."
The witch didn't press further. She bent down and pulled out a small red bottle from beneath the counter.
"Alright," Ron nodded, "How much... Hey! What are you doing?!"
Suddenly, a large ginger cat jumped from the top of the highest cage and landed on Ron's head, nearly knocking him over.
The large feline straightened up and gave Scabbers a menacing smile.
"No, Crookshanks, no!" shouted the witch behind the counter.
However, Scabbers jumped from Ron's hand like a piece of soap, landed on the floor on all fours, then leapt and ran out the door.
Ron quickly chased after him and finally found Scabbers hiding under a box of used paper.
After retrieving Scabbers, Ron muttered all the way back to the Magical Creatures Shop, cursing the big ginger cat.
However, when Ron returned to the Magical Creatures Shop, he was horrified to find Hermione walking out with the large ginger cat in her arms.
Irina was next to Hermione, smiling as she scratched the cat's head.
As for Lynn, he was holding a bag containing the canned owl food he had bought for his emergency owl supply.
"Hermione, did you buy this damn monster?!" Ron exclaimed incredulously.
Hermione was smiling from ear to ear. She was petting the large feline in her arms, looking extremely happy.
This large cat, named Crookshanks, seemed to enjoy the petting from both Hermione and Irina. He closed his eyes comfortably and purred.
The two girls really liked Crookshanks, but Harry and Ron did not share the same sentiment.
In their opinion, although Crookshanks had soft and fluffy ginger fur, his feet were obviously box-shaped, and he had a gloomy expression and a strange face, as if he had run into something.
"Hermione, this thing nearly ripped my scalp off!" Ron said sadly.
Hermione, still holding Crookshanks in her arms, had eyes only for the large, cute cat: "He didn't mean to, did you, Crookshanks?"
"What about my Scabbers?" Ron pointed to the small bag sticking out of his chest pocket, "He needs to rest and relax! How can he relax with this thing nearby?"
"Maybe I can help."
Just as Ron and Hermione were about to argue, a calm voice was heard.
Ron and Hermione turned to see Lynn speaking.
Irina, who seemed to have guessed what Lynn was about to do, looked at him with a smile.
Lynn smiled and said to Irina's ear, "As you know, I'm an alchemist. I can make a special alchemy cage for Scabbers, so he can relax fully in it. I can even use an alchemy defensive circle to ensure that Crookshanks won't harm Scabbers."
Hearing this, Ron was pleasantly surprised and a bit shocked. He said happily, "Really?"
Harry, however, didn't believe that something good came without a reason. He asked cautiously, "Lynn, what do we need to pay?"
Lynn's smile widened even more: "Don't worry, you're friends with Irina, and that means you're my friends too. Think of this alchemy cage as a gift from me to my friends."
Seeing this, Irina took the initiative to ease Harry's suspicions: "Then it's up to you, Lynn."
"Easy to say," Lynn grinned.
Then, Harry and Ron thanked Lynn, and Hermione handed Ron the rat supplement he had left earlier.
They all wandered around Diagon Alley and then planned to return to the Leaky Cauldron.
On the way back to the Leaky Cauldron, Irina deliberately stayed a few steps behind the group and walked towards Lynn.
"Lynn, the alchemy cage you're talking about shouldn't be that simple, right?" Irina turned sideways and whispered into Lynn's ear.
Lynn chuckled softly and whispered back, "Of course, aside from the effects I just mentioned, the physical functions of the creatures inside the alchemy cages will be subtly altered by the power of the alchemy circle. Gradually, they'll lose their ability to escape and resist."
"However, this negative effect will only manifest in front of Ron. Scabbers will behave better and won't run anymore. But when Peter Pettigrew returns to his true form, the functions of his body won't be as good as before... for a man of a foot and a half. If the centenarian in the coffin is locked in an alchemy cage for ten years, he will even die in the alchemy cage due to heart and lung exhaustion."
Lynn spoke calmly.
Hearing this, Irina couldn't help but feel a little scared.
You see, if Sirius hadn't broken into the castle this year, Scabbers could have been locked in that alchemy cage forever.
Given Peter Pettigrew's lifespan, his rat form, Scabbers, might have lived for decades or even centuries, but if locked in the alchemy cage, it might have lived at least ten more years.
The most terrifying thing is that even if Scabbers died in the alchemy cage, Ron would just think that Scabbers had reached the end of his lifespan and wouldn't suspect the alchemy cage itself.
Ron might even thank Lynn, believing that the alchemy cage had extended Scabbers' life by ten years!
But Peter Pettigrew, locked in the cage, would die silently, and no one would notice anything unusual about him.
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