theshabbiestofmen | IC Contact;

[ she stops in her tracks. you can't expect someone like hermione granger to go in unprepared. ]

Hold on, I trust you because you're you and all, but what on earth have you got in there?

[ you're starting to sound like hagrid, remus. ]

It's just a rat. A, er, rather big . . . semi poisonous rat.

[He gives her a little nonverbal welp and a shrug.]

They were released on the ship. I got bit quite a few times, and most of us got sick, but, er, Sirius kept one. Brunhilda, he calls her, heaven only knows why. But we've both put spells on the cage, so she won't get it out.

That's oddly...feminist of him, I suppose. [ uncertainty aside, she's moving forward. it's no different than Norbert or Buckbeak or Fluffy or Grawp, in a way. Hagrid would be pleased. ]

What happened to the others?

They were killed.

[He unlocks the door-- and yes, there's Brunhilda, all huge red eyes and overgrown teeth. She's a good deal larger than a regular rat, some three feet tall. Angrily she hisses at them both and slams herself against the edge of her cage.]

Yes, hello, Brunhilda, it's nice to see you too.

That's horrible.

[ and perhaps it is years spent visiting Hagrid and his creatures that makes her worry over dangerous creatures. ]

She doesn't seem too pleased.

She's never pleased, to be honest. We've tried just about everything we can think of, but she just sort of . . . hisses and tries to bite us.

[He glances over at her. A little defensively:]

It's not as if we're trying to torture her or something. I mean, she gets free run of the room most times.

No, of course not. You're not that sort.

[ a beat. ] Perhaps she wants to see other rats.

She might.

[He glances over at her.]

Would you prefer conjuring another rat or putting up a shield spell for us?

I could put up more spells, if you like, but it'd be easier if we transfigured a rat from something else. Conjuring animals out of nothing is difficult, and they don't last long, in my experience. If we transfigured one, it might even stay that way.

Who knows? It might help. I'll do the spells; my transfiguration isn't always so neat.

[With a little sigh-- god, but he hates this rat-- he begins casting shield charms around them, again and again, trying to ensure they won't be bitten.]

Will do.

[ she pulls a little cup out of her bag. nonverbal transfiguration is a go. ] Do the others know about her?

Mmhmm. She's certainly not a secret. Lily doesn't come up, though, and James has only been once or twice. I think he's a bit frightened of her, to be honest. I'm a bit frightened of her.

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