Chapter 47: The two cat dealers upgrade their tactics
Gryffindor Common Room.
Harry and Ron sat at a table, looking dejected.
"What should we do?" Ron asked gloomily.
They had originally planned to deal with Abey first. As long as they gained its favor and then sought Aaron's consent, it would definitely be twice the result with half the effort.
However, several days had passed, and Abey had eaten nearly twenty chicken legs, yet it still wasn't interested in them. This made the two already guilty boys even more so.
Until today, Aaron was a little fed up, because the two of them were being overly generous to Abey, having fed it half a pound more.
When Aaron picked up the slightly plump white cat and asked them to stop feeding it, the two were stunned, so embarrassed they could dig a Hogwarts out with their feet.
"How should I know?" Harry was also speechless. "The original plan is temporarily scrapped. That cat is cute, but it's a bottomless pit.
By the time we've fed it enough to be familiar with us, Snapewill probably have run off with the Philosopher's Stone."
"Sigh!" Ron leaned back on the sofa, pondering. "Indirect borrowing definitely won't work. Abey isn't that easy to trick, and Aaron might not even lend it to us."
Harry paused slightly, looked around, and after making sure no one was there, whispered, "Then you mean, we steal it?
That's not right, is it? Aaron, even though he's in Slytherin, is still our friend."
"Harry, I know this is a bit underhanded, but do you have a better method?
Think of Snape, you don't want him to get the Philosopher's Stone, do you?
Besides, we're not really going to harm Abey, just borrow it for an hour. Consider it repayment for the three days of chicken legs we treated it to."
Harry was tempted but also worried. "But what if we get caught?"
"There's no 'what if'." Ron said confidently. "Don't forget, you still have the Invisibility Cloak.
Aaron can't always have Abey with him. For example, when he goes to the toilet, they're definitely separated.
At that time, as long as we're careful, stealing a cat will be a piece of cake."
Hearing this, Harry's mouth twitched. This method sounded a bit despicable.
And if they were discovered, their friendship with Aaronwould be over. The risk was too great, almost unbearable.
"No, we can't do that, it's too much.
It's like being a human trafficker, no, a cat trafficker."
"Uh... this..." Ron reacted, a polite but embarrassed smile on his face. "Don't talk nonsense, I'm just offering an idea.
If you have a good method, then you propose it."
Harry opened his mouth, wanting to speak but holding back, yet not a single word came out.
Because he also believed this terrible idea was currently the only one.
"What if Aaron finds the cat missing?"
"Hahaha!" Ron laughed. "Harry, Abey is a cat, okay! It's perfectly normal for it to wander around when its owner isn't there, as long as it's not missing for too long.
Once we've shown it to Hagrid, we'll just let it go, and it will automatically run back to Aaron.
Cats don't talk, everything will be perfectly natural, without any flaws."
"Wait!" Harry suddenly sat up. "I have an idea."
"What idea?" Ron was curious.
"Didn't you just say it's a cat?
What do cats do? They catch mice!
If we get Scabbers to appear in front of it when Aaron is in the toilet, and then lure it to Hagrid's Hut, wouldn't that solve everything?"
"No!" Ron slammed the table in anger. "I absolutely disagree, there's no worse idea than that.
Harry, you know cats catch mice, but cats also eat mice. What if Scabbers doesn't escape?
He's been with me for a long time, I can't bear to let him do something so dangerous."
"Sorry!" Harry lowered his head in shame. "So that means we can only steal it?"
"Exactly, but we need a rigorous plan." Ron crossed his arms, his face serious. "After all, Abey is alive, and if it's suddenly caught, it will definitely resist violently, and making a commotion would be bad."
"Hmm!" Harry nodded. "I think Hagrid will have a good idea."
...The next day, they arrived at the gamekeeper's hut.
After explaining their intentions to Hagrid, the good-natured Giant's face showed a troubled expression. "Isn't your idea a bit unreliable? How about we just forget it!"
"Then you tell us who participated in the design of the Philosopher's Stone's enchantments." Harry immediately said.
"This... of course not." Hagrid looked even more troubled, his thick beard squeezed together.
He certainly couldn't tell them directly. He didn't want Harry and the others to get involved further, and he wanted to delay it as long as possible.
But he also couldn't bear to give up his research on new magical species; his intuition told him that Aaron's pet was definitely not simple, perhaps even on par with some magical creatures.
"Then there you have it." Harry said helplessly.
"But why are you looking for me? I can't help much!"
"No, Hagrid, in all of Hogwarts, only you can help.
No one knows animals better than you. You must have something that can make Abey sleep."
"Shh!" Hagrid glanced around guiltily. "Who told you?"
Harry and Ron exchanged a smile. "It seems you really do."
Hagrid rolled his eyes at the two of them, then rummaged through a box in the corner. After about half a minute, he pulled out a small purple bottle.
"Special sleeping potion. This stuff only works on pets, not on people.
However, if it's a magical creature, the effect might not be as great. The more powerful the magical creature, the lower the potency.
For example, for magical creatures like Dragons and Phoenix, unless they are young, this sleeping potion is like plain water."
"That's enough, we're putting a cat to sleep, not a Dragon." Ron said with a chuckle, but he had no idea that what they were trying to put to sleep was a Dragon.
"Alright! I can give you the stuff, but be careful with the dosage." Hagrid reminded them. "For Abey's size, one drop is enough to make it sleep for two hours.
And, you must return this bottle of potion to me after you've used it."
"Got it!" Harry took the potion bottle and pulled Ron away from Hagrid's Hut.
The two rushed back to the Common Room without stopping, and began to discuss their battle plan. Looking at the small purple bottle on the table, they grew more and more excited as they talked.
Although they knew what they were doing was a bit underhanded, they were still eleven-year-old children. Such an interesting and exciting thing held a strange allure for them.
"What are you two doing, why are you so happy?" Hermionewalked over, carrying a stack of revision materials.
Ron quickly put away the sleeping potion on the table. "Nothing, we're just discussing the Quidditch match."
"Really?" Hermione was a little suspicious.
"Of course it's real, otherwise what do you think could make us happy?" Harry said. "Unless Malfoy fell into the toilet, or Snape got fired."
Hermione rolled her eyes. "I won't mention Snape, but Draco hasn't offended you two recently, has he?"
"But he offended us at the start of the term?" Ron said unhappily. "That arrogant attitude is exactly like his father, Lucius Malfoy."
Harry nodded in agreement. Malfoy's self-important attitude made him very uncomfortable.
"Suit yourselves!" Hermione slapped the materials onto the table. "These are for you. As long as you memorize these, you'll definitely have no problem with the final exams."
"Hermione!" Ron's eye twitched. "Are you sure this is for the final exams?
Our textbooks stacked together probably aren't even this high!"
"What kind of attitude is that? These are my study notes, many people have asked for them and I haven't given them!"
"No! But this is too much!" Harry said with a wry smile. Neither of them had much academic talent; they would be satisfied just to pass. But Hermione had arranged a hellish difficulty for them; this was aiming for full marks in every subject!
Hermione also knew that it was a bit unrealistic to make them study, "You don't have to memorize everything, but at least read it several times, so you don't not know what to write during the exam."
Harry and Ron looked at each other, but were speechless. No matter how unhappy the underachievers were, they still had to bow their heads to the overachiever.
"By the way, has Hagrid relented?"
"No!" Harry shook his head. "He still has the same conditions."
"Then Abey?"
At this moment, the two underachievers showed a telepathic understanding, shaking their heads simultaneously, a hint of bitterness appearing on their faces.
Their acting wasn't perfect, but it was full of deception.
"Sigh!" Harry sighed dejectedly.
Ron also chimed in, "That cat isn't giving us any chance at all."