Care of Magical Creatures Teacher

On Sunday morning, Jon did not get up as early as usual.

It was not until around nine, after most of Hogwarts's first-years had crawled out of bed, that he finally left the dormitory.

He first went to the Great Hall for some breakfast, where he heard Draco Malfoy boasting from the Slytherin table about how he had taught a Gryffindor a lesson:

"I didn't even draw my Wand, because I knew that stupid Weasley couldn't possibly hurt me. And sure enough, guess what? One spell knocked himself over, and then he threw up loads of slugs, hahahaha..."

Aside from the Gryffindors, the Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw students all looked at him with disgust, but Malfoy seemed utterly unaware of it.

Jon did not stay in the Great Hall for long. After breakfast, he returned to the Hufflepuff common room and picked up the glass cage containing the two South African Red Spiders.

As he left the castle, a ghost drifted past him, making him hurriedly step aside.

"Good morning, Jon!" the ghost greeted him kindly.

"Hello, Friar!" Jon respectfully bowed to the Fat Friar's ghost, and the Fat Friar returned the gesture.

"I'd like to go to Professor Sprout's office..."

"So you're looking for Pomona. Her office is in a low wooden hut beside Greenhouse One... Hurry along. If I remember correctly, she's always in her office on Sundays!" the Fat Friar said with a smile.

"Thank you, Friar."

The Fat Friar was arguably the friendliest ghost in all the houses. In less than a week since term began, Jon had already asked him for directions three times, and every time, he had patiently and carefully pointed him the way.

Professor Sprout was not in her office. Jon searched several nearby greenhouses and found her in Greenhouse Three.

She wore a pair of pink fluffy earmuffs and was trying to pull up a green-and-purple seedling inside the greenhouse.

Jon quickly backed away several steps and covered his ears.

Professor Sprout soon finished dealing with the seedling and walked out of the greenhouse wearing Dragon Hide gloves.

"Jon?" Professor Sprout removed her earmuffs and called out in surprise.

"It was Mandrake, wasn't it, Professor?" Jon said with a smile. "I covered my ears just now!"

"Very wise, or you might have been unconscious for several hours." Professor Sprout smiled and gave him a thumbs-up. "If this were during class, I would certainly award Hufflepuff points... Is something the matter?"

"Well, Professor... it's my pets. They haven't seemed quite right lately!" Jon said as he took out the spiders' glass cage.

"Pets?" Professor Sprout shook her head. "I'm sorry... but I teach Herbology... For matters like this, you should ask Professor Kettleburn, the Care of Magical Creatures teacher."

"But, Professor, I'm a first-year... We don't have Professor Kettleburn's class..." Jon said hesitantly.

"So you don't know Professor Kettleburn, do you?" Professor Sprout patted Jon on the shoulder. "Come on, I'll take you to Sylvanus right now."

Pomona Sprout was arguably the kindest and best teacher at Hogwarts, especially to Hufflepuff students.

No other teacher would have personally gone out of their way to make a trip with a first-year over such a trivial matter.

Following Professor Sprout, he arrived at the edge of the Forbidden Forest.

Hagrid's hut was nowhere in sight, so this must have been the other side of the Forbidden Forest.

A thatched hut stood there. Professor Sprout raised her Wand and lightly tapped on the door.

"What is it?" an elderly voice came from inside.

"Sylvanus, it's me... One of my students needs your help!" Professor Sprout called loudly.

"Pomona... Good morning, Pomona..." A white-haired old man hobbled out of the hut.

Jon suddenly understood why Hogwarts would have Hagrid take over as the Care of Magical Creatures teacher in another year... Professor Kettleburn truly was very old. Both his beard and hair had turned gray, and one of his hands and one of his legs were wooden prosthetics.

"Is that you?" Professor Kettleburn looked Jon up and down. "Why do you look unfamiliar?"

"Professor, I'm a Hufflepuff first-year!" Jon hurriedly replied.

"A first-year... Hufflepuff..." Professor Kettleburn's gaze immediately softened. "Once upon a time, I too was a Hufflepuff first-year... More than eighty years have passed since then..."

"Sylvanus, Jon's pets have a little problem. He wants you to take a look at them!" Professor Sprout proactively explained why they had come.

"Fine... no problem!" Professor Kettleburn's gaze shifted to the glass cage in Jon's arms.

"Two spiders, perfectly ordinary spiders, and you actually keep them as pets... I think you and Hagrid will become good friends..." Professor Kettleburn muttered.

"Careful, Pomona. There's a Grindylow in the water tank behind you. Don't let it escape!"

"And Mr. Hart, don't kick over the teapot by your feet. There's a Chizpurfle inside..."

"They're very healthy. There's practically nothing wrong with them!" Professor Kettleburn immediately concluded.

"But why do they keep banging against the cage, trying to escape... They've been like this since last night. They were never this disobedient before." Jon had already prepared his words and spoke calmly.

"That is indeed a problem..." Professor Kettleburn frowned. "Ordinary spiders being this agitated is something I've never seen before!"

"Could it be... fear?" Jon asked quietly.

"Fear?" Professor Kettleburn bent down and examined them more carefully. "It does look rather like it..."

"But that's impossible!" he said decisively.

"Why?" This time, it was Professor Sprout who voiced the question.

"Only one extremely evil magical creature can make spiders feel fear... But that evil creature has been extinct in Britain for nearly four hundred years, and the Ministry of Magic strictly forbids it from entering the British Isles, so it cannot possibly appear around Hogwarts!" As he spoke, Professor Kettleburn handed the cage back to Jon.

"Perhaps you haven't fed them enough, Mr. Hart... I'll prescribe some Calming Draught for you. Try feeding it to them!"