Professor Kettleburn Who Takes Notes

"Are you going down to dinner?" Xiwen asked his two roommates, who were hard at "battle," as he walked back to the dormitory.

"We'll come as soon as this game of chess is over," Abu answered distractedly.

In contrast, Mobley threw the chess piece in his hand, stood up instantly, and said impatiently, "Let's go eat, I'm already starving!"

The chess knight that had fallen onto the table raised its tiny lance and let out a disgruntled sound of protest at Mobley.

Xiwen glanced at the state of the chessboard and wore a knowing look.

"You're cheating!" Abu shouted in exasperation.

"No I'm not?" Mobley argued sophistically. "My last meal was last night, I'm genuinely starving!"

Accompanied by the sound of the two bickering, the three of them arrived at the Great Hall.

After all, Xiwen still had a bit of a headache and didn't have much of an appetite. Moreover, the steam occasionally puffing out of his ears was somewhat conspicuous, so he just casually ate some light food, bid farewell to his roommates, and left the Great Hall.

"Little Cat, come out, it's time for us to go!" Xiwen shouted in the common room.

"What, has the cat run off again?" an older Slytherin senior student asked with interest.

Xiwen nodded helplessly and replied, "Professor Kettleburn asked me to bring Little Cat for him to look at, but she doesn't know where she ran off to again."

Looking at the hand of his pocket watch steadily approaching seven o'clock, Xiwen thought to himself that he might break his promise this time, and wondered if the professor would get so angry at him not bringing the cat that he'd directly chase him out...

Returning to the dormitory, just as Xiwen was preparing to tidy his things up and head to Professor Kettleburn's hut, he suddenly found a little cat with silver-white patterns lazily tucking its little paws in as it lay on top of the quilt on his bed.

"When did you run over here?" Xiwen seized the little cat in his arms with quick eyes and hands, poking her nose as he asked.

"Meow!" Little Cat let out a disgruntled cry, but the sound was extremely cute, sounding more like she was acting spoiled instead.

"Alright, it's time for us to go!" Xiwen cheerfully placed Little Cat on his shoulder, letting her soft belly press against him with her four little paws dangling back and forth.

This soft, fluffy touch made Xiwen feel completely satisfied.

"Hiss—" A plume of white steam suddenly spewed out from Xiwen's ears, giving Little Cat a start. She immediately leaped from his shoulder back into Xiwen's arms.

Xiwen lost a bit of face, so he had no choice but to spend the entire way massaging Little Cat's head and chin. Little Cat certainly enjoyed it, but Xiwen's hand was aching terribly.

"You're here? Quite punctual, aren't you!" Professor Kettleburn was clearly waiting impatiently in front of the hut's door to welcome Xiwen—or rather, to welcome Little Cat...

"Let me see, is this the cat?" He looked with great interest at Little Cat in Xiwen's arms, who had enjoyed an artificial massage service the entire way.

At this moment, Little Cat narrowed her small eyes, lying flat along Xiwen's right arm while emitting a "purr purr" sound from her throat that represented bliss and contentment. Meanwhile, Xiwen's left hand was tirelessly pressing and kneading the top of her head.

Xiwen expressed that while petting a cat was wonderful, petting a cat for a long time was also physical labor!

"Overall fur color is white, with silver patterns on the back, appearing glossier compared to domestic cats; behavior when receiving massages is roughly the same as a domestic cat..."

Not knowing where he pulled a tattered notebook from, Professor Kettleburn began muttering to himself while using a quill made of some unknown feather to record Little Cat's appearance, habits, and other traits.

"What do her eyes look like?" the professor asked, simultaneously reaching out a hand wanting to touch Little Cat's head.

Little Cat abruptly opened her eyes and cast a vicious glare at the professor.

"Mm, yellow irises, vertical pupils." The professor nodded and continued recording in the notebook.

Xiwen opened his mouth, feeling like he couldn't get a word in, and then closed his mouth again.

Yet although Xiwen closed his mouth, his ears were still stealing the show. Two puffs of steam went "hiss" as they spewed out from his ears.

Hearing this sound, Professor Kettleburn apparently finally remembered Xiwen's existence, raised his head, and asked, "Catch a cold?"

"No." Xiwen shook his head and replied, "Just have a bit of a headache."

"Oh, well the professor is considerate of your physical condition, so we won't patrol the Forbidden Forest today; stay inside the house and have a good rest." Professor Kettleburn led Xiwen into the hut as he spoke in a solemn and serious manner.

Looking at the professor, whose full attention was on Little Cat, Xiwen couldn't help asking, "Professor, did you already want to skip patrolling the Forbidden Forest and were just waiting for an excuse?"

"How can you make baseless accusations and smear an innocent man's reputation?" Professor Kettleburn huffed with a beard flicking and eyes wide, speaking righteously. "Caring for students is a professor's duty! If you hadn't begged me, did you think I'd want to show you what breed of cat this is?"

"Well then professor, I won't force you, perhaps I should just take Little Cat back," Xiwen said.

"Hey stop, stop, stop!" Seeing Xiwen make a motion to leave, Professor Kettleburn panicked instantly and hastily said, "I admit I really did want to study your cat, alright now?"

"What an ungrateful little brat who doesn't respect his elders," he subsequently muttered under his breath.

Xiwen looked helplessly at the rather unorthodox professor, but ultimately still placed Little Cat on the table in front of him to facilitate his observation.

"From the outside, she doesn't look like any particularly special breed." Professor Kettleburn frowned as he observed Little Cat, failing to notice his face getting closer and closer to the cat.

With a "slap!", Little Cat planted a paw right on the professor's face.

Xiwen: "..."

Professor Kettleburn didn't take offense in the slightest, saying with great gusto, "Plucky, aren't you? This move doesn't look much like a domestic cat."

As he spoke, he tried to pry Little Cat's mouth open to look at her teeth.

"Hiss—" Little Cat fiercely hissed at the professor, trying to scare him off.

However, the person she was facing was the knowledgeable professor of Care of Magical Creatures at Hogwarts; Professor Kettleburn's hand reached unwaveringly to the edge of Little Cat's mouth.

And so he got bitten by Little Cat...

"Professor, are you alright?" Xiwen asked with a twitching corner of his mouth.

"Small problem!" Professor Kettleburn very skillfully smeared some Dittany Essence on himself and said confidently, "What does a tiny matter like this count for? I've never flinched when encountering big fellows that could bite my leg right off."

So that's how your arms and legs went missing... Xiwen thought speechlessly in his heart.

"Fangs are much sharper than a domestic cat's, and a good deal longer..." Professor Kettleburn was still taking notes.

Subsequently, he produced a pre-prepared mouse and placed it in front of Little Cat.

"Now let me see how you hunt!"

"Ahem, professor, Little Cat doesn't eat unclean things," Xiwen weakly interjected from the side.

"She only eats cooked food..."

Professor Kettleburn: "..."