Magical Pets of the Nirvana Research Center (III)

"Muggle science and wizarding research had this in common—nothing was perfect. Evolution did not create perfect things. Natural selection only created things that were 'just good enough to survive.' If something looked too perfect, too powerful, too without weakness, then it must have been made. Not evolved, but designed. And whoever designed it—must have had a purpose."

Something stirred in Harry's mind. It was not the feeling of suddenly understanding everything, but something slower, as though something was gradually emerging from the darkness, something he needed to focus on to grasp.

"You mean," he said slowly, as if thinking while he spoke, "those magical pets—they aren't creatures that exist naturally. They were made by someone. Designed by someone."

"Yes." Hermione nodded. "And designed by an organization we know absolutely nothing about. The Nirvana Research Center. The name sounds impressive, but think about it—nirvana, rebirth, transcendence. A research center that studies 'rebirth' has released a whole range of pets that can 'transform.' Could those things be connected? I don't know. But I think an organization capable of altering magical creatures could not simply be selling pets for Galleons. They had a bigger goal."

Ron leaned against the sofa, his fingers tapping unconsciously against his knee. His eyes settled on Scabbers in the cage. Scabbers was awake now, squatting in the corner with a sunflower seed clasped between his front paws, his tiny mouth gnawing at it rapidly. His eyes were round, black, and bright, but it was not the brightness of intelligence. It was the brightness of I only care about this sunflower seed in front of me.

"So what you mean is," Ron said, his voice slightly dry, "the people who bought those pets—they got scammed? Those pets can't really protect them?"

"That isn't what I mean," Hermione said, becoming