Neville rubbed his head at the bottom of the pit. He still hadn't figured out how he had suddenly fallen into it.
Seeing the rat standing at the opening above his head, staring down at him, he tried jumping a couple of times, but couldn't reach it.
The cunning rat seemed to know he couldn't do anything to it and began circling the opening.
The rat squeaked mockingly as it watched Neville's helpless expression.
Neville scratched his head anxiously. He didn't want to give up outright, but couldn't think of a good way out just then.
The pit's walls had been dug straight down, without a single protrusion he could use for leverage.
Soon, Douglas's voice reached him:
"Mr. Longbottom, why don't you concede? We can't keep the entire class waiting for you."
Neville hurriedly said:
"Professor, wait, wait! I'll think of something any moment... any moment..."
By now, Neville was sweating with anxiety. He had memorized plenty of spells, so he believed he would find a way.
"Calm down, calm down. I need to stay calm. Professor Holmes said the first thing to do when you encounter danger is stay calm..."
Just then, he noticed the weeds growing around the opening, and his eyes lit up.
He took out his wand, aimed at the weeds, and began casting the Growth Charm.
He might not have been so confident with other spells, but he had always practiced spells involving Herbology diligently.
The weeds soon grew within his reach. He tugged at them, but felt they weren't sturdy enough.
So he began casting the spell on the weeds beside them...
Just as he thought everything was foolproof and he could climb out, he suddenly felt something was wrong.
Looking up, he discovered that the rat was gnawing on the weeds he