Chapter 56. "High-Quality" Magical Creatures
"Professor, you're busy, so I'll head back first."
At midday, after dealing with the troll, Duncan waved goodbye to the professors and followed the path back to the castle.
Halfway along, the shrubs at the roadside quivered, as though a grey-white shadow had flashed through.
Duncan raised an eyebrow, drew his wand, pressed down a thick branch of the bushes, and slowly prised it aside.
A long, grey-white-furred creature was curled up there, looking a bit like a ferret.
At that moment, it was digging at the ground with sharp claws, fine, gravel-like soil forming a ring around it.
Sensing the movement behind it, the ferret-like creature shuddered and spun round nimbly.
It lifted its little head, its round eyes fixed ahead, and it stared at Duncan without moving.
After a moment, the small creature seemed to recover from its surprise.
It opened its mouth and spoke human words: "Where did this dumbass come from?"
Duncan held back the urge to punch it, rolled his eyes, and ignored it.
The creature before him was a Jarvey, a species famous in the animal world for being "high-quality."
They weren't very intelligent, perhaps only a little cleverer than trolls, those famous dimwits.
They could speak, but only in short bursts, and were generally quite rude.
Wizards unfamiliar with them were often provoked by a Jarvey's mouth and used magic to harm them.
So Jarveys generally didn't have it easy and could only live out in uninhabited wilderness or mountain forests.
Duncan rummaged in his leather pouch and took out a few pieces of jerky, pinching them between his fingers and waving them before the Jarvey's eyes.
"Want some?"
The Jarvey stared fixedly at the meat, drool dripping at the corner of its mouth.
It had come out to work early this morning, searching for traces of rats, but had found nothing so far.
The Jarvey hesitated for a moment and, urged on by its rumbling belly, suddenly leapt forward, pouncing at the meat.
But it missed.
Smiling, Duncan lifted the meat out of reach, just brushing past its claws.
Realising it had been toyed with, the Jarvey grew very annoyed, but it didn't dare attack Duncan.
It could only shout "idiot, idiot" over and over.
"As long as you help me with one thing, I'll give you the jerky.
And not just this—there'll be more in the future."
Duncan crouched down, looking down at the Jarvey, the smile on his face like that of a devil tricking someone into signing a contract.
But a Jarvey wouldn't think that far.
It understood one thing only: the person before it would give it food.
The Jarvey instantly became docile, flattening itself on the ground and quietly waiting for Duncan's instructions.
Duncan felt that if he asked the Jarvey to do a few backflips right now, with some effort it could manage it.
"This is your payment in advance."
Duncan tossed a few pieces of jerky in front of the Jarvey.
A white blur flashed by, and the Jarvey whisked all the meat behind it at great speed, afraid Duncan might go back on his word.
But it did not leave.
The meat on the ground was only enough for itself.
Back home it had a whole brood waiting to be fed.
"I need you and your tribe to find, in the forest, a monster shaped like me but much taller."
To accommodate the Jarvey's level of understanding, Duncan kept his explanation as simple as possible.
"As tall as that tree over there—got it?"
The Jarvey looked at the little tree Duncan pointed to, its head frozen in mid-air for a moment, then it nodded.
"Right, off you go then.
Once you find it, you'll be well rewarded."
Duncan threw the rest of the jerky to the Jarvey.
Another white blur, and the Jarvey scooped up all the meat, took the chance to call Duncan "idiot" a few more times, and dashed off.
"Tsk."
Duncan spoke helplessly.
"Stop calling people idiots from now on, or someone else will thump you."
The Jarvey blinked blankly.
Though it didn't know why Duncan said that, it obediently shut its mouth and left.
Duncan stood and watched the Jarvey go, the corner of his mouth quirking into a smile.
The forest was his home turf.
If Professor Quirrell had hidden the other troll in the forest, there was no way it could escape his notice.
On his way back, Duncan made the same sort of deal with several birds as well, asking them to help with the search.
With the efforts of these cute little animals here, he believed he would receive good news soon.
In high spirits, he returned to the castle and ate a delicious lunch prepared by the house-elves.
Duncan felt a bit drowsy.
Dragging his lazy steps, he planned to head back to the dormitory for a short rest.
He went down the stairs to the first basement, then walked on a little further.
The barrels that formed Hufflepuff's entrance came into view.
"Duncan, you're finally back—where did you go?"
A delighted girl's voice came from the side, sounding familiar.
Duncan quickly looked towards the source of the voice.
A girl with bushy hair stood up from the steps, a thick book in her arms.
"Hermione?"
Duncan looked at the girl in surprise.
"Long time no see.
How are you finding life at school?"
"Mm-hmm."
Hermione nodded quickly, her hair dancing in the air.
"It's brilliant.
I've learnt several spells, and read lots of books, and encountered all sorts of really interesting things.
It's much more fun than my old life..."
Hermione chattered away, eyes alight, as if she wanted to tell Duncan every single thing she had experienced lately.
Duncan smiled and nodded.
When he first encountered magical creatures and magic, he had been much the same as Hermione.
How many people in the world can resist the charm of magic?
At the same time, Duncan tapped the special barrel to the rhythm of "Helga Hufflepuff."
When the lid opened, he led Hermione into the Hufflepuff common room.
There were only a few people inside, chatting together.
They glanced at the two who had come in, then went back to their conversation.
Hermione's voice gradually grew much quieter.
She looked around the common room's décor with interest.
Those spots by the windows, dappled with little patches of sunlight, caught her eye at once.
It was a perfect place to read.
Gryffindor's common room didn't have such a good spot.
Hermione exclaimed sincerely, "Your common room is really nice—very cosy..."
"And there are loads of tasty snacks!"
Smiling, Duncan handed Hermione a few biscuits and invited her to sit on the soft sofa.
"You really ought to have come to Hufflepuff with me back then.
By the way, what did you need me for?"
Prompted by Duncan, Hermione remembered the real reason for her visit.
An embarrassed smile appeared on her face.
She had just got too excited and, without meaning to, put her business out of mind—mostly because it had been ages since she'd had such a cheerful chat with someone.
Composing herself, Hermione said proudly, "I've found a way to treat Mori!"
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