Chapter 54. Quirrell and Professor McGonagall on Their Day Off
After bidding farewell to the warm-hearted Hufflepuff students, Adrian Wesson returned to his office.
As for the photograph, Adrian had it mounted in a frame and set it on the bookshelf in his office—then turned it face-down.
It was, after all, quite the keepsake.
But before it started making the rounds, it was better to put it away.
If a Slytherin student—or professor—were to see it, it would almost certainly cause unnecessary trouble.
These days weren't like his own school years, when things were turbulent.
Most Slytherin students were perfectly normal, and the notion of "pure-blood supremacy" was not as widespread as Adrian had imagined.
Just as he finished, a gust of wind pushed his office window open.
Rai swooped in from outside and landed lightly on Adrian's desk.
As a Thunderbird, Rai would not casually summon storms and lightning under normal circumstances—that would draw too much attention—so today's weather was ordinary.
Besides, summoning storms and lightning would also sap his strength.
After spending some time together, Adrian had noticed that Thunderbirds were far cleverer than fire-dragons.
Even after all this time, Torch still struggled to understand what Adrian said.
From what he'd gathered, the phrases Torch currently understood included, but were not limited to: "roll over," "sit," and "dinnertime."
That level of intelligence might not even beat a Crup.
Thunderbirds were different, though. By now Rai could already understand most of Adrian's commands.
For example, right now Adrian had Rai keeping a distant eye on Quirinus Quirrell's movements.
Thanks to a Thunderbird's extreme sensitivity, if Quirrell—or the Voldemort on the back of his head—so much as sensed Rai, Rai would know at once and keep well clear.
"What is it, Rai?" Adrian took a small packet of dried fish from a drawer, offered it to Rai, and asked, "Has the person I told you to watch made a move?"
Rai gave his wings a slight shake and let out a soft cry.
Though Adrian couldn't speak bird speech, their "contract" allowed him to grasp Rai's meaning somewhat.
"Quirrell has already left Hogwarts?" Adrian guessed.
Rai nodded, then shook his head, and at the same time took the dried fish from Adrian's hand.
"…"
Right now Adrian very much wanted to learn the Thunderbird language.
At last, after several minutes of back-and-forth, Adrian finally understood the message Rai wished to deliver.
Quirrell had taken a long circuit around the Black Lake and was now heading for the gate.
In fact, Adrian had long noticed that Quirrell kept drifting about in all corners of Hogwarts.
As for why he was doing that—
Adrian guessed it was because Quirrell didn't know where the Philosopher's Stone was currently hidden and could only rely on this sort of method, hoping to get lucky.
And now, Quirrell seemed intent on leaving Hogwarts for the weekend.
"Have a good rest, Rai."
Adrian flicked his wand and the trunk in the corner clicked open.
Rai obediently flew inside, and Adrian quickly threw on his robes, preparing to tail Quirrell himself.
…
Adrian did not spot any sign of Quirrell all the way to Hogwarts' gate.
Only Filch and his cat were there.
That made sense—Filch was the caretaker of Hogwarts.
Filch was sitting on a bench at the moment, vigorously polishing a pair of gleaming handcuffs.
Adrian disliked the man, but more than dislike, he felt a sort of sympathy.
As a Squib working at a school full of witches and wizards, life could not be easy.
"Professor Wesson, heading out?" Filch stood up with Mrs Norris in his arms and squinted at him.
Adrian halted and gave a polite smile. "Mr Filch, have you seen Professor Quirrell? I have something I need to discuss with him."
Filch nodded. Though he had little patience for students, he showed reasonable respect toward professors.
"Professor Quirrell? Oh, he just stepped out," he said tonelessly. "In quite a rush, didn't even say hello. But, Professor, if you're trying to find him, that may be a bit difficult—he vanished in an instant."
Vanished in an instant?
Apparition, most likely—or a Portkey, Adrian thought.
Once you stepped beyond Hogwarts, you could Apparate.
Which meant he couldn't continue tailing Quirrell.
Adrian nodded to Filch and said courteously, "Thank you, Mr Filch."
At his words, a rare smile touched Filch's face, though there was a trace of bitterness in it.
"No need to thank me, Professor Wesson," Filch rasped. "Glad to be of help."
Adrian inclined his head and turned to leave.
…
As expected, tracking a wizard was a stretch.
On the way back, Adrian couldn't help letting out a sigh.
Just then he saw a cat lying on its side in the grass, eyes half-closed.
Plainly it was enjoying a rare bit of sunshine.
The cat's markings were distinctive—mottled tabby stripes that stood out in the sun.
Adrian drew closer and the cat seemed to sense him; it snapped its head up and looked at him warily.
But on seeing Adrian's face, the wariness slowly faded.
Adrian blinked, then recognised the cat at once.
Wasn't this Professor McGonagall?
The tabby stretched—something McGonagall would only do in cat form.
Then she rose from the grass with easy grace, swiftly returned to human form, and stood before Adrian.
Adrian gave a small smile and said politely, "Good afternoon, Professor McGonagall."
Professor McGonagall nodded, her usual sternness restored. Folding her arms across her chest, she said, "Good afternoon, Wesson. This is a rare bit of time off—what are you up to?"
"Just taking a walk, Professor," Adrian replied with a shrug.
Time off?
To hear that word from Professor McGonagall was certainly uncommon.
In Adrian's impression, she was either working or on her way to work.
Perhaps he was disturbing her rest?
At that thought, Adrian felt a twinge of guilt.
At that moment, Professor McGonagall spoke again, a hint of rare lightness in her tone. "Animagus is a fine branch of magic, Wesson. Turning into a cat is indeed rather pleasant—especially in weather like this."
"Yes, Professor," Adrian said in agreement.
Though he could transform as an Animagus himself, he had no desire to use it as often as Professor McGonagall did.
After all, his Animagus form was a hedgehog.
Why did it have to be a hedgehog…?
To this day, Adrian still hadn't figured it out.
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