Chapter 48. Thunderbird Rai
Adrian Wesson gathered the students on a stretch of open ground by the Black Lake.
"Do you think he'll teach better than Professor Kettleburn?" one of the Weasley twins said to the other.
"Idiot!" his brother rolled his eyes in disgust. "We've never taken Professor Kettleburn's class!"
"Ah, right… we're only in third year."
"…"
Wesson decided to ignore the two redheads clowning about.
He clapped his hands to draw everyone's attention.
"First," Wesson gave all the students a quick smile, "I have a few notices. No one is to approach the magical creature we're about to see without my permission. Also, put your wands away—we won't need them for this lesson. Using a wand rashly will only land you in unnecessary trouble."
The students immediately began whispering among themselves, but they did as told and tucked their wands back into their pockets.
Seeing this, Wesson nodded in satisfaction.
Then he raised his fingers to his lips and gave a clear whistle.
In an instant, it was as if an invisible force churned the clear sky. Clouds massed from all directions and blotted out the sun.
The Giant Squid in the Black Lake also surfaced, thrashing about uneasily.
Before the students could react, a searing white bolt split the sky. A low peal of thunder followed, startling everyone.
"Professor!" a student shouted. "It's going to rain!"
The next second, a figure of a sharply contrasting colour punched through the clouds and plunged down.
While everyone stared, slack-jawed, Rai circled once in the air, then alighted lightly beside Wesson, folding his wings and dipping his head.
Wesson reached out to stroke the Thunderbird's neck and the corners of his mouth lifted. "Who can tell me what magical creature this is?"
In fact, a Thunderbird was quite easy to identify—no one was going to find a second bird in nature with two pairs of wings.
"Thunderbird, Professor," a student shouted, excitedly.
Wesson glanced at the student.
Hmm—Hufflepuff.
"Hufflepuff, five points. However, sir, remember to raise your hand next time." He nodded cheerfully, generously awarding points to his own House.
At this, a fresh wave of discussion rippled through the students.
"Quiet," Wesson took a few steps forward, bringing Rai closer to them. "Everyone, this is the focus of today's lesson—Thunderbirds. And his name is 'Rai.' Ah, I nearly forgot to say—he's only recently hatched, so he may be a bit mischievous."
He paused, then added, "Of course, his temper isn't all that bad… at least better than some of you."
The students' chatter grew livelier. After all, this was an XXXXX-class magical creature.
Even if some didn't know much about Thunderbirds, they certainly knew about dragons.
That Thunderbirds shared a class with dragons naturally spoke to how special they were.
The Weasley twins were standing at the front of the group, closest to Rai.
One of them eyed the bird, a gleam of eager curiosity in his gaze.
Fred edged forward carefully, reached out a hand, and tried to approach the Thunderbird.
Rai merely cocked his head and gave a low call.
Fred's hand was still hanging in mid-air when—
"Boom!"
A bolt of lightning exploded by his side, leaving a scorched black mark and a faint smell of burning.
"Merlin's beard!"
Fred leapt back, stumbled, and landed on his backside, face pale.
The other students also recoiled in fright.
Wesson watched the scene at his leisure, raised his eyebrows, and said lightly, "Very good, Mr Weasley. It seems you paid no attention at all to what I said at the start. You've just experienced Rai's way of giving a warning."
Fred swallowed, trembling as he looked at Rai, who still stood there with perfect poise.
Of course, Wesson would never allow Rai to actually harm the students. That lightning just now had been a little joke.
If a student really got struck, his career as a professor would probably end early.
Wesson swept his gaze over the students, letting it rest on Fred for a moment, then said slowly, "The Thunderbird is exceptionally sensitive to danger. If you want to approach it, you must set aside every trace of ill will. And it isn't only Thunderbirds—many magical creatures can keenly sense a person's malice.
"So the very first thing you need to learn about dealing with magical creatures is how to rein in your ill will."
A tall boy hesitated, raised his hand, and asked cautiously, "Professor, how exactly should we do that?"
Wesson looked at the speaker and realised it was the Hufflepuff who had first identified the Thunderbird.
"Good question, sir," Wesson nodded in satisfaction, then asked, "What's your name?"
"Cedric Diggory, Professor," the Hufflepuff student answered.
"All right, Mr Diggory, would you come to the front?" Wesson said with a smile.
Cedric did as Wesson asked, obediently walking to the front to stand between Wesson and Rai.
He glanced at the Thunderbird, then at his fellow students, and seemed a little nervous.
"First, you need to understand that 'ill will' isn't just your thoughts—it includes your emotions, your body language, even the rhythm of your breathing betrays your state. Thunderbirds are extremely sensitive to such details. That's one reason they're so keenly attuned to danger."
When Wesson finished, he patted Cedric on the shoulder and handed him a piece of Honey Nougat he'd "borrowed" from Professor Dumbledore. "Relax, Mr Diggory. Your task now is to get Rai to accept the sweet in your hand."
Cedric looked at the Honey Nougat and swallowed, nervous.
He trusted Wesson wouldn't put him in danger, but that bolt Rai had just called down still left him uneasy.
Wesson, of course, was familiar with the name Cedric Diggory.
An excellent, brave student with a strong sense of justice.
And a Hufflepuff to boot, which raised Wesson's opinion of him even higher.
It was a pity that, in the original story, he seemed to have lost his life in the end.
Cedric carefully extended his hand, holding up the sweet, eyes fixed intently on Rai.
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