In Harry Potter as Neville Longbottom

Chapter 79: The Rat in Box

"Huh...where am I?" Wormtail Pettigrew opened his eyes but he found his cage covered with a black cloth and his cage was being carried somewhere.

"Is Weasley transferring me to somewhere or sending me back to The Burrow?" Pettigrew kept thinking but he didn't make any sudden movements.

For him, survival is the mail goal. Something he had pursued all his life and he was confident that he can simply outwit any Weasley with his animagus.

He kept calm and pretended to be the sick old mouse like he always did for so many years.

Sylvia carried the cage to the basement as master Neville ordered and placed it inside the expandable trunk. Then she threw some meat pieces inside and closed the box as per her master's instructions.

A dirty rat is a disgrace even as an experiment material for the house Longbottom.

"Oh! What is our young master gotten into these days?" sighing, Sylvia walked around the manor and got busy with work. This manor can never run without her. (Even Winny thinks the same and so does Dufus.)

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Neville sent the unconscious Rat in the cage via owl to Longbottom's manor. One sweet brown laced with a sleeping potion was all that it took for this. He is simply powerless to do anything inside Hogwarts but in his manor, he is the lord and he can wait patiently for his time.

He spent years training himself for the time when he can pick these death eaters one by one and he will start with Pettigrew.

"Now, where were we?" Collecting his thoughts, Neville looked back inside the dorm to the roommates that hardly talk to him and Dean.

"We were talking about our duel club Neville! Where is your head buddy? Have you been spending more time with that Luna?" Ron asked in a concerned tone.

He and Harry decide to enquire about the club from Dean and Neville directly. Considering they all live in the same dorm, they felt they can get secret information about the Saturday club meeting.

"Yes...Yes. As I was saying, in the first meeting, club members from all four houses will come together and to teach the second-year students, Professor will demonstrate the General Counter-Spell and Disarming charm.

These will be our main goals and then some physical movements and postures which I am not clear about." Neville replied after remembering the last meeting with Professor.

Only he and Dean are aware of the Professor's plan and for that, they have to prepare enough supplementary papers related to those two charms.

Thank god, he had magical quills otherwise his arm would have fallen off writing so many notes for other kids.

"Disarming Charm," Harry had his curiosity peaked.

"Yes, one of the most simple yet most versatile charms. It's part of our second-year curriculum. I can't say anything more." Neville shrugged his shoulders but Harry was already satisfied.

He knew where he can find more information and that is the library. No, not the Hogwarts library but the walking talking one with enough attitude, Hermione.

He dragged Ron hurriedly out of the room and went looking for Hermione.

"You know where they are going right?!" Dean asked Neville.

"I know it, you know it and even she must have known it. Don't think our famous author is not aware of her old friends' habits." Neville replied and they both walked outside to find Seamus and then together the three boys went to the edge of the Forbidden Forest.

They came here together to train for the duel classes and improve their charms. Neville was teaching them charms from the third and fourth years' course while forcing them to adapt to a duel-like situation.

Anyone can use a disarming charm in a safe environment but it is only during those tricky situations when they actually need it, that they find themselves unable to even pronounce the spell properly.

"Again!" Ordered Neville and attacked Dean and Seamus.

"Protego" both boys shouted but failed to create the shield and were thrown off.

"Okay, I don't think you can use this spell. Try the general counter one." Neville said and attacked again "Expelliarmus!"

"Finite" boys responded and safely deflected the attack from Neville.

Neville had kept almost 1/5 of his power and intent behind the attack, so it was easy to deflect this one.

The boys were training and it was Neville vs Dean and Seamus. In this way, Neville was training his boys so that in future, if one day they are needed to protect themselves or fight together in some battle, they do not become a burden but a pillar of support.

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"Why do you think they are training so hard?" Pansy asked Hermione.

Behind the tall trees, three heads popped out one above another and they were all focused on the three boys who were acting like they were preparing for some big fight.

"No idea. Definitely not for the duel class." Hermione replied.

"I think it must be because of those Nargles," Luna replied and she received a small hit on her head by Pansy.

"Nargles are not responsible for everything," Pansy said angrily.

"Yes, please treat them with respect. I proved it to you that it was your dorm mates that stole your shoes and not those Nargles." Hermione replied with a concerned voice.

Luna looked up at the two heads of her seniors and new friends and got confused for a second.

"You may be right. They love to hide in mistletoe and for some reason, everyone wants to stand under it and it spreads happiness. So, they might not be that bad," Luna answered and Pansy just face-palmed herself.

"Merlin in Heaven, If I stay with these two strange creatures, I might turn into one of those Nargles," Pansy said in an exaggerated voice before leaving the two girls behind.

"Should we follow her?" Luna questioned.

"We should. Alas, let's go!" Hermione said in a dramatic fashion.

After the whole youngest author thing in the last weeks, Hermione found herself famous among the witches of Hogwarts and she was very expressive, cheerful and happy these days.

Her dramatic outbursts were now getting more and more common now.

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"Let me Out! Let me Out!!"

A hungry and tired Peter Pettigrew kept banging the closed lid of the expandable trunk. It's been full five days since he was put inside this box.

On the first day, he waited for someone to open the cover on the cage, but no one came. He pushed it open on the second day, to find himself trapped in some dark box without any food and water.

On the third day, he grew impatient and decided to take risks. He changed his animagus form to break open the cage and looked carefully for the food to find a few chunks of raw meat thrown around.

He hurried ate them at once!

He never thought one day he would be caught in such a shameful situation.

On the fourth day, he started feeling lonely. There was no food, no light and now...now he truly realised, no sound. He was simply discarded in some storage box.

"Am I going to die here like this?....No...I refuse..." Talking to himself, Peter again started banging on the lid - "Let me out! Anyone...Is there anyone listening? Please let me out."