Chapter 153: I Have a Friend
Hagrid held the bottle up to eye level, squinting at the ruby-like liquid with mild skepticism. "Special rat tonic?" he muttered, still wrapping his head around the idea. He'd only just learned today that there was such a thing as a tonic specifically for pet rats—and apparently, it was special.
He glanced again at the bottle. Hagrid didn't doubt Kyle's skills; it had taken nearly half an hour to brew this single bottle, which spoke to its quality. He just couldn't help wondering why anyone would go to the trouble. After all, rats were the cheapest and most common pets around. In Diagon Alley, they cost less than half as much as a toad, and not even as much as a decent bag of owl treats.
Plus, pet rats didn't live very long—only about seven years, which happened to match the time a young wizard spent at Hogwarts. Other pets, like toads and cats, could live for decades, and owls even longer. Because of this, very few wizards valued their pet rats enough to invest in special remedies.
"Yes," Kyle said, packing away the stove and cauldron. "This tonic's for the Weasleys' pet rat. It's been with them a while now, and each year, before the start of term, Percy Weasley comes by to get some. But since the rat's now Ron's pet, I think Percy forgot to let him know about it."
"The Weasley rat?"
Hagrid didn't know Percy all that well, but he did know Ron, the youngest Weasley, who had visited with Harry the day before. But he had a pet rat?
Hagrid thought back, vaguely recalling Ron's pockets looking unusually full when they arrived, though he wasn't completely sure. His focus had been almost entirely on Harry, so he hadn't paid much attention to Ron.
Returning the bottle to Kyle, Hagrid asked, "Apart from rats, can you brew tonics for other pets?"
"Of course. I can handle tonics for the four types of pets allowed by Hogwarts."