Hogwarts: Don't call me Wandmaker

Chapter 182 All-Purpose Stain Remover

"Tom, I have no problem with you and Crookshan going to the Forbidden Forest, but could you please not bring the fleas back to the dorm?"

Xiren waved his wand, and a gentle breeze swept through every corner of the dormitory, blowing a few bean-sized fleas out the window.

For some reason, Tom, who is usually very clean, has recently developed a few fleas on his body, something that has never happened before.

Could it be Krok Hill?
No, that can't be it. Hermione wouldn't allow fleas on Crookshank; every hair on it is as clean as if it had been specially washed.

It's probably some scruffy animal from the Forbidden Forest. It's normal for someone like Tom, who spends all day wandering around the Forbidden Forest, to bring back a few fleas.

Siron waved his wand again, and a gentle breeze swept Tom from head to toe.

Tom wagged his tail and barked twice.

After learning how to use the Animagus, Xiren became increasingly familiar with cats. Even without transforming, he could roughly understand the meaning of various cat sounds.

Tom, in particular, is easier to understand.

"You mean, you recently took on another follower?" Xilun asked in surprise.

Cats aren't exactly social animals, and Tom is no exception. Most of the time, he prefers to wander around the castle and the Forbidden Forest by himself.

Of course, Tom also has some followers, but only two.

Hagrid's hound Tooth Tooth, and his old friend Crookshanks.

Even if other pets wanted to join, the picky Tom wouldn't give them a second glance.

This is the third one. Judging from the fleas, it probably found them in the Forbidden Forest... I didn't expect it to have such a wide circle of friends.

That new assistant of hers is a bit unhygienic.

“Next time, remember to go to Filch’s office first and find a yellow jar to take,” Celen said. “That’s Mrs. Scoole’s All-Purpose Stain Remover. Pour it on the fleas and let it swim in the Black Lake, and it’ll be much less flea-free.”

Mrs. Scower's All-Purpose Stain Remover was Filch's go-to for cleaning the castle, but it was perfectly fine for cleaning animal fur too; the word "all-purpose" wasn't just a figure of speech.

Some wizards even use it as shampoo to save time. If wizards can use it, then animals can use it too.

Tom nodded and noted down Siren's words.

It also felt that its new follower was a bit too dirty, with its fur all matted and emitting a foul odor.

Compared to it, even Ya Ya, who loves to roll around in the mud, looks much cleaner.

Just do it.

Tom dashed out of the dormitory to find Filch.

Tom knew exactly where Filch's office was. Every time Mrs. Lorris got a beating, she would run to a small room on the first floor, and then Filch would rush out from there. Tom remembered it very clearly.

As soon as it ran, Crookshanks ran after it, a scene that Hermione happened to witness in the corridor.

“Hey, Celen, Crookshanks is my cat, right?” she said with a strange expression. “Now it’s practically Tom’s pet, I hardly ever see it.”

“As if I could see Tom.” Siron shrugged. “You’re here to see Harry and Ron?”

“Yes, they borrowed my notes, but I need them now,” Hermione said, knocking on Harry’s dormitory door.

When Harry came out with his notes, they were just in time to go to Defense Against the Dark Arts class together.

This was the first Defense Against the Dark Arts class of the school year, and everyone was especially excited about what the class would be like after what happened on the train.

It should be better than it was two years ago.

Harry was wondering if he would teach him how to drive away Dementors.

...The first lesson was a practical class. Professor Lu Ping led everyone from the classroom to another, larger classroom.

On the way, they also encountered three cats speeding by.

Mrs. Lorris sprinted ahead, followed by a huge gray cat with a yellow bottle wrapped around its tail. If you looked closely, you could see a witch on the bottle and the words "Mrs. Skoll's All-Purpose Magic Stain Remover" written next to it.

Two cats ran past everyone's feet, one after the other. Everyone skillfully stood on either side, cheering each other on from the bottom of their hearts:

"Go Tom..."

"Good job!"

"Give it a good lesson!"

Lady Lorris is Filch's cat, who usually appears and disappears mysteriously in the castle, like a mobile alarm clock.

Whether it was a night out, a trip to the kitchen for food, or a secret rendezvous, as long as Mrs. Lorris's lightbulb-like eyes glared at him, Filch would surely come running over with an oil lamp within five minutes.

Many Gryffindor students had been caught by Mrs. Lorris and hated her intensely.

In Fred Weasley's words, "If the Ministry of Magic had a rating system for 6X animals, Mrs. Lorris and Dementors would be on the same list... The only difference is that Dementors can at least be driven away by spells."

So when others saw Tom chasing and beating Mrs. Lorris, the Gryffindor students immediately went wild.

It's said that someone even started a club because of this, called the "Support Tom to Drive Lady Lorris Out of the Castle Club".

Quite a few people joined, and everyone wore badges with Tom's image on them.

Not long after, Professor McGonagall disbanded the club, but badge sales did not decrease as a result.

Tom chasing after Mrs. Norris is one of the most famous scenes at Hogwarts, which is why everyone gets so excited when they see it.

However, Professor Lupin was clearly seeing this situation for the first time and didn't react for a moment. It wasn't until the two cats ran to his feet that he suddenly dodged to the side, almost bumping into Neville.

“Oh, I’m sorry, Mr. Longbottom,” Professor Lupin said quickly. “Are you alright?”

“No,” Neville said, pointing to the passageway ahead in surprise. “Look, there’s something else coming.”

It was a cat, ginger-yellow, with very distinctive features.

It was running, but at a rather... well, let's put it this way, compared to Mrs. Lorris and Tom from before, it was just taking a stroll, panting heavily in the back.

“Hermione, I remember that was your cat, wasn’t it?” someone whispered. “I saw you holding it.”

“No, it’s unrelated,” Hermione denied immediately.

Hermione was furious as Crookshanks ran past without even glancing at her, but she instinctively tried to find excuses for him.

Perhaps long-haired cats aren't good at exercising, and Crookshanks had been staying in a pet shop all along, so they certainly couldn't compare to Mrs. Lorris and Tom, who were already jumping around in the castle two years ago.

Moreover, athleticism is not Crookshan's strength; intelligence is.

Crookshanks was the smartest cat she had ever seen; it could understand what she was saying in just a few days.

Just then, something else flew past them in the passageway.

Pipi Ghost flew high up and shouted excitedly, "Second floor! I see it! Old glutton Filch's stupid cat is trying to run up to the second floor! Catch it!"

Reminded by Peeves, Tom turned around and took a shortcut, landing in front of Mrs. Lorris.

However, everyone is on the third floor right now and can't see what's happening in the second-floor corridor, which makes many people feel very disappointed.

……

(End of this chapter)