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Chapter 46: A Dangerous Scent
The Slytherin students were the ones closest to the two beasts. The moment Bella got within ten feet of the thestrals, something seemed to trigger them into aggression.
James had already guessed what it was, but this was no longer important.
One of the reasons thestrals are classified as XXXX (Dangerous Level) is because one of their kicks can easily turn an adult man into shreds. And these creatures will not hesitate to attack if angered or provoked.
"Venti." He conjured a powerful gust of wind at his back to push himself forward as fast as possible.
Unfortunately, this also affected Peter and Sirius, who were close to him, causing them to take a nasty fall.
Bella couldn't see what the two thestrals were doing, but her instincts were warning her of danger, even before the professor began to panic.
The sensation only grew stronger after that, but she didn't know what to do without being able to see the danger with her own eyes, so her legs remained frozen in place.
Just then, she saw someone appear in front of her. "James?!"
There was no time to process what happened next.
James placed a protective charm ahead of him and immediately after, he received the attack from the thestral.
"Urgh!" He grunted in pain. His shield had cushioned the blow but did not stop it. The hoof of the thestral impacted his left arm, breaking it in several places.
Professor Silvanus wasted no time reeling the creature back by the leash. "That's enough! Come back here."
His words seemed to snap the thestral out of its fit of rage, and it returned to a more obedient state. These were not wild creatures, after all, they had been carefully nurtured since birth to act as docile carriage drivers for the students of Hogwarts.
There was something about Bella that had made the thestral forget its training and act on pure instinct.
"James!" Peter and Sirius came rushing to him as the professor took the thestral as far away as possible from the other students.
Once the initial shock of the incident had passed, the Slytherin students began to chuckle.
"That Gryffindor got demolished by the thestral."
"He got what he deserved for playing hero…what a fool."
Bella snapped her head toward them. "Shut your bloody mouths before I curse you all."
The small group of Slytherins was taken aback by her violent reaction.
They didn't say another word after that, knowing that the Black daughter was not one for empty threats.
"James…" Bella knelt next to him to check on his wounds.
"I'm fine," he said. "It's just a—"
"James, what happened?"
"Are you okay, buddy?"
Sirius and Peter went to check on him.
"His arm is badly hurt. I'll take him to the infirmary," Bella suggested.
"You?!" Peter exclaimed.
Sirius frowned. "No. I'll—"
"Oh, good! Miss Black can take Mister Potter to the infirmary. I was about to suggest that," Professor Silvanus said, pointing toward them. "The rest of you, stay where you are. I need to return these beasts to their home and make sure they stay there."
"Come on, then." Bella pulled James up and dragged him away while the students glanced at them.
"You shouldn't have done that," James told her as they crossed the gates into the Clock Tower Courtyard. "By dinner, the entire school will know that you got too friendly with a Gryffindor."
"Forget about that. I'll deal with my housemates. I'm more worried about your arm. We need to hurry to the infirmary," Bella responded.
James pulled a small leather pouch from one of his many pockets, opened the cork with his teeth, and poured two drops onto his arm.
The bleeding stopped almost immediately, and his face regained its natural color. "Much better…"
"Did you heal it?!" Bella glanced at him in shock.
"Some of it. The bone is still broken, but it doesn't hurt too much anymore," James told her.
In reality, he could have easily cured himself completely. But Professor Silvanus was expecting him to visit the nurse with a broken arm, and he would have a hard time explaining what happened if he was completely healed by the time he got there.
Bella was still looking at him with concern. "Why did you have to save me?"
James observed the changes in her expression. Unlike her usual cold persona, he could tell how much emotion was coursing through her at this moment.
He decided not to answer that question because no answer would be satisfactory to someone who didn't believe themselves worthy of being saved.
They had to go through many steps to climb the Clock Tower, but once they were up, it was just a short walk to the infirmary from there.
"I thought you'd be more curious about why the thestral attacked you," James commented.
"It wasn't a random attack because we got too close?"
"Those are domesticated creatures meant to pull the carriages of the students…they won't attack you just because you got too close," James told her.
"You have Primum's scent on you," James answered.
"His scent?..." It made sense since she had him on her lap for about an hour just yesterday, but she didn't understand why the scent of the little guy would trigger a violent reaction from the thestral.
"I should have realized sooner…but one of the main components in creating Primum was the heart of a thestral. Now, I'm not an expert on magical creatures, much less thestrals, but I guess it must have sensed the traces of scent on you and assumed you had harmed one of its fellow thestrals. That would be enough to trigger a violent reaction, for sure."
Bella looked down at her robes and sniffed.
"You don't have their sense of smell…" James had to remind her. He still found her reaction quite amusing.
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