Heath listened intently as Williamson went on, growing more intrigued by the minute. Oh, the cockatrice? Not where he initially thought this lesson was going, but still interesting. He thought back to what he’d read about the creature, trying to come up with a plan to survive one. He’d seen conflicting information regarding the cockatrice’s stare, whether it kills its victims or simply turns them to stone. Either way, he would not want to look one in the eye, so he’d need something to deflect its gaze, like a mirror or sunglasses. Either that or use a spell to take out its eyes so it couldn’t look at him. Most likely the former if he ever actually faced a cockatrice. Creatures behaved aggressively out of instinct, not malice, and unlike some in this school, it wasn’t in him to hurt an innocent. Speaking of which…

All thoughts of cockatrices or a strategy vanished from Heath’s mind the moment he saw those hooded goons attack Phoebe. No, they disfigured her for tapping and smiling at them! Then there was Coby screaming and the two little Gryffindors (Kizzy & Emmerson)... tackling each other? The scene was too chaotic for him to process all that was happening, but it had him trembling with fear and rage. Thank Merlin for Professor Williamson and Professor Recard!

He took several deep breaths to calm himself and refocus his attention on the task at hand. So they were essentially building their own armor, right? Despite his worry, he couldn’t help but feel a little excited at that idea. A design was already forming in his mind as his dark eyes scrutinized the crates’ offerings. He took some padding and attached mirror shards to the chest with a quick sticking charm. He should probably add mirrors to the arm guards too; that way he could hold up his arm to shield his eyes if he had to. Once he had mirrors attached to the arms, he put on the padding and turned his attention to the helmet. He wished there was something he could attach to it to make a sort of visor. Maybe if he tried sticking a bunch of mirrors to each other, he could fashion a visor that way. He tried it and eventually came up with a crude mirror visor to attach to his helmet.

Now he had to find a weasel. He nearly smiled at the words Claudine whispered to him but stopped himself just in time, remembering what had happened to Phoebe. Instead he replied with a barely perceptible nod before peering into the crate. His eyes were instantly drawn to a small female weasel cowering at the back. “Hey, girl,” he whispered. He held a hand out to her, giving her a moment to two to acclimate to his presence before petting her. “It’s okay…” He nearly said, They scare me too, but worried that it would draw the hooded figures’ wrath. Instead, he said, “You’re safe with me.”