Barnaby was in the infirmary, visiting Harry after hearing about his fainting spell when he faced Professor Lupin's boggart, which had taken the form of a dementor.
"It's alright, Harry, a lot of people were scared when the dementors approached the Hogwarts Express," Barnaby said as he placed a couple of Chocolate Frogs on the bedside table.
Even though Harry had been exposed to a fake dementor in the form of a boggart, Barnaby was a bit surprised by the boy's shock. It was as if Harry was more vulnerable to those creatures than others...
Madam Pomfrey noticed the Chocolate Frogs but didn't say anything. In fact, she secretly nodded in approval of Barnaby's sensible gesture, as chocolate was indeed good for Harry in his current condition, and the amount was just right.
"I guess…" Harry didn't really want to talk about it; the scream of the woman he heard as he lost consciousness still haunted him. "Did you also face a boggart when you were at Hogwarts?"
"You could say that, after all, it's part of the curriculum."
"How did it go?" the boy in the infirmary bed asked curiously.
"Well…" Barnaby wasn't quite sure how to respond.
He recalled how the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor at the time had been trying to force open the trunk containing the boggart with a crowbar, his face flushed from the effort, but the creature had locked itself inside with all its might, refusing to come out as long as Barnaby was in the classroom.
"It was unforgettable," he concluded, unsure how to explain to Harry that the creature, an expert in provoking and stimulating fear, seemed to be utterly terrified of him.
"Yes, I think I understand," Harry replied, feeling he wouldn't forget this experience either.
Barnaby raised an eyebrow, suspecting they weren't on the same wavelength, but he couldn't stay too long.
"Try to get some rest," he said as he stood up. "The Chocolate Frogs have a silent charm, so try eating them when you feel a bit better. They'll help."
"Thanks, Barnaby," Harry said gratefully.
Ron hadn't even come to visit him yet, and Hermione was too busy with all her classes, leaving him feeling a bit bored.
After the redhead left the infirmary, his next stop was the Ravenclaw Common Room, which he entered effortlessly, passing the brass eagle.
"Barnaby, over here!" called a girl with dusky skin from one of the sofas by the bookshelves.
"Hello, Padma, how was Lupin's class?" Barnaby approached one of the Patil twins and greeted the other Ravenclaws nearby.
"That was Parvati," Padma rolled her eyes, not taking the bait. "You can tell Fred and George apart, but not my sister and me?"
"I just wanted to see if you'd try the identity swap prank," Barnaby laughed.
(Fun fact: The Patil twins have different details in the books and movies.)
"We're not doing that," Padma replied in a mock-offended tone at Barnaby's joke. "Alright, enough games. Follow me."
Padma stood up, and the two of them left the Ravenclaw Common Room, heading to a nearby abandoned classroom. Padma closed the door with a locking charm after soundproofing the room.
"Do you have the goods?" she asked, glancing nervously from side to side.
Barnaby looked at her speechless at her behavior. Why was she acting like they were doing something shady and scandalous?
"Yes, it's here," Barnaby glanced at his shadow, and Sanshi's hand emerged from within, lifting a large white egg with dark blue flame markings on the shell.
Though Padma was curious about the humanoid female hand holding the egg and had a reputation for being nosy, it was clear she had learned from her "seniors" not to pry too much when it came to Barnaby.
"It's much bigger than I expected," she said as she shifted her attention to the egg, which was about a meter tall.
"This is an Exceed egg; what did you expect?" Barnaby rolled his eyes this time. "Did you think it would be the size of a quail's egg?"
Padma said nothing, but in truth, that had been exactly her thought. She'd admit it was her fault for not asking for finer details…
"Make sure to take good care of the egg until it hatches. It should take about three months. You need to infuse it with your magic little by little each day to establish a connection between you and her," Barnaby reminded her. "And make sure it doesn't get near dementors, or the egg will die."
"So it really is a girl?" Padma asked in a surprised and happy tone as she took the egg and placed it in an extended undetectable bag.
The Patil family's wealth was subtle.
"…You specifically asked for a female Exceed, remember?"
"Oh, I guess I did," Padma recalled, tapping her finger on her lower lip.
Barnaby stared at her intently.
"Alright! Geez, now that I'm giving you the joke you wanted so much, you're taking it the wrong way," Padma pouted as she crossed her arms and turned her head.
"Yeah…" Barnaby wisely chose to ignore that and steer the conversation back on track. "When can the materials I requested be delivered?"
Barnaby had casually discovered that the Patil twins' family had a well-known business in magical ceramics and had placed a complex order, even for them, involving some rare materials for Calcifer's fireplace and the construction of his house.
He had run into Padma first and brought up the matter, surprised when she only asked for a cute, "exotic" animal from his collection—something as unique as possible.
Barnaby had hesitated for a long time, but after giving Padma some serious warnings and ensuring it wasn't just a passing whim, he explained the rare creatures he could offer her at that moment.
There was no other option; all of them were either orphans or had to be cared for by Barnaby after suffering some early misfortunes and terrible injuries.
The Exceed egg was one of them. Barnaby had spent three years not knowing what to do with it after obtaining it by accident, as he didn't want to incubate it while waiting for Sanshi to become his familiar.
He had even considered giving the egg to Newt at one point, but for some reason, he felt it wasn't the right thing to do. It wasn't so much that he was reluctant to part with it; it was almost as if the egg resisted going with Newt.
And so the egg remained silent until Padma chose it.
"The materials can be sent in a month, but what you requested for the fireplace is much more difficult, and my family told me it would take at least six months to complete," Padma explained patiently, satisfied with having achieved her goal.
Putting aside the complex composition of the tiles, which required quite rare magical materials in very precise proportions that were also difficult to mix, the truly challenging part for her family was carving the lines and strange symbols on the surface using the scrolls, slip, and ceramic glazes Barnaby himself had provided.
Even the Patil family's best craftsman had to redo a single piece several times over two weeks to meet Barnaby's minimum standards, which reflected how exhausting and demanding it was. Three apprentices had fainted in the process, too.
"As long as it meets the standards, six months is acceptable," Barnaby nodded, impressed.
The symbols and mixtures came from none other than Calcifer himself, who wanted to make his future "home" as compatible with him as possible.
"If a human can manage this in less than two years, you can call them a talent," were Calcifer's words when he gave Barnaby everything.
So, six months was something fantastic in Barnaby's opinion, effectively backing up the Patil family's reputation in the field of magical ceramics.
Padma nodded when both parties were satisfied and left, happily humming, already beginning to think of a name for her future companion.
What Padma didn't mention was that the craftsman had originally said it would take at least a year, but something about the work drew him in, and he decided to put all other orders on hold to focus on completing "his best work in life."
Calcifer made sure that whoever worked on it did so with their best effort, even if it meant using a bit of his skill as a fire demon...