October 16, 1996

Hermione picked the Puffskein up from the enclosure. He was gray and extra fuzzy, with occasional white markings.

"You know what he looks like?" she mused out loud.

"Mmm?" said Ron, not really paying attention.

Hermione sighed, but continued, now sitting and feeding it small insects. "He looks like a koala. You know—he's all fat and fuzzy and gray, and really lazy."

Ron shuddered as she found a spider, picked it up, and fed it to the creature. He nervously squeezed his own charge, a black and purple striped one. "A what now?"

Hermione, slightly irked, repeated herself. "A koala, Ron. My puffskein resembles a koala."

Ron gave her a strange look. "What on earth is a koala?"

Hermione's mouth dropped in shock. Harry, who had been constructing a grass shelter for his Puffskein, looked up and recovered for her.

"You know, those furry gray things that live in Australia. With the big ears, kinda looks like a teddy bear."

Ron, not having the slightest idea what they were saying, replied, "Australia, right. I think I know what you're talking about."

Hermione recovered just in time to call his bluff. "Ronald Weasley, do not tell me that you don't know what Australia is."

Ron hastily managed to clamp onto the few remaining shreds of his dignity. "Yes, Hermione, I know it's a country. I just don't know where it is or anything about it."

"For God's sake, Ron! It's a part of the Commonwealth!"

"How was I supposed to know?"

Harry piped back in, interrupting a conversation that was leading nowhere. "Ron, you're really missing out. I know I sound soft, but koalas are basically the cutest animals ever."

At this, Harry finished tying a makeshift bowtie onto his aquamarine ball of fluff. "D'you think I could convince Hagrid to let me keep him? Ginny has Arnold, I know he's a Pygmy Puff, but it's almost the same…"

Hours later, Harry and Ron were playing wizard's chess when Hermione burst into the common room.

"Aha! It took me ages, but I found out the library does have a book about Australia!"

Harry glanced up, almost interested, but Ron just nodded once to affirm her presence and continued considering his move.

Hermione just huffed, flipped a few pages, and shoved the book in his face. Ron, irritaded, glanced down and suddenly gasped. He tried to recover his façade, but it was too late.

"Ha! I knew you'd think they were cute! You big ole' softy…"

Harry snorted and went back to staring at the board.

That night, Irma Pince studied the class book lists long and hard for Australia: A Journey Down Under. After the third round through every sixth-year class, the librarian was forced to accept that Ron Weasley had just checked out a book for entertainment purposes.

"My, how those kids grow up,…" she muttered to herself.