Rat was not something she had expected to hear yelled at the Start of Term feast. It wasn't something she would ever have considered. Hogwarts was just too... clean? Spelled? Fancy? She wasn't sure which word she wanted to use, but it was odd enough that it prompted her to turn around to the table beside her, a frown on her face.

It only took her a second to recognize Miss Fudge - she'd hadn't seen her yet, since their outing the past summer so it was nice to see her again, or at least it would have been if she wasn't scared for the safety of the rat. The boy she didn't know, though she was sure she'd probably seen him around once or twice the past two years.

It took her only another second to slip out of the bench and come over to the Slytherins, determinedly snatching the rat out the potatoes. Holding the shocked creature tightly in one hand, dogwood wand slipped out of the other pocket, quickly transfiguring the rat into a snuffbox. They'd technically learned the spell in first year for turning a mouse into a snuffbox, but she figured the two animals were similar enough that it shouldn't harm the rat. She would return him outside after the feast and restore him to his rightful self outside. The snuffbox and wand were then tucked back into her pocket, hoping that they'd avoided making a scene and that none of the professors or prefects had noticed her using magic outside of classwork.

"It was only a rat, Miss Fudge. I assure you, he was far more scared of you that you were of him. Poor little thing was probably lost and very confused. And I doubt Mr. Leverett put him there. He looks just as confused as you are. And he doesn't strike me as a good liar. No offense to you, Mr. Leverett."