"To see if he is any good at being a person."

"...Huh?" says Feral.

"If ghosts are people, then dying isn't so bad, as long as you can be one - it's still inconvenient and if you can't be a ghost it's still really bad. But maybe ghosts are more like portraits, which don't seem to be people properly as far as I can tell - there's one in Tony and Sherlock's house but she only speaks French, she doesn't seem able to learn a language, people can pick up at least some of new languages if they're around them a lot."

"Oh," says Feral. "I don't think anybody's figured out how to make a ghost, though, so where's that leave you?"

"Still trying not to die," says Bella. "But maybe with different research interests."

"So are you going to drop Herbology?"

"Yeah, I mean, you've seen me walk, you think I can keep earmuffs on even if my life depends on it? I'll take magizoology. There aren't any interactions with live animals until the second year of it, it's not like Magical Animal Husbandry."

Feral laughs. "Okay. I'll tell you if we learn anything interesting."

"Thanks."

He shrugs. "No problem."

Next is Potions. Bella and Feral have this at the same time, but he's at grade level there since it requires no wandwork; they go to adjacent classrooms with separate classes. Bella learns to make "wizard coffee" of the sort that woke Sherlock up last year when he was dead on his feet (apparently its proper name is "Perking Potion"). She then proceeds to Magical Defense.

Everyone has Magical Defense together!

"How was Herbology?"

"I'm switching out. I didn't realize my life was going to depend on my nonexistent ability to reliably keep earmuffs on, or not spill substances up my sleeves, or trip facefirst into flesh-eating thorns," says Bella. "Magizoology it is."

"I knew about mandrakes; I didn't know about flesh-eating thorns," says Sherlock.

"We weren't technically going to be working with the flesh-eating thorn thing this year but it was awfully nearby. You've watched me, you know, walk."

"Yes I have. Have fun in magizoology."

He's just fine with being practiced on, however.

Bella collects his wand many times after she gets the hang of the spell.

Feral giggles the whole time. Also he has a habit of hugging his wand every time he gets it back.

"Why are you hugging your wand?"

"Because I missed it," he says, snuggling it some more.

"Expelliarmus," Bella snorts.

"Hey! I was hugging that!" exclaims Feral, chasing after his fleeing wand.