His mother stands next to him, attending to a dishevelled looking customer who is pocketing a remedy for her rat's festering bites - Scorpius, distracted by the knot in his stomach, was on the verge of recommending that she come to her senses and find another owner for her pet, someone familiar with rats. But Astoria, who knows him better than he would ever admit, stopped him, stepped in and put on her bright salesperson's smile.