After hearing Lucien's words, Dumbledore nodded and casually added, "If anything feels off about the details, you can use Transfiguration to tweak it. The changes will stick for next time."
Lucien drew his wand and began conjuring equipment suited for potion-making and alchemy.
Watching Lucien's deft and relaxed Transfiguration work, Dumbledore gave a soft smile, reminded of the trapdoor in the three-headed dog's room—a similarly clever piece of Transfiguration.
"Three-headed dog bites are tricky to heal, aren't they? Especially with the dark magic lingering in them," Dumbledore said.
Lucien didn't pause his wandwork.
Tch, calling yourself an old man with a bad memory?
He wasn't surprised Dumbledore brought it up. With all the ghosts and portraits in the castle, Harry and his friends' encounter with the three-headed dog—followed by their frantic dash out of the castle—wouldn't have gone unnoticed. Those spectral spies reported to the headmaster, so Dumbledore likely knew about Harry's injury that very night.
As for what happened after, when Harry ran to Hagrid's hut, Dumbledore could've pieced it together even without informants. A quick chat with Hagrid would've confirmed who healed Harry.
Lucien stopped his Transfiguration and tucked away his wand.
"It's manageable. A specific combination of potions can neutralize the dark magic in a three-headed dog's teeth. Healing the wound itself is actually pretty straightforward."
Since Dumbledore already knew Lucien was the one who healed Harry, there was no point hiding it.
Of course, he wasn't about to mention Luster, the Qilin, just yet.
As expected, Dumbledore only smiled and nodded, his eyes twinkling.
"Severus has mentioned you're quite talented in Potions as well," he said. "Oh, and while three-headed dogs are somewhat 'afraid of fire,' they're still very dangerous creatures. Best not to approach them lightly."
Afraid of fire? Sure. Dangerous?
Lucien pictured Fluffy rolling over for belly rubs.
Oh, yeah, super dangerous.
"I understand, Headmaster," he replied.
The topic passed casually, and after a bit more conversation, they left the Room of Requirement.
---
Inside Hagrid's hut.
Harry was brewing a potion.
Lucien toyed with a metallic gourd, occasionally waving his wand to adjust its internal space.
This was a newly crafted portable Undetectable Extension container, designed to house magical creatures.
Mooncalves were a top priority—their dung made excellent fertilizer for his Chinese Chopping Cabbages. The cabbages were growing well and should mature within a month, letting him pay off the "Diligent Little Gardener" loan.
He figured he'd make another container just for cultivating magical plants. Newt's letter had already explained how to provide the necessary growth elements.
Besides Mooncalves, should he collect some Acromantulas too? The Forbidden Forest was overrun with them, and they were disrupting the ecosystem. Keeping a few on hand would make gathering their venom easier, though it wouldn't be as potent as Aragog's.
Speaking of Acromantula venom, he now had Erumpent fluid as well. That meant he could start working on Tardy Truth, an alchemical potion. But brewing it here was out of the question—he wasn't about to blow up Hagrid's hut.
Once he made the potion, he could try crafting special magical bullets. The revolver he'd transfigured from a pocket watch was just a shell right now, and regular gunpowder bullets weren't much use.
Lucien decided he'd create another Undetectable Extension container specifically for alchemy experiments.
Finishing the adjustments to the gourd, he couldn't help but marvel at how convenient it was.
No wonder Newt loved lugging that suitcase around the world.
"Lucien, the Scar-Repair Salve is done. Want to check it?" Harry called.
Lucien tucked away the gourd and inspected Harry's potion.
"Not bad overall. Shorten the brewing time by a minute, and add a bit more Whiteflower Water…"
Harry scribbled notes as Lucien explained.
Once they were done, Harry suddenly remembered something.
"Oh, right, Lucien! I promised to make up for the potions you used to heal me. Hagrid helped me get a new magical book for you—hold on."
Harry rummaged through a storage chest Hagrid had pointed out and handed Lucien a book.
This one was thinner than the last, maybe a quarter or a fifth of its thickness. The cover bore the same gilded capital "P."
Lucien flipped through it briefly.
Oh? Alchemy that uses magical creature tissues as a base to amplify their traits?
That was intriguing.
His first thought was using this alchemy to craft those special bullets. But which creature's materials would work best?
Maybe he'd ask Hagrid—his hut was full of odds and ends from magical creatures. There had to be something useful.
Just as Lucien was about to read more—
Knock, knock, knock.
A knock at the door interrupted his thoughts.
Who could it be? Ron was out walking the dog, and Hermione was at the library.
Lucien walked over to open the door.
Standing there was a neatly dressed boy with glasses, looking meticulous. Judging by his height, he was an older student.
Noticing the boy's fiery red hair, Lucien had a guess.
"Here for Ron?"
The boy blinked, then nodded.
"Yeah, hi. I'm Percy, Percy Weasley. Ron's my brother. I heard he's here—I need to talk to him."
Percy had received two letters from home. One was for Ron. The other was from their mother, Molly, saying Ron wanted to borrow the family's magical books to trade with a classmate for lessons in crafting alchemical machines.
Molly's first reaction was disbelief. A first-year knowing alchemy? And Ron, of all people, being proactive about magic? She knew her youngest son too well.
So she'd sent Percy, her most reliable son, to check on Ron and make sure he wasn't being duped by some troublemaker.
Percy studied the younger student with dark golden hair and deep emerald eyes.
"You must be Lucien Grafton, right?"
"That's me."
"So, my brother Ron can be a bit… naive sometimes, and—"
"Percy? What're you doing here?"
A familiar voice cut in. Percy turned to see Ron, holding two ropes.
The left rope was tied to a large, ferocious-looking black dog.
The right rope was tied to… a white creature with gears visible in its joints and blue-glowing crystal eyes.
"Wait, Ron, what in Merlin's name are you walking?"