The trees in the Forbidden Forest were pitch-black silhouettes, swaying faintly in the wind.
Hagrid was leading a herd of strange horses. There wasn't a scrap of flesh on them; their black skin clung taut to their skeletons so that every bone stood out clearly.
They were Hogwarts' thestrals.
"Ah—Sean, come to give us a hand, have yeh," Hagrid said.
He was leading a long line of thestrals, all of them staring at Sean with their empty white eyes.
Right on cue, Buckbeak swooped out from deep within the forest. Sean stroked his head, then followed Hagrid into the trees.
"This time o' year yeh always have to fill the thestrals up proper. They've got a big job ter do," Hagrid said, his huge boots crunching over beech leaves and fallen branches. A few mushrooms that glowed faintly in the dark sprouted near the edges of his boots.
"Pulling the carriages?" Sean asked.
"So yeh know that too—"
Hagrid's big face was full of confusion, but after meeting Sean's eyes he relaxed.
This kid's sharper and more reliable than anyone, he thought. Just like Dumbledore.
"Yeah. Second years an' up'll see 'em at the Hogsmeade station. Every year it's them that brings everyone but the first-years up to the castle."
As they spoke, Sean and Hagrid reached a spot where the canopy grew especially thick.
There, beneath the trees, lay a monstrous dog. It was so big it filled the entire space under the trunks. It had three heads, with three pairs of vicious, rolling eyes, and three twitching noses turned in their direction, sniffing and quivering. Three drooling mouths hung open, ropes of slimy saliva swinging from its yellow fangs.
Sean noticed that Fluffy's leash was tied to a thin little tree. He really had no idea what the point of that was.
Maybe it was just psychological comfort: "You must leash your dog when you take it out."
"Fluffy," Hagrid murmured, burying his face in the dog's thick fur.
Fluffy gave a low whine and butted Hagrid with his heads. It didn't look like ramming; in Sean's eyes, that was more like cuddling.
Sean watched quietly, then began to feed the three-headed dog. The familiar chime of the system sounded in his head:
[You have gained Thestral Beast Fluffy's affection at the journeyman level, Affection +10]
Give him food, and Fluffy liked you. It was almost too funny.
Fluffy was only halfway to the "proficient" tier of affection now, and Sean's ritual preparation was almost finished. His bag was stuffed with works by Greek alchemists, whose commentary on Cerberus—the three-headed hound of Hades—was extremely detailed and unique.
Rumor had it Hagrid had bought Fluffy from a bunch of Greek wizards.
Compared to the ancient Germanic runes, the old Greek "Black Magic Papyri" had been preserved in far better shape. They contained all kinds of recipes, experiments, rituals, and spells.
Most of them were written in clumsy Greek transliterations of Egyptian words—strings of meaningless syllables that might as well be spell-words, impossible to decipher (they were, in fact, magical incantations).
Alchemists inherited that very fine tradition. They deliberately scrambled meaningless words and pronunciations, even building complex "mystic systems" of superstition on the sounds themselves to confuse any reader who didn't understand.
That excellent tradition made it easy for Sean to construct most of his ritual. The inspiration he drew from ancient Greece let him really stretch his legs when working with old runes.
"Really appreciate yeh helpin' out. Take a look at this—I've been meanin' ter give it to yeh…" Hagrid grinned at Sean, then pulled a furry-looking book out of his huge bag.
His hand slipped; the book thudded to the ground, then immediately sprang up and started savaging Fang's ankle.
Fang howled and tore off around the forest, the monster of a book dangling from his leg and flapping furiously.
"Fang!"
Hagrid charged after him.
Hagrid always forgot he was a wizard, so by the time Sean used a silent Impediment Jinx and Summoning Charm to haul the book back, Hagrid was still thanking him over and over.
"Dunno what I'd've done without yeh… Now—listen ter me, don' yeh be scared of that book in yer hands…"
Hagrid rubbed his hands together, looking at Sean with a mixture of worry and anticipation.
One glance and Sean knew what it was—The Monster Book of Monsters.
It was bound in green and already had its own belt strapped around it. The page that had fallen open was on the habits of three-headed dogs.
"People strap it up because it looks like a monster. But really, Sean, yeh just stroke the spine nice and gentle and it quiets right down… Lots o' things are like that. I've always known it."
Sean ran his fingers along the spine. The book, which had been snapping and thrashing like an angry hound, suddenly settled down and opened its cover on its own.
They pushed back through the depths of the Forbidden Forest and emerged from between towering trees. Hagrid's stone hut appeared ahead of them.
Hams and dried game birds hung from the rafters. Hagrid disappeared into the kitchen to cook, and Sean sat down to leaf through The Monster Book of Monsters.
Compared to Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, its entries on monstrous behavior and how to earn a monster's trust were even more detailed. It even had a section on treating tissue corroded by three-headed dog venom.
Sean estimated that within a week, he'd be able to unlock the Three-Headed Dog Biscuit.
These days he'd been turning over the same question in his mind—how to deal with the basilisk's gaze.
Close his eyes?
That could always be the last resort, but he preferred another option.
In the original timeline, Mrs. Norris survived because she only saw the basilisk via a reflection.
Which meant that reflections could at least weaken the killing power of its gaze.
If he created an alchemical device that bounced the basilisk's stare through multiple layers of reflection, would it lose even its petrifying effect?
And if he produced a Three-Headed Dog Biscuit, wouldn't Fluffy have three chances to look the basilisk in the eye?
For an alchemist, the number of solutions would always outstrip the number of problems.
And if worst came to worst, he still had his trump card—using various biscuits to summon magical forms: little fire dragons, a three-headed dog, thestrals—enough to keep the basilisk busy while he finished it off quickly.
By the time Sean stepped out of Hagrid's hut, the sky was already deepening.
Hagrid led him up the slope, lifting his lantern high as they walked along the stone path that wound up through the thickening grass toward the castle.
"…Diagon Alley's been lively lately," Hagrid was saying cheerfully. "New shop opened up, they say a 'little Dumbledore' runs it. I thought, who could be better than Professor Dumbledore, eh?
"But when I heard they sell biscuits that turn yeh into magical creatures, I knew then—maybe he's better than Merlin himself…"
Hagrid chattered on happily. He'd always been fine in the forest by himself, but since Sean began visiting, he'd found he had a lot more to say.
"I don't think so," Sean said.
"I thought that too, at first…"
Hagrid rubbed Fang's head and pulled a few boxes of Kneazle Biscuits from his bag.
"He's a Hogwarts student, Sean. I'll bet yeh know him. Good wizards always gather in flocks. I reckon yeh've helped him loads, seein' as you're the first alchemist ter make biscuits that let a wizard turn into an animal.
"If yeh ever see that 'Hermès' feller, could yeh tell him I'd like an invitation? Just one, jus' one is enough. Merlin's beard—I never thought I'd get a chance ter be a fire dragon in this lifetime."
"One's enough?" Sean asked mildly.
"You know him?!"
Hagrid's beard trembled.
Sean nodded.
"Merlin's beard—can yeh, can yeh…"
Hagrid was so excited he could barely talk.
"There's no stock left in the shop," Sean added.
"I know, I know—once a month… I can wait…"
Hagrid looked toward the beech trees. The last of the sunset gilded the tips of the branches, the moon's outline just visible in the fading sky. Joy in his chest spread like wild grass.
"I still have some," Sean said.
"An invitation? Yeh can't pass them on, lad. And anyway, invitations are one per person…"
Hagrid mumbled, then stopped as he saw Sean flick his wand. A speck of darkness shot from one of the castle windows, streaking across the golden sky.
By the time Hagrid got the box into his hands, his face was as red as the sunset.
There was nothing especially fancy inside it—just a few Fire Dragon Biscuits, unnumbered, their carved dragon scales glowing faintly as they snored soft tongues of harmless flame.
In the shop, each one of those was worth over a thousand galleons.
"Oh… so it is those…"
Hagrid muttered, but his voice was still like rolling thunder.
…
Sean soon found himself hauled back into Hagrid's hut. The half-giant was happily belting out Christmas carols.
After knocking back mug after mug of eggnog, his already booming voice rose even higher.
"I'm gonna transform!" Hagrid suddenly bellowed, making Sean jump.
"Ah, sorry, didn' mean to scare yeh," Hagrid said, clapping a hand over his mouth.
Sean was holding a magical camera Hagrid had dug out of an old trunk. He was here to record what Hagrid looked like in his transformed state.
He was also simply curious. Hagrid's transformations were always unusual—his "cat" form had been the size of a dog.
Was that because of all the Fairy-tale Biscuits… or just what came with having giant blood?
As a proper alchemist, Sean wasn't about to waste such a perfect observing opportunity.
"Thanks to yeh," Hagrid said, lifting his head to look at Sean, eyes shining.
"Can hardly believe it… truly amazin'… This is what I always wanted… exactly what I always dreamed of…"
As soon as he finished speaking, he popped seven biscuits into his mouth in one go, then sat down in his chair like an obedient child—only to have Sean yank him back outside.
Once outside the hut, Sean ran right into someone he hadn't expected to see.
~~~
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