Dumbledore entered the room first, with Snape following behind him.
He watched the Cerberus gnawing on ribs, and his eyebrows arched.
"Hagrid shouldn't be here to feed the dog at this hour, should he?"
Dumbledore chuckled:
"Perhaps the guest who was just here is a dog lover?"
Snape ignored Dumbledore's joke.
The two walked up to the Cerberus.
Fang, sensing Dumbledore among the newcomers, didn't act defensively.
Dumbledore and Snape both noticed the various burn marks, large and small, on the Cerberus's body.
But regardless of their severity, these burns were healing automatically.
The two frowned in unison; the Cerberus had strong magic resistance, so ordinary spells wouldn't affect it, and as for common flames, they probably couldn't even singe its fur.
"Dumbledore, such a method doesn't seem like something certain students could pull off."
Snape said pointedly, intending to remind Dumbledore that Quirrell was very strange, especially since the start of this semester.
"Indeed, the power of that Fiendfyre seems considerable."
"Severus, you should first check Fang's injuries to see if Potion treatment is needed."
Dumbledore inexplicably thought of his old "friend"; his Fiendfyre Curse was the most terrifying, and the blue sea of fire back then almost engulfed the entire city.
Seeing Dumbledore ignore his warning, the gloom on Snape's face deepened a few shades.
This old man held a lot of information and always had his own plans, never revealing the full picture to anyone.
Snape was about to approach the Cerberus to examine it.
Fang bared his teeth and let out a low growl, covering the ribs in front of him.
This made Snape's face darken; this Cerberus was actually guarding his food! Who would want to snatch his food?
"Dumbledore, this stupid dog only recognizes you and Hagrid."
Dumbledore shook his head helplessly, beginning to soothe Fang while urging Snape to quickly conduct the examination.
Snape, with a sour expression, examined the Cerberus's injuries; the more he checked, the more serious and peculiar his gaze became.
"This dog's initial injuries were quite severe, possibly even reaching the bones and internal organs, but now they are mostly healed."
Snape didn't mention that, judging by the healing speed of the wounds, if they had arrived any later, those wounds would have healed on their own!
"I remember that while the Cerberus's self-healing ability isn't weak, it hasn't reached such an astonishing speed, has it?"
Facing Snape's question, Dumbledore nodded,
"It wouldn't be this strong. It seems that the visitor is also very skilled in healing."
Snape continued, pointing at Fang's teeth:
"You must have noticed that the curse inherent in the Cerberus's teeth has been almost completely eliminated. This isn't a common method either, is it?"
"Indeed, Severus, let's first check if there are any other clues around."
Since the Cerberus was fine, the two began to search the room.
When Dumbledore walked to the trapdoor, a glint of light appeared behind his half-moon spectacles, as if he found it very interesting.
"Solidified Transfiguration?"
Dumbledore waved his wand, and the door panel quickly reverted into a small iron can.
Holding the iron can and examining it, Dumbledore also marveled.
"Impressive Transfiguration methods, and he can heal. That description sounds quite familiar."
Dumbledore recalled the information he had previously received from the Castle ghosts and Hagrid; Harry was most likely cured by Lucien, and Lucien's Transfiguration talent had long been evident.
Dumbledore increasingly felt that the child was unusual and planned to have a brief chat with Lucien about this during this week's afternoon tea.
He casually transformed the iron can back into a door panel, adding a Solidified Transfiguration, and Dumbledore restored it to its original state.
"Dumbledore, I suddenly remembered something. Grafton seems to be tutoring Potter recently."
Hearing Snape's sudden casual remark, Dumbledore chuckled:
"I know."
This made Snape's tone falter, and he simply gave up the desire to continue the conversation.
No matter what he said to Dumbledore, it always felt like he already knew... "Gurgle, gurgle—"
Lucien added seven milliliters of Cerberus blood to the cauldron.
The Potion instantly became thick and dark red, and the previously bubbling surface suddenly quieted down.
Then, after some finishing touches and waiting for the Potion to cool, he would know its effects.
And while waiting, Lucien wasn't idle; he began to use Transfiguration to shape the body parts of a mechanical animal.
Each small part was affixed with a semi-permanent Solidified Transfiguration, so as long as a Wizard could replenish magic, the mechanical animal's full functionality could be maintained.
As for what mechanical animal to make, Lucien glanced at Fang, who was yawning boredly beside him.
"I'll make you a companion you can play with, as compensation for last time."
Although he didn't understand what Lucien was saying, Fang still looked curiously at the cauldron; after not smelling the aroma of braised ribs, he lowered his head in disappointment.
By the time Lucien finished processing the parts, the adhesive had also cooled.
According to the descriptions in the book and his own design, Lucien waved his wand.
Various parts and Alchemy Potions flew about, assembling in sequence in the air.
From the core to the torso, limbs, head, and tail, each part quickly took shape.
In a few breaths, a sleek, white mechanical dog appeared in the room.
A series of gear rotations and slot-fitting sounds emanated from within.
"Woof!"
A bark came from the mechanical dog's mouth.
This startled the lying Fang, who scurried to a distance to observe this strange "kind."
Lucien flicked his wand, and the mechanical dog immediately performed various standard actions such as rolling, jumping, and sitting.
After making the mechanical dog do a few more somersaults, Lucien put away his wand with satisfaction.
Not bad, my "dog" can really do a backflip now.
"System, does this mechanical animal meet the loan requirements?"
[Congratulations, Host, you have created a controllable mechanical animal and also mastered semi-permanent Solidified Transfiguration.]
[Mechanical Transfiguration Pocket Watch loan has been repaid.]
[Given the Host's love for learning and exceeding the loan completion, you can receive one customized loan opportunity, not exceeding the monthly loan level.]
Oh, there's such a benefit?
It's an unexpected pleasant surprise.
Customized loan, huh? Normally, only daily loans can be customized by myself; anything above weekly loans depends on the system.
Since the maximum is a monthly loan, then I'll set it as a monthly loan. Although the loan difficulty is higher, the rewards for a monthly loan are also better.
Anyway, I just completed the monthly loan for the Transfiguration Pocket Watch, and the Diligent Little Gardener loan requires planting ten Biting Cabbages, which only needs regular fertilization and pest control; the rest is just a matter of time.
Hmm, I recorded the Cerberus's information before, but it was only one individual, which didn't meet the loan requirements. The Pet Growth loan only has one Magical Creatures left, so I can just go to the Forbidden Forest again.
Lucien thought for a moment and realized he had enough capacity to take another monthly loan.
As for the content of the loan...
Lucien took out the Transfiguration Pocket Watch; through his analysis of this watch, his progress in Alchemy and Solidified Transfiguration was extremely fast.
And one of his primary goals for this year was to master all Transfiguration knowledge and develop new directions for Transfiguration.
So, it should still be a Transfiguration-related customized loan.
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