At Lucien's words, the flames in the room instantly died down.
Luster stepped to Lucien's side, its eyes warily fixed on Fluffy, the three-headed Cerberus. But the beast it was guarding against looked utterly pitiful.
Fluffy's already dark fur was singed blacker still, patches of it smoldering with lingering Qilin flames. The pain made its massive body tremble uncontrollably.
Lucien patted Luster's neck, signaling it to douse the flames. As they faded, the extent of Fluffy's injuries became clear. The Qilin's purifying fire had been so intense that in some spots, where the flesh was thin, it had nearly burned through to the bone.
In just a few seconds, the ferocious Cerberus had been brought to its knees, whimpering in surrender. With effort, Fluffy rolled over, exposing its softer, vulnerable belly despite the agony.
Lucien saw this and knew the beast had submitted. Gotta heal it, he thought. Even with a magical creature's resilience, these wounds were too severe to heal on their own. This was Hagrid's pet, after all—Lucien just needed to ensure it wouldn't attack again, not burn it to a crisp.
After a moment's thought, he nodded to Luster. "Go patch it up."
Following its master's command, Luster approached Fluffy. The Cerberus quivered as the Qilin drew near but didn't dare move, sticking out its tongues in a desperate attempt at a friendly grin.
Luster loomed over the beast.
"Ptoo!"
A glob of translucent saliva shot from Luster's mouth, landing squarely in the middle head's jaws.
Lucien froze, stunned. What the—? Is this a Qilin or a llama?
Sure, Qilin saliva had potent healing properties, but just spitting it out like that? The vibe was all wrong for a mythical creature!
Normally, Lucien collected Luster's saliva in a vial, carefully doling out drops as needed. But now, his Qilin had just hocked a loogie straight into Fluffy's mouth like it was no big deal.
Still reeling, Lucien glanced at Fluffy—and did a double-take. The Cerberus looked… happy?
Its charred fur began to slough off, replaced by glossy new growth. The deep, bone-exposing wounds started to knit together, though the severity slowed the healing slightly.
Luster trotted back to Lucien, head held high. "Master, I fixed it!"
"…"
Lucien wanted to say, Can you spit with a bit more dignity? You're a divine beast, for Merlin's sake! But on second thought, no amount of flair could make spitting look majestic. He shook his head, letting it go.
He walked toward a trapdoor—or rather, a blackened hole where a trapdoor used to be. The flames had reduced it to ash.
This time, Fluffy didn't block his path. It just crouched to the side, panting happily with its tongues lolling, as if it had forgotten its guard duties entirely. After the thrashing—and the dose of Qilin-induced affinity—it was acting like an oversized, obedient dog.
Lucien peered into the hole. Empty. No Devil's Snare or anything else. Figures, he thought. Dumbledore probably hasn't placed the Mirror of Erised down there yet. No need for elaborate traps, then.
He glanced at Fluffy. So what's this guy even guarding? A hole in the floor?
Oh, right. The trapdoor.
With a sigh, Lucien pulled out an old tin can, tapped his wand, and transfigured it into a new trapdoor, fitting it snugly over the hole. A few more flicks, and he cast a semi-permanent Solidifying Charm. That'll do for now. I'll swap it for a proper one later.
He waved his wand again, erasing the scorch marks and other traces of the fiery skirmish from the room.
Then, pulling out parchment and quill, Lucien began recording data on Fluffy. The Cerberus was surprisingly cooperative, lifting its legs and opening its mouths on command.
Examining Fluffy's teeth, Lucien noticed they gleamed unnaturally white. The dark, cursed aura that usually clung to them was gone. Luster's purifying fire must've burned away the innate dark magic curse, he realized. A Cerberus's bite typically left wounds that wouldn't heal without potions, but the fire had cleansed that.
Then, his sharp eyes caught a faint wisp of dark mist creeping back around the roots of Fluffy's teeth. It regenerates? he noted, scribbling it down. The Cerberus's dark magic was intrinsic, ensuring its bites remained dangerous.
Lucien pulled out an iron flask to collect some of Fluffy's blood. The beast didn't resist, letting him draw what he needed. He only took enough for the Binding Potion he planned to brew, then stopped.
Mission accomplished, Lucien left the room, tossing Fluffy a massive rib bone as a small gesture of goodwill.
---
A few minutes after Lucien left, two figures hurried toward the room from another direction.
"Dumbledore, I told you, that Cerberus is dangerous! It shouldn't be in the castle!" Snape's voice was sharp with frustration. "First Potter and his friends wandered in here, and now you're saying someone else came through? What if something goes wrong?"
"Severus, calm down," Dumbledore replied. "From what I know, the situation isn't dire."
Snape shot him a stormy look. The castle's portraits and ghosts served as the headmasters' eyes and ears, keeping Dumbledore informed of most goings-on. Both times someone had entered Fluffy's room, a ghost had tipped him off.
Snape took a deep breath, reining in his temper. "Not dire? So it's only a problem when something does go wrong?"
Dumbledore nodded calmly. "I know you're concerned about Harry. He was injured during his encounter, but he's been healed."
Snape's breath hitched at the mention of Harry's injury, though he relaxed slightly at the word healed. He'd seen Harry recently, looking healthy, so it must've been minor. Still, he scoffed, "I wasn't asking about Potter. A creature like that is too dangerous to keep in a school!"
Dumbledore, familiar with Snape's prickly nature, didn't take it personally. He hadn't mentioned that the ghosts and portraits had reported Harry's injuries as severe—yet somehow, the trio had made it out of the castle. Dumbledore suspected they'd gone to Hagrid for help, and when he'd asked, Hagrid confirmed seeing Harry that night, perfectly fine and chatting happily with Lucien.
Dumbledore pieced it together: Lucien must have healed Harry. His curiosity about the boy deepened.
They opened the door. Everything seemed normal—except Fluffy was gnawing on… a rib bone?