Dumbledore entered the room first, with Snape trailing behind.
He eyed the three-headed dog gnawing on some ribs and raised an eyebrow.
"Hagrid wouldn't be feeding the dog at this hour, would he?"
Dumbledore chuckled. "Maybe that visitor we just had is a real dog lover."
Snape ignored the headmaster's joke.
The two approached the three-headed dog.
Fluffy caught Dumbledore's scent among the newcomers and didn't go on the defensive.
Both Dumbledore and Snape noticed the various scorch marks on the beast's body—big and small.
But regardless of severity, all the burns were healing on their own.
They both frowned in unison. A three-headed dog's magical resistance was incredibly strong; normal spells barely touched it, and regular flames probably couldn't even singe its fur.
"Dumbledore, this kind of handiwork doesn't sound like something a student could pull off."
Snape said it pointedly, trying to nudge the headmaster—Quirrell had been acting odd, especially since term started.
"Indeed, that fire must've packed quite a punch."
"Severus, why don't you check Fluffy's injuries first? See if it needs any potion treatment."
For some reason, Dumbledore's mind wandered to his old "friend"—the Fiendfyre curse was the most terrifying, that blue inferno nearly engulfing an entire city back in the day.
Seeing Dumbledore brush off his warning, Snape's gloom deepened.
The old man always had a web of information and plans, but he never shared the full picture with anyone.
Snape stepped closer to examine the dog.
But Fluffy bared its teeth with a low growl, shielding the ribs in front of it.
Snape's face darkened—this mangy mutt was guarding its food like someone was after its supper!
"Dumbledore, this dumb dog only knows you and Hagrid."
Dumbledore shook his head helplessly and started soothing Fluffy, urging Snape to get on with the check.
Snape, scowling, inspected the wounds. The more he looked, the graver and stranger his expression grew.
"The initial injuries were pretty bad—deep enough to hit bone and organs. But now? They're almost healed."
What he didn't say was that, based on the healing speed, if they'd arrived just a bit later, the wounds would've closed up on their own!
"I seem to recall three-headed dogs have decent self-healing, but nothing this freakishly fast."
Dumbledore nodded at Snape's question. "Quite right—it shouldn't be this strong. Looks like our visitor's got some serious healing skills too."
Snape pointed to Fluffy's teeth. "You noticed it too—the curses that were embedded in its fangs? They're practically gone. Not your everyday trick."
"Yes, Severus. Let's check the room for any other clues."
With the dog out of danger, they began searching.
When Dumbledore reached the loose floorboard, a glint sparked behind his half-moon spectacles—like he'd just spotted something amusing.
"Permanent Transfiguration?"
With a flick of his wand, the board reverted to a small tin can.
He picked it up, examining it with an appreciative tsk.
"Not bad transfiguration work—and healing on top of that. Sounds familiar, doesn't it?"
Dumbledore connected the dots from reports he'd gotten from the castle ghosts and Hagrid: Harry had likely been healed by Lucien, whose transfiguration talent was already obvious.
The headmaster was increasingly convinced the boy was something special. He'd bring it up casually during this week's tea time.
He casually transfigured the can back into the board, adding his own permanent effect to restore it perfectly.
"Dumbledore, I just remembered—Grafton's been tutoring Potter lately."
Snape's sudden chit-chat caught him off guard, but Dumbledore just smiled warmly.
"I know."
That made Snape pause, killing any urge to keep talking.
No matter what you said to Dumbledore, it always felt like he already knew.
...
Gurgle-gurgle—
Lucien added seven milliliters of three-headed dog blood to the cauldron.
The potion thickened to a dark red instantly, the bubbling surface going eerily still.
After some final tweaks, he let it cool to see how it'd turned out.
In the meantime, Lucien didn't sit idle—he started transfiguring parts for the mechanical animal.
Each component got a semi-permanent transfiguration hold, so as long as a wizard could feed it magic, the whole thing would keep functioning.
As for what kind of mechanical animal... Lucien glanced at Fang, who was yawning boredly nearby.
"I'll whip you up a playmate. Call it payback for last time."
Fang didn't catch the words but peered curiously at the cauldron. No red-braised rib scent? He drooped his head in disappointment.
By the time Lucien finished the parts, the adhesive had cooled.
Following the book's instructions and his own design, Lucien waved his wand.
Components and alchemical potions flew into the air, assembling in sequence.
From core to body, limbs, head, and tail—everything snapped together fast.
In a few breaths, a sleek white mechanical dog stood in the room.
Gears whirred inside, slots clicking into place.
"Woof!"
A bark echoed from its mechanical jaws.
It startled Fang, who bolted to a corner, eyeing this weird "kin" warily.
Lucien slid his wand, and the dog rolled, jumped, sat—nailing all the basic moves.
A few somersaults later, Lucien pocketed his wand with satisfaction.
Nice—my "dog" can really do backflips.
"System, does this mechanical animal count for the loan?"
[Congratulations, host—you've crafted a controllable mechanical animal and mastered semi-permanent transfiguration.]
[Transfiguring Pocket Watch loan repaid.]
[Given the host's love of learning and overachievement, you qualify for one custom loan opportunity—up to monthly level max.]
Oh, perks like that? Sweet bonus.
Custom loans were usually just for daily ones; weekly and up were system-picked.
Since monthly was the ceiling, why not go for it? Tougher challenge, but better rewards.
He'd just nailed the pocket watch monthly, and the Diligent Little Gardener loan's ten biting cabbages? Just fertilize, de-bug, and let time do the rest.
Yeah, he'd logged the three-headed dog, but with only one specimen, it didn't meet the loan threshold. Pet Growth loan needed one more magical creature—another Forbidden Forest trip would do it.
Lucien figured he had the bandwidth for another monthly.
Content-wise...
He pulled out the transfiguring pocket watch. Parsing it had skyrocketed his alchemy and permanent transfiguration progress.
His big goal for the year: master all transfiguration knowledge and pioneer new directions.
So, yeah—custom loan had to be transfiguration-related.
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