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Harry Potter: I Get Stronger by Taking Loans - 58
🕑 Added 2025-10-03 19:04:58 +0000 UTCChapter 58: Night Wandering, Three-Headed Dog Fluffy
Ravenclaw dormitory, deep into the night. Leo glanced back at his roommate Terry to confirm he was still fast asleep, then stroked Aurelius, who had transformed to the size of a house cat, while reading Newt's reply letter by wandlight.
The expansion of space lies in the nodes where the Undetectable Extension Charm is inscribed...
Just as he'd suspected—different patterns of arrangement and combination had vastly different effects on spatial dimensions. If he had to explore and experiment bit by bit on his own, it would be an agonisingly slow accumulation process. But now with Newt's guidance, many problems were directly solved.
He could start attempting to create Undetectable Extension objects soon. It would be even more convenient once they could safely contain living creatures.
Was this the foundation of family inheritance? Whether the Potter family's potions and alchemy or the Scamander family's Extension Charms, they all possessed remarkably unique knowledge and techniques. Leo rubbed the letter paper, having to admit that in terms of magical foundation, long-established wizarding families were indeed enviable.
Still, he could borrow more magic books from Harry's collection. But if he could access family grimoires from several other classmates, that would be even better. Knowledge—one could never have too much of it.
Reading that Newt had politely declined the request to trade for Erumpent explosive fluid, Leo frowned slightly. He didn't resent the refusal, because Newt's reasoning was entirely sound—it was best to have substantial understanding of magical creatures first. Newt was acting with genuine good intentions.
Leo pulled out a thick stack of notes and materials—all observation records about Mooncalves, Diricawls, Acromantulas, and Puffskeins. Looking at this pile of papers that must be half a person's height, it should demonstrate considerable understanding, right?
If he copied these materials and sent them to Newt, could he prove that he actually possessed substantial knowledge about magical creatures? He could also record more data on other species to increase credibility.
Like that three-headed dog—although there was only one individual and the recorded information wasn't enough to complete the loan requirements, it would be sufficient to send to Newt. In that case, he could also make another trip to the Forbidden Forest to find another unicorn. Data on that species would probably be quite convincing.
"Aurelius, can you tell me about your communication with Mr Newt?"
The little Qilin recounted everything in detail from the initial door knock to the polite farewell when departing. As he listened, the smile on Leo's face became more pronounced.
Newt had actually restrained himself from thoroughly examining Aurelius, when just its appearance alone clearly marked it as a rare or even unknown magical creature. Although Newt was notably socially anxious, he should be tremendously enthusiastic about magical creatures.
Could it be that Aurelius appeared too intelligent and communicated too much like a human? And since it was Newt's first contact and he felt uncomfortable with the unfamiliarity, his social anxiety dominated?
"Aurelius, next time you help me deliver a letter to Mr Newt, you can try chatting with him more casually. He should be very interested in you."
Leo put away the letter and looked at the moonlight streaming through the tower windows. Why not visit the three-headed dog tonight? Observe and record it, and collect some blood to brew adhesive while he was at it.
"Let's go. I'll show you something interesting."
Placing Aurelius into the pet space, Leo left the dormitory and departed from the Ravenclaw common room. It began—his first night wandering through Hogwarts castle.
With Disillusionment Charm and stealth oil applied, Leo moved leisurely through the castle's shadowed corridors and up the shifting staircases. Recalling the route Hermione had inadvertently revealed, Leo reached the room containing the three-headed dog without obstruction.
"Meow—"
A skeletal cat with dark grey fur appeared at the corridor's far end. It stared with bulging yellow eyes like lamp flames, constantly scanning for rule-breaking students wandering after hours.
Following behind prowled a hunched man with greying hair, carrying an oil lamp, his bulging eyes scanning for rule-breakers as he patrolled the castle.
Leo didn't dodge or retreat, simply walking past naturally. The man and cat completely failed to detect Leo's presence, passing within arm's reach of him.
Leo shook his head. With form concealed and sound and scent masked, an ordinary housecatfundamentally couldn't detect him. The school clearly prohibited students from night wandering, yet sent someone who couldn't use magic to catch violators. Wasn't this really just encouraging students to test their stealth skills?
Arriving at the designated door, Leo whispered, "Alohomora!"
After unlocking the entrance, he pulled out a jar of sleep-inducing incense from his pocket, lit it, and gently tossed it into the darkened room. He waited patiently for two or three minutes, allowing the incense to achieve maximum effect.
Donning a protective mask for clarity, only then did Leo enter the chamber. He simultaneously waved his wand lightly, layering silencing charms throughout the entire space. This way the outside corridors couldn't hear any commotion within.
Leo pointed his wand again, transforming a dust-covered lamp stand into a polished violin. As Leo advanced deeper into the room, the violin began automatically playing beautiful, gentle music that echoed off the stone walls.
Amid orchid fragrance and haunting melody, snoring gradually intensified and deepened.
Leo looked toward the source of the rumbling sounds. A massive dog with pitch-black fur and three ferocious heads lay sprawled in the chamber's centre, viscous drool slowly pooling from three gaping mouths.
Fluffy—Hagrid's purchased three-headed dog pet. The creature loved music; the more beautiful the melody, the more relaxed the guardian became.
Leo nodded approvingly. Under the dual effect of music and improved sleep-inducing incense, Fluffy should be sleeping quite deeply. Still, he couldn't afford to let his guard down.
Waving his wand in practised patterns, Leo layered several protective spells like Shield Charms and Impediment Jinxes around himself, creating a shimmering barrier. Then he released Aurelius from the spatial pocket.
"Aurelius, help me keep watch."
"Understood, Master."
Leo withdrew paper and quill, beginning to record the three-headed dog's physical characteristics in meticulous detail—the distinctive shape of each skull, the pattern of teeth, the muscular structure...
After completing his initial observations, Leo extracted an iron bottle from his robes. He'd need to collect more blood than usual—he hadn't brewed adhesive before and expected some experimental loss and waste.
His wand tip aimed precisely at the three-headed dog's hind leg, and a minuscule opening appeared in the dark flesh. Carefully guiding the blood flow, he directed the crimson stream toward the bottle's opening with delicate control.
Just then, Fluffy's nostrils flared. His originally relaxed body suddenly tensed, as if some primal instinct detected a strange, unknown intrusion despite the magical sedation. Violent, ferocious reflex made this guardian beast act without hesitation—without even opening his eyes, he opened his massive jaws to bite, teeth gleaming with faint dark energy.
However, before the three-headed dog's fangs could even touch the protective barrier surrounding Leo, a golden blur shot out from beside him, striking Fluffy with tremendous force and sending the massive creature tumbling backward.
Leo calmly capped the bottle and continued his observations, quill scratching steadily:
Three-headed dog. Keen perception even under sedation...
Three sounds of furious barking erupted when countless scorching golden flames exploded outward, instantly filling the entire chamber with searing heat and brilliant light.
Leo stood calm within the golden inferno, continuing to write as though surrounded by nothing more dangerous than candlelight. Even the quill in his hand remained perfectly unscorched, protected by Aurelius's discriminating flames.
Hearing the continuous pained whimpers echoing through the fire, Leo finally set down his quill.
"Aurelius, that's enough."
