บท 58: Chapter 58: What an Ugly Dog
Kanna was completely dumbfounded during the entire exchange between Kyle and Hagrid.
Who am I? What am I doing here? And what on earth are they talking about? she wondered. Weren't they just talking about a dog with no appetite? Now they're mentioning a Three-Headed Dog? What even is that? A dog with three heads? But there's no such creature in this house…
"Kyle…" Kanna quickly interrupted while Hagrid was deep in thought. "What were you talking about just now?"
But Kyle didn't answer her directly. Instead, he turned to Hagrid and motioned with his head. "Come on, don't hide it. I'm not a professional veterinarian—I need to see it for myself."
"I didn't…" Hagrid started to protest, but after a moment of hesitation and remembering the sorry state of his furry friend, he sighed in defeat. "Alright, but you can't tell anyone."
"Of course," Kyle nodded. "I swear on Cedric's character."
Hagrid, too wrapped up in his own thoughts, didn't quite catch what Kyle said and stood up to leave the room. But Kanna heard it loud and clear.
"Why did you swear on Cedric's character?" she asked, confused.
"Don't worry about the details," Kyle replied with a dismissive wave. "If I had one, I would've sworn on mine."
Kanna fell silent and moved aside, not sure what to make of that.
Hagrid returned shortly afterward, and it was clear the place where he had hidden Fluffy wasn't far from the cabin. Once back inside, Hagrid hurriedly drew the curtains and lifted the moleskin coat draped over his arm, revealing Fluffy, the infamous Three-Headed Dog, tucked beneath it.
Fluffy was now almost as big as a cow. Realizing he'd been brought into the cramped room again, he quickly lowered his heads and lay flat on the floor, trying to make himself as small as possible.
Kanna was utterly shocked. She had never imagined Hagrid would actually bring out a dog with three heads, and… it was so ugly!
The Three-Headed Dog, like many large magical creatures, was not what one might call cute. Fluffy's giant mouth, packed with sharp teeth, took up nearly half of each head. His nose was wrinkled up, with folds of flesh that resembled a washboard.
"Does the Three-Headed Dog have Shar-Pei blood or something?" Kyle mused, scratching his head. He wasn't entirely sure. He had never seen one before, and even Newt's magical suitcase didn't have everything.
In fact, even in Greece, the Three-Headed Dog was an exceptionally rare magical creature, almost as rare as a Basilisk. Kyle figured that whoever sold Fluffy to Hagrid must have been an outsider.
"What luck," Kyle said to himself, reaching out to stroke Fluffy's rather unattractive head. The fur was stiff, feeling almost like a well-worn shoe brush left out in the elements—definitely not as pleasant as Fang's soft coat.
Fluffy, ever the feisty one, didn't appreciate the gesture. Realizing one of his heads was being petted, he opened his mouth and tried to bite Kyle's hand.
Kyle dodged quickly and gently patted the middle head. "Don't be naughty. I'll give you a treat later."
At this, Fluffy calmed down instantly and responded with a couple of soft "woofs".
"How about some Murtlap dried rat meat?" Kyle suggested after a moment's thought. "It's tougher than beef, and I bet you'll like it."
"Woof…" came Fluffy's response.
"Thirty?" Kyle frowned. "No way, that's too much. I only have nine. You three can split it."
Kyle was busy haggling with Fluffy when Hagrid, who had been observing the whole exchange, nearly jumped out of his skin in disbelief. Looking from Kyle to Fluffy, he asked, "Did Mr. Scamander teach you that as well?"
Kyle just smiled and didn't answer. In the wizarding world, many knew that Kyle had a knack for communicating with magical creatures, but the explanation given to the public was simple: "Mr. Scamander taught him."
Since Newt had never denied this, most people accepted it as the truth. After all, as the greatest Magizoologist of the century, Newt Scamander was expected to know some tricks that others didn't.
However, only a select few knew the real story: the Weasleys, Newt himself, and Dumbledore. But Hagrid certainly wasn't one of them.
"By Merlin's beard!" Hagrid said, looking at Kyle with awe and a hint of envy. "It seems Mr. Scamander thinks very highly of you. I begged him for ages, but he never agreed to teach me how to talk to Magical Creatures."
"These are just little tricks, Hagrid," Kyle replied, smiling as he fed some dried Murtlap meat to Fluffy. "Besides, you already understand what Fluffy's saying, even if you don't speak his language."
"Yes, I do!" Hagrid said proudly. "I always know what Fluffy wants, and he knows me too. He was a real handful when he was little, but if I sing, he always falls right asleep."
To demonstrate, Hagrid began singing softly while gently patting Fluffy. Kyle could hear Fluffy's thoughts loud and clear.
"It's starting again, it's starting again, my head is killing me."
"Just sleep, it'll be over soon…"
"Go to sleep, now!"
As Hagrid sang, all three of Fluffy's heads gradually drooped, and within moments, they were snoring loudly. Their synchronized, well-practiced slumber made Kyle feel almost sorry for the poor creature.
"See? He's asleep," Hagrid said, beaming with satisfaction.
Kyle laughed awkwardly, glancing at Hagrid's happy face. After a moment of thought, he decided against revealing what Fluffy had actually been thinking and shifted the conversation back to a more pressing issue.
"He's getting really big now, Hagrid," Kyle said, stroking one of Fluffy's heads. "You must have noticed he's been in a low mood ever since we brought him into this room. You need to let him loose in the Forbidden Forest as soon as possible."
"I know," Hagrid sighed, looking troubled. "But I'm just not comfortable with it… Fluffy's still so young. What if something happens to him without me around?"
Kyle raised an eyebrow. He had a strong suspicion that Hagrid should be more concerned about the well-being of the other creatures in the Forbidden Forest.
Hagrid hesitated for a moment before continuing, his eyes darting around the room. "And if I put him in the Forbidden Forest, Dumbledore might see him. What if he decides to send Fluffy away?"
"Then put him deeper into the Forbidden Forest," Kyle suggested. "Don't forget, this is a delicate time. The Ministry's Aurors are tracking down every unknown magical creature. It's better if Dumbledore finds Fluffy than them."
"But he's not one of those creatures," Hagrid protested, his face flushed with excitement. "I checked thoroughly! The Greek who sold him to me wasn't in any of the photos the Ministry released."
"The Aurors won't care about that," Kyle said calmly. "What they'll care about is the fact that you happened to purchase an unknown Three-Headed Dog right before that group was arrested. That's enough to make them suspicious."
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