Damian's Stunning Spell hit the middle head of the Cerberus. The massive head immediately slumped over, unconscious.
However, the other two heads were completely unaffected. They violently snapped their jaws, biting angrily toward Damian.
"So, three heads aren't just for show. It's a real tri-core processor," Damian muttered. He calmly raised his wand and cast a Shield Charm. "Protego!"
Damian deliberately chose not to use silent casting. Decades ago, Albus Dumbledore had already been capable of seeing through his magical concealment. Since Harry Potter was the Headmaster's primary focus, Dumbledore could easily be hiding in the shadows of this very room, completely undetectable. Damian didn't want to expose his true strength at Hogwarts; he only wanted to display the qualities of an exceptionally talented senior student.
The shimmering azure shield blocked the Cerberus's snapping teeth. The beast was physically formidable, but far weaker than the Basilisk. Its fangs lacked the highly corrosive venom needed to instantly shatter Damian's Shield Charm.
Still, the Cerberus had its own unique advantages. With three heads, its attack speed was blindingly fast!
The two conscious heads continuously hammered the magical barrier one after another. Under the relentless barrage, the Shield Charm Damian was maintaining began to flicker unsteadily.
Furthermore, the stunned middle head was already beginning to twitch. This was a hidden biological characteristic of a Cerberus: if only one or two heads were knocked out, the shared nervous system of the conscious heads would rapidly force the stunned ones to wake up.
"Nox, stall them," Damian called out.
The black Kneazle tucked securely inside his hood instantly understood his master's command.
Nox extended his tail and gave it a violent shake. The detached segments immediately morphed into six identical Kneazle clones, which boldly charged toward the Cerberus.
Seeing the tiny creatures rushing at its face, the Cerberus snapped its jaws, viciously biting them to pieces without a second thought.
However, the moment the physical clones were torn apart, they simply multiplied, splitting into even more black cats.
The Cerberus's animalistic intelligence wasn't high enough to process the bizarre magical phenomenon. Enraged, it just kept violently snapping at Nox's multiplying clones.
Unless the beast managed to strike the original Kneazle's body, it was merely fighting an endless battle against raw magic. Until Nox's magical reserves were completely exhausted, the swarm of clones would only grow exponentially larger the more they were attacked.
Within moments, the dark room was completely overrun with hundreds of black cats.
The Meditation Method has greatly improved Nox's abilities, Damian thought to himself, watching the chaos.
He had recently taught Nox how to practice his unique Meditation Method. Once the Kneazle successfully grasped the concept, he had immediately triggered a state of accidental magic, permanently and significantly expanding his internal magical reserves.
Because of this, Nox's clones could now split exponentially more times before dissipating.
Unfortunately, Nox didn't understand Ancient Runes. Damian had only been able to teach the feline the foundational breathing and circulation techniques. Further cultivation required manually constructing Runic Script models within the sea of spirit. Until Nox somehow learned to read ancient languages, the cat's power level would be hard-capped at the equivalent of a First-Level Wizard Apprentice.
"Let's go," Damian commanded, snapping the four Gryffindors out of their terrified stupor.
He had only come tonight to test the quality of the Cerberus. He had a premonition that to get the Philosopher's Stone, he would most likely need to participate in Dumbledore's obstacle game.
Damian stepped past Harry, turned the brass doorknob, and slipped back out into the third-floor corridor. Thankfully, Filch's footsteps had already faded away.
Once the golden trio and Neville scrambled out, Damian firmly pulled the door shut, leaving the furious Cerberus locked inside to continue battling the endless tide of black cats.
"Nox is absolutely brilliant! He actually split into a whole army to block that three-headed monster!" Ron exclaimed, his voice trembling with adrenaline. Then, he looked down at his pocket with a disappointed sigh. "If only Scabbers had an ability like that..."
Nox silently agreed. His toad, Trevor, only possessed the magical ability to constantly hide from him.
Hearing Ron's wish, Harry vividly imagined a dark room suddenly filling with hundreds of splitting, squeaking Scabbers. He shuddered.
Fortunately for everyone's sanity, Scabbers did not possess a mutated Kneazle bloodline.
"Is it really okay to just leave all those Noxes in that room?" Hermione asked nervously. She was currently clutching a black cat in her arms—a clone she had instinctively scooped up while fleeing.
Damian smiled warmly. "Don't worry. The clones will automatically dissipate into thin air once their magic is exhausted."
Right on cue, the physical clone in Hermione's arms popped like a soap bubble, vanishing without a trace.
"Oh," she said, looking deeply disappointed. "I wanted to take him back to the dormitory to keep me company."
Right then and there, Hermione decided she would definitely buy a cat of her own in Diagon Alley next year.
"What on earth is the Headmaster thinking? Hiding such a dangerous monster in a school," Ron muttered, shivering. "If it weren't for Nox, we would've been dog food tonight!"
Damian simply looked at them with a calm smile, choosing not to comment.
"I noticed there was a trapdoor right under its paws," Hermione said, her brow furrowing in thought. "I think that beast might be guarding something."
Hermione's deduction made Harry's eyes widen. He suddenly remembered the grimy little package Hagrid had retrieved from Vault 713 at Gringotts. Perhaps that terrifying three-headed dog was guarding whatever was inside that package.
Harry wisely kept this theory to himself; he had promised Hagrid he would keep the Gringotts trip a strict secret.
"It's getting late. We should all get back to our dormitories before Filch circles back," Damian suggested. Once they reached the Entrance Hall, Damian parted ways with the Gryffindors, heading down into the dungeons.
A few days later, Damian traveled to White Stone Manor, a private estate hidden deep within the magical world.
Today was the day of the exclusive magical exchange meeting hosted by Madam Alsha. Damian had received a formal invitation during the last high-society banquet he had attended.
He walked up the grand steps and handed his silver-embossed invitation to the attendant stationed at the manor's entrance.
"Mr. Damian, please come in." The attendant respectfully returned the parchment, pressed a hand to his chest, and bowed deeply.
There were significantly fewer guests in the manor today compared to the previous grand ball. Damian could perceive that everyone who came this time was a wizard.
The attendant guided him away from the main ballroom, leading him instead toward an elegant, detached building on the right wing of the estate.
"The exchange meeting is divided into several distinct zones," the attendant explained softly. "This is the rest area. There is a surplus of food and enchanted drinks available. Should you require anything specific, please inform the servants."
Stepping into the lavish foyer, Damian immediately spotted Madam Alsha politely conversing with a small group of wizards.
Madam Alsha's attire was as striking as ever. She wore an elegant black gauze dress that perfectly accentuated her graceful figure. Long, silk black gloves extended up her slender arms, adding a touch of alluring mystery to her overall aesthetic.
Noticing Damian's arrival, Madam Alsha offered a charming apology to her conversation partners and gracefully excused herself.
"Madam Alsha," Damian greeted with a gentle, polite smile. "It is a pleasure to see you again. You look as radiant as ever."
The smile on Madam Alsha's face brightened genuinely. "Mr. Damian, thank you for the lovely compliment. I am thrilled that you could make time to participate in today's exchange."
She turned to the waiting attendant with a dismissive wave. "You may return to the entrance. I will personally escort Mr. Damian."
Once the servant had bowed and left, Madam Alsha leaned in, her tone shifting to one of enthusiastic hospitality. "The exchange meeting will last for the entire day. Should you feel fatigued at any point, you may select any of the private parlor rooms to rest."
She guided Damian out of the foyer, leading him down a long, warmly lit corridor until they arrived at a remarkably spacious hall.
Madam Alsha introduced,
"This is the primary exchange area. You can trade freely with the other guests using Kingdom Gold Coins, rare information, alchemical items, spells, Meditation Methods, or any other valuable commodities."
"Because today's gathering is an open-identity exchange, the items traded out here are generally relatively common items, and there is also a lot of exchange of information."
"However, we hold an anonymous underground auction here every three months, and there may be some higher-value items then."
"The next anonymous auction is approaching quite soon. I will be sure to send you a secure notification one week prior to the event."
The layout of the hall closely resembled a high-end tavern, though the decor was infinitely more elegant. Dozens of small, circular wooden tables and plush stools were scattered throughout the room. A sheepskin-bound ledger rested on each table, and a glowing brass number hovered above every seating arrangement.
Spotting an empty table near the periphery, the two of them walked over and took a seat.
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