#177 - The safest way

How to make a Puffskein the best assistant for the three-headed dog Fluffy.

Hagrid had already tried this once.

"That's what I did, but I didn't expect Fluffy to dislike it at all and bite it all to pieces."

Hagrid picked up some broken wooden racks next to the fireplace in the cabin and said helplessly.

"You mean you want me to make a more suitable wooden rack to use as earmuffs for Fluffy?"

"That's right, I think it might be because I didn't make it very comfortable, and Fluffy didn't like it."

As Hagrid spoke, a look of loneliness appeared on his face. He seemed very sad that he couldn't make Fluffy like it.

Moon didn't notice Hagrid's expression. He was still thinking about the feasibility of this plan.

Hagrid's method was to make three huge earmuff racks out of wood, put the Puffskein in them, and then put them on the three-headed dog.

This way, the music would no longer lull the three-headed dog to sleep, but this approach also had its drawbacks.

"If we do it your way, wouldn't it weaken Fluffy's hearing ability? I think that's an even bigger loophole."

Moon said with some worry.

"But this is already the best way I can think of."

Hagrid threw the broken pieces of wood into the fireplace helplessly, his expression becoming even more lonely.

Of course, he understood the loophole Moon was talking about.

In Hagrid's view, Fluffy's only weakness was falling asleep when he heard music.

And Puffskeins were the opposite. As long as you put this little guy in Fluffy's ear, Fluffy would wake up immediately.

He had been thinking about this combination all night.

"I know you may have been focusing on Fluffy's ears, but we can also make a frame and put the Puffskein somewhere else on Fluffy's body, so we can avoid blocking Fluffy's ears and prevent him from falling asleep."

"That's right, it's not just the ears. As long as it can wake Fluffy up, that's fine. He's actually very sensitive to sound."

Moon certainly knew that dogs were very sensitive to sound.

This kind of creature is actually similar to a wolf. Their powerful hearing is the key to capturing prey.

"Then where do you think it would be more suitable to put these little guys?"

After hearing Moon's suggestion, Hagrid abandoned the earmuff rack that Fluffy had already bitten to pieces and looked at Moon curiously.

"The best place would be somewhere that doesn't affect Fluffy's fighting and can also serve as a reminder. What do you think about a collar?"

3

Moon thought for a moment and realized that this was the only suitable location.

"A Puffskein collar, I think that's possible!"

Seeing Hagrid agree, Moon immediately pulled out a piece of parchment and spread it on the table, starting to design the style of the collar. In order to allow the Puffskein to act as a reminder when it heard music, the inner layer of the collar should have all obstacles removed.

This would ensure that Fluffy could clearly feel the bouncing Puffskein.

And in order to prevent thieves from opening it easily, the collar must be strong.

Thinking of this, Moon looked up at Hagrid again.

"What if there's a spell specifically designed to destroy the collar?"

"Don't worry, Fluffy is very sensitive to spells, and he has three heads."

"That's true, even Professor Snape couldn't avoid it, but it would be better if we could ensure it's sturdy and has a certain degree of concealment at the same time."

Hearing Hagrid's words, Moon naturally increased the difficulty of the design.

In his view, as long as these three collars weren't all destroyed at once, they could still play a role.

And at this time, as long as Fluffy reacted, the thieves would have to deal with attacks from three directions.

Moon had a deep understanding of this attack method.

When he trains with the giant squid now, he can only handle one of the giant squid's arms at most.

With one more arm, Moon couldn't even last one round.

After spending an hour, Moon designed the latest collar design.

Not only does it have the characteristics of being sturdy, concealed, and comfortable, but he also plans to add some alchemy runes to it.

Moon had found a strengthening rune on the main body of the Philosopher's Stone key.

This is a rune that can increase the strength of alchemical items.

And Moon had already found its correct writing method and interpretation in "The Most Obscure Writing: A Preliminary Exploration of Alchemy Runes."

Now is the perfect time to try it on the Puffskein collar.

"To ensure sturdiness and the ability to engrave runes, we should choose wood with a high hardness, preferably purple sandalwood. Can you get it?"

After finishing the entire drawing, Moon handed it to Hagrid and said.

"There's a lot in the Forbidden Forest. Many wizards have asked me to buy this kind of wood to make furniture, but I haven't agreed."

"Okay, also, I left 36 grooves on each collar to place the Puffskeins. You may need to catch some more; there definitely aren't enough now."

"Don't worry, there are a lot in the Forbidden Forest."

Hagrid turned the drawing in his hand several times before looking at Moon with some doubts.

"What are these dense little characters?"

"Oh, this is an alchemical rune that can be taken out and used separately. It's a small innovation of mine."

"Alchemy! You've actually started researching this?"

Hagrid was very surprised. He knew how difficult alchemy was, especially since Moon was so young.

"I have to say, I actually see a shadow of Dumbledore in you."

Hagrid swallowed. Although the words he just said were his true thoughts, he couldn't believe he had said them.

"Don't say that. This is just a small test of mine. It may not work, but even if it doesn't succeed, it won't affect the use of the collar."

As the alchemical item he's had the most contact with, Moon has studied the runes on that key the most thoroughly.

This also gave him the confidence to engrave the runes on the collar for use.

"Okay, I'll get the materials ready as soon as possible, and then catch some more Puffskeins. Is there anything else I need to prepare?"

Hagrid asked again after putting the drawing on the table.

"Oh, if possible, can I see Fluffy? I want to measure the size of his body and then re-optimize the design to ensure the collar is comfortable."

Hearing Moon say this, Hagrid couldn't help but hesitate. He thought for a while before speaking.

"Dumbledore has to agree to this. I'll go apply to him now."

"Oh, don't be in such a hurry. You can prepare the materials first. If Dumbledore agrees, you can have Harry's Hedwig notify me."

"Okay, to be honest, you should get an owl."

"We'll see. I think Bouncing is pretty good right now."

Noticing Bouncing, who was playing with Fang, was staring at him closely, Moon quickly stated his position.

“You two have a really good relationship. Since the plan has been finalized, how about some afternoon tea?”

Seeing Hagrid about to prepare biscuits again, Moon quickly stopped him.

He had already noticed a small clock on Hagrid's table, pointing towards 4 PM.

“No, I might have to go to the Black Lake.”

After receiving guidance from Professor Flitwick yesterday, Moon designed a new training method.

Today, he finally had the time to try it out with the giant squid.

“Alright, but be careful.”

Hagrid didn't know what Moon was going to do.

However, he knew that every time Moon went there, the water in the Black Lake would become terrifyingly murky, as if a great battle had taken place.

After speaking with Hagrid, Moon took Bouncing and left the hut, heading towards the Black Lake.

The giant squid was very happy to see Bouncing again.

After the two magical creatures exchanged a few words, the giant squid placed Bouncing on its head and swam a large circle in the Black Lake.

After more than ten minutes, Moon held the soaking wet Bouncing and had to use a Drying Charm on it.

Followed by a Sleekeazy's Hair Potion.

“Cheep~” (So comfortable)

After cleaning up Bouncing, Moon finally discussed the new training plan with the still-excited giant squid.

After receiving Professor Flitwick's advice on Tuesday, Moon had studied it several times.

Considering his own actual situation, Moon realized that what he needed to master most right now was quick reaction ability and increased spell power.

Professor Flitwick described in detail in this suggestion how to train quick reaction ability.

It included four aspects: visual training, auditory training, magical sense training, and body reaction speed.

Moon could actually understand the training for eyesight, hearing, and body in this suggestion.

But he had asked Professor Flitwick about magical sense.

The other party only explained that it was a subtle sense that could only be formed after many battles.

“Actually, for you, Mr. Scarlett, training the first two should be enough. As for magical sense, it cannot be formed without experiencing hundreds of duels.”

According to Professor Flitwick, Moon guessed that this sense should be an ability that can only be improved in a state of extreme duress.

This reminded him again of the two strange states he had encountered.

In that state, he could indeed use magic to sense the surrounding things more clearly and meticulously.

However, this state was unattainable for Moon.

But Professor Flitwick believed that this was an ability that wizards could normally master through training.

Such a statement gave Moon more confidence in his brain-developing magic experiment.

Professor Flitwick's visual training was hoping that Moon would go to the Quidditch pitch to observe the Golden Snitch.

He was required to find the Golden Snitch faster than the Seeker in order to strengthen visual training.

However, Moon didn't think that the Golden Snitch could achieve the training effect he wanted.

Compared to him standing on the ground and observing the Golden Snitch in the sky.

Moon felt that it would be more useful to feel the giant squid's claws approaching quickly.

Especially when this big guy stretched out two or three claws at the same time, Moon had to carefully distinguish which one would attack him first.

This allowed him to better grasp the rhythm of battle while training his visual abilities.

Not only that, but in the state of fighting against a super-strong opponent like the giant squid, Moon could also subtly exercise his spell power.

“With a planned training, the speed of progress is indeed faster.”

Moon found that the results of his training today had improved a lot compared to Monday.

Today, he was already able to completely construct a new Impedimenta before the giant squid's arm broke through the three Impedimenta.

Although only one of the giant squid's claws was fighting Moon.

But achieving such results was already very good for Moon.

Moreover, with such results, it could also provide a faster way for Moon to train his auditory sense.

“Cheep!” (One!)

“Cheep cheep!” (One ten plus three ones)

“Cheep cheep!” (Five tens plus six ones)

After starting auditory training, Bouncing was always responsible for counting by the side.

Moon's method of auditory training was to turn his back to the giant squid and use Impedimenta to prevent the giant squid from touching him through hearing.

Since it was the first time trying this training method, Moon didn't succeed once this afternoon.

The giant squid was still too fast.

Moon simply couldn't judge the accurate direction with his ears, let alone cast a spell.

“Bouncing, it's fifty-six, not five tens plus six.”

While training spells, Moon was also teaching Bouncing a new way of counting.

Although this little guy likes shiny things, he always uses a pile, two piles... to describe his toys every time.

There will never be a clear answer.

Moon's training only really ended after Bouncing counted to ten tens.

Although Moon didn't successfully intercept the giant squid's attack even once with his ears alone, Moon's reaction ability was indeed strengthened.

According to his current speed of improvement, it should be faster than the suggestions made by Professor Flitwick.

Almost one day of his training can achieve the effect of Professor Flitwick's training method for a week.

Of course, in addition to training Impedimenta, Moon also practiced other spells with the giant squid.

In addition to the commonly used attack spells, Moon focused on training his newly mastered Diffindo this time.

This was an intermediate spell he exchanged with Professor Snape on Monday.

Snape said at the time that as long as Moon could lay a good foundation, he would give him a more advanced spell of the same type.

This made Moon very much looking forward to it, because Moon was indeed very talented in cutting magic.

Having only learned this spell for two days, Moon found that he was already able to cast Diffindo continuously.

This was faster than when he learned Incendio and Confringo.

Moreover, the strength of this spell has also been strengthened in Moon's hands.

Ordinary little wizards can cut open branches at most with Diffindo, but Moon has already been able to cut through thinner stones with this spell.

But for the giant squid, these are not enough.

Every Diffindo Moon cast on it was like tickling it, without even leaving a white mark.

On the contrary, this giant squid relied on its quick reaction ability to help Moon smash several barnacles on its body with Diffindo.