#91 - Addictive [smooth fur]

Before Moon had even reached the second floor of the castle, Bouncing Ball had already jumped off his shoulder to find Mrs. Norris.

When Moon arrived at the classroom, Filch was, uncharacteristically, not with his pet.

Looking at the castle administrator standing anxiously at the door, with a hesitant expression, Moon couldn't help but feel curious.

“I'm… very… very… sor-ry~”

Before Moon could speak, Filch muttered something almost inaudible.

“What?”

Moon didn't hear the complete sentence; he only saw Filch lower his head at the end, and he subconsciously asked.

“The face of that statue… I can't fix it.”

Saying this seemed to take a great effort from Filch.

Moon also sensed a hint of goodwill in his words.

“It's okay, it's not too difficult to clean the potions classroom anyway.”

Moon said with a smile, then walked directly into the classroom.

Hearing Moon say this, Filch breathed a sigh of relief.

“If you encounter any particularly difficult-to-clean areas while cleaning that classroom, you can come and tell me; I'm very good at that!”

Watching Filch reveal an awkward, proud smile, Moon readily nodded in agreement.

“Okay, I'll come and ask for your help if I need it.”

After Moon finished speaking, he began practicing spells on the statue. Seeing this, Filch returned to the doorway to continue watching the two animals play and chat.

For Moon, spell practice had long become a standardized process.

Once he learned the incantation and wand movement, all that remained was repetitive practice.

Although Moon planned to learn more auxiliary spells, he couldn't neglect the [Leg-Locker Curse] and [Petrification Curse], which could control people.

Fortunately, he was already very familiar with these two spells. After an hour of extra practice, Moon looked at the three auxiliary spells he planned to practice today.

[Duplication Charm], [Waterproofing Charm], [Aguamenti].

These were the spells he was preparing for his upcoming sea voyage.

After practicing each spell thirty times, he would switch to the next one and continue practicing.

Once he had mastered all three, Moon spent all the remaining time practicing [Fur-Straightening Charm].

This was a spell specifically for Bouncing Ball, and he couldn't be careless.

When Moon was finished practicing and ready to leave, the two pets had just restarted a game of hide-and-seek between experts.

Bouncing Ball had already proven his abilities in the Gryffindor common room; after all, the title of Six-Crown King wasn't for nothing.

And Mrs. Norris's years of experience tracking down young wizards in the castle were unmatched by any other pet.

So Moon and Filch stood aside and admired this evenly matched battle.

The game began.

Bouncing Ball first feinted in the hole in the corner of the wall, leaving his scent behind, then turned and ran behind Filch.

For Bouncing Ball, although the old man smelled unpleasant, this scent could just cover up his own scent.

And Mrs. Norris's most powerful method was precisely to find traces through her nose.

Sure enough, Filch's Maine Coon first went to the hole in the corner and rummaged around for a long time.

Finding no trace, she began circling the classroom.

But the classroom was very clean; besides the statue, there were only two people. After checking the statue, Mrs. Norris locked onto Moon.

But she was disappointed; Bouncing Ball eventually ran out of Filch's hands on his own.

“Squeak~” (I won~)

“Meow~”

(But I won twice?)

“Squeak!” (But I won more!)

Moon didn't let the two little guys continue arguing. He took out his wand and first pointed it at Bouncing Ball, then pointed it at Mrs. Norris as well.

The two little guys, who had become messy from playing, instantly became much cleaner.

“Squeak~~, squeak” (So comfortable~~, want more)

Seeing that Bouncing Ball was actually addicted to a spell, Moon didn't hesitate and cast [Fur-Straightening Charm] on him three more times.

Although Mrs. Norris had only become less distant with Moon in the past two weeks, she wasn't that close yet.

But Moon still noticed that the cat also had a look in her eyes that wanted to try it again.

To ensure fairness, Moon also cast [Fur-Straightening Charm] on Mrs. Norris three times.

“Meow~” (Comfortable~)

Watching the little castle administrator in front of him transform from a messy state to a truly noble lady, Moon also smiled happily.

Filch was also very excited to see this scene.

He knew that Mrs. Norris had a bit of magical creature blood, which was why the cat could patrol Hogwarts Castle.

But precisely because of this, the fur on Mrs. Norris's body would often stand on end, no matter how Filch combed it, it wouldn't go down.

Now seeing Mrs. Norris completely transformed, Filch was even reluctant to touch her with his rough hands.

And Mrs. Norris also noticed her master's small movements of wanting to reach out. She very considerately came to Filch's feet and lay down.

“This… this, dear, my shoes are too… too dirty.”

Seeing Mrs. Norris's affectionate actions, Filch seemed somewhat at a loss.

“It's okay, Mr. Filch~ Anyway, I'll come here every day. You can bring Mrs. Norris too. It's just a spell for me.”

Hearing Moon say this, Filch once again revealed an awkward smile.

“Okay… okay.”

After leaving the spell practice classroom, Filch once again held Mrs. Norris in his arms.

Bouncing Ball, on the other hand, stood on Moon's shoulder and said goodbye to the other party, then immediately pestered Moon to cast the spell.

Watching Bouncing Ball being washed over and over again with the [Fur-Straightening Charm], Moon felt that this spell seemed a little strange.

Especially since Bouncing Ball was now very enjoying it, which reminded Moon of those who were addicted to alcohol and smoking.

Those people would also show the same expression as Bouncing Ball after getting satisfaction.

“Could this spell be very comfortable?”

Regarding [Fur-Straightening Charm], Moon had only learned the incantation and gestures, and hadn't dissected it, so he didn't dare to try it on himself.

Instead, on the way back to the common room, Moon cast [Fur-Straightening Charm] on Bouncing Ball three more times.

It wasn't until Moon was worried that this spell would be harmful to magical creatures that he put Bouncing Ball in the treehouse and forced him to sleep.

On Saturday morning, after Moon finished writing down the latest [Engorgement Charm] analysis notes, Hermione also woke up early and came to the common room.

“Number three and number five went out last night, only number two and number six are left.”

As Hermione spoke, she took out the four small jars from her pocket and placed them on the table.

Moon only glanced roughly at the four jars, then carefully observed the burning number two and number six.

The blue flame of number six was also somewhat unstable, and it was estimated that it would be difficult to last through today.

Number two, on the other hand, had a very stable flame, and there was no sign of it going out.

Hermione had also noticed this long ago. As she prepared to search for the spell records of number two, Moon had already taken out his wand.

According to the casting method of the number two [Fire-Making Charm] in his memory, after making slight adjustments, he immediately recast the spell on the number three and number five jars.

Watching the appearance of the new flames, Hermione's hand searching for the record froze in mid-air.

“You… couldn't you have waited for me to confirm it?”