Three-Headed Dog

Inside the Room of Requirement.

This room was enormous, large enough to hold a thousand-year-old basilisk dozens of meters long.

The basilisk lay on a long table of equal length. Its flesh and blood had already been stripped away, leaving only a skeleton. Beneath the table stood several glass jars filled with bright red blood.

Matthew was busy in the room, dismantling the basilisk's body and storing each part separately. This haul was substantial—the skeleton alone was worth a fortune, as indulgent male wizards were happy to pay high prices for basilisk bone powder.

He kept the complete basilisk skeleton intact, as he hadn't yet decided how to handle it.

Using basilisk flesh and blood as the main ingredient, he could brew a potion that increased petrification resistance. Basilisk flesh could also serve as a supplementary material for certain potions—for example, combining dragon heart, phoenix tail feather, and basilisk blood could produce a potion that boosted instant death magic resistance.

Basilisk skin had extremely high magic resistance. He planned to find a skilled tailor to make several wizard cloaks.

Matthew also had high hopes for the basilisk heart. He possessed an ancestral potion recipe—using basilisk heart and unicorn horn to brew a potion that enhanced physical fitness.

After processing the basilisk's flesh and blood, Matthew pulled a rabbit from a nearby cage. This was one Preserved Egg had caught in the Forbidden Forest.

He intended to use the rabbit to test the effect of the basilisk's eyes.

The basilisk's eyes were larger than a basketball. Matthew needed both hands to lift one.

Aiming the massive basilisk pupil at the rabbit, he infused magic into the eye with both hands. The rabbit in front instantly stiffened.

In Matthew's magic sense, the basilisk pupil emitted an invisible, eerie magic in a forty-five-degree fan-shaped area ahead.

This eerie magic only extended about two meters. Snakes had poor eyesight, relying mainly on their tongues and heat-sensing pits for hunting.

This petrification ability was actually a passive trait of the basilisk, but since the eyes no longer had a magic supply, it now required active activation.

Within this fan-shaped magic range, locking eyes with the basilisk would trigger the petrification effect.

Matthew tested a few more rabbits and found that injecting a large amount of magic could activate the basilisk eye's instant death ability, killing the rabbits instantly.

However, using the petrification ability consumed very little of the basilisk pupil's power, while the instant death ability drained it heavily. Now that the basilisk was dead, the pupil's power was like water without a source—every use diminished it. Using the instant death ability under normal circumstances was more loss than gain.

The rabbits Preserved Egg caught from the Forbidden Forest were ordinary creatures, making it impossible to test the resistance comparison between magic and petrification. That would have to wait for actual combat verification.

After the experiments, he stored everything in the room into his Undetectable Extension Charm Pocket.

Once he finished packing, Matthew left the Room of Requirement. As he reached the Prize Display Room, he heard hushed voices ahead.

"He's late, or maybe he's too scared to come."

That was Ron's voice.

Matthew raised an eyebrow. He'd run into Harry Potter and his companions again. He suddenly remembered he'd promised to teach them the Summon Familiar spell, but he'd been so busy lately he'd nearly forgotten.

"Next time for sure," Matthew thought to himself.

Just then, another voice came from ahead.

"They're here, maybe hiding. Dear, find them quickly."

That was Filch's voice.

Matthew recalled that tonight, Harry Potter and the others had been tricked by Little Malfoy into a midnight duel, but Little Malfoy hadn't shown up. Instead, he'd reported Harry for being out after hours. Tonight, they would encounter the three-headed dog in the room on the Fourth Floor Corridor.

Matthew was intrigued. Dumbledore would use the Philosopher's Stone to set up an obstacle course game to lure Voldemort and test Harry. This three-headed dog was the first level of that game.

He'd never seen a three-headed dog before. He planned to "accidentally" run into Harry Potter, which would give him a natural excuse to see the three-headed dog.

He took a bottle of Deodorizing Potion from his pocket and sprinkled the powder on himself and Preserved Egg to avoid being detected by Mrs. Norris, who had a keen nose.

He walked right past Filch, but Filch and Mrs. Norris noticed nothing.

Then, he caught up with Harry Potter and the others.

"We have to get back to the common room," Ron panted. "As fast as possible!"

"Malfoy never intended to duel you! He must have told Filch!" Hermione said.

"Let's go," Harry said. He thought Hermione was right, but admitting it felt embarrassing.

"What are you all doing, wandering around so late?" Matthew canceled his Illusionary Body Spell and walked over from a distance.

Harry's heart tightened at the sound of the voice, but when he saw who it was, he sighed in relief. He'd thought Filch had caught up!

"Matthew..." Harry started, but was interrupted by a noise nearby.

A door handle rattled, and then Peeves popped out of a classroom.

He cackled. "Slytherin and Gryffindor students not sleeping, out together after hours! You'll be caught!"

"Peeves, please keep it down, or Filch will find us!" Harry begged.

"Should I tell Filch?" Peeves put on a serious face, but his eyes sparkled with mischief he couldn't hide.

Ron was already losing patience. He growled, "Peeves, get lost! Get out of the way!"

Then Ron swatted at Peeves, trying to drive him off.

Peeves was instantly enraged. He bellowed, "Slytherin and Gryffindor students not sleeping, out together after hours! In the Charms Class Corridor!"

"Run!" Matthew took off first, sprinting deeper into the corridor.

The others quickly followed Matthew.

Soon, they reached the end of the corridor, where only a locked door stood.

"There's no way out!" Ron's face was full of despair; Filch was about to catch them any second now.

They could already hear footsteps echoing from the end of the corridor.

"Let me!" Anxious Hermione snatched Harry's wand. "Alohomora!"

The Unlock Charm struck the lock, which sprang open instantly. Several people hurried into the room and shut the door behind them.

Once the door was closed, Harry pressed his ear against it and listened for a moment. "He thinks it's locked. I think we're safe for now."

At this moment, Matthew Drew Out his wand. "It's too early to say that, Harry."

Harry turned around and saw the terrified expression on Neville's face. "What's wrong?" he asked, puzzled.

Then he understood why. A monster that nearly filled half the room was Staring At them with vicious intent.

The monster was a Big Dog with three heads. Its gaze was ferocious, and saliva dripped from the gaps between its fangs, splattering onto the floor.

Matthew wanted to test its mettle.

"Stupefy!"