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"The eyes of a hawk, the ears of a wolf, the speed of a leopard, and the strength of a bear?"
This time, Hermione understood. Her eyes widened slightly as she looked at the potion in Dudley's hand in astonishment.
Among the potions she knew, there were potions that enhanced physical ability. But very few wizards studied them. Even a Potions master like Snape did not research them. They were extremely obscure. Many wizards would rather spend enormous amounts of time on Mild Magic-Enhancing Potion than spend even half a moment on these potions.
To them, it was a waste of time.
No matter how much strength increased, it was not as useful as a Levitation Charm. No matter how fast one became, it was not as useful as Apparition. Over time, this kind of potion gradually fell out of favor. Only a few obscure, solitary books on magical history still mentioned them.
A potion like the one Dudley described, which strengthened four aspects at once, was something Hermione had never even heard of.
Crookshanks struggled slightly and jumped out of Hermione's arms. He ran to Dudley's feet and began rubbing his head against him, his throat constantly making a rumbling purr.
"What is wrong with him?"
Hermione frowned slightly.
'Could he be in heat?'
Since she had Crookshanks, Hermione had recently read quite a few cat-care guides, both wizarding and Muggle. Every book on raising cats said the same thing.
For the health of the cat, it was recommended to take the cat for neutering as early as possible unless one intended to breed kittens.
Hermione did not plan to have a litter of kittens. If Crookshanks was in heat, she could only take him to a vet and have his "little bells" removed.
"He wants this potion."
Dudley shook the crystal vial again.
"Crookshanks has the bloodline of a certain magical creature. His instincts are telling him the potion is good for him."
"I see."
Hermione nodded.
"Then can he drink it?"
Crookshanks had no idea that his "little bells" had just come dangerously close to disaster.
"My potion has no restrictions. Crookshanks can drink it too."
"Try some, little fellow."
Dudley took out a small dish and poured a little into it. Crookshanks eagerly leaned forward and began licking.
Before long, he had licked it clean. Crookshanks did not seem to change at all. He still looked lazy and scruffy as before, but he seemed very satisfied. His two front paws stretched forward, his hind legs pushed upward, and he gave a long stretch. Then he shook his body and walked down the corridor on his own little steps.
Once he had eaten and drunk his fill, it was time for a walk.
When he passed by Dudley, he did not even blink.
When he wanted food, he was endlessly flattering. Once he had eaten and drunk his fill, he immediately acted as if he knew no one.
Painfully realistic cat behavior.
Next time he wanted some, he should not come begging. Hm. His dried fish would be halved.
Crookshanks had no idea that Dudley had already put him on his blacklist.
Hermione did not keep Crookshanks locked inside the common room. Most of the time, he was allowed to roam. Most students' pets were kept that way.
Neither of them worried that Crookshanks would get lost. Pets raised by wizards for a while were usually much smarter than pets in the Muggle world. They would not run out of the castle, let alone into the Forbidden Forest. At most, they would wander around inside the castle.
For example, Neville's toad Trevor often seemed to vanish whenever he did not want to be found, but he never went too far from Neville.
"Have at thee, you miserable cur!"
The sound of the two of them talking woke Sir Cadogan. Inside the portrait, he hurriedly put on his armor while waving a lance and shouting at Dudley.
To keep him from disturbing others, Dudley placed a Silencing Charm on him.
Good. The world was completely quiet.
"Dudley..."
Hermione suddenly called out to him. Under Dudley's puzzled gaze, she spoke in a voice as small as a mosquito's.
"Do you want to come sit in the Gryffindor common room?"
"It would be my honor. I have never seen what the Gryffindor common room looks like."
Dudley had never been to the Gryffindor common room?
Who was he trying to fool?
A pair of eyes silently watched the two of them enter the common room.
It was a big black dog.
After seeing them go inside, the big black dog shook its head and turned toward the deeper parts of the castle.
Today was not a good opportunity.
That huge student gave it an instinctive sense of danger.
Best to avoid him.
It was a little hungry and needed to find something to eat.
As it happened, it knew a good place: the Hogwarts kitchen near the Hufflepuff common room. At the end of the kitchen, there was a small room connected to it. The house-elves usually piled leftovers there, waiting to throw them away the next day.
Perhaps it could go there and try its luck, rummage through the rubbish, and find something to fill its stomach.
After taking only a few steps, the big black dog suddenly stopped, because a round figure had appeared in front of it.
Crookshanks.
In truth, Crookshanks had not gone very far. Under the potion's effects, his hearing and sight had both risen to another level, so he had easily discovered this big black dog.
The Kneazle blood in Crookshanks allowed him to sense who was trustworthy and who was not.
Perhaps good and bad were too broad. It would be more accurate to say that he could detect malice.
The biggest reason Crookshanks had been so aggressive toward Scabbers, Peter in his rat form, was that Peter had unconsciously given off malice the moment he saw Harry.
Hermione was Crookshanks's owner, and Harry was Hermione's friend. Therefore, in Crookshanks's understanding, Harry was one of his own.
If someone showed malice toward one of his own, that person was an enemy.
Simple and plain.
"Meow."
Crookshanks moved a little closer. He sniffed the scent on the big black dog and began circling it.
He did not feel any malice from the big black dog.
Crookshanks became even more curious.
He could sense that this big black dog was different from ordinary black dogs, just like that strange rat.
The big black dog turned and tried to leave, but Crookshanks leapt up and blocked its way.
"Meow meow meow."
He chattered at the big black dog nonstop.
Roughly summarized, it meant this: "Listen, big black dog. In the future, I will become a wandering swords-cat. I will have a pair of boots, a belt, a hat, and a rapier. You seem sturdy enough. I happen to need a sidekick. Come with me and uphold justice."
The big black dog clearly did not want to bother with him and turned to leave.
Crookshanks blocked him again.
Being stopped again and again made the big black dog, not exactly patient to begin with, grow irritated.
"Grrr." Leave.
"Meow meow." If you lose to me, you become my sidekick.
The big black dog did not want to hurt Crookshanks. It planned to casually swat him aside with one paw. Unexpectedly, Crookshanks was too fast. Before the big black dog could touch him, he dodged.
"Meow." You agreed.
With the speed of a leopard enhancing him, Crookshanks's initial burst of speed was astonishing.
Several times in a row, the big black dog failed to catch Crookshanks.
It finally gave up on catching Crookshanks. It also did not want to get dragged into this any longer and continued toward the Hogwarts kitchen on its own.
Seeing this, Crookshanks stopped dodging and charged straight at the big black dog. The big black dog noticed Crookshanks's intention, but it had no intention of avoiding him. It did not believe a small cat could do anything to it.
Only when Crookshanks's little paw struck its face did it realize it had been wrong.
Unimaginable strength erupted from that tiny cat paw. The slap sent the big black dog spinning several times in the air, stars dancing all around it.
Crookshanks pressed one paw against the fallen big black dog's face and cried out proudly several times.
"Meow-heh." I won!
The big black dog was utterly baffled.
Even at the end, it could not understand how a mere little cat could have such exaggerated strength.
That poor someone had no idea there was such a thing as using cheats.
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