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It’s hard to bring up.
Ian really found it hard to bring up.
He was afraid that some things, which were easily misunderstood, would indeed be misunderstood by others.
People often have biases.
Although he secretly liked to dig up other people’s family graves and had even blown up every corner of the school in the time loop, he knew that he had reasons for doing these things, and those reasons were very sufficient.
Even though he liked to raise some creatures that sounded quite evil, and he knew a bit about all three Unforgivable Curses, he also knew that he was still a handsome and kind-hearted good wizard.
“Uh, actually, the creatures I raise might be a bit strange, not really suitable for telling others.” Ian’s words were somewhat cowardly and hesitant.
“Child, there are no creatures with strange personalities in this world, only narrow-minded people and their narrow views.” Newt Scamander responded quite seriously.
He had clearly misunderstood the meaning behind Ian’s words, thinking that Ian was referring to the personalities of magical creatures.
“Uh…”
Ian didn’t know how to respond.
“We still need to know what kind of living environment your friends need, right?” Newt Scamander encouraged Ian, and what he said did make some sense.
“It probably needs an environment that’s slightly darker, a bit colder in temperature, and a smaller water pool wouldn’t matter either. I like raising cold-blooded creatures… they don’t like drinking water much.” Ian, in a moment of desperation, chose to respond in a way that avoided the main issue, describing the environment of his own “Ian’s Trunk” instead.
Newt Scamander, however, didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary.
“Such extreme environments aren’t conducive to your future expansion of the backyard. I can design multiple environments for you; it’s just a matter of spending more time.”
“At my age, time is the least valuable thing I have. Many plants can also be found for plantation, and I’ll probably be able to help you create it by the time you come to school next year.”
“Having a comprehensive environment will also make it easier for you to add creatures with other habits in the future. When I was young, I suffered terribly because I didn’t consider this.”
Newt Scamander pondered and gave his suggestions.
He was very thoughtful and comprehensive, but he didn’t suspect what Ian was actually raising. Perhaps because he himself had a personality that liked to secretly raise forbidden creatures, he considered Ian’ hesitant expressions to be something he could completely understand and even reminiscent of his own past.
People, after all, tend to think this way in their old age.
“Hmm.”
Ian naturally had no reason to refuse such an offer. He bowed slightly to express his gratitude and curiously asked, “Will you come to Hogwarts again next year?”
To be honest, Ian felt that Newt Scamander’s visit to Hogwarts this time was definitely not just to deliver something to Nicolas Flamel. After all, delivering an item wouldn’t require bringing the whole family, even the sister-in-law.
From Newt Scamander’s behavior and the behavior of the other two old ladies earlier, Ian thought that the reason Newt Scamander came to find Nicolas Flamel was probably related to the death of Queenie’s husband.
A wife who missed her husband too much might want to go back in time to see her husband one last time, and if possible, apologize to her late husband after their last argument.
Ian thought his judgment was probably correct, as the emotional cracks in old Mrs. Queenie were truly numerous. He just felt that Nicolas Flamel and Dumbledore probably wouldn’t approve of such a risky and time-disrupting action.
Of course, it wasn’t certain… After all, Albus Dumbledore was now doing similar things, to the point where he might be in a Schrödinger-like state, seemingly everywhere in Hogwarts.
This was why Ian had suggested using the nonexistent “Legilimency” to help old Mrs. Queenie resolve her emotional issues.
“Yes, I’ll come to Hogwarts next year… if things go smoothly.” Newt Scamander smiled subtly, his eyes flickering slightly.
It was hard to imagine such youthful behavior coming from an old man.
“Do you have a favorite magical creature? Newt’s friends need someone with more energy to take care of them… he’s really too old, and those troublesome creatures have left him exhausted.” Tina suddenly asked this, patting the trunk she was holding in her hand.
She clearly wanted to relieve her husband of the heavy task of taking care of the magical creatures.
Of course, she also thought that the handsome student in front of her must be someone who knew how to cherish friendships with magical creatures.
After all, they had only sent some not-too-precious materials and had directly received so many rare items in return. From this, Tina thought she more or less understood what kind of person Ian was.
“I’m only eighty years old… I’m not old!” Newt Scamander reacted strongly. He wasn’t being petty; it’s just that he had a deep affection for the magical creatures in his trunk.
If it weren’t for the fact that he really couldn’t continue taking care of them, or that those creatures truly needed to be released back into the wild, Newt Scamander would still worry about his friends at home even when he went out for breakfast.
This was also why Newt Scamander’s trunk had been expanded to such a large size.
“Kid, you need to make friends with the creatures you like yourself, don’t you think?” Newt Scamander, reluctant to give up on his trunk’s creatures, tried to pull Ian into his own camp.
“Indeed, I have no problem with that.” Ian felt that his current situation wasn’t really suitable for raising any magical creatures. His Dementor alone was enough to make most magical creatures uneasy, not to mention the black-robed skeleton, who had an overwhelming presence over most creatures except for Unicorns.
It was already impressive that he could study those two creatures.
“Why are you so stingy? Ian is way more generous than you.” Tina rolled her eyes at her husband. Her slightly complaining tone made Newt Scamander feel quite awkward. He also felt that what his wife said wasn’t wrong, so after hesitating for a moment, he turned and tentatively spoke to Ian again.
“I have an injured Thunderbird chick here. Its family was killed in an illegal poaching incident. Once it recovers, perhaps you could help me raise it?”
“Of course, only if you’re willing,” Newt Scamander added. His proposal caught Ian a little off guard, this old man’s suitcase actually had a real Thunderbird inside.
Even though it was an injured chick, it was still an extremely dangerous magical creature, an enormous bird species that typically lived only in North America.
Some scholars believe Thunderbirds are closely related to Phoenixes, though this theory hasn’t gained widespread acceptance. Thunderbirds possess a powerful magical bloodline that allows them to control lightning while flying.
Ordinary wizards can barely stand against them.
Most countries prohibit the illegal importation of these birds. Of course, Ian figured that for Newt Scamander, Ministry bans probably carry less weight than Hogwarts school rules.
“Oh, that’s amazing!” Ian’s expression of surprise and delight was completely genuine, he truly felt happy and honored.
That was a Thunderbird!
A rare magical creature whose tail feathers could be used as wand cores. Wands made with Thunderbird feathers were notoriously difficult to master, but they were incredibly powerful and especially suited for Transfiguration. Due to the Thunderbird’s extreme sensitivity to supernatural danger, wands with its feathers were said to cast spells in advance of danger.
Of course, Ian wasn’t concerned with what kind of powers Thunderbird-core wands had. He was more interested in how to craft a good, affordable wand that could lower wand prices overall.
“Next semester, when school starts, you’ll see that little friend… along with your suitcase,” Newt Scamander said with a smile, feeling Ian’s genuine joy.
“Dumbles keeps saying you’re a serial violator of school rules. I guess raising a 4X-class magical creature won’t be much of a stretch for you either. Just remember, you must release it once it’s grown.”
“While a Thunderbird isn’t as violently aggressive as a 5X-class magical creature, any 4X-class magical creature is more powerful than over 95% of wizards. You really don’t want to see what a Thunderbird in heat is like…” Newt added with a bit of lingering fear in his tone.
“What a coincidence!” Ian suddenly clapped his hands.
“You were thinking the same thing as me?” Newt Scamander asked excitedly.
However, Ian’s next words made the smile on Newt’s face freeze instantly.
“I just happen to be more powerful than over 95% of wizards. Raising a Thunderbird won’t be a problem for me,” Ian said, what he felt was a very tactful response.
“…”
“…”
“…”
However,
Whether it was Newt Scamander, his wife, or even his sister-in-law, their expressions became ever so slightly… colorful upon hearing Ian’s confident claim.
Newt couldn’t help but feel a bit of regret. Seeing this young wizard so eager, he was afraid the boy was genuinely looking forward to sparring with the Thunderbird once it grew up.
“Really, Mr. Scamander, trust me. I’ll absolutely take good care of the Thunderbird,” Ian quickly patted his chest in assurance, afraid Newt might back out. He wanted to pull out a few books on magical creatures from his money pouch to prove his theoretical expertise, but when he opened it, he found only three titles inside:
Magical Creatures in the Pot
Magical Creatures in the Stomach
Magical Creature Nutritional Guide
“…”
Ian quickly shut the pouch and was grateful that he’d placed a spell on it which would allow only him to see its contents.
To be fair, he really wasn’t to blame for this book series. They were just Christmas gifts he’d received. He had no idea why those Ravenclaw Students thought he’d enjoy books like those.
“My potions are amazing, Thunderbird will definitely grow up healthy.” Ian quickly tried a different approach to sell himself. He truly did have deep skill in potion-making.
And sure enough, the moment the topic of raising the Thunderbird came up, he had already begun thinking about how to brew potions that wouldn’t harm it but would still make it shed and regrow feathers smoothly. If that wasn’t a demonstration of his potion-making skill, what was?
“I’d never doubt the potion-making talent of a Prince,” Newt Scamander replied, though he now looked hesitant again, perhaps his sixth sense as a “Druid” was acting up.
Something just felt off in Newt’s gut, and his eyelid twitched uncontrollably.
“Actually, a Graphorn would be fine too. I like Graphorns as well.” Ian mentioned casually, though he hadn’t seen any records of that fierce Eastern beast in ‘Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them’?
However, he had found information on it in other magical creature books, and in this current world, Graphorns were actually also classified as 4X-class magical creatures.
“Graphorn?” Newt Scamander’s expression turned even stranger, he looked as if Ian were deliberately trying to make things difficult for him.
“You haven’t seen one either?” Ian asked curiously.
“Of course I have, I’ve definitely seen one. I remember, I went to China decades ago and observed one up close. It was nearly classified as a 5X-level dangerous magical creature.” Newt’s gaze turned evasive again.
Just as Ian suspected that Newt might be hiding something, the magical creature master suddenly launched into a flood of knowledge about the Graphorn.
“Graphorns have an bewitching magic that makes people subconsciously ignore their danger, and they’re far more intelligent than most magical creatures. If not for the fact that they don’t usually attack humans or other beings unless they’re starving, they’d definitely be in the same class as Basilisks and Dragons.”
“Of course, if provoked, they will absolutely demonstrate their strength. I once saw a full-grown Siberian tiger get its skull smashed in one swipe.”
“Their hide gives them immense magical resistance. In terms of strength, probably only the Chinese Fireball dragon could match them on that land.”
Gotta admit, Newt Scamander really did seem to have an incredibly detailed understanding of the Graphorns. The “bewitching magic” he mentioned was something that made Ian’s eyes go wide, it was the first time he’d ever heard of it.
Thinking about it carefully…
Maybe it actually made sense.
But Newt Scamander’s somewhat guilty gaze left him quite confused. Just as Ian was about to ask, Tina spoke up and explained the reason for Newt Scamander’s guilt.
“I knew it, you still haven’t given up on those Beasts. If I hadn’t gone over there to bail you out back then, you’d have been sentenced to decades in prison for smuggling endangered species!”
“Trying to kidnap an endangered magical creature that both the Muggle and wizarding worlds hold in high regard, from a protected reserve no less, honestly, even to this day I have no idea what the hell you were thinking!” Tina’s tone held a hint of resentment, and she rolled her eyes while exposing Newt Scamander’s dark past.
Newt Scamander’s face turned bright red.
“I already told you, they have bewitching magic! I was bewitched! And besides! They’re incredibly cunning! The only reason I got caught was because they secretly reported me to the Muggles and wizards!”
Newt’s excuse was so ridiculous that not even the two older women in the room could believe it, let alone Ian, an eleven-year-old wizard, who thought it sounded completely absurd.
“You’re saying… the Graphorns, which can’t talk, can’t write, and have no access to communication devices, somehow reported you?” Tina let out a cold laugh and delivered a soul-piercing question.
“That’s right! Exactly! And if you gave me another chance to go back there, I’d definitely figure out how they pulled it off,” Newt Scamander replied, sounding genuinely frustrated and unwilling to let the matter go.
“Well, we don’t have that kind of money to bail you out again! I’ve already paid your bail in over sixty countries!” Tina glared at him furiously.
“It’s fine, I’ve still got a good bit of money saved up. I’m actually quite curious myself about whether the Graphorns really have bewitching magic.” Queenie chimed in with a look of gleeful mischief, clearly enjoying stirring the pot.
Maybe this is just how all younger sisters-in-law are.
“Actually, it wasn’t just the Graphorns. Because I got arrested, I never did figure out why the Chinese Fireball dragons living around the Yangtze River were all getting fatter and fatter,” Newt Scamander muttered, clearly still brooding over the mystery.
“Absolutely not. You are not going,” Tina said with unshakable firmness.
Newt Scamander could only let out a heavy sigh. Then he turned back to look at Ian.
Seeing Ian still wearing a suspicious expression, he looked him in the eyes and said seriously, “Believe me, the Graphorns are much smarter than most wizards give them credit for.”
“They’ve made themselves Class One Protected Animals in the Muggle world, and ‘critically endangered magical creatures’ in the wizarding world. And now, they’re living cushy, carefree lives under those identities.”
“This is all part of the Graphorns’ grand plan…” Newt Scamander might actually be getting a little senile, or maybe he really had uncovered some earth-shattering secret about magical creatures.
It was hard to say, really. Ian himself didn’t know what to think. He was… conflicted.
“Forget it, let’s go back to talking about the Thunderbird,” Ian decided that he couldn’t be the reason Newt Scamander ended up behind bars sewing buttons in Azkaban.
Sure, Newt might be too old to be doing hard labor, but still, he’d definitely suffer under that bland prison food. The jails back in Ian’s hometown didn’t serve gourmet meals just because you had money.
“Alright then, I’ll entrust the baby Thunderbird to your care. I can already sense your… persistence.” Newt Scamander clearly knew how to gracefully back off and avoid a domestic argument.
“Nick’s office is that way, right? I think we’ll have to talk more about this next time, we’re getting close to your curfew,” He added, glancing up at the large clock in the hall.
He actually thought Ian was the type of little wizard who followed curfew.
“If you want to find Professor Nicolas Flamel, you’d better hurry. He usually heads out around ten. He loves going into the Forbidden Forest to take a dump,” Ian added casually, clearly already familiar with Nicolas Flamel’s… biological habits.
“Uh…”
Newt Scamander was completely at a loss for how to respond. He had always known Nicolas Flamel’s personality was a bit eccentric, but this was the first time he’d learned about Nicolas Flamel’s… bathroom habits.
Who would even think to observe such a thing!?
“Looking forward to seeing you again.” Ian waved.
Seeing that Ian had already started up the stairs, Newt Scamander, along with his wife and sister-in-law, also raised a hand to wave goodbye to Ian.
“Don’t forget my earlier suggestion, okay? My spirit-summoning magic is really impressive.” Ian reminded the old lady, Queenie, once more before sprinting up the staircase.
“I’m always thinking about others, how could I not be a kind-hearted white wizard?” Ian mused to himself, to the point that he almost believed it. Fortunately, Queenie, a true born Legilimens, hadn’t detected his thoughts, because after mastering both Legilimency and Necromancy, Ian’s strongest attribute was his mental defenses.
He had trained hard in this area, because the opponents he’d encountered were each more dangerous than the last. Ever since Morgan, he’d had a slight case of Legilimency-induced paranoia.
“What a truly special little fellow,” Newt Scamander said, holding the “Sands of Time” in his hand. Recalling his conversation with Ian, he couldn’t help but sigh in admiration.
“I found him rather terrifying… your school is a bit cursed, honestly. It keeps turning out these terrifying wizards.” Queenie’s comment was absolutely heartfelt.
Among the three old wizards present, she had the deepest sense of Ian’s presence. The constant awareness he exuded, that overwhelming mental force, even made her feel a chill, it was utterly irresistible.
It felt as though everyone’s thoughts and emotions were being leafed through by that boy, and there was nothing anyone could do to stop it. Over the years, Queenie had never imagined she would one day feel the same kind of fear others had once felt standing in front of her.
On top of that, Ian, who is still growing, radiated a magic power like a deep, stormy ocean. Calm and still on the surface, but hiding a terrifying, turbulent force below.
Over the years, Queenie had only ever sensed that kind of magic power from Grindelwald and Dumbledore… and now, that same overwhelming power was coming from this young, terrifying wizard.
How could Queenie not be shaken?
“Hogwarts really is a bit of a monster factory, every generation is more outrageous than the last,” Tina said. She didn’t share her younger sister’s sensitivity, but she could easily read the expression on Queenie’s face.
“Well, it is my alma mater. Of course it’s powerful.” Newt Scamander might’ve been the only one not worried, as he led his wife and sister-in-law toward Nicolas Flamel’s office.
“Long time no see, my friends.”
As the door opened, Nicolas Flamel stepped forward to hug Newt Scamander and the two ladies. Given his playful personality, it was likely that hugging Newt was just a pretense to hug the ladies.
His wife wasn’t around, so he dared to be that bold.
“You seem to be adjusting to life as a professor better than I expected,” Newt Scamander said as he entered the office, looking around the décor with the two older ladies.
His gaze fell upon the large, clunky clock.
“That’s Albus’s ancient Time Turners, right?” Newt’s knowledge of topics outside his interests was about the same as that of a school dropout.
“I knew you wouldn’t bring your whole family just to deliver some materials for the Expansion Charm,” Nicolas Flamel said, walking over and covering the clock with a big white cloth.
“This is not a Time Turner. It’s far more dangerous than that.” Nicolas had clearly already started working on repairing the big clock. No wonder he was considered the unrivaled master of alchemy, he’d already made some progress deciphering the tower’s magical texts Ian gave him, and in such a short time too.
“Mainly, after hearing your slip-up about Albus owning a Time Turner, I couldn’t help myself… I wanted to borrow it to observe and document some extinct magical creatures,” Newt said a bit sheepishly, scratching his head, a gesture that didn’t quite suit someone in their eighties.
Some men really do stay young at heart until the day they die.
“I want to… see my husband one last time, just once…” Queenie stepped forward, dabbing her tears with a handkerchief as she voiced her own heartfelt wish.
“Ah~”
Nicolas Flamel sighed and looked at Tina, but Tina didn’t make any requests.
“I’m just here to accompany them. After all, staying home alone isn’t any fun,” Tina shrugged and gave Nicolas Flamel a big smile.
“You people are being ridiculous. Time isn’t something that can be casually tampered with. That’s precisely why the Ministry of Magic banned individuals from privately owning time-turners.”
“You have your regrets, he has his dreams… if everyone acted without restraint, it would lead to disasters that couldn’t be undone. We must revere time and respect fate.” Nicolas Flamel wasn’t unwilling to help his friends, but as a Master of Alchemy, he understood the dangers and hidden risks of time-turners better than most.
“I truly won’t try to change anything, believe me. I’ll definitely remember all the rules about crossing over time,” Queenie knew Nicolas Flamel’s scolding wasn’t wrong.
But the guilt and regret in her heart had already tormented her for months.
She’d been hallucinating and having nightmares, dreaming that her husband died of anger after an argument with her.
If she couldn’t confirm whether her husband truly died of natural causes, Queenie felt she might never find peace for the rest of her life.
“It’s not a matter of whether you remember the rules. The main issue is the time sand… sigh, you all know, this stuff isn’t something you can just find lying around,” Nicolas Flamel glanced at the drawer in his office, clearly preparing to use this well-known excuse to politely decline Queenie and Newt Scamander’s request.
However,
Though he, like Grindelwald, bore the bloodline of a Seer, just as Grindelwald sometimes miscalculated, Nicolas Flamel’s careful plan had clearly just suffered a major crisis.
“If it’s the time sand that’s lacking, I have plenty! Just earlier, a little wizard gave me a big bag of it!” Queenie, like someone clutching a lifeline, pulled out a small pouch containing black sand.
“???????”
Nicolas Flamel was stunned. Under his disbelieving gaze, Newt Scamander and Tina each also pulled out a pouch containing black sand.
“Motherf—-!”
The well-informed Master of Alchemy nearly popped his eyeballs out.
“In that case, there shouldn’t be any problem, right? We can pay our own way,” Newt Scamander’s voice was filled with excitement.
His eyes were shining.
Maybe it was because he felt he now had a wonderful opportunity to meet ancient magical creatures.
“How much did that little monster dig up?!” Of course, Nicolas Flamel knew where the black sand came from. He just couldn’t believe Ian had casually handed out three full pouches.
Based on what he knew and thought of that little wizard, unless he had at least several dozen pounds of it, Ian would never be so generous as to give it away to just anyone!
“You mean that little wizard we just met, Mr. Ian Prince? He said he dug up a lot,” Newt Scamander answered honestly.
“He actually gave you three full pouches? I doubt the Department of Mysteries could scrape together that much raw sand. I’m very curious, did you all compliment how handsome he is?” Nicolas Flamel was clearly puzzled by why Ian would give out time sand to people at random.
The only explanation he could think of was that Ian had been flattered by Newt and the others; after all, Ian had handed out plenty of candy and chocolate to little witches who praised his looks before.
And ever since then, he’d gone around calling himself “Triple Leonardo.” Wizards might not understand what that meant, but Nicolas Flamel, who was quite knowledgeable about Muggle affairs, did.
This year’s What’s Eating Gilbert Grape was his favorite Muggle movie, after all.
“Well, the thing is, Newt picked up his Bowtruckle, so…” Tina began to recount how they’d run into the little wizard in the Hogwarts great hall.
“That Bowtruckle wasn’t lost, it escaped…” Nicolas Flamel slapped his forehead. He’d thought he was doing a good deed by rescuing an innocent magical creature.
Who would’ve thought that the Bowtruckle ended up being returned to the world’s foremost expert on magical creatures?
If this story got out… well, fate truly works in mysterious ways.
“Huh? That little wizard didn’t seem like the type who would abuse magical creatures, right?” Tina was clearly stunned after hearing Nicolas Flamel’s words.
“Yeah, the Bowtruckle was well taken care of by him. I can guarantee it was never mistreated,” Newt Scamander spoke with conviction when it came to his area of expertise.
“It’s true, he wasn’t stingy with feeding it and clearly liked magical creatures… but didn’t you notice that Bowtruckle was full of fear and anxiety inside?”
Nicolas Flamel sighed helplessly.
“Hm?”
Newt Scamander furrowed his brow. “I did notice that, actually. But when I found the little guy, it was trying to settle down under the Whomping Willow.”
“I thought it had been rejected by the tree and got frightened by the Whomping Willow’s temper,” Newt explained how he had come across the Bowtruckle.
“Geez, that Bowtruckle clearly isn’t behaving normally. Trying to live under that manic Whomping Willow? That thing must’ve been influenced by the little wizard’s temperament,” Nicolas Flamel said, thinking the creature had been affected by the wizard’s personality.
His words only deepened Newt Scamander’s confusion.
“I thought he was perfectly normal, well-mannered, polite, kind-hearted… and definitely not pretending like Voldemort. I can tell when someone’s warmth is genuine or fake. Don’t forget, from my perspective, humans are also a kind of magical creature.” Newt’s tone remained firm, obviously confident in this particular talent of his.
“You’re not wrong,” Nicolas Flamel nodded, “but that’s exactly why I’m saying, that little guy doesn’t think like us at all.” Nicolas gave Newt Scamander a long, deep look. He hesitated for a moment but chose not to say the words: How do you even know that little wizard is human?
“That sounds like a bit of prejudice to me. I always thought you understood, there are no ‘weird’ people in this world, only narrow views and perspectives.”
This might’ve been the most profound thing Newt Scamander had ever said in his life.
Just as he was about to continue his impassioned speech,
“He raises Dementors.” Nicolas Flamel dropped the line like a bomb.
Newt Scamander instantly fell silent.
“What? Did you say… Dementors? We didn’t mishear you, did we?” Tina and Queenie both jolted, their eyes widening until they looked like they might pop out of their heads.
“He even trains Dementors to brew potions for him, act as tailors to make new clothes. Oh, and he has a Phoenix too, its cry is chilling, and it doesn’t eat rare herbs… it devours the souls of dark wizards.”
Nicolas Flamel casually added, “Oh, and recently, he dug something up from someone else’s grave and is secretly raising it in the Room of Requirement.”
“That grave is at least a few thousand years old. So… what do you think he dug up?” Nick’s every word hit the trio harder than the last.
“…”
“…”
“…”
Newt Scamander, along with his wife and sister-in-law, all had extremely vivid expressions on their faces. Especially Newt, he’d thought he was being modest by calling the magical creatures he raised “little ones.”
He didn’t expect, he really didn’t expect that!
That the seemingly harmless little wizard from before was truly the modest one! Raising Dementors and ghosts and casually calling them “little creatures”… Now Newt finally understood why that little wizard had customized such a dark, gloomy suitcase environment!
Turns out all the “creatures” he was raising were real, literal monsters!
“…I admit I might’ve been a tiny bit loud just now. Turns out I was the narrow-minded one.” Newt Scamander’s self-awareness was impressively high.
However, he still couldn’t quite accept that someone actually raised those things! For a moment, Newt felt like he was finally experiencing how others must have looked at him all these years.
“Did you say… he dug the time sand out of a grave?” Suddenly, Tina seemed to realize something and blurted out a question for Nicolas Flamel.
“He didn’t tell you?” Nicolas Flamel asked, as if it was the most natural thing in the world. “He dug up Merlin’s grave.”
Nicolas Flamel seemed absolutely convinced, only Merlin’s grave could possibly produce so many absurdly extraordinary treasures in a row.
“!!!!”
“!!!!!”
“!!!!!!”
…
This time,
It wasn’t just three dumbfounded expressions.
It was three faces struck with horror and shock.
“He even said that in the future, he wants to establish the first gravedigger family in the wizarding world, starting with himself, and continuing for generations.” Nicolas Flamel completely spilled the beans, he didn’t hold back a single secret on Ian.
“Oh no!” Queenie’s face suddenly changed dramatically as she listened.
“What’s wrong?” Newt Scamander’s reaction time was noticeably slower.
“I need to go relocate my husband’s grave!” Without another word, Queenie turned and bolted, as if being a second late would mean returning home only to find a mess of empty dirt piles.
“What happened to her?” Nicolas Flamel looked confusedly at the two young people left in the office.
“She accidentally revealed, in front of Mr. Prince, that she had buried a bunch of treasures with Jacob in his grave,” Tina replied, both amused and exasperated.
“I think when Mr. Prince warned us to beware of graves giving rise to things they shouldn’t… he was probably speaking from the experience of someone who knows grave robbers better than anyone.”
Tina, at least, didn’t really believe Ian would actually go dig up Queenie’s late husband’s grave back in their hometown. Queenie was just panicking and not thinking straight about some otherwise simple logic.
If he really intended to dig it up…
Would he have warned them?
That would basically be a formal declaration of war.
And come on, a wizard that good-looking couldn’t possibly be that nasty. Liking to raise dark and creepy creatures wasn’t necessarily a bad thing; didn’t her own husband also have some strange hobbies?
“Oh hoh, so that’s it. No harm in her relocating the grave, better safe than sorry,” Nicolas Flamel said, though he didn’t actually seem to trust Ian’s integrity or self-control very much.
‘I mean, what kind of normal wizard dares to dig up Merlin’s grave?’
“See? I told her before not to leave anything valuable in a grave. And now, my words are coming true.” Newt Scamander clearly had his focus on a very different part of the issue.
“That’s not what you said at the time.” Tina gave her husband’s too-close face a light smack, thoroughly speechless.
“Actually, Queenie doesn’t need to worry too much. I think our very generous little wizard won’t be interested in their family’s grave… at least not in the short term.”
Nicolas Flamel turned around and began tidying up his desk, stowing away the magical tower manuscripts he had been studying, and setting out several teacups.
“Yeah, if he really found Merlin’s final resting place, there’s no way he’d care about some ordinary person’s grave,” Newt Scamander said rationally.
However,
While pouring the tea, Nicolas Flamel shook his head.
“It’s not because of that,” he said. “It’s because I just gave him a new address. He’s probably already getting ready to dig up the burial site of Arthur Pendragon.”
Nicolas Flamel handed over the freshly poured tea to the two, but then noticed, both their hands were trembling as they reached out.
“You…”
Newt Scamander didn’t even know what to say anymore. Everyone knew Nicolas Flamel was a bit of a prankster, so at this point, he seriously started suspecting that Ian had been led astray by this alchemy master in front of him.
Tina was no different.
“How dare you!”
Even though she was an American, Her voice was still filled with disbelief.
“Actually, I only did it to verify a theory… I wasn’t just trying to stir up trouble with the little wizard,” Nicolas Flamel chuckled softly.
Newt Scamander and Tina were immediately intrigued.
“What theory?”
“Don’t try to fool us,”
Newt Scamander clearly didn’t quite buy Nicolas Flamel’s explanation.
“I actually found that tomb years ago. But I wasn’t able to enter it, because no magic could overcome the threshold required to enter.”
“I figured… since little Ian could get into Merlin’s tomb, maybe he could also enter King Arthur’s. It was just a theory.” Nicolas Flamel walked back to his desk, gently bobbing a tea bag up and down in his cup. In his eyes, the dark whirlpool swirling in the tea was reflected.
“What threshold?” Newt Scamander blew on his cup of tea.
Nicolas Flamel paused for a moment.
“The qualification… to bear its weight.” He gave a deliberately cryptic answer.
…
Meanwhile, in the Room of Requirement…
“Straight!”
“Straight!”
“Plane!”
“Double Joker Bomb! Eat my Spring!”
Ian sat at a table he had cleared out, grinning from ear to ear.
To his left was a Dementor, to his right a black-robed skeleton, the little wizard was currently teaching two non-human beings how to play Dou Dizhu (a popular Chinese card game).
Of course,
He had also given this game a very localized name:
[Battle of Wizard Kings]
He personally hand-drew the entire deck. The Jokers were illustrated as Grindelwald and Dumbledore, while the four Heads of House were featured on the J, Q, K, A cards respectively.
Each suit’s founder wore differently colored robes.
A truly maxed out localized modification.
“Again! Again!”
Having just won big, Ian eagerly reshuffled the deck.
“Pair of sixes!”
But his luck wasn’t as good this time, his hand was full of pairs, so he tried to steer the round in that direction. The Dementor tilted its head in confusion.
It clearly hadn’t quite grasped the rules yet.
The black-robed skeleton, however, was far too clever.
“Seventeen Jokers… I want to bomb Spring too…”
Uh-huh.
Or maybe too clever for its own good.
The skeleton, in a raspy voice, spread out its cards, seven Dumbledores, eight Grindelwalds. Ian’s eyes popped wide like scoops of ice cream.
“What the heck!? What did you do?! That’s cheating!” Ian swore he had only placed one pair of Jokers in the entire deck. He lunged forward and grabbed the skeleton’s cold wrist bones.
“What is cheating?” The black-robed skeleton tilted its head.
And responded firmly,
“What is cheating? I have seventeen Jokers… I bomb Spring!”
Then, just as the skeleton finished speaking, some kind of force seemed to activate.
The seventeen cards in its hands started changing. Flowers began to bloom on them, then both flowers and cards turned red.
“Boom~”
It wasn’t particularly violent, but the smoke-filled explosion inside the Room of Requirement was plenty dramatic.
“Pffft! Ack! Ack!”
The blast sent the little wizard flying, landing him flat on his back, face charred black. Meanwhile, the skeleton seemed to love this game. When Ian scrambled up and wiped his face clean, he found the skeleton had already reshuffled the deck.
“Not a single card missing? Didn’t those cards just explode?”
As the black-robed skeleton began dealing again,
Ian began to sense that something was off.
And sure enough,
“No cheating this time! No morphing the cards! No magic!”
He sternly warned the black-robed skeleton.
“Seventeen Ians. No card morphing. No magic,” The skeleton laid its hand on the table once more, and all seventeen cards featured images of Ian sitting cross-legged at the table.
However, the little wizard had no time to admire his stunning looks printed across the cards, because Ian felt it.
A formless binding force was now enveloping the entire Room of Requirement.
It was… the absolute magic-blocking domain he had once created using potions.
(End of Chapter)
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