The next morning, Master Evans, who had been busy for several days, finally returned to school and yawned wearily. Finally, it was over.
For the past three days, he had been helping Professor Kettleburn handle a commission. Although he had volunteered to help, this commission was truly exhausting.
For some unknown reason, a large flock of Golden Snitches had made their nest near Hogsmeade. At least a hundred of them. The Ministry of Magic had commissioned Professor Kettleburn to help relocate these Golden Snitches to the Forbidden Forest or other reserves.
Although these creatures, once used as Quidditch match birds, were now prohibited from capture, many underground Quidditch matches still used Golden Snitches as game balls, offering extremely high prices for them.
Moving their nest to a reserve could effectively prevent them from being caught by interested parties.
However, while the commission had good intentions, it was extremely difficult to execute.
Golden Snitches were magical creatures with round bodies, slender beaks, and ruby-like eyes. They were extremely fast. Even the fastest flying broomsticks couldn't catch them in a straight chase. Moreover, they could change direction in midair without losing speed, giving them exceptional escape abilities when facing capture.
This meant that trying to catch them and relocate their nest was an extremely painful task.
For a wizard who had never played Quidditch and couldn't even ride a broomstick, this was even more torturous.
Just thinking about his experiences over the past few days made Evans frown in pain.
One could only say they truly deserved to be former Quidditch specialty birds. Finding them was incredibly difficult. They flew fast and were small, and after three days of searching, he had nearly blinded himself.
The key issue was that while these birds were influenced by his talent, they weren't much affected! Often, when he was chasing them, they would curiously stop to look at him for a moment before continuing to fly around frantically as if fleeing for their lives.
Phew...
Fortunately, he had caught them all.
Passing through the gates and entering the Great Hall, Evans planned to get himself some food.
Since it was a rest day, and it was already well past the young wizards' breakfast time, there weren't many people in the Great Hall. Just a few recently awakened young wizards sitting in small groups at the tables.
Near the main entrance of the Great Hall, Evans's gaze caught a familiar figure.
"Senior?"
It was a woman with the bearing of an Auror. Although her face was lined with wrinkles, one could still see in her dark brown eyes the determination and resolve that ordinary people lacked.
Though Evans called her "senior," this woman wasn't a Hogwarts graduate but came from Ilvermorny in America.
Porpentina Esther Goldstein, an elite Auror who had participated in global magical wars and made outstanding contributions.
She was also the wife of a senior Evans was very familiar with. Newt Scamander.
Looking at this obviously elderly but still vigorous, smiling lady, Evans's eyes flashed with surprise.
If Senior Newt had come to school, he could understand that, but what was Senior Tina doing here?
"I heard long ago that you came to teach at Hogwarts."
The lady smiled warmly at Evans. Time had long since washed away her somewhat impulsive personality, but it hadn't erased her basic Auror skills.
Even when facing acquaintances, her right hand still hovered near her wand, ensuring she could draw it at the fastest speed if anything happened.
"Good morning, Senior. What brings you to Hogwarts?" Evans asked curiously.
"Professor Dumbledore came to find me, wanting me to be the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor for half a year."
"He originally wanted to find Newt, but as you know, Newt's case can't hold all his large friends, so he can't leave home for long periods."
"So this task fell to me."
Listening to his senior's explanation, Evans's eyes flickered for a moment.
It seemed the headmaster really couldn't find a suitable candidate, even setting his sights on a 90-year-old.
Just as he was about to say something more, Evans suddenly turned his head toward a black cloak trying to sneak away nearby.
Realizing it had been spotted, Little Cloak frantically waved its hem, indicating that this outing was reasonable and legal.
"I understand. It's fine, go ahead and play."
He had just made a three-point agreement with Little Cloak a few days ago. It needed to train hard on regular days, but on rest days, it was allowed to come to school and play with the Weasley twins.
To make this little cloak less useless, he had really gone to great lengths.
After comforting the somewhat nervous little bat, Evans turned back to continue chatting with his senior.
"That was a Lethifold?"
A glint of interest flashed in her eyes as Tina stared at the cloak's retreating figure.
"Yes, Senior. Two months ago, I found it in a Muggle village near the Forbidden Forest."
After explaining, Evans also recounted the story of meeting Little Cloak.
"I think you haven't mentioned this to Newt in your letters, otherwise he couldn't possibly stay home so obediently every day." The old woman looked at Evans teasingly.
"Hmm, I indeed haven't mentioned it to Senior yet, but during this year's vacation, I'll bring it to visit Senior."
"You probably won't need to wait until vacation." Tina's eyes held amusement. "Guess whether I'll mention this when I write to Newt?"
"Then I estimate I'll see Senior within a week?" Evans helplessly shrugged.
But having Senior Newt visit the school wasn't necessarily a bad thing. He indeed had many research results he planned to share with him, and as the world's most renowned magizoologist, since he was coming anyway, holding a public lecture wouldn't be excessive, right?
After chatting for a while longer, Tina reached into her arms and spoke softly.
"I still need to go to Dumbledore to discuss curriculum issues. I have something to ask of you."
"Please tell me," Evans said.
"Hoppy, Milly, and Mauler really miss their idols, so I brought them along."
As she spoke, Tina pulled out a small pouch from her arms, unzipped it, and three round heads appeared before Evans.
They were three small cats with particularly large ears and lion-like tails with tufts of fur.
"But I might need to prepare lesson plans and won't have much time to play with them."
"Could you take care of them for these few days?"
Looking at the expectant expressions of the three little cats, Evans spoke softly.
"Unfortunately, their three idols were borrowed by Dumbledore to watch over something, so they might not be easy to see."
Hearing this, all three little cats simultaneously lowered their heads and sighed, their faces showing extremely human-like expressions.
"But Nana should still be sleeping at home. I can take you to find it to play."
The three little cats' lowered heads instantly lifted, their eyes showing excited gleams.
The corners of Evans's mouth also slowly curved upward.
The day before yesterday, due to his lowered vigilance, Nana had snuck into the school again to steal Butterbeer, forcing him to go to the castle to return items and apologize while he was catching birds.
Fortunately, Alice hadn't been tempted by it this time, so the crime amount wasn't too large.
But this little thing was getting bolder and bolder. It was time for some discipline.
Like causing trouble for me everywhere, huh?
Taking the three cats from Senior Tina, Evans's smile became increasingly sinister.
"Come on, I'll take you back!"
[Chapter Complete]
***
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