"Can an owl turn into a fire dragon?"
"I've never seen that—"
"Professor Scamander, is that called… an owl-dragon-cat?"
The students swarmed around Newt, chattering excitedly, convinced that the well-traveled Professor Scamander would have all the answers.
"That," Scamander explained patiently—still not quite looking them in the eye—"is the effect of a kind of alchemical product."
"Ohhh—" the students chorused, enlightened.
"So it really is Fairy Tale Cookies," Tina said, and cast a reverent look at Sean.
"I heard they're only sold in Diagon Alley in Britain," a few students added, flicking a glance at Sean before refocusing on Newt—
Because Newt was now introducing a Niffler.
It was covered in black fur, with a long snout, and it stared curiously into the eyes of one student after another.
As for the Fairy Tale Cookies, the kids were clearly not strangers to them.
When something gets covered for months by The Daily Prophet, Witch Weekly, Today's Transfiguration, and the rest, it'd be weird not to know. Not to mention the inventor had been added to the Chocolate Frog cards—though only as a silhouette from behind.
Meanwhile, Sean was gently tapping Whitey on the head with a finger.
The silver-tailed owl looked utterly wronged. With a huff, she rotated her head a full one-eighty and refused to look at him.
And the Bird-Snake had curled up inside Sean's pocket—watching, along with Tila, like two tiny spectators.
Sean was surprised too. He hadn't expected the Bird-Snake to slip into his pocket.
He quietly extended a finger; as if it sensed him, the Bird-Snake slid onto his hand.
It was cool and slick to the touch.
[You have gained the closeness of the magical creature Bird-Snake (Una) to an expert standard. Closeness +50]
The panel's chime made Sean blink again. He'd still underestimated just how absurd "epic" magical-creature affinity really was.
…
Magical Creatures class ended quickly.
"Mr. Green, could you stay behind?" Newt said.
All the students immediately turned to stare at Sean. Bundled up like a walking quilt, he nodded.
"If only I were in Britain—then I could buy Fairy Tale Cookies too, and Professor Scamander would keep me after class," a tall boy complained.
"You'd still need an invitation," Tina shot back, giving him a sideways look.
"But Bird-Snakes seem pretty affectionate with wizards—doesn't that contradict Fantastic Beasts?" the red-haired witch asked curiously.
"Bird-Snake eggs are worth a fortune. Their shells are made of the softest, purest silver—so poachers go after them," Tina replied with textbook Horned Serpent rigor. "There have been plenty of reports of Bird-Snakes injuring people. What you're saying is the first time I've heard that."
Tina clearly chalked it up to an exception.
So the students drifted off, still chattering—leaving Sean to walk up to his senior.
At that moment, the Bird-Snake zipped out of Sean's pocket. Newt, as if he'd anticipated it, cracked his suitcase open just a sliver.
"A Bird-Snake can grow as tall as a nine-story building," Newt said softly, "and yet it still keeps its childhood fear of owls.
Like Ailif—it's a Niffler, but at the most unexpected moment, it stole the most important thing.
Even the lowly things of the world have their own way."
Sean paused. He knew more of the story.
For instance: a Niffler stole the Blood Pact before Dumbledore and Grindelwald's duel.
That had happened after Newt's… very loud incident at the Ministry.
Dumbledore, Newt, Harry… they'd all fought at the Ministry at some point.
…Apparently, being a great Hogwarts graduate meant you had to cause at least one Ministry-scale disaster as a rite of passage.
"Can it drink tea?" Sean asked.
Newt blinked—then laughed, finally looking Sean straight in the eye.
"Milk, I think," Newt said. "And remember to hide the teaspoons."
Once, long ago, a conversation like that had happened at Hogwarts too—between the same professor and a student, in another time.
"I think you've got real talent with magical creatures," Newt said, turning slightly as he gently pressed the Niffler back into his pocket. "Animals can tell wizards apart better than we can…"
Then he asked, "Would you like to come in and have a look?"
Sean nodded so hard it was practically a bow.
Whether there was a Wampus Cat inside or not, he'd learn a great deal—knowledge that would help him create Undetectable Extension containers and refine Fairy Tale Cookies.
Newt laid the suitcase flat on the ground, and his body vanished section by section as he climbed down.
He was ninety-five, but still moved with startling agility—gone in the blink of an eye.
With Newt "swallowed" into the suitcase, Sean stepped onto the ladder, practically buzzing.
Past the narrow entrance, the world opened into something vast and breathtaking.
Even with all his mental preparation, Sean was stunned.
The first thing that hit him was sheer scale: a tropical savanna, a rainforest, and an endless forest beyond.
In the distance were snow-capped mountains, caves, ridges, sand—
Higher up, above other habitats, floated specks of light: Newt's glow-bug cultivation area, where vines intertwined with tiny floating islets.
It was as if these environments had been forcibly cut apart, lifted, and stitched together. Right beside the snowfields sat a blazing-hot savanna—sparse trees scattered for the Graphorns' range.
A Bowtruckle climbed down from a tree and onto Sean's shoulder. Sean looked at it, curious—Newt, nearby, wearing a faint smile.
"Those who are recognized by magical creatures," Newt said, "those with the greatest gift… often end up walking a heavier, more responsible road."
And he started walking.
"So… why do we, as a society and as individuals, keep trying to protect and hide magical creatures—sometimes even the vicious ones that can't be tamed? Of course, the answer is: to make sure future generations of witches and wizards can enjoy the same right we do—to marvel at their beautiful, strange forms and their extraordinary abilities."
Sean had recited it verbatim—from Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.
"Not many people remember that passage," Newt said, looking shyly at Sean. "Compared to the dazzling creature descriptions, it doesn't grab them."
"I think… magical creatures share the same magical world as we do," Sean said, stroking Whitey's sleek feathers.
In the Chamber. In the Forbidden Forest. Whitey and Tila had fought beside him as partners.
Newt's expression shifted as he studied Sean—so perfectly aligned with what Dumbledore had written about him. Maybe even… more than that.
"Come along," Newt said with a smile.
~~~
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