"However, the Basilisk's stare can't kill the Sphinx." Harry shrugged and said, "When I last opened my wallet, it was still chasing the Basilisk, pecking at its tail for fun... But it's a bit ill-tempered."
"If someone inexplicably used a Basilisk against me, I guess my temper wouldn't be too good either." Newt glanced at Harry, "You really fit my stereotype of a Gryffindor—impulsive!"
"What else can I say?" Harry opened his wallet and gave it a couple of shakes.
Just as he did that, the gray ghost of Sebastian fell out but didn't hit the ground; instead, it hovered in mid-air, looking quite stiff.
Harry was about to say something when the hiss of the Basilisk followed.
"Sorry, young master—I forgot your friend can't meet my gaze, but you don't need to worry, a ghost won't die. Just pour some of the Mandrake-based antidote on him and he'll be as good as new."
"You're really something, where's the Sphinx?" he asked.
"Here." The Sphinx replied, then leaped out of the wallet.
Its body was quite large, and after bouncing out, its head nearly touched the top of the tent.
"My goodness, it's truly beautiful..."
Newt looked up, nearly reverently, at the Sphinx and mumbled.
"I think it might be a variant of the Sphinx, a Hierocosphinx (Hawk-headed Sphinx)."
"No, I am the Sphinx," the Sphinx shook its head, appearing to shake something off its hawk-head feathers, "Before this young Wizard here attacked me, I indeed had a lion's head."
"Sorry, Sphinx," Harry apologized fluently, "But you can't blame me, after all, the Sphinx stories I know are all about how people couldn't answer the riddles and then were strangled by the Sphinx—I thought you might strangle me too."
"I forgive you, but I don't want to accept that excuse, because I don't have such a cruel habit," the Sphinx said, not very happily. "By Hera, if I find out who's been saying that about me, I'll definitely strangle them!"
"Hera?" Newt asked curiously, "Is Hera your deity?"
"I just happened to know Hera, young lad."
The Sphinx's hawk-like head revealed a human-like smile, "But that was a long time ago. She wanted me to trouble Oedipus, but Oedipus was very smart and guessed my riddle, so I flew away."
"Didn't you jump off a cliff?" Newt tentatively asked, "I remember that's how the Greek records go."
The Sphinx flapped the wings on its back—as if to say, do you think these two wings are just for show?
"Oh, so Hera really exists?" Harry suddenly asked, "I mean—the Celestial Queen Hera, Zeus, and the Olympian Gods?"
"You guess," the Sphinx said with an amused smile.
"They might be powerful wizards, Harry," Newt explained to Harry, "Actually, many of the so-called 'Gods' in myths are just powerful wizards, like that despicable Helbo, he was a very powerful wizard."
The Sphinx's smile turned mysterious, neither confirming nor denying.
"So, is the Sphinx a group? Or...as Greek mythology says, one of the daughters of the Titan Typhon and the Snake Monster Echidna?" Newt suddenly asked.
"We're triplets," the Sphinx briefly explained, "I have two siblings. My brother in Persia is a winged bull with a human face, a beard, and a crown; in Egypt is my brother with a ram-head and lion body; in Greece is me, I'm the youngest sister, and my story is quite different from the myth you've heard."
"So you've lived up to now? From B.C.?" Newt asked incredulously.
"Of course," the Sphinx replied.
"Then why did you enter Merlin's Secret Chamber?" Harry asked again, "Do you know Merlin?"
"Of course, I know Merlin. In fact, during his growing up, I was always providing considerable help," the Sphinx smiled with human-like warmth, "The last one who entered the Secret Chamber was Omnius Gaunt, that blind young man—I told him, if you can answer my question, I'll do you a favor... and then he had me wait here for you, but he didn't expect you'd be such a brawny fool."
"What can I say? I'm a Gryffindor represented by a lion."
Harry shrugged.
The Sphinx shook its head and transformed back into its human-faced lion-body form.
Its human face was clearly no sweetheart, at least Newt instantly understood why Harry released a Basilisk to oppose her at first sight.
Yes, her.
"You better change back to the hawk-head, Sphinx," Harry said with a wry mouth, "Looking like this, you really resemble one of those severe female teachers..."
"What are you going to do with me?" the Sphinx ignored Harry's words, "I was dormant in Merlin's Secret Chamber... since you brought me out of there, you need to take responsibility, dark-haired boy."
"How about staying at Hogwarts?" Harry suggested to the Sphinx, turning to Newt, "I don't think Professor Scamander would mind having one more of you in the tent."
Upon hearing this, Newt nodded his head like a little bird eager to be fed.
"I refuse," the Sphinx yawned, "Is there another job—I've heard that Merlin was a Slytherin student, so I'd also like to stay at Hogwarts doing some work or something."