"Awakened?"
Anders Mickelsen froze, then shook his head hard. "That's impossible… How could something like that even happen?"
"What if the scales came from dragons that died under a pain-and-death curse?"
Newt straightened up and walked over to Rock, resting a hand on his grandson's head. "These scales aren't all from the same dragon."
"World Tree roots… That can't be!"
Anders looked ready to argue, but Newt raised a hand. "I've checked. They're definitely from different dragons. The power clinging to them just makes it impossible for you to tell them apart."
Anders opened and closed his mouth. If even Newt Scamander was speaking with that kind of certainty, there wasn't much room left to deny it.
"Those idiots should all be sent back for remedial training. They're dumber than a lost troll in its own forest!"
Rock ducked his head and bit the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing out loud. Anders had just managed to insult himself along with everyone else.
Newt gave a small, amused smile. "It's an easy mistake to make. I only caught it because of years of experience."
Anders's face went bright red as he realized exactly what he had just said about his own department.
The door opened and Thor's secretary, Eleanor, stepped in, saving Anders from further embarrassment. "Mr. Scamander, Advisor—the reports are here."
"Let's go. I want to see what the hell is going on."
Anders hurried out of the room. Eleanor blinked after him, confused.
"Come on," Newt said, tugging Rock along. "Laugh later. Try not to look quite so entertained right now."
"I'm not laughing at that," Rock said, shaking his head. "I think I finally understand what you meant earlier, Grandpa. They're not actually hostile to outsiders."
Newt gave a quiet chuckle but didn't argue.
"Mr. Scamander, you should look at these," Thor said the moment they entered. He gestured at the stack of reports spread across the table. "These are all the recent detections."
"Thank you."
Newt nodded and moved to the table. Rock took a seat off to the side. These reports were clearly above his pay grade for now.
Newt's eyes stopped on one marked "suspected secret realm echo."
Anders leaned in beside him and muttered, "A secret realm…"
"Is there something wrong with that?" Thor asked, frowning. That kind of notation showed up in reports all the time when a department couldn't figure something out.
"It's different," Anders said, shaking his head. "This report is about an ancient magic site. And there's abnormal energy convergence happening there."
Thor still looked skeptical. "You're saying the ancient variant runes on the dragon scales are connected to this? That feels like a stretch."
"It isn't," Newt said. He tapped a separate set of documents he had pulled out. "This is a summary of one of Solheim's early radical papers. He claimed that modern spells are nothing but clumsy imitations of primal power. Only by touching the blood of tradition can someone reclaim true ancient strength."
Anders nodded. "Mr. Scamander and I already confirmed it. Those Welsh Green scales aren't just cursed—they're polluted by something far older."
"Exactly," Newt said. "And when you put those ancient variant runes together, they form a positioning beacon. Or more accurately… an amplifier."
Thor's face tightened. "You're saying he's using ancient magic to amplify the pain stored in those scales and drive Olaf into a frenzy?"
"Worse than that," Newt said quietly. "He may be using Olaf to test how efficiently this ancient power can control and convert a powerful magical creature. And there's a very real chance that having the Ministry execute Olaf is meant to be the final step of the ritual."
"The horn?" Anders asked. Even as a researcher, he caught the implication immediately.
"You could put it that way."
"A dragon is one of the most powerful creatures in our world. If Olaf is executed, the flood of negative emotion released could give Solheim exactly what he needs to seize control of that power." Newt paused. "Of course, this is still just my guess."
He had only been asked to help. He had said what he could say.
Thor's expression shifted rapidly. If Newt was even partly right, he would need to request Auror support immediately.
Anders's voice was urgent. "Director, we have to move now. We don't know when something will happen to Olaf."
A deep, reverberating dragon roar shook the air.
A second later the office filled with the sound of distant shouting and panicked screams.
"What the hell is going on?"
Thor's face went pale. He started for the door, but Newt caught his arm.
Eleanor came stumbling in, out of breath. "Director! Olaf broke free of the containment sphere a few minutes ago. He injured several of the men and flew off!"
"The horn just sounded from another angle," Anders murmured.
They rushed to the cave where Olaf had been held.
The two wizards who had been guarding the entrance were on the ground, writhing and howling. Dark red, unnatural patterns had already spread across their skin.
"Don't go near them!" Newt snapped, yanking Thor back. "They're cursed."
Thor stared at the two men and his expression darkened. The strange markings were exactly as Newt had said.
"Eleanor! Get curse-breakers here now!" Thor barked. He pulled out his wand and quickly cast containment spells around the two fallen wizards, isolating them in case the curse was contagious.
It didn't take long for Eleanor to return with several hurried curse-breakers. They surrounded the two men, wands moving in complex patterns.
After several long minutes the lead curse-breaker stood up and shook his head. "Director Eriksson… we can't break it. And these two… they're already dead."
"Damn it!"
Thor's eyes went blood-red with fury. "I'm requesting Aurors right now."