Nagini

"Riddle?" Sean asked.

"Gellert has been keeping watch outside the whole time. He's complained to me a lot about how cold and damp the weather in Scotland is," Dumbledore said, shrugging.

Sean nodded knowingly. Sure enough, after setting the bait, the old fisherman's net was always fine and dense.

Dumbledore took out two wands and handed the shorter one to Sean.

"Sean, please return this to Harry."

Sean took the holly wand and tucked it into his robes. He glanced at Dumbledore, who was examining Riddle's wand, and asked softly, "Professor, Harry is also in the Prophecy, isn't he?"

Dumbledore stopped what he was doing, sighed, and finally nodded.

"Please forgive me, Sean, it's not that I don't want to tell you, but that I can't, whether it's the limitations of the Prophecy itself or other factors," Dumbledore gave a helpless smile, the first time Sean had ever seen him with such an expression. "I'm just an old man with one foot in the grave, and there are just too many things I don't understand about magic and wizards."

Sean fell silent, but finally he looked up and gave Dumbledore a smile, "Professor, I understand."

"Thank you, Sean."

"You're too kind, Professor."

The atmosphere between the two became somewhat quiet. Just then, a flash of fire appeared, and a joyful and unrestrained voice rang out again.

"Oh, Albus, my old friend, you really should give me a hug. I can't imagine anyone else doing it better than me."

A python was thrown to the ground, Grindelwald emerged from the flames with a broad smile, then he opened his arms and walked toward Dumbledore.

Sean froze on the spot, screaming inwardly: Look at the situation, I'm still here!

Fortunately, Dumbledore clearly disliked Grindelwald's behavior and said in a deep voice, "Gellert."

"Okay, okay," Grindelwald said nonchalantly, withdrawing his hands. Then, as if he had just noticed Sean, he asked, "Sean, how was your night?" He made no mention of how he had lured Sean out.

"It's alright, sir," he replied curtly.

"What a wonderful night!" Grindelwald patted Sean on the shoulder.

Dumbledore looked somewhat helpless and asked, "Nothing went wrong, right?"

"Your doubts hurt me a little, Albus." Grindelwald wore an exaggerated expression of frustration.

Stop flirting... Sean wailed inwardly.

The more you know, the more likely you are to be targeted. Sean is starting to have Grindelwald PTSD now; not a single word that old guy says is credible.

Dumbledore clearly didn't want to watch Grindelwald's performance anymore. He walked over to Nagini, examined him closely, and then frowned deeply.

"It's difficult..." he said in a low voice.

Grindelwald walked behind Dumbledore's desk, opened the drawer as naturally as if he were in his own home, and picked up a Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans from the jar inside and popped it into his mouth.

"After all these years, it's natural... Ugh! It smells like booger?!" This was the first time Sean had seen Grindelwald with such a surprised expression, so he quickly lowered his head to avoid bursting out laughing.

A hint of pleasure flashed in Dumbledore's eyes. He walked around Nagini with light steps, then took out his wand and chanted a few spells.

Isn't that the Elder Wand? Sean saw the wand Dumbledore used; it was pure black, with a smooth surface, a metal base at the bottom, and Runes seemed to be engraved on the bottom.

The wand has a handle with a metal band around it, and then the main body of the wand winds upwards like a coiled vine, eventually merging together.

This was the first time Sean had seen Dumbledore use his wand, and the first time he had seen him with such a solemn expression.

Grindelwald rinsed his mouth and complained, "Albus, did you deliberately switch to a Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans?"

"Who knows?" Dumbledore without even looking up.

Sean, however, caught an extra layer of information in the conversation. A different batch—meaning Grindelwald had already eaten Dumbledore's Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans.

Hiss... Sean gasped.

There's so much more information now!

Grindelwald seemed completely unconcerned about Sean's presence. He walked over to Nagini and said, "Where's Credence? Isn't he going to see his old flame?"

"Grindelwald!" Dumbledore's tone suddenly became serious, and even his form of address changed.

"Albus, you underestimate Credence, and you underestimate both of us." Grindelwald didn't care about the other's attitude at all. He casually sat down in a chair with his legs crossed.

"I don't want to repeat the same mistake," Dumbledore said curtly.

Then, he turned to Sean gently and said, "Son, perhaps I need your help with something."

"Me?" Sean, who was busy processing the huge amount of information in the conversation between the two, almost didn't react.

Dumbledore stood up. "It's very simple. You just need to use the skills you learned from Professor Scamander about caring for Magical Creatures."

Sean grinned. Professor Dumbledore really knew what was in Professor Scamander's box.

He looked at the giant python on the ground. "It?"

"Yes, to her." Dumbledore. "Sean, I will awaken Nagini. When that happens, just look into her eyes."

Sean nodded in confusion. Did Dumbledore mean that he should use his Magical Creature Affinity to attract Nagini?

Dumbledore gestured for Sean to stand still, then waved his wand, waking Nagini.

Nagini struggled violently as soon as she woke up, but the transparent restraints still held her firmly in place.

"Sean." Dumbledore gestured for him to come forward.

Sean stepped forward and met Nagini's eyes.

Those were emotionless eyes, the slit-shaped pupils characteristic of snakes staring straight into Sean's eyes, the dark vertical line in the middle of the eyeballs terrifying as if it would suck away all the light.

The eyes of the man and the snake met, and the office fell silent. Nagini stopped struggling.

Dumbledore, however, looked disappointed.

Sean was slightly puzzled. Nagini was a human transformed by Blood Curse, and he wasn't sure if she could be considered Magical Creatures. But if he could get close to her, why couldn't he sense any of her emotions?

Unlike the Ashwinder, Nagini should possess a high level of intelligence.

However, since Dumbledore didn't call a halt, Sean didn't look away.

Hmm? He frowned. Had he just seen some kind of fluctuation in Nagini's eyes?

Upon realizing that this was Riddle's pet, Sean immediately took a step back, and just then, something unexpected happened!

Nagini struggled frantically, its hissing sounds filled with pain.

A plume of black mist shot straight into Sean's eyes with a "whoosh".

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