Chapter 351
In the Great Hall, lunchtime was already halfway through.
At the Ravenclaw Table, a brown-haired boy would occasionally look up, his gaze drifting to the windows above the Great Hall where owls went in and out, oblivious to the fact that the soup in his spoon had gone cold.
The classmate sitting next to him nudged him. "Anthony, you've been staring at the ceiling for ten minutes. Are there Galleon up there?"
"More important Galleon," Anthony said without turning his head.
"Fluttering--"
A brown owl flew in through the window, circled once above the Great Hall, and swooped down precisely at the Ravenclaw Table.
Anthony's eyes lit up, he put down his spoon and sat up straight.
The owl landed on the table in front of him, its claws clutching a square package carefully wrapped in brown paper.
The package wasn't very big, but it was quite thick. The kraft paper was tied in a cross knot with thin hemp rope, and a wax seal sticker was affixed to the opening.
After putting down the package, the owl tilted its head and looked at Anthony, making a cooing sound in its throat. It even tapped its claws lightly on the table, as if urging him to open it quickly.
"Thank you, you've worked hard, Bell."
Anthony took a piece of bread from the table, broke it into pieces, and fed it to the owl.
The owl pecked at the water a few times, drank from the cup next to it, and then flapped its wings contentedly and flew out of the Great Hall through its special owl hole.
Anthony's gaze had returned to the package.
The recipient's name was written on the envelope: Anthony Goldstein.
Judging from the shape and thickness of the package, Anthony already had a guess about what was inside.
He couldn't wait to tear open the packaging and peel off the layers one by one.
Beneath the kraft paper was a layer of waterproof waxed paper, and below that, a soft cloth wrapping. We carefully peeled away the last layer...
That was a book.
The green cover features a lifelike depiction of a winged Hippogriff, its wings outstretched as if it were about to leap off the page.
Its feathers display a gradient of colors under the light, and its eyes are bright and piercing, as if watching everyone who opens this book.
The book title, in gold lettering, gleamed in the candlelight.
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
Anthony stroked the cover with delight, his fingers lightly tracing the title, and murmured to himself, "Finally, the fifty-third edition!"
Like many young wizards, he is a big fan of "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" and idolizes its author, Newt Scamander.
But one thing is special: Anthony Goldstein and Tina Goldstein — Newt's wife—are distant relatives, sharing the same last name.
Having been influenced by him from a young age, he naturally admired Newt even more.
So Anthony had long begged his parents to send him a copy of Newt's new book to school.
He opened the book and quickly flipped through the preface section.
Anthony has almost memorized the contents of the old version of this book.
Most entries only have minor tweaks to the details; the truly worthwhile entries are the newly added sections on Magical Creatures, or older entries with significant additions and revisions.
Head straight to the table of contents.
My finger slowly traced across the table of contents, stopping at the line for "Acromantula".
This is one of the Magical Creatures that Anthony is most interested in—its potent venom, enormous size, and complex social structure fascinate him.
Turning to the corresponding page, Anthony began to read with great interest.
"The amount of venom secreted by the Acromantula is positively correlated with its feeding cycle; the venom concentration increases significantly when it is hungry..." he muttered to himself as he read. "During the breeding season, the female spider secretes a special pheromone to attract mates; this pheromone can spread over a radius of hundreds of meters..."
Anthony thought to himself that to obtain such detailed data, one must have observed the Acromantula for a long time and at close range.
To be able to get so close to the life of the Acromantula, Mr. Scamander is as brave and knowledgeable as ever, truly worthy of being the most amazing Magizoology.
He continued reading.
"... The Acromantula have established a large colony in the Forbidden Forest of Hogwarts. Observations indicate that the colony's nest is located deep within the Forbidden Forest, near..."
Anthony's gaze suddenly stopped.
He thought he had misread it, so he read it again.
"The Acromantula have established a large colony in the Forbidden Forest Hogwarts."
No, when did a colony of Acromantula appear in the Forbidden Forest? And large ones at that? Aren't these Magical Creatures extremely dangerous?
Their venom can kill an adult elephant in a minute!
Anthony blinked. So—he and all the other young wizards at Hogwarts had been neighbors with a huge group of Acromantula?
Anthony felt a chill run down his spine, swallowed hard, and continued reading with a hint of bewilderment.
Fortunately, the Acromantula usually do not leave their nesting area on their own, and the boundaries of Hogwarts are protected by magic, preventing them from approaching the castle.
He finished reading the entire chapter on the Acromantula, turning the pages much more slowly than usual.
My gaze inadvertently drifted to the bottom of the page—where there was a line of small print:
(Thanks to Lucien Grafton for providing data on the Acromantula Venom Acromantula, its nesting behavior during the breeding season, and the growth of its young, which made the description in this entry more accurate.)
Wait, who should we thank?
Anthony's mouth gaped open slightly; how did he see his classmate's name?
Lucien Grafton.
A wizard with the same name? What a coincidence!
Suddenly, a fragment of a memory that had just passed flashed through Anthony's mind.
He sat up abruptly, flipping through the pages to return to the preface.
I quickly scanned the acknowledgments, searching line by line for that familiar name that looked and sounded so familiar.