Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

Newt had never been one to follow the rules. Though he lived among Muggles and had retired, no one should expect him to truly abandon the work and passion of his life.

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The Scamander family's basement had been transformed into an enormous space.

The space was divided into different areas. On a patch of seemingly barren grassland, Tina and Vaughn poked their heads out from a concealed tunnel entrance beneath the ground.

Using the dry, yellowed grass as cover, each of them held up a pair of binoculars.

Tina whispered, "Do you see them?"

"I see them... One looks very excited, but the other doesn't seem particularly interested."

Vaughn replied.

Within the framed view of the binoculars were two enormous creatures in the distance.

Even from so far away, it was clear that they each weighed at least a ton. Their skin was smooth and thick, covered in folds.

They had horns and looked, at first glance, like rhinoceroses.

But when one of the hopping creatures panted excitedly, its horn began to glow a fiery red.

The point where the horn joined its head was the brightest, swaying slightly as though it were filled with some magma-like substance.

"They're called Erumpents. Their horns contain explosive fluid. The one getting excited is female—it caught the scent of the male's musk."

Tina said softly, "Newt rescued them last year. Some Dark wizards specifically captured them in Africa and smuggled them into Britain. After being away from home for too long, they found it difficult to return to their herd. Newt hoped to pair them up and have them form a new family, then release them into the wild..."

As she spoke, the two watched through the binoculars as the hopping Erumpent approached its companion, only to be shoved aside by its companion's rear.

Vaughn looked at Tina. "The male doesn't seem interested in the female."

"Yeah. An animal's breeding rights depend on competition within the group, with the victor earning the right." Tina sighed. "There are only two of them here. Without fierce battles and rivals being blown to death, the male can't get excited."

Vaughn shrugged. "With breeding habits like that, it's a miracle they haven't gone extinct."

"Ugh..." Tina had a headache over it too.

She continued leading Vaughn on an adventure through the vast basement.

Over the next two hours, they visited swamps, mountains, snowy plains, and forests.

They saw all kinds of magical creatures: Kelpies that lived in freshwater lakes, Nundus that liked running through forests, and Billywigs from Australia—

All of them had been rescued by Newt from smugglers. The Billywigs in particular could make a person float after stinging them—literally float.

As a result, many adult wizards and young wizards treated them as prank toys, even though they were actually XXX-class magical creatures. Their sale and circulation were restricted by the Ministry of Magic, and only certain candy manufacturers were permitted to import them—their stingers were an ingredient in Fizzing Whizzbees.

Thus, a smuggling market naturally emerged.

Tina also took Vaughn on a ride atop an Occamy. On the ground, this strange magical creature looked like a clumsy dodo, fat with short wings.

But when it took off, it rapidly changed shape, expanding into a huge balloon and floating into the air like a hot-air balloon before releasing gas and transforming into another enormous form for flight.

Its tail could extend and retract. So-called riding it actually meant being wrapped up in its tail.

These were only some of the creatures Newt had taken in. In fact, because of demand for potions and alchemy, many highly dangerous magical creatures had also been rescued by Newt from smugglers.

However, Newt had long since sent them to protected reserves run by the Ministries of Magic in various countries.

The sheer variety of magical creatures had Vaughn thoroughly engrossed.

Before this, he had only encountered materials taken from their bodies. It was his first time seeing the living creatures themselves.

"You and Rolf might become friends."

Tina said to Vaughn, "He's my grandson, and he likes magical creatures too."

Vaughn thought about it. He had no impression of that name, but he vaguely remembered that Luna, the future odd girl, seemed to marry Newt's grandson.

Could it have been this Rolf?

When they returned to the basement entrance after their tour, Dumbledore and Newt had also come back. The two were casting the Undetectable Extension Charm to expand the basement's space, a task that required immense spellcasting ability. Dumbledore drew his wand.

It was made of elder, extremely similar to Vaughn's wand. Its knotted segments protruded slightly, smooth and jet-black, seemingly nothing special.

"The Elder Wand..."

Feeling the abyss-like surge of magical power leaking from Dumbledore, Vaughn's heart rippled slightly.

But he did not stare for long. Once the expansion was complete, Newt opened his old suitcase and released the unicorn inside. At the same time, a system panel appeared before Vaughn's eyes:

[Side Quest ②: Save the Forbidden Forest Unicorn (Completed)]

[Claim reward?]

"Claim!"

Vaughn said inwardly. The reward was supposedly some kind of "language pack," so nothing unusual should happen.

And just as he had expected, it didn't.

After claiming the reward, Vaughn only felt his mind go blank for a moment, while his throat and ears itched slightly. After that, there was no other strange sensation.

But he knew he had changed.

Not just because of the notification from the system:

[Obtained "Unicorn Language"]

He also heard the voices of other "people" besides himself, Tina, Newt, and Dumbledore.

"Neigh—(Where are we?)"

"Neigh—(Didn't you hear Fawkes? This is a place temporarily housing us.)"

"Neigh neigh! (Look at that ugly human cub, he's peeping at us.)"

"Neigh neigh! (Hmph, filthy, lecherous, despicable.)"

Vaughn remained expressionless as he listened to those snow-white, holy unicorns—creatures that looked as though they had stepped out of a fairy tale—insult him in every possible way.

Though he knew they naturally disliked men and only liked girls, he still felt he should have waited a little longer and let the socket hero drain more of their blood!

That was, until he heard the whitest unicorn say, "Let's go. Dumbledore is too ugly. I don't want to stay near him."

"Yeah, yeah!" the other unicorns chimed in.

Vaughn let out a breath, instantly feeling much better.

By the time everything was taken care of, it was already late at night. Tina made a midnight snack, authentic American style.

Though it was still hard to describe, it was at least better than British "cuisine."

Dumbledore still didn't get any midnight snack, but Old Dumbledore didn't mind. Smiling, he pulled some candy from his pocket and ate it.

At around midnight, they finally said goodbye to the Scamander family.

After leaving the cottage, Fawkes once again Apparated the two of them back to Hogwarts—after Apparating so many times tonight, it seemed utterly exhausted, and had even lost a few feathers.

Vaughn openly picked one up and tucked it into his pocket. Dumbledore watched him with a smile, only speaking abruptly as Vaughn was about to bid farewell and leave. "Vaughn, what do you think of Newt?"

"Just as you said, Albus. A good man."

Dumbledore nodded. "He likes you very much. He wants you to visit his home more often in the future. Would you be willing?"

Vaughn recalled Newt's shy, bashful manner, then thought about his own personality.

He couldn't help eyeing Dumbledore suspiciously.

What was the old man plotting this time?