When John woke up, he was a little stunned.
"I just took a nap… and this place got torn apart?"
The curtains dividing the areas had been smashed through. John looked at the now-empty plain next door and fell into thought.
He went to where he had left his wand to dry, staring at the spot where it had vanished, speechless.
"So this is for real?"
The wand he had painstakingly crafted—gone the moment he turned his back?
John took a deep breath, calming himself.
With mixed emotions, he tried to figure out what had happened.
"Judging by the scene, there doesn't seem to be any human interference."
After checking the different areas, aside from the Graphorn, several magical creatures had also escaped.
And the door was still open, which meant those creatures could leave freely.
John noticed the Nundu, restless and eager to move.
This was an extremely dangerous magical creature—only someone like Newt, a dangerously bold magizoologist, would dare carry it around.
Just as the Nundu prepared to leap away, John fixed his gaze on it.
"Back."
A surge of draconic pressure swept over it, causing the Nundu's fur to bristle as the venom sac at its throat swelled.
If that thing got out, Newt would probably be hunted down by Aurors across the entire United States in no time.
The Nundu was the deadliest of predators—even its breath could cause fatal disease.
If such a biological weapon escaped, killing hundreds would be effortless.
After a brief standoff with John, the Nundu obediently retreated.
John's brows furrowed as draconic pressure spread outward, forcing all the magical creatures to collapse to the ground in fear.
"Stay where you are!"
The overwhelming dominance of a dragon left the weaker magical creatures unable to move.
John strode toward the exit, intending to find out what had happened.
Surely some deranged wizard hadn't knocked Newt out and run off with the case?
…
Jacob lay collapsed in a corner of the room. The large hole blasted through the house had already caused a commotion outside.
People gathered and began discussing it. Some believed it was a gas explosion, just like the last time.
A drunken vagrant joined in, shouting, "Not gas! Hey, officer, I saw it—it was a huge hippopotamus… gas, it was gas!"
The vagrant abruptly changed his story, and those around him found it strangely convincing, all shouting that it was gas.
Behind him, Newt lowered the wand he had used to cast a Confundus Charm. Taking advantage of the female officer's distraction as she inspected the damaged building, he quickly ran toward the metal staircase, heading for the room where the explosion had occurred.
The opened case lay quietly on the bed.
Suddenly, the lid slowly lifted.
A hand pushed up the lid of the case, and John slowly poked his head out.
Sneaky John.
He looked at the blown-open wall—more accurately, smashed open.
Then he glanced at the unconscious fat man lying nearby.
John: ? Newt, your place got robbed—do you know that?
Great. And Newt wasn't even here.
Not knowing where Newt had gone, John stepped out of the case and walked over to the man.
There was a bite wound on the man's neck, bleeding slightly. After examining it, John came to a conclusion.
"Looks like a Murtlap bite… but this guy—haven't I seen him before?"
The man looked somewhat familiar.
After observing him for a moment, John heard footsteps approaching.
Without a wand, he had no choice but to retreat back into the case for now.
The moment he closed the case, Newt pushed the door open and walked in.
At first glance, Newt saw the blasted-open wall.
Then he quickly moved to Jacob's side to check on him.
After confirming Jacob's condition, he cast a precise Repairing Charm, restoring the wall to its original state.
Sitting on the bed, Newt quickly picked up the case to check it.
John had already returned to his spot. Newt took a glance and swiftly shut it.
The female officer, noticing that Newt had disappeared, hurried upstairs.
Before she arrived, Newt closed the case.
"The case was open?" the officer asked.
"Just a small gap." Newt gave a polite smile.
Yes, just a tiny gap—just enough for something larger than a rhinoceros to get out.
How much of that was true, only he knew.
Hearing this, the officer let out a breath of relief and complained, "That crazy Niffler escaped again?"
She knew there was a Niffler in the case that had run into a bank vault and assumed it was nothing serious.
"Uh… perhaps." Newt felt extremely guilty.
The Niffler had indeed escaped—but it wasn't the only one.
"Then hurry up and find it!" The officer felt like she was about to lose her mind because of that Niffler.
At that moment, she also noticed the unconscious Muggle, Jacob.
Well, in America, they called them No-Majs.
"His neck is bleeding—he's injured." Trouble kept piling up. The officer had never heard of a Niffler biting people. "Wake up, sir!"
Just as the female officer anxiously called out to Jacob, a Murtlap suddenly darted out.
She let out a startled scream.
The Murtlap clung tightly to her arm. Reacting quickly, Newt turned, grabbed it by the tail, and stuffed it back into the case.
The officer was badly shaken. Newt gestured for her to calm down—it was just a Murtlap.
At that moment, Jacob slowly regained consciousness.
The first thing he saw was that strange man who had dragged him into robbing a bank.
"You!"
"Hello." Newt gave him a smile in greeting.
With a swift motion, Newt drew his wand, preparing to erase his memory.
This time, the officer objected. The No-Maj was injured, and they still needed him as a witness.
Seeing that he couldn't proceed with the memory charm, Newt complained, "Who was it that kept shouting at me along the way, saying I should have used a Memory Charm earlier?"
"He's injured.. he doesn't look well at all." The officer stood in front of Jacob, arguing firmly.
Newt said, "He'll be fine. A Murtlap bite isn't that serious."
But Jacob's condition didn't look good. While the two argued, he retched in the corner by the cabinet.
The officer rolled her eyes and looked at Newt skeptically. This is what you call not serious?
Well… even Newt was starting to lose confidence.
In the end, the female officer decided to take both of them back to her home for supervision, asking Newt to help her support the injured No-Maj.
The three of them Disapparated and left.
…
Because of John, the remaining magical creatures hadn't escaped.
"Well, I think Newt really needs to fix that lock."
Leaning against the ladder, John could hear the conversation outside through the loosely fastened case.
"I seriously suspect he's actually a Gryffindor."
Carrying around a case full of dangerous magical creatures and then getting caught by an American official.. no matter how you looked at it, that was pure Gryffindor behavior.
"But where did my wand go?"
John searched through the case but couldn't find it. It was likely taken by one of the magical creatures.
Originally planning to leave, he now had no choice but to stay.
When Newt found the escaped creatures, he would probably recover the wand as well.
"I'm getting a bit hungry… is there nothing to eat here?"
…
Newt and Jacob were taken to the female officer's home.
The officer's name was Tina Goldstein.
She worked in the Wand Permit Office of the Magical Congress of the United States.
She also had a younger sister named Queenie Goldstein.
Yes.
A beautiful, kind-hearted blonde girl.
Like her sister, she also worked at the Magical Congress of the United States.
She was highly skilled in kitchen magic.
Their parents had died of dragon pox.
Queenie was somewhat different from Tina—she was a natural Legilimens.
It was an ability that could be quite troubling, as it allowed her to hear the secrets hidden deep in people's minds, along with their darker thoughts.
The moment Jacob saw Queenie, he was captivated, and Queenie herself had rarely interacted with No-Majs.
As dinner began, two hearts slowly drew closer.
With two strangers in their home, Tina and Newt sat facing each other, awkwardly listening as her sister chatted with the No-Maj.
After dinner, Jacob sat on the bed, holding the hot cocoa Tina had brought in, smiling as he said, "Hey, Scamander, look—it's hot cocoa."
Unlike him, Newt had turned sideways, wrapping himself tightly in the blanket.
Tina glanced at him, set down the cocoa, and left.
The moment the door closed, Newt sprang up as if jolted back to life, quickly opening the case and stepping inside.
Jacob stared in shock at the bizarre scene unfolding before him.
Not until Newt had completely stepped inside did a hand reach out from within, gesturing for him to follow.
Jacob's eyes darted around as he wondered if he was still dreaming.
"Come on."
Newt's voice came from inside the case, but Jacob still looked like his entire worldview had shattered.
He widened his eyes, breathing heavily, desperately trying to make sense of it all.
After hesitating for a long moment, he slowly set down his cup.
Summoning his courage, he got off the bed, walked to the case, and climbed the ladder inside.
His body didn't cooperate well with the case—he got stuck.
He struggled to squeeze himself in, causing the case to bounce up and down.
"No way…"
Jacob wailed in despair. Finally, with a desperate push, his body slipped through in an instant.
The case snapped shut.
Jacob tumbled through a chaotic fall, knocking over bottles and containers along the way.
When he looked up, everything had changed—he found himself inside a small room.
Inside were a camp bed and tropical clothing, with various tools hanging on the walls.
There were potted plants he didn't recognize, along with cabinets filled with pills, tablets, and bottles of potions.
On a hook hung a dried animal carcass.
Newt was already inside, glancing at Jacob and gesturing for him to sit down.
____
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