Surrounded by over a dozen magical creatures, Newt carefully pulled out a few envelopes from his inner pocket. The edges were worn, and the paper had yellowed with age—these were the last letters he'd exchanged with Nagini.
Time had flown by, the ink had faded, and only a faint, barely detectable scent lingered on the pages.
The little critters gathered around, each using their unique talents to memorize the scent's characteristics.
A moment later, they darted off into the surrounding forest, starting their hunt!
Once the magical creatures had scattered, Newt picked a direction based on his gut feeling and began his own search.
His magical skills were solid, especially when it came to spotting animal tracks—he had a sharper eye than most.
And when it came to understanding and working with magical creatures' habits, Newt was in a league of his own.
These furry, scaly buddies of his had pulled off miracles countless times in the past. They'd acted as bodyguards, sure, but the Bowtruckles had helped him pick locks to escape jail, the Zouwu and Diricawls had carried him through the skies...
Heck, one Niffler had even swiped someone's love token for him, which ended up changing the whole game.
Another three or four days passed, and the magical creatures had scoured several nearby areas, but still no solid leads came back.
Newt wasn't in a rush—retired life didn't offer much else, but he had plenty of time.
He trudged through the cold, rugged woods, showing none of the slowness you'd expect from an old timer. If anything, he moved with surprising energy.
A while back, that shiny owl had delivered a special gift—a potion brewed by Lucien called "Vitality Renewed."
After taking it, both Newt and his wife Tina felt noticeably lighter on their feet.
Back in their younger days, she'd been an Auror for the Magical Congress, always tangling with dark wizards; he'd been globe-trotting, dealing with dangerous magical beasts and shady poachers. Together, they'd lived through the wizarding war against Grindelwald and his followers.
Over the years, they'd picked up some nagging injuries that even healing spells and standard potions couldn't fully fix.
Who would've thought Lucien's single bottle of potion would do the trick?
Newt even felt like he'd shaved off a few years—his stamina and energy were back to what they used to be, enough to pull all-nighters caring for magical creatures if needed.
"Vitality Renewed"—the name really said it all.
Newt was lost in thought for a bit, remembering his recent letter from Lucien. The kid had mentioned he was at Beauxbatons for an alchemy competition. Newt knew the place well; he'd visited a few times back in the day to study the local magical wildlife...
Suddenly, he felt a tug at his pant leg.
Newt looked down and saw that pitch-black Niffler staring up at him, its beady eyes sparkling faintly.
He got the message instantly: They'd found something, and it needed to lead the way.
"Good job," Newt whispered in praise, quickly fishing out a prepped reward from his pocket—a not-too-fancy but plenty shiny sapphire.
The Niffler snatched it excitedly, tucking it carefully into its belly pouch and patting it to make sure it was secure before turning around. Nose to the ground, it started guiding him forward.
Under the Niffler's lead, Newt pushed through a tangle of bushes and arrived at a clearing where snow mixed with thick layers of dead leaves.
"This the spot?"
The Niffler nodded vigorously, its little paw pointing at a specific patch on the ground.
Newt didn't hesitate. He raised his wand.
"Appare Vestigium!"
With a soft "pop," a shower of fine golden magical dust sprayed from the wand tip, spreading quickly outward and covering a radius of about ten to fifteen feet.
Within the dusted area, the ground started revealing marks of varying depths and shapes—these were footprints from all sorts of animals that had passed through recently. Bird claws, small mammal paw prints like plum blossoms, all jumbled together.
Newt crouched down, scanning the overlapping tracks carefully, his eyes searching for the winding, slithering impressions left by a snake's crawl.
The Niffler, still buzzing from its reward, was extra eager. Its tiny nose was practically glued to the dirt, sniffing here and scratching there.
Suddenly, it froze near a tree root where the snow was thinner. It let out a short squeak and jumped up, waving its paws wildly at Newt.
Newt hurried over, positioning himself at the spot the Niffler indicated, and waved his wand again.
"Revelio!"
A brighter light burst from the wand tip. The surrounding golden dust seemed to answer a call, rushing to converge at one point before surging upward like a reversed video. It formed a shimmering, semi-transparent illusion in mid-air—
A massive snake with inky-green scales was slowly slithering across the ground.
Its movements had that signature cold-blooded grace—eerie and silent. The triangular head held ice-cold vertical pupils, devoid of any human reason or emotion, just raw, primal instinct and a detached wariness of its surroundings.
Newt recognized it in a heartbeat.
Nagini!