"Knock, knock, knock—"
Dorset, on a small hillside.
A soft knocking echoed.
"Yes, who is it?"
Newt rubbed his head and walked out of the bedroom. He had just helped a female Nundu give birth today, and his old bones were truly exhausted.
He was about to rest early when he heard a knock.
"Strange, very few people know my address. Could it be an old friend?"
Seemingly sensing Newt's approach, the knocking stopped.
With a creak, Newt pushed open the door.
A magnificent creature stood at the doorway, moonlight spilling onto its pale golden scales, shimmering with luster.
Its fiery golden mane, like burning flowing clouds, moved without wind, entwined with golden mist.
What Newt couldn't take his eyes off were its eyes—like the purest glazed glass, clear and serene.
Newt, who had originally thought it was a person knocking, was completely dumbfounded.
In the middle of the night, a magical creature he had never seen before suddenly knocked on his door. Anyone would be stunned.
"This, this…"
"Excuse me, are you Mr. Newt Scamander?"
An ethereal and pleasant voice echoed directly in Newt's mind.
Newt was startled, thinking someone was talking to him, and peeked out to both sides of the door.
But there was no one, only the creature in front of him quietly watching him.
"I have a letter to deliver to Mr. Scamander."
The ethereal voice sounded again. Newt asked with some hesitation:
"I am Newt Scamander. Is it you who is communicating with me?"
"Yes, you can call me Luke. I am here to deliver a letter on behalf of my master."
A propitious cloud lifted Luke's satchel from his neck, allowing the envelope within to float in front of Newt.
Newt took the letter, preparing to read it inside. The temperature of this season was still too unfriendly for an elderly person.
"Uh, Liu, Luke, do you want to come in?"
Newt uttered the unusual name.
"Thank you for your invitation."
Luke stepped in, following Newt into the house, his footsteps light and silent.
When he used telepathy to communicate earlier, he deliberately created an ethereal sound effect.
This was his master's reminder: when communicating with outsiders, use such a voice. He said that a childish voice easily leads to underestimation, and others would think he was easy to fool.
Newt found a chair and sat down, beginning to read the letter.
He truly hadn't immediately recalled which old friend the master of this never-before-seen magical creature in front of him could be.
"Dear Mr. Newt Scamander:
I am Lucien Grafton. Thank you for clarifying the Undetectable Extension Charm for me…"
After reading the opening greetings, Newt immediately remembered.
Isn't this that junior student? Because of Dumbledore's letter, he had also offered advice on the Undetectable Extension Charm.
He hadn't expected a reply so quickly. It seemed that the child named Lucien had excellent knowledge reserves in fields such as charms and Alchemy, which was quite impressive even for an older student.
But what kind of magical creature was this messenger after all?
Newt couldn't help but look up at Luke, his eyes full of curiosity for the unknown species.
"Mr. Scamander, is there something wrong?"
"Ah, no."
This fluent and polite communication made Newt feel as if he was talking to a person, and his socially anxious self instinctively shook his head.
It felt strange. Newt was clearly obsessed with magical creatures and loved interacting with them, but this was truly a novel experience.
Continuing to read the letter's content, Newt nodded gently.
From the questions, Newt could tell that Lucien's understanding of the Undetectable Extension Charm had indeed reached a certain level; what he was pursuing next was the refinement of details.
However, when he saw Lucien inquiring about the Erumpent, Newt frowned slightly.
Erumpent's explosive fluid was very dangerous. A student, even an older one, was best not to come into contact with it.
And at the end of the letter, Lucien specifically asked that his pet was a very special magical creature, and he hoped Mr. Scamander would not mention it to anyone else yet.
Newt fully agreed with this point. Having focused on magical creature research for many years, he was well aware that some Wizards would covet rare magic creatures; they were always stubbornly treating these creatures as experimental subjects and sources of materials.
Although through his decades of effort, many Wizards had begun to realize the importance of protecting magical creatures, there were still some extremists.
Newt began to write a reply, answering Lucien's questions about the Undetectable Extension Charm, but politely declined regarding the Erumpent's explosive fluid:
"I am sorry, when dealing with such dangerous things, it is best to have sufficient knowledge and understanding of magical creatures."
"Of course, if you are truly interested, after you graduate, I would be very happy to communicate with you…"
Just as Newt was writing the letter, Tina yawned, rubbing her eyes as she walked into the living room.
She saw Newt reading and writing letters late at night again, wondering if Dumbledore had sent a letter.
Just as she was about to look for Fawkes the Phoenix, Tina noticed Luke's presence.
"Newt, this is?"
"Ah, Tina, this is, uh, this is…"
"This is the pet of that student, Lucien Grafton, who asked me about the Undetectable Extension Charm before."
Tina thought for a moment and recalled the child mentioned in Dumbledore's previous letter.
"Oh, I see. Actually, I wanted to ask, what kind of magical creature is this?"
Newt stopped writing, looked at Tina, and then at Luke.
He truly couldn't say what kind of magical creature this was. If he had to say it resembled something, Newt could only think of the Unicorn from the East.
But the one in front of him was too, too different from the Eastern Unicorn he had rescued decades ago.
Whether it was its appearance or its peculiar abilities.
"I don't know either, Tina. However, it says its name is Luke."
This answer surprised Tina. Having been married to Newt for so many years, she had become half a magical creature expert through osmosis, but she had no impression of this creature.
And Newt said he didn't recognize this magical creature?
Newt, the world's most renowned magical creature expert, who had traveled the globe observing and documenting countless magical creatures, didn't recognize it either?
"Then it truly is a rare species."
"Wait, wait, you just said, 'it says'? Can it also speak?"
Tina merely asked out of curiosity, as she knew some magical creatures could speak human languages.
"Good evening, beautiful lady."
When Luke's ethereal and transcendent voice echoed directly in Tina's mind, she widened her bright, salamander-like eyes.
"Huh?"
Unlike Newt, who was so socially anxious he would lower his head when he saw people, Tina was very warm and talkative. After her shock, she continued:
"Luke, did I pronounce that correctly?"
"You pronounced it correctly."
"That's good. I'm very curious, the aesthetic of magical creatures is different from humans, right? Why do you praise me as beautiful?"
This question immediately made Luke think of his master's teachings, and he instantly recalled the appropriate response his master had given him:
"I can roughly perceive the good and evil in living beings, and your heart is very kind, possessing a beautiful soul."
This answer made Tina chuckle.
"Haha, how interesting. Did your master teach you all this?"
"No, my master taught me honesty and politeness."
This made Tina even more interested, especially in the child named Lucien, who would educate a pet in such a way.
"Thank you for your compliment. Can you give a message to your master for me? If he's willing, he can come visit here. I welcome him very much."
Feeling the lady's happiness, Luke once again felt from the bottom of his heart that his master's teachings were spot on!
It's just that there's a bit too much knowledge taught. He wants to suggest something to his master…
"Tina, that child should be preparing for his N.E.W.T.s. Let's not disturb him yet."
Glancing at her husband, who had finished speaking and resumed writing his letter, Tina chuckled softly:
"Then he can come when he's on holiday or after he graduates."
"Newt, you just don't want to meet strangers, do you?"
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