"See, you can't deceive your heart," Aiden said, patting Jacob's stomach.
"Oh." Jacob deflated and waved both hands in surrender. "I'll go get my coat and tidy up the shop."
Jacob ultimately couldn't resist his inner desire and decided to set out with Aiden and the others.
Aiden and Lally exchanged knowing glances. Lally raised her wand and adjusted Jacob's clothes with a flick, transforming his baker's apron into respectable travelling attire.
The interior of the shop began organising itself automatically under the effect of magic—chairs stacking themselves, counters wiping clean, and pastries floating into boxes.
The rolling door fell with a metallic clatter, the lights winked out one by one, and the ordinary man dressed in a blue windbreaker was ready.
"Thanks. Call me Jacob," Jacob said, extending his hand.
"Call me Lally," Professor Lally replied, shaking it firmly.
"So, ready?" the dragon asked, taking a bite of bread.
"What?" both said simultaneously.
"Ah!" They screamed as a sensation of falling struck, and the two felt as if they were plunging into an abyss. When they opened their eyes again, they had arrived on a moving train, the rhythmic clatter of wheels on tracks filling the air.
"I fell for a full five minutes!" Jacob said, having landed awkwardly on the sofa, glaring viciously at Aiden.
"Five seconds, actually, but who's counting?" Aiden replied innocently.
"Jacob!" Newt rushed over and hugged him warmly.
"Quite a novel experience," Professor Lally said, also having fallen down beside them with far more grace. "Oh, Mr Scamander."
"Professor Hicks!"
"Finally meeting you," both said in unison, smiling.
The two greeted each other familiarly, like old friends who had corresponded for years.
"Theseus, what's the situation at the Ministry now? Liu or Santos?"
While dragging Newt to introduce everyone to Lally, Aiden found a comfortable seat and settled in to chat with Theseus.
"The correct way to put it is they don't plan to take sides. The last Grindelwald incident scared them badly. However, everyone privately thinks Santos has a better chance of winning," Theseus said, shaking his newspaper with obvious disdain.
Seeing that Newt hadn't introduced him, he deliberately coughed twice.
"Oh, right, this is my brother Theseus. He works at the Ministry," Newt said, pointing casually.
"In fact, I'm the Head of the Auror Office at the British Ministry of Magic," Theseus corrected, pointing at himself with exaggerated dignity.
"Aha, looks like I need to make sure my wand registration is up to date," Lally said, lowering her head slightly with mock concern.
Newt walked to the corner, glanced at Bunty, who showed an understanding expression and also moved closer.
"I think everyone must be curious why we're all here," Newt began.
"Dumbledore understands this, so he asked us to relay a message," Newt said, waving his hand vaguely.
"Let me explain this. You're still unclear about prophecy," Aiden said, taking over from Newt.
Exhaling a puff of smoke, an image appeared showing Jacob falling in slow motion.
"Wait, what?" Jacob stared at the smoke, his foot slipped, and he tumbled to the ground exactly as shown.
"Do you understand now? This is prophecy," Aiden said, hooking his finger. Jacob sat up again, looking dazed.
"You mean prophecy is a kind of magic that uses our own attention to push ourselves toward a certain outcome?" Lally asked, her professorial instincts immediately grasping the concept.
"So Grindelwald possesses the ability of prophecy. He can very effectively induce us to make things develop according to his arrangements," Aiden said, nodding at Lally.
"Wait, how do we confuse someone who can see the future, or rather, can arrange the future?" Jacob asked, placing his frying pan on the counter.
"No need to be confused. We just need to use arrangements to counter arrangements," Aiden said with a knowing smile.
"Counter-prescience," Yusuf Kama said quietly.
"Or arrange many plans simultaneously," Lally added, nodding.
Newt pulled out a wand from his pocket. "Dumbledore asked me to give this to you."
Jacob looked at the wand, bewildered. "Is this real?"
"Yes, made of snakewood. The wand core is Aiden's hair. He said it can be used to cast spells, but neither Dumbledore nor I have tried it," Newt explained.
Jacob took the snakewood wand with trembling fingers, holding it like a sacred relic.
"Want to try?" Aiden asked, raising an eyebrow.
"How do I try?" Jacob's eyes refused to leave the wand.
"Repeat after me: 'Wingardium Leviosa'," Aiden said, and the people around looked at Jacob with obvious interest.
"Wingardium Leviosa," Jacob recited carefully, and his frying pan simply floated up like that.
"Wow, it's flying! Did you all see that?" Jacob showed off like an excited child discovering magic for the first time.
"Merlin's beard, you can actually make a Muggle cast spells?" Lally asked, looking at Aiden in disbelief.
"No, he's just using my magic. To truly make them wizards still requires time," Aiden said meaningfully.
"That's still remarkable," Newt said, patting Jacob's shoulder.
"Oh, right, this is for you, Theseus," Newt said, reaching his hand into his pocket.
'Teddy, please let go,' Newt muttered, tugging hard at something in his pocket.
With a pop, he pulled out a tie from his pocket.
"Oh, that makes sense," Theseus said, looking at the golden badge on the tie.
"Also, Lally, how's your book?" Newt asked, pointing at the book in her hand.
"As I said, a good book can take you around the world. Can I ask who made this thing?" Lally asked, weighing the enchanted book in her hand.
"Right beside you," Newt said, using his head to point at the dragon teasing the Niffler.
The dragon turned back and flashed Lally a brilliant smile.
"Kama," Newt said, opening his palm toward the man.
"I already have everything I need," Yusuf Kama said, waving his hand dismissively.
"So this is our team to deal with the most dangerous wizard of the century," Theseus said, putting one hand on his hip and waving the other dramatically.
"A magizoologist and his assistant, a professor, a pure-blood family member, a Muggle pastry chef with a wand. And a child who hasn't graduated yet."
"Hey, we still have you. At least your wand works better than mine," Jacob said, pouring himself a drink.
Draining it in one gulp, he couldn't help but laugh, and the others in the compartment joined in—the absurdity of their situation suddenly striking them all.
The train belched black smoke as it pulled into Berlin Station with a screech of brakes and a hiss of steam.
Ordinary people around were carrying their luggage through the crowded platform, while in secret countless wizards had prepared for the group's arrival.
"Kama," Theseus said before the door opened, calling out to him. "Stay safe."
Yusuf Kama nodded solemnly and walked out into the bustling station.
Bunty walked behind Newt and grabbed the case containing the Qilin from his hand.
"Remember what Dumbledore and Aiden said—no one can know everything," Bunty said, looking at Newt seriously, then disappeared into the crowd with the case.
Exiting the station, the group walked toward a sealed wall covered in peeling advertisements.
"Wait, isn't the road ahead blocked? Hey, Newt!" Jacob called, confused by the Confundus Charm, watching the others disappear before him.
"Keep up," Aiden said, pushing Jacob toward the wall in front of them.
"Hey hey hey."
Jacob waved his arms frantically. At the moment he was about to collide with the wall; what greeted him wasn't pain but a very natural passage through. The bricks rippled like water, and finally, the group arrived at the German Ministry of Magic.