Lucien helplessly patted Aether's large head, signalling for it to stop drooling while staring at Nagini.
"Stop looking at her like that. She's your... uh, 'new roommate'."
Of course, that was only a joke.
Lucien had no intention of actually letting Nagini live together with the other creatures.
He planned to set aside an entirely separate level, reinforced with powerful Charms, where Nagini could be kept isolated from all the other animals.
It was for the safety of both sides.
Nagini's current condition was far too unstable, and some magical creatures in the suitcase were hardly harmless either.
If the two sides ever clashed, there was no telling what kind of mess would follow.
Aether's eyes immediately dimmed, and it let out a low, resentful cry.
Lucien had long since drilled one rule into it:
Roommates and colleagues were not food!
"Good evening, Boss."
A slightly raspy voice came from nearby.
Newt turned toward the sound and saw the house-elf standing not far away.
The elf wasn't wearing the usual old pillowcase or ragged sack commonly seen on house-elves.
Instead, he wore a well-tailored shirt with clean, neat trousers, and even had a pair of small leather shoes on his feet.
After greeting Lucien, the elf curiously looked Newt up and down with his enormous tennis-ball-sized eyes.
Newt studied him with equal curiosity.
There was a house-elf in Lucien's suitcase?
That surprised him somewhat.
Lucien came from a Muggle family, so naturally he wouldn't have inherited a family house-elf.
Moreover, the way this elf was dressed clearly showed that he had gained his freedom.
No pure-blood family would give an elf clothes or allow their own elf to dress this way.
Giving clothes meant granting a house-elf its freedom.
And he even called Lucien "Boss".
An employed house-elf?
Newt thought of the elves at Nicolas Flamel's home, but those were clearly different from the one standing before him.
"Mr Scamander, this is Dobby," Lucien introduced. "Dobby, this is Mr Newt Scamander, an authority in the field of Magizoology."
"Dobby is an assistant I hired. He helps me manage the Suitcase World, look after the magical creatures, grow herbs, and handle some of the daily work here."
Newt nodded, looking at Dobby with a trace of emotion in his eyes.
Taking pride in serving a master was almost ingrained in the very bones of house-elves.
A house-elf who actively sought and obtained freedom was already extremely rare.
One who continued to "work" after gaining freedom was even rarer.
Demanding payment for work?
To most house-elves, that was shameful, even disgraceful.
Newt imagined that many people, upon hearing an elf ask for wages while seeking work, would probably be shocked and simply turn them away.
Dobby, however, seemed perfectly comfortable with it.
At that moment, the sound of fluttering wings approached.
Several "little angels" with pure white wings flew over and landed beside Lucien, affectionately rubbing against his hand.
Newt watched them, his eyes filled with curiosity and wonder.
"These are all alchemical puppets I made," Lucien explained. "They usually help Dobby with maintenance and daily care."
Newt stepped closer and carefully examined one of the Cupids.
The little fellow wasn't shy at all.
It tilted its head to meet his gaze and even raised a tiny hand to wave at him.
"I really can't tell that they're alchemical creations at all..." Newt murmured.
It was almost impossible to see any traces of craftsmanship in these puppets.
Their movements were not stiff, nor were their expressions dull.
Each one seemed lifelike, with vivid eyes and natural reactions.
They could even rub against Lucien affectionately and act coquettishly like real living creatures.
Newt thought of the other alchemical creations Lucien had produced.
The Euros broom.
Instant Speech.
The Cupids.
Every single one far exceeded ordinary alchemical standards, and each was filled with extraordinary ingenuity and creativity.
Newt sighed inwardly.
Nicolas had truly found the right student.
That level of alchemical achievement, one that surpassed common understanding, could finally be passed down in its entirety.
After all, unlike knowledge about magical creatures, where Newt could record the habits and characteristics of different species in books so that people could learn about their charm and danger, understand and protect them, while also respecting their claws, fangs, and magic, knowledge such as Alchemy was far more profound and dangerous.
The basic introductory levels were fine.
But the deeper one went into alchemical knowledge, the more cautious one had to be about spreading it through books.
Some things simply weren't suitable for casual study.
No one wanted a wizard to try something from a book, misunderstand a crucial step, and accidentally create a "bomb" that sent both themselves and their house flying into the sky.
Therefore, the inheritance of Alchemy still relied more heavily on the traditional master-apprentice system.
Knowledge had to be passed down through direct teaching, correction, and example.
Fortunately, Nicolas no longer had to worry about his legacy.
With Lucien as his student, there was little chance that everything he had accumulated over the years would simply be lost.
With alchemical puppets and a house-elf working together, Lucien's Suitcase World now operated in an even more orderly fashion.
Newt couldn't help feeling slightly envious.
He thought of the assistant he had in his younger days, Bunty.
The girl had worked very well with him and had helped enormously in caring for magical creatures.
But once he and Tina got married, Bunty took the initiative to resign.
Newt had never quite understood why.
The pay and benefits he offered had been quite good.
As for house-elves...
The Scamander family did have one.
However, that elf had been assigned to Newt's elder brother, Theseus Scamander, as the eldest son of the family.
If only I had a group of alchemical puppets like these to help...
Newt thought to himself as he watched the busy "little angels."
With a few of them around, feeding, cleaning, record-keeping, and all the miscellaneous daily work would become far easier.
But as an elder, how could he bring himself to ask a junior for something?
Besides, Newt had never been good at socialising and was hardly eloquent.
He had no idea how to bring it up without making things awkward.
"Mr Scamander," Lucien suddenly said, "please take some of these alchemical puppets back with you."
Newt froze.
For a moment, he even wondered whether Lucien had somehow guessed what he was thinking.
Lucien smiled and continued, "Please don't refuse. They really aren't difficult to make."
Newt opened his mouth, momentarily at a loss for words.
Lucien looked toward the Cupids and said casually, "Besides, if you take them back, they can help with the daily care of the magical creatures and organise your notes. It'll make things much easier for you."
"That way, you'll have more energy..."
Lucien paused briefly before finishing with a smile.
"To help even more magical creatures."
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