Just how big was this Runespoor that Newt raised?
Here's a not-so-vivid comparison, if the thickest part of the viper Anton transformed into was as big as a truck tire, then this Runespoor was as thick as a truck, and that wasn't even its thickest part.
It's said that Newt's salary at the Ministry of Magic back then was two silver Sickles a week, and although Anton didn't know the purchasing power of two silver Sickles in 1918, it was truly outrageous to be able to raise so many big darlings.
Yes, Anton was watching.
He didn't fly far, just hovered in the sky, staring coldly at Quirrell.
There was also an old wizard back then who had the same intention of killing him.
The old wizard meant something different to him, when he first transmigrated, the old wizard tortured him, and he in turn killed the old wizard, leaving him in a state of barely hanging on, it's hard to say if they were even.
At that time, Anton faced the unknown wizarding world with a mix of complex emotions like longing, fear, and a desire for contact, it was the old wizard who tirelessly imparted his life's experience, giving him the confidence to face everything with ease.
Fiennes' Potions, the theory of integrating potions and spells, the spell theory of wizards as gods and will commanding all, all the life experiences and expertise in the Shield Charm and the Cruciatus Curse, the principles of spells and magical images...
Countless pieces of knowledge laid a foundation for Anton that, while not as comprehensive as the academic schools, was extremely solid.
The 'Wizard's Eye' Potion was still the most powerful tool Anton had encountered since entering the wizarding world.
The theory of integrating potions and spells allowed the knowledge he gained from Snape's and Voldemort's private lessons to complement each other, doubling his progress.
Decades of life experience, expertise, and insights from navigating the lower rungs of society.
And so on and so forth, there was too much.
The old wizard had indeed fulfilled his promise—to influence Anton's decision with a teacher's love and dedication.
Therefore, Anton genuinely regarded the old wizard as his teacher.
He couldn't forget the time he was tortured, nor could he forget what the old wizard had done for him, it was very complicated.
This was a special case.
His only special case.
An unrepeatable special case.
Anton looked coldly at Quirrell on the ground.
Quirrell would definitely die, Anton knew.
This guy was quite powerful, when going to the chamber of the three-headed dog, Snape was injured, but he was completely fine. When casting a spell on Harry Potter's broomstick, Harry nearly died several times. Quirrell was not as ridiculous as he appeared.
But Quirrell died in a very ridiculous way, because he was touched by Harry Potter.
Anton didn't mind who killed Quirrell, he didn't have that psychological obsession of needing to kill his enemies with his own hands, as long as he was dead.
A dead Quirrell was a good Quirrell.
But there was a key point.
Voldemort was hiding on the back of Quirrell's head!
If he died now, Voldemort would surely hate him to death, the failure of infiltrating Hogwarts to steal the Philosopher's Stone would be entirely blamed on Anton, because he ran away, leaving Quirrell without a helper to die.
"Heh~"
So, he still had to put on a show of a 'simple and honest student having a change of heart, turning back to save his dear teacher', as for whether he could be saved?
That was not up to Anton.
It depended on the Runespoor's mood.
"Hehe~"
This Runespoor was not in a good mood right now.
After staring at Quirrell for a moment, it charged forward quickly.
"Protego!"
Bang!
The huge snake tail swung.
Poor Quirrell was like a small sandbag, instantly hit for a home run.
Whoosh~~~~~
Splat!
He was plastered against a tree.
"Don't come over here!"
"Don't you come over here!"
"Reducto!"
The light of the spell pierced the night sky of the forest, but it couldn't even break through the Runespoor's scales.
Quirrell could only cast some control-type spells like the 'Impediment Jinx' and 'Swamp Spell' to slow the great snake down.
He himself, however, imitated Anton by casting a rope, using it to swing rapidly through the woods.
Anton took out the 'Wizard's Eye' Potion from his satchel, watched the scene below with delight, and gulped it down.
He planned to draw the magical image of this three-headed snake that looked a lot like a viper.
And also the magical image of Quirrell's rope-pulling spell, comparing the image with the spell in his memory would help him better understand the principles of how this spell worked.
Awesome.
"They're fighting!"
"Wow, Quirrell sucks, fight back, hit it, kill it."
The Light and Shadow Recording Charm sketched out marvelous lines beside him, this was the magical image of the Runespoor.
But Anton was attracted by the magical image on Professor Quirrell.
Generally speaking, the effect of the 'Wizard's Eye' Potion made it difficult to see through the magical images of highly intelligent creatures like wizards.
For example, Lupin, the magical image in his werewolf form was countless light blue lines twisting like a surging sea, but in his wizard form, the 'Wizard's Eye' could only see a large block of color, at most with some dark green cracked lines.
The old wizard was the same, Anton saw himself the same way, and so were the goblins.
But the Quirrell before him was particularly interesting.
He was still a complete block of color, but countless black threads extended from his body, eventually forming a black ball of thread at the back of his head.
A tangled mess of a thread ball.
"This is..."
Anton licked the corner of his mouth.
Oh~
Merlin's strawberry-patterned, hole-ridden, tight-fitting pants, what did he just see?
A mappable Voldemort?
"This is just too interesting!"
"It's too far, I can't see clearly!" Anton licked his lips, finally made up his mind, dispelled the Light and Shadow Recording Charm, and lowered his broomstick.
"Professor~"
The little wizard called out with deep emotion.
"It's my fault, I didn't realize you didn't jump on, although I don't know why you didn't jump on, quick, I'm here to save you, get on!"
Whoosh.
The broomstick dived down.
Anton's flying lessons were not in vain, Madam Hooch's flying techniques were indeed exceptionally skilled, vertical lightning moves, tail-whip speed boosts for turns, instant reverse flips...
One technique after another allowed Anton to be like a motorcyclist racing through narrow alleys, not slowing down at all among the countless tall trees.
In an instant, he arrived beside Professor Quirrell.
Anton scooted back, leaving the front of the broomstick for Quirrell, "Professor, hurry up and get on."
At this moment, the little wizard's expression was so sincere, as if to say, 'Hey, look, I'm about to save your sorry hide again'. Anyway, who the hell knew why Quirrell was so sensitive, always mistaking others' goodwill for mockery.
Anton's sincere expression was always ineffective on Quirrell, which was very strange.
"No!"
"I can handle it!"
"Go~ a~ way~"
Smack!
The huge snake tail smashed down, and Quirrell, reinforced by a Shield Charm, was hammered into the mud by the immense force, looking utterly miserable.
Anton squinted at the Runespoor, somewhat puzzled, "It's coming for you!"
"It doesn't seem to want to hurt me?"
"Or rather, it only wants to kill you?"
He looked down curiously at Quirrell in the mud, "Why?"
Quirrell managed a difficult smile, "Last night you didn't come to help me, so I had to go into the Forbidden Forest myself and slaughtered a six-foot (1.8 meters) long Runespoor."
Serves you right~
You deserve it~
This Runespoor clearly possessed high intelligence and understood the rules of survival at Hogwarts, it didn't intend to kill.
It just kept pounding on Quirrell, one blow after another.
Just like the Whac-A-Mole game in an arcade.
Bang!
Quirrell spat out a mouthful of old blood, spraying half a meter high, Anton gasped.
Bang!
Quirrell tried to escape, but his posture was wrong, and one of his legs was smashed into a forward-bending U-shape. Anton gasped.
Bang!
Quirrell was once again hammered into the mud.
So~~~ satisfying~~~
Watching this scene, Anton couldn't be more thrilled.
"80! 80! 80!..." he muttered.
He just felt his hands itching, really wanting to transform into the muscular werewolf version and join in, forming a duo with the Runespoor, they could call themselves the Rice Cake Pounding Combo.
"Heave-ho~ Heave-ho~ Put some muscle into it! Heave-ho~"