Crack, crack—
The sound of shattering echoed endlessly.
Countless fissures spread across the black barrier formed by the Cracked Earth spell.
Newt jabbed his wand at the barrier again, causing large chunks to crumble and fall away.
With a single step, Newt, clutching his wand and suitcase, crossed into the area where Lucien stood.
"Lucien, don't be scared, I'm here to—"
But before Newt could finish, the sight before him left him speechless.
Scattered across the ground were a bunch of people, all sporting various injuries. Every single one of them was unconscious, pinned down by shackles made of stone and earth, completely unable to resist.
And roaming around them were a few unfamiliar magical creatures—yep, unfamiliar.
Newt stared at the scene: a fire dragon, an Occamy, a Graphorn, a giant eight-eyed spider…
Aside from the Occamy, Newt was pretty sure he hadn't released any of those other creatures from his suitcase.
His eyes drifted to Lucien at the edge of the clearing. The kid was calmly tucking a brass pocket watch into his coat, looking so composed and put-together it was as if nothing had happened.
A chilling thought crept into Newt's mind:
Did Lucien take down these poachers?
And those magical creatures… are they…
"I-I surrender! You already beat up my buddies—can you, uh, not hit me too?" a feeble voice whimpered.
Newt's gaze snapped toward the fire dragon—a Norwegian Ridgeback. Its normally jet-black scales shimmered with golden streaks, making it look even more majestic and mysterious.
The voice came from beneath the dragon's claws.
A blond man was pinned to the ground, his sturdy frame looking pitifully small compared to the dragon's massive talons.
"Cough, cough—okay, fine, hit me if you want, but can you at least give me some air? I-I can't breathe!" the blond man, Aiden, gasped, struggling weakly.
"Nobert," Lucien called softly.
The dragon loosened its grip slightly, but its fiery orange eyes stayed locked on its prey.
"Mr. Scamander, you okay?" Lucien asked, turning to Newt.
Snapping out of his daze, Newt nodded. "I'm fine. The little guys took care of everything for me."
He glanced at Lucien. "You're not hurt, are you? From what I'm seeing here…"
Words failed Newt as he took in the chaotic scene.
Lucien walked over to him, explaining casually, "My first-year Defense Against the Dark Arts professor was really good. Taught me a ton of useful tricks."
Well, yeah. When the Dark Lord himself teaches you how to handle dark magic, fight, and wield spells…
There were maybe two professors in the world who could match that level of expertise—one pacing around the headmaster's office sipping tea, the other locked up in Nurmengard.
Lucien's answer made sense, but Newt still felt something was off. No matter how great the teacher or how talented the student, a wizard who hadn't even started their second year…
"Mr. Scamander, we've handled things here. Let's go help Mr. Stanley," Lucien said.
Newt nodded, pointing his wand at the magical barrier. This time, it dissolved much faster—though it drained a good bit of his magic.
"No need to worry too much about Stanley," Newt said. "He used to be the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor at Ilvermorny. He's a beast in a fight."
A former Defense Against the Dark Arts professor? Now teaching Potions?
Talk about a career switch.
Noticing Lucien's puzzled look, Newt chuckled. "Stanley taught Defense for a few years but found Potions more fun. There was an opening at the school, so he made the jump."
Lucien nodded. Mr. Stanley was a guy who followed his heart—switching careers just because he felt like it.
An easy choice for him, but probably a lifelong dream for a certain Potions professor desperate for the Defense job.
"By the way, Lucien," Newt said, gesturing at the magical creatures, "what's the deal with these guys?"
Lucien answered bluntly, "Except for that Norwegian Ridgeback, the rest are conjured with Transfiguration. They're not real."
No point hiding it—he'd be using this trick a lot in the future anyway.
Newt froze mid-wand-wave, wondering if he'd misheard.
Conjured magical creatures?
Had he been out of the loop so long that Transfiguration had reached this level?
Newt, an expert on magical creatures, hadn't noticed anything off about them at first glance. They were practically indistinguishable from the real thing.
And what did Lucien mean, except for the Norwegian Ridgeback? That fancy-looking fire dragon was real?
Crack—
On the other side, someone else was breaking through the barrier. The black shield in front of Newt shattered faster than expected, and a voice called out, "Kid, don't be scared! I'll protect you—"
The voice cut off abruptly when Stanley saw Newt's face.
"Whoa, Newt, you move fast!" Stanley said, relieved. He peeked past Newt, spotting Lucien unharmed, and let out a sigh. He tossed a poacher he'd been dragging onto the ground.
"While I was breaking the barrier, I got some answers out of this guy," Stanley said. "They're part of a notorious international poaching ring. They've pulled jobs all over the world and are wanted by multiple Ministries of Magic."
His voice grew colder. "Their original target was a Thunderbird, taking advantage of its weakened state this season. But when they ran into you, Newt, they got greedy—planned to ambush you and steal your suitcase."
Stanley glanced at Lucien, his eyes filled with gratitude and relief.
If Lucien hadn't acted fast and stopped that assassin who'd somehow slipped through, Newt would've likely been hit by a Killing Curse. Even with Stanley's skills, there'd been no time to counter that spell.
If something had happened to Newt, Stanley couldn't imagine the fallout.
While Stanley was thinking of how to thank Lucien, the boy was quietly sizing up the poacher Stanley had dumped on the ground.
Stanley must've needed his wand to break the barrier, so prying answers out of the poacher with magic probably wasn't an option. Which left…
Lucien glanced at the poacher's bruised, swollen face—looking more like a pig's head than a human's—and then at the bloodstains on Stanley's left fist.
Yeah, no Veritaserum here. Stanley probably didn't carry that potion around.
The guy was a master of both magic and fists.
"Newt, those creatures you brought are a bit dangerous, but they sure saved our hides," Stanley said with a grin, pointing at the lineup of magical beasts—especially the fire dragon and Graphorn, the most dangerous ones.
But then, the Graphorn Stanley pointed at turned into a boulder. The eight-eyed spider, the Erumpent, and others morphed into trees and rocks.
"...Huh?"