Newt helped transfer Nagini into Lucien's suitcase.
He also took the opportunity to tour the ever-expanding world inside the case once again.
As they passed a wooded area, Newt's gaze suddenly caught on one particular tree.
A hollow in the trunk was glowing with a faint golden light.
The corner of Newt's mouth curved up. He changed direction and walked straight over.
He bent down and peered inside.
Sure enough.
A Niffler with rare platinum-white fur was curled up in the hollow, clutching a sapphire the size of a pigeon egg in its tiny paws and diligently "polishing" it.
The gem rolled back and forth between its claws, buffed to a mirror shine.
Jinji.
Newt waved at her.
Jinji's beady black eyes flicked toward him for half a second—then she went right back to polishing her sapphire.
Newt rubbed his nose, a little embarrassed.
He pulled a Galleon from his pocket and jingled it in front of her.
Jinji froze.
She looked up at the single Galleon on Newt's fingertip, then glanced back at her hoard inside the hollow—emeralds, gold, jade, diamonds…
Yet she still silently stuffed the sapphire into her belly pouch, scampered out of the tree, and climbed onto Newt's hand.
Newt chuckled.
He weighed her in his palm and laughed.
"Your weight is back to normal."
Seeing Lucien's slightly awkward expression beside him, Newt found it amusing.
Lucien had spoiled the little creature far too much before, and Jinji had once ballooned into a round little furball.
She had finally slimmed down.
Newt placed Jinji back in the hollow and continued walking.
Every magical creature they passed was thriving under Lucien's care—plump, glossy-coated, bursting with energy.
Newt nodded approvingly to himself.
Caring for magical beasts was no simple task.
First, you needed deep knowledge of their habits.
Every species had different diets, activity patterns, likes, and dislikes.
Without that foundation, you couldn't possibly look after them properly, let alone communicate with them.
Newt had zero worries about Lucien on that front.
There was another crucial point: a wizard had to be skilled enough in combat.
Magical creatures didn't need spells or wands to attack, and their abilities were wildly varied—some breathed fire, some shot lightning, some spat venom, some simply charged head-on…
To care for them while staying safe yourself, you needed lightning reflexes and rock-solid magic skills.
In terms of pure combat ability, Newt could easily qualify as an Auror.
And looking after extremely dangerous creatures like dragons raised the bar even higher.
Those dragon keepers might start out handsome and delicate, but after a year or two they all turned tanned, muscular, and their spellcasting improved dramatically "by necessity."
You had to be strong, fast, master the Shield Charm to perfection, and Apparate like a pro—or you simply couldn't handle those short-tempered giant lizards that spat fireballs when happy and dragon breath when annoyed.
As for Lucien's combat talent…
Newt's mind flashed back to the poacher incident at the Thunderbird habitat.
It had taken less than a few minutes.
And in the end, only Lucien had been left standing.
Newt pulled his thoughts back and kept walking.
Now that Nagini was safely with Lucien, he could finally resume work on the latest edition of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them that he had been putting off.
Several creature entries needed updating, and Lucien had contributed detailed observation logs, behavioral analyses, and care tips—far more thorough than if Newt had spent months staking them out himself.
Newt planned to give Lucien a prominent thank-you in the book.
It would also help pave the way for Lucien in the magical-creature field.
As they walked, the two arrived at the Thunderbird Ethel's territory.
It was an open rocky area with a simulated high sky overhead.
After several months, Newt saw that Ethel had grown even stronger. Her feathers gleamed with a metallic luster under the light.
But Newt's attention was quickly drawn to the scene beside her.
Several small figures with pure white wings were using specially made tiny brushes and combs to groom her feathers.
Some worked on her wings, some on her tail feathers, and one was even perched on Ethel's head, carefully arranging the longest crest plume.
In front of Ethel stood a short creature.
Bat-like pointed ears, eyes as big as tennis balls—
A house-elf?
Newt narrowed his eyes to make sure.
Just then, Ethel lifted her head and spotted Lucien and Newt.
She also spotted the iron cage floating behind Lucien, pulled along by magic—and the green python coiled inside it.
Ethel's eyes lit up instantly.
She hopped and skipped over—completely at odds with her massive size—and let out a delighted cry at Lucien:
"Oh, boss! Is this today's dinner?"
Lucien, who understood her perfectly, froze for a second.
Then a dark line slowly crawled across his forehead.