The Wampus cat—Ilvermorny's mascot—has eyes that can see through lies, and it can silently hypnotize intruders.
So for generations, Ilvermorny students who spotted one would inevitably get the idea of taking it with them.
And there had even been a successful precedent, which only made the younger witches and wizards even more fired up.
Besides, the animals in Ilvermorny Forest are free. Whether they stay or leave is entirely their own choice.
Even the Pukwudgies here are merely hired.
That's very different from Hogwarts' house-elves.
At Hogwarts, house-elves are basically wizard slaves.
Pukwudgies, on the other hand, are North American magical beings. They're small, gray-skinned, and have very long ears—distant cousins of European goblins.
They appear in many Native North American folktales, especially those of the Wampanoag.
They're typically two to three feet tall—humanoid, but with larger noses, ears, and fingers. Their gray, smooth skin sometimes even glows. Their magic includes vanishing and reappearing, transforming into (or partially into) a porcupine or a mountain lion, and starting fires—plus they use bows and arrows.
Basically: Apparition, transfiguration, and a few fire-type spells.
Ilvermorny can hire quite a few Pukwudgies thanks to William's presence—he's famous among his kind—so they provide security and maintenance for the school.
The special food deliveries Newt and Green received were rare.
Now, beneath the beech tree, Newt's slightly tilted head leaned forward. He'd still underestimated just how popular the boy was among the Wampus cats.
When he'd earned Delilah's trust, it had taken over a month; only after long days and nights together had she accepted him as "family."
But for Green… in a daze, Newt had the strange illusion—
that the boy was almost like a Wampus cat himself.
"The second one to pocket…" Headmistress Herrera said weakly. "Dear Newt, do Hogwarts witches and wizards get some kind of special charm bonus with Wampus cats? Or is it Scots in general?"
Newt laughed. Of the three of them, Eugenia Herrera was always the lively one—back then, she'd been the one who pushed and pulled until he and Tina Goldstein finally ended up together.
"Mr. Green will be a good choice," Newt said softly, as if telling Herrera not to worry too much.
"A Wampus cat's eyes are a lot brighter than mine," Herrera said with a smile. "Mine don't glow in the dark."
"Eugenia… Tina's missed you for a long time," Newt said after a pause.
"Then you'll have to make her come in person," Herrera replied, spreading her hands with helpless amusement. "You know how it is—work never ends."
Inside the wizard's cabin, the fireplace washed the whole room in honey-colored light.
…
The Wampus cat lay on the cabin floor, yellow eyes fixed on the window. Outside, a few small birds occasionally fluttered up from the trees.
Sean flicked his wand and quickly transfigured a nest, lining it with a thick blanket near the hearth.
Ifa—the name he'd given the Wampus cat—had accepted it, and curiously curled up inside.
Time inside the cabin wasn't actually different from outside; stars were glittering now, and Sean sat by the window, carefully reading the Wampus cat section in The Monster Book of Monsters.
Now that Ifa had moved into the Wizard's Cabin, his main goal here was complete.
All that remained was understanding Ifa better—and making Wampus cat biscuits.
Compared to that relatively straightforward task, Sean cared more about something else: finishing the Wizard's Book.
Right now, the Wizard's Book had only a single region.
Sean named this area—made up of plains, a cabin, and a stream—the Origin Plains Zone.
But what came next?
He realized he couldn't simply stuff another region into it. Not only was there not enough internal space—more importantly, two different spaces would clash, destabilizing the interior.
That was where a Separation Charm came in: a spell that isolated different spaces, used to refine and stabilize the Wizard's Book.
But Sean hadn't learned that part yet—and Scamander was already about to leave.
The Wampus cat was fast asleep. It barely guarded itself around Sean anymore; more often, it was just curious why Sean didn't have yellow eyes and thick fur like it did. It had fully accepted him as a companion.
Sean waved his wand, pulled part of the hearth's fire over to merge and "seal" the door, then stepped out of the Wizard's Book.
Ilvermorny Forest was still quiet, broken only by the occasional snap of a branch.
Sean walked through the snow, the night wind tugging at his scarf.
He thought he should confess to Professor Terra and Headmistress Herrera as soon as possible—after all, the Wampus cat was Ilvermorny's mascot, and he'd just pocketed it. No matter how you looked at it, that wasn't exactly ideal.
As for the second thing he needed to do… that would rely on the soul relic—
hopefully Newt would go to bed early tonight.
On the path back to the stone cottage, Sean could still see William the Pukwudgie curled up asleep beside Isolt's statue, mouth hanging open, smooth skin faintly glowing.
The fire in front of him had burned out. Sean summoned a little fire-salamander to relight it, then moved on.
And far away—
Newt had parted ways with Headmistress Herrera too.
A faint smile lingered on his face. Even though he'd never doubted Headmaster Dumbledore, he couldn't help being curious about such a young wizard—
how was he supposed to build an Undetectable Extension space in a week and take a Wampus cat with him?
But it turned out a week was too long—
When Newt returned to his lodging, moonlight stretched his shadow far behind him. By the warm hearth and soft bed, three Kneazles waited sleepily for him to come back.
The moment he arrived, the lead Kneazle—Hoppy—purred once, then tucked itself into his arms and fell asleep.
Newt took off his old brown coat, still damp with wind and snow, and drifted quickly into sleep himself—
the only strange thing was that, at this hour, Ilvermorny was fogging over.
He didn't know how long passed before Newt opened his eyes and slowly turned in place. The scenery around him seemed to form out of nothing.
It was a vast, bright, clean space… and a shabby building stood ahead.
A Victorian-era house, with a wooden door—and a sign that read "Children's Home."
A black cat—no, a Kneazle—was perched right on top of the sign, staring at him with emerald-green eyes.
"Professor Scamander," the black cat said.
Newt's instincts told him this place was anything but simple—and that he should be cautious.
But his attention couldn't help drifting toward the speaking Kneazle.
It was too interesting.
His cheeks warmed a little, and a genuine smile appeared.
~~~
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