Hermione and Fleur had simply accumulated a great many questions. For a magizoologist of Newt's caliber, the difficulty itself was not particularly high.
Even if most of his research focused on magical creatures of lower intelligence.
More often than not, he only needed a brief moment of thought before offering an appropriate suggestion or pointing them in a useful direction.
Meanwhile, Tver and Dumbledore sat back comfortably, eating pastries and watching the discussion unfold.
Tver had already read through these questions beforehand. Some of them had even been deliberately added by him, just to increase the volume.
It was not that he could not answer them himself. He simply wanted Newt to provide explanations that were more professional and more persuasive.
That way, Tver could relax a little. More importantly, with Newt's name attached to the guidance, and considering the well-known relationship between Newt and Dumbledore, anyone who wanted to argue would have to think twice.
By the time evening approached, everyone stretched in unison and let out a satisfied breath.
"Hold on. You two have just been sitting there eating and drinking. How are you more tired than we are?"
When Newt finally leaned back, visibly exhausted, the desserts on the table had already been completely devoured by the old man and the young one.
What remained for the other three was less than a third of a jug of pumpkin juice.
Irritated beyond belief, Newt shot Dumbledore and the newly acquainted Tver an uncharacteristically exasperated look.
"Ahem."
Even Dumbledore, thick-skinned as he was, brushed the crumbs from his hands somewhat sheepishly and stood up.
"I imagine you must be hungry. Let us go to the Great Hall for dinner. It may be a little early, but I am certain the house-elves will be delighted to serve our guests in advance."
"Wait. If I remember correctly, Professor Fawley hasn't asked me a single question."
Newt suddenly turned to Tver, who had just begun to rise. The two exchanged polite smiles.
Hermione blinked. Something in the air felt different.
"The professor's questions…"
"I have no questions that require Mr. Scamander's answers," Tver said calmly, sitting back down.
"But I do have a few questions for Professor Fawley. Alone, if that's acceptable."
Newt maintained his relaxed posture, but his gaze grew noticeably deeper.
"Newt…"
Dumbledore paused halfway to the door, turning back with clear displeasure.
Newt did not respond. His eyes remained fixed on Tver, as if trying to read something hidden there.
"Of course," Tver said with a small smile, nodding to Dumbledore. "Headmaster, please take the two of them to dinner. Leave the room to us for a moment."
Dumbledore took a slow breath, using those few seconds to think.
He had indeed asked Newt to investigate Grindelwald's movements. He had also told him that Tver had once been Grindelwald's student.
But he had not yet had the chance to explain that Tver was not Grindelwald.
His greatest fear was that Newt might assume Tver was some second coming of Grindelwald and lose his temper.
If Newt truly acted impulsively, Dumbledore feared that the only thing he would be able to return to Tina would be a body.
Still, Tver's earlier smile had carried a distinctly friendly undertone. That eased him slightly.
Tver would not bully an elderly man like Newt.
Probably.
As Dumbledore led the others out, he could not quite suppress his lingering worry.
When the door closed, only Tver and Newt remained in the Headmaster's office.
Well.
Tver, Newt, a phoenix, the Sorting Hat, and the portraits lining the walls.
The portraits were the worst of it. During the earlier discussion, they had kept chiming in with ancient, outdated opinions.
But the moment Newt proposed speaking in private, they all turned into consummate actors, yawning exaggeratedly and pretending to doze off. Within seconds, they were slumped in their frames, eyes closed, as if fast asleep.
"Would you mind if I made this a little more private?"
Tver drew his wand.
At Newt's slight nod, he flicked it. A sheet of black drapery unfurled from the tip, spreading outward to encircle their corner of the room before rising upward and sealing them inside.
Newt's pupils tightened at the sight of the spell, but his expression quickly returned to calm.
"I can see why Dumbledore thinks so highly of you. That alone puts you ahead of most wizards."
"Thinks highly of me? Does Dumbledore mention me in his letters to you?" Tver asked lightly, the smile on his lips carrying a pointed undertone.
He did not actually know whether Dumbledore expressed his views through letters, or even whether they corresponded at all.
But ever since their meeting at noon, he had sensed something subtly off in Newt's attitude.
Combined with what had just happened, Tver had every reason to suspect that Newt and Dumbledore had discussed him and his teacher more than once.
Newt, however, was a veteran wizard who had fought Grindelwald. A simple probing remark was not enough to unsettle him.
"A wizard as capable as you, and a newly appointed professor at Hogwarts. It would be stranger if Dumbledore had never mentioned you."
"I didn't expect that," Tver said, leaning back against his chair and tilting his head slightly upward. "What I didn't expect was that he would tell you quite so much."
"I assume you already know that my teacher was Grindelwald?"
Newt paused. "How do you know that?"
"I do now."
Tver's grin widened.
Newt let out a soft huff and shook his head.
"As expected. A true student of Grindelwald."
He had underestimated Tver because of his age.
It was hard not to. Tver's youth, appearance, and mild, refined manner were disarming.
Even if someone revealed that he had once studied under Grindelwald, most of the students in the castle would probably refuse to believe it.
"Tver Fawley," Newt said, and the smile vanished from his face. "In the war your teacher started, I was there. I fought in it. I was among those who survived to see its end."
"Neither I, nor Dumbledore, nor any of the old wizards who stood against Grindelwald would ever allow that ideology to spread again."
"And you, as his student, speak at the Wizarding Confederation about the threat of Muggles, recruit werewolves, associate with Death Eaters, now advocate equality for intelligent beings, and even win Dumbledore's trust."
"What exactly are you trying to do?"
Tver looked at him in surprise.
Newt was staking his life on that question.
If Tver truly were a ruthless Dark Lord in the making, this would be the perfect moment to silence him in anger.
But doing so would expose him before Dumbledore and confirm every suspicion.
If Newt walked out alive, then at the very least he would know that Tver either had no intention of inheriting Grindelwald's will, or that he followed a far more rational path.
"The werewolves now have sufficient Wolfsbane Potion and their werewolf bracelets," Tver said evenly. "They are living openly as ordinary wizards and working for a living."
"The Death Eaters who committed crimes are in Azkaban. The ones left are engaged only in business dealings among pure-blood families, under my supervision. Their conduct is no longer as extreme."
"As for the Muggle threat, Newt. Since you know I spoke at the Confederation, you must have read the speech."
"Tell me. Did the threat come into existence because I mentioned it? Or was it already there?"
Tver stood and walked until he was directly in front of Newt.
"And I," he said quietly, "am simply the one who chose to bring it into the open."
Newt opened his mouth.
For a moment, even he, who had once stood face to face with Grindelwald, found himself without words.