After flying forward for a little while longer, the view suddenly opened up before Viktor.
A wide clearing appeared, carpeted in soft grass.
In the middle of it stood an elderly man with only one arm, chuckling happily as he fed a herd of rather terrifying-looking creatures.
They were jet-black horses, gaunt and skeletal, with heads resembling black dragons.
Bat-like wings sprouted from their ribs.
Their glossy black coats clung so tightly to their bones they looked almost mummified.
Those pupil-less, ghostly white eyes made the already ferocious winged horses seem even more nightmarish.
Yet right now, these horrifying Thestrals stood in an orderly line in front of the old man, patiently waiting for him to toss them chunks of bloody raw meat from a bucket.
"Professor, I knew you'd still be out here feeding the Woos at this hour!"
As he spoke, Viktor reached down and grabbed the little red gourd resting on his cloud.
The moment he lifted it, the pure-white cloud began to dissolve.
When he was about three metres above the ground, suitcase in hand, Viktor flipped off the fading cloud and landed lightly.
Hearing the shout, the old man turned around.
When he saw who it was, he dropped the hunk of meat he was holding and waved enthusiastically.
"Viktor! Welcome back to Hogwarts!"
Viktor strode over to Silvanus Kettleburn and pulled the elderly professor into a big, warm hug.
"This is all thanks to you. Without your recommendation, things wouldn't have gone nearly this smoothly."
"Nonsense. I believe in your abilities—just like I believe in every little badger!"
"Exactly. Hufflepuffs are always the most trustworthy."
Laughing, Viktor reached casually into the big bucket at Kettleburn's feet, scooped out a dripping piece of fresh meat, and lobbed it toward the tallest Thestral.
"Woo, catch!"
He watched the Thestral leader gulp the entire chunk down in one swallow, then spoke again.
"Professor, do you mind if I let some of my little darlings out for some fresh air?"
Kettleburn's eyes lit up instantly.
His gaze dropped to the suitcase at Viktor's feet.
"Quite a few, are there? Maybe we should call Hagrid over too."
As he said it, he turned to one of the Thestrals that had nudged closer.
"Woo, go fetch Hagrid, would you? He should be over by the Hippogriffs right now."
Watching the Thestral take wing, Kettleburn said with a touch of nostalgia,
"You might not have heard while you were travelling these past few years, but Hagrid has become quite an excellent magizoologist in his own right."
"If you hadn't come back, in another few years he would've taken over my position."
"And lately, Hagrid's developed some new ideas about magical creatures—apparently inspired by Muggle hybridization techniques."
"He's been working hard in that direction now. Wants to breed some completely unprecedented little darlings."
While tossing more meat to the Thestrals, Viktor listened to the old man's words. When he got to the end, he couldn't help blurting,
"Hybridization?! So Hagrid's over with the Hippogriffs… trying to breed them? With Thestrals? Hippogriffs? Or maybe Poison-Horns?"
Kettleburn's expression turned distinctly odd.
"No… none of those. Hagrid's trying to hybridize Fire Crabs."
"Fire Crabs?!"
Even Viktor fell silent at the unexpected answer.
He genuinely couldn't imagine what on earth a turtle-like Fire Crab had in common with a winged lion-headed scorpion-tailed beast that would make anyone think "let's cross these."
The next instant, a little white thought-cloud popped above Viktor's head.
In it: Hagrid carefully securing a Fire Crab in place, then using his massive arms to wrestle a Hippogriff behind it.
Pouring a bucket of blood mixed with massive doses of beast-grade love potion down the Hippogriff's throat.
Finally—forcing the Hippogriff, shrieking in pained confusion, down onto the Fire Crab.
The mental image made Viktor shudder violently. He waved the horrifying vision away and stammered,
"Uh… very… interesting pairing, just that it's…"
"Yes, exactly—we don't yet know what kind of adorable little thing will come out of it."
Seeing Professor Kettleburn's genuinely excited, expectant face, Viktor swallowed the rest of his sentence and forced an awkward agreement.
"Yeah… no idea what kind of cute little hybrid we'll end up with."
Just then, the sound of powerful wingbeats filled the sky.
Looking up, Viktor saw a pitch-black, menacing Thestral soaring with wings spread wide.
Behind it came a towering giant riding a beast that looked every bit like a massive lion.
"Hagrid's here!"
Viktor waved enthusiastically toward the sky.
At the same moment, Hagrid's unmistakable booming voice rang out, startling a flock of birds into flight.
"Professor! And Viktor!"
Hagrid slid off the back of the enormous Hippogriff and bounded over, wrapping Viktor in one of his signature bone-crushing hugs.
"Viktor! Long time no see!"
"You too, Hagrid—long time no see!"
"Alright, Hagrid, you two will have plenty of time to catch up later. Viktor, why don't you let your little darlings out for some air now?"
Seeing how eager the professor already was, Viktor laughed.
"Of course, Professor. Right away."
With a flick of his wand, the suitcase latches snapped open.
The wide double doors unfolded from within.
"Rawr!"
A joyful roar echoed as a sleek black shape leapt nimbly out of the doorway.
"Excellent little fellow. She's been very well fed—maybe even a bit overfed."
"Yes, Professor. I rescued her in Mexico almost a year ago. I've been debating whether to send her back home or release her deep in the Forbidden Forest."
"Deep in the Forbidden Forest would be perfect. I recall the poison-pouch leopard clan hasn't had any new members in quite a while. I think the lads will be thrilled."
"Oh, Viktor—this little one is gorgeous! Look at those beautiful horns, those massive clawed hooves. Could I borrow him for a bit? I think Little Eagle and the others would really take to him."
"Little Eagle?"
"That's the Hippogriff from earlier. I've been experimenting with hybridization lately—I'm sure they'd get along splendidly."
"Uh… Hagrid, you'll have to ask him yourself. As long as they both agree, it's fine by me."
"Great! I'll go talk to him right now."
Hagrid walked over to the enormous Poison-Horn with an almost reverent expression.
He gently stroked the creature's grey back with one massive hand while murmuring softly into its ear.
In what felt like mere moments, the Poison-Horn already looked noticeably swayed by Hagrid's persuasion.
Viktor stared in genuine shock.
Was Hagrid secretly that good at talking animals into things?
Poison-Horn and Hippogriff… well, it wasn't impossible.
At least it sounded a hell of a lot more plausible than Fire Crab.
So… good luck to you both.
After silently wishing the Poison-Horn well in his heart, Viktor turned and pulled Professor Kettleburn over—he'd been inspecting the cat-leopard's claws.
"Professor, take a look at this little guy. I ran into him in China. He says he got hit with a Gu worm—you know what those are?"
"Oh, I know them. Nasty little insects, common in Southeast Asia. I've seen them. Pretty sure that's where I lost half my stomach."
"Let me see the poor thing. Hmm… tricky. Mixed venom. You handled it well, but we should add some moonlight grass to neutralize the rest."
"And maybe some mandrake leaves would help too. Let's start with moonlight grass and see."
...