A Professor of Magic at Hogwarts

Chapter 268: Unexpected Encounter with Newt

The door of the telephone booth swung open suddenly, and Felix strode into the opulent and magnificent foyer, making his way to the inquiry desk.

"Good day. Could you please tell me where the Second Meeting Room is?"

A middle-aged witch with golden hair glanced casually at the badge on his chest. Various signs were posted on the bulletin board behind her, but these were obscured by an exaggerated wanted poster. "Felix Harp... Oh, Mr. Harp, Mr. Cedric has instructed. Please follow me."

"Apologies, madam, but I haven't registered my wand yet."

The witch said warmly, "That's not a necessary step, dear. I've heard you're a Muggle Studies expert? I have a copy of 'Simple Spells to Confound Muggles' at home, but I haven't really looked into it. Can't tell the good from the bad... Little Tim always makes a mess of the house."

With Felix in tow, she led him to the area with elevators, glancing at the floor numbers. "We're headed to the fourth floor... Oh, watch out!" As she spoke, a group of paper airplanes flew into the elevator through the gaps in the golden lattice door. She explained, "These are notes the Ministry uses to pass messages—"

Once these paper airplanes entered the elevator, they lazily circled on the ceiling. They were a pale shade of purple, bearing the stamp of the "Ministry of Magic" on their wings.

"—We used to communicate with owls before. You can imagine the air quality here... and the problem of droppings. After switching to these little things, the cleaning workload for the Ministry has been reduced by a third."

"Forgive me, but I haven't learned your name yet?" Felix had to interject to catch a breath in the conversation.

"I'm Ella Defina. Now, where was I? Oh, right—" She began to tell the story of how her five-year-old son managed to draw the entire Quidditch League emblem using a bag of flour. "He's going to lead the national team to victory," she said proudly.

"Mrs. Defina, I've heard that L.C.A. Serial Publications recently released a popular new series of comics."

"Really? I haven't paid much attention. What's it called?"

"It's called—"

The elevator stopped, and two wizards entered from outside. One was a red-faced man with short brown beard, wearing a black wizard robe. The other was an elderly man with graying facial hair, dressed in a coarse gray tweed overcoat over a brown vest.

The elder tilted his head slightly. "Amos, your procedures are flawed, seriously flawed. And you've been beating around the bush all this time. I can tell Tina taught me a lot."

Amos, the wizard in the robe, said uneasily, "I know you care deeply about the environment for the Hippogriffs, but this matter really doesn't concern you, does it? You're not even their owner."

"I can't simply ignore it because they have an owner. I'm just fighting for their legal rights."

"But you're retired, Mr. Scamander."

"In theory, I'm just not going out much... but I haven't stopped working. If you knew how much work I do in a day, you wouldn't think that way."

"Your 'Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them' has already been revised up to the 52nd edition. Why not complete another edition?"

The old man gazed at the side of the other's face. "I do have that plan, but... we've gone off-topic. To reiterate, I've been commissioned by friends, including three caring youngsters, to scrutinize the workflow of the Ministry. I believe you hired me as a consultant not to remain silent."

"Of course, many magical creature reserves in the Ministry need your insights."

The elevator stopped on the fourth floor, and the two walked out—

"Mr. Harp, we've arrived as well," said Defina from the front desk. Felix nodded his head in acknowledgment. "Thank you. Is it on this level? I can find my own way."

He took a few steps, then turned back. "By the way, the name of the book is 'The Adventures of Young Wizard Micky.' Several bookstores carry it."

Felix followed the two wizards, watching as they halted before the door of a spacious office. He looked up at the sign that read "Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures."

The wizard in the black robe entered the office, leaving the elder waiting outside. Felix approached, "Mr. Newt Scamander?"

The elder turned his head slightly, his gaze sliding over Felix. "You are..."

"Felix Harp, Ancient Runes Professor at Hogwarts," Felix introduced himself. "We just met in the elevator."

Newt's gaze settled on him. "Yes, yes, that's right... Mr. Harp, I've heard your name. Rolf mentioned you."

Felix continued, "I was quite interested in your research during my school days. I collected some clippings, but unfortunately didn't find much content."

"In my early years, I did publish a few articles, but they weren't taken seriously then—" Newt said, "That was a long time ago."

"For a period during my school years, I was fascinated with how to interact with them, of course, while ensuring I wouldn't get hurt," Felix explained.

Newt's eyes lit up. "That's the essence of my research – rescuing, nurturing, protecting... I also teach other wizards to understand them rather than fear them—"

"So, Potter and the others eventually found you?" Felix said. "I overheard a few things in the elevator. I assume you were discussing the case of the Hippogriff attacking students at Hogwarts."

"Potter? Harry Potter?"

"Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, and, of course, at the heart of it, Rubeus Hagrid and his Buckbeak."

Newt nodded. "That's correct. They wrote to me, saying a Hippogriff was being treated unfairly and asking for my help. Honestly, I've been away from the Ministry for many years, and things have changed since I left. Sorry—things have changed a lot."

He tilted his head back, adopting a disappointed expression. "Tina advised me to focus on writing, but when you see certain things, you can't just ignore them. If the Erumpent horns start glowing, there has to be a response. Do you get what I mean?"

The Erumpent is a large, rhinoceros-like magical beast. It stores a deadly fluid in its long, sharp horn that causes anything injected with the peculiar venom to explode.

"We can't tolerate injustice that happens right before our eyes," Felix expressed his understanding.

"Exactly. You summed it up well. Oh, wait a moment, I need to deal with a little trouble." Newt swiftly reached into his pocket, producing a silver pocket watch. The watch abruptly expanded and contracted, looking as if it was about to explode.

"Mr. Scamander—" Felix widened his eyes, quickly casting a human transfiguration spell on himself.

"Don't worry, it's not a bad thing," Newt hurriedly reassured. The front lid of the silver pocket watch sprang open, revealing a beak-like, pink snout that extended outward. The next second, a palm-sized Snidget crawled out of the watch, deftly climbing onto Newt.

In quick succession, two more Snidgets appeared. One of them immediately faced the smooth cover of the pocket watch, smoothing its black, soft fur, while the other seemed interested in the silver chain of the watch.

Felix observed them with curiosity. These were small, furry creatures, resembling a cross between a mole and a Niffler. They had an extraordinary obsession with shiny objects.

"Hey! Valen, Sall, Sop, calm down a bit," Newt muttered softly. He skillfully caught the Snidget perched on his shoulder, struggling to unfasten the silver button. He then tucked it back into the pocket watch. The other two Snidgets were also tossed inside, and the front lid was closed.

Newt looked around to make sure no one was watching before slipping the pocket watch back into his pocket. He winked at Felix. "Technically, I'm not supposed to bring my magical animal friends along... but they were just born not long ago, and I can't help but worry."

Well, I can't finish this anymore. More tomorrow, I promise!

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