Ivan had a sudden thought, and he remembered the two wizards he had just arrested. "Who do you think attacked the Thunderbird?" he asked.
"I don't know. Perhaps a group of immoral poachers. After all, an adult Thunderbird's carcass could sell for thousands of Galleons on the black market. It's hard to say if others would not be tempted!" Rolfe sighed wistfully. He had seen such things many times while traveling the world with his father, and some of the rare magical creatures had been nearly wiped out by these bastards.
Ivan, however, disagreed with Rolfe, who found it hard to believe that it was a coincidence that a Thunderbird had been brought to France and that Grindelwald's minions were in the area.
However, if it had something to do with Grindelwald, it didn't make sense. Why would he go to the Thunderbird?
He couldn't possibly collect the Thunderbird's blood and fuse it with his own, right?
Ivan dismissed the idea as soon as it surfaced in his mind. Given Grindelwald's level of magic, he would not have had to wait until now if he wanted to improve his strength by merging his blood vessels. Unlike Ivan, Grindelwald could not rely on the system to solve multiple blood conflicts.
"All in all, this mission is going to be very dangerous. Aside from the Thunderbird, we're likely to run into some poachers, so you'd better think twice while you're resting. This is going to be a real fight, and no joke!" Rolfe advised her sternly.
Although he had read in the European Times that Ivan had defeated three Aurors, he concluded that it was all for show.
After all, Ivan Hals looked too young. Even if he was very skilled in magic, he must be very inexperienced in combat.
In a formal battle, it was not a matter of who could cast the most powerful spell, and the opponent was not stupid enough to wait until you were ready before duelling.
"That won't be necessary, Mr Scamander. I am capable of protecting myself and am prepared to fight," Ivan said flatly, but there was a finality to his words that could not be denied.
"Well, if you insist…" Rolfe nodded, but didn't try to convince her otherwise. He wanted to keep an eye on Ivan, in case she was in danger.
Having tentatively agreed on a plan to capture the Thunderbird, Ivan and Rolfe booked two rooms at the hotel and began the preliminary preparations.
Rolfe made the special spices that attracted the Thunderbirds, while Ivan took over the brewing of the potion.
This time, they had to stay in the wild for at least half a day. If they did not want to be bitten all over, they would need potions to ward off mosquitoes and conceal themselves.
In anticipation of possible contingencies during the mission, Ivan had also prepared a copy of the improved Bloodline Fusion Potion in advance, so that all they needed to do was collect some Thunderbird blood for the Bloodline Fusion ritual.
The next morning, Ivan left the hotel with a brewed potion, while Rolfe was waiting for him with a small goat.
Perhaps because of the Confunding Charm, the goat was very well-behaved and followed Rolf without a leash.
"The potion you wanted!" Ivan threw two bottles of potion at him.
Rolfe took the vial from her and sniffed it to make sure it was working.
Sniffy the size of a guinea pig also came out of Rolf's breast pocket, yawning. It looked around in a daze, as if it had sensed the scent of treasure. When it saw Ivan, it let out a shriek, then slithered back into the bag, leaving its tail and half its butt outside.
Ivan rubbed his nose. 'Am I that scary?'
Rolfe, not knowing whether to laugh or cry, stuffed the Sniffer's exposed tail into his pocket and pulled Ivan away in a rented Muggle car, heading for the towering mountain forest on the west side of town.
"I can't believe you can drive," Yvonne said, surprised.
"Sometimes using Muggle transport saves you a lot of unnecessary trouble…" Rolf explained with a shrug.
Although a wizard's Apparition was useful, it could only be used to teleport to places they had been before if they wanted to get their destination right.
As they chatted, Rolf followed the trail halfway up the mountain and stopped at a relatively flat clearing.
"I have placed a Muggle banishing spell at the foot of the mountain, so that no one will disturb us during this time…" Rolfe explained as he opened the car door and pulled the goat out of the trunk.
Yvonne tried to sniff it, but she couldn't smell anything. Probably only a Thunderbird would be able to tell.
"Need a hand?" Yvonne asked, rolling up her sleeves.
"Of course, it'll save us both a lot of time!" Rolfe did not refuse Ivan's help in restraining the goat from moving.
It took Rolf about five minutes to get it all sorted out, after which he waved his wand to remove the Confunding Charm.
When the poor goat woke up and saw the two wizards glaring at it, it ran away and disappeared into the forest.
"All we have to do now is follow it. Don't get too close and don't lose it. Just be patient and wait for the Thunderbird to show up!" Rolf gulped down the last two bottles of potion he had in his mouth, then crouched and twisted.
Fluffy yellow hair quickly emerged from its body, and its nails became long and sharp. Soon, a strong leopard appeared halfway up the mountain.
The Niffler in his pocket also fell out, but the little fellow quickly climbed onto the leopard's head and grabbed onto the few hairs.
Rolfe took a moment to adjust to his transformed form, then turned to face them and asked, "How good is your stealth, Hulse?"
However, when Rolf looked behind him, he was surprised to find that Ivan had disappeared. Just as he was wondering what had happened, a voice came from midair.
"I think it's rather nice!"
Rolfe glanced up as an owl slowly descended from the sky and hovered in front of him.
(PS: Thank you, fellow readers, for the 50,000 Point Coins awarded to me, and for your vote.