A week after his unexpected encounter with Tonks, Barnaby made enough space in his schedule to visit the Scamander family, sending them a letter in advance to ensure that at least one of the couple would be home when he arrived.
It wasn't a secret to him that Mr. Scamander was recently studying not only the fire rats he provided but also the fire slugs from the Brazilian Amazon jungle.
So, the chances of him being at home were fifty-fifty, and he wasn't going to make a trip in vain.
His arrival in Dorset was quiet, but he missed his target by a dozen kilometers due to his lack of familiarity with the area and ended up falling into a small pond. After drying off with some magic and pulling a fish out of one of his pant legs to Sanshi's amusement, he had to walk for a while to reach the magizoologist's residence.
The protections around were quite impressive, it was clear that the family cared about their privacy... and about preventing the escape of magical creatures as much as possible.
To Barnaby's immense relief, it wasn't Tina who opened the door but Newt himself, and judging by the leather apron and fireproof gloves, it seemed he had just finished feeding the fire rats.
"Barnaby!" Newt enthusiastically patted his shoulder a couple of times despite his general phobia of social events and preference for the company of magical beasts. "You're just in time; I just finished feeding everyone. Come in, let me change, and I'll properly show you the plot."
"Thank you, Mr. Scamander," Barnaby entered through the door and sat on the dining room sofa. He saw the three Kneazles that were the house pets (the ones officially recognized by Tina) and greeted them. "Hoppy. Milly. Mauler."
The Kneazles stared at him as they settled down, diverting their gazes to his shadow. Apparently, they could sense something. Curious.
"I already told you, you can call me Newt," Scamander protested softly without looking him in the eyes since their meeting. "Have you really not thought about becoming a magizoologist?"
Newt had offered to become his magizoology teacher due to Barnaby's abilities, but the redhead had a serious suspicion that this was only half the reason, and the other was to have his unique creatures nearby to study.
Though being neighbors in the future, in a way, he had achieved his goal.
"Not at the moment," Barnaby replied, leaving the door open for the future.
While he agreed with Newt on many topics related to creatures, he couldn't say that all of them sparked enthusiasm in him. So being named a magizoologist would seem a bit disrespectful to those who feel true passion for that profession.
Besides, he was already busy enough with what he had, to go looking for more.
"A shame..." Newt lamented as he took off the equipment to protect himself from high temperatures and hung it on a hanger along with other tools, preparing a bit of tea to serve with a single twist of his waist.
Was that the kitchen?
"I brought a little gift, the famous rock cakes from the family," Barnaby left a well-wrapped package on the table. "Is your wife not around?"
Newt paused his tea-making process for a moment, looked at the package of rock cakes with hollow eyes, and traumatically recalled how they ended up being used by the larger creatures in his reserve to sharpen their claws... when they didn't break them in the process.
How Barnaby was able to bite something like that and still complain that they weren't crunchy enough had always been one of the boy's greatest mysteries.
"Uh, no, Tina has gone out with some friends," Newt shook his head, snapping out of his stupor. "Oh, you mentioned in your letter that you got your familiar?" The man jumped straight to the next topic of interest as he served the tea with a wand gesture. "May I ask what kind of creature you chose?"
Newt theorized that an Augurey was unlikely.
Perhaps a Bowtruckle?
An Occamy would be an excellent choice as well.
Nifflers, on the other hand, though a bit more mischievous, were also endearing in their way.
A month ago, he heard a burst in his garden and found a peculiar one injured by a spell at his door, which he hurried to treat. The curious thing is that even after its recovery, it was so low-spirited that it ignored shiny things, which greatly worried Newt!
The only thing he managed to discover was that it apparently already had a name, and by extension, a master. Perhaps something sinister had happened?
After a few hours of trying various pronunciations, Newt discovered that it only responded to the name Rada. But even using his contacts, he didn't find anyone with a Niffler named that who had disappeared.
"Well, I guess it's better to introduce you here and now than later," Barnaby concluded, knowing that Newt could help him think of ways to prevent his wife from stressing his familiar with her insistence. "Sanshi, you can come out."
Newt looked confusedly at Barnaby, while his Kneazles stood up and retreated upon feeling something approaching. Like a fish jumping out of water, Sanshi rose from Barnaby's shadow and appeared before someone else in the world.
"Hello, Mr. Scamander," Sanshi greeted as she approached Barnaby to feel more at ease.
The magizoologist could only think of one word upon seeing the never-before-seen creature, which for him was quite a joy and rarity nowadays.
Magnificent.
Barnaby handed him some parchments with dense details that Newt would certainly ask about to save time, like how Sanshi was born from the roots of a tree, her dietary preferences, and some additional details.
Not everything was there, of course, but it was more than enough to satisfy Scamander's curiosity for the moment during their first meeting while he continued deducing things with his experienced gaze.
"Her unconscious movements resemble those of a mother protecting her young," Newt thought with fascination. "Is this a racial trait or a result of the ceremony to become a familiar?"
The Kneazles were quite accustomed to the presence of creatures thanks to their particular master, so after confirming that Sanshi showed no hostility, they relaxed.
Barnaby took two cups of tea while patiently waiting for Scamander to read the parchments, occasionally asking Sanshi a question when he had a doubt.
"Oh! Sorry, force of habit," Newt realized he had spent an hour in the blink of an eye and restrained his urge to continue. "Come on, there's a small old path that connects my house near your new property."
With Newt's assurances, Sanshi could walk without hiding alongside Barnaby during the journey, looking around with interest. Ten minutes later, Scamander stopped atop a hill and made a sweeping gesture with his arm.
"This is the place, from this stone to as far as the eye can see is all yours," he explained, giving Barnaby and Sanshi a moment to take in the landscape before starting to descend. "As you can see, it's completely virgin land. A few days ago, I came to check for goblin burrows, Muggle trash, or other problems to deal with, but there were no incidents. I already cast some basic Muggle-repelling charms, but I would recommend later undoing them and using some more powerful, comprehensive, and permanent ones."
Barnaby and Sanshi walked down the dirt path, which was quite well-preserved, and their eyes lit up at times. Though he had gotten a quick idea during his purchase, seeing it in person was completely different.
The completely green plain formed waves on its surface when the gentle west wind blew, with a small river crossing the place from a clear-water pond to his right where fish swam energetically. The presence of trees was rather sparse as there were only a few birches forming a semicircle by the river.
In fact, he was already starting to visualize some ideas for his future home.
A small bridge for the river, not too high, but with an overhang especially for fishing while sunbathing or reading a book while dipping his feet in the water current.
He could use the birch area to place some tables and benches when he decided to have barbecues by the river, enjoying their shade, while grilling the catch, meat, or some vegetables.
On the slope by the pond, he would make a large vegetable garden. He grew up with one by the cabin and was definitely going to have one by his house.
Or a flower garden, he could prepare an area to get honey from some beehives.
Maybe he could make an underground cellar... In the end, so many ideas needed to be carefully weighed.
This place was a canvas ready for him to work on, and Barnaby couldn't be more satisfied.