Dorset is in the southwest of England, undoubtedly a romantic place with its long coastline leading to sparkling bays. Dorset is not only the starting point of the Jurassic Coast but also home to the romantic Corfe Castle.
Newt's home was located a bit further from the coast, which helped them avoid the damp sea breeze.
Here, Cyrus received a warm welcome.
He was pleased that Tina was previously an American, which brought a lot of fresh variety to his dinner.
"So, what's the deal with the Ministry's warrant?" Newt put down his fork and looked up at Cyrus.
Although he had personally come to like this young man who "liked" magical creatures, the Ministry of Magic's warrant wasn't groundless, and it seemed Dumbledore had even fought with Cyrus.
"They say you're a ghost from fifty years ago. I'd like to know how you keep your youthful appearance?"
Tina's focus was clearly different from Newt's.
She was more interested in how Cyrus maintained his appearance.
There were plenty of wizards who lived to be one or two hundred years old, but almost no one could keep their body looking young.
Even using transformation spells would consume a lot of magic and wasn't a long-term solution.
"The situation is somewhat different, Mr. Scamander. They are hunting Tom Riddle, while my name is Cyrus," Cyrus said with a light smile. He always had a flexible standard for his identity.
"You'll find that I only look somewhat similar to Tom Riddle's younger self in pictures, not to mention that he looks very different now."
"So you're saying they got the wrong person?" Newt clearly didn't quite believe this explanation.
But Cyrus nodded seriously.
However, he only agreed with the idea that the Ministry had mistaken his identity, without saying that the crimes listed on the warrant weren't his doing.
So this wasn't exactly a lie.
"At present, the misunderstanding between Dumbledore and me has been resolved, well, at least temporarily," Cyrus said.
With this assurance, Newt felt almost completely at ease with Cyrus. Only those who had truly interacted with Dumbledore would understand this feeling—most of the time, if Dumbledore believed something was right, it usually was.
Of course, nothing is absolute in this world.
After dinner, Newt took Cyrus into his suitcase.
Upon entering, there was a staircase leading downward, seemingly into a spacious basement.
Further down was a wooden hut, which served as Newt's place for processing and feeding magical creatures.
"Wow."
Cyrus glanced around but did not see the woman who always accompanied Newt in the movies, helping him care for the animals.
"Hehe, I have quite a few magical creatures here, none of them are too dangerous," Newt said, transforming instantly when talking about magical creatures. Usually, he spoke very little, and during dinner, he only inquired about Cyrus' identity, appearing to have pondered it for a long time before reluctantly asking.
But now, he was overflowing with information.
"This is a Kappa. I found it in Australia. A group of poachers had taken it from Japan. Be careful, they're dangerous."
The Kappa is a magical creature that lives in water, resembling a monkey.
It hides underwater and drags people down to eat them. Cyrus thought that some reports of water monkeys might be due to Muggles witnessing these creatures.
These creatures aren't particularly powerful, but they are very cunning and aggressive.
Because of this, the Ministry of Magic has given them a danger rating of 4X.
The rating of magical creatures takes into account not only their inherent strength but also the potential for them to cause harm to wizards and their general behavior.
For example, dragons and thunderbirds have different ratings: the former is rated 5X, while the latter is 4X, the same as the Kappa. However, in an actual fight, a thunderbird might not be any less formidable than a dragon.
Moreover, creatures with the same 5X rating, like Acromantulas and dragons, vary greatly in combat ability. The terror of Acromantulas lies not in the power of an individual but in the threat posed by the entire colony, and they, too, have a penchant for eating humans!
"You see, I don't keep very dangerous magical creatures because their aggressive nature leads to attacks on each other. Also, powerful magical creatures have a strong sense of territory," Newt explained, indicating that this Kappa hadn't yet been released.
"It was unlucky. There's a Kelpie in the lake, and it drove this Kappa onto land."
As Cyrus observed these creatures, he felt a sense of calm, even though the Kappa continued to bare its teeth at him, resembling an irksome monkey.
Later, Cyrus saw a Demiguise, a magical creature that also looked somewhat like a monkey but appeared much more docile, resembling a wise old man rather than the hideous Kappa.
Most of the magical creatures living in Newt's suitcase shared one trait—they were rare.
Several species here were nearly extinct in the wild, but Newt had managed to maintain small breeding populations.
"Look over there. That's a Chinese Qilin. I once thought they were completely extinct," Newt said, pointing to a direction in the forest several hundred meters away. He handed a telescope to Cyrus, though Cyrus could actually see the emaciated creature without it.
"The Qilin chooses true leaders. About half a century ago, the dark wizard Grindelwald targeted the Chinese Qilin. He killed a mother Qilin that had just given birth, took her child, and turned it into an Inferius to make it bow to him in front of the world..." Newt seemed lost in memory, but his face was clouded with gloom.
"But he miscalculated. He didn't know that the Qilin had actually given birth to twins. We brought the living Qilin to expose his plot, and that Qilin chose Dumbledore. Since then, Dumbledore has been the Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards."
"So, this Qilin is the offspring of that Qilin?"
"That's right," Newt nodded stiffly. "I've tried many ways to ensure its lineage, but over the years, I haven't found a second Chinese Qilin. Some subspecies, like the Japanese Qilin, have been brought in, but it shows no interest in them."
Newt looked deeply regretful.
"Perhaps you could visit Hogwarts and speak with a man named Rubeus Hagrid. He recently started as the professor for Care of Magical Creatures. He's quite skilled at, well, cross-breeding magical creatures," Cyrus suggested diplomatically.
"What, Really?" Newt seemed delighted but also a bit apprehensive. "I'm not sure if he'd be willing to help me."
"Oh, you don't know him~ Hagrid loves magical creatures. I think you'll have plenty to talk about. You could write to Dumbledore; I'm sure he'd help make an introduction," Cyrus said, ending the topic as his gaze shifted to the distance.
There, a vast snowy plain stretched out before them.
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12 Advance Chapters—Patreon.com/HornyFBI