Wait!
Newt Scamander?
John stared at the young man with a strange expression.
He remembered correctly—that was the name of the author of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.
And that book had first been published in 1927.
After a moment of silence, John asked, "Has your book been published yet?"
"A book?" Newt asked in confusion. "How do you know I'm writing one? A book that will help more wizards understand magical creatures—I haven't officially published it yet."
Not published yet?
That meant… this was before 1927?
John took a deep breath.
Seeing his posture, Newt had the impression that the next second, the dragon might breathe fire and set everything ablaze.
John calmed himself and thought for a moment.
It seemed his temporal jump had both succeeded and failed.
He had indeed traveled through time into the future, but the problem was that the future he had reached was only a little over twenty years ahead.
There were still seventy years separating him from the world he originally came from.
John felt a headache coming on. After finally managing to use the temporal jump to travel through time, it still wasn't enough.
"I'll have to seize the next opportunity," he muttered to himself.
Temporal jumps were full of randomness, and accurately returning to his own year wouldn't be easy. He would need some kind of assistance.
For example, like that despicable Herpo—setting an anchor point.
He looked up at the young Newt. In John's time, Newt was already an old man.
The young author of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, the most authoritative magizoologist.
If Hagrid knew who he was with right now, he would probably be overjoyed.
After all, Hagrid also loved magical creatures dearly.
"Where am I?" John glanced around.
If Hagrid were brought here, he'd probably be willing to spend his entire life as a half-giant keeper.
Everything here was completely modeled after Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.
A Niffler climbed onto John's body, seemingly attracted to his gleaming scales.
"Uh… oh, this is my case. I'm on my way to America," Newt said, still not quite used to a dragon that could talk. "I'm taking Frank to Arizona."
As Newt spoke, he saw the dragon staring at him in stunned silence.
John was dumbfounded. He had taken a nap and gone from Egypt to America?
It wasn't really Newt's fault—John had been asleep for far too long.
Frank, the Thunderbird rescued alongside John, had nearly recovered under Newt's care, while John had only just woken up.
They were aboard a ship. After exchanging a few words with John, Newt left to prepare to disembark.
Putting on his peacock-blue coat, Newt climbed up the ladder and departed.
After he left, John reached out and grabbed the Niffler that had climbed onto him.
Grr..
The Niffler stared at him, its round little eyes full of pitiful pleading.
Then, John's body began to shrink.
From an eighty-foot behemoth, he gradually returned to human form.
The Niffler was so startled that the gold necklace in its pouch fell out.
Holding the Niffler in one hand, John took out his wand with the other.
When an Animagus transforms, their clothing changes along with them.
Thanks to that, after transforming into a dragon, John's newly made satchel had been preserved.
The linden wand was completely ruined now, the broken shaft covered in dense cracks.
It looked even worse than Ron's old wand—just holding it caused bits to flake off.
John's gaze swept over the magical creatures around him.
"Isn't this just a field full of materials?"
His eyes shifted to the Niffler, still frozen in shock from his transformation, and a smile appeared on John's face.
As expected, magizoologists were rich without even realizing it—these magical creatures alone would be enough to buy countless wands if taken outside.
The dragon boy sell me to shop..?
The Niffler trembled at John's smile, but John couldn't be bothered to argue with a little creature that loved shiny things.
He set the Niffler down and let it leave, then turned his attention to the Thunderbird.
His first wand had been made with Thunderbird materials. Now that he had encountered one again, he didn't mind using it once more.
…
It was a clear day in New York.
Seagulls circled overhead.
A large passenger ship passed by the Statue of Liberty, the massive statue gifted by France drawing the attention of tourists on board.
Sitting on a bench, Newt wore that worn blue coat, his case resting on his lap as he whispered softly, "Dougal, behave yourself. Take care of the big one—he's injured."
He muttered quietly, like an odd fellow.
A protesting whine came from the case. That dragon—you expect an Erumpent to take care of it?
I can't even provide it with a full meal!
Soon, the ship docked at the harbor.
Amid the crowded throng, Newt walked down the gangplank.
The American customs officers carefully and seriously checked every passenger's passport.
Newt also took out his rather worn passport, causing the officer to frown as he inspected it.
"British?" the officer scrutinized the photograph in the passport and compared it to Newt.
Newt avoided the officer's gaze.
As someone socially anxious, he found it difficult to handle situations like this.
"Yes," Newt replied.
"First time in New York?" the customs officer asked again.
"Yes." Newt continued to avert his eyes, as if that was the only answer he could manage.
The officer glanced at Newt's case, growing suspicious. "Any food inside?"
Newt placed a hand over the pocket on his chest, clearly uncomfortable with the conversation.
"No."
"Any livestock?"
The officer was becoming increasingly suspicious of him.
Newt tried his best to appear natural, but at that moment, his case made a noise.
Click.
The latch popped open again. Ever since it had been struck by that spell, it had been acting like this.
Newt quickly snapped it shut, saying awkwardly, "I really need to fix this case… uh, no."
The officer's suspicious gaze fixed firmly on the case. "Let me take a look."
Left with no choice, Newt placed the case on the table. However, he made a subtle move, adjusting the brass dial on the case to Muggle mode.
When the customs officer opened the case, inside were simple pajamas and various maps.
A Hufflepuff scarf lay quietly within.
Finding nothing else during the inspection, the officer returned the case and said the line he gave to everyone.
"Welcome to New York."
"Thank you." Newt took back his case and passport.
…
John approached the Thunderbird.
This Thunderbird, rescued by Newt from poachers, was quite wary of strangers.
John raised one hand and activated his mental magic.
"Don't worry, I won't harm you. I only need a feather."
His gaze swept over the Thunderbird's tail feathers.
Perhaps because John himself possessed the ability to control lightning, the Thunderbird gradually lowered its guard.
John walked over and gently stroked its feathers.
"Give me one of your tail feathers, alright?" John's mental magic eased the Thunderbird's emotions.
The Thunderbird shook its body slightly and led John to where it rested.
Newt had divided this ecological space into different areas according to each magical creature's nature.
The Thunderbird's domain was a stretch of open wilderness, where several broken feathers lay scattered.
These had all fallen off naturally during the healing process.
John stepped forward and picked up two of them, then patted the Thunderbird's head.
With nothing else to do, he began wandering around the place.
"This place is truly remarkable—excellent spatial magic."
It was a high-grade alchemical creation. He didn't know whether Newt had made it himself or bought it.
To open up a space the size of a valley required an extremely advanced Undetectable Extension Charm, not to mention the various spells maintaining the ecosystem within.
Stopping beside a tree, John looked at the Bowtruckles clinging to it.
These creatures were highly sought after on the black market. Thanks to their exceptional lock-picking ability, they were even more effective than the Unlocking Charm.
He reached out a hand. The Bowtruckles were extremely wary, sticking out their tongues at him.
John shrugged and continued exploring.
The area where the Mooncalves lived was cloaked in night. Under the moonlight, they basked quietly.
Graphorns were a rare species. Watching a pair of them with their young, John couldn't help but marvel—Newt truly lived up to his reputation. Even a species on the brink of extinction had been successfully bred into a new generation.
As he kept walking, John found himself increasingly fascinated by the place.
Suddenly, he sensed a familiar presence.
John changed direction and walked toward where the aura was coming from.
It was beside the Mooncalves' area. From behind a curtain that separated the spaces, a cold aura drifted out.
John moved closer and saw it.
A domain covered in ice and snow.
There were no other magical creatures here.
Only one.
A mass of blackness, contained like a bubble.
"An Obscurus."
John stepped inside.
Black mist drifted from his eyes, as if reaching out to touch the Obscurus.
"A pitiful Obscurial… after death, turned into an Obscurus."
An Obscurus was not a magical creature; it was more like a manifestation of dark, repressed emotion.
When a young wizard failed to control their power and experienced severe trauma, they could become an Obscurial.
Just like Ariana.
John himself was also an Obscurial—and he was likely the only one capable of fully controlling his own power.
"Great power always comes with consequences.. an equivalent exchange."
Standing before the Obscurus, John's eyes flickered as he slowly extended his hand.
The Obscurus drifted toward him, but just before it could make contact, John withdrew his hand.
He turned and left the place.
"I need to make myself a wand first."
Although wandless magic was possible, going without a wand was still inconvenient.
He took out a vial of soul potion from his satchel, and a black-covered book fell out along with it.
John picked it up and glanced at it. "You really are hard to get rid of."
After drinking the soul potion, his eyes recovered for the most part.
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Thank you all so much for the incredibly kind words and support on the last chapter. It really helped me get through some ..stuff. I'm happy to be back, and we're returning to the daily upload schedule starting today. Hope you enjoy the chapter!♥