Newt moved quickly through the winter forests of Albania.
His steps were light, with only the faint crunch of thin ice breaking beneath his feet.
The pitch-black Niffler perched steadily on his shoulder, its small claws gripping his coat as it alertly scanned the surroundings, its nose twitching from time to time.
The tracking was not always smooth.
Nagini's lingering scent was intermittent, especially in this season, when snow covered everything and all was dormant. Her unique traces had been thinned by the severe cold and the environment.
When the clues grew blurred, Newt would stop and use Magic, or the help of magical creatures, to continue the search.
With every pause and rediscovery, the excitement in Newt's heart became harder to conceal.
Many years had passed since Nagini had said her goodbyes and left them.
Over these years, questions like "Is she still alive?", "What has she become?", and "Is she in pain?" were like tiny thorns that occasionally pricked Newt and his old companions, friends and comrades who had once faced life and death together.
Several times, the trail seemed to lead to a dead end, but Newt did not give up. He had enough patience for this forest, for animals, and for that lost old friend.
Finally, following an extremely faint, winding indentation and the Niffler's sudden hurried sniffing and pointing, Newt arrived at a rock wall sheltered from the wind.
Several ancient trees with gnarled roots leaned against one another, forming a dark, deep hollow at their base.
Icicles hung from the edge of the hollow's entrance. Inside, it was pitch black, giving off a mixed scent of earth, decay, and a cold, fishy smell.
The Niffler on his shoulder suddenly gave a soft squeak, its small claws tightly gripping Newt's curly hair, clearly warning him not to go any closer.
Just as Newt was about to raise his hand to comfort the nervous little creature, a sudden rustling sound came from deep within the hollow.
The sound was slow and heavy, carrying the texture of scales rubbing against branches and frozen soil.
A dark green, triangular snake head slowly emerged from the shadows.
Then came a winding body covered in a cold lustre.
This green snake was far larger than an ordinary python, yet as it crawled to the entrance, its posture carried a strange sense of lightness and power.
It actually raised the front of its body high like certain cobras, its indifferent yellow vertical pupils locking onto Newt a few metres away, its forked tongue flickering occasionally.
A sense of oppression, mixed with primal wildness and the aura of the Dark Arts, spread outward.
Looking at his old friend in this completely beastly form, a flash of pain crossed Newt's eyes.
Although he had been mentally prepared, witnessing the beautiful woman whose eyes had once held melancholy and kindness become this great snake of coldness and wildness was still difficult for Newt to accept.
At this moment, he also understood more clearly why Nagini had chosen to leave without saying goodbye back then.
When she sensed that she would be completely consumed by the Blood Curse and would no longer be human, how could she be willing to let her former friends see her as she was now?
Newt slowly tucked the wand in his hand back into his pocket, the movement slow and clear, attempting to convey that he meant no harm.
He turned his body sideways to reduce his frontal profile, then very slowly extended a hand, palm open, moving it toward Nagini bit by bit in almost imperceptible increments.
His voice was very low, using the gentle tone one would use when calling to an old friend.
"Nagini... it's me, Newt. Don't be afraid... Look, I mean no harm..."
With Newt's continuous whispering and extremely slow approach, the wariness in the giant snake's vertical pupils seemed to fade slightly, and the tense lines of her muscles relaxed a little.
Newt felt a faint joy in his heart.
Did Nagini still retain her past memories and emotions?
His lips couldn't help curling up slightly in anticipation.
But Nagini's head suddenly turned slightly, as if she had heard a summons or command that only she could perceive.
That tiny, faint expression resembling memory in her eyes vanished instantly, replaced by pure, violent ferocity.
It was the gaze of an enraged beast.
The slightly relaxed snake body suddenly contracted, then launched forward with incredible speed.
Her bloody maw opened, revealing snow-white fangs as she lunged straight for Newt's neck.
She was so fast that she left only a dark green afterimage in the air.
The experienced Newt had already sensed something was wrong the moment Nagini's expression changed. His physical instinct was faster than his thoughts as he lunged into a roll to the side and backwards to dodge.
However, he was old, and the speed of Nagini's attack was beyond imagination.
Just as the fangs approached Newt's neck, the dial of the seemingly ordinary watch on Newt's left wrist suddenly lit up.
Two solid beams of magical light erupted instantly. One was the translucent circular shield of Protego, and the other was the air-distorting slowing field of Impedimenta.
Protection against spells and physical attacks layered together almost instantly, firmly enveloping Newt's entire body.
At the same time, a grey light flashed on the brass buckle of the belt around his waist.
A precise Petrificus Totalus shot out, arriving first and striking Nagini squarely on the forehead.
Bang!
Nagini's fierce forward momentum stopped abruptly. Her muscles stiffened, and her attacking posture froze in mid-air before she crashed heavily onto the snow and dead leaves with a thud.
It was not over yet.
The necklace around Newt's neck, branded with the Scamander family crest, glowed with dazzling golden light, transforming into more than a dozen slender golden beams that shot out like nails and drove deep into the ground around Nagini.
The beams quickly connected, forming a temporary magical cage that enveloped the petrified giant snake.
Having completed a clumsy but effective roll, Newt steadied himself, panting and still shaken.
He subconsciously touched the watch and belt that were returning to their original states, a flash of lingering fear and embarrassment crossing his face.
The fear was because Nagini's sudden frenzy had been completely unexpected and lethal. It had truly made Newt smell the scent of danger.
The embarrassment was because he had completely forgotten that he was currently covered in a bunch of trinkets that the boy Lucien had forced upon him.
Among them were many Alchemical items for protection or trapping enemies.
He had not expected that the first time they were put to use, it would be to stop Nagini's attack.
Newt quickly rose, not even bothering to brush the snow and mud from his clothes.
Without any hesitation, he pulled out his wand again, gave it a gentle wave to steadily lift the petrified Nagini, then opened the suitcase he had left by his feet.
The suitcase gently pulled Nagini's massive body inside.
Having done this, he snapped the lid shut with a click and picked up the suitcase.
Newt scanned the eerily silent forest.
Unwilling to cause more trouble or delay any further, his body suddenly twisted and compressed, and with a soft pop, he vanished without a trace.
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