Dusk.
On a rooftop overlooking the entire city, three wizards stood with a Muggle.
There was a pigeon loft here, which stirred a sense of nostalgia in Jacob. His grandfather had kept pigeons.
As a child, he had grown up in that environment, eating his grandmother's baked bread while feeding pigeons alongside his grandfather.
Queenie walked in. As a natural Legilimens, she sensed Jacob's thoughts.
"Your grandfather kept pigeons? Mine kept owls. I used to love feeding them."
They found common ground, bringing the two closer together.
Tina stood on a platform with Newt.
Looking out over the city below, Tina voiced her concern.
"Graves keeps insisting that all the disturbances were caused by magical creatures. We need to recover all your animals. That way, he won't be able to use them as scapegoats anymore."
Graves's behavior today was unsettling.
Especially his attitude toward the Obscurus, which had made Newt suspicious.
Hearing Tina's concern, Newt said, "There's only one left to find. Dougal, my Demiguise."
"Dougal?"
Newt's Swooping Evil had saved her life, and Tina had begun to feel fond of those little creatures.
The way Newt named his animals, his attitude toward them wasn't like that of an owner toward pets, but more like friends, or even family.
Tina smiled at the big boy. From initially seeing him as a suspect, to witnessing his gentleness toward magical creatures, the former Auror found herself feeling something more.
Catching sight of those beautiful eyes, Newt turned his head awkwardly and said with a hint of humor, "There's just one small problem… well, we can't see it."
"Can't see it?" Tina couldn't help but laugh, which only made Newt even more reluctant to look at her.
"That's right. Most of the time, it's invisible."
"Then how are we supposed to catch an invisible animal?" Tina found it absurd.
Newt chuckled at his own explanation. "It's practically impossible."
Tina let out a strange sound, caught between despair and amusement.
The two exchanged smiles, their distance noticeably closing.
Watching Tina's smile, Newt found it hard to look away.
Suddenly, Tina thought of something and said seriously, "Gnarlak!"
Newt looked confused. "What?"
"Gnarlak!" Tina said excitedly. "When I was still an Auror, I used him as an informant. He used to deal in magical creatures on the black market!"
Newt stared at her in disbelief. "You don't think he might have information on their whereabouts, do you?"
"He's interested in anything that can be sold!" Tina stepped closer to Newt, hands on her hips, wearing a smug little expression.
With that, their next destination became clear.
Tina led them through a grimy alley, the ground littered with garbage.
The alley led to a place that would still exist far into the future.
The Blind Pig.
Yes, the very place where John had once met with the boss of District Thirteen.
"What is that black dragon in your case?" Tina asked, bringing up the talking giant dragon. "I've never seen a dragon that can speak."
"To be honest, neither have I," Newt said, his tone always carrying a certain glow whenever he spoke about magical creatures. "I found him in Egypt, together with Frank."
"Frank?"
"The Thunderbird."
Tina said, "He feels like a person. A very intelligent one."
As they talked, the group arrived at the Blind Pig.
A staircase led down to the basement. After descending, they found a dead end, the doorway sealed with bricks, and a poster of a socialite in an evening gown posing in front of a mirror pasted over it.
The two sisters stepped up to the poster and used their wands to change into elegant dresses.
Jacob stared, somewhat entranced.
Newt took out his wand and conjured a small bow tie for himself.
…
Inside the case.
John had the Niffler massage his feet while he lay on Newt's camp bed, holding the Book of Dark Arts as he read.
"Time, time, time."
Staring at the contents, John let out a long sigh. "Setting an anchor point… one that the past cannot access in the future."
A Time-Turner could only go back into the past.
What John wanted to do was leap from the past into the future.
That was something not permitted.
The Niffler blinked its eyes and eagerly continued massaging John's feet.
John glanced at it and flicked a gold coin toward it with his finger.
The Niffler happily stuffed it into its pouch.
"No need to thank me."
After all, it was taken from your nest.
John didn't say that last part.
The Niffler had no idea it was its own property and thought it had found a wealthy master.
It immediately worked even harder.
The Book of Dark Arts no longer tried to influence John, as if it had accepted its fate.
John's body had been soaked in the Sands of Time, causing certain changes to his liver.
He raised his left hand and stared at the serpent coiling around it.
The small golden snake slithered to his wrist, turning as it bit its own tail, forming an ouroboros.
"Magic power… I need enough magic power to stabilize it."
If John reached the seventh tier of magic, this problem could be easily resolved.
But for now, he couldn't achieve it. Even with his current magic and his status as an Obscurial, it still wasn't enough.
Last time, he had only managed it by detonating his wand along with the soul lamp and a curse.
With a snap of his fingers, the ouroboros shattered into golden fragments that scattered.
A gold coin reversed from the Niffler's pouch and swiftly returned to John's fingers.
The Niffler didn't notice, still diligently massaging John's feet.
John flicked the coin again.
It spun through the air with a ringing sound, catching the Niffler's attention.
Delighted, it caught the coin and stuffed it into its pouch.
One coin just now, and now another.
What a generous person!
Niffler: You're really a good guy.
"An Obscurus…"
Before being arrested by MACUSA, Newt had mentioned an Obscurus attack.
There was an Obscurus in New York.
One Obscurus wasn't enough, but what about two?
"Sometimes, the past isn't about changing things. It can also be about filling in the gaps, as long as the result is the same."
John narrowed his eyes, calculating his plans regarding the Obscurus.
From his time with Gael and the others, John had come to understand one thing.
As long as the outcome remained unchanged, the future would not be disturbed.
Once something had already been determined, as long as the result was carried forward, it wouldn't be affected.
Another gold coin appeared in John's hand, and he tossed it to the Niffler.
The Niffler had already accepted John as its boss. Giving out gold coins without hesitation? You're basically my sworn brother now!
Getting up from the camp bed, John gestured for the Niffler to leave.
The Niffler happily returned to its nest, carefully taking out the dozen or so gold coins it had received.
The first one.
The second…
Wait!
Where's the second one?
The Niffler refused to believe it, frantically rummaging through its pouch with both hands.
But no matter how much it searched, there was only one coin.
The hardworking Niffler froze on the spot.
Where's my money?
Call the police!
There's a thief here!
And John, who had only ever given out a single gold coin, ended up enjoying the service of more than a dozen coins' worth.
He returned to the rocky area and laid out the golden trio.
Aside from the Book of Dark Arts, these were the only things left from the pyramid.
The golden scales, the golden staff, and the golden mask.
"Fairness, resurrection, and…"
His gaze shifted to the golden mask as he picked it up.
"Wisdom."
Herpo had intended to use these items to revive himself, or more precisely, to reconstruct his body.
Even after the passage of time, the three items remained completely intact.
"After a soul splits, does it still belong to the whole?"
The human-faced serpent Herpo harbored resentment toward his original self, which made John fall into thought.
When a soul possessed two consciousnesses, would one willingly accept being a mere supporting role, enduring eternal loneliness for the sake of immortality?
Or would it choose to kill the original, seizing control of the body for itself?
Perhaps Herpo had realized this possibility, which was why he entrusted the true treasury to the Book of Dark Arts, something incapable of acting on its own.
Rather than leaving it to the more ambitious human-faced serpent.
Just as he was about to continue examining it…
He sensed that those who had gone out had returned.
John put away the three items, scales growing across his body as he transformed back into the Shadow of the Apocalypse.
He lay on the rock, watching the small house.
Every time Newt and the others left and came back, there would be more people.
This time was no exception. Three had left.
Now four returned.
Jacob held the Demiguise, smiling brightly.
Tina was also carrying the baby Occamy. Under Newt's guidance, she stepped inside.
Although they had been tricked by that goblin, Gnarlak, today, they had still managed to obtain the Demiguise's whereabouts.
Newt discovered that the Demiguise had stayed outside to take care of the baby Occamy that had run off.
"I don't understand," Newt said, holding a wand in his hand, puzzled. "Where did you get this wand?"
The department store where they found the Demiguise was a Muggle shop, so how could a wizard's wand have appeared there?
When they found the Demiguise, it was feeding the Occamy chick, yet it had carefully protected the wand.
When the baby Occamy left, it had accidentally carried the wand away.
The Demiguise knew it belonged to someone important, so it had kept it safe.
Just as Newt was puzzling over it—
Having been brought back to its nest, the Demiguise was about to climb up when it suddenly clung tightly to Jacob.
Jacob thought it was reluctant to part with him and said with an affectionate smile, "Happy to be home? Yeah, you must be exhausted, buddy. I like you too."
A shadow fell over him, and Jacob froze.
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