The air at the edge of the Forbidden Forest carried the scent of earth, decaying leaves, and a faint trace of... sulphur and burnt protein.
Sagres appeared with a soft crack, the hem of his robes catching on a few blades of grass.
No sooner had he regained his footing than a loud, familiar voice called out from nearby.
"Professor Greengrass? What are yeh doin' here?"
Sagres turned and saw the half-giant squatting beside a crudely fenced enclosure made of thick wooden planks. Hagrid's massive body looked as though it might burst out of his suit at any moment.
Inside the enclosure, dozens of creatures resembling a cross between mutated lobsters and Fire Crabs crawled about restlessly.
Their tails occasionally emitted small bursts of sparks with soft popping sounds, propelling them forward in short leaps.
"Good evening, Hagrid."
Sagres greeted him with his usual composure, as though suddenly appearing at the edge of the Forbidden Forest was the most natural thing in the world.
"Just dealing with some personal matters. And what are you...?"
His gaze swept over the bizarre, grotesque creatures.
"Oh! These're my little beauties — Blast-Ended Skrewts!"
Hagrid's face lit up with pride.
"Blast-Ended Skrewts?"
Sagres repeated, frowning. He searched his memory but found no record of such a creature.
Hagrid immediately launched into an enthusiastic explanation.
"That's right! Blast-Ended Skrewts! That's what I named 'em. Suits 'em perfectly, don't yeh think?"
At that moment, Sagres understood.
These creatures were a new species that Hagrid had somehow created himself.
"I'm feedin' 'em a special diet, an' they're growin' fast! Look at the biggest one — might grow as big as a pony one day..."
Hagrid continued rambling about his breeding experiences, completely oblivious to Sagres's increasingly furrowed brow.
Sagres listened patiently for a few moments before subtly taking a half-step backwards while Hagrid bent down to retrieve a Blast-Ended Skrewt attempting to escape.
Outwardly, he appeared to be listening attentively.
In reality, he had already connected himself to Noctis's vision.
What he saw caused even his normally composed expression to shift slightly.
Through Noctis's eyes, he saw not the familiar darkness of the Forbidden Forest, but an open hillside covered with low shrubs and tundra.
This was clearly far beyond the boundaries of the Forbidden Forest, somewhere in the wilderness north of Hogsmeade.
Apparently, Noctis's uncontrolled teleportation had covered a much greater distance than expected.
"Return."
He issued the brief command while simultaneously transmitting his own location.
At the same time, he placated Hagrid.
"That sounds very promising, Hagrid. However, the Ministry of Magic does have fairly strict regulations concerning the breeding of such creatures..."
"Oh, don't yeh worry about that, Professor! Rubeus Hagrid knows what he's doin'!"
Hagrid thumped his chest confidently.
Sagres said nothing.
He did not believe for a second that Hagrid actually knew what he was doing.
While continuing to converse with Hagrid, he also monitored Noctis's return journey.
The raven was clearly very inexperienced with long-distance spatial travel, and his return was proving rather chaotic.
He watched as Noctis attempted a short-range teleport, only to make a serious navigational error and plunge headfirst into the crown of a tall fir tree, violently shaking the branches and startling several roosting birds into flight.
The raven struggled out of the branches and needles in a rather dishevelled state, shaking its head as though it had become completely disoriented.
During the brief interval before its next teleportation, Sagres even "saw" it swiftly snatch a plump pine beetle from a branch and swallow it whole, as though replenishing its strength and calming itself.
This caused his eyes to widen slightly, his pupils contracting.
The old Noctis would never have eaten something like that.
After taking far longer than expected, Noctis finally reappeared atop a branch above Sagres's head amid a chaotic burst of spatial fluctuations, several tiny pine needles still caught in his feathers.
"...So, yeh see, they're actually very gentle creatures!" Hagrid concluded proudly, wrapping up his lengthy promotion of Blast-Ended Skrewts.
"Truly impressive, Hagrid."
Sagres nodded at the appropriate moment.
"However, I should return now. I still have some work to finish. I hope you and your 'little darlings' have a pleasant weekend."
Without giving Hagrid an opportunity to continue, Sagres inclined his head politely and turned towards the castle.
Noctis flapped his wings and landed somewhat wearily on his outstretched arm.
As Sagres removed the pine needles from the raven's feathers, he rapidly analysed the situation in his mind.
"Immense potential, but severe deficiencies in stability and control. Long-distance travel causes directional confusion. Furthermore, bloodline grafting appears to affect the host's original behavioural instincts..."
He recalled the beetle Noctis had casually devoured. That was unmistakably the sort of prey an Occamy would favour.
Temporarily suppressing his concerns, he looked at the raven, who was busily straightening his feathers.
"You still require extensive systematic training to stabilise and extend your range, beginning with the most basic fixed-point precision teleportation."
"Caw—"
The raven responded blankly.
Despite a few minor incidents, Noctis had successfully acquired the ability of spatial travel.
If this ability could be combined with the Occamy's size-shifting talent, it would possess enormous tactical potential.
"The direction of development is correct. The ability of spatial travel has opened entirely new possibilities for you."
Sagres seemed to be speaking more to himself than to Noctis.
"But bloodline grafting remains imperfect. It absolutely cannot be used recklessly on oneself."
He had no intention of allowing himself to acquire the primitive instincts of magical creatures.
As he passed near the greenhouses, Sagres noticed a familiar trio — Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger.
Hermione, looking excited, proud, and slightly nervous all at once, was dragging her two friends along the path towards Hagrid's hut.
"Hey, wait, Hermione! What exactly are you trying to show us?" Ron asked, glancing curiously at her wand.
"I've been secretly researching it since the end of last term," Hermione whispered, her eyes sparkling.
"And just recently, I finally... I think I managed a little success."
Harry looked intrigued.
"Researching what? Another enormous essay?"
"No, Harry. A spell," Hermione corrected him.
"What's so unusual about that? There isn't a spell you can't learn anyway."
Hermione looked rather pleased by the compliment.
She took a deep breath and looked around to make sure no professors were nearby.
"What I mean is..."
She lowered her voice even further.
"A spell that isn't in any book."
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