As Snape heard Newt's question, the snake-monster, frightened by the constricting chain around its neck, twisted its huge and terrifying tongue. It faced the direction where Amortus was located through its sense of smell, blinking its blind eyes that were caused by Fox.
Return the crest to the snake monster once it loses its effect?
Amortus raised an eyebrow, somewhat surprised by Newt's request, and also felt a sense of admiration.
Newt's reason for becoming a respected Master of Fantastic Beasts is largely because of his ability to truly treat fantastic beasts with equality, viewing them as objects that can communicate equally, whereas Hagrid doesn't have this ability.
His gaze falling on the snake-monster, he pondered for a moment. Amortus waved his hand to dissipate the fire ring and nodded, saying,
"Alright, I agree with you. If this house crest of Slytherin is no longer useful to me, I will return it to you."
This promise made the snake monster happy. It lowered its animal head gratefully towards Amortus.
Placing the house crest into the space bag in his lap, Amortas looked around at the disorderly dungeon, pursed his lips, and his eyes flickered with contemplation once more. He did not reach out to help restore order; Newt could easily tidy up the mess. Instead, he was thinking about something else.
"I'm leaving --"
Amortas smiled slightly indifferently. He walked to the wine rack and opened a bottle of sherry, poured a glass of wine, just about to hand it to Amelia when he remembered that she had just recovered from the hospital. So he drank it himself,
"So, your parents, have they returned home? Hahaha, I think they wouldn't want to try using the Floo Network again, would they?"
"What's up? Are they preparing something for a trip?"
Amelia knew Amortas well and was aware that he sometimes liked to make light jokes, so she just pursed her lips and smiled.
"My therapist believes I am fully recovered, and I've consulted Mr. Greaves, who also agrees that I can return to my job."
The snake monster startled and straightened up, completely unprepared for such a request. After his initial shock, the snake monster actually hesitated.
"Oh, no -"
Amortas chewed on the word that Newt had just said, as if he had suddenly understood something.
"So, is that so --"
As Newt and Amortus walked side by side back to the ground, the night sky, reflecting the outside world, had already fallen. The sky was dotted with millions of stars, forming a silvery band across it. This was the scene on the grassland. In the neighboring grassland, a deep rainforest was experiencing artificial rainfall. The lightning and thunder echoed through the earth as it rained heavily.
"What's wrong?"
Amortas put down his glass and looked at Amelia under the soft chandelier, his voice carrying more concern.
"Oh, you've been discharged?"
Sectarianism.
But then, as if thinking of something terrifying, the great dragon Riddick's massive body suddenly twitched, and he shook his head quickly, lowering his head fearfully. The wizard, fearing rejection and being beaten with the fire ring again, flew up to Newt's side and nestled behind him, his head close to the ground.
Although this snake monster was blind and had lost its most powerful weapon, the accumulated magical power within it gave it a body even stronger than a fire dragon. Moreover, it also had high resistance to magic, with scales that were almost impenetrable to ordinary spells. This made it an excellent helper.
Thoughtfully, Amortas said,
"Judging from the current situation, it's likely that me and Remus will face some difficulties, but whether we can push this matter forward will depend on the outcome of tomorrow's discussion. Although we haven't communicated with them in advance, the International Magical Cooperation Department undoubtedly expects that cooperation can be achieved."
The wizard in front of him was not a descendant of Salazar, but he was indeed a very powerful wizard. He had been lurking in the castle for a thousand years, and there were very few wizards whose powers could match his, even during the time of the four founders.
Leave with Amortas·Bryan?
As it turned out to be so frightened, even Newt couldn't help but laugh.
Amortas clicked his tongue, sounding somewhat disappointed.
These things should have been agreed upon in private negotiations before the review meeting, but it seems that Mr. Grey doesn't want me to be too active. I'm not sure about his thoughts, but he doesn't seem to want to see me."
"That's a witch with a very serious 'sectarianism' attitude."
Amortas listened attentively to Amelia's words, but then he noticed her looking as if she wanted to say something but held back, which piqued his curiosity.
Looking at the figure of Amelia, who was wearing a light-green knitted sweater, a white T-shirt as an inner shirt, matching with the trendy sky-blue tight jeans, holding a magic book as she stood up from the sofa, Amortas was surprised to raise his eyebrows. Then he smiled happily and said,
"I notice you seem not to be too worried?"
"Why didn't you rest a few more days in the hospital? Are you in such a hurry to come back and spy on me? Didn't I say I would behave myself?"
"Alright, since you want to continue staying with Newt, I won't force you -"
After Amortas Apparated back to the hotel, Remus was slumped over his desk, wrestling with a pile of materials he had brought over. The joint review meeting was approaching, and Remus was becoming increasingly tense. That's why he had declined Amortas's invitation to go meet Newt with him. Instead, he stayed at the hotel to familiarize himself with the materials so that he wouldn't make any mistakes at the review meeting.
This is a win-win deal where they can also gain political achievements and a substantial amount of tax revenue. If the International Magical Cooperation Department does not support this business, the only possibility I can think of is that they want more.
To be honest, Amelia's heart was both excited and embarrassed regarding her parents' request. She indeed hoped to spend more time and communicate with world-class wizards, but she feared that Amortas might misunderstand something. After all, her parents had only met Amortas once and invited him to their home for dinner. This was indeed suspicious.
Standing in the backyard of the wooden house, they gazed at this amazing scene for a while. Newt looked at the Amortas beside him, a young wizard who he neither liked nor hated but who, like Aberforth, possessed some strong personal characteristics.
"The joint review meeting regarding you will be held in two days. Greyves and several department heads of the Ministry of Magic will question you about your project?"
"Are you willing to come with me, or should I continue to stay with Scamander?"
Newt was also frustrated, saying,
"Based on my experience dealing with him, he doesn't want me to get involved in the investigation of the missing magical creatures. Maybe it's because of my reputation; he reluctantly agreed to let me join, but only with reluctance. They don't share any information with me, and they ignore some of my suggestions as well."
He was thinking, since Voldemort had a snake named Nagini and Dumbledore had a fox named Foxx, he should have also gotten himself a magical creature to add some style to it.
However, upon further reflection, if he were to truly bring the snake monster into his ranks, there was no telling who it would follow on the battlefield - Voldemort or himself!
"I heard --"
Newt blinked his clear eyes, sharpening his observation,
"Do you think you can pass this test, or do you believe that failure is inevitable?"
Amortas suddenly looked at the snake monster and said,
Amortas's Apparition startled Remus, who was immersed in his materials. He looked up at Amortas, but saw that the latter's gaze had already moved away from him and towards the sofa. Remus rolled his eyes and lowered his head again.
Amelia's fair, youthful cheeks flushed red. She dodged Amortas's gaze and stammered, unable to find her words.
"That's true." Amortas nodded slightly.
"In fact, they did use the Floo Network from St. Josias to return home in the afternoon. They were in a hurry to prepare, um."
"Actually, it's like this --"
Amelia took a deep breath, tensed her expression and emotions.
"Yes, my parents would like to invite you for a dinner at our home, Mr. Bryan."
(Chapter Complete)
