Chapter 171: Newt Scamander

What does it feel like to fly high in the sky?

As a man who hadn't ridden a J-20 fighter jet in his previous life, William finally understood the thrill of flight.

Standing atop the Thunderbird, he soared above the waves. Thunder crackled across the ocean, slicing through the waters and sending colossal surges crashing against the shore.

As the Thunderbird climbed higher, a waterspout formed beneath it. Towering columns of water spiraled skyward in an awe-inspiring display.

William spread his arms wide, gazing out at the scene before him. The full moon hung high above, illuminating an endless sea of clouds stretching to infinity.

It was, undoubtedly, one of the most breathtaking moments he had ever witnessed.

The grandeur was real, but it only lasted five seconds before William started shivering uncontrollably. The cold pierced him to the bone, leaving his legs trembling like a startled deer.

William learned from Boba Tea curling up for warmth, he tucked his hands into his armpits and huddled into the Thunderbird's thick neck feathers. Only then did he feel somewhat warm.

Seeing Hermione's nose turning red from the cold, William shuffled over, pulled out his wand, and transfigured the quills in his pocket into thick blankets.

He handed one to each person, and they all wrapped themselves up to stave off the chill.

If it weren't for the fear of being thrown off the Thunderbird and falling to his death, William might have started a fire right there for a high-altitude barbecue.

Wouldn't that be the beautiful?

"Mr. Scamander, why are you here?" William asked.

The old man was Newt Scamander, a well known magizoologist.

William was quite familiar with him as the author of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, a required textbook at Hogwarts.

Newt had once been a Hufflepuff student but was later expelled from school.

As everyone knows, those who don't graduate normally are the true legends. What kind of serious person would ever graduates on time?

Thus, Newt was far from ordinary. He had even captured the first Dark Lord, Gellert Grindelwald—though the latter eventually escaped.

From William's perspective, Newt's epic life story was straight out of a protagonist's handbook. It could easily be turned into a movie—at least a five-part series!

However, Newt was now over ninety years old, a silver-haired elder who looked as aged as Dumbledore.

When William inquired, Newt's gaze shifted to the Thunderbird. In a warm voice, he explained:

"Nicholas mentioned your toad malfunctioned. He's tied up with an experiment and couldn't come himself, so he sent me to fetch you on Frank."

Hermione, curled up in her blanket with her head resting against William's shoulder, asked curiously, "Who's Frank?"

Newt gently stroked the brown feathers beneath him. Through his thick bangs, he glanced at Hermione and said:

"This Thunderbird. I named him Frank."

The Thunderbird was a large bird native to North America, most commonly found in the southwestern United States, particularly Arizona. It was closely related to the phoenix.

Thunderbirds could generate storms while flying and were highly sensitive to danger, making them extremely formidable creatures.

Newt had been struck by the lightning Frank had summoned earlier.

Fortunately, the Thunderbird absorbed most of the current, so Newt suffered little harm. His fall was due more to his old, aching legs than the lightning itself.

Newt sighed. "I rescued Frank over sixty years ago in Egypt from some smugglers. Later, I returned him to America."

Despite Newt's casual tone, the process of returning Frank was anything but simple.

As William knew, during that time, the American Magical Congress had a kill-on-sight policy for all magical creatures.

Newt had no choice but to smuggle Frank back into the United States.

"So how did Frank end up here?" Hermione asked in puzzlement.

"Frank flew here on his own last year. He's grown strong enough to cross the Atlantic independently," Newt explained.

"This time, I brought him along for Nicholas's birthday. Once the party's over, I'll use him to escort a child to Romania.

"That child, like Frank, was also smuggled by wizards."

William raised an eyebrow. Newt's words hinted at much more.

Transporting magical creatures across borders was a complicated affair. Newt seemed disinclined to go through official channels, preferring to fly Frank directly.

After all, if Frank could traverse the Atlantic, a small journey over the English Channel to Romania would be nothing for him.

Now that was impressive!

"By the way, what happened to your toad?" Newt asked with curiosity.

"Nicholas's creations are usually flawless. I thought I saw traces of magical attack on it?"

William nodded and quickly recounted the events in the Black Lake.

Newt stroked the Thunderbird's feathers thoughtfully before replying in a serious tone:

"Children, I think you and your friends made a mistake."

"A mistake?" William was taken aback.

"You shouldn't have captured the merfolk, even if your intent wasn't to harm them, but merely to use their hair for wandmaking," Newt explained earnestly.

"Merfolk aren't animals."

"Then what are they?" Hermione asked, puzzled.

"They're people, just like us," Newt said, pulling his blanket tighter. "I suppose you two haven't taken Care of Magical Creatures yet?"

William nodded. "That's an elective in third year. I'm a second-year, and Hermione's a first-year."

While William knew a lot about magical creatures from personal interest, he'd never studied the subject systematically.

"No wonder." Newt suddenly took on the demeanor of a seasoned professor.

"You might wonder why merfolk are considered people rather than animals.

"The definition of 'people' has been debated in the magical world for centuries."

"Initially, Burdock Muldoon, the Chief of the Wizards' Council in the 14th century, decreed that any magical being walking on two legs would be granted 'person' status.

"To that end, he invited all such beings to a council meeting in a spirit of cooperation.

"However, the hall was soon filled with bipedal animals brought by goblins—like Diricawls, Jobberknolls, and pixies."

"So merely walking on two legs doesn't guarantee that a magical creature can or will engage with the affairs of wizarding governance."

Newt continued, "Muldoon's successor, Elfrida Clagg, declared that any creature capable of human speech would qualify as a 'person.'

"But this definition proved equally limited."

"It wasn't until 1811 that the magical community arrived at a broadly acceptable definition.

"Grogan Stump, the newly appointed Minister for Magic, issued the following decree:

"'A being is any creature that has sufficient intelligence to understand the laws of the magical community and to bear part of the responsibility in shaping those laws.'

"This placed creatures like centaurs and merfolk in the 'being' category."

"However, centaurs, along with banshees and vampires, refused to share the designation with other beings due to historical animosities.

"Still, they remain classified as people in our understanding."

William nodded. He'd heard Cedric mention this once.

Cedric's father worked in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, which still maintained a Centaur Liaison Office, despite the lack of any centaur visitors.

Newt fixed his gaze on William and Hermione.

For the first time, he looked them directly in the eyes instead of glancing away or avoiding their gazes nervously.

"Children," Newt said solemnly, "the merfolk's attack wasn't because of their temperament.

"There are no strange creatures in this world, only narrow-minded people."\

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