"Wow, a flying bird. No, a flying snake!" Catherine pressed both hands against the glass window, her little face flushed with excitement in the reflection as she shouted at the Occamy hidden in the forest below.
"Uncle Fawley, is that a bird or a snake?" She suddenly turned back, her eyes shining as she asked.
Who would have thought that when she had first stepped onto this almost transparent glass cable car, she had clung tightly to Tver's neck, too afraid to set foot on the solid floor.
Tver followed her gaze and glanced down.
"That's an Occamy, a serpentine creature with feathers, wings, and two legs. Its body can expand until it becomes enormous, or shrink small enough to fit into a pocket. Also, Occamy eggs are made of silver, so bad people often target their nests. That means if anyone gets close to an Occamy or its nest, they're very likely to be attacked."
"That's amazing!"
"..."
Tver had no idea what exactly Catherine found amazing about that, but children's minds did tend to work in their own peculiar ways.
He let the unique cable car continue carrying them forward, fast but steady. Only when Catherine excitedly spotted some animal, whether ordinary or magical, would he occasionally offer a brief explanation.
There was no need to worry about not seeing clearly. The cable car was equipped with professional magical binoculars that could not only zoom the view in and out, but also control the cable car's direction and speed through the buttons on them.
Whether visitors wanted to stop and observe carefully, or simply take a rough tour of this vast nature reserve, the cable car could satisfy them.
"Newt really wasn't lying to me. If the cable cars are like this, then they're worth the money."
Tver tapped the glass of the cable car, feeling how solid it was, along with the powerful fluctuations from the protective magic built into it.
To be honest, even with Neville helping set up numerous herb plantations and Newt overseeing the collection of Magical Creatures materials, Tver had indeed worried that this nature reserve would cost too much and end up losing money.
Especially since Newt had been taking more and more money out of Gringotts while he was busy dealing with Voldemort.
Of course, that was also Tver's fault. He had actually been fooled by Newt's honest and reliable side, assuming that someone with his cautious personality would spend sparingly, so he had let the goblins supply funds without restriction.
Still, Tver had not expected Newt to come up with such a muggle-like plan to generate income, much less carry it out so well.
If they added the usual revenue from souvenirs, food, and other tourist attractions, this place really could develop into a world-famous high-end tourist destination.
Neville had originally been looking down at the scenery below with great interest. Even he had never experienced the reserve from this angle before.
But after hearing the professor say that, he quickly looked away in embarrassment.
"Ahem."
"What's wrong?" Tver looked at him suspiciously.
"N-nothing." Neville quickly averted his eyes.
He couldn't very well expose Mr. Scamander and tell the professor that they had spent even more money improving the environment and caring for the Magical Creatures, could he?
"By the way, Professor, aren't you going back to Hogwarts this year?" he asked, clumsily changing the subject.
This was already the third year the professor had missed the opening banquet.
Although many students said they were used to it, those in third year and above, the students who had been taught by the professor since they first entered Hogwarts, still very much wanted to see him return.
Especially the seventh years, who were about to graduate.
"What, does Snape not teach well?" Tver asked curiously.
After Voldemort died, the curse naturally disappeared, and Sirius and Snape became Hogwarts' new Defence Against the Dark Arts professors.
Snape choosing to teach Dark Magic instead was certainly unexpected, but with that cold face of his, very few people dared to ask him about it.
And no one dared to question him.
"That's not it," Neville said, thinking back to Snape's performance in class. "Aside from his sharp tongue, what Professor Snape teaches in class could even be called brilliant."
"It's just..."
There was a trace of sincerity in his eyes.
"We'll officially graduate in June. A lot of us, including me, really want to receive one last lesson from you before we leave school."
Hearing the earnestness in Neville's voice, Tver paused.
After a while, he chuckled and ruffled Neville's hair.
"Since you've put it that way, I'll definitely have to say yes."
"Thank you, Professor!"
Neville's face instantly lit up. Just now, he had been so nervous his heart had almost leapt out of his chest.
"Professor? Is Uncle Fawley a professor?"
Below them, the scenery had turned into a lake, its surface rippling with golden, scale-like waves under the breeze and sunlight.
But to Catherine, nothing was more interesting than Tver's affairs.
"That's right. Maybe I'll be Catherine's teacher one day. Aren't you happy?" Tver said with a smile.
At Joanne's strong request, Tver had actually examined Catherine's body before. Amazingly, there really were signs of magic in her.
To confirm it, he had even asked Professor McGonagall to check the Book of Admittance, and Catherine's name was indeed written there.
That was why Joanne had brought Catherine all the way to Africa during the holiday, so she could learn about the wizarding world in advance.
However, Catherine was not as happy as one might imagine.
She gave a quiet "oh" and timidly turned her back to Tver.
Although Uncle Fawley looked very young and had always treated her kindly, she still felt that he was even more imposing than the headmistress at her kindergarten.
"..."
Realizing that he had actually been disliked by a child, Tver began doubting his own charm, for one whole second.
"If you're tired, shall we head back?"
Tver looked at the sun outside. It had been morning when they arrived, and now it was probably almost lunchtime.
He did not mind, but it would not be good for a child to go hungry.
Catherine immediately picked up the binoculars in excitement and skillfully controlled the cable car, sending it flying back the way they had come at an even faster speed.
Of course, that was also because the cable car itself still operated on the overhead lines. Even if a child controlled it, it would not leave the track or collide with another cable car.
Soon, they returned to the reception hall. Compared with when they had first boarded the cable car, the place now seemed to have suddenly filled up, with many visitors who were either wealthy or important.
Some were still cautiously examining the hall, but many had already been dragged by their eager children into cable cars and, under the guidance of the attendants, had begun their wonderful tour.
"These guides are all wizards, but please rest assured, even ordinary people who cannot use magic will not encounter any safety accidents after boarding the cable cars..."
In the hall, a crowd of reporters surrounded a short, stout man who looked positively radiant. Camera flashes went off as if they cost nothing, nearly turning that entire area white.
But Fudge, yes, Fudge, showed not the slightest displeasure. On the contrary, the smile on his face grew even more satisfied, and his voice became even louder as he explained everything to the crowd.
Although Tver had personally come here, his goal was to inspect this enormously expensive nature reserve, not to be surrounded by curious reporters and fans.
So, naturally, Fudge had become the second person after Marvolio to take over Tver's work.
"By the way, where did Joanne go?" Tver looked around, but saw neither Joanne nor Newt.
"There. Isn't she the one surrounded by fans?"
Catherine's little face was full of helplessness as her small finger pointed toward another crowd no smaller than the one around Fudge.
"..."