"Mr. Scamander, hello."
Ariana gave Newt a polite nod after hearing her brother. "I hope you'll be patient with me going forward."
"Patient? No need for that," Newt said quickly, tearing his eyes away from Tom. He waved a hand, looking modest. "For the professor's sake, I'll do everything I can to help you resist the Obscurus's pull.
But could you tell me exactly what's going on? Dumbledore only said you have an Obscurus and that the situation is a little complicated. He didn't give me the details."
"This——"
Ariana glanced at Tom, clearly unsure.
Even though Newt was someone Dumbledore had brought in—and she trusted her brother's friends—some things involved Tom. She wanted his opinion first.
Tom didn't know how to react for a second. Seriously? When had he become their external brain? He wasn't even that smart!
Still, he was pretty pleased that Ariana had asked. And if Newt was going to help her control the Obscurus, she couldn't keep it hidden forever anyway.
So Tom nodded, giving her the green light.
Newt, watching the silence, read it completely wrong. "Is it hard to talk about? We could go somewhere private if you'd rather."
Newt had dealt with plenty of Obscurials before. Most of them hated showing that vulnerable, broken part of themselves. Ariana's hesitation seemed completely normal to him, so he tried to make her feel safe.
"No, it's not that," Ariana said quickly, shaking her head. "It's just… my situation is pretty unusual. I'm not sure how to explain it."
"Would it help if we went somewhere else so you can show me?"
Newt kept his voice gentle. Some young witches and wizards—especially Obscurials—had weird thought processes, and he didn't want to push.
"No need. Right here is fine."
"Really? All right. The professor's here anyway. If anything goes wrong, he can step in."
Newt nodded and looked at Dumbledore. "You agree, Professor?"
"Honestly, I don't think it's necessary," Dumbledore said, nodding anyway. "But if something does happen, I'll handle it. You have my word."
He wasn't eager to tell Newt that Ariana could actually control the Obscurus. If he said it out loud, Newt would never believe it. Hell, even Dumbledore hadn't believed it until he saw it with his own eyes.
So when he'd invited Newt, he'd only mentioned that Ariana had an Obscurus and that things were complicated. No specifics.
"Okay then."
Ariana nodded, closed her eyes, and reached for the power inside her.
Newt watched her calm face with confusion. Obscuri only exploded when the host lost control. What was she doing just standing there with her eyes shut?
Then his jaw dropped.
Ariana's body dissolved into a swirling cloud of black mist.
Newt's brain short-circuited. Why the hell was she turning into an Obscurus while perfectly calm?
Before he could even form the question, the black mist spoke.
"Mr. Scamander, this is what it looks like."
"Hold on—let me process this!"
Everything happening in front of him was so insane that Newt's mind just… froze.
He stared at the black mist floating quietly in the air for a long moment before he could speak again. "So you can turn into an Obscurus even when your emotions are stable?"
The top of the mist bobbed up and down—Ariana nodding.
"And when you're in that form, you can still talk normally? You don't lose control and just attack everything?"
Ariana nodded again.
Newt's face stayed blank, but his soul had clearly left the building. "In other words… you can control the Obscurus?!"
"This is exactly why I told you the situation was complicated," Dumbledore said, shaking his head at Newt's shell-shocked expression. "You asked why I was being so secretive. If I'd told you this ahead of time, would you have believed me?"
"Forget ahead of time—this is happening right in front of me and I still don't trust my own eyes."
Newt rubbed his face, staring at the mist like it had personally offended him. "This is really an Obscurus? Not some spell that just looks like one?"
"I wouldn't lie to you about something like this."
"Logically I know that, but——"
Newt dragged both hands through his hair, looking half-deranged. What Ariana could do completely shattered everything he thought he knew about Obscuri.
Then, just as fast, excitement lit up his face.
If he could figure out how she was controlling it, every other Obscurial in the world might finally have a chance.
The thought alone made his blood run hot.
He looked at Ariana, eyes burning. "Don't worry. I've never seen anything like your case before, but I swear I'll help you. Whether we destroy it or make it work for you, I'll do everything I can.
But——"
He paused, expression turning serious. "Since this is completely unprecedented, I need to study the Obscurus inside you first. Is that all right? On the surface it looks like one, but we don't know if it's still the same on the inside. Maybe its nature has changed."
"Okay. I'm in your hands, Mr. Scamander."
Ariana shifted back to her human form and nodded without hesitation.
"Since you're on board, let's start right——"
Newt was already opening his suitcase when Dumbledore cut him off. "Newt, there's no rush. You just got here. We have plenty of time, and right now I need your help with something more important."
Newt blinked. He'd assumed the whole reason he was here was to deal with Ariana's Obscurus. He hadn't even told Tina he was coming. Now there was something else?
A bad feeling crept up his spine.
Still, years of trusting Dumbledore kept him calm. "Professor, just say the word. If I can help, I will."
"It's not a huge deal," Dumbledore said, looking a little sheepish. "Professor Kettleburn wants to retire. I was hoping you could take over as the new Care of Magical Creatures professor."
"Professor, give me a break!"
Newt let out a breath—he'd been bracing for something involving the Dark Lord—but he still looked uncomfortable. "You know I never even graduated from Hogwarts. Me teaching? That's just asking for trouble.
And I'm not exactly young anymore!"
(The last part stayed in his head.)
"You'll be fine," Dumbledore assured him. "Kettleburn teaches Care of Magical Creatures. With your experience, you're perfect for it."
Newt's eyes lit up for a second. Yeah… if it was that class, he could probably manage.
Then he thought about Tina's reaction and shivered. "Still, I'd better not. You know Tina's never been happy about what happened back then. If she finds out I took a teaching job here without telling her——"
He didn't finish, but Dumbledore understood.
Still, remembering how another old friend had reacted, Dumbledore pushed a little harder. "I get it. But think about all the kids who are desperate to learn about magical creatures. If there's no one to guide them, they'll have to give up on their dreams.
Plus, you still need to study Ariana's Obscurus, right? This position gives you a legitimate reason to stay and get the school's full support.
And remember how you always wanted to explore the Forbidden Forest when you were a student? If you take the job, it's open to you anytime."
Newt looked even more conflicted. Dumbledore had hit every weak spot. The Forbidden Forest was one thing, but letting kids lose their chance to study magical creatures? He couldn't live with that.
"But Tina——"
"I'll invite her to come too."
"…Fine. I'll do it."
Newt finally caved, then added quickly, "But I have one condition. I'll only teach the parts I'm actually good at. I'm not getting dragged into any of Hogwarts' other drama."
"Of course. Professor McGonagall will send you the schedule later."
Dumbledore smiled, satisfied. The "no drama" part? That was cute. Once Newt was on campus, drama would find him whether he liked it or not.
Newt glanced at Tom out of the corner of his eye.
Tom looked away, suddenly very interested in the floor.
He really didn't want Newt poking around the Forbidden Forest—Norberta was still hiding out there—but he had no good reason to stop him.
Still, Newt had been a troublemaker in his youth too. Maybe if he found the dragon, he'd just keep the secret and help raise her. Then if Norberta ever got exposed, they could blame it on Newt. The Ministry already knew he had a history with this kind of thing.
Besides, Newt might not even notice her.
Watching Tom's reaction only made Newt more certain there was something huge hidden in that forest. His curiosity spiked.
But first things first.
He turned to Ariana. "We can take our time with your Obscurus. It might even be connected to the fact that you're a ghost now. I need to prepare a few things first. Once I'm ready, I'll come find you."
"Okay, Mr. Scamander."
"Just call me Newt. Or——Professor Scamander? Merlin, that sounds weird."
Newt still couldn't believe it. At his age, he was about to become a professor. After getting expelled, he'd thought magic was done with him for good.
"You'll get used to it, Newt."
Dumbledore clapped him on the shoulder with a grin.
"Just stop giving me impossible problems and I'll manage," Newt muttered, resigned. He'd already said yes—now he just had to roll with it. "About Tina——"
"I'll let her know."
Dumbledore jumped in fast. Just thinking about Tina's attitude toward him gave him a headache. He could only hope that when she and Newt ran into each other at Hogwarts, things didn't get too explosive.
Speaking of which… maybe he should give Aberforth a heads-up too?
The thought of Grindelwald's reaction made Dumbledore regret asking him to deal with Voldemort's soul.
"Since everything's settled, I'll head out," Nicolas said. "I'm not as young as I used to be. My energy's running low. I also need to send a letter to Perenelle so she doesn't worry.
As for you, little cat——I'll have Lareus bring my alchemy notes over later. Ask me anything you want.
Oh, and Lareus is my alchemy butler's name. Lareus Automaton. I'll tell him about the material trades too."
"You've all had a long journey. I'll have the house-elves show you to your rooms."
Dumbledore wanted to talk more, but Nicolas really did look tired, so he let it go.
There was still plenty of time.
After leaving the headmaster's office, Tom suddenly realized something.
His goal had been to slack off… so why did he suddenly have even more things to deal with?