HP: Fantastic Beasts And The Right Way To Use Them

Morning mist clung to the small town, the sun not yet cresting the horizon but already bathing the sky in a soft, pre-dawn light.

In a remote alley, steam billowed from a massive cauldron. Flames surged beneath it, and a strange, emerald-green liquid churned within, occasionally bubbling up and bursting before vanishing back into the roiling brew.

Not far away, the little black cape trembled, floating in the air. It watched the Evil Wizard stir the pot with a long wooden stick, occasionally tossing in other ingredients that turned the already bizarrely colored potion an even more terrifying hue.

Behind the wizard, the platypus-like creature poked its head out, one paw clutching the man's robe, the other gripping the wing of a large bird. It glared fiercely at the little cape, its expression one of pure menace. It looked as if it were calculating what the cape would taste like, stewed into a broth.

Watching all this, deep black tears once again seeped from the brim of the little cape's hood, gradually soaking its hem.

It's over, it's over! it thought, its mind reeling with terror. The Evil Wizard is making me into a soup base! Once all those ingredients are in, it'll be my turn, right? Wuwuwu…

Ever since it had licked that fat rat, the Evil Wizard had pulled this enormous cauldron from his pocket and started brewing potions without a single word, just as Grandma had described. The little cape wanted to escape, but every time it was about to slip away, a translucent arc of light would shoot out from the wizard and drag it back to its original spot.

Can't run… I'm going to be stewed…

The little cape lowered its head, quietly awaiting its fate. But after a long, agonizing wait, the imagined scenario of being caught and tossed into the bubbling pot never came. Instead, a voice sounded beside it.

"Alright."

Raising its head in confusion, it saw that the previously boiling cauldron had vanished at some point. In its place were more than twenty glass bottles filled with a dark green liquid. The Evil Wizard had already stood up and was handing one of them to it.

"Take this to the Muggle you bullied and make him drink it. It should alleviate the symptoms caused by his fatigue and getting caught in the rain."

This was a simple potion from the manuscript he'd found, easy to brew with common ingredients. Since the need had arisen, Evans had simply brewed a batch. He gave one dose to the little Lethifold to deliver as an apology and pocketed the rest for emergencies.

'You're not going to brew me into a potion?' the little cape thought, its confusion palpable as it stared at the bottle emitting an eerie green glow.

"Where did you hear that wizards would use you for brewing potions?" Evans chuckled, rubbing the creature's soft hood.

While many magical creatures were indeed used as potion ingredients, Lethifolds were most certainly not among them. The reason was simple: they were too elusive and far too dangerous. No wizard had ever been heard of acquiring enough Lethifold corpses for experimentation. And without experiments, there could be no potion recipes using Lethifolds as an ingredient.

Did it really think potion recipes were just dreamed up on a whim? Evans mused. Though, the manuscript on Lethifold bloodlines might contain a few recipes. After all, its author had even invented a Lethifold detector.

Hearing that it wouldn't be boiled into a soup, the little cape's drooping hood instantly straightened, and it happily took the small bottle from Evans's hand. But just as it was plotting its escape, the Evil Wizard's faint voice came again.

"Don't even think about running. I left a mark on you. You can't get away."

The recently straightened hood brim drooped once more, and the little cape let out a dissatisfied grumble before slowly floating up with the small bottle and disappearing around the corner.

Watching it go, Evans smiled and shook his head. He hadn't expected finding a Lethifold to be so simple; he had even prepared for a major battle. Initially, he had only wanted to catch a living specimen for research. With the Lethifold's notorious reputation, he had never imagined he would find a juvenile that hadn't killed anyone.

Now that he had it, however, a new problem arose: how to take it with him.

After the old witch had died, this Muggle town relied entirely on the little Lethifold for its protection. If he took it away, within half a month, this town would start losing a few people every few days. It was simply too close to the Forbidden Forest, and human activity could never be completely silent. It was far too easy to attract some of the darker creatures from the woods.

Lost in thought, Evans soon had an idea. How about building a protective magical array here? The effect wouldn't need to be too strong, just enough to make creatures wanting to enter the town feel a sense of danger or trouble. That way, the array's duration could also be extended significantly.

Having settled on a plan, Evans stood up and looked towards the deep forest in the distance. He was completely clueless about magical arrays; apart from the one deep in the Forbidden Forest, whenever he encountered others, he would simply attempt to break them by force. If he wanted to establish an array, he would need to call for outside help.

Thinking this, Evans drew his wand, outlined something in the air for a moment, and then stood still, waiting quietly.

Half a minute later, his brows furrowed slightly. It had been so long, why was there still no feedback?

"This person couldn't still be asleep, could he?" he muttered. "That shouldn't be right. It's already six-thirty here, which means it should be seven-thirty there. He's not up yet at this hour?"

This wasn't his previous life, an era of complete entertainment where waking up at ten in the morning was considered early. In the late 20th century, even Muggle entertainment was limited, let alone that of wizards living far from the Muggle world.

"Stayed up all night?"

After waiting for a few more tense seconds, Evans's tightly furrowed brows finally relaxed. He raised his hand, looking at his slightly warm palm, where a silver-white mark now appeared, flashing continuously.

"This kind of one-way connection is just troublesome," he sighed, shaking his head.

His current location was the southwest corner of the town, which looked far more desolate than the center. Many houses appeared ancient, clearly uninhabited for a long time. Some even had plants climbing all over their doors, looking like classic haunted houses. But Evans didn't care about such things; even if there were a few malevolent spirits, he could easily handle them.

"Wait for me a moment," he instructed his two small companions. Then, after carefully observing the surroundings, he picked out the most dilapidated-looking house and, with a soft pop, Apparated directly inside.

A strong, musty smell of dust filled his nostrils. Frowning, he cast a Bubble-Head Charm. A speck of starlight lit up the tip of his wand, completely illuminating the dim room. It was a very ordinary, vintage British residence, divided into two floors: a living room and kitchen on the first, and bedrooms on the second.

After a brief glance, Evans walked directly to the corner of the living room, next to a fireplace that looked as if it had never been used. In this era, the decorative function of fireplaces far outweighed their practical use. While many families still used them for heating, this room was clearly not one of them. However, he only needed a fireplace that wasn't transfigured; whether it had been used or not was irrelevant.

Kneeling on the ground, Evans held his wand in one hand and placed the other on the fireplace mantel, closing his eyes. The faint glow at the tip of the wand slowly disappeared, replaced by an eerie green light. The light gradually spread, soon enveloping the entire fireplace before seeping into its cracks.

After a dozen seconds, Evans opened his eyes. A wisp of orange-red flame flew from his hand, rapidly spreading before settling in the center of the fireplace, burning quietly. He took a handful of powder from his pocket and sprinkled it onto the flames. Instantly, the orange-red fire was tinged with green. Looking at the swirling emerald inferno, Evans nodded in satisfaction.

He was becoming more and more skilled at establishing illegal Floo Networks, requiring less and less time. Moreover, today's cross-border Floo was more discreet than a domestic UK connection. With cooperation from the other side and cancellation after use, a call from such a remote wilderness would simply not be detected by the Floo Network Authority.

After the eerie green flames lit up, Evans waved his wand a few times in the air, as if sketching an address.

A few seconds later, a head appeared in the flames.

(End of Chapter)

***

[Check Out My Patreon For More Chapters On All

Of My Fanfics!!] [www. [email protected]/meowthtl]

[+500 Power Stones = +1 Extra Chapter]

[Thank You For Your Support!]