HP: Fantastic Beasts And The Right Way To Use Them

Back in his cabin, Evans let Little Cloak roam and play, then set the Lethifold bloodline manuscript on the table and began to study it in earnest.

He'd skimmed through the manuscript before, but most of it had been little more than theory until he'd seen a real Lethifold with his own eyes. Only now, with a living specimen nearby, did the research truly come alive.

To his surprise, Evans realized his previous assessment of the manuscript had been too shallow. Even without a Lethifold, much of the research on magical creature bloodlines was meticulously detailed. The methods and insights here could be applied to other magical creatures as well, promising new breakthroughs for anyone with the patience to follow them.

It was a valuable discovery, though his main focus these days was still the history of the Middle Ages. He didn't have the luxury of diving into every bloodline project just yet.

Shaking off the distraction, Evans turned his full attention to the Lethifold sections.

Unlike most magical creatures, the Lethifold had no blood. Instead, it possessed a rare, viscous black liquid coursing through its body. This substance was a marvel in itself—its capacity for magic was staggering, able to hold more than ten times the magical energy of a typical adult wizard. If a Lethifold wished, it could absorb nearly all the magic from its prey and store it within, endlessly increasing its own reserves.

Compared to them, human wizards were limited. Their magic grew with age, but they didn't absorb it from others. This was one reason wizards became more powerful as they grew older, but a Lethifold's potential for magical growth was on another level entirely.

But the black liquid did more than just store magic. Diluted, it could serve as a potent magical supplement, or—when combined with other ingredients—could be brewed into potions with a variety of effects: night vision, merging into darkness, even control over shadows.

Evans flipped through two pages packed with dense experimental data, secretly astonished. How many Lethifolds had the manuscript's author experimented on to gather so much information? Or had he discovered a way to harvest the liquid repeatedly from a single Lethifold?

He glanced over at Little Cloak, who was spinning playfully in the air. Evans pinched his chin, considering. The little creature shivered, feeling a sudden chill, and tilted its hood in confusion.

Evans chuckled softly, turning back to the manuscript. Even if there was a way to extract the liquid safely, he had no intention of tormenting the little Lethifold for it. He already knew more than enough ways to store magic, and the other uses for the liquid didn't tempt him. There was no need to become the villain in his own story.

The rest of the manuscript described the Lethifold's birth and some tips for raising them. Their reproduction was strict and did not rely on sexual reproduction, but on a complex ritual. Only by perfectly completing this ritual could a new Lethifold be born, and even then, the chances of success were low. Giving birth to a Little Lethifold caused severe harm to the parent—sometimes even immediate death. The author speculated that this was the true reason for the Lethifold's rarity.

It made sense. If such powerful creatures could reproduce freely, the world would have been overrun by Lethifolds long ago.

After a thorough review of the bloodline data and extraction methods, it was nearly midnight. Evans stretched and flipped to the final page of the manuscript.

This section detailed the Lethifold's abilities and the best countermeasures for dealing with them. He'd read it before and had even prepared countless precautions before setting out to capture one. In the end, none of them were needed—he'd found a lone, juvenile Lethifold instead.

Still, reading the abilities again felt almost absurd.

Lethifolds could completely merge with darkness. This wasn't mere optical camouflage like an Invisibility Cloak—it was a true melding, rendering them immune to all attacks while hidden. The catch was that the process placed a tremendous mental strain on the Lethifold; even adults couldn't maintain it for more than a minute at a time.

Even without full merging, a Lethifold could become nearly invisible in the shadows, making this their most crucial survival skill.

Evans recalled his first attempt to catch Little Cloak. His first two spells had passed straight through the creature's body. Luckily, the little Lethifold was inexperienced and emerged from the darkness after a few seconds, allowing Evans to capture it.

Beyond merging into darkness, Lethifolds could control shadows—obscuring a target's senses, creating shadowy clones, or blanketing an area in darkness to set up their signature vanish. When their magic was strong enough, they could even materialize shadows, using them as deadly weapons.

But the most terrifying ability was their power to absorb. Lethifolds could drain the life, emotions, magic—anything—from their prey. Once absorbed, the victim vanished completely, erased from the world, and all that energy became nourishment for the Lethifold.

Absorbing a single adult wizard could grant a Lethifold the equivalent magical power. The more they absorbed, the stronger—and more unstable—they became. If they ever reached the upper limit of their magical liquid, they could wipe out a village, even a town, with shadows alone.

Yet, the more they consumed, the more complex the emotions they inherited. Eventually, the most powerful Lethifolds would go mad, then become utterly apathetic, ceasing to hunt and fading away in solitude.

Evans finished reading and sat back, deeply impressed. The Lethifold was a truly formidable creature. If he'd faced an adult alone, he might not have survived.

But he was never truly alone—and in a real fight, his odds would be much better.

He absently scratched the orb on his wrist. The artifact vibrated in protest, disturbed from its slumber.

Still, the Lethifold's power came with weaknesses. Besides controlling shadows, they had no reliable means of subduing enemies in direct combat. They couldn't prevent wizards from simply Apparating away, and their bodies were fragile. Aside from merging into darkness, they had no other defenses. A single minute of invulnerability wasn't enough to withstand a determined assault. In fact, a Muggle with a sword could injure a Lethifold if it was caught off guard.

Most of the time, Lethifolds were assassins—silent, patient, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.

Yet even with these limits, they deserved their XXXXX rating. If the most powerful Lethifolds didn't eventually lose all desire, that rating might be even higher.

Now, Evans had a living Lethifold cub under his roof.

He glanced over at Little Cloak again. The tiny creature was wrestling with its own hem, spinning in circles, trying to catch its opposite corner.

Evans watched, a few black lines appearing on his forehead.

Was this really the infamous wizard-killer from the manuscript? A creature said to be able to erase a village from existence?

At the moment, it looked more like a confused child chasing its own tail.

He shook his head with a faint smile. Maybe it was better this way.

[Chapter Complete]

***

Want more? Check out my Patreon for:

✓ Advanced chapters of all my stories

✓ Exclusive novels & fanfics

✓ Early access content www.patreon.com/meowthtl

💪 Community Goal: 500 Power Stones unlocks a bonus chapter!

Thanks for reading and supporting the story!