Hogwarts: I Am Such a Model Wizard

Chapter 336: The Same Action, Different Outcomes

Newt looked at Kyle, saying nothing.

He wasn’t exactly opposed to having an assistant—he simply didn’t want to admit he was getting older. After all, it was just an assistant, and he’d had others before, so there was nothing to object to. In fact, if he thought about it, House-elves might be easier to work with: they were diligent, meticulous, and rarely made mistakes.

Newt had quietly accepted this fact when Tina and Dobby discussed wages. Yet, his gaze lingered on Kyle for another reason.

“Dumbledore delivered your suitcase a week ago,” Newt finally said, his expression conflicted. “To be honest, I’m starting to regret giving it to you.”

Kyle’s first year at Hogwarts had been peaceful enough, despite a brief scare involving the Dark Wizard Oren—a problem that had ended almost as quickly as it had begun. But things had changed dramatically in his second year, after Newt had given him the suitcase.

By the end of that year, Kyle’s suitcase held a Troll, a Three-Headed Dog, and even a Norwegian Ridgeback, Newt had even helped care for the Troll and Dragon for a while.

That year marked the first time Newt truly grasped the range of magical species in the Forbidden Forest. The forest’s inhabitants were astonishingly diverse—even including a rare Three-Headed Dog, of which Newt had only ever encountered two in his entire life, not even in Greece where they were originally from.

Newt thought that surely must be the limit. Norwegian Ridgebacks and Three-Headed Dogs were both classified as 5X-level creatures, among the most dangerous in existence, and he couldn’t imagine Hogwarts housing anything more perilous.

Then Kyle’s third year came, and with it, news of a Basilisk from Hogwarts’ Chamber of Secrets. Kyle had not only found the mythical Chamber but had also managed to bring back a Basilisk over a thousand years old. When Newt read Dumbledore’s letter and saw the enormous, dark-green serpent in Kyle’s suitcase, he’d been dumbfounded.

A thousand-year-old Basilisk… the very idea was absurd.

Under Newt’s bewildered gaze, Kyle scratched his head, looking slightly embarrassed. “It was purely by chance. Mr. Salazar Slytherin insisted I take it, so I didn’t have much choice.”

“Slytherin gave it to you?” Newt blinked, thoroughly confused. Dumbledore’s letter hadn’t mentioned this part.

“But isn’t the Chamber of Secrets meant for the heir of Slytherin?”

“Maybe I am…” Kyle said, thinking for a moment. “After all, my mother was a Slytherin.”

Newt stared at Kyle in stunned silence, as if seeing him for the first time. Well, he certainly knows how to work his connections, Newt thought with a touch of incredulity.

Feeling awkward, Newt shook his head, then, while Tina and Dobby were busy unpacking the suitcases, led Kyle to a small hill nearby.

“Dumbledore asked me to help the Basilisk find a new home,” Newt said, waving his wand. The plants at the base of the hill parted to reveal a large cave where the Basilisk lay in peaceful slumber.

Kyle nodded, running a hand along the Basilisk’s scales. “I know. He doesn’t want it anywhere near the castle. It’ll probably be staying with you for a while—at least until I graduate.”

“Or even after you graduate,” Newt said with a faint smile. “I’ve never handled a live Basilisk before; this is a rare opportunity. Are you sure it won’t wake up?”

Kyle shook his head. “No, as long as no one summons it in Parseltongue, it’ll stay asleep indefinitely.”

Newt took out his wand and tapped it lightly on the Basilisk, sending an orange pulse over its body that quickly faded. “Remarkable,” he said, his interest piqued. “For such a massive creature, it conserves energy even better in sleep than a Bowtruckle… Do you think this ability comes from the Basilisk itself, or is it Salazar Slytherin’s magic at work?”

“It’s probably Slytherin’s doing,” Kyle replied, though uncertainly. “He’s the one who showed me how to put it to sleep.”

“My thoughts are just the opposite…” Newt mused, studying the Basilisk’s scales closely. “About thirty years ago, I stumbled upon a dead Basilisk in a pyramid. Its scales had eight fine lines at the time. But this one,” he gestured to the creature Kyle had brought, “has ten.”

Newt began pacing, lost in thought. “These lines might mark its age—one line per century… If that’s the case, the Basilisk would be at least a thousand years old. And that one in the pyramid… it had survived eight centuries without Slytherin’s aid.”

After a moment, Newt pulled out a bottle of unknown potion, pouring it over the Basilisk’s scales. The gray liquid solidified quickly into a thin, snakelike layer. Peeling it off, he revealed a perfect imprint of the Basilisk’s fine scale lines. Satisfied, they exited the cave, and the plants wove back together to conceal the entrance once more.

“I’d planned to release a new edition of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them next year,” Newt murmured thoughtfully, “but it seems I’ll need to bring that forward.”

“Oh, by the way, I have something for you.” Newt reached into his own suitcase and pulled out another one, handing it to Kyle.

It was Kyle’s suitcase, the one Dumbledore had sent to Newt after removing the Basilisk from it. Though it had brought him no shortage of shocks, Newt figured it was finally safe to give it back.

After all, Hogwarts couldn’t possibly have a second Chamber of Secrets hidden somewhere, one specifically for Gryffindor. There simply weren’t that many magical creatures capable of living for centuries or even millennia—certainly none that resembled lions, eagles, or badgers. And, after his experience with the Basilisk, Newt’s tolerance for surprises had grown. Even if Kyle somehow brought back a 5X-level creature like a Quintaped or Acromantula, Newt doubted he’d be fazed.

An Obscurus, though… Well, better not to think about that.

“I’ve already fed Norbert for you,” Newt said, referring to the young Norwegian Ridgeback that Kyle had taken in.

Kyle chuckled. “I’d bet Dumbledore hasn’t even looked inside the suitcase.”

Newt nodded in agreement. Dumbledore had been far too preoccupied lately to worry about any stowaway creatures. Over the past month, he’d only appeared briefly at the End-of-Term Feast and had otherwise been scarce at Hogwarts.

As Kyle took the suitcase, Newt looked at him with a mixture of bemusement and nostalgia. Back in his own school days, he and his friends had been expelled for something as minor as harboring a Jarvey in the castle.

And now, here was Kyle—raising Trolls, Dragons, and even a Basilisk, just to name a few. Each of them vastly more dangerous than any Jarvey could ever be. Yet Kyle hadn’t been expelled; on the contrary, he’d earned Hogwarts’ Special Award for Services to the School three years in a row.

The contrast was almost absurd.