Chapter 191: Madagascarian Cat
They say that among three people, there must be a teacher for me. Lockhart saw a true path to the future in Newt and his son, and Newt and his son were also deeply interested in Lockhart's theory of "wizarding adventure life."
Compared to Lockhart's initial concept of "fairy tale adventure" at Hogwarts, this theory had now become extremely profound.
It possessed a uniquely broad "scope," touching upon the concept of "life."
Within the concept of life, the relationships between wizards, including many spells and deep logic related to "bloodline magic," became clearer. People began to glimpse the self, which was otherwise difficult to truly perceive, by observing human relationships, society, nature, and the world.
It also possessed a uniquely deep "depth," touching upon the concept of "self-existence."
The will, memory, wisdom, and all other aspects of the self unfolded a wondrous "magical bloodline"context, with time as its axis. This context was so magnificent, illustrating the continuation and intertwining of human selves, and the continuation and intertwining of humans with nature.
Thus, wizards possessed certain magical abilities akin to fantastic beasts, and the "animality" that gradually emerged as magical creatures participated in wizarding life, even adventurous magical life, was also presented here.
Such a marvelous magical world.
A magical world uniquely perceived by Lockhart.
It utterly captivated Newt and his son, because it subtly explained the wondrous relationship between wizards and magical creatures.
It implicitly provided theoretical support for Newt and his son's lifelong dedication to the protection of fantastic beasts.
It told them that wizards' focus on and protection of fantastic beasts held extremely significant meaning.
How could they not be moved?
"So you believe house-elves are representative creatures, correct?" Newt's son, young Scamander, pondered this question with great interest. "From the earliest magical creatures like Brownies, to their deep involvement in wizarding life, to the emergence of true populations, existing in wizarding life by giving birth to offspring and passing down through generations…"
Lockhart nodded. "I thought of many transitional creatures, but I'm afraid no other creature has such more obvious and stable characteristics."
"There is!" Newt suddenly interjected.
Seeing them look at him, Newt tilted his head, recalling the past, a strange smile, both sweet and wistful, appearing on his face. After a moment, seeing his friend and son staring at him, he quickly said, "Madagascarian Cat!"
"That's a fantastic beast native to France. The French Ministry of Magic uses it as a guard, but in fact, there's also extensive private ownership experience. It can attract wealth."
Newt gestured with both hands, describing the unique qualities of this animal. "Every meal, the owner lets the Madagascarian Cat eat the first bite, and it brings the owner a gold coin every day. But owners of Madagascarian Cats soon found that they couldn't keep them long-term; after a certain period, they had to let them go, otherwise the Madagascarian Cat would actively attack its greedy owner."
Young Scamander's brow furrowed. "Humans shouldn't let animals eat the first bite. Animals have their own cognitive hierarchy, and such behavior would only make the animals feel they are raising humans, thus preventing the establishment of a long-term pet relationship."
Lockhart's expression was peculiar. He suddenly remembered the Tabby cats he had seen in his previous life; many people said Tabby cats felt that humans weren't raising them, but that they were raising humans.
Newt nodded. "That's right, so the key to long-term Madagascarian Cat ownership is for you to eat the first bite yourself. Of course, that's not the main point."
He looked at the two before him with an extremely subtle expression. "In the wizarding world, the Madagascarian Cat appears as a black panther, with blue eyes almost as large as a human palm—not blue irises, but the entire eye socket is blue."
"It possesses powerful magical resistance, immune to many spells. When maliciously attacked by magic, it will split into three heads, and it will split every time it's attacked. Its movements are extremely agile, its jumping ability astonishing, and its claws can easily harm fantastic beasts like the Zouwu."
"However, as soon as it enters the Muggle world, it instantly loses all magical abilities, and its body transforms into a small, fluffy black kitten."
Having finished, he looked excitedly at the two before him. "Do you notice anything special?"
"The different states, even forms, of wizarding life and Muggle life!" Lockhart exclaimed. "Newt, this cat has immense research value!"
"Yes!" Newt nodded. "I once pondered this question: the Ministry of Magic usually dispatches Aurors to guard Muggle dignitaries from the influence and attacks of other wizards. In fact, this fantastic beast could perform that task excellently."
"It's an ordinary black cat when around Muggles, but when wizards appear, it takes on a powerful attacking form."
"It can sometimes tell us very well what the boundary and state between magical and non-magical life should truly be."
"You know, cats have always been one of humanity's most common pets. It will have immense applications."
Young Scamander stroked his beard, deep in thought. "This is too interesting. The wizarding world and the Muggle world—the Madagascarian Cat making a distinction based on instinct?"
He looked at his father with some confusion. "Even we wizards find it hard to distinguish. How does it tell the difference?"
Wizards actually didn't adhere very well to the so-called Statute of Secrecy. Pure-blood wizarding communities were few; places like Hogsmeade Village were truly rare. It was more common for wizards and Muggles to live together.
Even the Black family, claiming to have the noblest and oldest pure-blood lineage, lived on a Muggle street.
How then should such a boundary be defined?
Newt smiled, gesturing to Lockhart. "This is what he spoke of: the difference between wizarding life and Muggle life. Fantastic beasts thus exhibit clear distinctions in their magical bloodline manifestations."
This went even further.
It wasn't the evolution Lockhart had described earlier, but an instantaneous transformation.
Lockhart was curious. "Newt, you said it splits into three heads when attacked, and continues to split when attacked again. Is that a magical effect, or does it truly become three separate creatures?"
"It truly becomes three creatures!" Newt said with an astonished tone. "Yes, each of the three heads possesses true animality. If one dies, the other two will continue to live. But in essence, they are one; when their lifespan ends, all split individuals die at the same time."
Wow~
Lockhart thought of Voldemort and the diary Horcrux, Tom.
"What about their souls?" Lockhart asked curiously. "If they die at the same time, does that mean that although they possess bodies with different life activities in the material world, they actually share one soul?"
"Can we consider them to be split states of the same individual without flesh-and-blood connections?" Lockhart gestured with his hands. "It's like my two hands living separate lives, but they are still my hands. If I die, they will also lose vitality?"
This went beyond Newt's field of research.
Young Scamander, however, had some thoughts. "I'm inclined to agree with that idea. The Tales of Beedle the Bard tells the story of a wizard with a hairy heart. The wizard took out his heart and placed it in a box. The heart changed, and so the wizard himself underwent changes he didn't even realize."
"This needs to be verified," Newt nodded, looking at Lockhart. "But I think this relates to what you said about fantastic beasts exhibiting animality in wizarding life, only it's in reverse."
"Yes…"
Lockhart was greatly impressed. "I think I need to find one of these fantastic beasts. A Madagascarian Cat? Right, you said they can be found in France?"
"I can have two sent over," young Scamander said casually. "I have some supply channels, but the Magical Congress of the United States has strict controls on the entry and exit of fantastic beasts. I'll have someone send them directly from France to you."
"That would be greatly appreciated," Lockhart said, growing excited. Perhaps this fantastic beast could help him better understand the relationship between Voldemort and Tom.
This was truly fascinating.
Perhaps Tom should also participate in this research.
He vaguely felt that this unique split state actually meant that the Madagascarian Cat was essentially an intermediate stage in the evolution of a fantastic beast towards a Dark magical creature.
This was an excellent topic to discuss in Care of Magical Creatures class, allowing more young wizards to participate.
After all, the existence of house-elves was too sensitive; the Madagascarian Cat was just right.
(End of Chapter)
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