During dinner, Vid met Newt's wife—Tina Scamander.
Even though she had entered old age, she was still a graceful beauty. Her white hair was swept back behind her ears, and she wore a fitted dark green dress, making the act of spreading butter on her bread appear elegant.
With just a sweep of her eyes, Madam Scamander had both the respected Newt and the slightly mischievous Rolf obediently sitting at the dining table, waiting for dinner.
The life of the Scamander Family was a different kind of fun.
Almost every day, bright and early, everyone went to care for the various animals inside the suitcase together.
It seemed that Mr. Scamander was also renowned among the Fantastic Beasts, as some animals would come to him for help when injured or in distress.
Vid had only been there a few days, but he had already seen two Kelpie tangled in fishing nets, a Sea Serpent that accidentally swallowed a plastic bag, and an Invisible Beast with burns of unknown origin.
Newt was also proficient in various animal healing spells and could even perform surgery and deliver baby animals!
Some small Magical Creatures saw this place as their ideal Heaven and didn't want to leave even after escaping their predicaments.
They act spoiled just like children, and Newt couldn't resist. He would haphazardly allow the little guys to stay until they wanted to leave.
Thus, over the years, even though Newt always insisted on releasing Fantastic Beasts back into the wild, his suitcase never emptied and instead became increasingly lively.
Vid felt like he had completed several years of Care of Magical Creatures courses here.
In the leisure time after lunch, Newt would guide Vid on how to improve his pencil box space.
He also took Vid to the nearby Jurassic Coast, partitioning a small beach and bit of seawater into the pencil box space;
then transported a forest glade from the woods and taught him how to merge two different spaces together.
Next was applying Atmospheri Charm to different spaces; otherwise, the environment would quickly deteriorate. But to prevent environments from affecting each other, an Imperturbable Charm was necessary.
The Imperturbable Charm required a physical boundary, even if it was just a row of fences, a curtain, or a stone, for the spell to work. But complete open space wouldn't work.
In just over a week, Vid's wardrobe space had undergone a massive transformation—
In a space a bit bigger than a swimming pool, seawater lapped at the beach while hermit crabs crawled slowly;
about a dozen trees formed a narrow grove, with mushrooms sprouting at the roots;
and then there was a lush green grass area around twenty to thirty square meters, where yellow dandelions gently swayed.
Although everything seemed so tiny, the once sparse space finally gained some vitality, and Newt praised Vid's learning speed heartily.
...
That morning, Vid was bandaging a small wound on a Tree-Protector Lofa's arm when Rolf came rushing into the suitcase with a letter held high, overjoyed.
"Vid, a letter from the school for you!"
"Thank you, Rolf."
Vid tied the bandage, cleaned his hands, and then took the letter.
The letter contained the time and place for boarding, still departing from King's Cross Station on September first, followed by the book list for the second year.
Apart from one "Standard Spells (Grade 2)", the rest was a long list of Gilderoy Lockhart's works.
Undoubtedly, this year's Defense Against the Dark Arts professor was still that flamboyant show-off.
"They're all Gilderoy Lockhart's books!" Rolf flashed an acceptance letter, grinning as he said: "I got the same!"
Vid was surprised: "You already received your acceptance letter... you're eleven already?"
Rolf looked quite young, and Vid had always thought he was under ten, certainly no more.
"Of course!" Rolf proclaimed proudly: "I turned eleven last month! Vid, let's go to Diagon Alley to buy the books together."
"Sure." Vid agreed: "Let's go to Diagon Alley on Wednesday."
"Wednesday?" Rolf pondered the calendar: "What's special about that day?"
"Gilderoy Lockhart's new book launch." Vid chuckled as he answered: "I am looking forward to it."
"Wow! I didn't realize you were a fan of Lockhart!" Rolf exclaimed, exaggeratedly: "Do you really find his smile charming?"
"...What smile?" Vid asked, puzzled.
"Of course, the 'Most Charming Smile Award' from Wizard Weekly. Lockhart has won it five times."
Rolf puckered his lips: "Promise you won't get mad... but I don't find his smile charming at all, rather very... uh... very..."
"Over the top?" Vid suggested.
"Yes, exactly!"
"I don't care if his smile is charming or not." Vid explained: "I just think there will be more people in Diagon Alley than usual that day; there might be something interesting happening."
"Oh, I see." Rolf nodded: "Then I'll go on Wednesday too... I want to see why so many people like him."
...
Time passed quickly, and before they knew it, it was Wednesday.
Vid packed his luggage early, thanked and bid farewell to the Scamanders after breakfast.
After buying all the books, there were only a few days of vacation left. With that time, he wanted to spend it with his parents.
Rolf was a little unhappy—like many children from wizard families, he had little contact with kids his age. Upon finally meeting someone the same age, he cherished it dearly, unwilling to part even for a moment.
But ultimately, he had good upbringing, and besides his unhidden sadness, he didn't insist on keeping Vid around. Instead, he gifted Vid with a cherished collection of comic illustrations.
Vid, in return, gave him a self-invented automatic feeder, enhanced with magic, which could even emit sounds to summon Magical Creatures nearby.
As they parted, Newt said to him: "This world is incredibly vast, and our understanding of it is always just the tip of the iceberg."
"Many wizards think protecting Magical Creatures is pointless; they only see Magical Creatures as materials for Magic Potions and Magic Wands, or mere trophies to display."
"But I've always believed wizards and Magical Creatures are one entity. If someday all Magical Creatures vanished from the Earth, perhaps wizards would cease to exist as well?"
"Uh... these are just my humble thoughts. If you disagree, that's perfectly fine..."
"But I always hope more people are willing to love and protect Magical Creatures instead of harming them wantonly..."
"I promise, Mr. Scamander." Vid said solemnly: "I will never use what I've learned here to harm Magical Creatures."
Newt's light-colored eyes focused seriously on him, then slowly broke into an extremely happy smile.