When the two slowly approached, the Manticore had already calmed down.
It looked at Fluffy, who was baring its teeth behind them, and took another step back.
"That idiot has no hostility," it said, "Do you know Hagrid?"
"He's my professor," Kael said from where he stood, "We heard you were injured, so we came here at night... we want to help you."
"Help me?"
"That's right." Kael nodded, glancing at its bandaged hind leg, "We have a lot of experience in treating bites like this, absolutely professional."
Newt also timely took out a bottle of powder and walked to the side of the Manticore's foreleg.
Fluffy had just bitten it there, and now blood was continuously seeping out.
Feeling the pain from the wound, the Manticore couldn't help but curse Fluffy again.
If only it hadn't come here with Hagrid in the first place, who claimed that the Three-Headed Dog could protect it from other creatures during its recovery... protect, my foot, it would rather face those big spiders now...
Newt parted its thick fur and sprinkled the powder on the wound.
This powder was something Newt specifically formulated for Fire Dragons during his trip to Rome, mixed with Dittany Essence and various herbs, and even a drop of Phoenix's Tears.
If it's effective for Fire Dragons, it's naturally okay for the Manticore too.
Soon, the bleeding stopped.
The pain gradually disappeared... the Manticore looked at Newt in astonishment.
Hagrid had been changing its herbs for several days, and the healing effect was not as good as these few short minutes.
"I said it, we are professionals." Kael said with a smile, taking out a fresh beef leg as he spoke.
Fluffy immediately came over, sniffing hard, saliva dribbling all over the place.
"Not for you."
Kael slapped the middle head of Fluffy's, "You bit the poor thing and still have the nerve to eat here? Stay aside."
Fluffy felt a bit wronged, but obediently lay down, covering its eyes and nose with its paws.
Out of sight, out of mind.
But it had three heads, and two front paws were obviously not enough, so the middle head could only close its eyes and stick its nose into a hollow stump nearby.
Seeing Fluffy like this, the Manticore's mood instantly improved, and it deliberately made loud noises while tearing into the beef leg.
Fluffy covered its ears again.
While the Manticore was eating the beef leg, Newt untied its bandage and started applying the medicine once more.
With the bleeding stopped and its belly full, it became more amiable towards Kael and Newt, even taking the initiative to chat with Newt.
Its mood stabilized like that of a Sphinx, showing no signs of the "violent temperament" it was supposed to have.
From the middle of the night to dawn.
Watching the sky brighten, Kael, who had been in the Forbidden Forest all night, was ready to leave; it was Monday, and he still had classes to attend.
Newt decided to stay a while longer, originally planning to escort Kael out of the Forbidden Forest and then return, but Fluffy followed along first, so he abandoned the thought.
After leaving the messy grove, Kael glanced at the somewhat downcast Fluffy and sneaked out three dried Tebo pig legs.
Fluffy's eyes immediately lit up, and it began to drool again.
"Go ahead and eat; this stuff is much tastier than a beef leg..." Kael patted its head.
Fluffy instantly lunged over, gobbling them up in no time, even licking its lips, unsatisfied.
Kael took out three more.
These were small snacks he had prepared for Norbert; they wouldn't fill up Fluffy but were sufficient to tantalize its taste buds.
After finishing the snack for Fluffy, Kael led it toward the Eight-eyed Giant Spider's hollow.
Before returning to the castle, he had to claim his spoils.
As they approached, though, Kael unexpectedly saw a tall figure.
It was Hagrid, who was talking to Aragog, the old spider gesticulating dramatically as it spoke, looking very animated.
Kael could hear some disjointed phrases.
"...young wizard... unethical... came to ambush... extorted venom..."
Kael twitched the corner of his mouth.
He had considered many possibilities, breach of contract, ambush attacks, but he never thought the old spider would go tattling to Hagrid.
He only took a dozen pints of venom, was that a lot?
After all, it's a 5X level Fantastic Beast, and if it couldn't fight, it just complained? Really no dignity at all?
Kael took a deep breath and patted the overly excited Fluffy, "Run over there, circle a few times, and then come back."
Fluffy didn't quite understand, but still followed the instruction... thundering away with pounding paws.
"Fluffy?" Hagrid noticed it too, promptly calling out, "Why are you here, stop right now..."
Fluffy hesitated for a moment but soon resumed its running.
Hagrid immediately dropped Aragog and chased after it without looking back.
"Don't run, Fluffy... what's gotten into you?"
Once they were far enough away, Kael walked out with a gloomy face, holding a large flower pot.
A dozen Eight-eyed Giant Spiders immediately surrounded him.
"Human..." the old spider's voice was somewhat smug. "You'd better leave here quickly; Hagrid said you're not allowed in the Forbidden Forest.
If you leave now, I can pretend I know nothing."
"What about my stuff?" Kael asked.
"What stuff..." the old spider waved its big pincers, clearly ready to renege.
"Hagrid is nearby, the noise from the Fire Dragon will attract his attention, if you don't want trouble, you'd better leave quickly."
Kael squinted his eyes, "So you're not planning to see tomorrow, are you? Hagrid can't stay here keeping watch forever..."
"We'll complain, to that castle." The old spider said, "You're not allowed to keep a Fire Dragon either, I know all about it..."
"I see." Kael squinted. "Since you said so, I'll change to a more reasonable approach then."
Kael drew out his wand.
"Wizard!"
Aragog couldn't see, but a nearby Eight-eyed Giant Spider immediately stepped forward, "Using magic... are you declaring war on us?"
"Declare war? Of course not, I'm just feeling a bit chilly."
Right in front of all the Eight-eyed Giant Spiders, Kael merely conjured up a pair of earmuffs for himself with a spell, then put away his wand, freeing his hands to grab a tuft of grass on the flower pot he was holding.
He glanced around to make sure no one else was nearby...
"So, how about listening to some music?"
With that said, Kael suddenly yanked the Mandrake out of the pot.
The Forbidden Forest echoed with a piercing scream... the surrounding Eight-eyed Giant Spiders only struggled for a moment before collapsing onto the ground.
About a few seconds later, Kael shoved the Mandrake back into the pot.
The duration wasn't long enough to kill the Eight-eyed Giant Spiders, but it was enough to put them to sleep for a while.
When the sound subsided, only Aragog and a few larger ones were barely standing among the Eight-eyed Giant Spiders present.
"So, how does it sound?"
Kael looked at the old spider, "By the way, like this, I have more than a dozen pots of Mandrakes, enough to hold a concert for you all.
Besides, they're completely legal, as long as it's not against a wizard, even if caught, it doesn't matter."
...