Vacation.
For a Niffler, this should have been a meaningless word.
But…
Ever since Kabuda brought his two young witch friends from Hogwarts to meet his new long worm friend, and accidentally got caught by his owner, his previously carefree days started to become gloomy—
Every day upon waking, there were endless vocabulary to memorize, endless reviews to write, and endless experiments to cooperate with... along with some bastard abusing his authority to secretly trip him up. That damn Diggory even got him to write his thesis! He even threatened him, saying if he didn't help, he'd report to the owner that he wasn't studying seriously!
Damn it, he's just a Niffler, okay?
Can't they spare a semi-aquatic mammal who can't even recite the multiplication table?
But luckily, even such miserable days finally have an end. After finishing the final exam papers from the owner and barely passing, Kabuda finally had the first summer vacation of his "Niffling" life.
Board the ship! Sail out! And got rid of the annoying Diggory!
This is a small step for Kabuda, but a giant leap for Nifflers... cough cough, got off track.
In any case, having gained vacation and freedom, the first thing Kabuda wants to do naturally is to regain his long-lost joy—you know, how unpleasant it is for a Niffler to always have an empty stomach?
Just right, this ship not only has those circus members, but also plenty of suckers who bought tickets to join this "journey"...
Although the things he swiped in the end would always be returned to their original owners by magic, having owned them, even briefly, was enough for him.
After humming to himself for a moment, Kabuda started to flip through his now-round belly, these were his spoils in the past two and a half hours—like a diamond ring... Uh, seems like a fake? A pearl necklace... Why is this thing flaking? And a crystal clear and reflective sapphire... What is that thing behind our back?
Looking at the light and shadow reflected off the sapphire, the Niffler started to become curious about what that dark thing in mid-air was. So he turned his head...
"Ah wu—"
The next moment, Kabuda only felt his vision go black, as if something swallowed his head. Instinctively, he tried to reach for his pocket, but then he heard a "creak" by his ear. And then, Kabuda found that even his claws and feet couldn't move—
Did some enemy come looking for him?
The Niffler's mind flashed with countless memories, but he was confident that with his "skills", he definitely wasn't caught when stealing those shiny treasures, so what's the deal here... But he couldn't care less now, he remembered that his owner left him with more than one way to trigger a life-saving measure...
"Got it—"
A muffled voice reached the Niffler's ears, and Kabuda was a bit stunned—though the voice seemed to be obstructed by something, he could still tell the voice's owner wasn't very old... So maybe hold off on the life-saving measure for now?
Although it was vacation time now, when he sneaked out, it wasn't with William's permission... If he just went back like this, it would feel a bit unsatisfying...
Thus, the Niffler planned to wait and see who exactly had caught him.
Soon, he heard footsteps stop by him. Then, after a dizzying whirl, he seemed to be lifted, and in the next moment, the layers of darkness surrounding Kabuda peeled away, allowing him a good look at what it was... Chomping Cabbage?
It seemed pretty similar to the batch on his owner, just... a bit smaller?
…
"Awesome, right? This is the 'pet' I tamed at Hogwarts!"
Throwing the Niffler in her hand to her sister, Daphne proudly raised her head. Of course, she wouldn't tell her sister that just having finished her second-year courses, she wasn't supposed to even come into contact with such "dangerous" plants, and she had no idea how to cultivate them.
But because of the influence from that Duel Club, people started selling mature Chomping Cabbages and matching training magic on the market—
These two purple-green cabbages cost her two weeks of pocket money.
"...Mm-hmm, very impressive."
Though feeling a bit speechless at Daphne's behavior waiting for praise with her tail up, Astoria still perfunctorily nodded. She raised her hand to take the still somewhat dazed and confused Niffler, holding it by its hind leg to bring it right before her eyes—
Honestly, the girl had to admit that the other party's pink short snout was indeed very cute, and those pitch-black dot eyes looked very pitiful...
But, "Quickly, tell me, where did you hide my gemstones?"
The girl hardened her heart, starting to shake the bewildered little Niffler, whispering in question.
"...Ying?"
The Niffler tilted its head in confusion, and the "treasures" in its belly started to tumble down with the shaking.
"Did it steal something from you?"
Daphne curiously poked the Niffler's butt. For some reason, she felt this Niffler seemed a bit familiar, but besides fur color, there didn't seem to be much difference between individual magical creatures...
As she spoke, her attention drifted to the items falling from the Niffler's belly, "Isn't this... Mom's pearl necklace? Why is it flaking?"
"Not these!"
Astoria just gave a cursory glance at the ground, decisively shook her head, then gazing at the Niffler still "pretending to be innocent", she took a deep breath, began rifling through her waist pouch with one hand, eventually pulling out a small mirror. The girl flipped the back of the mirror to face the Niffler's beady eyes—
"Tell me, did you pry off the gems on here?"
The girl's voice was somewhat trembling. This mirror was her grandma's birthday gift to her in the last year before she passed, and of course, the significance is extraordinary. But the emerald on the back was pried off—
This was why she had helped Daphne persuade their father to go on this trip in the first place.
She knew she'd find the thief here; she just didn't expect it would be this easy...
"Ying?"
Kabuda squinted at the gap on it for a long while, then at Astoria's face, repeating several times before it seemed to have finally realized, rolled back and reached into its pocket, then, under the girl's watchful gaze, rummaged through its pocket several times and finally spread its hands—
"...What do you mean by that?"
Astoria asked blankly when she saw the Niffler with its empty hands after waiting for so long.
"It seems to mean... it doesn't have what you're looking for?"
Picking up the fallen pearl necklace, Daphne looked at the Niffler for a moment and then "translated".
"Ying."
The Niffler nodded in agreement, indicating she was right.
"?"
Astoria narrowed her eyes dangerously, and only when Kabuda was shivering under her gaze did she finally look away, turning to look around, then headed in another direction—
"Where are you going?"
Daphne curiously followed along.
"To find its caretaker—"