great-warnovel Chapter 349 A Heart of Compassion
Chapter 349 A Heart of Compassion
Chapter 349 A Heart of Compassion
"I don't think I can take good care of them," Hermione said hesitantly, watching Newt skillfully feed them, groom them, and treat the wounds caused by their roughhousing.
If you really want to call it a pet, then Score is one too. It doesn't need to be fed or played with. Most of the time, it hides inside the Golden Snitch's body and sleeps. When it gets bored, it will fly to the Quidditch pitch to watch the students play.
Hermione paid it little attention, and it spent decades in the empty, lonely Godric's Hollow, keeping company with ghosts.
I've long been used to this kind of life and don't find it boring.
And then look at these living, furry little animals. They need to eat when they're hungry, shed when the seasons change, play with them when they're bored, and find them a mate when they're in heat. Not to mention the occasional illness. Since they can't speak, their owners have to guess what's wrong.
"I think this is easier than defeating Voldemort, isn't it?" Newt chuckled as he picked up a baby jay, only a few months old, and placed it in the girl's arms.
"Give it a try, it's not difficult."
Because of their trust in Newt, the chick's parents did not stop him, quietly watching Hermione helplessly pick up the fluffy baby.
"It's still fragile, but these adorable little creatures have already mastered their innate abilities," Newt said softly.
The next moment, the fledgling burped and disappeared from Hermione's hand with a snap, appearing above her head. It tugged at Hermione's brown hair with its tiny beak and made itself a nest.
Hermione looked up with amusement, trying to see the sky above. Adult magical creatures have a keen sense of danger. Even if they know Hermione means no harm, they will still be afraid because of her great wizard-level magic. But these newborn cubs are different. They interact with other creatures in their own way, which is both fierce and cute.
"It's warm," the girl said, feeling the warmth coming from above her head.
"Yes, sometimes we feel lonely because we reject the approach of others," the old man said softly, as if he could see right through the little witch.
Hermione was taken aback by this: "No, I have a good relationship with the professors and my classmates."
She would carefully prepare Christmas gifts for everyone, and everyone would never forget her.
The old man shook his head: "It's not about that."
"Child, I don't know what you've been through, but I can see a kind of benevolent alienation in your eyes." He pulled the girl to sit in the semicircle surrounded by the giant bird-snake, and several moon-obsessed beasts came up and rubbed against Hermione.
"Oh, these little guys, they smelled your moon and almost climbed out of the shed to dance last night," Newt chuckled, looking at the girl surrounded by moon-obsessed beasts, her hair all tangled up.
"You see, sometimes it's good to cause a little trouble for others, isn't it?"
"You don't lack the courage to face terrible enemies, nor do you lack the courage to overcome adversity, but you seem to lack the courage to ask others for help," the old man said in a probing tone.
"This is really not like a child. When Minerva talked to me about you, I even suspected that there was an adult soul inside you."
"How can there be such a sensible child? How can someone quietly handle all their own affairs and then turn around to take care of other people's children?"
"You not only took care of Harry and the others, but you also tried to take care of the professors." Newt laughed as he said this.
"But you never bother others. Even if you occasionally need something, you feel apologetic and try to make it up to them afterwards."
"You're like a child detached from this world, trying not to owe anyone even the slightest thing."
Newt's words made Hermione blush with shame; she realized that she was indeed like that.
Perhaps it's because her soul comes from the borderlands that she naturally possesses a detached perspective, or perhaps the identity of the Finger Witch is too deeply ingrained, leading her to habitually help those around her.
But when it comes to oneself, none of that matters.
"Logically speaking, someone with your personality should have been assigned to the intensive school," said the Hufflepuff senior with some regret.
"But perhaps the Sorting Hat knew that you would only become more like this in Gryffindor, so it sent you to Gryffindor. Maybe you need those energetic and lively kids to stimulate you so that you can find the joy that you should have at this age."
She suddenly remembered what the sorting hat had said when she was in first grade. It turned out that she hadn't actually changed much over the years.
"It saw the courage buried deep within its heart, but it didn't use that courage on itself—"
That hat, which is said to have been worn by Gryffindor, may never have had its true meaning truly understood.
"Looking at it from another angle, perhaps this is precisely why I failed to ascend to the rank of Archmage with my own heart?" Hermione pondered, realizing that her personality still had flaws and she was still unable to face her true self, which was why the Dark Moon was able to get there first and allow her to become an Archmage in the form of the moon.
"I was like that back then too, too shy, too reserved, always afraid of bothering others." Newt's words pulled her back to reality. "But after going through so much with Dumbledore, watching my comrades die one by one in the Fiendfire, I went to North America with all sorts of animal companions. I learned a lot from them, and finally I was able to face this world, to face all kinds of people—"
Just then, a winged demon flew out of the forest and tugged at Newt's clothes with the hook of its tail, seemingly indicating where he should go.
"Oh? It's about to give birth? Let's go take a look!" Newt suddenly became excited and pulled Hermione into the woods. "Is it some kind of magical creature?" she asked.
"A Luowu! A Luowu, a specialty of China. Perhaps the only Luowu in the world that has ever been lost!" The old man walked briskly and turned to the girl.
"This magical creature does not rely on sexual reproduction. It is considered a benevolent beast by Chinese shamans and will only automatically conceive and give birth to offspring when it feels the need to."
"But it's too old, and it was once captured by a circus and suffered a lot of torment. I thought it wouldn't be able to have children," Newt said, both nervous and excited.
"Child, you are so lucky. Most people might never have the chance to witness Luo Wu's childbirth in their entire lives!"
When they passed through the dense forest and arrived at a carefully constructed shed, there were already many magizoologists gathered there, and many animals were watching from the outside of the shed, all of them lying obediently and looking around curiously.
Inside the production shed, Hermione saw the mythical beast from the East for the first time—a face like a large cat, with a slender body.
And a tail that is much longer than its body.
It should have been waving powerfully, but now it lay listlessly on the ground, looking somewhat agitated, its tail occasionally lashing the ground, causing the surrounding space to sway.