“Not all of them.” Newt occasionally added a few strokes on the notebook with another quill pen, and said, “Some animals are easier to observe, and I have them collected in my box. In this case, I will ask a professional artist to draw them for me.”
"But the basilisk is still too dangerous to ask an artist for help. I will just use a sketch pen to draw a rough sketch."
He glanced at the basilisk's tightly closed eyes and asked, "Can you open its eyes a little? I can close my eyes and let the sketch pen do the drawing. It would be incomplete to just leave the image of the basilisk with its eyes closed."
"No problem." Dracula nodded and patted the basilisk's big head. "Open your eyes. I just want to ask you something."
When it came to opening his eyes, the basilisk's huge body trembled visibly and he shook his head subconsciously.
"Hurry up, how can I communicate with you using Legilimency if you don't open your eyes? I don't speak Snake tongue!" Dracula urged.
"Wait, Professor Dracula..." Newt couldn't help but ask after hearing what Dracula said, "You want to use Legilimency to communicate with the Basilisk? Doesn't that mean you have to look the Basilisk in the eye?!"
"That's right." Dracula said as a matter of course, "This is the only way I can think of to communicate with the basilisk."
Newt couldn't help but swallow.
Is this human language? Staring into the eyes of a basilisk, is this something a human could think of
Oh, Professor Dracula is a vampire, that's okay.
Newt pushed the notebook and quill floating in front of him forward, put them in a suitable position for drawing, and then closed his eyes tightly.
Under Dracula's coercion and inducement, the basilisk opened its eyes and stared at Dracula's wine-red eyes with its big yellow eyes.
Dracula once again felt that whole body becoming light and floating, as if he had drunk too much alcohol, and something was grabbing his soul and pulling it out.
Of course, the basilisk's magic couldn't really pull Dracula's soul out of his body like it did with Myrtle.
It could only waste the magic power in its body while transmitting everything it saw and heard in the Albanian forest to Dracula's magical eye-child through the intersection of vision.
After a moment, Dracula looked away with understanding.
After looking away, the basilisk quickly closed its eyes tightly, fearing that Dracula would look at it again.
"It seems that you have been living quite comfortably in this forest in Albania during this period!" Dracula raised the corner of his mouth and said to the basilisk in a teasing manner, "If I ask you to return to Hogwarts now, would you be unwilling to do so?"
The basilisk quickly shook its big head, with a look of rejection on its face.
The basilisk said that whoever wants to go back to Hogwarts can go back!
Ever since Slytherin left the snake alone in Hogwarts, it could only stay in the dark basement, relying on the sewers that had not been cleaned for hundreds of years...
Without enough food, snakes can only catch rats in the sewers to fill their stomachs; without clean water, they can only drink the stinky water in the sewers and the sewage leaking from the basement, which is simply not something for snakes to drink!
The worst thing is that even if the basilisk wants to fall into a deep sleep and use sleep to survive the difficult time of thousands of years, there are always some ignorant heirs of the Gaunt family who open the secret room from time to time and disturb its sleep...
If it was those Slytherin descendants who had the intention but not the courage to do anything that came to disturb it, it would be fine. At most, it would just sleep less for a while and then continue sleeping after the people left.
However, you might encounter a guy like Tom Riddle, who has both evil intentions and the courage to commit evil, and arrange for the Basilisk to do this and that, or even cause it to accidentally kill a Hogwarts student.
In the days after killing Myrtle, the whole basilisk was actually in a panic.
Maybe it would be found by Principal Dippet at that time, and then he would be asked to redeem Myrtle's life
Not to mention that the professor of Transfiguration at that time was the most powerful wizard in the magical world. If one looked for it seriously, it would only be a matter of time to find the secret room left by Slytherin.
Fortunately, perhaps because the Transfiguration professor named Dumbledore was mainly focused on a dark wizard named Grindelwald and did not pay too much attention to the things inside Hogwarts, he did not discover the existence of the basilisk.
Finally, when Dracula changed its living environment to the forest of Albania, the basilisk immediately felt the difference.
There are towering trees everywhere, space for free activities everywhere, fresh air, sufficient food, abundant water, and a wide range of activities... When the basilisk came here, it felt like it had come to heaven!
Due to its huge body, it has no natural enemies here and can go wherever it wants. Moreover, there is the viper Nagini who also has high intelligence to chat with it and relieve its boredom... This is much better than staying in the narrow and dirty basement of Hogwarts!
All in all, the basilisk is determined not to return to Hogwarts!
It looked at Dracula with some caution, shrank back, and silently thought about how likely it would be to succeed if Dracula insisted on letting it return to Hogwarts...
Looking at the basilisk's performance, Dracula shook his head with a smile.
"Don't worry, I don't want you to go back to Hogwarts." He said, "If I put you with the young wizards, Professor McGonagall, that humorless old lady, will be the first one to not let me go."
The basilisk finally breathed a sigh of relief and once again moved its big head closer in a flattering manner.
"By the way, what about the viper you met in the forest of Albania?" Dracula was a little curious about how a creature like the basilisk could make friends, so he asked, "Is it called Nagini?"
"I just happened to invite a magizoologist here today, so Mr. Scamander can take a look at what species your friend is... This is the first time I've heard of such a big viper."
In fact, Dracula was not only curious about the viper friend that the Basilisk made. He had just discovered some information related to Voldemort during the Legilimency communication with the Basilisk.
And all the news related to Voldemort involves the viper named Nagini.
Dracula wanted to see the viper with his own eyes, and then directly use Legilimency to obtain information related to Voldemort from the viper's memory.
After all, it has been a while since he heard any news about the Dark Lord since Voldemort committed suicide in front of him.
The basilisk nodded its big head to Dracula.
Its huge body seemed too bulky even in this open ground, so it could only coil up and turn around, then it barely changed direction and crawled into the dense bushes.
"Professor Dracula, besides the basilisk, are there any other magical animals here that I haven't seen?" Newt had already recorded the physical characteristics of the basilisk in detail. He closed the notebook and asked Dracula expectantly.
"It may not be a magical animal, right?" Dracula recalled the image of the viper in the basilisk's memory and said uncertainly, "Maybe it's just a viper that lived long enough and has undergone some mutations?"
"That viper seemed to be no different from an ordinary viper, except that it was slightly larger and more intelligent."
"In fact, the two differences in size and intelligence alone are already very different from normal vipers." Newt shook his head.
He opened his notebook that recorded many magical animals again, made full preparations, and explained to Dracula: "In fact, many magical animals in the magic world are very similar to some species in the Muggle world."
"For example, the crup is very similar to the Jack Russell Terrier from the Muggle world, and the dart bird looks exactly like the extinct dodo from the Muggle world... But they are indeed magical animals of XXX and XX levels respectively."
"So we wizards who study magical animals usually don't judge them as non-magical species just because they are too similar to species in the Muggle world." Newt introduced to Dracula carefully.
"I see." Dracula nodded in understanding. "You really taught me a lot today, Mr. Scamander."
The basilisk moved very quickly. Dracula and Newt had just chatted for a while when it crawled over from the depths of the bushes with a giant viper about twelve feet long.
Although twelve feet is quite large for a snake, its body is almost thicker than an adult's thigh.
But when this viper is compared to the fifty-foot-long basilisk, which is as thick as an oak tree trunk and almost blocks out the sun, it seems quite miniature.
"Is this your new friend in this forest?" Dracula asked curiously, looking at the giant viper that was green in color and covered with black stripes.
The basilisk nodded its big head obediently and rolled to the side very consciously, allowing Nagini's figure to fully appear in front of Dracula and Newt.
"Mr. Scamander, come and see if this snake is a magical animal?" Dracula circled around Nagini, his eyes shining, observing with interest whether there were any magical fluctuations in its body.
Maybe the basilisk had already explained to its viper friend how terrifying the Count was, but Nagini was looked up and down by Dracula, and she was so scared that she trembled all over and dared not move.
"It seems that there is indeed magical fluctuation in this viper, although it is a little obscure." Dracula supported his chin with two fingers thoughtfully, "What do you think, Mr. Scamander?"
However, Newt did not respond for a long time.
Dracula turned his head to look at Newt, only to find that he was standing there with his eyes wide open, staring at the viper Nagini emerging from the bushes with an expression of extreme surprise, astonishment, and even some reminiscence.
"Mr. Scamander?" Dracula asked doubtfully.
"Professor Dracula, you just said she... What's the name of this viper?" Newt took a deep breath, his voice trembling a little.
"Her? Can she tell the gender of a snake so quickly?" Dracula looked at Newt in surprise. "The viper's name should be Nagini, at least that's the name in the basilisk's memory."
“Is it really Nagini?” Newt murmured.
He suddenly opened the old-fashioned suitcase he had been holding in his hand, and used the Flying Spell to summon out a cowhide book that was very similar to the one floating in the air, but it looked a little older.
Newt took the leather notebook and began to search through it in a rare flustered manner.
"Wait... Mr. Scamander, have you ever seen this viper?" Dracula looked at Newt's performance and raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Or is this a very rare species?"
"Wait a moment, Professor Dracula, I will explain it to you in detail later." Newt hurriedly turned the leather book in his hand to the front page, "Found it!"
Dracula casually dodged and quietly appeared beside Newt, looking curiously at the page Newt had turned to.
On the kraft paper with yellowed and wrinkled edges, two figures supporting and hugging each other were painted in a style that was far less mature than it is today.
There were two figures, one male and one female. The man was a young man with a stiff mushroom haircut, pale face, and a reserved and dull expression; the woman was a beautiful Asian woman wearing a dark blue dress with complex patterns and long black hair combed behind her head.
A man and a woman snuggled together. They were obviously a handsome and beautiful pair, but they looked desolate and helpless.
"What is the relationship between these two people and the viper brought by the basilisk?" Dracula frowned slightly.
"Professor Dracula, look at this page." Newt flipped the leather book back a few pages.
On this yellowed page, Newt's drawing skills have obviously improved a lot, and the images on the page are more realistic and detailed.
The pale young man was no longer in this picture. Only the black-haired woman, still wearing the dark blue dress with intricate patterns, was left, standing quietly on a lawn.
Judging from the layout of this lawn, it looks like the one near the Forbidden Forest at Hogwarts.
Just as Dracula was still trying to understand what the relationship was between this beautiful Asian woman and the viper Nagini, the image on the page suddenly moved -
The woman's irises suddenly expanded, and the whites of her eyes turned black in the blink of an eye. Then, she hugged her arms and her body suddenly fell backwards. It was as if she had no bones, and her back was almost parallel to her thighs.
At the same time, the woman's arms were quickly covered in scales, transforming into snake-like bodies that wrapped around her upper body.
The next moment, the dark blue patterned dress suddenly changed. The pattern on the dress turned into black spots, and the dark blue color turned into green snake scales, which instantly covered the woman's whole body...
In a few moments, a beautiful woman turned into a giant viper that was thicker than an adult man's thigh and twelve feet long!
Dracula subconsciously turned his gaze to the viper Nagini, who was lying obediently beside the basilisk, and compared the patterns on the scales of the two, and found that the two vipers were indeed exactly the same.
"Is this... the Blood Curse of Meledix?" Dracula said thoughtfully.
"That's true." Newt sighed and nodded slightly. "During the Global Wizarding War, I met Nagini in a wizard circus. At that time, she had already been cursed by the Meledix blood curse."
"Nagini was ordered by the circus director to transform into a snake for the audience to watch for a long time. She was almost abused like a circus monster. Fortunately, Credence took her away later."
"Credence is...?" Dracula asked.
"That's him." Newt turned the book back to the previous page and pointed the stiff and dull young man to Dracula. "In fact, Credence should be named Aurelius Dumbledore..."
"His last name is Dumbledore?!" Dracula instantly became interested when he heard Credence's last name. "Dumbledore has an illegitimate child outside?"
He couldn't help but curl the corners of his mouth and began to think about how to tease the old headmaster after returning to Hogwarts.
"I didn't expect that Dumbledore not only looks so frivolous, but is also so frivolous in his conduct." Dracula said excitedly with an exaggerated grin on his face.
"Ahem, Credence is not Albus's child." Seeing that Dracula had no idea what strange things he was thinking of, Newt hurriedly explained, "He is Albus's younger brother, the child of Aberforth Dumbledore."
"So Dumbledore actually has no illegitimate children?" Dracula's grinning mouth retracted instantly.
Newt nodded reluctantly.
"It's boring." Dracula curled his lips, "Let's skip this and continue talking about Nagini."
Dracula's rapid change of attitude made Newt smile bitterly.
He coughed twice, and reluctantly followed Dracula's idea and continued to tell the story of Nagini.
"Well... Credence was later lured by Grindelwald and joined the camp of the witch party, so Nagini became alone." Newt narrated, "Then she came to Hogwarts with us to find Dumbledore."
"At the time, her Meledix curse was already quite severe. We tried to cure her... but the Meledix curse was still too rare after all, and Dumbledore was tied up with Grindelwald for a long time."
"We didn't find any way to restore her. We could only watch her transform into a snake and lose her humanity for longer and longer..."
"Later, Nagini probably didn't want us to suffer with her anymore, so she secretly left us. After that, until today, none of us has seen her again."
Newt sighed deeply, "I think she has been hiding in this forest in Albania since then."
While listening to Newt's story, Dracula supported his chin with two fingers and thought quietly.
"It's a pity that old Nico didn't wake me up at that time." He said softly, "I have always been an expert in magic related to blood."
Of course, Dracula knew exactly why Nicolas Flamel didn't wake him up during the Global Wizarding War.
Because the camp that Grindelwald belonged to at that time was completely different from the lack of style of dark wizards like Voldemort and Hercule...
Under such circumstances, he might choose to help Grindelwald and the Witch Party and stand against Dumbledore and Newt.
How could he think of helping Meledix, a person he had never met
…
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