"Hmm?"
The old man's words made Link's expression become somewhat confused. He tried hard to size up the old man, attempting to identify the old man's identity from his appearance and clothing. However, this was just in vain.
Because no matter how you looked at him, he was just an ordinary old man. If you had to say what was special about him, then it must be the medal hanging on his chest. It was a First-Class Order of Merlin of the same level as Fudge's.
Link's expression also fell into the eyes of Dumbledore and that old man. The two exchanged a smile, and only then did Dumbledore, smiling with narrowed eyes, introduce, "Link, this gentleman is Newt Scamander. Think carefully. I believe you surely know him."
As soon as Dumbledore said this, Link's eyes instantly lit up.
Of course Link knew Newt Scamander. This year's Care of Magical Creatures textbook Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them was written by Newt Scamander. Since Link was extremely interested in magical creatures, he had also looked up information about Newt Scamander.
Then, he was shocked. This Newt Scamander was not only the author of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, this divine book, but also a great man.
Throughout his life, he made extremely outstanding contributions to the entire field of magical creature research. In 1947, he even single-handedly founded the Werewolf Registry, winning some basic rights for werewolves.
Although these rights were negligible and, most of the time, deliberately ignored by Ministry officials,
There was no doubt it still brought earth-shaking changes to the lives of werewolves.
Just like Lupin, whom Link had encountered in his first year, his ability to come out and work at all was entirely thanks to Newt Scamander.
Furthermore, in 1965, he also pushed the Ministry to pass the Ban on Feeding for Experimental Purposes, which effectively curbed the proliferation of untamable, artificially created beasts within Britain.
With just these two achievements, he directly received the magical world's highest honor, the First-Class Order of Merlin.
"You are Mr. Newt Scamander?" Link said somewhat excitedly. Compared to Dumbledore, he actually preferred Newt more.
"That's right, child. You don't need to be so formal, just call me Newt."
Newt said with a smile. To see such a young Hufflepuff receiving the Order of Merlin today, he, as a Hufflepuff himself, was truly delighted.
"Then did you really subdue the first Dark Lord, Grindelwald?" Link immediately followed up with an urgent question.
This was a question that had lingered in his heart for a long time and was also quite controversial in the magical world.
Although many well-known individuals had publicly stated that Newt Scamander did such an earth-shattering thing, many still believed it was just Newt Scamander bragging.
Upon hearing this, the smile on Newt's face stiffened a little. He turned to glance at Dumbledore and, seeing the latter smile and nod, he scratched his nose and said, "In a certain sense, that is indeed true. But if you ask me, it was something all of us achieved together. Although afterwards, Mr. Grindelwald very quickly escaped from the American Magical Congress."
Upon hearing this, a look of "so that's how it is" appeared on Link's face. He had always thought that, based on Newt Scamander's character, he was unlikely to boast or sell himself like that.
Now it seemed—so that's how it is.
And across from him, Newt apparently did not want to continue this topic. He quickly changed the subject and said:
"By the way, Link—oh, your name is Link, right?"
"That's right, sir."
"How did you think of wearing your Hogwarts uniform to the award ceremony? From what I know about Madam Flamel, she doesn't seem like someone who'd forget to prepare dress robes for you."
"Well…"
Link glanced at the school uniform he was wearing. His words paused.
Wearing the school uniform to attend the award ceremony was actually Madam Flamel's idea. She thought that wearing the school uniform would better highlight Link's student identity, which would make others look at Link with renewed respect.
And this did prove true. From the moment he was surrounded by the crowd just now, everyone's topic revolved around Link's youth and student status. This made Madam Flamel feel very proud.
However, it was clearly not something he could say to Newt.
After thinking for a moment, Link continued explaining:
"Mother did prepare dress robes for me, but… you probably know too—those robes are really too troublesome to wear and not comfortable, so…"
Link didn't continue speaking, but Newt's face blossomed into a smile.
He himself was someone who hated trouble. He also deeply despised those cumbersome, awkward, old-fashioned dress robes.
"Not bad, not bad! Good child!"
Newt kindly patted Link's shoulder. Before coming here, he had already heard from Dumbledore about how outstanding Link was, and now that he met him in person, he liked him even more.
'This was indeed an excellent child...'
But in the next moment, Newt's movements suddenly paused.
"This is… a Coilwing Demon?" Newt pointed curiously at the shell ball on Link's neck and said.
"Ah, yes! This is my friend, Yoyo!" Link said with a smile. As he spoke, he took Yoyo down from around his neck.
Newt's eyes lit up as he looked. This was the first time he had seen someone wearing a something like this as a pendant.
Even he, back in the day, only kept them in his pocket, throwing them out like hidden weapons when facing enemies.
"Can I touch it?" Newt gestured with his arms, seeming a little shy.
And seeing this, Link didn't refuse. He directly placed Yoyo into the other's hands.
But perhaps because it was suddenly placed into a stranger's hands and got frightened, Yoyo had just landed in Newt's hand when it made a move to spread its wings, and at the same time revealed its pair of sharp fangs that could bite through even a dragon skull.
This gave Link a fright. Although he knew clearly that with him there, Yoyo wouldn't hurt anyone, a dangerous creature of XXXX classification suddenly appearing at an award ceremony would definitely cause panic and trouble.
"Sweetie, sorry for scaring you. Go back to sleep now." Newt Scamander said gently, while his thumb gently rubbed a spot just below Yoyo's fangs.
And under his action, Yoyo who was just about to take off actually immediately quieted down again.
This made Link widen his eyes in astonishment.
"Child, did you know? On a Coilwing Demon's chest, a little above it, there's a soft spot. Adult female Nifflers often lick here to comfort their young. This created a habit, if you just gently rub this spot, you can calm them down."
Newt explained softly to Link as he handed Yoyo back to him, and even playfully winked.
Upon hearing this, Link nodded repeatedly. Even Professors Kettleburn and Krell had never taught such a trick.
And at that moment, the nearby crowd suddenly burst into laughter and dispersed.
Madam Flamel, accompanied by Fudge, also walked over and waved to Link.
Seeing this, Newt bent down and helped Link tidy the collar that had gotten messed up earlier while taking off Yoyo, and only then said, "Alright, child. Get ready to go up and receive your medal. Our conversation will end here for now. Of course, if possible, I'd also like to invite you to my home. At that time, maybe we can have a good chat about magical creatures."
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