Chapter 57: A Way to Keep Nagini Conscious

Dorset.

Inside the Scamander residence.

"Is this really Nagini?" Newt looked at the tiny, unconscious little snake placed before him.

"Yes, I've checked. It is indeed Nagini. She was subdued by one of my students and then shrunk to her current size using Transfiguration," Dumbledore nodded and said.

Newt looked at the dark green scale in his hand, the exact same one Dumbledore had found in the sewers earlier.

Based on his years of research into magical creatures, he could easily imagine how unimaginably massive a snake must be to possess such a large scale.

Yet now, a snake of that magnitude had been transfigured into something so minuscule.

"Your student possesses extraordinary skill... I assumed you intervened personally," Newt remarked with a sigh of admiration.

"That student of mine is somewhat unique; we needn't discuss that for now. Right now, we should consider how to settle her," Dumbledore said, looking at Nagini with a worried gaze.

"Nagini is a Maledictus. Although she has completely succumbed to her beast form, we... cannot simply leave her to her fate," Newt raised his head, his gaze resolute.

Dumbledore nodded, but then immediately added, "The Transfiguration spell that shrunk her might wear off before long... Are you confident?"

A shrunken Nagini posed no threat, but the moment the Transfiguration failed and she regained her original size, she would become extremely dangerous.

Newt said, "Let's try waking her up first. I need to assess her current temperament, and then we can formulate a plan... Rest assured, I am quite experienced in handling dangerous magical creatures."

Suddenly, the Nagini on the table stirred.

Newt hurriedly asked, "Has the Transfiguration worn off?"

After observing for a moment, Dumbledore replied, "No, it must be that the duration of the Confundus charm I applied afterward has expired."

By this time, the Nagini on the table had fully regained consciousness.

She raised her serpentine head, looked down at her own body in bewilderment, and then surveyed her surroundings.

Upon noticing Newt and Dumbledore, she suddenly grew agitated.

"Hiss, hiss, hiss..."

"She seems to be trying to tell us something..." Newt turned his head and said excitedly to Dumbledore, "If I'm not mistaken, Nagini is in a conscious state right now!"

Dumbledore nodded, "I can understand some of it; she says she is currently conscious... Yes, out of curiosity, I once studied a bit of Parseltongue."

"You truly are a scholar of vast knowledge, Professor," Newt said with a look of respect. "Um, what is she saying right now?"

Though Newt was a master of magical creatures and could usually deduce what they wished to express based on their movements or calls, precise translation of animal speech remained beyond his capabilities.

Dumbledore leaned in to listen closer to Nagini's sounds, then reached over to grab a piece of parchment and a bottle of ink, placing them right in front of her.

Upon seeing the ink, Nagini directly dipped her tail into the ink bottle and began to write clumsily across the parchment.

Moments later, expressions of pleasant surprise appeared on both Dumbledore's and Newt's faces.

"You mean, as long as you maintain your current state, you can retain your sanity?" Dumbledore asked.

Nagini flicked her tongue and slowly nodded. Then, she used her tail to write on the paper once more.

"Because her beast body has weakened, the beast's soul has weakened along with it, allowing your human consciousness to take the upper hand? Good heavens... weakening the soul alongside the body, does Transfiguration possess such an effect?" Newt looked at Dumbledore in astonishment.

Dumbledore fell into deep thought. As a master of Transfiguration, he was well aware that ordinary Transfiguration could not reach such a degree, nor could it influence the soul.

Which meant... this was a property of Ancient Magic?

Newt had used Ancient Magic-infused Transfiguration to shrink Nagini to this extent.

Otherwise, even if Newt were a prodigy of Transfiguration, he would never have succeeded in shrinking Nagini to such a degree.

In other words, Transfiguration reinforced by Ancient Magic, when cast upon humans or animals, could drastically diminish all of the target's attributes—including both physical and spiritual attributes.

Nagini the Maledictus's condition was essentially equivalent to harboring two souls within a single body: one was her human soul, and the other was the beast soul born of the curse.

As she grew older, the beast soul grew increasingly powerful. When the beast soul surpassed the human soul in strength, Nagini would permanently lose the ability to return to human form.

Yet now, Newt had cast an Ancient Magic Transfiguration directly upon Nagini while the beast soul was in control of her body.

This spell not only diminished her physical attributes but also weakened the spiritual attributes of the beast soul currently dominating her. Consequently, her human soul, which had perpetually remained in the weaker position, temporarily became stronger than the beast soul. This was why Nagini was able to regain consciousness at this size.

Realizing all this, a smile finally blossomed on Dumbledore's face.

"Perhaps we have finally found a way to temporarily suppress the curse of a Maledictus..."

Newt asked doubtfully, "Solely relying on Transfiguration?"

"No, ordinary Transfiguration likely would not suffice," Dumbledore smiled.

"There is an extraordinary kind of Transfiguration?"

"Yes... exceedingly extraordinary! Very well, I shall explain the specifics to you later. Now that we have found a way, I will take Nagini with me for the time being," Dumbledore stood up.

Newt nodded. "Very well, just write to me later. For now, saving lives takes precedence."

Dumbledore nodded, then picked up the cage and opened its door. "Please come inside. I have found a way to help you temporarily suppress the blood curse."

Nagini nodded willingly, then slowly slithered into the cage.

Dumbledore closed the cage door and turned to leave when suddenly, an owl flew in through the window.

The owl landed on the table, fixed its eyes on Dumbledore, and dropped the letter it carried in its beak right before him.

Dumbledore picked up the letter, instantly recognizing Newt's familiar handwriting.

A smile touched Dumbledore's face as he unfolded and began to read the letter.

"Ah... so he wishes to consult the archives, and incidentally desires to know that senior student's name as well..."

Dumbledore's voice trailed off mid-sentence. His smiling face instantly froze, replaced by an expression of shock and uncertainty!

***

The Hog's Head Inn.

Newt put down his quill, picked up the parchment to blow the ink dry, and tapped it lightly with his wand.

The next second, the parchment transformed into a butterfly. The butterfly fluttered into the air, circled Newt's head once, and flew out the window, heading toward the attic upstairs...

Tom lay in bed, watching Newt's flashy display of Transfiguration with a disdainful turn of his head.

Yet this turn was too abrupt, pulling at his injuries and making him bare his teeth in pain.

Facts proved that when one's strength was insufficient, rashly attempting to fight Newt to the death came with a price.

Not only was his entire body aching, but he was also banned from reading any spellbooks for a full twenty-four hours...

This loss was truly devastating!

Tom could only lie quietly in bed, summarizing the lessons of his failure while imagining how he might eventually defeat Newt...

After another moment, a paper crane folded from parchment flew down from the attic, landed before Newt, and unfolded itself automatically.

A line of text was written upon the paper.

[I shall keep your secret. Furthermore, thank you for saving me, and for saving Nagini... By the way, a very lovely piece of Transfiguration! —— Newt.]

In high spirits, Newt burned the note to ashes before turning his gaze toward Tom.

"After reflecting for so long, do you know where you went wrong?"

"I know..." Tom said with bitter reluctance.

"Where did you go wrong?"

"You're completely going too far!" Tom finally snapped.

"A servant must not talk back to his master..."

Just as Newt continued to torment Tom, a long-familiar voice suddenly rang in his mind.

"Ding! Congratulations to the host for successfully preventing Nagini's corruption and saving those destined to perish by her jaws!"

"Ding! Congratulations to the host for obtaining 5,000 merit points!"

Newt: ?