"Hello." Newt's hand withdrew as soon as it touched, then he said: "Your… your coat is very beautiful, I like it very much."
"Oh, thank you." Howl nodded and smiled: "You have good taste."
Newt also visibly relaxed when he saw Howl smile.
Dumbledore winked at Newt, as if to say: "I told you that complimenting his clothing as an opening was a very effective choice."
"All right, let's go outside to talk. This is clearly not a suitable place for a chat," Dumbledore suggested.
Then, the group walked upstairs.
Diagon Alley, Leaky Cauldron.
"Tom, are there any empty cubicles?" Dumbledore asked.
"Oh, of course, of course there are. Oh, you are… you are Mr. Scamander?! Long time no see!"
"Long time no see, Tom." Newt nodded.
Soon, Tom cleared out a small cubicle for them. After the group was seated, Newt eagerly asked: "Mr. Jones, I heard Dumbledore say that you seem to know something about the changes in Fawkes the Phoenix."
"Fawkes?" Howl was a little surprised and shook his head: "I don't know much."
"Is that so?" Newt was a little surprised: "Well, Dumbledore wrote to me some time ago saying that Fawkes had undergone some changes and hoped I could understand it. Then, when I wanted to ask about the reason for the changes in detail, Dumbledore said that only by asking you could I get the answer. He said that due to your special nature, he really couldn't disclose anything about you to me without your permission."
"Special nature…" Howl looked at Dumbledore, but across from him, there was only a pair of eyes whose thoughts he could not discern.
Special nature? What's so special about Lucifer? Many children who went to his office had seen Lucifer.
When he first came to Hogwarts, he even invited Professor Flitwick to be a guest.
In fact, Dumbledore didn't pay much attention to this aspect at first.
Why, then, today, at this moment, is he so focused on protecting Lucifer?
Is it because he saw me cast a Curse on Ron and made some inferences from that prayer?
After all, he had never hidden how abrupt his appearance was to this world.
But correspondingly, he had never offered an explanation…
"Hmm… there is indeed some special nature, but Dumbledore is a bit sensitive. This is not something that cannot be talked about; in fact, other Professors and students in the school also know," Howl said.
"However, he has his own ideas, so I'm afraid I cannot facilitate such research, but if you want to have a conversation, I think he wouldn't mind."
"Oh, of course." Newt was old, but when this topic came up, he suddenly burst with powerful vitality.
If Howl remembered correctly, this fellow seemed to be a centenarian too.
"Newt is familiar with Nicolas Flamel," Dumbledore suddenly explained.
"Oh, yes." Newt nodded and sat back down: "But speaking of that, my wife and I are already prepared to embark on another journey.
However, we are still discussing the timing. Currently, we are thinking of leaving on the first day of the year two thousand, after celebrating the last Christmas of this century."
The conversation gradually returned to a strange form of small talk.
"I don't know how to say it, but as my friends around me pass away one by one, I become more at peace with death," Newt said.
"By the way, how many years has Jacob been dead?" Dumbledore asked.
"Nineteen years," Newt smiled: "He participated in the war, remember? He was left with many injuries and illnesses, which flared up when he got old."
As he spoke, a hint of melancholy appeared on his face.
"After Queenie handled his funeral, she visited each of us. Tina and I comforted her at the time, and she seemed very normal.
Unexpectedly, a month later, an owl brought a letter, and by the time we arrived, she had already passed away."
Dumbledore also sighed with melancholy, shedding tears for the story, taking off his glasses and wiping them with the tip of his robe.
"Honestly, Dumbledore… are you… is the life of Legilimency users all very painful?" Newt asked, seemingly with some reluctance.
"Yes, yes." Dumbledore nodded, then looked at Howl: "Howl, not learning Legilimency was an absolutely correct choice."
Howl also nodded and sighed: "Prying into people's hearts is really not a very good behavior… Abilities like Legilimency are useful, but few people do not suffer a backlash after long-term use.
Compared to this, I would rather use the Imperius Voice or other magic."
Newt also affirmed Howl's words: "Yes, especially since Queenie was a natural Legilimency user.
Perhaps in her eyes, everyone's mind around her, except Jacob, was constantly spewing out the garbage produced by their inner thoughts, and she couldn't choose to refuse… Natural Legilimency users cannot control their abilities…
Historically, most natural Legilimency users died young from depressive suicide. Queenie being able to live to old age, Jacob and her love, was a very key reason."
"It seems that the Jacob you speak of must have been a very pure person," Howl said.
Newt smiled, giving his old friend of many years unreserved praise: "Yes, he was a true man. I believe he fits all the positive definitions of a man in universal values."
After chatting for a good while, the group finally left the Leaky Cauldron and headed towards Hogwarts…
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