Newt looked at Kyle and said nothing.

He was not opposed to having an extra assistant, he just didn't want to admit his age.

He's just an assistant. It's not like I haven't done that before. There's nothing to reject.

And if you think about it carefully, house-elves are actually easier to get along with. At least they have simple minds, work seriously and carefully, and almost never make mistakes.

When Tina and Dobby discussed their wages, Newt had already accepted this fact.

He looked at Kyle for another reason.

"Dumbledore delivered your box a week ago." Newt said with a complicated expression: "To be honest, I kind of regret giving it to you."

What a good year Kyle had when he first entered school. Although a dark wizard named Oren appeared, it was only an internal problem of the school. On the day the problem was solved, life returned to normal.

But everything changed when he gave the box to Kyle the following year.

Before the year was over, he saw a troll, a three-headed dog, and a Norwegian ridgeback in Kyle's box... He even helped take care of the troll and the dragon for a while.

That was also the first time that Newt intuitively felt how rich the species in the Forbidden Forest of Hogwarts were... There were even three-headed dogs that were rarely seen in Greece. Even he had only seen this creature twice.

Originally, Newt thought this was the limit.

After all, whether it is the Norwegian Ridgeback or the three-headed dog, they are all 5X-level magical beasts, and it is impossible to find species more dangerous than them in the Forbidden Forest.

As a result, Newt never expected that there was a secret room in Hogwarts Castle.

Kyle not only found the place, but also brought back the snake monster that had existed in it for more than a thousand years.

After seeing the letter Dumbledore wrote to him and the huge dark green monster in the box, Newt was numb.

A thousand-year-old basilisk...it's just too outrageous to even think about.

Facing Newt's strange look, Kyle scratched his hair a little embarrassedly, "It just happened. Mr. Salazar Slytherin insisted on giving it to me, and I couldn't refuse."

"Slytherin sent it to you?" Newt blinked in confusion. There was no such paragraph in the letter Dumbledore sent him.

"But I heard that the Chamber of Secrets is reserved for the heir of Slytherin."

"Maybe I am..." Kyle thought for a moment and said, "After all, my mother graduated from Slytherin."

“…”

Newt stared at Kyle in silence, as if it was the first day he met him.

Wow, you are really trying to force your relationship, right?

Feeling like the conversation was running out, Newt shook his head and took Kyle to a hill while Tina and Dobby were leaving the box.

"Dumbledore asked me to help the basilisk find a new home."

Newt waved his wand, and the plants at the bottom of the hill automatically moved to the sides, revealing a huge cave.

The basilisk was lying quietly inside, not moving at all.

"I know he doesn't want the basilisk to appear in the castle in any form again." Kyle stepped forward and touched the basilisk's scales. "It may have to stay with you for a while before I graduate."

"Even after you graduate."

Newt smiled and said, "I've never come into contact with a living basilisk before. This is a good chance. Are you sure it won't wake up?"

"No." Kyle shook his head. "If no one uses Parseltongue to summon it, it will sleep like this forever."

Newt took out his wand and tapped the basilisk lightly.

An orange ball of light flickered twice and quickly dissipated.

"It should be because of Slytherin." Kyle said uncertainly: "He taught me how to put the basilisk to sleep."

"My thoughts are exactly the opposite of yours..."

Newt studied the basilisk's scales.

“Thirty years ago, when I was in the pyramid, I accidentally found a dead serpent monster. I remember there were eight fine lines on its scales.

And the one you brought has ten."

Newt stood up and began to pace on the spot, whispering: "These fine lines may represent their age, there will be one more every hundred years... If this is the case, then the basilisk should be eight hundred years old.

It had no help from Salazar Slytherin, yet it managed to survive that long."

After turning around a few times, Newt took out a bottle of unknown potion and poured it on the basilisk.

The gray potion was sticky and quickly began to solidify, turning into a thin substance that looked like snake skin.

Newt peeled it off, and Kyle noticed that the fine lines of the basilisk's scales were clearly imprinted on it.

Afterwards, the two men left the cave, and the surrounding plants gathered together again, covering the cave entrance.

"I was originally planning to publish the new version of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them next year, but now it seems that this time can be brought forward a lot."

"Oh, by the way, this is back to you."

After hesitating for a while, Newt took out a box and handed it over.

That was Kyle's box sent by Dumbledore. Newt had kept it here since he moved the basilisk out of it. Now it's time to return it to him.

Although this box has brought him two surprises... or rather, frights, he thinks this won't happen again in the future.

There won't be another Gryffindor Chamber of Secrets in Hogwarts.

After all, there are only a few magical animals that can live for hundreds or thousands of years, and there are no lion-shaped ones among them... Of course, there are no eagles or badgers either.

And after experiencing the basilisk, Newt's ability to accept has improved a lot. Even if Kyle brings back another 5X magical beast... such as a five-legged monster or an eight-eyed giant spider, he won't be too surprised.

Even if it's Mo Moran...well, let's just forget about it.

"I already fed Norbert for you."

"And I dare say Dumbledore has never opened it."

Kyle nodded in affirmation.

Dumbledore is now preoccupied with other matters, so he has no time to take care of the box.

In the past month, he only showed up at the year-end banquet a week ago, and was almost never in school at other times.

Looking at Kyle who took the box, Newt had a complicated expression.

He and his friend were fired for raising martens in the castle.

Look at Kyle again. He raises giant monsters, fire dragons, and basilisks... Any one of them is much more dangerous than a marten, right?

As a result, not only was he not expelled, but he also became the first outstanding student to receive the Hogwarts Special Contribution Award for three consecutive years.

The contrast is too great.

…

(End of this chapter)