#387 - Bloodline Contract (asking for monthly ticket recommendation)

“You don’t need to be so reserved around me.” Newt greatly admired the young man before him, but he had always been too much of a gentleman, even making him feel somewhat unreal, as if Anduin was hiding some secret.

However, Newt never liked delving into the backgrounds of his friends, and judging from Anduin's behavior, as well as the Ministry of Magic's and Hogwarts professors' evaluations, he was a trustworthy person.

“Sorry, I'm just too cautious.” Anduin shook his head helplessly. He had always held Slytherin students to the standard of 'elegance and self-control', so he had long been demanding the same of himself, always maintaining a polite attitude when facing people he wasn't particularly familiar with.

“Don’t always apologize. To be honest, you’re the first Hogwarts student to visit me here. I just hope you don’t mind how cluttered it is.”

Newt shook his head with a smile, then looked at him again, “After all, you helped us a lot recently. Tina and I want to repay you properly. Tell me, is there anything you like here, or anything you need me to help with? You can ask, don’t be shy.”

Of course, he said not to be shy, but he thought that Anduin, who had always been very modest, would definitely be polite to him, so Newt spoke quite readily.

Then he was proven wrong, because Anduin's response suddenly became quite impolite.

“To be honest, I really do have a request from you, I just don’t know if you’re willing to part with it.” Anduin squinted and looked at Newt with a smile.

“Oh? Tell me about it.” Newt was a little surprised at how suddenly direct Anduin had become. This sudden change caught him off guard. Could this young man also be interested in the suitcase? If he really made such a request, how should he respond?

“I…” Anduin looked around before saying apologetically, “I'm very interested in your knowledge, especially in the fields of alchemy and magical creatures. I wonder if you'd be willing to satisfy my little thirst for knowledge?”

Knowing that Newt wanted to repay him, Anduin naturally wouldn't be modest with him. He knew that this old man was super rich, but after his alchemy business got on track, he wasn't short of money. He could buy materials with Galleons, but some treasured knowledge and information couldn't be bought with money.

“Knowledge? Hahahaha…” Newt was stunned for a moment when he heard Anduin's request. He thought this young man had taken a fancy to some treasure of his.

Thinking of this, Newt's expression of appreciation towards Anduin became even stronger. He didn't expect this young man to be such a pure scholar.

“No problem.”

Newt nodded affirmatively, “I’m more than happy that someone is interested in what I've learned. If these academic materials aren't passed down, they'll just become a pile of waste paper. Spreading magical creature protection to the wizarding society has always been my ideal.”

“However…” Newt looked at Anduin with some curiosity, “I’m quite accomplished in the field of magical creatures, but in terms of alchemy, my level might not even be as good as yours, and I don’t have much alchemy information here.”

“Sometimes the study of alchemy doesn’t require relying on information.” Anduin smiled slightly, “I’ve already seen a lot of things worth learning from you here, like the weather-manipulating rug in your menagerie, and the entire menagerie itself, even… the kettle you once used to extinguish Fiendfyre.”

“I see, you want to study these alchemical tools here.” Newt nodded with a smile upon hearing this, then took out the metal kettle, “But this traveling kettle was given to me by Dumbledore, so I can’t directly lend it to you.”

“How about this, you can come and find me whenever you have time. All the information in my library is open to you. At the same time, you can ask me anything you don’t understand about magical creature studies. You can also study the traveling kettle here if you need it, but of course, don’t break it, or I won’t be able to explain it to the Headmaster.”

Anduin was overjoyed when he heard this, “Thank you, Mr. Scamander, this arrangement couldn’t be better. I can also come and see that Thunderbird often.”

“Yes, a love for magical creatures themselves is the foundation for studying magical creature studies. That Thunderbird has a special connection with you. With your company, I think it will recover quickly.”

Speaking of this, Newt seemed to think of something again, “By the way, can you actively sense the Thunderbird directly?”

“Directly sense?” Anduin was a little confused when he heard Newt’s words, “When I saw that Thunderbird, I did feel a strange connection. This may be related to my wand. I’m very closely connected to my wand, so I think that’s why I can establish a connection with the Thunderbird.”

After speaking, Anduin asked strangely, “What’s wrong, is there something wrong with that?”

“Well, if you can really sense the Thunderbird, it might be a great help.”

Newt stroked his chin thoughtfully for a while before raising his head again, “When you come to my place, you can try to remotely sense the Thunderbird and see if you can sense its presence. Your current situation with the Thunderbird is very similar to the early stages of a blood pact.”

“Blood pact?” The last time Anduin heard this term was when he was studying Tonks' Metamorphmagus abilities, but he didn't know much about this type of pact.

“That’s right, how should I describe it to you? You know Dumbledore has a phoenix, right? His family has a blood pact with the phoenix family, so Fawkes is Dumbledore’s close companion. They can understand each other's thoughts and feel each other's presence from a great distance.” Newt explained with an example.

“I do know that, could it be that the connection between me and the Thunderbird is similar to a blood pact? But I’ve never signed any pact with the Thunderbird family. I only came into contact with the Thunderbird for the first time yesterday.” Anduin asked strangely.

“A blood pact doesn’t only produce a connection after it’s signed. Many powerful magical creatures will only sign pacts with intelligent beings who they like or are very close to. So before signing the pact, there is already a connection between them. This is the early manifestation of a blood pact.”

“And only wizards who show this manifestation can sign a blood pact with these magical creatures. The pact itself will deepen the connection between them. These two are mutually reinforcing.”

“The spiritual connection that meets the requirements of a blood pact must come first, before the pact can be signed, rather than establishing a spiritual connection after the pact is signed. This is the essential difference, which is why so few wizards in the magical society sign blood pacts.”

Newt, who was proficient in magical creature studies, explained to Anduin in great detail.