Two weeks later, in the Care of Magical Creatures hut.
Taking a sip of tea from the cup on his desk, Evans watched Harry practising Parseltongue not far away.
During these past two weeks, Hogwarts castle had been relatively peaceful. After the first Duelling Club meeting, Lockhart seemed to have finally recognised his own limitations and hadn't held a second session. His daily Defence Against the Dark Arts classes also appeared somewhat distracted, as if he were preoccupied with other matters.
However, the duelling platforms he had previously set up remained completely intact, placed in that normally unused great hall for potential future Duelling Club use.
Without the excuse of an active Duelling Club, though, young wizards generally weren't permitted to duel privately. Even if they wanted to practise combat magic, they'd have to find a professor willing to oversee such activities.
Actually, Evans was somewhat interested in taking over that club, but he'd been busy recently researching information about that mysterious great lake. He'd have to see if opportunities arose to restart the club later.
During these two weeks, the Care of Magical Creatures Club had held two additional meetings. One involved helping the Nifflers clean their extensive burrow homes and clearing surrounding dark creatures, while another expanded their exploration range based on their previous successful expeditions. With that Demiguise's invaluable assistance, this latest exploration went very smoothly, achieving their intended goals in less than half a day.
Recalling these recent experiences, Evans looked again at Harry practising nearby.
Ron and Hermione hadn't come today. Since Hermione's club admission essay was exceptionally well-written, he planned to have her refine it further to see if it could be published in some academic journals. She'd probably be spending these days buried in the library conducting additional research.
As for Ron, he'd gone to the Forbidden Forest outskirts to visit relatives with his pixie companion. Perhaps because they shared similar mischievous personalities, that pixie from Cornwall got along remarkably well with the native Forbidden Forest pixies, basically playing together every few days.
"Move forward together, retreat together, turn in place..."
Harry's mouth continuously emitted cold hissing sounds that automatically translated into understandable commands in Evans's ears.
Watching those various serpents acting according to Harry's directions with increasing precision, Evans nodded with genuine satisfaction.
Harry's Parseltongue proficiency had improved dramatically. He could try introducing some snake-type magical creatures like Ashwinders or Runespoors for Harry to see if he could control more dangerous species.
If that worked successfully, they could proceed with more advanced beast-speaker training techniques.
However, he had other pressing matters to attend to shortly, so they'd probably have to attempt that experiment during their next lesson.
"Let's stop here for today." Standing up from his chair, Evans handed some reference materials to Harry. "I need to go to Dumbledore's office. Fawkes is about to undergo rebirth, and I need to help adjust its condition while discussing some important matters with the headmaster."
"Rebirth?" Taking the materials with obvious curiosity, Harry looked intrigued by this unfamiliar concept.
"That's an incredibly rare phenomenon that ordinary wizards don't get to witness." Having said this, Evans suddenly winked with obvious meaning. "However, if it's you asking, Dumbledore might invite you to watch this spectacular event together."
From his observations over these past two years, Evans felt Dumbledore was already treating Harry like a personal disciple. Giving him special gifts, personally guiding his moral development, even specially borrowing the Philosopher's Stone as an elaborate training puzzle, and occasionally having various professors provide extra educational assistance.
Evans felt Old Dumbledore was just short of sitting in meditation and manifesting as a ring-bound spirit guide to offer Harry ancient wisdom.
Although phoenix rebirth was extremely important and shouldn't have too many people present, Evans believed that as long as Harry requested permission, Dumbledore would agree to let him observe the process.
"Really?" Hope sparkled in Harry's eyes with obvious excitement. He then happily hugged the books Evans had given him, said his goodbyes, and departed from the magical creatures hut with renewed energy.
After Harry left, Evans tidied up the remaining items on the table, then picked up Alice and Nana before transforming into a silver-white arc of light and disappearing entirely.
Meanwhile, in Egypt, at Gringotts' ornate fireplace entrance.
The originally quietly burning fireplace suddenly took on a green magical tinge, the flames surging dramatically. A few seconds later, a young man with fiery red hair and characteristic freckles climbed out of the fireplace, curiously surveying his exotic surroundings.
His muscular arms bore quite a few scars from dragon burns, but he didn't seem to consider these battle marks ugly and made no attempt to conceal them.
Looking around the magnificent hall, he spotted another red-haired young man who looked remarkably similar to him walking over with obvious joy at their reunion after a long separation.
"Long time no see, Bill. Honestly, it's much hotter here than in Romania."
"Can't really say it's been that long since we just saw each other last Christmas." Patting his brother's shoulder affectionately, Bill observed the fresh burns on Charlie's arms with obvious concern.
If possible, he really wished his brother would pursue professional Quidditch instead of the incredibly dangerous profession of dragon keeping.
Unfortunately, although Charlie loved Quidditch passionately, he had still refused all team recruitment offers when he graduated, choosing instead to go alone to Romania. This decision made both Bill and their parents worry constantly, fearing Charlie might accidentally be swallowed whole by an angry dragon.
However, since Charlie genuinely loved his chosen career, the family had learnt to support him. Though he adored dragons, his attitude toward magical creatures wasn't overly sentimental, so there shouldn't be any major safety issues.
"How have you been lately?" No longer focusing on the burns covering Charlie's arms, Bill asked with brotherly concern.
"Adina and Kappe just finished laying their eggs recently. Mother dragons during incubation periods don't like to move much and resist others observing them, so we rarely got any vacation time." Having said this, Charlie grimaced and spread his hands in resignation. "But just as we finally got a rare break, our senior called us to be volunteer labourers."
Hearing Charlie's good-natured complaints, Bill smiled knowingly.
"Don't worry, you're not the only one being recruited for manual labour. Our senior seems to have called quite a few people this time and also contacted some magical creatures he befriended during his time in Egypt. When we take action, they'll help provide additional protection."
"That's much better." Hearing that others would share in the work, Charlie's mood instantly improved considerably as he curiously observed the surrounding architecture with obvious fascination.
Egypt's Gringotts was completely different in architectural style from Britain's famous banking institution. Its design leaned more toward classical mediaeval aesthetics, with the magnificent golden hall decorated with countless intricate sculptures and ancient paintings that looked centuries old, giving the entire space a mysteriously enchanting atmosphere.
After Charlie finished his architectural appreciation, Bill spoke with enthusiasm.
"If you want to tour the city properly, you can explore tonight after we finish our business. It's almost dinnertime now, so I'll first show you where you'll be staying, then we'll go have lunch. The cuisine here in Egypt is quite exceptional, at least much better than Britain's admittedly limited offerings."
Having said this, Bill seemed to remember something else exciting. "Oh right, want to try riding a flying carpet? I should be able to borrow one from my contacts."
"Really?" Charlie's eyes lit up immediately, then he excitedly pulled Bill away from the ornate hall.
"Where can we find one? I won't lie, I've wanted to try flying on a carpet for ages!"