The Wampus Cat, the symbol of Ilvermorny's Wampus house, possesses the ability to see through lies and can silently hypnotize intruders.
Because of this, Ilvermorny students have long harbored dreams of taking one as a companion.
There had even been a successful precedent for this, which only fueled the young wizards' enthusiasm.
Moreover, the creatures of the Ilvermorny forest were free; they could stay or leave as they chose.
Even the Pukwudgies here were merely employees.
This was a stark contrast to the House-elves of Hogwarts.
House-elves were essentially slaves to wizards.
Pukwudgies, on the other hand, were magical creatures native to North America. Short, grey-skinned, and large-eared, they were distant relatives of the European goblin.
They appeared frequently in Native American folklore, particularly among the Wampanoag people.
Standing two to three feet tall, they were humanoid but possessed exaggerated features—larger noses, ears, and fingers. Their smooth, grey skin sometimes glowed. Their magical abilities included sudden disappearance and reappearance, partial or full transformation into porcupines or cougars, and fire-starting—they were also skilled with a bow and arrow.
In magical terms, they could use Apparition, Transfiguration, and some fire-based charms.
Thanks to a Pukwudgie named William—who was quite famous among his kind—Ilvermorny was able to hire a significant number of Pukwudgies to provide security and maintenance services for the school.
The courteous food delivery Sean and Mr. Scamander received was a rare privilege.
Now, under the beech tree, Newt tilted his head slightly forward. He had underestimated the young wizard's popularity among the Wampus Cats.
It had taken him over a month to gain the trust of an injured Wampus Cat, and only after a long period of constant interaction did Delilah accept him as family.
But with Sean... Newt had a sudden, strange illusion—that the boy himself was just another Wampus Cat.
"The second one to be spirited away..."
Headmistress Herrera spoke weakly. "Dear Newt, do Hogwarts wizards have some unique charm bonus with Wampus Cats? Or is it a Scottish thing?"
Newt smiled. Of the three of them, Eugenia Herrera had always been the most lively. Back in the day, she had been the one who pushed him and his wife, Tina Goldstein, together.
"Mr. Grindelwald would be a good choice," Newt said softly, as if assuring Herrera there was no need to worry.
"A Wampus Cat's eyes are much brighter than mine. Mine don't glow in the dark," Headmistress Herrera said with a smile.
"Eugenia, Tina has missed you for a long time," Newt said after a pause.
"Then you'll have to get her to come personally. You know how it is, bogged down with official duties." Headmistress Herrera spread her hands in mock helplessness.
Inside the wooden cabin, the fireplace bathed the interior in a warm, honey-colored glow.
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The Wampus Cat lay on the floorboards, its yellow eyes staring straight out the window. Occasionally, a few birds would take flight in the forest.
Sean waved his wand, quickly transfiguring a nest and lining it with a thick blanket, placing it not far from the fireplace.
"Ifa"—the Wampus Cat agreed to the name Sean gave it—curiously climbed into the nest.
Time inside the cabin flowed the same as outside. The stars were twinkling now, so Sean sat by the window, carefully reading the section on Wampus Cats in The Monster Book of Monsters.
With Ifa moving into the Wizard's Hut, his biggest goal here was accomplished.
Now, he just needed to understand Ifa better and bake the Wampus Cat cookies.
Compared to that relatively simple task, Sean was more concerned about something else—perfecting the Book of Magic.
Currently, the Book of Magic contained only one area.
Sean named this zone, consisting of the fields, the wooden cabin, and the stream, the "Genesis Plains."
But what about future expansions?
Sean realized he couldn't stuff another area in just yet. Not only was there insufficient internal space, but more importantly, two different environments would conflict, destabilizing the interior of the book.
This required the use of the Severing Charm—specifically a variation used to isolate different spatial zones.
But Sean hadn't learned that part yet, and Mr. Scamander was about to leave.
The Wampus Cat was already fast asleep. It had very little guard up against Sean. Most of the time, it just seemed curious why Sean didn't have yellow eyes and thick fur like it did—it completely regarded Sean as one of its own.
Sean waved his wand to bring part of the fire from the hearth over, closed the door, and stepped out of the Book of Magic.
The Ilvermorny forest remained quiet, save for the occasional snap of a twig.
Sean walked through the snow, the night wind tugging at his scarf.
He felt he should confess his actions to Professor Taylor and Headmistress Herrera as soon as possible. After all, the Wampus Cat was Ilvermorny's mascot; just spiriting one away like this didn't look great, no matter how you spun it.
The second thing on his agenda would rely on the Soul Hallows—he hoped Mr. Scamander went to sleep early tonight.
On his way back to the stone cottage along the path, the young wizard saw the Pukwudgie, William, curled up asleep by the statue of Isolt Sayre. Its large mouth was open, and its smooth skin glowed faintly.
The fire in front of it had burned out. Sean summoned a salamander to rekindle the flames before moving on.
In the distance.
Newt parted ways with Headmistress Herrera.
A faint smile lingered on his lips. Although he never doubted Headmaster Dumbledore, he couldn't help but be curious about this young wizard—how exactly did he plan to construct his own Undetectable Extension space and take a Wampus Cat with him in just a week?
As it turned out, a week was too long an estimate.
By the time Newt returned to his quarters, the moonlight stretched his shadow long across the ground. By the warm fireplace, on a soft bed, three Kneazles waited for him, bleary-eyed.
As soon as he arrived, the leader, Hoppy, purred and curled up in his arms, falling asleep instantly.
He took off his old brown coat, still dusted with snow, and quickly drifted off to sleep. The only oddity was that a fog seemed to be rising over Ilvermorny at this hour.
Time passed unknowingly until Newt opened his eyes. He turned slowly on the spot as his surroundings seemed to materialize before him.
It was a vast, open space—bright and clean. Right in front of him stood a dilapidated building.
It was an old Victorian-style house. A sign hung on the wooden door: Wool's Orphanage.
A black cat—no, a Kneazle—sat right on top of the sign, staring at him with emerald green eyes.
"Mr. Scamander," the black cat said.
Newt's instincts screamed that something was very complex here and he should be cautious, but his attention was involuntarily drawn to the talking Kneazle.
Fascinating.
His cheeks flushed slightly, and a genuine smile spread across his face.