They Apparated once more, reappearing within the square.
Advancing through the thick fog, Dumbledore asked Newt about the Ministry's situation.
"They still believe it was you," Newt said. "They sent to New York."
Dumbledore smiled. "And you told them it wasn't ?"
"Yes. Even though it really was you." It was only because Newt had followed Dumbledore's ssage to Egypt that everything afterward had happened.
Although Dumbledore had told him it was due to the Dumbledore family's unusual affinity with magical birds.
According to the family's lore, whenever a Dumbledore was in desperate need of help, a phoenix would co.
Dumbledore had even given an example. It was said that his great-grandfather once had a phoenix, but after his death, the phoenix flew away as well.
"Forgive my boldness, Professor, but I absolutely don't believe that's why you told about the Thunderbird."
Newt was no longer the sa easily fooled student he had once been. He asked, "Then what about the fire dragon? Was that your arrangent too?"
"Of course not."
The two walked as they talked.
"I was quite surprised myself. A talking fire dragon." Dumbledore glanced behind them. Soone was following. He grabbed Newt's arm, and the two of them Disapparated.
They reappeared at Victoria Coach Station.
"Credence is in Paris, Newt," Dumbledore said, skipping over the topic of the fire dragon. "He's searching for his true family. I imagine you've heard the rumors about his real identity as well?"
"His true identity?"
Newt answered honestly, "No."
Dumbledore and Newt boarded a stationary bus.
After they sat down, Dumbledore said, "Pure-blood wizards speculate that he is the last surviving bloodline of an important French family."
"The baby people believed had gone missing."
Hearing this, Newt was greatly shocked.
An important French family?
A raven crest surfaced in his mind.
Lestrange?
"Leta's younger brother?"
Leta Lestrange.
A classmate from Newt's school days, and once the person he had admired.
Of course, that was all in the past.
Now, Leta was engaged to another Scamander, and Newt's heart had long since wandered to soone else.
"That's what they believe."
Dumbledore did not deny his guess and continued, "As for whether he is pure-blood or not, what I know is that an Obscurus thrives where there is a lack of love."
"Like a dark twin, it sees the host as its only companion," Dumbledore advised Newt. "If Credence has a biological brother or sister who can replace the Obscurus, he might still be saved."
Dumbledore paused slightly as he spoke, another figure surfacing in his mind.
His own sister, Ariana Dumbledore.
There was more than guilt in his heart. There was regret.
If he had understood this back then, the tragedy would never have co to pass.
"No matter where he is in Paris, either he is in danger, or he poses a danger to others."
"Though his origins remain unclear, he must be found. And I would rather it be you who finds him."
Credence reminded him of his sister. He wanted to make ands, and at the sa ti, to stop Grindelwald.
Dumbledore conjured a business card out of thin air. It was Nicolas Flal's card.
He handed it to Newt.
Newt examined the card with suspicion.
With everything arranged, Dumbledore Disapparated.
Newt chased after him, and after a brief sequence of pursuit and evasion,
Newt shouted, "Dumbledore, one more question!"
Dumbledore halted mid-Apparition.
Newt hurried forward and asked, "Do you know a white-haired wizard?"
"An old man?"
"No, a young man," Newt said. "He's an Obscurial, one who has completely mastered his Obscurus."
Dumbledore looked surprised.
"He may be connected to Credence," Newt said, staring at Dumbledore. "And Grindelwald as well."
"I'm sorry, but I've never encountered such a person in my mory."
Dumbledore thought to himself that if he had known soone like that in his youth, Ariana's tragedy might never have happened.
"A white-haired wizard…"
Dumbledore's calculated restraint, along with his precise grasp of Newt's psychology, led Newt to finally concede.
However, once Newt returned ho, more matters urged him toward Paris.
…
Paris.
A hidden location.
The circus had returned here once more.
Stubble had grown on Credence's face.
Inside the monster tent, Nagini knelt beside a large chest, gently stroking her costu.
It was ti for her to perform on stage again.
Credence seed to have given up on the possibility of being taken away by John. He quickly walked toward Nagini.
From behind the bars, he called out in a low voice, "Nagini."
"Credence." Nagini turned and walked over. The two faced each other through the barrier.
"I know where she is," Credence said. "We'll escape tonight."
Nagini was just about to reply when the fat wizard entered her tent and hurried forward.
"I told you to stay away from her, boy!" the fat wizard snarled with disgust. "Did I say you could rest? Go clean up Kaba!"
With that, he pulled the curtain shut between them.
Credence lifted his head and looked toward the small fire dragon locked inside a cage.
That night, the circus held a grand performance.
The circular stage was itself a giant cage, and around it stood crowds of drunken spectators and wizards seeking strange amusents.
The fat wizard Skender, acting as the host, shouted loudly, "Ladies and gentlen, in our showcase of monsters and curiosities, I present to you…"
"The Maledictus!"
He yanked open the curtain. Nagini stood there, dressed in a snakeskin costu.
At the sight of such a beautiful woman, the n in the crowd whistled and jeered loudly. The drunkards hurled crude insults, as if it could bring them so twisted thrill.
Among the crowd, a white-haired wizard watched with a hint of excitent in his eyes.
"Nagini?"
John stepped forward slightly so he could see more clearly.
But the mont he heard Skender's words, the surprise in his eyes turned into boundless killing intent.
"Once trapped in the jungles of Indonesia, she carries a blood curse."
Skender loudly humiliated the woman who had no control over her fate. "A lowly creature like this deserves to spend eternity in the form of a beast!"
A lowly creature?
The killing intent in the white-haired wizard's eyes surged, bringing with it a bone-chilling cold that made everyone shudder.
Even the fat wizard Skender felt it.
The drunken spectators trembled.
The noise vanished, and an unspoken understanding made everyone fall silent.
An indescribable tension spread through the tent.
John took a deep breath, a low growl escaping his mouth.
Golden flas spread like smoke along his breath.
A dark-skinned man wearing a feathered hat noticed him.
Another person also noticed that striking white hair.
"Is it him?" Tina spotted John.
She imdiately recalled the white-haired wizard who had appeared at the subway station.
Tina had followed Credence to the circus. The mont she saw John, she knew her suspicions had been correct.
She tried to push her way through the crowd.
At that mont, flas suddenly erupted within the tent.
"It's on fire!"
Panicked shouts rang out.
They interrupted Credence just as he was about to release the small fire dragon, and also caused Nagini to halt her transformation.
Both of them were taken by surprise.
The crowd scattered in terror as the flas coiled around the tent like a living devil.
Anyone who ca into contact with them scread, their arms left with fresh burns.
John suppressed the urge to burn alive everyone who had witnessed Nagini's humiliation. The black haze at the corners of his eyes faded, and an opening appeared within the golden flas.
Those trapped inside imdiately rushed toward the opening.
Stamping, screaming, chaos.
Skender tried to do sothing, but the cane in his hand transford into a black serpent and bit into him.
His blood spilled out like water from a punctured balloon.
"Nagini!" Credence rushed forward and grabbed her hand.
Nagini asked in confusion, "Was this you, Credence?"
"No, it wasn't ." Credence hadn't even had the chance to act.
They intended to escape amid the chaos.
John steadied his racing emotions. The flas automatically parted before touching him.
A passage of fire ford.
The cage lted rapidly upon contact.
Credence shielded Nagini, staring fixedly at the burning flas.
Suddenly, the fire opened.
With a smile, John said, "Credence, I believe I'm a little late."
His gaze shifted to Nagini, and he greeted her in a soft, gentle voice, "Hello, Nagini."
____
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