HP: Fantastic Beasts And The Right Way To Use Them

In a daze, Evans felt something swaying beside his head, which woke him from his sleep.

Slowly opening his eyes, he saw a large potato with a few leaf sprouts on its head crouching beside him, holding a wooden cup in its small hands.

"Thanks, Loca."

Sitting up from the bed formed by tree canopies, Evans took the milk handed to him by the potato sprite Loca nearby, downed it in one gulp, and his thoughts gradually became clear.

Looking up around him, he saw a green canopy of trees extending endlessly in all directions.

Sleeping in trees was a habit he had developed during his time in the Orléans Forest years ago. After all, back then he could be attacked by dark creatures at any moment, and only in the trees could he be somewhat safer.

Although there were no longer any dark creatures in the forest by the great lake that could attack him, the shadows of the past still lingered over him, unable to dissipate.

With a flash of white light, Evans had already disappeared from the canopy and appeared on the ground. Not far away, Sothea was telling stories to her precious plants... yes, this was how she cultivated her plants.

A magical but seemingly very useful talent.

Seeing Evans land on the ground, Sothea paused her storytelling and excitedly ran to Evans's side.

"Are we leaving today?"

"Mm, Senior said he's coming today." As he spoke, Evans looked at Sothea, his expression very serious. "Are you sure you can leave the Great Lake now?"

Sothea needed to sleep in the lake for at least six months each year to maintain her existence. If she didn't do this, her power would rapidly diminish until she completely fell into slumber, only able to act through water clones like in the beginning.

And her sleeping time wasn't fixed, which was what Evans was worried about.

"Don't worry, I just woke up not long ago. I won't fall asleep again so easily." The girl waved her hand, her eyes showing anticipation.

"Cait Sith! Can I catch one and keep it as a pet? Just like Loca?"

"They're intelligent beings that can talk."

"So what if they can talk! Uncle Delacour's little daughter can talk too! I still want to catch her and keep her!"

"Besides, if they can talk and are smart and can command cats, then it could lead a group of cats to be both gardener and security guard, and I could just lie in the lake and reap the benefits!"

Sothea began fantasizing about that wonderful future, her smile gradually becoming somewhat evil.

Like a witch wanting to kidnap children.

Shaking his head, Evans looked toward the Great Lake nearby, sparkling in the sunlight.

It had been over half a month since he came to the Orléans Forest. During this half month, he hadn't explored the Orléans Forest like before but had stayed by the lake eating and drinking with Sothea.

After all, he had promised Senior Newt that he would search for traces of that Cait Sith, so he couldn't go too far. They had already explored the area around the great lake completely. Except for that extremely magnificent scabbard, there wasn't anything of value nearby.

But speaking of that scabbard...

Before he had studied history, he had always thought that scabbard was simply a seal core, used to maintain that seal that allowed entry but not exit.

Although besides providing energy for the seal, it could also prevent the bearer from being injured or bleeding no matter what attacks they suffered, Evans hadn't paid much attention to it, only considering it a magical item.

After all, it couldn't be taken beyond the great lake's range, or it would return to that seal. No matter how useful an artifact that couldn't be taken away was, it had no practical value.

However, after studying history, the more he thought about it, the more familiar that scabbard's function seemed, as if he had heard of it somewhere.

A scabbard related to a lake that also had this kind of ridiculous protective effect... why did it feel so familiar?

Early medieval history recorded that the legendary king, who was quite renowned among both Muggles and wizards, had once lost a divine scabbard that had never been found.

Could it really be that scabbard?

A trace of curiosity flashed in Evans's eyes as he asked softly. "Is that scabbard still at the bottom of the lake?"

"Yes, why?"

"...Nothing, we can't take it out anyway."

Senior Newt was probably arriving soon, and he couldn't stand him up.

However, if it really was that legendary scabbard, he could find an opportunity to study it later.

But how did that thing end up lost in France? Was it accidentally lost in some battle and brought here, or did some emergency occur at the time, forcing them to leave it here and add that layer of sealing?

But the Orléans Forest's seal that allowed entry but not exit was said to have appeared only after the end of the medieval period... how could that be explained?

Shaking his head, Evans temporarily buried these doubts in his heart.

He'd ask Professor Binns about it when he got back. He should know quite a bit about this kind of knowledge, which would be better than his own wild speculation.

Since they were leaving today, Nana and Alice had already returned to the case early. Now they were just waiting for Senior Newt to arrive at the forest.

"He's here!" Before long, Sothea beside him suddenly cried out in delight and patted the head of the large potato beside her.

"Loca, take good care of the house!"

After Sothea said goodbye to her plants, Evans pressed on her shoulder, and the two transformed into a silver-white arc of light and disappeared from the spot.

The mist around them gradually dissipated, and an old man with a face full of wrinkles but still showing traces of former handsomeness appeared at the entrance to this forest, carrying a case.

Although the seal in the forest had disappeared, this forest still only had two entrances. The other entrance was being renovated by the French Ministry of Magic, and only this current entrance allowed free passage.

Standing at the entrance for a moment, a stream of water gathered before Newt. A few seconds later, a semi-transparent girl appeared before him, her ethereal voice echoing around.

"Long time no see, Mr. Scamander. Evans and I will be right over!"

"It's fine, no need to rush. Searching for Cait Sith isn't something that requires urgency."

Newt, carrying his case, showed his trademark gentle smile. Watching the girl made of flowing water wave at him before turning back into streams of water and dispersing in the air.

The surroundings became quiet again. Newt placed his case on the ground and let his thoughts drift.

When he first learned of this girl's existence, he had actually been very surprised.

After all, before that, he had always thought this species had long since gone extinct.

He hadn't expected that in France's Orléans Forest, there would still be the last member of this species.

Recalling everything about this species, Newt felt deeply moved.

They had countless names and had created countless legends since ancient times.

They were King Arthur's patrons, Lancelot's nurturers, and the embodiment of lake water's purity and power.

They were water sprites, stream veela, noble beings who controlled all water sources.

And in the most ancient times, they had a name known to all.

The Lady of the Lake.