HP: Fantastic Beasts And The Right Way To Use Them

Taking two unsteady steps backward, the hooded figure stared at the three giant beasts ahead, his eyes filled with utter disbelief.

Those were three colossal beasts that resembled lions but were significantly larger than any ordinary lion. They possessed massive razor-sharp claws and yellow tails ending in tufts of coarse hair, yet most unnervingly, they bore distinctly human heads. Three enormous human faces regarded the hooded figure with unsettling intelligence, making him feel deeply creeped out while panic surged through his borrowed body.

How could three of these legendary creatures appear simultaneously in one location?

Weren't they supposed to fight each other viciously when they encountered one another?

After recovering from his initial shock, the hooded figure steadied himself, a trace of genuine concern flashing in his serpentine eyes.

These were three fully mature Sphinxes whose magical abilities had reached their absolute peak.

When this type of creature encountered humans, they would traditionally pose a riddle. If answered correctly, their abilities would be dramatically weakened, and usually at this point the Sphinx would retreat gracefully, allowing humans to pass through the territory they guarded.

But if the answer was wrong, their magic would receive unimaginable amplification, and their physical strength would rival the most powerful giants.

Ordinary adult wizards had absolutely no way to defeat a Sphinx after answering incorrectly.

Although in his prime, eliminating these three Sphinxes wouldn't have posed much difficulty for him, with his current drastically reduced strength, fighting one Sphinx head-on would be barely manageable, but he definitely couldn't defeat three together.

However, the situation wasn't completely hopeless.

A trace of familiar arrogance flashed in the hooded figure's eyes. They were merely Sphinxes. Although undeniably powerful, like Devil's Snare, they also possessed fatal weaknesses.

As long as he could successfully solve their riddles, their abilities would be substantially weakened.

Three weakened Sphinxes, even if specially trained not to retreat after being weakened, would still be quite manageable for someone of his caliber to defeat.

Just as he was formulating this strategy, the three crouching Sphinxes slowly rose to their feet, speaking in casual order from left to right.

"Yo?"

"Someone's here?"

"Time for the talent show!"

Then they spread out, standing tall in a coordinated row like three dedicated door guardians.

"I'm called Sphinx!"

"I'm called Finx!"

"I'm called Ks!"

"Next, we will conduct a basic intellectual assessment on you!"

Hooded figure: "?"

Why did he feel these Sphinxes were behaving somewhat... oddly?

Shaking his head vigorously, he pushed that growing feeling of wrongness to the bottom of his troubled heart.

No matter how strange they seemed, they still had to operate according to the fundamental rules of their own abilities. Sphinx riddles were nothing more than those ancient clichés about four legs in the morning, two legs at noon, and such traditional riddles. No difficulty whatsoever.

Thinking this way, the confidence in the hooded figure's eyes grew stronger. He placed his pale hand on his wand handle, preparing to face his first riddle.

Seeing the challenger radiating such confidence, the leftmost Sphinx spoke first, its voice rumbling and echoing through the wide stone corridor.

"A Muggle pool manager simultaneously opened both the water injection pipe and drain valve, discovering that water injection speed would change due to water pressure. Initially injecting one-third of the pool per hour, but efficiency decreases by twenty percent after every third filling. Drainage speed remains constant at one-sixth pool per hour. If both pipes work simultaneously, can the pool be completely filled? If so, how many hours are needed?"

Hooded figure: "???"

What in Merlin's name?

His mind raced frantically as the hooded figure tried desperately to understand the question the Sphinx had just posed, but mathematical knowledge he had never learned flashed through his brain without leaving any trace of useful inspiration.

What was this nonsense? They never taught this in wizarding school!

Time passed minute by agonizing minute. Cold sweat began to seep from the hooded figure's pale forehead, but the more he thought, the more his mind felt like a hopelessly tangled mess.

Before his eyes seemed to appear a foolish Muggle, frantically fiddling with two water pipes in his hands, the water level rising and falling like his fluctuating emotions, impossible to grasp or predict.

No, why would anyone drain water while filling it simultaneously? Are you completely insane?

After waiting two full minutes and seeing that the challenger hadn't provided any answer whatsoever, the leftmost Sphinx's massive body shuddered, and the magical power within it instantly surged to dangerous levels.

Then the three Sphinxes looked at each other with obvious disappointment.

"Can't even solve this basic problem?"

"A bit intellectually limited."

"Not even as smart as me!"

Being openly insulted by magical beasts, the hooded figure immediately felt a surge of murderous anger. He wanted to lash out violently, but he knew very clearly that in his current weakened state, he couldn't even defeat three normal Sphinxes, let alone when one had already been magically enhanced.

However, these Sphinxes didn't seem to plan on forcibly killing him even after being enhanced, which was marginally encouraging.

Forcibly suppressing the rage burning in his heart, he gritted his teeth and said in a hoarse voice. "Next question!"

The middle Sphinx stepped forward proudly, holding its head high like a swan preparing to spread its wings and soar majestically.

"In a poacher's cage are several Bowtruckles and Nifflers. Counting from above, there are thirty-five heads total, counting from below, there are ninety-four legs total. How many Bowtruckles and how many Nifflers are in the cage?"

The hooded figure's back was slowly soaked with cold, clammy sweat.

He had at least some vague clue about the previous problem, just that there were too many variables to calculate and he couldn't react quickly enough.

But what did this mathematical nightmare mean?

If you gave him a photograph or something, he could at least count manually, but without even visual aid, how was he supposed to determine how many Bowtruckles and Nifflers there were?

Another two excruciating minutes passed, and the middle Sphinx also shuddered, its internal magical power instantly surging to enhanced levels.

"Give up already."

"Evans once said wisely."

"Family will abandon you, life will deceive you, but mathematics won't."

Hearing these philosophical words, although the hooded figure was furious, he couldn't help but feel a trace of genuine confusion.

"Why won't mathematics?"

"Because."

"Math won't."

"Just won't deceive!"

Veins bulged prominently on his forehead as the hooded figure felt waves of nameless fire rising in his heart. He could no longer suppress that surging anger and reached desperately for his wand.

He was the Dark Lord, this era's greatest dark wizard! When had he ever suffered such profound humiliation?

Fine, no matter how magically strong the Sphinxes were, they would definitely die after taking two or three Killing Curses! And he would never truly die no matter what happened. Today, even if he had to sacrifice this borrowed body, he would drag one of them down with him!

"Avada..."

But before he could finish the deadly incantation, three powerful gusts of wind blew past. The three Sphinxes split in three different directions with practiced precision. One knocked the wand cleanly from his hand, another pinned him firmly to the stone ground, and the third pressed its dusty paw directly over his mouth.

Their coordination was extraordinarily skilled, clearly having been rehearsed countless times.

"Cheating on the examination!"

"Previous scores completely nullified!"

"Difficulty level increased!"

Having accomplished all this, the three Sphinxes returned calmly to their original positions. The rightmost one spoke with a voice so thunderously loud it seemed like it would blow off the ceiling.

"Professor McGonagall plans to order a new batch of desks for Hogwarts. Originally planning to purchase fifty sets at five Galleons each, but the shopkeeper said there would be a discount for bulk purchases. As a result, Professor McGonagall bought sixty-nine sets, with each set costing six Sickles less, but the shopkeeper earned exactly the same profit! What is the cost price of each desk?"