Chapter 528: Fantastic Beasts Arc - 1

The Headmaster's office at Hogwarts was as spacious and warm as usual. Sitting in front of that huge carved table was a student who had just finished his seventh year: he was wearing a yellow Hufflepuff school uniform, and his freckled face already had a touch of maturity. His originally handsome eyebrows were locked tightly, and his eyes revealed a deep sense of confusion.

"Relax, Ben," Headmaster Longbottom said gently. "Your problem is a very common one; I encountered it when I was young, too."

"You also..." Benjamin subconsciously raised his left hand, where he wore a watch that could not be taken off.

"No, I'm not talking about the problem of you not being able to control your Super-Wizard power; in my view, that is not a problem." Headmaster Longbottom smiled half-heartedly. "I'm talking about the problem that you have two girls around you and you aren't sure which one you like more, aren't I?"

"Gwen, a Slytherin elite, possesses solid and profound magical knowledge, and her development of Super-Wizard power is also at the forefront among her peers. Clearly, she will be a very good comrade-in-arms for you, and you have also had common magical adventures and have already developed different feelings; I see all of this." The Headmaster first spread out one hand, then he spread out the other. "Scotia, your classmate, whose grades and strength are quite satisfactory, a girl whose heart and eyes are full of you. When you are with her, your heart is full of quiet joy; she makes you fully feel the beauty of the world—if you had ever been like me, full of confusion about power, then an ordinary but sincere girl would be the best choice."

At this moment, Benjamin's heart was full of curiosity about the Headmaster's private life, to the point that he completely forgot about his own affairs. He couldn't help but ask: "Then did you also have a 'comrade-in-arms' back then? Many people are saying, I think, you and the Prime Minister..."

Headmaster Longbottom's expression turned serious again, and he immediately interrupted this slightly rude question: "It seems you don't really need emotional advice. Then let's talk about business: I called you here today for your graduation thesis. You need to go to Dalaran to visit and come into contact with more cutting-edge Fantastic Beasts; this is also to improve and stabilize your power. You already know about this."

Benjamin nodded guiltily; he felt the Headmaster must be angry.

"What I want to say is another matter: we want to use your graduation thesis as an excuse to send you to Red Star Grad for an exchange. You have already mastered the Niffler, and Nifflers can detect high-value items that ordinary people don't notice—not just wealth, sometimes they can also sniff out some intelligence."

"Me...?"

"Of course, you can also choose to be an ordinary, honest, and dutiful exchange student, write your thesis, and come back." The Headmaster's tone became relaxed again. "General Potter has many plans to spy on Soviet intelligence, and the mission does not rest entirely on one person. Moreover, our strategic goal is not difficult; it is just to figure out the trends and goals of the Soviet Wizarding World to prepare for the next, greater plan. That is all."

Benjamin's emotions gradually stabilized. He realized that he might just be a side supplement to the plan, which made him feel much more relaxed.

"I understand this matter, Mr. Headmaster." He asked, "I would like to ask you, regarding the emotional aspect..."

"These two things can also be coupled." The Headmaster's body relaxed, and he leaned back in his chair. "You can tell Gwen about this; a brand-new adventure will deepen your relationship and will also be more helpful for you to make a decision."

Benjamin's eyes widened suddenly. He heard a strong bias in the Headmaster's words, and along with it, he couldn't help but suspect why the whole mission existed in the first place. But these things were not something he could question to his face; he could only ask tactfully: "But isn't this... for Scotia..."

"Unfair? Indeed, a little. The grand narrative context has always been unfair to the Greengrasses." The Headmaster's tone carried a hint of coldness. "But you didn't have any confusion about Super-Wizard power in the first place, and you don't need spiritual comfort, do you?"

"Actually, a little. I've always felt that the ability I've mastered doesn't deserve the General's high regard." Benjamin said sincerely. "The strength of Fantastic Beasts themselves cannot compare to other Super-Wizard powers, and I can only transform for ten minutes each time."

"Your ability is very flexible. If you partner with Gwen, who possesses sufficient combat power, you can exert an effect of one plus one being greater than two." The Headmaster nodded. "More importantly, this is a result belonging solely to the Ministry of Magic, without any Celestial technology; it is a Super-Wizard power we developed independently. Potter values this point very much."

After a moment of silence, Headmaster Longbottom felt there was nothing else to say. He stood up and said softly: "Go back and consider it carefully. The overall situation is not so tense that a new force is needed to execute important missions, but this matter itself relates to which girl you want to choose to continue developing with. This is an important personal choice for you."

After the troubled Benjamin left the Headmaster's office, Headmaster Longbottom waved his wand, and the thick wooden door of the office closed tightly. At this time, the portraits behind him began to chatter: "How could you let a seventh-year student do such a dangerous thing?" "But we did more dangerous things when we were in the fifth year." "Strictly speaking, this matter itself is actually not dangerous."

Neville Longbottom sighed heavily. He turned his chair to explain to the past Headmasters: "I warned him from the beginning that this is essentially an emotional problem. There's no way around it; there is a powerful noble lady... she insists on interfering in this matter."

Above the churning clouds, a purple bus glided steadily through the sky, facing the morning sun. And as the familiar clanging sound began to ring, the middle-aged conductor shouted out information about the imminent arrival, and the passengers on this bus finally recovered from their morning drowsiness, preparing to set foot on the place where they worked.

Mixed among the many workers was a seventh-year Hogwarts student who was worried about his graduation thesis. He combed his brown hair into an adult style, and on the chest of his neat robe, he wore a pin of an open Violet Eye—this meant he had already mastered Super-Wizard power. When he first got on the bus, this caused quite a stir of envy.

"Good morning, Ben." The Griffin Keeper greeted him. "Continuing to study Buckbeak today?"

"No." Benjamin responded politely. "I have an appointment with a friend of mine; she is interning in the Battle Mage unit."

"They've been busy lately." The Keeper was surprised. "Did she take leave specifically for you?"

With a hint of slight emotion, Benjamin met Gwen in the cafe of the Magic Hotel. After not seeing her for a while, she had dyed her hair a new, flowing golden color, and she looked extremely beautiful.

"Morning, Ben." Gwen waved at him enthusiastically. "What are you drinking?"

"Chocolate is fine." Ben pulled out a chair and sat opposite her. "Aren't you busy today?"

"Don't mention it; I'll be idle for a long time." Gwen shrugged helplessly. "My request to go out on a mission has already received a reply: it was actually denied! They must think my skills are too powerful and are worried that if I make a contribution, it will threaten the captain's position, so they deliberately rejected my request."

"Very interesting, Gwen. I didn't expect you to be so good at telling jokes." Ben laughed. "According to that, you must have been assigned a guard duty?"

"Yeah, on duty at the hotel. Sigh, it's clearly a relaxing task that many people would beg for, but I find it very boring." She sipped her drink. "You said you had something to find me for; are you ready to start the next magnificent adventure?"

"This is still somewhat dangerous; we must take it seriously." Benjamin said seriously. "General Potter seems to hope that we will enter Red Star Grad under the guise of academic exchange and then wait for an opportunity to spy on the Soviet Wizarding World's intelligence."

"That's perfectly normal. Every wizard who has the chance to enter that city will spy on intelligence; everyone knows it, and of course, the KGB knows it too." Gwen shrugged. "So, what's the plan? Let me guess: is it to pretend that I am the student majoring in Fantastic Beasts, while you hide and wait for an opportunity to act?"

"But, I haven't decided whether to do that yet. Old Beetle also said that I could just treat it as a normal exchange."

"You coming to find me means you've already decided, doesn't it?" Gwen was in high spirits. "And, since we've joined Torchwood, executing the General's mission is a matter of course—even if Old Beetle wants to protect his students, or more accurately, he feels he has to let others think he is protecting his students, but still, as I said, the KGB thinks we are definitely going to spy on intelligence anyway, so we might as well really spy on some intelligence."

"And I think this plan is good; I can attract their attention on the surface and create opportunities for you." She continued. "Which animals can you stably transform into now?"

"Demiguise, Griffin, Swooping Evil, Bowtruckle, and the Niffler I just stabilized recently." Benjamin sighed. "I only just found out that the little watch is purely domestic, no wonder it's so unstable."

"Instability is normal, and even better." Gwen said indifferently. "After all, the principle relies on a Boggart to achieve it. In other words, every time it's unstable, it turns into a more suitable animal, doesn't it? Do you remember that time you brought out a Thunderbird? By the way, have you succeeded since then?"

"No, it only came out once. I'd quite like to do it again."

"Anyway, since we have a Niffler, our plan is probably feasible."

Ben hesitated for a while and said slowly: "But, I think if you pretend to be a Fantastic Beasts major... I think, you don't know much about Fantastic Beasts, do you?"

"Indeed, that is also a problem."

"Instead, why don't we just tell the truth? I am the student going for the exchange, and you are the accompanying personnel. In that case, perhaps the KGB will focus more of their attention on you, and I will have more opportunities to catch them off guard."

"Accompanying personnel? You might as well be clear about it." Gwen reached out and wrapped her arm around his shoulder. "Girlfriend, how about that?"

Ben blushed and began to stammer: "If you are willing... also..."

On the day the plan officially started, Ben found his emotions were more nervous than he had imagined. He leaned against the railing of the cruise ship, looking at the scene in the distance. From the edge of the sea of clouds, orange-red began to emerge, until the sun entered the sea, the sky turned indigo, and the stars lit up one by one. Occasionally, the hull would transmit a slight trembling sensation, breaking his myriad thoughts.

"What are you thinking about?" Behind him, Gwen walked to his side with two cups of hot tea. "We are going further and further north; you'd better go change into some warm clothes soon."

"I'm still thinking about this mission," he swallowed a mouthful of saliva. "What exactly does General Potter want us to investigate?"

"We don't have to investigate, either." Gwen shrugged, placed a hot paper cup on the railing, and pushed it toward his hand.

"He must hope we investigate; even, I feel he already has the answer. This is just a simple test, but the result of the test will point to some more..." Ben was silent for a long time. He looked at Gwen. The girl's appearance was still exquisite; under her golden long hair were newly grown tea-colored roots.

"Who exactly are you?" He couldn't help but ask.

The evening breeze brushed past their robes. Gwen's expression changed slightly, but her tone remained indifferent. "Gwen Cooper, I have always been me. I don't know what you are letting your imagination run wild about."

"You are still lying to me. I investigated; Dalaran has no Battle Mage named Jack Cooper. Who exactly is your father?"

Gwen didn't speak. Benjamin continued to look at her, waiting for her to speak.

"Perhaps you have suspicions, but that's not important." She said stiffly. "I am me, and it has nothing to do with my family, and my relationship with them isn't that good—you'd better look at that city more; don't think too complexly: whether you are prepared to return with nothing to show for it or risk your life to make an immortal contribution, for the next two weeks, we can only rely on each other."

Following the direction of her finger, Ben saw the amber light in the clouds. Looking from afar, it vaguely gave people a feeling of warmth.

"Is that Red Star Grad?" Ben narrowed his eyes, looking at the light point hanging high in the sky. "It is said that it is always moving. Every time our people board it, it just happens to be drifting to the Arctic Ocean..."

"Very normal. Vladimir cannot tolerate us looking down at his territory from above." Gwen nodded. "Let's go back to the cabin first; someone from the Soviet Ministry of Magic will come to pick us up tomorrow morning."

Ben suppressed the doubts in his heart. Although he increasingly suspected that Gwen carried some extraordinary background, at this moment, the task in front of him was clearly more important. He told himself that getting enough rest was necessary; after all, no one knew what kind of attitude the Soviet Ministry of Magic would have, and they could only act according to circumstances.

The next day, Ben, who got up early, put on a thick sweater and a fleece-lined robe. When he walked onto the deck, the cold air with a hint of metallic taste entered his nasal cavity. The ship arrived directly below the floating city, and the steel foundation almost covered the entire sky. The light source had changed from the sun to that huge sculpture in the shape of a red star, and the orange-red light shone straight down, illuminating a black car with an open door on the deck and a girl in a silver-gray uniform by the door.

"It seems they are prepared to send a car to pick us up." Gwen walked out from behind him, still yawning. "Flying cars or something..."

Before she could finish her sentence, another strange-shaped flying object fell from the sky, completely failing to conform to aerodynamics, but still carrying propellers, barely allowing people to recognize it as an aircraft. They lowered hooks and latched onto the edge of the car.

"Well, there are quite a few Muggles on this ship; they still have to do some face-saving projects." Gwen shrugged and walked toward it first.

Ben followed her pace. While walking, he was also sizing up the receptionist. She had her chestnut-colored hair coiled in a capable style, and her amber eyes were full of determination. Even though her temperament was so formal and serious, Ben couldn't help but focus his attention on her beauty.

"Welcome, you two. I am Valentina Nechayeva, and I will serve as your reception specialist for the next period of time." She reached out to shake hands with both of them, then closed the car door for them. "Our itinerary today focuses on checking in and resting; the formal exchange program starts tomorrow morning."

After a simple introduction, the car began to fly toward the sky. Ben's gaze swept over the inverted part of Red Star Grad. This place was entirely composed of steel, with large swaths of smooth steel plates splicing the bottom of the city into a regular geometric shape, presenting a strange industrial beauty. They flew past the entire huge geometric body and arrived at a height almost reaching the ground of the city, then entered a long metal tunnel.

"This doesn't make sense," Gwen said. "When we are in Dalaran, we always take off and land on the ground."

"When in Rome, do as the Romans do." Ben wisely chose not to talk too much.

Passing through the entry tunnel, the driver continued to drive the car to the parking lot deep inside. Valentina took their documents to handle the procedures, leaving Ben and Gwen alone in the guest hall. The layout here was simple and bright, with rows of comfortable soft chairs interspersed with a few green plants. A warm-colored oil painting hung on the wall; the wheat fields in the painting swayed slightly in the wind, and on the right side of the painting were two farmers holding small sickles, their smiles very firm, and their eyes quite lively.

Ben's heart was full of defensiveness; he suspected that the people in the oil painting would monitor the guests, so he moved his gaze to the other side to look at the scene outside the floor-to-ceiling window. Most of the buildings outside were high-rise buildings with pointed roofs and huge windows, with a large number of overpasses weaving through them, and cars coming and going. This was no different from the modern Muggle cities he had seen, except that the overpasses were more complex or the buildings were higher.

"Very interesting." Ben said casually. "In this era when everyone has begun to ignore the Statute of Secrecy, the Soviets, who were the first to start playing on the edge, are still honestly staying at the level of various edge-playing."

"There are free hot drinks here." Gwen picked up a cup of hot tea at the small bar in the corner, then stared out the window in a daze.

A little sleepy, Ben thought. The planning of this city looked so relaxed and bright, giving him an involuntary sense of relaxation, and coupled with the fact that he had indeed gotten up too early in the morning, he, like Gwen, began to stare blankly.

"Sorry to keep you waiting." When Valentina walked over, she was carrying two cups of amber-colored drinks. "The documents have been processed. Before the car comes, you can take a rest and taste our specialty drink."

"Kvass?" Ben turned around and took a sip, but it wasn't Kvass; it was sweeter, and it was a kind of gentle and inclusive sweetness. After the drink entered his mouth, that feeling of relaxation became even more obvious.

"We call it 'Amber Light,' a byproduct of the Emotion Furnace, which can relax the spirit and soothe fatigue..."

"Like diluted Felix Felicis." Gwen commented. "This is a potion, right?"

"You can call it a health drink." Valentina explained with a smile.

Ben took another big gulp. He felt that if it were Felix Felicis, it would be even more worth drinking. When he came to his senses from that cozy feeling, he realized belatedly that the atmosphere between Gwen and Valentina seemed a bit strange.

Fortunately, a black convertible car soon arrived at the entrance of the reception hall, so they didn't need to say much and went straight to pick up their luggage and sit on it.

"We are now preparing to head to Dawn Residential Area, a residential area specially prepared for foreign guests, not far from Gorky Polytechnic Institute, the Municipal Building, and the commercial street, which is relatively convenient for your itinerary." Valentina introduced. "The building prepared for you to stay in this time is Building No. 3, which was just renovated last year..."

Ben listened lazily. Half of his attention was on the scenery outside the window. Most of the buildings on the roadside were of a similar style—pointed roofs, reliefs, and large glass curtain walls. When the car drove past them, a unique, orderly beauty made him feel refreshed.

The car didn't drive for long; after all, the volume of the floating city itself wouldn't be too large. When a row of flat-roofed twelve-story building complexes appeared in his eyes, he also recognized from the small English characters under the sign that this was the Dawn Residential Area where they were going to stay.

Valentina took them to change their room cards at the old man reading a newspaper at the front desk. The rooms were two adjacent ones on the fifth floor, to which neither of them had any objections.

"I will come to pick you up at 11:30 later to go to the academy for a meal, and the afternoon visit and exchange activities will begin after the meal." After Valentina finished the itinerary arrangement, she left.

Ben opened his room door. The room was spacious, and the furnishings looked comfortable. The overall tone was a soft beige, and he felt sleepy again.

There was a sunflower in a pot on the bedside table, or rather, a small device in the shape of a sunflower, with a smiling face drawn in the center of the flower, which looked like it could talk. And beside the flowerpot was a small, round disk engraved with a red star pattern, and a small piece of paper beside it.

In the center of the card, it was written in eye-catching fonts: "Please use the 'Thought Generation' terminal to connect to the smart assistant," and a diagram was provided to teach visitors to stick this terminal to their temples. Below this were a few lines of small print, introducing the principle of the terminal, which was based on Legilimency technology, and the intensity setting was very weak; one had to concentrate to use the terminal to output thoughts.

Ben was, of course, very vigilant about this statement. He guessed that this terminal could increase the intensity of Legilimency when necessary to forcibly read the visitor's thoughts. However, he was not very afraid, as he had received an 'E' in his Occlumency exam.

Ben tentatively stuck the terminal to his head. Then, the sunflower began to speak: "Hello, comrade, I am the smart assistant. I can control all facilities in the room—lights, temperature, curtains, music. I can also connect to authorized robots in public areas to provide you with various services. What do you need?"

A feeling of being particularly close and warm welled up in Ben's heart, and he felt it was very interesting and novel. He began to tirelessly command the sunflower assistant, sometimes asking it to play songs, sometimes asking it to adjust the air conditioning. He also chatted with the assistant. The assistant told him that although the two communicated through dialogue on the surface, the assistant actually did not accept commands through voice, but rather, when a person spoke, that sentence would be particularly clear in the mind, which could then be read by low-intensity Legilimency.

While he was playing, Gwen, who came to knock on the door, interrupted him. She signaled him to take off the terminal with a disdainful expression.

"This is too stupid, having to wear this thing." She said. "Don't they know that Muggles have long since made voice-based smart assistants? I immediately started to doubt whether this floating city is as advanced as it claims to be."

"Muggles?" Ben blinked. "However, it seems that their Legilimency technology is well-developed, which is also something we can visit and learn from."

"Yeah, after knowing this, I always have a feeling of being watched, which is very bad." Gwen frowned. "I hope things end soon; staying here is really uncomfortable."

Ben knew what she was talking about. The sunflower assistant might not really be unable to receive voice, or this might just be a blatant bug. But fortunately, they had practiced that little spell to avoid eavesdropping before they came, which could come in handy right now.

The two sat on the sofa, each pointing their wand tip at the other's temple. Soon, that strange sense of connection welled up, and they could begin to communicate through telepathy.

"My god, that's Cheering Charm, that health drink; it must have Cheering Charm ingredients in it. I tasted it immediately." Gwen couldn't wait to point out his mistake. "You drank too much; haven't you felt that you are too relaxed, even drowsy?"

"You're right, and it seems it didn't just start from when I drank too much of the little drink, but from the moment I boarded this city, I... and haven't you noticed? It seems that everyone we've seen along the way is smiling. Could this be some evil spell?"

"It's a spell, but whether it's evil or not is hard to say. The Soviet materials provided to the outside world mentioned that every resident of Red Star Grad contributes their negative emotions as the casting source for the city's magical operations. The large floating magic array is designed based on this."

"Is the spell cast by the residents themselves? I find this a bit incredible."

"They didn't say, but I think it's easy to guess. Obviously, those who wear the 'Thought Generation' for a long time will automatically contribute emotions to this device—oh no, perhaps it's the other way around; 'Thought Generation' can actively absorb people's negative emotions, that's how it is..."

Ben felt a lingering fear. He remembered that when he was wearing the terminal just now, many beautiful feelings welled up in his heart unconsciously, and he felt a sense of loss when he took it off. Now it seems that this is very likely the effect of magic.

"It seems they are much more advanced than us in this regard, but it's normal; their research on ritual magic has always been world-leading. It's just that I didn't expect their development of Legilimency to be so deep."

"I have another worry: is our telepathy spell really safe? Since the principles are all based on Legilimency, could they monitor this too?"

This conjecture frightened both young people. However, after a brief silence, Gwen said easily: "If you ask me, it's unlikely. This spell was secretly developed by the Ministry of Magic; they might not even imagine that we would use telepathy to communicate."

Ben nodded in deep agreement. For these children born in the new millennium, the Ministry of Magic under the leadership of General Potter is absolutely trustworthy. The Ministry of Magic's research is always at the forefront of the Wizarding World; they cannot imagine the terrible fact that 【the key technologies and secret plans of the Ministry of Magic are all actually led by the Soviets】.

Thus, smiles returned to their faces, and Ben also began to look forward to the exchange trip to the academy.