Perhaps it was the growth effect of the Murtlap, or maybe Gilderoy Lockhart's "curse" had worked its magic, but Jane Yu was indeed becoming luckier.
During her summer caretaking activities, not only did she forge bonds of friendship with the magical creatures, but she also established a strong mentor-student relationship with Newt Scamander. She even met his grandson, Rolf Scamander, a Hufflepuff student at Hogwarts.
Rolf confessed that since meeting Jane, he finally understood how effort could pale in comparison to sheer talent. The Ukrainian Ironbelly, which hissed and spat sparks at him the moment it saw him, would roll around playfully and even roast meat for Jane. It was a complete betrayal of the dragon's fearsome reputation.
Even Jane's eagle owl, Alfira, rediscovered its wild instincts in Newt's suitcase.
This eagle owl was born with a strong sense of superiority.
It had three younger siblings, but it was the first to hatch and the strongest of the brood.
Its parents, two rather neglectful eagle owls, never returned after it was the first to take flight and leave the nest.
Defying its owl instincts and driven by an innate maternal instinct, it caught mice and insects to feed its three younger siblings and even taught them how to hunt.
Even after being captured and tamed by humans, it continued to care for younglings. One day, it found itself with a human fledgling of its own.
However, this human fledgling was particularly worrisome.
Her hunting abilities were virtually nonexistent—she couldn't even catch a single mouse. She would even flee in terror when faced with a room full of food.
Honestly, who was the prey here?
The eagle owl sighed. The eagle owl shook its head.
Fortunately, its human fledgling had one redeeming quality: she kept a corn snake as a "reserve ration," presumably to fatten it up for a future meal.
But this human fledgling also had a tendency to wander off, which caused the owl no small amount of concern.
Still, she was its child, and it had no choice but to dote on her.
The eagle owl secretly resolved to care for her for the rest of its life.
And today, the human fledgling brought it to a strange place.
This place resembled the environment it once lived in, with forests, rivers, many plump black rats scurrying about, some teleporting birds, and even some colorful snakes.
There was also an elderly human here who gave it a name: Alfira.
With abundant food, plenty of water, and a proper name...
It was satisfied.
So, it decided to hunt here to feed its fledgling.
The large black rats were swift, but as a mature eagle owl, it was adept at observation. It noticed that these rats were particularly attracted to round, shiny metallic objects, some gold, some silver.
Thus, it deliberately took some of its human fledgling's metallic objects to lure them...
It succeeded, capturing five or six large black rats and tossing them onto its fledgling's bed.
Surely, with food placed right in front of her, she would eat it!
The eagle owl thought contentedly, feeling like a responsible parent.
---
"All the Nifflers in the suitcase—they've escaped! They're gone!"
"Hurry, wake up Yu! Let's go find them!"
Jane was jolted awake by the Scamanders' exclamations.
The moment she opened her eyes, the sight before her nearly made her faint.
—Five or six black Nifflers were crawling all over her bed!
Seeing her awake, Alfira happily flapped its wings and picked up one of the Nifflers, offering it to her.
Jane was horrified and quickly rescued the poor Niffler from its beak. The Niffler trembled uncontrollably in her arms.
She anxiously checked her coin pouch, only to find it completely empty.
Tina, who had just entered the room, was equally stunned.
She called out loudly to her husband, announcing that the Nifflers had been found.
"Merlin's beard—" Newt exclaimed as he scratched their bellies, causing coins to scatter everywhere. "They were all drawn to you. You're like a walking Galleon."
Once again, he earnestly made a request to Jane:
"Just a little bit of blood, a tiny bit of magical energy, or even an old piece of clothing—"
His request was promptly shut down by Tina.
But Newt was clearly not giving up.
He decided to take a different approach.
On a sunny afternoon, after roasting meat for the dragon, he suddenly made another request.
"Would you like to stay here as an apprentice?" he asked quietly. "I know you really like these animals."
"I've discussed it with Tina... If you're willing, I'll bring it up with Headmaster Dumbledore when he visits."
But he immediately felt a bit awkward, nervously rubbing the grease on his hands.
"Perhaps this sounds presumptuous. You might prefer school life, and Hogwarts is indeed a wonderful place... But you can't raise these animals there... Besides, Tina and I can teach you the basics..."
Jane's eyes lit up!
Thank you, Lockhart's curse! Thank you, Murtlap's growth effect!
She felt like the luckiest person in the world!
Who would have thought that her dream of "homeschooling"...
Was about to come true!
"Of course I'm willing!" she exclaimed excitedly, barely stopping herself from shaking Newt's greasy hand.
A triumphant Newt smiled and disappeared into his suitcase.
He had struck gold!
He had gained such a talented apprentice!
Perhaps he could finally uncover the source of her unique attraction to animals!
His life's work now had a successor!