Hogwarts Study Panel

Chapter 364, Section 362: Bastet

"Is it you who's talking?"

Newt's cheeks were rosy.

"It's me, not a ghost or anything."

"That's what the black cat replied."

"Are you a cat shrew?"

Newt completely lost his shyness around people and became much more at ease and focused.

"……Yes."

The black cat hesitated for a moment; it was, of course, a cat scumbag, at least for part of the time.

That was truly amazing.

Newt sighed with a hint of excitement,
"If you're willing to answer... where is this place?"

"The world behind the curtain, my boundary."

"The black cat said."

"So, dear Bastet, you've come to guide me to death and reunite with my family?"

Newt was slightly distracted.

As a learned wizard, he naturally knew of the existence of the Borderlands, the world after death and the starting point of great adventures.

Bastet, on the other hand, is a cat god in Egyptian mythology who symbolizes both war and family. His character is dualistic, being both gentle and virtuous, as well as brave and warlike.

"Not really."

The black cat shook its head in a human-like manner.

"Well then, I'm here as a guest..."

Newt turned his head and looked into the distance. All sorts of bizarre and colorful wisps of mist floated around, threatening to crawl into the wizard's head if he wasn't careful.

The black cat seemed adept at dealing with these wisps of mist, sweeping away the approaching ones with its tail.

"A wandering soul, is it real?"

Newt asked cautiously.

"Perhaps. If a soul neither wants to leave nor resists death, it may be found here."

The black cat's ears twitched, as if it were thinking.

"Rita Lestrange, have you seen her?"

Newt's face held an expression that the black cat couldn't decipher.

"No, the wandering souls appear before dawn, and by then I have already left."

The black cat gazed into the distance; it was daytime, not yet night.

"So, is there any chance for us to meet again?"

Newt asked.

"This will take some time... If you stay here too long, you'll get lost."

The black cat's whiskers twitched slightly.

"Yes, dear Bastet, what do I need to give up if I want to do this?"

Newt's eyes narrowed into curved lines, as if they were filled with light.

He always managed to find the answers by observing magical creatures.

The black cat seemed to possess some kind of unimaginable power that enabled it to accomplish this.

"You miss her a lot?"

The black cat didn't understand. He didn't know who this person was.

"It's us."

Newt seemed a little lost in thought.

It was only much later that he was willing to admit that he was the first person to capture Gellert Grindelwald.

Before this, he, like all grieving people, had endured the pain of war.

Leta Lestrange, his best friend from childhood. To this day, a framed photo of her remains in his magic suitcase workshop.

He will never forget Père Lachaise Cemetery, Paris, France, 1927.

By then, Leta Lestrange had become Theseus's fiancée. That same year, at the Gellert Grindelwald rally in Paris, Leta sacrificed herself, using a powerful spell to destroy Grindelwald's skull-shaped hookah, distracting him and Theseus to escape. Leta herself was consumed by Delindworth's flames. It was her death that finally solidified their resolve to fight the terrorists who ended her life to the bitter end.

"She was my friend and Theseus's fiancée. She died saving people, in the war... and war only brings despair, tearing apart every family that should be happy."

Bastet, a symbol of war and family, do you understand?

Newt didn't say the last word, but explained slowly.

He knew it was a dream, so he didn't completely bury his emotions within it.

He was lost and hurt. The polite curve of his lips froze, then, as if unable to bear the weight, slowly and irrevocably drooped down.

Suddenly, he felt a weight on his shoulder. It was the black cat that had jumped onto his shoulder and was staring at him with its bright green eyes.

"I'll try my best... um, stay a little longer."

"The black cat said."

Newt believes that even gods might have emotions.

"What do I have to give?"

Newt asked softly, his hands behind his back.

"Some knowledge."

The black cat grabbed its tail to stop it from wagging.

"Happy to oblige."

Newt slowly raised the corners of his mouth.

Sometimes Newt finds gods interesting, even though he didn't originally believe in gods—and of course, he doesn't now. He simply sees today's dream as a powerful magic, a magic that is obviously magnificent and rare, so it's not surprising that the being who casts it is considered a god.

In addition, he had read "Dream Stories" and knew that only the legendary Merlin could do this.

And now, such a miracle has befallen him, which makes him feel dazed.

Especially since this is a cat trying to learn spatial magic... that's just too interesting.

Various wisps of mist drifted around, turning the clean, bright space into a white blur.

The wizard's magic suddenly fails here; only wisdom can manifest itself through the wisps of mist that emanate from his head.

The black cat interprets this as knowledge and desire, which clearly symbolize the wizard's rationality and sensibility, two aspects that have also been presented in magic and faith.

Therefore, the rule of the borderlands is to reveal the components of wizarding magic. And wizarding magic, as explained by Godrot in "The Most Poisonous Magic," is said to exist within the wizard's soul.

Thus, wizards appeared as ghosts and could enter the world behind the veil, because magic existed in their souls.

Only when magic is completely stripped away, that is, when the soul forgets emotions and wisdom, will it become lost, which is also the point of death.

These are the rules for border areas.

The black cat seemed to have a sudden realization, and Newt's thoughtful expression made him involuntarily curl his lips upward.

Finally, the fog rolled in.

The black cat now knew how to use the Separation Spell; all that was left was to practice.

He also learned the Blizzard Spell, a type of weather spell, and so he prepared to carve out a snowfield or snow mountain in the Wizarding Book.

If he could move a mountain...

Goodbye, Mr. Scamander.

The black cat wagged its tail as a farewell.

“I’m happy to come here anytime, but of course, I hope it’s at your invitation.”

Newt, however, was smiling.

The black cat's whiskers trembled, clearly indicating that it understood the joke.

"Wizards have long lifespans."

"The black cat said."

Mr. Newt was still alive at least in 2017, after all, he was writing the foreword for the new edition of "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" at that time.

……

Iphamoni Origin Hut.

The quill pen woke up even earlier than Sheen, and it quickly wrote down the words:

[Remarkable progress in just five minutes]

(End of this chapter)