Hogwarts: My Grandmother is the Queen

Chapter 139 Henry's "New Friend" (Fifth Update)

To Henry's greatest surprise, the little Niffler that had fallen and injured itself while stealing was still there; it was the one Diana particularly loved.

It lay in the innermost little nest, which was more like a luxurious private room than a nest, with a soft cushion, small toys, and a small box full of sparkly things.

Upon seeing Henry enter, it immediately scrambled to its feet, waddled over, and instinctively hugged his leg.

It clearly knows who's in charge.

Henry looked down at it.

"How come it's still here?"

Charlie sighed, but sounded quite pleased.

"It won't leave."

"You won't leave?" Henry asked.

“Yes,” Charlie said, crouching down to pat the little sniffle’s head. “After it healed, we released it back into the wild, but it came back the next day. We released it again, and it came back again. The third time we released it, we specifically took it to the woods three miles away, and the third morning, it was sitting at the entrance of the medical station waiting for it to open.”

Henry couldn't help but laugh.

"Does it really like being here?"

"I like it here, and I like the people," Charlie said. "Later we found out that it had been raised in captivity and was used to being with people. Releasing it back into the wild would have scared it, and it wouldn't know what to do. So we kept it here, and now it's an unofficial employee of our facility."

The little sniffle clung to Henry's leg and wouldn't let go, even rubbing its head against his trouser leg.

Henry crouched down and looked at it.

The little sniffle looked at him with its beady black eyes, then let go of his legs, trotted back to its little nest, took something out of its little box full of shiny things, trotted back, and handed it to him.

It was a shiny silver coin.

"What is it doing?" Henry asked with interest.

Charlie laughed, his eyes narrowing as he laughed.

"It thinks you're a guest and is giving you a gift. That's how Nifflers are; they like to steal things and also like to give things away. It thinks you're a good person and wants to give you something to show its friendliness."

Is there such a habit?

Henry took the silver coin and examined it.

It was a Muggle one-pound coin, with a bit of dirt on it, probably just dug out of somewhere.

"Where did it steal it from?"

"I don't know," Charlie said. "It probably came from some tourist. We returned the money later, but it stole a few more and kept them because it couldn't give them away. Look at its little box; it's full of its treasures—coins, buttons, shiny pebbles, and a few candies."

Henry looked at the little Sniffler, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

The little sniffle was looking up at him, its eyes full of anticipation.

Henry thought for a moment, then took out a glittering Galleon from his pocket.

He crouched down and handed the Galleon to the little Sniff.

The little sniff took the Galleon, examined it from all angles, then let out a delighted squeal, hugged the Galleon and ran back to its little nest. It carefully placed the Galleon into the small box, pressing it down with its little paws to make sure it was stable.

Then it ran back and hugged Henry's leg again, rubbing against it even harder.

Charlie, watching from the side, burst out laughing.

"Your Highness, you are its good friend now, and it will remember you for the rest of its life."

Henry stroked the little sniffler's head; it was fluffy and soft, much better to the touch than he had imagined.

"From now on, I'll have to bring it a gift every time I come," he said.

"Then it will like you even more," Charlie said. "Maybe it will give you the whole little box."

At noon, Charlie invited him to have lunch at the research center.

Although it's called a research center, it's actually a two-story building. The ground floor houses offices and laboratories, while the upper floor contains dormitories. The kitchen is on the first floor; it's small but very clean.

There weren't many people eating: Charlie, two researchers, a witch in charge of the medical station, and a young man who looked like an intern.

Newt wasn't there. Charlie said he'd gone to Norway, where they'd discovered a new magical creature, and asked Newt to come and take a look.

"Mr. Scamander is so old, why is he still running around?" Henry asked.

"He can't sit still. Don't let his quiet demeanor fool you; when it comes to magical creatures, he's more energetic than a young man," Charlie said with a chuckle. "Headmaster Dumbledore has advised him several times to run around less, but he won't listen. In his own words, 'I'll wait until I can't walk anymore.'"

"6

After dinner, Charlie took him to see several new areas.

One is the aquatic animal area, located by a small lake.

The lake water is crystal clear, and you can see aquatic plants and swimming fish.

A wooden viewing platform was built by the lake, with several telescopes placed on it.

"Who lives here?" Henry asked.

"Mainly Greendillo," Charlie said, "and a few water horses that occasionally swim in from the lochs in the Scottish Highlands."

As they were talking, a ripple appeared on the lake's surface. A green head popped out of the water, then quickly retreated back in.

"Is that Grindelwald?" Henry asked.

"Yes," Charlie said. "They're watching you. If you get too close to the water, they might reach out and pull you. That's why we built this viewing platform, further away from the water, to make it safer."

Another is a newly developed forest area, on a hillside, planted with various kinds of trees.

Charlie said this was specially made for unicorns.

"Unicorns like to live in the forest," he said. "We planted their favorite trees and grasses here, and even brought a stream through the forest. There are now three unicorns living here, all brought over by the one you rescued."

Henry stood at the edge of the woods and looked into the distance. Something white was moving in the distance, flashing by.

"They're not quite used to people yet," Charlie said. "They'll get used to it in a while. Unicorns are smart; they know we're nice to them."

After visiting the new area, they returned to the paddock of Norberta.

Noberta was sunbathing on that big rock. When it saw them coming, it raised its head and let out a low hiss.

It has grown bigger again.

Henry stood by the fence, watching it.

Norbert jumped down from the rock, walked to the fence, and looked at him through the fence.

There seemed to be a familiar light in those orange-red eyes.

"It remembers you," Charlie said.

Henry reached out and stroked its head through the fence.

Nobeta let out a soft, comfortable groan, nuzzled his hand, then lay down, resting her head on the bottom crossbeam of the fence, closing her eyes as if asking him to continue touching her.

Henry crouched down and stroked its head gently.

The sun was warm, the wind was gentle, and the calls of other magical creatures could be heard in the distance.

"Your Highness," Charlie suddenly spoke, "may I ask you a question?"

"Ask away," Henry said, standing up.