I… might’ve overreacted…

"How can someone like Mr. Scamander, who's lived with magical creatures all his life, suddenly change?" Blake said, nibbling on a warm puff inside Newt's cabin.

"Even if he wants to change," he continued, "habits aren't easy to break overnight."

Tina sat across from him, worry etched across her face. "You're full of ideas. Is there any way to get him to stop—or at least limit—his contact with dangerous magical creatures? He's not young anymore… and I'm really worried…"

Her voice wavered. "If something happened to him, I—I don't know how I'd go on…"

It was the first time Tina had shown such visible sorrow. They had both outlived nearly all their friends. Now, they were just waiting on each other. The thought of losing Newt, after everything, was unbearable. That's why, after decades of indulgence, Tina finally wanted to draw a line.

Even if it made Newt unhappy, she had to act—for both their sakes.

"There is a way," Blake said after a moment of thought. "But we'll need to break it into two steps."

"First," he explained, "we redefine what 'blocking' means. We can't outright forbid him from dealing with magical creatures—that'll only make him rebellious. Instead, let him observe while someone else handles them. He can supervise and guide from the side."

"That way, he still feels involved. He gets to 'teach' and pass on his knowledge to new students. It's safer, but still satisfying for him."

Tina hesitated. "You think that'll work?"

"No idea," Blake admitted, "but it's worth a shot. Better than him sneaking off behind your back, right?"

She nodded slowly. "You're right. It's not easy to cut him off from creatures completely…"

"And since there's a first step," Tina said, "what's step two?"

"Distraction," Blake said simply. "Find something new to pull his attention away from magical creatures. Something else he might love or enjoy. But... considering how obsessed he is with magical zoology, this won't be easy."

"You know him best," Blake added, "so you're the only one who might figure out what else he could care about."

His suggestion wasn't perfect, but it gave Tina a direction—and some peace of mind. She no longer felt helpless against her stubborn, introverted husband.

Just as Blake was about to say more, his system pinged—a gold treasure chest, filled with grievances, had been added to his account.

He blinked, surprised.

Blake's wide net of businesses—his magical shop, beauty shop, and more—brought in plenty of treasure chests daily, filled with various emotional feedback. Most were joy or excitement.

Even hate.

In fact, every night at midnight, he received three bronze chests generated from hate. Blake suspected these came from Voldemort, who was still weak but absolutely despised him for being a "traitor." Occasionally, Voldemort's anger would generate five silver chests, or even a rare gold one.

Then there was Lockhart, stuck in Azkaban. His chests—fueled by anger and resentment—showed up less frequently, thanks to the soul-sapping effect of the Dementors.

But grievances? Those were rare.

Who would feel grievance toward Blake?

Could it be… someone in his "fish pond" had sprung a leak?

Suddenly cautious, Blake kept a calm face, sipping tea and chewing his puff thoughtfully.

Footsteps echoed outside the door.

It must be Newt returning from their visit to the Unnamed Island with Nagini, Luna, and Hermione.

Blake braced himself.

The door creaked open, and Newt entered—wearing a strange expression.

He looked at Blake and blinked repeatedly, as if sending a signal.

Tina frowned. "What's wrong with your eyes?"

"Uh… sand. Got some sand blown in by the wind," Newt said awkwardly.

Tina eyed him skeptically. Her husband had many strengths, but lying was not one of them.

Still, something told her not to press further.

Blake, seeing Newt's frantic blinking, instantly knew—something was wrong with the girls behind him.

He glanced toward Nagini first. No way it was her. She was always kind to him.

Luna?

She was smiling so widely her eyes looked like crescent moons.

Unlikely.

Then there was Hermione…

Her lips were pursed into a tight line—eerily like Professor McGonagall's when annoyed.

Bingo.

"Mrs. Scamander made a lot of desserts," Blake offered cheerfully. "Come, try them."

This was his first attempt to break the ice. Most girls liked sweets. Even Hermione, the daughter of dentists, had a soft spot for them.

Hermione took the dessert, but her frosty demeanor didn't go unnoticed.

Uh oh.

Cold shoulder. Silent treatment. Blake knew the signs.

When a girl used silence as a weapon, it was hard to fix the situation because you had no clue what set her off.

Luckily, Blake was no rookie. As a veteran "pond keeper," he knew he needed to act.

He recalled Newt's winking earlier—meaning Newt knew what had happened.

But now wasn't the time to ask.

Instead, Blake subtly cast Legilimency on Hermione.

What he saw made him wince—anger, grievance, helplessness.

Scanning deeper, he understood what happened.

Luna must've spilled the beans.

Still, Blake wasn't going to sit back and let the situation worsen.

The Unnamed Island, now converted into a magical zoo, had dorms for staff and guests. Newt had built a cozy single-family house nearby for Blake and friends whenever they visited.

After dessert, Newt led them to the house and let them choose rooms. He wasn't expecting Blake to start work just yet—he still had things to deal with.

Luna wandered off to explore. Nagini helped Tina with dinner.

That left Blake and Hermione alone in the house.

Time to fix things.

He walked to her room and knocked gently. "Hermione, have you rested?"

"I'm resting," came her soft reply.

Blake hesitated. Normally, she'd let him in.

But not today.

"Can we talk?" he asked anyway.

"It's better not to… I'm tired."

Blake sighed. "Okay… rest well."

He turned to leave.

Then the door creaked open.

Hermione stood there, eyes averted. "Come in… maybe we can talk first."

Blake stepped inside. "So… what's going on?"

"I… saw you weren't happy earlier," he said carefully. "Is it because… you found out?"

Hermione looked up. "What do you think I found out?"

Blake scratched the back of his neck. "When I was away a few days ago, I told you and Cassandra I was out looking for alchemy materials…"

"You were lying," she said softly. "You went out with Luna and the others to look for magical creatures, didn't you?"

She took a shaky breath. "You didn't do anything wrong… really. I'm just your friend. You're not obligated to tell me everything…"

"But I just… felt left out."

Hermione stopped there, words failing her.

Blake sat down beside her. "Want to know what I was thinking?"

She nodded.

"If I told you the truth back then—said I was going off with Luna and Nagini for days—you'd be upset, right?"

Hermione hesitated, then admitted, "I wouldn't have been happy."

"Exactly," Blake said. "And I knew Dumbledore wouldn't let you come. So… since I couldn't bring you, I thought it'd be kinder to lie."

"I just didn't want you to feel hurt."

He looked at her sincerely. "But if Luna hadn't told you today, wouldn't you still be happy right now?"

Hermione nodded slowly. "Yes…"

"I didn't mean to lie to exclude you. I lied because I didn't want you to feel bad."

He gave a sheepish smile. "Besides… I felt guilty. So last night, I decided to invite you to visit Mr. Scamander with me. I owed you that."

Hermione blinked. "So… you're trying to make up for it?"

"Yes. I wanted to take you on a trip after I finish things here."

Her eyes shimmered. "Blake… do you really feel that bad?"

"I do," he said, smiling. "I wouldn't lie to hurt you, Hermione."

She was quiet for a long moment, then softly muttered, "I… might've overreacted…"

Hermione suddenly became worried again.

Blake saw Hermione's tense expression gradually soften.

[Ding! The emotion of grievance and anger is detected!]

[Ding! Congratulations to the host for getting a golden treasure chest!]

Blake:??

At this moment, Hermione suddenly said with some embarrassment: "How about you invite Cassandra too...because I...I just wrote a letter and told her about this. ....…

Blake: Huh??!!.

=============

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