From Hogwarts to Strixhaven.

Chapter 114

Umbridge's remarks immediately attracted several disapproving glances, including that of Nott, Director of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures.

The surname Nott also comes from the "Twenty-Eight Holy Pure-Blood Clans". Even the book "Pure-Blood Directory" which mentions this concept was written by a wizard from the Nott family. Therefore, Director Nott, who is in a similar situation to the Malfoy family, is a natural ally of Lucius. What's more, he is the main target of Lucius's financial offensive this time. Of course, he knows what he should do at this time.

"Ahem..." Director Nott cleared his throat. "Umbridge, if you have carefully read the plan submitted by the Hogwarts Board of Directors, you should know that magical animals, like wizards, also exist in multiple age groups. The young wizards in the lower grades will be responsible for taking care of the magical animal cubs, cleaning the inside of the base, and collecting feces as an initial practice. Only senior students are qualified to have close contact with those magical animals that are somewhat dangerous."

"Magic is inherently dangerous. Students come to Hogwarts to learn how to control this danger. They also study magical animals for the same reason."

"You're absolutely right!" Professor Keltborn clapped his wooden prosthesis with his intact hand. "I didn't expect you to study the application carefully. Although I don't know which genius completed it, I have to say that this idea is very creative! Especially the part about raising fire dragons and chimeras!"

"Silvanus!" Dumbledore had to interrupt him, "I know you like dragons and chimeras, but they both require permission from the Ministry of Magic. Please continue your speech before that."

"Oh, yes! That's right... uh... where was I?" Professor Keltborn realized that he was representing Hogwarts under the review of the Ministry of Magic, so he frowned and wondered where he was.

"Raise magical creatures from a young age..." Hagrid reminded in a low voice, but in fact everyone present heard it clearly.

"Oh, thank you, Hagrid." Professor Keltborn came back to his senses and continued his speech. "Director Nott has already said that Hogwarts will be committed to allowing students to learn about magical creatures better and more safely. On the one hand, it is to prevent them from getting hurt in confrontations with magical creatures, and on the other hand, it is to create new demands and new jobs."

“Once the magical animal breeding at Hogwarts is established, a whole new industry chain will be born here! Students can learn new knowledge, Hogwarts can get funds to feed back other academic research, and the Ministry of Magic can also increase tax revenue. This is a win-win situation for all three parties!”

The civil servants of the Ministry of Magic whispered to each other: "That old man has a good memory. He actually memorized the contents of the application form..."

"Is there a possibility that the application was written by Professor Keltborn?" said another Ministry of Magic civil servant.

"Absolutely impossible!" Someone answered categorically, "Professor Keltburn was the professor of Care of Magical Creatures at Hogwarts when I was in school. He has always been a careless and reckless guy. It is said that he has been on probation sixty-two times so far! There is no way he could write such inflammatory words!"

“Ahem—” Nott, the director, interrupted his subordinates’ discussion: “Gentlemen, we should show some respect to that old man.”

Then no one spoke anymore.

"...Okay! Let me get to the point and introduce today's protagonists to you!" Professor Keltborn looked at Hagrid, who understood and brought a group of four-legged creatures from the woods.

"Pegasus!" cried Professor Keltborn.

But everyone knows that hippogriffs cannot be considered Pegasus because they lay eggs.

In addition to the Hippogriff, there are the Thestrals, which have bat wings, the Iserlohn, which is common in Britain and Ireland, and the Graling, which only exists once.

If we could get a few more rune horses from France, all the magical animals with wings and horseshoes would be gathered in the Forbidden Forest of Hogwarts.

"The Pegasus at Hogwarts are well trained. They can protect unsuspecting people from being attacked by them, even the proud Hippogriffs are no exception!" Professor Keltborn said. "This has the potential to become an industry! Even though it's just Hagrid and I, we've raised them well with the help of the students."

"Iseron is small in size and docile in character. Its chestnut-colored fur makes it very easy to hide. It is also the most frequently spotted Pegasus in the UK." Professor Keltborn rode an Iseron with the help of Hagrid. It was very patient and did not react much even when poked by its wooden leg. "I'm sure you guys at the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures must have had a fight with your colleagues at the Memory Deletion Command over it!"

With the development of science and technology, the range of Muggles' activities has become larger and larger, so that magical creatures that were originally hidden in every corner of the world have been spotted continuously in recent years. This has led to a substantial increase in the workload of the Ministry of Magic's Memory Deletion Command, so that all the wizards there look like they are about to be overworked, so they are unhappy with everyone.

Professor Keltborn's joke caused laughter and nodding from some wizards.

"And there are Gralings! They are very rare and live in Northern Europe. I spent a lot of effort to get one for me! They run very fast. Whether in the sky or on the ground, they can fly at speeds that ordinary people can hardly imagine. They are comparable to the latest Nimbus brooms!" Professor Keltborn kicked the belly of the Pegasus under his crotch with his wooden prosthetic leg. The latter obediently turned around on the ground and came to the side of the all-gray Graling. Its wings were much larger than those of Iserlon, and its shape looked more like a water droplet.

"If we can let Iseron and Glaling produce offspring naturally, and have Glaling's speed and Iseron's reproductive ability, then this new species will be much more cost-effective than Nimbus's brooms! This will provide a great way to travel for wizards who are not good at using brooms. After all, flying carpets are more expensive, and Knight Buses are bumpy. Apparition and Floo Powder can only go to places you have been to before." Professor Keltborn jumped off Iseron and came to the side of the skinny-looking Thestrals. These magical animals that look more like reptiles are also a type of Pegasus, and very likely the best one.

"Thestrals!" Professor Keltborn stroked the bony back of the Thestrals. "A loyal companion. Although wizards often think that the Thestrals are an ominous sign, everyone knows that it is just a rumor. They are carnivores. Although they look thin, they have unimaginable strength and endurance. They can fly steadily in the air, are good at long-distance travel, and can carry the weight of up to two adults. What is commendable is that they are willing to fight for their masters. A well-trained Thestrals can even track prey by scent. I really can't think of a more suitable magical animal for Aurors than the Thestrals. As long as they ride on it, those dark wizards hiding in the mountains and forests will definitely be doomed."

"If there is a disadvantage, it is that only those who have witnessed death and fully accepted and understood it can see the Thestrals. Also, riding on their backs is not a pleasant experience. But if we can overcome the sticks of a flying broomstick, I think the Thestrals' backs will be no problem, at least they still have some meat on their backs."

In addition, the Thestrals are also magical creatures with incredible magical powers. It is said that they are the mounts of the god of death. Even the famous Elder Wand uses the tail hair of the Thestrals as the wand core. What is even more magical is that the Elder Wand has the ability to repair damaged wands. In a sense, this can be regarded as the "resurrection" of the wand. There may be some connection between the Deathly Hallows and the god of death.

Professor Celtborn continued, "Hogwarts has trained a large number of Thestrals, and we use them to pull carriages. It is said that more than a hundred years ago, before the Hogwarts Express was opened, young wizards came to Hogwarts from all over Britain in Thestrals carriages."

"For the magical animal breeding and reproduction base we are about to set up, taming the Thestrals is already a basic thing. The herbivorous Itheron and Graling will not be more difficult to tame, so breeding a new generation of Pegasus that is more suitable for the British Ministry of Magic and the lives of ordinary wizards is almost a foreseeable future." Professor Keltburn tried hard to paint a rosy picture for the Ministry of Magic officials, but all the professors at Hogwarts knew that his and Hagrid's goal was actually to try to breed more "interesting" magical animals. Being able to fly is only the most basic requirement. It should also be able to breathe fire, petrify others, and preferably have fangs and claws.

Once the Ministry of Magic allowed them to breed Pegasus at the base, it wouldn't be so difficult to breed other more "interesting" magical creatures, right?
"The future" is what politicians and capitalists care about most. The former promise it to the people in exchange for their support, while the latter paint a beautiful picture of the future to ordinary people in exchange for people's investment.

Although Fudge is not a particularly qualified politician, he knows that people are more willing to pay for a near future, and Pegasus may bring him a good political future. However, this is Hogwarts, under Dumbledore's nose, and it is not certain who will get the fame... So Fudge needs to weigh it and come up with some countermeasures to weaken Dumbledore's influence...

As the primary form of capitalism in the British wizarding world, Lucius had a keen sense of smell and could see the benefits of centralizing the magical creature industry.

Not only can Hogwarts get involved in the transportation service industry by raising magical animals, it can even use the advantages of industrial scale to squeeze out other industries related to magical animals in the market, including the herbal medicine industry that uses magical animal feces as fertilizer, the magic potion industry that uses magical animal materials as potion materials, and even the wand industry that every wizard needs.

Who doesn't know that Ollivander's wands are the best in the UK? Moreover, they only use materials from three magical animals as wand cores. Unicorns give birth to cubs in the Forbidden Forest, and old man Dumbledore has a phoenix. If they can get a dragon, they can even monopolize the wand industry!

He had not forgotten what Ivy said in the letter, that the half-giant named Hagrid really had a dragon. And that dragon was the reason Ivy asked him to push the Ministry of Magic to review this time.

Now he has begun to believe how much benefit this choice will bring to the Malfoy family. Isn't this much smarter than Voldemort's attempt to use fear and oppression to rule the wizarding world?
At this time, Professor Keltborn on the field had already begun to introduce the Hippogriff.

"…It is said that they are the offspring of a griffin and an ordinary mare, so they should also be able to produce offspring with Itheron and Graling, who are also Pegasus. We don't know what kind of creatures this practice will bring, but as an academic institution, Hogwarts is willing to try unknown areas, just like other wizards in the wizarding world who have promoted the advancement of magic."

"Perhaps people may question how can a few faculty members manage so many magical creatures?" Professor Keltborn patted his prosthesis. Hagrid brought out a new group of magical creatures from the depths of the forest. They were like silver-white horses with a single horn with spiral patterns on their heads. They looked elegant and beautiful.

"Hogwarts has the largest unicorn community in the UK and even the world. They have been living and breeding in the depths of the Forbidden Forest for generations. The Forbidden Forest is our greatest support." Professor Keltburn reached out to touch the unicorn as before, but the latter turned his head away in disgust. The professor did not feel embarrassed, but laughed instead.

After laughing, Professor Keltborn said seriously, "We can also increase our manpower and hire interested wizards and witches to work at Hogwarts, which can also indirectly solve some of the jobs that people urgently need."

"The most important thing is," Professor Keltborn's voice became low, "we must do this. Not long ago, a dark wizard broke into the Forbidden Forest of Hogwarts, brutally slaughtered a unicorn, and took its blood. Due to lack of manpower, we can't always take care of every corner of the Forbidden Forest, resulting in a beautiful and holy creature leaving this world forever."

Professor Keltborn pointed to a cub in the herd of unicorns. It had golden fur and was standing alone, unlike the other cubs who followed their mother. Its protruding ribs could be clearly seen from the side, and it did not look like it was having a good life.

"The dead unicorn was a mother who had just given birth. If we do not interfere with the ecology of the Forbidden Forest, similar incidents will probably happen again and again. We need to protect this hard-earned habitat for magical animals." The frail young unicorn made Professor Keltburn's speech more convincing, and many civil servants in the Ministry of Magic nodded secretly.

Director Nott stepped forward and said loudly, "Professor Keltborn's speech was brilliant! Gentlemen, perhaps we can make a vote."

"Wait a minute!" Fudge hurriedly stopped him, and Nott looked over with a hint of anger on his face.

"I believe Professor Keltborn has more magical creatures to show!" Fudge didn't notice the expression of his subordinate at all. He turned to Dumbledore again, "Albus, I suddenly remembered something."

(End of this chapter)