Hogwarts: Don't call me Wandmaker

Chapter 376 The Surprise Haig Brought

The Forbidden Forest, the pumpkin patch next to Hagrid's cabin.

How are the newly hatched blast-tailed snails?

"Not bad. After the first experience, I prepared enough dragon liver and salamander eggshells for them in advance, and the little guys are growing very fast."

Hagrid was right. Celen glanced at the box containing the tadpoles and found that they had grown from five or six inches a few weeks ago to nearly a foot long.

This is truly great news, because according to Siron's recent observations, when the Bombtail Snails grow to three feet long, their shells turn grayish-white under the influence of their own magic. This also means they can be used to make wand cores.

The three-foot-long tadpole snails are at their most temperamental, basically killing each other every day.

“I plan to put them back in the Forbidden Forest afterward,” Hagrid continued, watering the newly sprouted pumpkins and sprinkling a handful of shiny fertilizer that looked like raspberry candy.

This is a special fertilizer made from Moonfox dung, which Hagrid made himself, and its effects are no worse than dragon dung.

"The Forbidden Forest?" Siren asked, somewhat surprised. "Aren't you afraid those centaurs will cause you trouble again?"

“They’re hardly a problem,” Hagrid said nonchalantly. “These little guys prefer drier environments, and I just found a nice high ground in the Forbidden Forest the other day that they should like.”

“Okay,” Siron said. Actually, he would have preferred that the Bombtail Snails stay in those boxes.

Because the forbidden forest is larger and more dispersed, the chances of them killing each other are reduced.

Of course, he wouldn't tell Hagrid any of this, since Hagrid had already promised to help him find suitable shells every day.

"By the way, it's almost February, and I haven't asked you how your second project is going yet."

Hagrid finally finished spreading all the fertilizer, straightened up and said, "It's a pity they didn't ask me for help this time. I only know it's definitely not a fire dragon... They've all been sent back to Romania, including Charlie and that injured Swedish short-nosed dragon."

Charlie left Hogwarts two weeks ago. He regrets not being able to see the second project, but says he will definitely come for the third one.

“Preparations are almost complete,” Celen said. “Hermione helped unlock the secret of the golden egg, which will most likely take place in the Black Lake. We are currently figuring out ways to keep it submerged for an extended period.”

“The horse-shaped water monster,” Hagrid blurted out.

"What?" Xilun was stunned.

“A magical creature that lives in the water,” Hagrid explained. “They are difficult to deal with; they drag their prey into the water to kill it and then eat it. But once you can put a leash on them, their special magic allows them to carry you freely through the water.”

“Special magic,” Siren asked. “Like the Boggarts?”

"Pretty much," Hagrid said. "When you're riding on the back of the Kelpie, you can breathe normally even in the deep sea... but only if you tame it, otherwise you'll just be eaten, and food obviously won't get the Kelpie's protection."

Xilun's eyes lit up.

He never expected that his casual chat with Hagrid would lead to such a big surprise.

"Do you know where to find the Horse-shaped Water Monster?" Siren asked hastily.

“Of course, it’s in the Black Lake,” Hagrid said, but then his expression became hesitant.

"However, I must remind you that putting a rein on a water monster is not an easy task. This is a course that you were supposed to learn in seventh grade."

Xilun gradually calmed down.

The fact that Hagrid said it makes it very convincing.

Normally, third-grade students learn about Flobber Caterpillars and Bowtruckles in their first Magical Creatures class, but he dared to bring a Hippogriff, a creature typically taught in fifth grade, into class, along with a twenty-foot-tall Cerberus as his teaching assistant. To put it simply, if Hagrid said a certain magical creature was cute because it was furry, Celeste wouldn't believe him, because it might just be a giant dog with three heads.

But if he says that an animal is dangerous, don't hesitate, just turn around and leave.

Even Hagrid now thinks the Kelpie is too dangerous, requiring a seventh-grader to handle, which shows that this magical creature is not something that underage wizards can deal with, and it's very likely that most adult wizards can't either.

"Can I try?" Xilun hesitated for a moment before asking, "If it doesn't work, we can always think of other ways."

"This..." Hagrid hesitated.

He regretted it a little; he really should have thought more before speaking.

but……

Hagrid glanced in the direction of the Black Lake, pondered for a moment, and then nodded.

“Okay, if it’s in Black Lake, there shouldn’t be any problem.” He thought for a moment and said, “How about Saturday night? I’ll try to get a horse-shaped water monster up there, and then you can come.”

Saturday, isn't that tomorrow?

“No problem,” Xilun immediately agreed.

After staying there for a while, Xilun prepared to go back in the evening.

"Oh, right, this is for you." Hagrid reached into his pocket and pulled out something about the size of a Quake ball.

"The shell of a blasting snail?" Xilun blinked.

“Another one died, fighting for territory.” Hagrid sighed. “I found it this morning, it should be fine, right?”

Xiren took it and tapped it lightly with his wand. A dull sound immediately came from the grayish-white carapace, which seemed to be accompanied by an echo.

“No problem,” Xiren said happily.

I was so glad I came today. Not only did I get a solution to the second project, but I also received an extra surprise.

Such large shells clearly indicate that these are not the newly hatched Bombtail snails, but rather from the very first batch... It seems Hagrid had already released them into the Forbidden Forest beforehand.

Moreover, this shell is a size bigger than the last one, and it feels heavy in your hand, like holding a water-filled balloon.

Needless to say, Xilun will definitely make it into the core of the staff... but the choice of the staff body needs to be carefully considered.

Siren was still very annoyed; he shouldn't have used holly wood for that wand last time.

From a wand-making perspective, holly is more suitable for wizards who are passionate but need to overcome their anger, impulsiveness, or irritability, and the wands made from it tend to be more defensive and protective.

This clearly goes against the characteristics of the core of the burr-tailed snail. If it were replaced with yew or maple, the effect would probably be better.

However, Xilun was unaware of these things at the time, and since the material was shell, he immediately thought of holly wood.

Now that I know this, I need to think about it carefully.

……

(End of this chapter)