Night fell.
At Hogwarts, the tradition of the post-Quidditch match social gathering continued.
However, this time, the host had changed from Gryffindor, who hosted last time, to Hufflepuff, who had won the match this weekend.
Unlike the other three houses, Hufflepuff, as the most populous house at Hogwarts, clearly couldn't host a medium-sized social gathering open to the entire school in just their common room. After some discussion, they decided to open up a level of "Helga's Dungeon" as the main venue.
"Wow, that's so cool—"
Lee Jordan followed the crowd as they climbed into the Hufflepuff barrel entrance, and then, guided by the Hufflepuffs, walked less than a hundred meters down a passage on one side of the common room. Suddenly, the space opened up before them, and his breath caught in his throat, his heart feeling as if it had been clenched tightly by something.
A vast underground world, full of wildness and nature, greeted them.
It was as if the world had been turned upside down.
Rugged mountain rock formations stretched endlessly upwards at the top of the underground world.
Below was a meadow that had been simply cleared, where many students were running, playing, and enjoying picnics.
At the edge of the meadow, dozens of varieties of fruits and vegetables were neatly cultivated.
Since the "Vegetable Garden War" last year, Hufflepuff House had worked together to cultivate the upper two levels of "Helga's Dungeon" for planting daily crops and transplanting some of the plants that originally lived there, while the magical plants were sequentially extended downwards.
However, due to the growth of too many dangerous and rare magical plants in the area below, the locations below the fourth floor remain sealed.
"Well, this is the underground world that Helga Hufflepuff expanded during her time at school..."
Not far from Lee Jordan, Susan Bones, who was responsible for guiding, turned her head and explained with great pride.
"Since Ms. Hufflepuff didn't name this place, we usually call it 'Helga's Dungeon.' It is said to have eight floors, which correspond to the main body of Hogwarts Castle, but no one has ever gone that deep—on the one hand, the terrain and environment become more complex as you go deeper, and on the other hand, the magical protection below is particularly strict. Every Head of Hufflepuff will routinely reinforce it."
"Has no one ever explored those unknown areas?" Lee Jordan asked curiously.
"Why would they? Lift your foot—don't step on that kid—"
Susan blinked in confusion and asked casually, carefully lifting her foot to let the vines spreading across the ground pass.
"Uh, oh, okay."
Lee Jordan and the others were stunned for half a second before reacting and stepping over the plants in the same way.
You have to pay attention to these things in the Hufflepuff Common Room. If you don't want to be nagged all night, it's best to control your hands and feet and not step on or touch various plants casually. As a house almost integrated with Herbology, even a blade of grass here can be dangerous.
"Well, I mean, aren't you curious? Don't you want to know what it's like down there, what plants there are..."
Before Lee Jordan could speak again, a boy with a camera hanging around his neck rushed out and asked curiously.
Even though he had learned a lot of knowledge from newspapers and books, Colin Creevey had never seen any introduction to this vast and mysterious underground world anywhere. Compared to this vast underground city, the Chamber of Secrets that the Slytherins talked about was simply weak.
"There is some curiosity. But the professors have explicitly forbidden private exploration downwards."
Susan Bones explained softly and skillfully as she walked down the winding stone steps.
"Not to mention us students, even professors must go through layers of approval when exploring the lower levels—as one of the four founders of Hogwarts, Helga Hufflepuff's attainments in Herbology are unfathomable. She constructed complete and independent natural worlds under Hogwarts and planted many rare magical plants, including high-risk and ancient species. We should not disturb them."
"But..."
"Alright, Lee, today is not a castle archeology class—"
Just then, a rough voice came from behind Lee Jordan and the others.
Everyone turned their heads to look back and saw Hagrid struggling to squeeze out of the "upper" underground passage, each hand carrying two "small barrels" that were almost as thick as their waists. One of the barrels was filled with all kinds of dishes, and the other was filled with whole pieces of raw meat.
"If you want to hear stories, you can wait until you get to the picnic area below, but this passage can't be blocked all the time."
Hagrid said, shaking the barrel with the raw meat towards the bottom.
"Everyone down there is still hungry and waiting for the meat and food in my hands to arrive..."
Due to the strange magical protection in "Helga's Dungeon," house-elves cannot use Transfiguration Charms in this area.
Therefore, the Hufflepuff social gathering tonight was divided into a larger area. All the armchairs in the upper common room were temporarily removed to the empty classrooms outside the common room, and the entire common room was temporarily arranged into a medium-sized buffet area.
In contrast, the open and comfortable meadow below was the main venue for tonight, or rather—an "outdoor" picnic and autumn outing venue.
"These are Mooncalves, which are not available in the Forbidden Forest for the time being. They are raised by Professor Scamander..."
Professor Kettleburn said with a smile, introducing them to the young wizards around him as he scattered the fodder in his hand.
In front of him, a large group of gray creatures resembling alpacas with long necks and two bulging blue eyes occupying 80% of their faces cautiously and excitedly gathered in front of the fodder pile, looking at the opposite group of humans of varying heights with equally curious eyes.
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"Be careful, Mooncalves are very shy creatures. Wild Mooncalves usually only come out of their burrows during the full moon. Senior students should still remember what I talked about, Weasley—well, I mean you, Charlie, I'll leave this to you. I heard that you are also engaged in magical animal-related work after graduation, so take this opportunity to give lessons to the younger students and see if you have regressed—"
Professor Kettleburn looked around at the little wizards and waved to Charlie Weasley, who was standing on the edge.
Then, the old wizard naturally handed the bucket of fodder in his hand to Charlie, who was watching the excitement, and comfortably sat down on the meadow not far away with his hands in his pockets, picking up the potato wedges on the tablecloth and eating them—now is not the time for class.
In fact, if he hadn't been so worried about these children being alone with magical animals, he wouldn't have come at all.
But if you count carefully, the experienced magical animal experts who can control the situation in this space are almost a collection of the top new and old lineups in the magical world today. In addition to him, the magical animal professor who is about to retire, Professor Grallanpr, who lives in Hogsmeade Village, Professor Scamander, who has retired and returned to Hogwarts, Hogwarts gamekeeper Hagrid, Ministry of Magic Magical Creatures Control Department official Diggory...
Not to mention, there are Hogwarts top students such as Charlie and Bill. Such a lineup can even organize a school-wide Forbidden Forest tour.
Kettleburn looked around at the surrounding natural environment, and a reassuring smile appeared on his old face.
Next to the bushes at the edge of the meadow, Grallanpr was supervising the young wizards feeding Bowtruckles.
Fresh dew is undoubtedly the rarest and most delicious gift at this time, and with the help of senior students, even the little wizards who have not taken Care of Magical Creatures can properly greet the Bowtruckles. This scene is simply the picture he had dreamed of in class.
Several Augureys flew across the "sky" and landed on the ancient trees covered with vines, watching the bustling crowd below vigilantly.
And under the tree branches, Percy and Penelope were holding hands, introducing the magical animals to the little guys around them, one sentence after another.
After an afternoon of preparation and communication, there are now at least nearly twenty kinds of magical animals on the first floor of "Helga's Dungeon", some of which are guests from the Hogwarts Forbidden Forest, and some are "small" partners living in Scamander's suitcase.
The night outside the castle gradually fell without affecting the underground world at all.
Those magical fireflies living in the Hufflepuff fireplaces and passages filled this small world.
The faint glow sprinkled down from the rock formations above, like the moonlight on a summer midnight, and several Diricaws wandered leisurely around the edge of the meadow.
However, the young wizards did not choose to approach these behemoths except for observing them from a distance—on their way, a three-headed dog the size of a small hill was lying on the meadow in a daze. On its three heads, an owl the size of a fist was hopping back and forth proudly.
And in front of the three-headed dog, Aileen was comfortably leaning against the piled-up meadow.
A pure golden unicorn was lying on her lap, meekly squinting and leaning in the girl's arms, letting her comb its fur.
However, compared to a few months ago, the small unicorn on its head has finally grown out, but the fur color has not temporarily faded to the silver of adulthood.
"Tsk, it's really surprising. I didn't expect unicorns to trust and rely on you so much..."
Newt Scamander glanced at the meek little guy, his expression a little surprised, and said in a complicated tone.
As the most beloved pure creature among magical animals—whether Muggle or wizard—unicorns not only possess powerful magic all over their bodies, but also have keenness to perceive people's hearts, as well as an almost picky cleanliness, and will not approach any wizard with evil intentions.
You know, even Newt himself rarely had the experience of close contact with unicorns.
Except for pure-minded and kind girls, unicorns will hardly let any human touch them, let alone such a...
"What's wrong? As a kind-hearted little angel, isn't this a matter of course?"
Aileen raised her eyebrows, gently stroking the golden fur of the little guy on her thigh, and glanced at the old freckle strangely.
The unicorn herd at Hogwarts are not these complex and superficial adults. They are very clear that the real angel is not an unsullied saint who stays away from all killings. Even if she is surrounded by the wronged souls of small animals, she is still the guardian who opens her wings to protect them.
"Uh... um... it seems that my research is not enough—"
Newt Scamander's words were stagnant, he looked at Aileen deeply, and shook his head in confusion.
Compared to the complexity of people's hearts, over the years, he has always trusted the intuitive judgment of magical animals from the bottom of his heart.
However, as time went by, Newt became more and more unable to see through this little witch.
As the Goblin Queen of Gringotts, Aileen is undoubtedly synonymous with bloodthirsty, cold, and cunning, not to mention that she is also the heir of the first-generation Dark Lord Grindelwald and the founder of many large organizations that plot to control the magical world... so many identities are all extremely evil.
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However, on the other hand, she is also the future guardian of the magical world that Dumbledore values, a witch who can gain the friendship and recognition of unicorns.
Forget it, maybe it's his own problem?
After struggling and thinking for a moment, Newt Scamander shook his head and chose to believe the unicorns' judgment.
Back then, even a dark wizard like Grindelwald, who was good at disguise, could not hide his evil aura in front of animals. Perhaps this is why Professor Dumbledore would choose to believe her—she is indeed trustworthy and a spark that people can rest assured to hand over the future to.
"Cough, well, then Miss Cassel, what were you saying just now..."
Newt suppressed the confusion in his heart and re-picked up the matter that had not been finished just now.
He frowned and looked solemnly at Aileen's face, his voice gradually becoming cautious and serious.
"Starting this semester, encourage all Hogwarts students to tame magical animals? You may not know that decades ago, the Ministry of Magic and the Hogwarts Board of Governors explicitly prohibited this behavior. Even if you have a way to persuade them to change, but what happened in the past..."
"Well, I know. Hogwarts has made two decisions to expel students this century, all related to magical animals."
Aileen nodded absentmindedly, raised her eyes to look at Newt, and said calmly.
"One of them is Hagrid. He was accused of opening the Chamber of Secrets and raising high-risk magical creatures, and was eventually sentenced to expulsion and his wand broken. However, with the recent public trial of Peter Pettigrew, Mr. Hagrid was finally able to overturn the case. Therefore, strictly speaking, in nearly a century, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry has only had this one decision to expel a student. It is also a magical animal case that prompted the revision of school rules."
As she said this, she took out an old parchment from her chest and handed it to Newt.
[Name] Newt Artemis Fido Scamander
[Nationality] England, UK
[Reasons for this violation] Illegally possessing magical animals that endanger human life, violating the Animal Welfare Act
[Time] 1913
[Location] Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, UK
[Violation level] 3
[Magical animal species] Murtlap, Level 3
[Judgment] Expulsion from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
"This is the case file from that year. Well, it cost a little Galleons to get it out—"
Aileen glanced at Newt, who had a complicated expression, shrugged, and waved her hand nonchalantly.
"Let's just treat it as an early Christmas gift. Anyway, you probably won't be thinking about overturning the case or anything, after all, it's meaningless to you, the temporary 'former headmaster of Hogwarts'. And what I want to say is that Hogwarts students have no reason to be punished for your mistakes, right?"
"As an old magic school, if the students don't even have the qualifications to cultivate magic pets, what kind of wizard are they?"
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