allendalepharm Chapter 238 The Era of Change Begins
Chapter 238 The Era of Change Begins
Chapter 238 The Era of Change Begins
"What's it used for?"
Fudge watched the young wizards teasing the lazy cat. Oh, no, Lockhart said the animal was called "Hakimi." This thing didn't seem to have anything to do with what Lockhart had mentioned earlier about "research that would change the times."
The cat quickly transformed back into an animal similar to a tiger, but because its fur was fluffy and it was a size larger than a tiger, its temperament remained the same as before the transformation. Apart from its meow sounding a bit intimidating, it seemed to still be rather lazy.
"It was bred from a Madago cat, possesses a strong magical bloodline, is not easily affected by magical animal bloodlines, and has stable bloodline characteristics..." Lockhart excitedly introduced, "It can breed offspring with Madago cats, and the offspring will not turn into the ugly appearance of Madago cats."
Fudge still looked bewildered.
Grindelwald, who had arrived at some unknown time, explained with a smile, "It's similar to so-called pure-blood wizards. Each pure-blood family has its own abilities, and no matter how much hybridization occurs within a pure-blood family, the characteristics and magical abilities of its descendants will be maintained."
"!!!" Fudge's expression immediately turned strange. He could joke around with Grindelwald as he pleased, but he dared not say anything out of line.
"Of course, its most distinctive feature is that it has no proactive aggression, only a protective instinct towards its owner." Lockhart gestured to Hakimi, who was playing with the little wizard. "You see, it won't attack the little wizard on its own. In fact, it's very intelligent and can sense whether someone has malicious intentions. It will deliberately avoid people with malicious intentions."
"A spirituality like that of a unicorn..."
such as……
Pansy Parkinson, a girl with a rather wicked mind.
Hakimi glanced around the crowd, instinctively preferring to approach the pure-hearted Luna Lovegood.
Lupin's eyes lit up. "A guardian beast? Gilderoy, you've bred a guardian beast?"
Lockhart chuckled smugly. "Impressive, huh?"
Lupin was immediately amazed. A guardian beast! It seems that there has been no record of wizards cultivating guardian beasts since modern times.
Not every magical creature bred by wizards to guard homes and treasures is called a guardian beast. Aggressive magical creatures like Hagrid's eight-eyed spider and three-headed dog are not considered guardian beasts.
The most famous guardian beast is probably the Sphinx, which is the most stable and perfect guardian beast bred by ancient Egyptian wizards.
"Guardian beasts are a category of magical creatures, generally a term used before modern wizarding history. After the modern magical system was established, we categorize magical creatures based on their perceived threat to humanity, so this term is rarely mentioned anymore," Lupin explained to Fudge. "Gidero means that the one he bred..."
"Hakimi!" Lockhart reminded him from the side.
"Yes, Hakimi, it will loyally protect its master and house from harm, and will only retaliate if its master and house attack it," Lupin exclaimed. "This is absolutely the most useful magical creature. Many magical creature conservationists and dark magic creature breeders aspire to breed such a creature."
"So..." Fudge shrugged, "it has commercial value?"
Every wizard keeps pets. Not to mention that every young wizard has one, he will also buy some short-lived fluffy toys for the children in his family.
It's not that he doesn't value economic worth, but rather that he's more focused on the topic Lockhart previously mentioned as having the potential to change the times, which doesn't seem so far-fetched.
"Idiot!" Grindelwald felt a surge of aversion to stupidity, looking at Fudge with disdain. "He told you right away, 'It's bred from Madagascar cats,' didn't you understand?"
"Huh?" Fudge still didn't understand.
Grindelwald stared at Hakimi with a strange expression. "That means it's just an ordinary animal in the Muggle world, something you can keep as a regular cat. Muggles can raise these magical creatures in large numbers. But if its owner is attacked by a wizard, it will transform into a dark magic creature to protect its owner!"
"!!!" Fuki's eyes widened and he gasped for breath.
Hiss~~~~
"This thing..."
"Could it be used to replace Kingsley Shackler's job?"
Okay, that's a bit impolite to say, but Kingsley Shackleton's primary job right now is indeed as a bodyguard for the Muggle Prime Minister. However, Kingsley also serves as the Prime Minister's special secretary, responsible for liaising between the Muggle government and the Ministry of Wizardry and Magic—a role that Hakimi can't replace.
"It can reach every Muggle household!" Grindelwald astutely grasped the key point, "especially in Muggle families of high status!"
Grindelwald looked at Lockhart with a puzzled expression. "Hakimi is capable of protecting every Muggle official, unless he encounters an expert who knows how to deal with these dark magic creatures, wouldn't you agree, Gilderoy Lockhart?"
Lockhart disagreed, saying, "That's not true. Hakimi is more of a dark magic creature than a magical beast in terms of classification, and it does have its own characteristics. But that characteristic is that its abilities can change depending on the mind of its master and the things they experience together."
"This characteristic makes it extremely difficult to counter, essentially turning it into a characteristic without any inherent properties."
Ha ha.
Grindelwald didn't believe it.
"And the first batch I'll breed will be given to the Muggle and half-breed wizards in the school, so that their families will be better able to protect them in the upcoming war!" Lockhart's words were sincere.
But Old Gru was the heart of the matter, seeing everything as dirty, and just chuckled, "The family of a Muggle wizard, that's quite an interesting angle."
Alright~
Lockhart was too lazy to explain anymore.
He'd be much more comfortable discussing this with Remus Lupin, the expert on dark magic and creatures, than with Fudge, the academic failure, and Grindelwald, the ambitious schemer.
In fact, he did just that.
The two changes in the Madago cat are actually very similar to the onset of wolfsbane. Some principles, once discovered, are universally applicable. By exploring the characteristics, we can better find solutions to problems.
Lupin clearly realized this as well, and the two began to discuss it excitedly.
Gradually, not to mention Fudge, even Grindelwald, who had never liked small animals, began to not understand these academic contents that were not within his research scope, and stopped participating after listening for a while.
Moreover, Grindelwald didn't come here to observe Lockhart's research.
His target is Fudge.
"Fool, I have to remind you, stop running to Hogwarts every other day. After all, you got to power with Dumbledore's support. If you come to Hogwarts, those who know you will know you're there to see Gilderoy. But those who don't, who do you think they'll think you're looking for?"
Fudge's political instincts were so sharp that he understood Grindelwald's meaning in an instant.
It has two meanings.
The first layer is a warning—you are Dumbledore's dog, not Lockhart's dog. You need to have a clear understanding of your own position, otherwise you will soon be abandoned by Dumbledore.
The second time...
"Who are they looking for?" Fudge gasped again, looking at Grindelwald in disbelief. "You mean...they think I'm here to see you?"
Grindelwald's lips curled into a slight smile. "What do you think?"
Fudge forced a smile—a very ugly one—and said with difficulty, "I...I don't know."
Grindelwald sneered, "Come with me, I have some things to tell you to do."
Can Fudge refuse?
Of course he can't.
He was about to cry.
Gilderoy, help!
Unfortunately, Gilderoy and Lupin were so engrossed in their conversation that they didn't notice what they were talking about at all.
"Yes...yes, Lord Grindelwald."
Fudge suddenly felt a strange sense of bewilderment, not knowing how he had ended up in a situation where he was not very cooperative in following Dumbledore's orders at the beginning, but how did he end up in a state where Dumbledore, Lockhart, and Grindelwald could all order him around at the same time?
Does this mean we're going back to the way things were?
(End of this chapter)