allendalepharm Chapter 205 Cultivating Demons
Chapter 205 Cultivating Demons
Chapter 205 Cultivating Demons
All wizards are evil, mysterious and ominous; the so-called romance is just a matter of perspective.
Especially in the field of magical creature breeding.
The purpose of wizards creating these monsters has always been quite simple: to guard homes, protect treasures, or serve as assistants and henchmen.
"The most frequently used and bred magical creature in wizarding history is the dragon." Hagrid is the kind of person who will do his best to fulfill a promise he makes, and he tried to teach the young wizards in a somewhat stumbling manner. "Now, many magical creatures can be traced back to the dragon."
He hesitated for a moment, but finally said, "Actually, some wizards also have the blood of fire dragons."
Oh~~
All the young wizards expressed their inability to accept it, listening to the content of the class with expressions like old people using cell phones on the subway.
This made Hagrid a little embarrassed. He stopped talking, scratching his head, and looked at Lockhart with some helplessness, indicating that he really couldn't do this.
"Is it hard for you to accept?"
Just then, a deep, hoarse voice came from behind the little wizard, drawing everyone's attention.
It was that "mysterious gentleman," Professor Lockhart's teaching assistant.
"The hybridization of magical creatures, even the crossbreeding of wizards and magical creatures, has existed for at least a thousand years." Grindelwald surveyed the young wizards with indifferent eyes. "The reason you find it unacceptable is because you have lost the culture of wizards; your minds are filled with Muggle culture."
"Muggle moral cognition, Muggle sense of right and wrong, Muggle worldview..."
He curled his lip. "The terrible consequences of the Merlin era continue even now that the Merlin Order can no longer influence the will of the Ministries of Magic in various countries."
Grindelwald knew better than anyone the root of the internal divisions within the wizarding society of this era.
The root cause is not some so-called "magical bloodline" or "pure blood." It is merely the deliberate manipulation and attempt by some wizards with unique bloodline abilities inherited from their ancestors to gain a sense of superiority.
What utter nonsense about bloodlines!
The root of the problem is actually culture!
Pure-blood wizards and some half-blood wizards are born into wizarding families. Before entering Hogwarts, they receive home education and are immersed in wizarding culture.
In this respect, even the Weasley family, which claims to be the most pro-Muggle family, Arthur's understanding of Muggles is practically zero, so it's naturally difficult for him to incorporate Muggle culture into his children's upbringing.
Muggle wizards and some half-blood wizards almost all receive their primary education in Muggle schools, and have already become Muggles before entering magic schools.
and so……
The disagreements between Dumbledore and Grindelwald were sometimes so diametrically opposed.
Instead of leaving Harry Potter at Hogwarts to be raised and taught by Severus Snape, who cared for him the most, or by a hardworking house-elf, they abandoned him to be raised by Muggle relatives...
Is it really true that just because of this so-called "savior" who will soon guide public opinion, one must stay with the Muggle relatives who hate this child in order to avoid Voldemort's attacks?
Grindelwald knew all too well how "far-sighted" some of Dumbledore's schemes were, beneath their high-sounding rhetoric.
He opposes this!
He looked at the young wizards with a cold smile. "You believe that breeding magical creatures is evil, so do you agree that harming magical creatures is also evil?"
"Your Potions class requires the corpses of all sorts of magical creatures, and your Herbalism class similarly requires the corpses of all sorts of magical plants. So let me ask you: did these magical materials, these corpses, just fall from the sky?"
"No!"
"You killed them!"
"You needed it, so someone killed it for you!"
He looked down at the little ones, finally settling on Hermione, the Muggle-born wizard. Seeing the resistance and anger on the little witch's face, and a look of utter disapproval, he slowly walked over.
His aura was so powerful that the young wizards all gave way.
Grindelwald approached Hermione, gently took the wand from her hand, lightly stroked it, and a slight smile played on his lips. "Grapevine Wood and Dragon Heartstrings?"
"Miss Granger, do you know how to separate the heart nerve of a fire dragon, such as the Dragon Heartstring, from its body while maintaining its high activity for better use in wand making?"
Hermione, being such a clever person, immediately realized the malice of the question and widened her eyes in a flustered manner.
She didn't know how to answer.
Fortunately, a figure stepped forward and blocked her way.
"The Mysterious Gentleman!"
Lockhart smiled and took the wand from Grindelwald, casually handing it to Hermione. "I think magic should always be romantic; that's enough to inspire a wizard's will. Do you agree with me?"
The implication is that you shouldn't use your dark magic to turn all the young wizards into dark wizards, as that would be meaningless in improving their strength.
Grindelwald squinted at him, but he simply smiled gently and met his gaze without giving an inch.
After a while.
"Kids, let's turn our attention back to the course on breeding magical creatures."
Lockhart beckoned to the young wizards, his expression serious. "I want you to understand one thing: whether you like it or not, for most of you, this is your only chance in this lifetime to learn about magical creature breeding, and that's now!"
"It wasn't taught at Beauxbatons School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, nor at Durmstrang School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, nor in Hogwarts' regular classes. It's only now."
So, whether you like it or not, listen carefully.
He gestured to Hagrid, "Please continue your explanation."
Hagrid became a little nervous in the atmosphere and continued his narration haltingly, but as he used animals to illustrate his points, his face gradually lost its憨厚 (honest and simple) look and gained a unique brilliance.
In his eyes, breeding magical creatures is a wonderful and romantic thing.
To experience this kind of romance, one must set aside the common perceptions of beauty and ugliness held by wizards and even humans, and further set aside the perception of defining things based on appearance, to truly and directly feel the existence of magic within the species.
The scorpion-tailed beast with a human head, a lion's body, red fur, and fangs all possess a terrifying fire poison.
It is an aggressive, unrestrained yet highly regular, explosive and penetrating fire poison.
In Hagrid's words, "It was a cheerful look."
He gestured with both hands, indicating that the young wizards should look closely at the monster with a human head before them, his eyes full of anticipation. "Children, can you feel its joy?"
Harry turned his head away with a strange expression, avoiding Hagrid's expectant gaze, and exchanged a glance with Ron, whose face was almost contorted in pain. They shook their heads at each other.
In fact, no young wizard could possibly sense it...
"I can feel it!" An excited voice drew shocked glances from all the young wizards.
Then came another one: "Yes, I felt it too, a vibrant and joyful feeling!"
They are George and Fred, the Weasley twins.
"Yes, yes, full of life!" Hagrid breathed a sigh of relief, then became excited. "Look, its joyful energy is evident in its limbs, head, fur, and stingers..."
Cedric looked utterly shocked, and asked the two brothers in disbelief, "Hey, you guys can really feel it? How do you feel it?"
"I just felt it," George said, though he couldn't quite put his finger on it. "You could see its movements."
Fred observed thoughtfully, "Look at how it's shivering from the cold, it's quite peculiar."
is it?
The young wizards all looked at the man-headed lion-bodied scorpion-tailed beast, but could only sense the terrifying monster's roaring posture as it was bound by chains.
"Children!"
Hagrid led everyone to another corner of the cave, to a place where an underground river outlet resembled a lake, and gestured for everyone to look at the pile of fire crabs he had cultivated.
It was a crab with a severely deformed shell; its enormous shell looked more like a tortoise shell, making everyone look at it as if a bunch of turtles were crawling on the rocks in the lake.
Compared to the extremely ugly human-headed lion-bodied scorpion-tailed beast, the fire crab undoubtedly represents the pinnacle of human aesthetics.
It looks extremely luxurious.
Its dark brown shell looks as smooth as a jade carving, and is covered with all kinds of jewels.
As everyone approached, some of the fire crabs were startled, spewing out a ball of flame from their tails that swept outwards, causing everyone to gasp and retreat.
"Look how cute they are." Hagrid's vocabulary was limited, but everyone could feel the tenderness in his eyes.
Yes, the young wizards completely agreed with Hagrid's point of view this time.
Only Snape gave a cold laugh. "I hope you're not so obsessed with it. It's been overfished and killed because of its beautiful shell, and now it's a magical creature that the Ministry of Magic strictly prohibits from harming."
In fact, besides being aesthetically pleasing, the shell of the fire crab has another significant function.
That is, it is a natural, top-quality crucible that can be used to increase the success rate of healing potions that target mental or spiritual damage, such as Felix Felicis.
Many of the young wizards actually knew this.
The feeding and cleaning techniques for fire crabs are frequently tested in the Magical Creatures Protection subject of the Magical Examinations Board's regular wizarding exams.
"They expose their inner selves," Hagrid explained about the animals in a way that wouldn't be heard in class or elsewhere.
"If you are good at observing the many animals in nature that produce pearls, you will find that their pearls are inside their bellies, except for the pearls of the fire crab, which grow on its shell."
"So fire crabs always carry a repressed heart, but this repression makes them feel at ease."
Hagrid crouched down and stretched out his hand, and a fire crab crawled onto his palm, clamping his fingers with its huge pincers.
Hagrid clearly possesses strong physical resistance; the fire crabs couldn't hurt him at all.
"Both the Sphinx and the Fire Crab are magical creatures with powerful fire poison. The Sphinx likes to eat the Fire Crab because it brings it some benefits, but this does not fundamentally satisfy its desires."
"They are actually completely opposite directions, one is carefree and joyful, the other is repressed..."
"Then in this cold place, the exuberant began to turn into restlessness, and the repressed began to open their hearts, which is why they can combine."
Hagrid explained, "We can deduce from their characteristics that if they were to mate and produce offspring, they would be creatures filled with powerful fire and poison, and possessing explosive mental qualities."
He tried his best to describe that unique quality, lurking within the two magical creatures and the changes that occurred during their union, "It will become the most alluring demon!"
"!!!" the young wizards exclaimed in surprise.
"A demon?!?" Harry couldn't help but shout. Even though he and Hagrid were such good friends, he simply couldn't understand why Hagrid would want to breed a demon.
"Hmph!" A cold snort rang out, and the young wizards all fell silent.
It was Grindelwald who naturally put immense psychological pressure on them, although the young wizard didn't know why he was afraid of the old man's imposing presence.
"In wizarding culture, 'demon' means..." Grindelwald surveyed the young faces, a look of deep sorrow on his face, "...a product of human desires!"
Damn it!
What's wrong with young people these days?!
You don't even understand this?!
Demons, demons—can only Muggles define demons? Even if no one tells you, after listening to some wizard fairy tales or bedtime stories, don't you ever think about it for yourself?
"An alluring body to satisfy sexual desire, tempting food to satisfy the appetite, gold and silver treasures to satisfy the desire for money, and magical power to satisfy the desire for power..."
Grindelwald explained coldly, "That's the devil, because it corrupts people, makes them cease to be human, understand?"
As he spoke, he looked at Hagrid, who was somewhat flustered, and his eyes showed a hint of respect.
Yes, Grindelwald was willing to show respect to the wizard before him, a master in the field of magical creature breeding, a valuable talent who could bring more possibilities to the wizarding community.
"If anyone outside knew you could breed demons, knew you could instinctively determine which two creatures, when crossed, would definitely produce a demon, people would absolutely go mad," Grindelwald sighed, his voice softening. "Hagrid, can you be sure which type of demon you'll breed this time?"
Hagrid shook his head. "I don't know. Life has its own way of being."
He wasn't sure, but Lockhart had a vague answer.
Because he knew what he would eventually cultivate—the blasting-tailed snail.
Inheriting the fire-breathing characteristic of the fire crab and the volatile nature of the human-headed lion-bodied scorpion-tailed beast, these are clearly characteristics that allow the fire poison to continue.
Lockhart wasn't sure if the shells of those blast-tailed snails would grow a lot of jewels like fire crabs, or possess powerful magic resistance even stronger than dragon skin, like the sphinx.
But he remembered one characteristic.
That's because the slug has a very unique smell of rotten fish and shrimp, which makes all the young wizards hate this magical creature, even Harry, who is determined to stand with Hagrid.
The smell of rotten fish and shrimp...
It has a very unique flavor.
Lockhart speculated that fried whelks were probably a delicacy that would satisfy one's appetite to the fullest.
Of course, anything taken to extremes is dangerous, even food. As Grindelwald said, it is called a devil because it corrupts people and makes them less than human.
Such extreme items usually have excellent applications in potion-making.
Just like the unicorn, which is hailed as the most sacred magical creature, it is actually a kind of demon in the academic field.
(End of this chapter)