ch 91 Planning a zoo pt. 2

10:20 am Hogwarts Ground

"So you mean to say that Marshall is having a meeting now with the Headmaster, Kettleburn, Diggory and Scamander?" Ron asked Harry as they make their way to Hagrid's hut.

Harry confirmed, "Yeah, it's about that zoo they were planning. So now Hagrid asked us to watch over Norbert until he comes back."

"Do you think they will let Norbert stay in that zoo?" Ron absent-mindedly asked ,but immediately showed a wry smile, "But knowing Marshall,... that's just a pipe dream. He might even immediately send Norbert to Romania."

Still new to magical creatures, Harry asked, "Are dragons really difficult to keep around? Hagrid was able to keep Fluffy in school… and that dog is huge!"

Ron said, "Well, dragons can----"

Aarf!* Kaaaa!* Clank!* Aarf!* Aarf!* Clank!*

As the two boys reached the hut, their conversation was interrupted by the ruckus coming from inside.

Ron and Harry look at each other and hurriedly open the door. What they saw was Norbert chasing Fang around and making a mess of the place.

Seeing the door open, Fang immediately run out of the hut.

After a moment of realization, Ron quickly slammed the door close, locking the two of them with Norbert.

Kaa?*

The young dragon, loosing its playmate, look at the two boys and after a pause started to chase Ron excitedly, letting out a short breath of flame.

Kaaa! 😆Brazz💨🔥

"Wahhh!!" Ron quickly ran to the side, initiating a chase. He yelled, "HARRY! Do something!"

While Norbert was 'playing' with Ron, Harry slowly approached the birdcage that Hagrid used to house the young dragon. He saw the lock was blackened by flame and obviously broken.

Taking out his wand, he waves at the broken birdcage and repaired it with a spell, "Reparo."

The birdcage quickly returned to its original state with a functional lock.

Harry called out to Ron, "I repaired the cage. Now what?!"

Jumping around and avoiding the flames, Ron leaned to his left and made a feint, fooling the dragon. He quickly turned to his right and ran past Norbert, toward Harry.

Stumbling a bit, Norbert turned around to find the two boys facing it and the one with glasses has the birdcage facing it.

Ron whispered, "How do we make him go inside?"

"Take a bacon from your bento…" Harry said, and Ron quickly brought out a bento box they got earlier.

Picking a long piece of crispy bacon, Ron inserted it inside the cage.

Harry took a step forward and placed the cage with the bacon a meter away from the dragon.

Unfortunately, the young dragon quite detests the cage and is not falling for their plan.

"Bloody Hell… When did he become smart? Isn't he still supposed to be a baby?" Ron exclaimed.

Quickly realizing that Norbert is still a baby, Harry thought, 'Wait! A baby… He was just playing!'

Whispering to Ron, Harry reached with an open palm, "Give me a bacon..."

After receiving a bacon, Harry points his wand at it and cast, "Avifor!" The bacon quickly turned into a house sparrow and flew around the room, leaving a scent of bacon.

The sparrow descent above Norbert, attracting its attention.

With something to play with, the dragon started chasing the sparrow. When the dragon's attention is fully on the bird, Harry flick his wand toward the cage and the bird landed inside.

Norbert immediately lunge at the bird, that quickly transformed back to being a piece of bacon.

Ron didn't miss the chance and quickly closed the cage. As the dragon tried to escape, it was able to take a quick bite of Ron's finger.

"Ah! Blimey! He bit me!" Ron looked at his index finger that shows a small, shallow mark with a few specks of blood starting to show.

Harry leaned in to see the bite and said, "It's just a small nip."

Ron grimaced, "No… You don't understand. Norwegian Ridgeback have venom on their fang!"

"What?!" Harry panicked.

The two found themselves in a conundrum. If Ron was truly infected, he could die. So they needed to go asked for help. But if they do, then others will know about Hagrid keeping a dragon.

-----

---

-----

11:05 am, Headmaster's office

"Well… This indeed solves any opposition we might have from the Ministry and the Board…" Dumbledore commented after reading the guidelines that came with Marshall's upgraded clearance.

The part that Amos presented earlier stated that Marshall can create a sanctuary for magical creatures, as long as his guarantors back him up and inform the corresponding Ministry that governs the area.

Though their little project is about building a zoo, replacing the barn in Hogwarts, as long as it follows the same intent as a sanctuary then there's no problem.

The only issue now is selecting the magical creatures.

"Professor Kettleburn, Uncle Newt!..." Marshall called the two-magic zoologist in the room and asked , "Do you want to donate some magical creatures to the zoo?"

Silvanus and Newt looked at the boy, then at each other, and immediately laughed.

"Hahaha... Sorry, Lad. You're asking the wrong people..." Silvanus said.

Marshall had a puzzled look on his face. Seeing this, Newt explained, "You see Marshall, We're OLD magical zoologists. I retired a decade ago and Silvanus there is planning his retirement in a year or two."

"... Yes, we do have magical creatures under our care. But they are old friends who had accompanied us for a long time, we aren't willing to part with them."

Understanding what they are getting at, the lad gave an understanding nod but asked another question, "But don't you still have some newborns? Won't you need to separate them from their family to avoid inbreeding? Where do you send them?"

Scamander answered, "We already made plans before retirement and sent them to their natural habitats around the world, or to reputable reserves. Right, Silvanus?"

"Sadly true, lad. If I had known that we will be planning this zoo, I would have held on to those little ones before setting them free. The ones that are still under our care are those that are attached to us, or 'common' magical creatures that can be found everywhere or those that can be bought in stores." Kettleburn confirmed.

Supporting his chin with his hand, Marshall begin thinking of ways to obtain other magical creatures. Capturing them against their will is not an option.

*Cough!

Dumbledore chimed in, "Marshall, there is still a year before Silvanus retires. I suggest you focus first on building the facility then slowly gathering the creatures. You don't have to finish the whole project in one go."

"Oh yeah..." Marshall finally realized, "You're right, Headmaster. We can slowly accumulate the creatures. The priority now will be the zoo itself."

Newt then said, "In the meantime, Silvanus and I will inquire to our old friends if they are willing to donate. Will you be willing to let us mention your name as Merlin's heir? It might help sway them a bit."

Marshall immediately nodded. Then he noticed Hagrid being fidgety and looking at the old grandfather clock.

Remembering that Hagrid has a baby dragon in his hut, Marshall suddenly remember that he had plans to "visit" the black market.

He was sure that the black market people will be "willing" to "donate" some creatures. Amelia Bones will probably like to visit as well.

Imagining the "fun" he will be having at the black market, Marshall unconsciously showed a mischievous smirk that everyone immediately took notice.

"Care to share your thoughts, Marshall?" asked Dumbledore as he felt something ominous seeing the kid showing his thinking face.

Marshall came back to his senses and replied, "Nothing, Headmaster. Oh, yeah. Do you have any plans for Fluffy after you're done having him guard that door? I don't mind including it in the zoo."

*Cough!*Cough!*Cough!

Dumbledore and Hagrid were caught off guard by the kid's question.

The half-giant quickly showed a smile when he realized that he can be with his three-headed dog.

"Fluffy?" Kettleburn reacted and looked at Hagrid, "Isn't that Cerberus supposed to be sent to Greece last summer? It is still in the school?"

Amos reacted, "Cerberus? Hagrid, aren't you prohibited keeping magical creatures. Remember what happened the last time you kept an unauthorized pet."

Newt and Dumbledore gave each other a look and just kept quiet.

"Uhm..." Hagrid can't find any word to defend himself.

Letting out a sigh, Marshall tapped Diggory's arm and said, "If you're talking about the incident where a student died back in the 40s, Hagrid's pet was not the culprit.

Silence~

The adults looked at Marshall with shocked. Amos quickly calmed down and asked the kid, "You know of that incident? And Hagrid's pet is not the culprit?"

After taking another sip of tea, Marshall looked at Dumbledore and then to Scamander and said, "Yes and Im not the only one here who knows the truth."

"Who, Mr.Witcherly?" Amos asked.

Kettleburn was also intrigued about the topic. Though he is familiar with that particular incident, he only knows the version that was written in the news.

The Headmaster quickly tried to stop the boy, "Marshall--"

"Don't worry Headmaster. I'll stop." Marshall said with a hand slightly raised. He then turned to Amos and said, "Mr. Diggory, I'm requesting that you don't mention what I said to your department…"

"But…" Amos showed a conflicted face.

Marshall continues, "Don't worry. I plan to address it within the next school year. I will formally notify your department, as well as the DMLE. But for now, I'm requesting for you to keep it a secret."

Diggory can perceive the lad's seriousness about the topic. After a moment, he agreed to keep quiet about it.

Marshall noticed the Headmaster's gaze and rolled his eyes. Dumbledore asked him, "Then why did you have to bring up Fluffy and that incident?"

With a sigh, Marshall explained, "I already know that Professor Kettleburn will retire after next school year, and that Hagrid will be taking over teaching The Care of Magical Creatures class…"

"... I do acknowledge that Hagrid is very knowledgeable about the subject, and I'm fully aware that I don't have a say on whom the school appoints for the position. But…"

"... If I am to use my name and title to build the zoo, as well as to keep the creatures in it. Apologies. As he is now, I'm not comfortable providing access to MY facility and creatures to Hagrid."

Dumbledore raised an eyebrow as he senses the shift in Marshall's demeanor. He asked, "Why?"

The lad turned his serious gaze to Hagrid, who became nervous, and simply said, "Because of Hagrid's issues."

"Issues? Which ones?" Kettleburn asked.

"Firstly, his lack of awareness." Marshall explained, "He acts obviously to the threat magical creatures can do to everyone else."

Dumbledore, and the rest looked at Hagrid, and they can't deny what Marshall said about him not lacking in awareness.

Marshall continues, "Second. He doesn't have a wand. Now this can be solved by my plans next school year."

"But Marshall, having a wand is not necessary in taking care of magical creatures." Newt rebutted.

The lad look at Scamander and replied, "Correct me if I'm wrong, Uncle Newt. But if I recall correctly, when your magical creatures were set loose in New York in the 1920s, didn't you use your wand to capture them back and stop them from causing more damage..."

Being reminded by his past blunders, Newt just remained quiet.

After the interruption, Marshall resumes, "And lastly, Hagrid has a habit of bringing in creatures and hiding them to the authorities. Examples of which were Aragog and Fluffy."

Finally finding the courage to defend himself, Hagrid said, "Aragog wouldn't hurt anyone."

"Aragog might, but not his offsprings. Do you know how messed up the ecosystem is in the Forbidden Forest? Do you know the hardship the other inhabitants have to deal with, with those pesky spiders around?" yelled out Marshall.

Hearing the word 'spiders' Diggory and Kettleburn figured out what Marshall was mad about. The two can't help but look at Hagrid and scrutinize him.

"Now Marshall, calm down--" The Headmaster tried to calm the boy, but Marshall looked at him with a frown and said, "You're no better, Headmaster. You're enabling him."

*Cough!

"We already have plans to ship Fluffy to Greece, but we needed a guard dog so we delayed it. But now that we have a zoo, there's no need to send it away." The Headmaster said.

Taking a deep breath, Marshall calmed down and said, "What's stopping him from hiding another dangerous creature from you, Headmaster? Hagrid doesn't even have a wand, so he can't make a Wizard's Oath."

Dumbledore, try to appease the boy, "Don't worry, lad. I will make sure to keep an eye on him. Hagrid won't bring any more creatures without my knowledge into the school. Right, Hagrid?"

Newt, Diggory and Kettleburn found the scene, where the Headmaster is trying to appease Witcherly about Hagrid's habit, very comical.

They wanted to laugh but stopped after hearing what Marshall said next.

"I'm guessing Hagrid didn't tell you about Norbert." Marshall asked.

The Headmaster was stumped. He looked at Hagrid and asked, "Who's Norbert?"

~end chapter ~

Author's note. Apologies for the late update. Stuff happened.