Chapter 55: Disaster of Magical Creatures

After Halloween, November arrived, and the chilly weather made young wizards even less inclined to get out of bed.

At eight in the morning, Kyle donned a thick robe and yawningly made his way to the Great Hall, ready for breakfast.

When the owls swarmed into the Great Hall as usual, Cedric's long-awaited broom finally arrived. Just as he expected, it was a Nimbus 1700.

"Awesome, Cedric, absolutely awesome!" A senior Hufflepuff player excitedly patted Cedric's shoulder. "You're a Seeker, and with this Nimbus 1700, we're closing the gap with Slytherin by a lot."

"I've seen their Seeker's skills and honestly, it is not much stronger than a giant creature that can ride a flying broom," he added.

Coincidentally, Hufflepuff's first Quidditch match opponent was Slytherin.

Originally, they were a little worried about the gap between their equipment being too big. However, this unexpected good news lifted their spirits.

While a Nimbus 1700 alone wasn't enough to boost their morale, having Cedric as their Seeker made all the difference.

In a practice match, Cedric caught the Golden Snitch in just five minutes. He was only a few seconds away from breaking the record of Hogwarts' fastest Seeker.

With a top-notch broomstick paired with a talented Seeker, Hufflepuff's players thought it was impossible for them to lose.

Could Slytherin possibly get ahead by 150 points in just five minutes?

What a joke.

Kyle was also pleased, even though he didn't participate. It would be excellent for the house if they could bring home the Quidditch Cup.

He turned to look at Cedric's new Nimbus until a sharp pain in his fingers made him realize that there was also an owl waiting in front of him.

"Sorry, little one, I didn't notice."

Kyle quickly took out a piece of Murtlap jerky to feed the owl before taking the letter from its claws and reading it.

"Dear Kyle,

I am very sorry for taking so long to reply to your letter. I have been extremely busy lately, and I thought I had already responded until I found the unfinished letter in my office this morning. I hope you can forgive me.

We received the Galleons you sent, and I am proud of you, son. I wasn't as accomplished as you during my first year.

Additionally, your mother asked me to inform you that she accepted your Galleons, but don't even think about the broomstick.

However, she has prepared something else for you, which will be sent to you in a couple of days. I hope you'll like it.

That's all. Wishing you a pleasant time at Hogwarts.

— Your father, Chris."

After reading the letter, the visible excitement in Kyle's eyes disappeared.

Although he had suspected that Diana wasn't as easily fooled as Mr. Diggory, seeing the results still disappointed Kyle.

Moreover, it took this long to reply.

He sent the letter in early September, and it was now already November. What was Chris so busy with to not return to his office for two months?

Is Mr. Scamander on a holiday?

Just as Kyle wondered, Cedric suddenly slapped a copy of the Daily Prophet in front of him.

"Kyle, take a look, something big has happened. No wonder my dad took so long to send me the broomstick."

On the front page of the Daily Prophet was a photo of many magical creatures, all confined.

Next to the photo was a bold headline.

The Disaster of Magical Creatures

"According to reliable sources, on September 3rd this year, during a raid on a group of magical creature smugglers, the Ministry of Magic's Hit Wizards accidentally let loose a large number of smuggled magical creatures.

Among them were three highly dangerous magical creatures classified as XXXXX.

We still can't understand why the Hit Wizards would make such a low-level mistake, nor why the Ministry chose to conceal this incident.

"To prevent panic in the wizarding world," said Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge this morning, "we have successfully recaptured most of the magical creatures, and during this time, no wizards have lost their lives."

The authenticity of this result remains uncertain.

However, Chris Chopper, the spokesperson for the Ministry of Magic's Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, stated in an interview that, with the help of Mr. Newt Scamander, almost all escaped magical creatures, including the Australian Antipodean Opaleye and the Nundu Leopard, have been successfully captured.

However, one Swooping Evil remains unaccounted for.

As Swooping Evils are highly dangerous, he urges everyone to immediately flee if they encounter one and cast a red warning curse into the sky.

The Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures and the Auror Office will rush to help as quickly as possible."

After reading, Kyle finally understood what Chris had been busy with.

From the photos, there were about fifty or sixty magical creatures captured, making it the largest magical creature smuggling case in the British wizarding world in the last thirty years.

But that wasn't the point. The focus was on the Nundu Leopard.

Kyle was curious about how they managed to capture it considering its agility. Even the breath it exhaled was poisonous enough to destroy a village.

To put it simply, the Ministry described it as requiring over a hundred skilled wizards to work together to subdue a Nundu Leopard.

Although there was some exaggeration, it was enough to illustrate its danger. To subdue a Hungarian Horntail, only ten wizards were needed.

"Fortunately, it was the Swooping Evil that got away," Kyle sighed sincerely.

It was not that he looked down on Swooping Evils.

While they were also classified as XXXXX, it was because that was their danger level.

The Nundu Leopard was classified as XXXXX because that was the highest rating the Ministry had. The comparison between them was not on the same level.

The other senior students, or those who had some understanding of magical creatures, such as Cedric, all nodded in agreement after hearing Kyle's words.

As for the other young wizards, who had little knowledge of magical creatures, they were more concerned about the escaped Swooping Evil.

The words "highly dangerous" in the newspaper didn't seem like an exaggeration to them.

"It's fortunate we're at Hogwarts."

At this time, someone said happily, "With Dumbledore here, we certainly won't be in any danger."

His statement quickly received unanimous approval from the others.

Yes, with Dumbledore here, what else did they need to worry about?

The atmosphere at the dining table suddenly became more lively.

However, this situation didn't last long and soon quieted down again.

Then, a young wizard suddenly stood up, disregarding his breakfast, and headed straight for the owlery.

At his reminder, others also reacted and stood up. Some ran to the owlery, while others went straight back to their dormitories.

The once bustling Great Hall was soon left with only a few students.

(End of chapter)