ch 90 Planning a zoo pt. 1

April 11, 1992, Saturday, 9:11 am

-Third-person POV-

Inside the Headmaster's office…

"Come on, Fawkes. Just one feather." Marshall was asking for a tail feather from the Phoenix.

Fawkes just closed his eyes and didn't pay attention to the boy's plea. The bird was still sulking over the incident with Marshall's heron.

Changing tactics, Marshall then said, "Have it your way. I guess I'll have Reza meet the Thunderbirds in America or Sparky from New Zealand. Good luck finding yourself a bird who will live up to your standard."

The phoenix opened his eyes and let out a chirp, asking for the heron to apologize to it.

Marshall frowned, "Why would she apologize to you? You were the one who attacked first. Be thankful that she didn't kill you right then and there."

"Kueyaaa!" The phoenix screeched at what the boy said, not believing that the heron could stand up to it.

"I give up. Be single for the rest of your life. Like the Headmaster there." Marshall point at Dumbledore who was sitting at his desk and sipping tea.

*Cough!*

The old man almost choked when he was surprised being made an example by Witcherly.

Fawkes open its eyes and looked at the Headmaster, and appeared to be in deep thought. A second later, the phoenix pruned his tail feather and plucked one that is about to fall out.

When Marshall received the tail feather, he already had a prepared box for it.

In front of the Headmaster and Fawkes, Marshall wrapped the box with a packaging paper and twine.

The boy then wrote something on a letter and put in an envelope and stuck it on the package.

"Jolly!" Marshall called for his house elf. A thick white smoke appeared around the boy and the house elf appeared wearing a butler uniform. The strong scent of incense spread in the office.

Seeing the white aura, Dumbledore raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything.

The boy handed the package with the letter to the elf and said, "Deliver this to Aunt Molly. It's for Ginny's wand. Don't appear in their house. Teleport to their front door then knock, ok!"

The elf became jubilant, "Yes Young Master. Jolly won't be rude and appear in the Wesley's house like a creep like before."

The elf then disappear from the site with the package.

Marshall then walked to the seat in front of Dumbledore and poured himself a cup of tea.

Tasting the strong lemon flavor of the tea, he frowned and reaches for the honey and add some. He said, "Headmaster, you really need to explore some other flavors."

The Headmaster just scoffed at what the boy said and sipped his tea. He then remembered something and said, "Marshall, last Tuesday night..."

"Was a close call, Headmaster. I'm guessing that Quirrell won't last for long." said Marshall as he put down his cup of tea. For the last few days, he took note of Quirrell's condition and deemed that the guy was nearing his limit even with the unicorn blood.

Dumbledore didn't give a response and just lightly nod. He then asked Marshall, "I hope you won't interfere with Harry's trial."

"As long as you, Sir, and the teachers are there to monitor everything. I won't interfere. My focus will be on the rest of the school, just in case something unexpected comes up again." Marshall compromised. For some reason, he has an uneasy feeling.

When he tried probing Quirrell for information using Siri, nothing noteworthy came out. But deep down, Marshall was sure something got past his monitoring and is on guard for whatever it was.

"Rest assure, everything is under our control." The Headmaster said.

But Marshall frowned, hearing that. He thought, 'Great, Old man! Way to raise a death flag!'

Their conversation was interrupted when the office door opened and Professor Kettleburn and Hagrid came in.

The two greeted Witcherly and Dumbledore and the four sat on the living room within the office.

Dumbledore said, "We're still waiting for Newt and Diggory. Before they come, I would like for the three of you to scale down your plan for the zoo and manage your expectation. Silvanus, what did I hear about large beast? And Hagrid, Dragons?!"

Kettleburn played with his mustache and said, "Looking at the greenhouse Marshall built. It's not impossible to house 'large' creatures. We're just asking the limit of the space the lad can create."

"Headmaster..." Hagrid was hesitant to give his reply. It is obvious that he didn't expect to be asked about suggesting dragons.

While Dumbledore is questioning the other two, Marshall was setting some hors d'oeuvres on the coffee table. He didn't want to experience going hungry again during the meeting, like what happened when he expanded the space in the vegetable greenhouse.

What else would he eat in the Headmaster's office? Lemon candy?

The three men just raised an eyebrow to what the lad was doing. Hagrid quickly took a plate and filled it with some bacon-wrapped sausages. Obviously, the half-giant is stress eating.

Marshall then took his seat opposite Kettleburn and Hagrid and said, "Headmaster, I heard from Uncle Nick that Beauxbatons have housed several large beasts recently. Their Headmistress, Madame Maxime, asked Aunt Penny and Mr. Scamander for help last Christmas. The Naaszcademy of Magizoology in Belgium also helped in the project."

"... On another note. Ilvermorny of North America, Uagadou in Africa, Castelobruxo of South America had been way... way ahead in terms of their efforts to creating/improving their sanctuaries for their native and some foreign magical creatures."

"...Durmstrang and Koldovstoretz don't have much regarding in-school facilities for magical creatures. But they do have access to the different reserves built up north."

"... Hogwarts and Japan's Mahoutokoro are at the same level regarding their in-school magical creatures. But that is just because the Japanese have a strong sense of respect for nature and deemed that their native magical creatures should be left alone in their natural habitats."

The three men were surprised by how well informed Marshall was regarding the other Wizarding School. It was something that the boy asked the Flamels frequently.

During last December, when the Scamanders visit, the young wizard asked Newt on the current situation of the known magical creatures around the world and the reserves and facilities that keep them safe.

"Nick? Penny?" Professor Kettleburn asked.

The lad just smiled and clarify, "Nicolas and Perenelle Flamel. Family friends."

The professor was surprised, but then he remembered that the lad in front of him is the heir of Merlin, so he just kept quiet.

Dumbledore asked,"Marshall, are you saying that you can provide the same level of security that Perenelle can set up. I know you had been studying under her, but that's just the basics. Right?"

"Hmmm... Aunt Penny only taught me the fundamentals of enchantment. But I also have access to my family's 'secret magic'. The ghost of Lady Helena also promised to assist me when planning out any new facility. Whatever I set up, I'm pretty sure it's on par or better than the one Aunt Penny made for Beauxbatons." Marshall promised.

When Marshall gave control to Lady Helena and Fat Fryer for the greenhouse, it already shows that his enchantments are out of the norm.

When the boy mentioned his family's 'secret magic', the first thing that Dumbledore thought of was Aura. In this regard, he can't find fault as he is not familiar with it.

The other two saw hope when they see the Headmaster stumped. Their personal 'wishes' seems plausible now.

However, Hagrid's plan to include dragon's got scratched by Marshall.

Witcherly said, "But, I do agree that dragons are a bit dangerous. Sorry, Hagrid. I can't be on board with that idea. "

The smile on the half-giant's face quickly vanished.

Kettleburn patted Hagrid's shoulder, comforting the man. He then asked Marshall, "Lad, do you already have a design for the zoo?"

Marshall took out a parchment and gave it the professor. The lad said, "I'm thinking of creating something like the Dale Castle in Kent, with several bastions with their entrance. Each bastion can be expanded and landscape to a customized ecosystem that contains creatures that can be housed together. "

"... We could also just create a similar greenhouse like structure, and I'll expand the space inside. We'll landscape the place in a fashion like a traditional muggle zoo. I'm just not sure if that is safe as magical creatures tend to wander around so much."

After a pause, Marshall asked Professor Kettleburn, "Professor, can you list down the different creatures you discuss on your lessons for the 3rd year and up? That way, I know what were dealing with."

Kettleburn and Hagrid was still looking at the blueprint that Marshall handed. Hearing the lad's request, Kettleburn didn't find anything wrong with it and handed a small pocket notebook and said, "The preview for each year are at the first five pages."

When Marshall opened the first page that was titled "3rd year" and read the list of creatures, he raised an eyebrow and look over at Hagrid.

He thought, 'The heck! Almost all the magical creatures are X and XX classification! Why did a hippogriff appeared during Harry's 3rd year?'

As the kid read more, he noticed some creatures that are at XXXX and XXXXX category for the 5th years and above. What piqued his interest was that some were non-native species in Europe.

"Professor, there are creatures here that I didn't notice in the school barn. Like the Ocamy, Chimaera , Quintoped, and Golden Snidget..." Marshall asked.

Kettleburn smiled at the lad and chuckled, "Kid, you aren't the only one who have an enchanted suitcase. But for me, it's more of a trunk. And those creatures you mentioned are part of my own private collection. When I retire, I'll be taking 'my' pets with me. That's why I suggested the 'zoo' because without 'my' pets, the school's in-house magical beast will lack variety."

Dumbledore stroked his beard and suddenly realized the void Kettleburn will leave behind. It became even more apparent to him the need to upgrade the barn into a zoo.

At this moment, the Headmaster sensed that someone is requesting entry through the Floo Network. With a wave of his hand, he grants permission and the fireplace was set ablaze with greed flames.

A burly old man with broad shoulder and a wavy white hair appeared. Newt Scamander appeared and cleaned himself with a cleaning spell.

"Hello everyone. Am I late?" He walked toward the living room and sat on the seat opposite Dumbledore.

Dumbledore gave a nod to Newt. Kettleburn waved his mechanical hand, and Hagrid stood up and dusted his hand before reaching out for a handshake and saying, "Good to see you again, Mr. Scamander."

Marshall greeted Newt, "Hello, Uncle Newt. Thanks for entertaining our request."

Newt poured himself a cup of tea and waved his hand, "No problem at all. Tina is happy to have me out of the house for once. And Marshall, I'm sorry about Rolf. We already scolded him for giving a statement to the Prophet."

Witcherly just shrugged his shoulder and said, "Neh. I got over it quick. And besides, I think we'll be needing him to write a positive article about this project of ours if it goes through. We need to use the Scamander's name and my title as Heir of Merlin to avoid any pushback from the Ministry and the School's Board of Governors."

Newt nodded and didn't mind going against the Law for the betterment of Magical Creatures. The one who gave a mixed reaction were the Headmaster and the other two.

"Marshall, what do you plan if the Ministry or the Board of Governors block the zoo?" asked Dumbledore.

The kid paused for a second and appeared to be thinking, he then answered, "I'm not concern about Fudge. Though that Umbridge might say something to persuade him otherwise. Those two are still planning to 'win' me over."

"... About the Board of Governors, I can just ask Uncle Merlin for a favor and have him take over Lucius Malfoy's place. Though Uncle Merlin said he would rather not meddle in the current Ministry and the School, being the Head of the Board won't require him to actively participate. As his heir, it is most likely that he'll make me as his proxy, acting as the middleman between the other members and himself."

*Cough!

Dumbledore got choked up hearing the kid's statement. If that really happened, Marshall will be, in a way, the overseer of the school.

Newt, Kettleburn and Hagrid was bewildered by what Marshall said. It is only now that they realize that Marshall may appear and act happy-go-lucky most of the time, but the lad can scheme.

Dumbledore then noticed another request for entry coming from the fireplace. Like before, after he granted access to the person, the fireplace lit up and out came Amos Diggory.

After cleaning himself up and greeted everyone, Amos shyly sat next to Marshall. He then took a letter and a stack of papers from his leather suitcase and gave it to the boy and explained, "Congratulations, Mr. Witcherly for upgrading your international license to XXXXX level. The letter contains the certificate and the stack here are the guidelines that you need to adhere to for keeping any kind of creature."

Everyone was surprised about the news, even Marshall. He completely forgot that he had a pending request to upgrade his clearance that his Uncle Merlin promised him last December.

As Marshall took the envelope and papers, he asked, "Was there any issue when my application was sent?"

"From what I know, there was a concern raised due to your age." Diggory narrated, "... But a letter from the Great Merlin and several banks around the world promising to be your guarantor for any damages or accidents made by your 'pets' solved it."

Amos then searched something from the stack of papers, and he then presented it to Marshall, "You might find this part helpful to the zoo you're planning to build."

Marshall carefully read the page and showed a look of surprise. To make sure he understood it clearly, he read it again. He then turned to Amos and asked, "Really?"

~end chapter ~