The Magical Creatures Protection Class

Chapter 37 The Magical Creatures Protection Class

Outside Hogwarts Castle, on a clearing at the edge of the Forbidden Forest, lies the grounds for the Magical Creatures Protection Class.

Looking at the unfamiliar faces, this was Ian's first time attending class with students of the same grade.

"As expected, development is incredibly fast in Europe and America."

Compared to the naivety of the first-year students, the third-year wizards were already somewhat green. In a fleeting glance, he had already spotted quite a few girls who were beginning to take shape.

At the same time, Ian suddenly sensed two sneaky figures approaching from behind. Thanks to the vigilance he had developed during the apocalypse, he instantly stepped aside as the figures got close.

Ian turned around and saw his two roommates. He spread his hands and smiled as he spoke.

"Good afternoon! I'm sorry you two didn't scare me."

Andrei looked at Ivy with some dissatisfaction: "It's all your fault. I said one person would be fine; two people would be easily discovered."

Upon hearing this, Ivy simply shrugged, looking completely innocent.

"Gentlemen, class is about to begin."

Just as Andrei was about to say something, a voice suddenly interrupted him. A boy with a somewhat helpless tone reminded him from the side.

Ian looked at the other person, who was wearing a blue-patterned robe and, unsurprisingly, was also a Ravenclaw. However, he was not familiar with third-year students, so he couldn't recall their names at all.

"Hey Scott, hurry up. Even if Professor Kettleburn were here, he wouldn't stop us from talking. This is a class on the protection of magical creatures, not a class on potions."

Upon hearing this, Andrei immediately retorted, waving the book "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" in his hand to prove the correctness of his words.

Before the other person could say anything more, Ivy immediately gestured with her eyes to look in the other direction. It turned out that Professor Kettleburn, who was in charge of teaching this course, was already standing not far away.

……

The elderly professor only has one arm and half a leg left. So even though he has been fitted with a prosthesis, he still has to rely on crutches to get around.

"Great, you're all here!"

The old wizard was in good spirits and spoke with a strong voice.

"Come and see, today we're going to learn about the Swallowtail Dog."

The Crup is a breed developed by wizards and is very similar to the Jack Russell Terrier. The difference is that the Crup's tail is forked, shaped like a swift's scissors, hence the name Crup.

These dogs are extremely loyal to wizards, but are exceptionally fierce to Muggles.

After the course began, Professor Kettleburn divided the students into groups of four to get to know a baby swallow-tailed dog.

"Don't underestimate these little guys just because they're small. They can eat almost any food the size of themselves."

Professor Kettleburn walked unsteadily among the students, occasionally bending down to affectionately pat the little guys' heads.

"Now, you can feed these little guys all the food I prepared beforehand and try to build a bond with them."

Ian and his two roommates, along with Scott, were grouped together, and Professor Kettleburn assigned them a small, light gray dog.

At this moment, they squatted on the ground, surrounding the little puppy in the middle.

It seemed somewhat uneasy at the moment, whimpering in a childish voice, clearly wary of them. Only when Professor Kettleburn stroked it would it happily wag its forked tail.

"Oh, little one?"

Andrei frowned and used a dry twig to pick out some cow entrails from a small bucket next to him.

"Want some, little one?"

The light gray swallowtail dog came over, sniffed it, and immediately pounced on it to feast.

"See? The little guy's tail is wagging, which means it approves of me," Andrei said with some pride.

"I think we all need to get to know this little guy, so we'll take turns feeding him."

Koster, who was standing nearby, suggested that he also stick a branch into the wooden barrel, but he stirred it too vigorously, causing the internal organs to emit a pungent smell.

A foul, fishy stench wafted over, but Ian remained calm and composed, for he had seen far more outrageous things in the apocalypse.

But Ivy, standing to the side, was in a difficult position. She immediately covered her nose and said with some disgust, "No, I don't need it!"

At this moment, Professor Kettleburn, standing in the crowd, loudly asked the students:

"Can anyone tell me how to obtain a permit issued by the Department of Magical Creature Management and Control if I want to legally keep a Swallowtail?"

It's time for extra credit in class!

The instant Professor Kettleburn finished speaking, Ian noticed that the Ravenclaw students had become noticeably more alert. Almost reflexively, they all raised their hands, a stark contrast to the badger cubs lying flat beside them.

"As expected of Ravenclaw, a school teeming with academic geniuses!"

Ian thought about it with some emotion, but he didn't care much about the scores and was very easygoing.

Of course, this is on the premise that he will not lose points. If he does lose points, he will find a way to make up for them, adhering to the principle of not delaying or owing.

"Then please... Miss Elthorpe, answer this question."

Professor Kettleburn's gaze swept over the students who had raised their hands, finally calling on a Hufflepuff girl to answer the question. In Ian's view, this was indeed the professor showing favoritism to the Hufflepuffs, who consistently ranked at the bottom of the House.

Miss Althorpe, whose name was called, stood up with a victorious smile and began to answer the questions verbatim.

"Any wizard who wants to apply to keep a Swallowtail must complete a simple test before he can obtain a license from the Department of Magical Creatures Control."

Furthermore, under the Secrecy Act, owners of Swallowtails must use a painless cutting spell to cut off their unusual tails when the dogs are six to eight weeks old, in order to prevent them from attracting the attention of Muggles.

Furthermore, owners of Swallowtail dogs must ensure that they do not breed unchecked in Muggle-controlled communities.

"Very good, well said." Professor Kettleburn gave the other person a thumbs up with his only remaining hand.

"This answer is perfect, and I have nothing to add. For this, I'll give Hufflepuff an extra 10 points."

This is also Professor Kettleburn's usual practice in class. He will ask a question in each class, and if a student answers correctly, he will use up the bonus points for that class all at once.

Moreover, these questions are not too difficult; most of them involve basic knowledge, the kind of questions whose answers can be found simply by looking up a book.

This also makes everyone eager to raise their hands in the magical creature protection class.

……

After awarding the points, Professor Kettleburn continued the lesson.

"The swallowtail dogs you are getting to know now are all five weeks old. Over the next two weeks, I need you to get to know them as quickly as possible."

"Because in two weeks, you will be the ones to remove their strange tails yourself, using a painless cutting spell."

Just as the students were in an uproar, Professor Kettleburn continued loudly:

"So for the next two weeks, you will not only have to learn how to raise these little guys, but you will also have to practice magic in your spare time. You must make sure that nothing goes wrong when you cast the Painless Cutting Charm."

"Poor little guy, your tail is going to be lost soon."

Andrei touched the puppy's tail with a somewhat malicious intent.

Unfortunately, this adorable dog had no idea what it was about to face. After being petted, it stared with its little eyes and rubbed its head against Andrei's trouser leg.

At the end of the class, Professor Kettleburn assigned homework—about the history of wizards breeding swallowtail dogs.

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(End of this chapter)