Hogwarts: My Grandmother is the Queen

Chapter 105 You can become a civil servant.

Hermione would ask questions from time to time, and Henry would answer them one by one.

Her questions were always very sharp, and even Henry admitted that the girl definitely had the potential to go into politics.

It's not about becoming a minister, it's about becoming a civil servant.

"What about the number of dragons? How many are we going to take in the first batch?" Hermione asked.

Henry hesitated for a moment, then replied, "I expect five to eight, including Norbert, and some to be received from elsewhere."

"What about the other magical creatures?" Hermione asked again.

"Unicorns, hippogriffs, and possibly others, will depend on further expert advice."

Henry answered with a smile.

Zhang Qiu took notes beside him, occasionally adding information about unique and magical creatures of the East, such as the Qilin.

Harry, who was listening nearby, suddenly thought of a question.

"Your Highness," he began, "you must have heard of Mr. Newt Scamander, haven't you?"

Newt Scamander? Of course I've heard of him. He's the author of *Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them*, one of the world's leading experts on magical creatures, and an old friend of Dumbledore. He used to work at the Ministry of Magic, but later retired and went into seclusion.

Of course, he also knew some things that others didn't, such as a jealous man from Europe once asking him directly why Dumbledore liked him so much.

"I've heard of it." Henry nodded. "What's wrong?"

Harry said, "Hagrid mentioned him. He said Mr. Scamander was one of his most admired people, and that he had written many books about magical creatures, which Hagrid had read."

Hermione's eyes lit up.

"Yes! Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them! I've read it! That book is really interesting; it talks about the habits of many fantastic beasts—"

'

"Hermione," Ron interrupted her, "get to the point."

Hermione glared at him, but then stopped talking.

"You mean," Henry said slowly, "to ask Mr. Scamander to come out of retirement?"

All three nodded at the same time.

"That's a good idea," Henry said, "but there's a problem."

"What's wrong?" Harry asked.

"Mr. Scamander has retired; he's quite old and might not be willing to return to public life. Besides, he's a friend of Professor Dumbledore, and not just anyone can persuade him to come."

Ron frowned. "What should we do then?"

Harry immediately replied, "Go find Professor Dumbledore."

"Professor Dumbledore?" Hermione looked at Harry. "Can he help?"

"Didn't His Highness just say that he's an old friend of Mr. Scamander?" Harry said. "If he's willing to act as a go-between, things will be much easier."

Ron's eyes lit up: "When are we going?"

"Now then," Henry said. "There's still plenty of time."

Zhang Qiu did not go to the principal's office with them, but chose to stay in the library to continue studying.

Harry expressed his regret but did not insist.

The four walked through the corridor, went up the stairs, and arrived at the principal's office.

The enormous, dripping stone beast squatted there, coldly watching them.

"Password?" it asked.

The trio looked at each other, none of them knowing what the password was.

"Uh—" Ron scratched his head, "We don't know."

"No password, no entry," said the dripping stone beast.

Just as Henry was about to give the command, a gentle voice came from behind him.

"Lemon Snowball".

The four turned around and saw Dumbledore standing in the corridor, holding a box of sweets. He looked at them with a smile, his eyes gleaming gently behind his half-moon spectacles.

"You're looking for me?" he asked.

Harry nodded quickly. "Yes, Professor. We have something we'd like to discuss with you."

Dumbledore nodded and walked up to the gargoyle.

"Lemon Snowball".

The dripping stone beast jumped away, revealing the spiral staircase behind it.

"Come with me," said Dumbledore.

In the principal's office, those strange and unusual silver objects still remained. They emitted a slight buzzing sound and occasionally emitted wisps of smoke.

The portraits of past principals hanging on the wall all looked like they were dozing off, but Henry knew they were all listening intently.

Don't you think so, Principal Phineas Black?

Dumbledore had them sit on the sofa, while he sat behind his desk, his hands clasped on the table.

"Speak," he asked, "what is it?"

Harry looked at Henry, who nodded slightly, indicating that he could speak directly.

Harry took a deep breath and spoke.

"Professor, it's about Hagrid's dragon."

"Hagrid's dragon?" Dumbledore asked with a smile.

“Yes,” Harry said. “Hagrid has a Norwegian Ridgeback named Norber. Now it’s grown quite large, and Hagrid can’t keep it anymore. But a royal family wants to build a magical creature sanctuary, and they can send Norber there.”

Dumbledore nodded: "I know that. Fudge mentioned it to me; it's a very good project."

At this point, Dumbledore winked at Henry.

Harry continued, "Ron's brother Charlie has agreed to come back as chief expert, but we think it would be even better if we could get Mr. Newt Scamander to be an advisor."

A glint flashed in Dumbledore's eyes.

"Newt?"

"Yes," Hermione continued, "Mr. Scamander is the world's leading expert on magical creatures."

"If he were willing to come, the level of the reserve would definitely improve significantly. Moreover, his presence would attract more experts to join."

Dumbledore didn't rush to speak; instead, he tapped his fingers lightly on the table, making a "tap-tap" sound.

“You know,” he said slowly, “Newt is an old friend of mine. We’ve been through a lot together, and he’s definitely the most suitable person.”

At this point, he changed the subject.

"However, he has been retired for a long time. He is getting old and his health is not as good as before, so I am not sure if he would be willing to come out and work again."

"Professor, we don't want him to work full-time, we just want him to be a consultant," Henry said. "He can come and give us advice occasionally. If he's willing, we can arrange for someone to help him so he won't be too tired."

Dumbledore looked at him, a hint of approval flashing in his eyes.

"That's a great idea," he said. "It's very thoughtful."

He thought for a moment, then said, "How about this? I'll write him a letter and ask for his opinion. If he's willing, I'll arrange for you two to meet."

Harry's eyes lit up: "Really? That's great!"

Dumbledore smiled.

"Don't get too excited yet. Newt is a very opinionated person. But I think he'll probably be interested, after all, Britain finally has its own magical animal sanctuary, something he always wanted to do when he was young but couldn't."

"And Hagrid's fire-breathing dragon," Henry added. "It'll be some time before the protected area is completed. I wonder if Mr. Scamander could temporarily help look after the dragon?"

"Oh, no problem, I think he'd be happy to help," Dumbledore said cheerfully.