Chapter 99: Marauder's Map

"Think about it, Hermione, it is the duty of the Committee for the Elimination of Dangerous Creatures to deal with them and punish them." Ivan continued, "We can't prove that Buckbeak is innocent, he attacked Malfoy, even if he had justifiable reasons, but what we can prove is that Hippogriffs are not dangerous."

"You mean..." Hermione was immersed in thought.

"According to the classification of dangerous creatures in the book "Fantastic Creatures and Where to Find Them" the Hypogriffs aren't that dangerous. They can be tamed by wizards. These docile animals should not be within the purview of the Committee for the Elimination of Dangerous Creatures."

Ivan opened the book and turned to the author's introduction page. "Besides, we can avoid this problem from the perspective of rare species protection. Mr. Scamander can help us."

"Mr. Scamander?!", Hermione picked up the book. She frowned as she saw the author's introduction: The author of the book, Mr. Newt Scamander, is currently the most prestigious magiologist in the Magical World. He graduated from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in 1915, and served as a clerk in the Ministry of Magic, a researcher in the Ministry's Office of Dragon Research and Restraint and the Office of House Elf Relocation, Director and creator of the Werewolf Registry, and Director of the Department of Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures.

Mr. Newt Scamander spent 30 years traveling around the world and recording the forms and habits of the 75 magical creatures currently known in the Magical World. This is his best-selling work worldwide, "Fantastic Creatures and Where to Find Them," the book has been revised to be printed fifty-two times.

Under his leadership, the Ministry of Magic established the Werewolf Register in 1947; in 1965 he amended the "Experimental Breeding Prohibition" Act, which effectively suppressed the prevalence of new untamed animals on British soil.

Thanks to his contributions to magical animal research and Magizoology, Newt Scamander was awarded the Order of Merlin Second Class in 1979. Later that year, he founded an organization for the conservation of magical species and dedicated himself to the protection of magical creatures.

"As a former Director of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, Mr. Scamander's influence on the Committee for the Elimination of Dangerous Creatures is very great, and definitely much greater than that of Lucius Malfoy." Ivan explained, "And he is the President of the Association for the Protection of Magical Creatures, we just need to write him a letter to tell him about Buckbeak, and I think he would help us."

Ivan's idea sounded great. He and Hermione sent a letter to Mr. Newt Scamander that same afternoon and received a reply the next morning.

"Ivan, look what's written," Hermione said excitedly. "Mr. Scamander said in his reply that he supports our ideas. He was willing to save Buckbeak. He said that his mother was once a hippogriff breeder, so he was often exposed to these animals as a child."

Ivan took the letter and saw that Newt Scamander wrote that he had been concerned about the sharp decline in the number of hippogryphs over the last hundred years due to overhunting. Therefore, he promised to modify and refine the article written by Ivan to protect the hippogriff. In addition to that, he also promised to contact the Committee for the Elimination of Dangerous Creatures to handle the case as carefully as possible.

After that, things started to look better.

Thanks to Mr. Newt Scamander's ties, the newspaper The Prophet finally published the articles on the introduction and protection of the Hippogriffs that were written by Ivan and Hermione.

They provided a detailed description of the habits of the Hypogryphs, their current living conditions, people's understanding of this animal, etc.

They also told the whole story of Buckbeak's attack on Malfoy.

In the following days, many readers wrote to them and Hagrid and expressed their willingness to support them. They even launched a "Save Buckbeak" campaign, making an official petition to the Ministry of Magic about this incident, asking them to spare the hippogriff, and many people participated.

Public opinion continued to develop, putting great pressure on the Ministry of Magic.

The board and the Committee for the Elimination of Dangerous Creatures wrote three letters to Hagrid. They stated that they were cautious. Before the hearing, the incident of attacking students by Buckbeak would be reinvestigated.

As things stand, the chances of Buckbeak being found not guilty are high.

With so much attention, Lucius Malfoy looked like the bad guy, and so he was worried.

Hagrid gradually recovered, appeared more and more in the castle, feeling more and more cheerful every day.

Ivan and Hermione felt more at ease. With Harry's continued efforts, the tension between them and Ron also eased a bit.

At least Ron was back to sitting with them, instead of just wandering around the castle with Scabbers.

Two weeks before the end of term, the sky suddenly cleared, showing a dazzling opalescence. The muddy grounds were covered in a thin, beautiful layer of frost.

As Christmas approached, the festive mood in the castle grew stronger.

The charms teacher, Professor Flitwick, decorated his classroom with glowing light sources. Those light sources were actually real fairies constantly flapping their wings.

The students were happily discussing their vacation plans. Most of them were preparing to go home for Christmas because of Sirius Black's presence.

In fact, with the exception of Ivan, Harry, Ron and Hermione, all the other Gryffindor students were about to go home.

Ivan was preparing to implement his plan. Ron said he couldn't bear to spend two weeks with Percy. And Hermione wanted to spend more time in the library.

Although all three had their own reasons, Harry felt very moved. He thought they wanted to stay at Hogwarts for Christmas to be with him.

In the last week of the term, students from third year and up could go to Hogsmeade again.

Everyone was happy. All the talk around the breakfast table revolved around buying Christmas presents.

"Ron, where's Harry? why hasn't he come to breakfast yet?" asked Hermione.

"He's still in his room. You know, he can't go to Hogsmeade." Ron told her, his voice a little bored. "He borrowed a 'Sweeping Broom' from Wood and spends all his time on it."

"What a shame!" Ivan remembered Harry's disappointment in the common room before bed last night. He wasn't sure. "Maybe I can take Harry to Hogsmeade through the secret passage. I've been through it many times in the past year, and there shouldn't be any problem."

"It won't work, Ivan!" Hermione put jam on her bread and said firmly, "This year is not the same as last year. There are a lot of Dementors at the entrance. Besides, what if Sirius Black knew about the secret passage?"

Ivan said, "But..."

"Relax, Ron and I will buy you Christmas presents, what kind of sweets did you like last time?" Hermione said with a smile, "My dad and mom loved the Honeydukes tooth strings."

"If possible, can you bring me some Orange...," Ivan hadn't finished his words yet, when he saw Harry running into the common room with his backpack. He ignored Malfoy at the door as he fell off his broom and didn't laugh at him. He walked straight towards them looking very cheerful.

"Guys, look at this, Fred and George just gave it to me...," Harry cautiously pulled out a large, square, old parchment from under his cloak with nothing written on it.

"Harry, what is this?" asked Hermione quizzically.

Before Harry could answer, he heard Ron whisper, "Marauder's Map."

Ivan wasn't sure, but despite his dull, monotone voice, Ron seemed pleasantly surprised.