Chapter 342 The Conference Room Has Been Booked

Today, many officials from the Ministry of Magic came to Hogwarts. The leader was Mr. Scamander, the director of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. The main members included several wizards led by Director Amos Diggory of the Beast Office, as well as the heads of other offices.

As soon as Director Smith of the Centaur Liaison Office appeared, the leaders of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures gathered together.

It was the first time for Charles to meet his colleagues. Everyone greeted each other in a friendly manner. When shaking hands with Amos Diggory, he praised Cedric a few words.

At this time, Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall brought Ron, Hermione and several other third-year Gryffindor students over. The headmaster was relieved to see the laughter over there.

Ron was beaten seriously by a group of hippogriffs in the first class of Care of Magical Creatures in early September, and he lay in the school infirmary for a long time.

General teaching accidents can be solved within the framework of Hogwarts, but the accident here involves magical animals, and the nature of the accident needs to be determined by the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures.

If the accident was caused by improper operation by students or professors, the magical animals that caused the accident would generally be fine.

If the magical animals actively hurt people, then the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures would deal with the animals that caused the accident.

The problem is that it is November now, and two months have passed. Ron has not mentioned this matter. Even Dumbledore thought that the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures did not care after reading the report and thought that it was not the animals that caused the accident.

Charles also thought that the matter was over, because Ron and his parents did not pursue the hippogriffs.

In the "memory", if Lucius Malfoy had not been biting it, the hippogriff would not have been in trouble.

But I didn't expect that these gentlemen from the Ministry of Magic would suddenly come to deal with the matter at this time, and the officials of the entire department were dispatched. This was a bit of a big deal.

Dumbledore was a little nervous. Those hippogriffs were the property of Hogwarts. What if they were all snapped?

Hagrid was so nervous that he kept wiping his sweat with a handkerchief.

He thought those hippogriffs were innocent and that someone had hurt Ron, and he was worried that the masters of the Ministry of Magic would kill them all without asking any questions.

The relevant personnel gathered in front of the fence of the hippogriffs. Mr. Scamander cleared his throat and said, "Today, we are investigating the case of hippogriffs injuring students at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."

Then Mr. Scamander asked the parties to state the course of the incident. First, Ron told how he was beaten by the hippogriffs, and then Hermione and several other students who were in class together told what they had witnessed.

Then Mr. Scamander asked Hagrid, "Were these hippogriffs in the fence at the time?"

Hagrid immediately replied, "They were all in the fence, and the fence was very strong!"

He shook the fence after he finished speaking, and it was indeed very strong.

Mr. Scamander asked again, "Were the hippogriffs wearing bridles at that time?"

"Yes," Hagrid replied, "They sometimes fight, so I let them wear bridles, otherwise they will hurt themselves."

"The bridle is very strong, they can't get it off by themselves."

Mr. Scamander asked again, "Are the reins tied firmly?"

Hagrid demonstrated on the spot, very strong.

Mr. Scamander turned and asked, "Amos, what do you think?"

Amos Diggory replied, "I think this matter is very suspicious. If only one hippogriff escaped, it could be considered an accident. But if more than a dozen of them escaped, I think someone did it deliberately."

Mr. Scamander asked the headmaster, "Professor Dumbledore, do you think someone released the hippogriffs on purpose?"

Dumbledore felt that something was wrong with today's investigation. These people looked very relaxed, so he replied, "I guess it was Black who did it. That was his first time sneaking into Hogwarts, and Potter was next to Weasley at the time."

Mr. Scamander's expression became serious, and he asked others again, and everyone had the same opinion.

"Charles," he naturally would not miss another director, "Tell me what you think."

Charles was here for the first time, and was looking at the hippogriff in a trance. When he heard the leader calling him, he said: "I think what Professor Dumbledore said makes sense. Once Black is caught and interrogated, we will know whether he did it."

Mr. Scamander nodded and said seriously: "I think so too, but I think we need to discuss it further."

Charles and Dumbledore found that everyone agreed with him seriously.

Dumbledore said: "If the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures wants to hold a meeting, I can prepare a place for everyone in the castle."

He thought that this matter should be resolved quickly. A bunch of bureaucrats discussed it over and over again, and it is estimated that there will be no results in the next school year.

If the meeting is held in Hogwarts, he will have a reason to participate and it can speed up the process.

As a result, Mr. Scamander said to him: "We will not bother you anymore. We have booked a private room on the third floor of the Dancing Grass Restaurant... uh... a meeting room, and we can hold the meeting there."

Dumbledore and Charles looked at each other in bewilderment. Good fellow, no wonder these bureaucrats who get off work on time every day work overtime on weekends. They are really working hard to eat and drink with public funds.

Mr. Scamander smiled and said to Charles: "This is our general meeting of the department, you can come too."

Charles looked at Dumbledore helplessly, and the headmaster could only let him adjourn the meeting and come back immediately.

After a group of people left, Dumbledore shrugged and asked Professor McGonagall: "Who do you think will be the next one?"

Professor McGonagall said helplessly: "Maybe it's the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Didn't Black just come here?"

Dumbledore felt that she made sense.

At dinner that day, Dumbledore said to Professor McGonagall: "Minerva, you guessed wrong."

"I just received a letter that the Department of Magical Sports and Games wants to come to Hogwarts to watch a Quidditch match and inspect the results of our sports development."

Professor McGonagall shook her head helplessly.

Professor Flitwick just heard about the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures and said depressedly: "I think we should be prepared to welcome the inspection of the Minister of Magic."

Dumbledore said: "I hope the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes will not find an excuse."

This department goes wherever there is a problem. If they have an excuse to come to Hogwarts, it means that something big has happened here.

Professor McGonagall said: "I will ask Seamus to be more careful recently and not to cause any disasters."

Several professors nodded.

In fact, Dumbledore and his friends had somewhat misunderstood Mr. Scamander and his friends. After Charles came back, he immediately came to Dumbledore and wanted to poach people from Hogwarts.