All wizards are, in their very essence, wicked, mysterious, and ominous. Any talk of "romance" truly depends on one's perspective.
Especially in the field of nurturing magical beasts.
The purpose behind wizards creating these monstrous creatures has always been quite simple: to guard hearth and home, to protect treasures, to serve as assistants or enforcers, and so on.
"The magical creature most widely bred throughout wizarding history is the dragon," Hagrid, ever one to commit fully once he's agreed, stumbled a bit as he tried to teach the young witches and wizards like a true professor. "Many magical creatures today carry dragon blood within them."
He hesitated, then finally added, "In truth, some wizards have dragon blood too."
Oh dear!
All the young witches and wizards looked utterly flummoxed, their faces resembling an elderly Muggle staring blankly at a phone on the Underground, as they absorbed the class's revelations.
This made Hagrid rather awkward. He scratched his head and trailed off, looking helplessly at Lockhart, indicating that he truly couldn't manage this teaching business.
"Is it so hard for you to accept?"
Just then, a deep, raspy voice came from behind the students, drawing all eyes.
It was the 'Mysterious Mister', Professor Lockhart's assistant.
"The cross-breeding of magical creatures, and even the mingling of wizard and magical creature blood, has existed for at least a thousand years," Grindelwald's eyes swept coldly over the students. "The reason you find it unacceptable is that you have lost your wizarding culture; your minds are filled entirely with Muggle culture."
"Muggle moral codes, Muggle notions of right and wrong, Muggle worldviews..."
He sneered. "The terrible consequences of Merlin's era, even now, in an age where the Order of Merlin can no longer sway the will of the various Ministries of Magic, continue to unfold."
Grindelwald understood better than anyone the root cause of the internal schism brewing within wizarding society today.
The root wasn't some so-called 'magical bloodline', nor was it pure-blood status. That was merely the manipulative guidance of a few wizards whose ancestors possessed unique bloodline abilities, seeking to establish their inherent superiority.
Nonsense, this blood purity!
The fundamental problem was, in essence, culture!
Pure-blood wizards and some half-blood wizards were born into wizarding families. Before entering Hogwarts, they received home education, steeped in wizarding culture.
In this regard, even the Weasley family, who claimed to be closest to Muggles, saw Arthur's knowledge of Muggles approaching absolute zero. It was naturally difficult for him to imbue his children with Muggle culture.
Conversely, Muggle-born wizards and a portion of half-blood wizards mostly received their primary education in Muggle schools. Before ever setting foot in a magical school, they had already adopted the ways of Muggles.
Therefore...
The disagreements between Dumbledore and Grindelwald were sometimes so diametrically opposed.
Instead of keeping Harry Potter at Hogwarts, raised and taught by the one who cared for him most, Severus Snape, or nurtured by the ever-dutiful house-elves, he was abandoned to his Muggle relatives...
Was it truly just so that this so-called 'saviour', who would soon guide public opinion, had to live with his hated Muggle relatives to evade Voldemort's attacks?
Grindelwald knew all too well how 'far-sighted' some of Dumbledore's schemes were, beneath their lofty pronouncements.
He was against it!
He looked at the young witches and wizards with a cold sneer. "You believe that the breeding of magical creatures is evil, so do you also agree that harming magical creatures is evil?"
"Your Potions class requires the carcasses of various magical creatures; your Herbology class likewise requires the bodies of various magical plants. So I ask you: do these magical ingredients, these corpses, simply fall from the sky?"
"No!"
"You killed them!"
"You needed them, so someone killed them for you!"
He looked down at these young ones, finally fixing his gaze on Hermione, a Muggle-born witch, observing the defiance and anger on her face, her expression clearly disagreeing. He slowly walked towards her.
His aura was simply too potent; the young witches and wizards instinctively stepped aside.
Grindelwald stopped before Hermione, gently took the wand from her hand, and stroked it lightly, a faint smirk playing on his lips. "Vine wood and dragon heartstring?"
"Miss Granger, do you know how a dragon's heartstring, that nerve from a dragon's heart, must be extracted from the dragon to maintain such high vitality for optimal wand-making?"
Hermione, being as sharp as she was, immediately realized the malice behind the question and her eyes widened in alarm.
She didn't know how to answer.
Thankfully, a figure stepped forward, shielding her.
"Mysterious Mister!"
Lockhart smiled as he took the wand from Grindelwald's hand and casually handed it back to Hermione. "I believe magic should always be romantic; this is enough to ignite a wizard's will. Do you concur with my assertion?"
His unspoken meaning was clear: Don't bring your Dark Arts nonsense here and turn these young witches and wizards into dark wizards; it would be utterly pointless for their growth in strength.
Grindelwald narrowed his eyes at him, but Lockhart merely smiled gently, meeting his gaze, unyielding.
After a long moment.
"Children, let us redirect our attention back to the Care of Magical Creatures class."
Lockhart addressed the students, his expression serious. "I want you to understand something clearly: whether you like it or not, for most of you, this is the only opportunity you will ever have to encounter the subject of magical creature breeding – right now!"
"Beauxbatons doesn't teach it, Durmstrang doesn't teach it, and even Hogwarts' regular curriculum won't teach it, only here, now."
"So, whether you like it or not, listen carefully."
With that, he gestured to Hagrid. "Please, continue your explanation."
Hagrid, somewhat flustered by the atmosphere, continued his story, stumbling over his words. But as he brought out more animals to aid his explanation, the awkwardness on his face gradually faded, replaced by a unique glow.
In his eyes, the breeding of magical creatures was a wondrous and romantic affair.
To truly feel this romance, one had to cast aside the conventional human, even wizarding, notions of beauty and ugliness, and further dismiss the reliance on outward appearance for definition. One had to confront and genuinely perceive the existence of magic within each species.
The Manticore's scorpion tail, red fur, and fanged human face all carried a terrible fire venom.
An aggressive, unconstrained yet remarkably regular, explosive, and highly penetrative fire venom.
In Hagrid's words – "It's a joyful expression."
He gesticulated with his hands, urging the students to observe the human-headed monster before them, his eyes full of expectation. "Children, can you feel its joy?"
Harry turned away, his expression odd, avoiding Hagrid's hopeful gaze. He exchanged glances with Ron, whose face was practically twisted in discomfort, and they both shook their heads.
In truth, not a single young witch or wizard could feel it...
"I feel it!" an excited voice cried out, astonishing all the students.
Then another, "Yes, I feel it too! It's a vibrant joy!"
It was George and Fred, the Weasley twins.
"Yes, yes, so vibrant!" Hagrid, relieved, grew excited. "Look! Its joy vibrates through its limbs, its head, its fur, its venomous stinger..."
Cedric's expression was utterly shocked. He quietly and incredulously asked the twins, "Hey, can you really feel it? How do you feel it?"
"We just do," George said, unable to articulate it clearly. "Look at its movements!"
Fred observed with a thoughtful expression. "Look at how it shivers from the cold; it's very peculiar."
Is it?
The students all looked at the Manticore, but could only perceive the terrible-looking beast's chained, roaring posture.
"Children!"
Hagrid beckoned everyone to another corner of the cave, to a lake-like spot where an underground river exited. He gestured for them to look at a pile of Fire Crabs he was cultivating.
These were crabs with severely deformed shells; their enormous carapaces looked more like tortoise shells, making everyone think they were seeing a pile of turtles crawling on rocks in the lake.
Compared to the hideously ugly Manticore, the Fire Crab was undoubtedly the epitome of human aesthetic appeal.
It looked extraordinarily magnificent.
Its dark brown shell gleamed like carved jade, adorned with various jewels.
As they approached, some Fire Crabs were startled, spraying a burst of flame from their rears, sending everyone yelping and retreating.
"See how lovely they are?" Hagrid's vocabulary was somewhat limited, but everyone could feel the gentleness in his gaze.
Yes, this time, the young witches and wizards wholeheartedly agreed with Hagrid.
Only Snape scoffed coldly. "I hope you don't become too enamoured with it. It was extensively hunted and killed for its magnificent shell, and is now a magical creature strictly protected by Ministry law."
In fact, the Fire Crab's shell, besides being beautiful, had another crucial purpose.
It was a natural, top-tier cauldron, capable of increasing the success rate of Felix Felicis and other potions geared towards healing mental or soul damage.
Many of the young witches and wizards actually knew this.
Fire Crab feeding and cleaning techniques were commonly tested knowledge in the Ordinary Wizarding Level examinations for Care of Magical Creatures.
"They expose their inner selves," Hagrid explained about the creature, providing information not found in the curriculum or elsewhere.
"If you're observant of many creatures in nature that produce pearls, you'll find their pearls are inside their bodies. Only the Fire Crab grows its pearls on its outer shell."
"Thus, Fire Crabs always carry suppressed inner feelings, but this suppression makes them feel safe."
Hagrid crouched down and extended his hand. A Fire Crab climbed onto his palm, clamping its massive pincers onto his finger.
Clearly, Hagrid possessed immense physical resistance, as the Fire Crab couldn't injure him at all.
"Manticores and Fire Crabs are both magical creatures with powerful fire venom. That's why Manticores enjoy eating Fire Crabs, as it provides them with beneficial elements, though it doesn't fundamentally satisfy their desires."
"They are, in fact, completely opposite: one is exuberant, the other suppressed..."
"And in this cold place, the exuberant one begins to grow restless, while the suppressed one begins to open its heart. This is why they can combine."
Hagrid explained, "We can deduce from their characteristics that if they truly combine and produce offspring, it would be a creature brimming with powerful fire venom and possessing explosive mental qualities."
He tried his best to describe that unique quality, lurking within both magical creatures and the changes within their breeding process. "It will become the most alluring demon!"
"!!!" The young witches and wizards gasped.
"A demon?!" Harry couldn't help but shout. Even with his strong bond with Hagrid, he simply couldn't comprehend Hagrid wanting to breed a demon now!
"Hmph!" A cold snort resonated, and all the young witches and wizards instantly fell silent.
It was, of course, Grindelwald, who exerted immense psychological pressure on them, though the students didn't know why they were so intimidated by the old wizard's presence.
"A demon, in wizarding culture..." Grindelwald surveyed the young faces, looking utterly heartbroken. "It means a product that satisfies human desires!"
Good heavens!
What had happened to the young people of today?!
Did they not even understand this anymore?!
Demons, demons... did only Muggles get to define them? Even if no one told you, after listening to wizarding fairy tales and bedtime stories, would you not ponder it yourselves?
"A tempting body that satisfies lust, delectable food that satisfies gluttony, gold and silver that satisfy greed, magical power that satisfies ambition..."
Grindelwald explained coldly, "That is a demon, because it makes people fall, makes them no longer human, understand?"
As he spoke, he looked at the somewhat flustered Hagrid beside him, and a hint of reverence even entered his eyes.
Yes, Grindelwald was willing to grant reverence to this wizard, who was a master in the field of magical creature breeding. He was a valuable talent who could bring more possibilities to the wizarding community.
"If the outside world knew you could breed demons, knew you could instinctively determine which two creatures, when crossbred, would surely produce a demon, people would go mad," Grindelwald mused, his voice softening. "Hagrid, can you determine which direction of demon this will breed?"
Hagrid shook his head. "I don't know. Life always takes its own form."
He didn't know, but Lockhart vaguely had the answer.
Because he knew what was eventually bred: the Blast-Ended Skrewt.
Inheriting the Fire Crab's fire-spraying tail and the Manticore's irritable temperament, this clearly indicated the continuation of the fire venom characteristic.
Lockhart wasn't sure if the Skrewts' shells would grow numerous jewels like the Fire Crab's, or possess powerful magical resistance superior to dragon hide like the Manticore.
But he remembered one characteristic.
The Blast-Ended Skrewts had an extremely distinct smell of rotten fish and prawns, which made all the students despise the creature, even Harry, who staunchly tried to stand by Hagrid.
The smell of rotten fish and prawns...
That was an incredibly unique flavour.
Lockhart speculated that the Blast-Ended Skrewt was likely a delicacy that would supremely satisfy one's palate.
Of course, anything pushed to an extreme is dangerous, even food. Just as Grindelwald said, the reason it's called a demon is that it makes people fall, makes them no longer human.
Such extreme things would normally have excellent applications in Potion-making.
Just like the Unicorn, revered as the most sacred magical creature, it too, in essence, is a type of demon in the academic realm.
---