Goblin Rebellion
The next day, Wednesday, the morning class was History of Magic.
Professor Binns finally finished teaching about the contributions and advancements made by the Medieval European Wizards Association to the Europe Wizarding World from the 13th to the 15th centuries. He moved on to the next topic— the Goblin Rebellion.
The Goblin Rebellion is a series of rebellions launched by Goblin to resist the discrimination and prejudice of wizards against them. This movement has occurred many times in history, but only three are of historical significance.
The first incident occurred in Hogsmeade Village in 1612, when the Three Broomsticks was chosen by the Goblin as the headquarters of the rebels. The riot lasted for a long time and had a huge impact on the merchants and residents of Hogsmeade Village.
The second rebellion occurred in 1752, and this one had an even greater impact, leading to the resignation of two Minister for Magic. Initially, Minister for Magic Albert Boot didn't take the rebellion seriously and chose to do nothing. After all, in the context of the time, no one expected that Goblin, who seemed easy to bully, could become so troublesome when they turned vicious. However, as the situation escalated, he was forced to resign due to his mishandling of the situation.
His successor, Basil Fleck, wasn't much better off. He served for only two months, making him the shortest-serving minister to date. When the Goblin later allied with the equally marginalized Werewolf, Fleck realized the situation was beyond his control and had no choice but to resign in disgrace.
It wasn't until Heathphistos Gore, then Minister for Magic Head of the Auror Office, took over that the rebellion was successfully suppressed. Gore had already gained immense fame, but his advocacy of a harsh approach to outcasts and his rejection of a Werewolf Rehabilitation Plan led later historians to believe that his methods would ultimately only lead to more rebellions.
Historians were right; later, in the late 18th century, there were numerous Goblin rebellions—one in 1762 that killed a Goblin Vagut Waggart, and another notable rebellion was the Sloppy Lala Rebellion.
Sloppy Lala was insulted by a young wizard, his head was forced into the village pond, and he was only released when he nearly suffocated. Enraged and resentful, Sloppy Lala once again instigated Goblin Rebellion and became the leader of this bloody uprising.
Today, with the establishment of the "Guidelines for the Treatment of Non-Wizard Part-Humans," the basic rights of Goblin are protected. Although they are still not allowed to possess wands, their living conditions are much better than before, and Goblin Rebellion have gradually become rarer. However, there are still many rumors that, in the shadows, Goblin Subversion Group are still secretly operating and planning to overthrow the rule of the Ministry of Magic.
Having inside information, Skylar knew that these rumors were not unfounded.
Skylar raised his hand, a rare occurrence. His action quickly drew the attention of the young wizards—aside from Hermione's question in second year, no one else had ever asked a question in a History of Magic class.
Professor Binns was giving a very dry lecture on the Goblin Rebellion of 1612, looked up, looking quite surprised.
"Who are you--"
"I am Malfoy, Professor. I have a question. You just mentioned that the headquarters of the rebellion was at the Three Broomsticks, but the scale of the rebellion is clearly disproportionate to the size of the Three Broomsticks. Besides, the Three Broomsticks' location is too obvious; it's practically surrounded on all sides, and it lacks any natural barriers that would facilitate defense. I find it hard to imagine how incompetent the Auror must have been to be unable to breach the defenses and allow the rebellion to continue for so long?"
Draco, who had been staring Dazed out the window with his mouth agape, suddenly snapped out of his daze; Daphne lifted her head from her arms; Pansy lowered her elbows off the table; and Morrie, another student who had been attentively listening to the lecture and taking notes, had a look of admiration and respect in her eyes.
Professor Binns blinked. He said dryly, "My friend, what you say makes a lot of sense. The current consensus among historians is that the Minister for Magic at the time was somewhat indecisive; he was still hoping the Goblin would surrender on their own, so he didn't strictly order the Auror to attack. But this conclusion has many flaws... There's also a theory that's almost like a rumor: that the Goblin actually built a secret base somewhere underground in Hogsmeade Village, where they stored weapons that even the Ministry of Magic hesitated to use. After the rebellion ended, to maintain secrecy, the Goblin destroyed the so-called secret Chamber of Secrets and weapons before leaving—of course, this is just one theory. When studying history, we should make bold assumptions and carefully verify them..."
"I understand! Thank you, Professor!"
Just as Skylar had suspected, the underground space led by the Secret Passage on the fifth floor was actually Goblin's Chamber of Secrets, and the so-called "Sacred Fire" Runic Symbol was clearly the legendary core heritage of the Goblin Royalty — the Goblin Sacred Fire. The Goblin Sacred Fire Sacred Fire forged from Goblin Fire drawn from the depths of the earth by Ragnuk the First the First, one of the Goblin Royalty kings, and he used it to forge the famous "Sword of Gryffindor."
Sword of Gryffindor also possessed the ability to perfect itself by absorbing the "pursuit of knowledge" characteristic of the Sacred Fire. It could absorb anything that could strengthen it, such as the venom of the Basilisk. This demonstrates just how powerful weapons forged from the Sacred Fire truly are.
It seems the Goblin didn't manage to complete their secret weapon, and in their hasty retreat, they couldn't completely erase the traces of the Sacred Fire, leaving behind that Ancient Runes. Of course, the Goblin probably never imagined that a wizard would notice such an inconspicuous crack in the fractured stone wall.
(Note: The character Ragnuk the First comes from Pottermore's "The Sword of Gryffindor". In the original text, he is the king of the Goblin, which shows that there was a Goblin Kingdom in the 11th century.)
The afternoon class is Defense Against the Dark Arts.
Professor Lupin, having taught Boggart, Red Cap, Kappa, Grindylow, and Hinkypunk, finally began to teach the more dangerous dark creatures.
The definition of dark creatures is very broad. Generally, it refers to creatures that are inherently bloodthirsty and murderous, or that are born with Dark Arts abilities. The most standard definition at present is: species that will actively enter the wizarding world and actively attack wizards.
The classification system for dark creatures also differs from that of Care of Magical Creatures — Care of Magical Creatures categorizes species based on their habits into aliens, beasts, spirits, and non-beings. Dark creatures, however, classify species into Demon, Evil Spirit, and Living Dead.
(Note: People's Newspaper translated Demon as devil, but in the author's mind, demon should be a humanoid species with double horns, bat wings on its back, and a trident in hand, similar to Diablo. In English, it should be Devil. Demon is a category, so the author here translates it as monster.)
Demon are generally physical beasts or other creatures with an abnormal craving for human blood or flesh. Common examples include Red Cap, Kappa, Grindylow, and the Kelpie. Monsters with innate curse abilities, such as Nogtail, Basilisk, Ogre, Hag demons, and Werewolf, also belong to this category.
Evil Spirit are a general term for Ghost that have been corrupted. They are usually created because wizards or Muggle died with great resentment and unwillingness in their lives, and their resentment did not dissipate and turned into Evil Spirit. For example, the Banshee was transformed from a murdered woman, and Hinkypunk was transformed from a traveler who accidentally fell into a swamp and died tragically.
The Living Dead are a very special category. Like Evil Spirit, the Living Dead have also lived and been resurrected after death. However, the Living Dead can still retain some of their memories and consciousness from their previous lives, and can even possess physical form and thought. Rather than saying they died once, it is more accurate to say that they mutated into a new species due to some kind of curse power related to death.
This category includes Europe Vampire and Inferius, Egypt Mummy, Africa and South America Zombie, and China Zombie. Among them, China Zombie are the most mysterious.
Zombie, also known as Flying Zombie, are generally created by a group of black wizards called "Corpse Raiser." They are covered in white hair, have blood-red eyes like cinnabar, and teeth like sharp blades protruding from their lips. Their bodies not only do not rot, but are also as hard as copper and iron. It is said that the highest-level Zombie can even transform into demons and beasts.
(Note: The Inferius is a special case. It has no thoughts or souls and is actually just a walking puppet.)
(Note: The Mummy is not a creation of the author; it appears in the Boggart chapter and is Parvati's Boggart form. The China Zombie, however, is indeed a creation of the author.)
Professor Lupin has already covered the first two categories of dark creatures; today he will be teaching about the Living Dead. Of course, given Lupin's abilities, he cannot teach about Zombie. The main subject of today's lesson is the Vampire in Europe.
Of course, the goal of this course isn't to teach young wizards how to hunt Vampire (in fact, hunting Vampire is illegal after the enactment of the "Guidelines for the Treatment of Non-Wizard Part-Humans"), but rather what to do when encountering Vampire alone. In layman's terms, it's about how to escape, defend yourself, or call for help when encountering robbers, not how to take them down.
Vampire are humanoid anomalies that feed on fresh blood, especially human blood. They are easily identifiable; they generally have terrifyingly pale faces, thin and haggard features, and long, sharp fangs that are clearly visible when they open their mouths.
Professor Lupin explained that Vampire don't actually need to drink human blood; they just crave the smell of blood. In modern society, most Vampire keep small animals and drink their blood. He then veered off-topic, recounting events from his travels, such as using a blood-stained lollipop to subdue a thirsty Vampire.
Most Vampire and Werewolf are currently registered with the Ministry of Magic, but that doesn't mean there aren't any who slip through the net. Therefore, it's still important to be vigilant and take precautions, especially young women or underage boys and girls, who are Vampire's favorite targets.
Besides avoiding going out alone at night, especially in deserted wilderness areas, another way to prevent Vampire attacks is to use amulets. Vampire hate the smell of garlic, so chewing a few cloves of garlic while traveling at night can effectively prevent Vampire attacks. Those who don't like garlic can wear garlic-scented amulets, such as necklaces or scarves, or even apply garlic oil to their necks.
Vampire fangs carry a cursed power. Once bitten by Vampire, there are only three possible outcomes: death from the curse's power; complete loss of reason from the curse, becoming Blood Thrall who only knows how to drink blood; or successfully suppressing the curse's power and transforming into a new Vampire. All these outcomes are extremely terrible. Like Werewolf, Vampire suffer severe discrimination in the wizarding world, leading very difficult lives.
Another point to note is that every Vampire is a born Animagus. They don't need to learn to transform into a bat. In bat form, Vampire can also appear during the day, and their fangs still carry the curse of Vampire. Therefore, it is very important to identify Vampire disguised as bats.
This was a purely theoretical course, so after Professor Lupin finished explaining about Vampire and assigned a paper on how to use garlic to prevent Vampire attacks, class ended.
The following Friday morning, Hagrid took Buckbeak to London to attend a hearing of the Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures.
Although Skylar and his group did not accompany him, it did not prevent them from gathering together to await the outcome of the hearing— Blaise had a Two-Way Mirror, and he could find out the result from his mother as soon as it came out.
The outcome of the hearing was within Skylar's expectations.
At the hearing, as soon as Madam Zabini gave her testimony, the entire committee immediately sided with her. Hagrid, on the other hand, was tongue-tied and completely wasted Hermione's painstaking efforts in preparing his testimony. Not only did he fail to deliver his defense well, but his notes kept slipping from his hand, and he couldn't even remember the dates.
After the trial concluded, the committee set June 6 as the date for Buckbeak's execution, but in fact, Buckbeak still has the opportunity to appeal.
The young Slytherin wizards were overjoyed upon hearing the news. Coincidentally, the next day was Hogsmeade Visiting Day, so the group arranged to celebrate at the Three Broomsticks, with the generous Blaise paying the bill.