"Newt's work was groundbreaking, but that doesn't mean your research was meaningless. Your studies of magical creatures like dragons and sea monsters are just as important."
"Well." Professor Kettleburn beamed. "I paid for that research with my arms and legs, so I won't be modest about it—come to think of it, Rubeus, I never knew you were raising those big fellows in the Forbidden Forest!"
"Er—" Hagrid looked awkward and deeply uneasy.
Kettleburn quickly waved a hand. "Don't be nervous. I won't tell the Hogwarts Board of Governors. And I believe Dumbledore must have permitted you to raise them. It's been decades, and there hasn't ever been an accident, has there?"
"I—I thought the ruling back then—"
"I never believed that bullshit ruling. What do those useless idiots at the Ministry of Magic know? They probably can't even pronounce the names of magical creatures properly. Newt and I both defended you back then, but unfortunately, those stubborn fools, those idiots and morons, simply wouldn't listen. They weren't after the truth at all—they just wanted a scapegoat to make the uproar die down as quickly as possible!"
"Oh—Professor—"
Hagrid, eleven feet six inches tall and built like a small mountain, let out a thunderous sob.
The Golden Trio looked at one another. They understood every single word, but put together, they had no idea what any of it meant.
What was even more frustrating was that no one seemed prepared to explain what this ruling was supposed to mean.
Just what had Hagrid been raising in the Forbidden Forest?
These Riddle-Makers were the worst!
Vaughn and Kettleburn comforted Hagrid for a while. Once he had finally pulled himself together, Vaughn let out several calls toward the unicorns that had been lingering nearby, apparently doing who knew what.
Perhaps it was just