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The position of school governor had originally been something Dudley planned to obtain. The significance of this position was not as simple as merely being a governor. With this identity, Dudley would also have a voice in the Ministry of Magic.
After all, what family did not have a few children? What family did not have a few relatives?
There were only so many magical schools in all of Europe. If you did not come to Hogwarts, where else could you go?
Moreover, what Dudley had paid to obtain the position of school governor was only a trivial amount of money.
Right now, what he had most was money. Whether pounds or Galleons, he had so much that he could not count it all. The situation in the Muggle world was excellent. His surrounding businesses had already expanded across the globe. As for the wizarding world, that went without saying. Not only had Dragonlance Chronicles earned him a fortune, Wizard Cards had given him a steady stream of income. The venom from those Acromantulas in the Forbidden Forest alone could make him extremely wealthy and leave him with no worries about food or drink. One ounce cost one hundred Galleons.
Now he was already preparing to upgrade Wizard Cards further and move The Lord of the Rings from the Muggle world into the wizarding world as well. In any case, they were all his works. Of course, in Dudley's plan, there was another product that could cross eras.
The next step might even be movies and merchandise.
Dudley came from an age obsessed with entertainment. He deeply understood the influence these things could bring.
It was time to give these dull wizards, whose entertainment options were painfully barren, a little shock.
Therefore, both emotionally and logically, Dudley needed the position of head governor. Although Britain's Ministry of Magic was useless, it had its advantages. As long as you had money and status, many things became much more convenient.
Of course, Dudley had not forgotten that helping Harry recover the Potter family's shampoo business was also part of his plan.
The Potter family had almost monopolized the entire wizarding world's shampoo industry. How could they possibly have only that small vault of Galleons?
Those few Galleons were not even enough for what Dudley earned in one week now.
Then came the question.
Where was the money? Where had it gone?
Incidentally, Dudley had already begun arranging a property in the wizarding world. He had chosen the address as well, near the old Potter house.
This counted as a small obsession of his. Whether in the wizarding world or the ordinary world, he had to have at least one house.
Outside Hogwarts Castle, near the Forbidden Forest, at the gamekeeper's hut.
Because the Chamber of Secrets problem had been completely resolved, Hagrid had already returned from the Ministry of Magic. At this moment, he was carrying a huge box and placing it in front of Dudley.
"Dudley, these are the things you wanted."
Hagrid patted the box. His enormous strength made it creak.
"Catching these sticky, slimy things really wasn't easy. They almost ruined my vegetable patch before. Wasted no end of cabbages and pumpkins. I tried all sorts of methods and still couldn't drive these nasty little things away."
"No matter how many I killed, more came before long."
"They don't have any natural enemies. Even gnomes, who usually aren't picky, won't eat them."
Hagrid rambled on endlessly, but everything he said was meant to introduce the things in the box.
This included their habits and points of caution. Unfortunately, he always jumped from one point to another without any continuity, leaving the listener somewhat confused.
Inside the box was a group of carnivorous slugs.
This was a creature that existed in both the ordinary world and the wizarding world.
Only, carnivorous slugs in the ordinary world fed on earthworms and other slugs. They were only larger than ordinary slugs and had brighter colors. They did not pose much harm to humans. Carnivorous slugs in the wizarding world were different. They were larger, and their diet was broader. Small magical creatures such as Puffskeins were on their menu, and they were also somewhat aggressive toward humans.
The sharpness of their teeth was not much inferior to a piranha's.
Moreover, they were not picky eaters. They ate almost anything, including the vegetables grown at Hogwarts. Because of this, Hagrid had even specifically bought potions to repel carnivorous slugs. As for the effect... there was some, but not much.
The main reason was that these things had extremely strong vitality, and more importantly, they reproduced quickly.
Yes. Their reproductive ability was comparable to Doxies.
Hagrid asked curiously, "By the way, what do you want these things for?"
"Some experiments."
Dudley answered briefly, gently lifted the lid, and began checking the condition of the carnivorous slugs inside the box.
The carnivorous slugs Hagrid had caught were all unusually large, and their condition was very good. Right now, they were gathered together, trying to chew through the box.
These little things' teeth truly were sharp.
"Potions? Must be Potions. That's the only subject that would use nasty, troublesome little things like these. But I heard carnivorous slugs aren't very stable. They aren't proper Potions ingredients."
As long as the topic involved magical creatures, Hagrid would transform into a master chatterbox and could talk nonstop for an entire day.
Seeing that Dudley had not responded and had focused all his attention on the carnivorous slugs, Hagrid scratched his head awkwardly and fell silent for a while.
"Dudley... I heard from Dumbledore. If not for you, I wouldn't have been released so quickly. You completely solved the Chamber of Secrets problem. You found the truth and punished the culprit."
Hagrid spoke haltingly for quite a while. Seeing Dudley look toward him, he finally said in a clumsy tone:
"I... I wanted to say thank you."
"I once... treated you and your family like that. And now you're still willing to help me. I... I really don't know how to repay you."
It was clear that he was not good at thanking others.
"It's all right, Hagrid. That was only a small effort."
Dudley waved his hand. Saving Hagrid truly had only been incidental.
But the more casual he appeared, the guiltier Hagrid felt.
It was hard to imagine that Hagrid and Voldemort had actually attended Hogwarts at the same time.
They did not look it either. Judging by his face, Hagrid looked at most around forty.
In truth, Hagrid was now already over sixty, close to seventy.
The same was true of Voldemort.
Dudley looked at the uneasy Hagrid, paused, and said, "Actually, there is something I really do need to ask you about."
"Is that so? Really?"
Hearing that his help was needed, Hagrid's eyes first lit up, but they quickly dimmed again. "But I don't know anything. You're so powerful and so excellent. I heard others say you may be the most outstanding student at Hogwarts. I mean, I might not be able to help you."
"Do not belittle yourself."
Dudley waved a hand. "Every field has its specialists. In this area, you are far better than I am."
"Really? I mean, I'm that impressive? Whatever it is, just tell me. As long as I can do it."
Hagrid patted his chest, producing thudding sounds like drums.
"How to breed magical creatures of different species together."
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