Professor Slughorn was, in truth, deeply tempted, even though raising basilisks would be an extremely troublesome undertaking.
In the past, he had never seen a real basilisk. Now, however, there was a living, breathing basilisk right in front of him.
As a result, he had been able to test the remarkable medicinal properties of various materials taken from a basilisk.
With Professor Slughorn's level of mastery in Potions, he had indeed developed several highly effective potion formulas through this research.
Unfortunately, there was only a single basilisk at present, and the materials that could be harvested from it were limited.
That meant that once the materials were exhausted, the few formulas he had already developed would lose their practical value as well.
Moreover, many potion formulas that had yet to be developed would never see the light of day due to the lack of materials.
Thinking about it that way, it was truly frustrating.
If only basilisk materials could be harvested endlessly…
"But… raising basilisks is an extremely dangerous matter," Professor Slughorn said helplessly. "The Ministry of Magic would never allow it."
When Wade heard him say that, he knew Professor Slughorn was already tempted.
Otherwise, he would not be considering how to make the matter legitimate.
"As long as we can prove that basilisks are controllable, the matter becomes much easier," Wade said.
"Relying solely on Tom's Parseltongue?" Professor Slughorn frowned. "In theory, it could work… but Tom is far too young. The Ministry would never allow it. If Tom were already of age, I might have had a chance of persuading the Ministry, even if the odds were slim. But as things stand now… perhaps we should wait a few more years?"
Wade smiled. "Actually, I only want Tom to participate in the basilisk hatching experiments, not to be responsible for raising basilisks long-term."
"If control relies entirely on Tom's Parseltongue, then basilisk breeding can never be legalised."
"Parseltongue is too rare. If the scale of breeding expanded, how could Tom manage it alone?"
"Even if he somehow could, and no accidents occurred, what then when Tom grows old and dies, or if he were to meet an untimely end?"
"If no second Parselmouth can be found in the world, then there would be no one to take over his role. In that case, the so-called breeding facility would collapse immediately. The Ministry would absolutely never agree to that."
"Hah, then Tom should hurry up, get married, have children, and turn it into a family business," Professor Slughorn joked.
Wade smiled and shook his head. "Professor, I do not think Tom would be willing to spend his entire life raising basilisks either."
"Haha, I know. Tom is an ambitious and capable child. Parseltongue is merely the least remarkable of his many talents. Making him abandon everything else to focus solely on raising basilisks would be a terrible waste of his abilities."
Professor Slughorn's tone grew serious as he spoke.
"Besides, my earlier thinking was too simplistic. In reality, the Ministry would never allow something as dangerous as a basilisk to be controlled by a single person," Professor Slughorn said.
He looked up at Wade. "However, since you said just now that you only want Tom to participate in the experiments, does that mean that once the experiments succeed, you have another way to control basilisks?"
"Of course I do, Professor," Wade said with a smile. "I did not wander around the Forbidden Forest for so long without gaining anything. I discovered a ruined goblin camp there and obtained something from it."
As he spoke, Wade placed a red collar on the desk in front of Professor Slughorn.
"This is something goblins use to control magical creatures?" Professor Slughorn was well travelled. With a single glance, he recognised what it was.
"Hmm? No… this one seems a little different."
Although Professor Slughorn was not particularly skilled in alchemy, he could still tell that this item was not quite the same as those used by goblins.
He looked at Wade in confusion.
"Yes. What I originally found was actually this," Wade said, taking out another, damaged collar and placing it on the table.
"Based on this collar, I made some improvements. After testing it, the results were very good."
Professor Slughorn picked up the two collars and compared them briefly. He could immediately see that the red collar contained far more complex runic inscriptions than the damaged one.
He looked at Wade in amazement. "You always manage to surprise me, Wade. From your improved potion formulas before, to these alchemical devices now… just how does your mind work? At your age, most students are still struggling to brew a passable Draught of Living Death, yet you have already reached this level!"
If someone had told Professor Slughorn in the past that such a genius youth existed, he would have assumed they had drunk too much Firewhisky and lost their senses.
Yet now, such a boy stood right in front of him, and the things he produced were undeniably real.
It gave Professor Slughorn a strange sense of unreality, as though everything before him were an illusion.
"I am not really that much smarter than others. I am simply very curious about this world," Wade said calmly.
"You are far too modest, Wade…" Professor Slughorn was almost at a loss for words.
A photographic memory, extraordinary comprehension, and what seemed like endless creative ability, and yet he claimed he was not much smarter than others. How was anyone else supposed to live?
Professor Slughorn steadied himself, then continued, "Even if this item can control other magical creatures, how can you be sure it will work on a basilisk? A basilisk is no ordinary magical beast."
"That is exactly why I need Tom to assist with the experiments," Wade said with a smile. "In the early stages, Tom's abilities can serve as a safeguard. To be honest, if it were not for Tom's Parseltongue, I would never have considered basilisk breeding in the first place."
Professor Slughorn understood his meaning. If the collar failed to control the basilisk, Tom's Parseltongue would still be there as a fallback.
Then, through continuous refinement of the collar, they could eventually reach a point where controlling a basilisk no longer required Parseltongue at all.
Recalling the special glasses Dumbledore had prepared for them when they captured the basilisk before, and with Tom's Parseltongue as a safety net, Professor Slughorn suddenly felt that this plan might actually be feasible.
Even so, without proof that a basilisk could be completely controlled, the Ministry of Magic would never permit basilisk breeding.
As a result, the entire matter fell into a deadlock.
To obtain permission, evidence was required to prove that basilisks could be controlled. But to obtain such evidence, experiments were necessary, and conducting experiments without permission was itself illegal…
Professor Slughorn had, of course, considered secretly raising basilisks.
However, if basilisk breeding was not permitted, then his potion formulas could never be submitted for official review. Those formulas contained basilisk materials, and there would be no way to explain the source of those materials.
Any potion brewed from an unapproved formula would end up no different from the unregulated potions sold in Knockturn Alley.
They might be usable for personal consumption, but would be extremely difficult to sell.
That was not the outcome Professor Slughorn wanted.
To put it nobly, he wished for these new, highly effective potions to benefit society.
To put it selfishly, without approval, he could neither gain public recognition nor reap any profit from them.
And taking a step back, basilisk breeding itself required funding. Without returns, such an operation would serve no purpose beyond draining Galleons.
Under these circumstances, no matter how powerful the potions developed from basilisk materials might be, they would all be illegal.
Professor Slughorn's brows were tightly furrowed. He truly wanted to make this work.
Because basilisks had almost never appeared throughout history, rarity made them immensely valuable. Products derived from basilisks would undoubtedly generate enormous profits.
But… legalisation was simply too difficult. Even he could not resolve it.
Suddenly, Professor Slughorn noticed that Wade was still wearing a smile.
"Judging by how confident you look… have you already thought of a solution?"
Wade smiled. "In fact, the most critical point in this entire matter is how to explain the lawful source of basilisk materials. That is why we initially considered legalising basilisk breeding. Since the British Ministry of Magic presents so many obstacles, perhaps we should take a simpler approach…"
"You mean…" Professor Slughorn suddenly had a guess.
Wade smiled. "If the British Ministry of Magic will not allow it, then we do it in another country."
Professor Slughorn shook his head. "Basilisks are extremely dangerous creatures. Other countries' Ministries of Magic are not fools. Why would they take such a risk?"
Wade took out a world map from his pocket and spread it across the desk.
"You are right, but that only applies to countries that lack for nothing. There are always some countries that have nothing at all, whose wizarding worlds, and even their Ministries of Magic, are desperately poor and in urgent need of industries to generate revenue… even if those industries carry a certain degree of danger."
Wade's finger came to rest on a small country in West Africa.
"The Republic of Liberia. Although it is only a small nation, it is one of the few African countries that still has a Ministry of Magic. However, its wizarding world, including the Ministry itself, is extremely poor."
Wade then pointed toward northeastern Africa.
"Ethiopia. Its territory is larger than Liberia's, so its Ministry of Magic is more fully developed. But… it is still very poor."
Next, Wade's finger moved to the Apennine Peninsula in southern Europe.
"The Republic of San Marino. Although it is in Europe, its land area is so small and its wizarding population so sparse that its Ministry of Magic is on the verge of dissolution. There are quite a few countries like this. As long as we speak with their Ministers of Magic and make some arrangements… all we need is for their country to permit basilisk breeding, and for us to borrow a piece of land." Wade's eyes narrowed slightly.
Professor Slughorn listened, his eyes shining. "I understand now. As long as basilisk breeding is legal in their country, our basilisk materials will have a legitimate source. Applying to legally import these no-longer-dangerous materials would be far easier than directly applying to conduct dangerous breeding at home. That way, much of our research on basilisks would become entirely lawful!"
"But… basilisks are dangerous creatures after all. Is it really right to let people in other countries take on that risk?" Professor Slughorn hesitated again.
Wade said calmly, "The choice would be theirs. We would simply lay out the advantages and disadvantages."
Professor Slughorn fell silent. This was, in essence, a method of risk transfer, placing potentially hazardous industries abroad.
And he was certain that among those countries, there would definitely be Ministries of Magic willing to agree.
Based on the current research, basilisks were valuable in every part of their bodies. Basilisk breeding would inevitably generate enormous profits.
Those impoverished regions would find it difficult to refuse such a low-cost, high-return industry.
Moreover, if similar industries to basilisk breeding emerged in the future, this approach could be replicated as well.
"Wade… this method is indeed sound, but it would be best if others did not find out," Professor Slughorn said, wiping the cold sweat from his brow. "Ideally, outsiders should believe that this is an industry those small countries developed on their own. We must make sure other wizards do not notice this approach."
"Professor, are you worried that Dark wizards might use force to coerce those small countries into submission, instead of negotiating through mutual benefit as we are doing?" Wade asked.
"The Human Heart is the Most Treacherous Thing in the World, Wade," Professor Slughorn said solemnly.
"Damn, Professor, let me write that line down."
"Ehm.. it's just a Bible paraphrase..."
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2026 words
Done! Gonna go sleep now!
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