Giant Dung Beetle at the Magical Creatures Reserve

Giant Dung Beetle at the Magical Creatures Reserve
Biographical information
Also known as	Super Beetle
Physical information
Species	Giant Dung Beetle
Eye colour	Red
Skin colour	Bronze and yellow
Affiliation
Loyalty	Magical Creatures Reserve

This Giant Dung Beetle lived in the Magical Creatures Reserve in the 1980s.

Biography

In the 1980s, Jacob's sibling would often bond with and feed this Giant Dung Beetle.

At some point prior to the 1986–1987 school year, this Giant Dung Beetle was found by a travelling Muggle circus and was implemented into the show. In the circus, the beetle was given a small cape and was referred to as "Super Beetle." After years of travelling on the road with the circus, it was rescued by members of the British Ministry of Magic. Finding that the beetle was far too disoriented to be returned to the wild, the Ministry employees decided to leave the beetle at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry under the care of Rubeus Hagrid. Hagrid brought the beetle to his hut and played with it in his garden. However, when Hagrid briefly looked away, the beetle managed to scurry away from the garden, alarming Hagrid. Knowing that Jacob's sibling had helped him track down many magical creatures in the past, Hagrid called them to his garden and informed them of his situation. Believing that it couldn't have travelled far in the brief time since its escape, Jacob's sibling and Hagrid discussed where it might have fled, knowing that, despite Hagrid's use of dung to fertilise his garden, it was no longer there and that it would be looking for a massive supply of dung to use as food or nesting material or to store for later. Realising that Professor Pomona Sprout used Dragon dung in fertiliser for her Venomous Tentaculas in Greenhouse Three, Jacob's sibling decided to head to the greenhouse to see if they could find the beetle and report back to Hagrid on its whereabouts while Hagrid decided to wait at his hut in case the beetle returned.

Upon arriving at Greenhouse Three, Jacob's sibling found Professor Sprout in distress, as her dragon dung had been stolen and she desperately needed it to help one of her Venomous Tentaculas grow. Upon being informed that the dung might have been stolen by this Giant Dung Beetle, Sprout agreed to help Jacob's sibling track down the beetle, knowing that the Venomous Tentacula would grow quickly and would soon be in need of the dung. Upon investigating the greenhouse, Jacob's sibling and Sprout found a trail of dung leading out of the building and towards the Training Grounds, theorising that the beetle must have headed in that direction. In addition, Jacob's sibling found a homemade Dungbomb next to the trail, which they realised must have been made by Tulip Karasu. Suggesting that Tulip might have been involved in the theft of the dung, Jacob's sibling offered to try to convince Tulip to return the dung to Sprout if she truly had taken it, to which Sprout agreed.

Upon travelling to the Training Grounds, Jacob's sibling found both Tulip and this Giant Dung Beetle, along with Sprout's dragon dung from the greenhouse. Upon confronting Tulip, Jacob's sibling learned that Tulip had stolen the dung for use in homemade Dungbombs, which she planned to sell. Upon being informed of the situation, Tulip attempted to convince Jacob's sibling to stay out of the affair, but Jacob's sibling asserted that, if they left, they would be taking the Giant Dung Beetle and the dung with them. Tulip claimed that she had taken the dung beetle due to its ability to quickly lift large amounts of dung with its horns, with her plan being to use the dung the beetle collected to make a few thousand Dungbombs and sell them for less than Zonko's Joke Shop did in order to make huge profit, although she was still unwilling to share why she was suddenly so desperate for money. Jacob's sibling once again attempted to convince Tulip to return the dung beetle and the dung, but accidentally angered her when they suggested that she had kidnapped the magical creature. Upon realising that something was upsetting her, Jacob's sibling successfully convinced Tulip to tell them what was happening. Tulip informed Jacob's sibling that her toad, Dennis, had disappeared after a trip to Zonko's and that she had received a ransom Howler from an unknown sender announcing that they had kidnapped Dennis and demanding an extensive amount of money for his return while threatening that they would do something terrible if Tulip told anyone about what had happened. Tulip had hoped to use the Giant Dung Beetle to help sell enough Dungbombs to pay the ransom, but now feared that, even with its help, she wouldn't be able to make the money in time. Jacob's sibling offered to help Tulip find Dennis and suggested that they should inspect the scraps of the ransom Howler for potential clues to who had Dennis and how they could plan to save him. Tulip realised that the Howler scraps were still in the bin in her dorm room and decided to meet Jacob's sibling in the Ravenclaw common room in order to analyse the scraps.

Jacob's sibling alerted Hagrid that the Giant Dung Beetle was safe, with Hagrid allowing the beetle to travel with them for as long as it liked as long as they kept an eye on it. After returning the stolen dragon dung to Professor Sprout, Jacob's sibling and this Giant Dung Beetle met with Tulip in the Ravenclaw Common Room to analyse the Howler scraps. Tulip theorised that the beetle had bonded with Jacob's sibling, as it was unwilling to leave their side, but Jacob's sibling suggested that it might have taken a liking to Tulip instead after spending so much time making Dungbombs with her. After studying the scraps, Jacob's sibling and Tulip realised that the Howler pieces were stained with a golden substance with a caramel-like smell reminiscent of Butterbeer. Realising that that the sender of the Howler must have spilt Butterbeer on the letter before sending it, Jacob's sibling suggested that they should check the Hog's Head Inn in order to find the kidnapper, as it was the type of location that would sell Butterbeer to a toad kidnapper. After reassuring Tulip by suggesting that she could bring some of her Dungbombs to use on the kidnapper in case events turned dangerous, the two, along with this beetle, travelled to the Hog's Head Inn.

Upon arriving at the Hog's Head Inn, Jacob's sibling and Tulip spoke to two of the patrons at the bar in order to see if any of them had seen the kidnapper or were aware of where they were going next, although the patrons acted aggressively towards the two. Although Tulip feared that the kidnapper would likely have been long gone by the time they arrived, the Giant Dung Beetle immediately clambered onto the patrons' table and started hissing at them, greatly scaring them. Jacob's sibling agreed to call off the beetle if the patrons told them what they wanted to know, to which they agreed. After talking to the patrons, the two found that the patrons had seen a dark witch writing Howlers in the Hog's Head while sloshing Butterbeer and laughing maniacally a little while earlier. The patrons suggested that the dark witch had headed towards Knockturn Alley, with Jacob's sibling and Tulip realising that the kidnapper might still be there. Knowing that there wasn't enough time to return to Hogwarts for backup, Jacob's sibling suggested that they should bring the Giant Dung Beetle with them, as it had already proven to be able to scare off enemies.

Upon arriving at Knockturn Alley, Tulip noticed Dennis hopping towards them being chased by the kidnapper, whom Jacob's sibling identified as Corrine Cribb. Remembering Jacob's sibling from the incident with the Chinese Fireball at the Magical Creatures Reserve, Cribb claimed that Dennis was fine, albeit annoying, and threatened Tulip to pay her the ransom. Although Jacob's sibling and Tulip drew their wands to stop Cribb, the dark witch was able to disarm them both with the Disarming Charm. Jacob's sibling attempted to hit Cribb with the Knockback Jinx and the Fire-Making Spell through Wandless magic, but Cribb managed to dodge both of these spells. As Tulip did not know how to use wandless magic, Jacob's sibling attempted to distract Cribb while Tulip and the Giant Dung Beetle prepared Tulip's homemade Dungbombs to use against her. Cribb was knocked back by the putrid smell and, in order to escape from both the smell and the Giant Dung Beetle, allowed Tulip to reclaim Dennis. Upon being asked why she stole Dennis, Cribb simply claimed that she had seen the toad wandering around Hogsmeade and, after asking around and finding out that he belonged to a student at Hogwarts, seized the opportunity to make a quick buck by capturing the toad and demanding a ransom from his owner. Jacob's sibling threatened to have Cribb turned over to Tulip's parents for kidnapping, but Cribb managed to disapparate before they could. Although disappointed that they were unable to capture Cribb, Jacob's sibling and Tulip were relieved to have rescued Dennis from his kidnapping.

With the kidnapping resolved, Jacob's sibling and Tulip returned the Giant Dung Beetle to the Desert Dunes in the Magical Creatures Reserve, where they met back up with Hagrid and informed him of the situation with Cribb. Hagrid thanked Jacob's sibling for helping return the Giant Dung Beetle home and revealed that everyone in Hogsmeade was talking about their duel with Cribb. Knowing that the dung beetle was likely hungry after the day's events, Hagrid revealed that he had brought a cartload of dragon dung from the Romanian Dragon Sanctuary to feed to the beetle, with Jacob's sibling telling Hagrid the whole story of the day's events while helping him unload the cart. When the dung was unloaded, the Giant Dung Beetle immediately began working on the dung, with Hagrid noting that it no longer looked disoriented and felt much more happy and at home as a result of its adventure with Jacob's sibling and Tulip. Pleased to note that the beetle was confident and full of purpose, Hagrid suggested that the beetle should go on more adventures, with Jacob's sibling asserting that they owed a great deal to the beetle, as it didn't hesitate to help them during Dennis's rescue. Hagrid informed Jacob's sibling of the beetle's "Super Beetle" status and asserted that, although it was no longer a sideshow attraction, it was still a "super beetle," cape or no cape.

Behind the scenes

• The Giant Dung Beetle's name, just like all creatures in the Magical Creatures Reserve, can be customised by the player. The dialogue of the quest will subsequently change according to the name determined by the player.

Appearances

• Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery (First appearance)

Notes and references

	Magical Creatures Reserve