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Chapter 342: You're Just in Time
Chapter 342: You're Just in Time
Before arriving at the Fire Dragon Sanctuary, Kyle had imagined the atmosphere would be tense and fraught with anticipation. Yet, upon their arrival, he found the place surprisingly serene. There were no blazing dragon flames or thunderous roars; only a couple of fire dragons soared in the sky.
People were gathered in small groups, chatting casually as if they were at a reunion of old friends. Charlie didn't offer much explanation for this tranquil scene, merely patting Kyle on the shoulder and remarking contemplatively, "If you had come a day earlier, you would have a very different impression. I'd say you arrived at an opportune time."
Charlie then took Kyle on a brief tour, and when he deemed it was time, they returned to the previous venue. The crowd had grown considerably, and among them were individuals who resembled Charlie—dark-skinned, in their thirties, dressed in coarse clothing, and wearing sturdy boots. They were unmistakably dragon tamers.
The rest of the crowd was quite diverse, both in their attire and age.
"They are magical creature experts from various places," Charlie whispered, pointing them out. "The lady with the domesticated pixie by the dragon sal tree is Mrs. Rozino from North America. She's the only person in North America permitted to privately tame fire dragons."
"And across from her is Mr. Cott, the bearded man," he continued. "Three of the dragons here were brought by him... And over there, speaking with Mr. Scamander, is Professor Lockhart from Beauxbatons. His reputation for breeding winged horses is well-known throughout the wizarding world..."
Charlie provided a detailed introduction to each individual, and Kyle listened attentively, jotting down their names. There weren't many, just twelve including Newt.
As for their assistants, Charlie didn't bother mentioning them, perhaps deeming it unnecessary. After all, assistants didn't warrant the honor of having their names remembered; mere face recognition would suffice.
"I always thought your brain was all about muscles," Kyle remarked in astonishment. "I didn't expect you to be so well-acquainted with these experts, even those from far-off North America. Dragon tamers indeed have cultural and intellectual requirements."
"What do you mean, 'all muscles'?" Charlie retorted, displeased. "I have six N.E.W.T. certificates, and I could even qualify to become an Auror if I wanted to."
"Alright, alright, I concede," Kyle said, waving his hands in a placating manner. "Let me rephrase it. Do you need to take time off from dragon taming to study the achievements of these magical creature experts?"
"Of course not," Charlie replied. "Taking care of dozens of fire dragons here is exhausting enough, not to mention dealing with cunning poachers. I'd rather take an extra hour of sleep than spend time on that. In fact, we finalized the guest list a month ago, and all I needed to do was familiarize myself with their photos before their arrival."
That made sense to Kyle. He recalled that Charlie's weakest subject had been Magical History, which required a lot of memorization. Normally, Charlie wouldn't waste time trying to remember so many names.
Around noon, the Fire Dragon Sanctuary provided a lunch for everyone. There was no room for refinement here; the theme was always primitive and rustic.
The freshly stewed meat on the bone was larger than a fist in each piece, and there were no fancy seasonings—the flavor of the Tebow Wart Pig was left untouched, retaining its most primitive taste... Though such a flavor might be a bit challenging for the average palate.
To be honest, if this bread were any harder, it would be the perfect Rock-Skin Pie 2.0, and Hagrid would probably love it.
During the meal, Kyle also spotted Kris, but he didn't go over to greet him.
This was because he was accompanied by several wizards dressed in fine robes, who were likely from the Romanian Ministry of Magic.
They, too, were enjoying the bone-in meat and flatbread, relishing every bite. One of them, who seemed to be the leader, found it so satisfying that he asked for another serving after finishing his first.
"Hey, Charlie!"
At that moment, a burly middle-aged wizard ran over from a distance. "Someone told me you brought a kid here. Is he your younger brother? But he doesn't have red hair... Never mind, whoever he is, it's too dangerous here right now. It's best to send him out immediately."
"You've got it wrong, Holman," Charlie explained. "He's not my brother; he's Mr. Scamander's assistant."
"Assistant?!"
"Yes, I saw them arrive together," Charlie said, "and he's already fourteen years old, just meeting the minimum age requirement to enter the reserve."
"Oh..." Holman looked at Kyle in disbelief.
Although he still found it hard to believe, since Charlie had said so, it was probably fine.
He smacked his lips.
The assistants of the others were either house-elves or adult wizards in their thirties. Only Mr. Scamander had brought a fourteen-year-old child... Now, that was unique.
It was just that...
Holman stared at Kyle, lost in thought, wondering if he should assign someone to protect him.
However, they were already short on manpower, and it would be a stretch to spare someone. If they did, who knew what unexpected situations might arise later?
But he couldn't just do nothing.
Mr. Scamander had a particular trait—he became overly focused when dealing with magical creatures.
What if he neglected to watch the boy due to his single-mindedness?
Perhaps he could find an excuse to keep him at the outermost area?
"You don't need to worry about him at all, Holman..."
As if guessing his thoughts, Charlie smiled and introduced Kyle to his colleague, sharing some of his remarkable experiences.
Escaping from the dark wizard, Oren, rescuing a classmate, defeating a werewolf at St. Mungo's, and being awarded the Second-Class Order of Merlin for his efforts...
Holman was stunned as he listened to these revelations.
Although he had suspected that anyone Mr. Scamander brought along wouldn't be an ordinary troublemaker, he hadn't expected the boy to be this extraordinary...
Holman frowned. He wasn't as easygoing as Charlie.
Goodness, a fourteen-year-old member of the Order of Merlin, probably the only one in the entire wizarding world!
Such a genius must be kept safe. Yes, he had to find a reason to keep him at the outermost area...
But before Holman could say anything, an angry dragon's roar suddenly rang out from the surrounding area.
People instinctively looked up.
In the distant valley, a massive shadow took to the sky, spewing a flame that reached forty feet high.
It was as if a switch had been flipped.
The next second, fire dragons roared continuously from all directions.
...
(End of Chapter)
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