https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-859-Returning-to-the-Fire-Dragon-Reserve/12540228/
Chapter 858: Finding a Dining Hall for the Fire Dragons
Chapter 858: Finding a Dining Hall for the Fire Dragons
Perhaps due to the eggshells being harder than usual, despite the appearance of cracks, they showed no signs of fully hatching.
Newt placed them in a peculiar box, with a bottom replaced by a mesh of crossed metal wires, occasionally asking Norberta to spit fire and provide heat for the eggs.
As Kyle observed this scene, it seemed vaguely familiar, as if something was missing.
For example... some cumin and chili powder.
If Newt were to brush some oil on the eggs, he would be a skilled barbecue chef.
As if reading his mind, Newt actually took out a brush.
Of course, he wasn't hungry and looking for a snack. The brush was coated, not with oil, but with a mixture extracted from borage stems and cactus flowers.
According to Newt, this mixture would help distribute the flames more evenly on the eggshells, aiding the baby fire dragons inside to hatch faster.
Newt squatted beside the eggs through the night until the next morning, when two fire dragons, the size of fists, finally crawled out of their shells.
"See, they're really healthy, aren't they?" Newt said with a smile, trying to pick them up.
However, the two little ones, their eyes not yet open, instinctively dodged him and wobbled towards Kyle... or more accurately, towards Norberta behind him.
To be honest, it was the first time Kyle had seen such clear fear on a baby fire dragon's face, mixed with a hint of panic.
It was as if a hundred-foot-tall Hungarian Tree Bee was walking towards him instead of a baby dragon.
Norberta retracted her neck in a fluster, knocking over quite a few things in her haste, leaving the once tidy room in disarray.
Then she flew away as fast as she could, disappearing into the horizon in the blink of an eye, leaving the two little dragons wailing anxiously.
"They must have gotten used to Norberta's flames and regarded her as their mother." Newt shook his head and explained, "But fire dragons are quite intelligent. They will soon realize the difference between themselves and a Norwegian Ridgeback."
Kyle couldn't help but reach out and pat the slightly larger Ukrainian Ironbelly. "What should I feed them? Chicken blood mixed with brandy?"
"I guess you must have read the book 'How to Tame a Fire Dragon'," said Newt. "This kind of food is indeed suitable for feeding baby fire dragons, but to be honest, it's a bit outdated.
"And it's not easy for a fire dragon to find a whole barrel of brandy in the forest or on a cliff to feed their young."
"So what should I prepare?" Kyle asked.
"Usually, fire dragons will chew on fire stones and mix them with meat to feed their young," Newt said.
The so-called fire stones, also known as flame stones, are the result of stones in a fire dragon's lair constantly melting and solidifying due to the prolonged exposure to dragon fire.
When these special stones come into contact with dragon fire, they emit high temperatures continuously, and fire dragons adore them. The more fire stones in a lair, the more powerful the dragon residing there is considered.
In a way, it was similar to the significance of Galleons to a wizard.
However, while these stones sounded high-end, they were of little use to wizards, only finding application in a handful of obscure alchemy techniques.
Speaking of fire stones...
Kyle thought for a moment. There seemed to be some in the cave where Norberta lived. He had seen them when he went there to put away the gold coins.
"I'll go get them now. I'm just not sure if there will be enough," Kyle said, about to rush out.
"No need to rush," Newt stopped him and smiled. "If you take away Norberta's fire stones, she'll probably get upset. Actually, we have a better option."
"What is it?"
"It's best to mix in some fire ash snake eggs. This will help the fire dragons get through their infancy faster." Newt thought for a moment and said, "If you can't find those, fire lizard tails and fire crab shells will do as well."
"Hmm..." Kyle opened his mouth.
None of what Newt mentioned was something he had on hand. While fire lizard tails might be manageable, the other two would be challenging to find.
Kyle looked at Newt and smiled, blinking his eyes.
"Don't look at me like that," Newt's heart skipped a beat. "Those are your dragons, and you can easily find all those things in the fire dragon reserve. With the contract, you can just go there. Isn't it written there? They will cover all the expenses for your dragon-rearing."
"But there's still some time before the contract takes effect," Kyle continued smiling. "And they are only responsible for the meals of the other two dragons. These two are not within the scope of the contract."
"Then you can buy them yourself," said Newt. "You shouldn't be short of money."
"I am now," Kyle sighed. "I only have over a thousand Galleons left, and I want to open a store.
"Besides, you hatched them, so you can't just ignore them."
Newt's mouth hung open.
He finally understood Kyle's intention in coming to him. So, he was treating this place as a dining hall for his dragons?
But seeing Kyle's rogue-like expression and considering that he also wanted to study these two fire dragons, Newt had no choice but to agree.
Having gotten the answer he wanted, Kyle couldn't help but laugh out loud.
Newt sighed softly.
Newt still remembered the first fire dragon he raised. There was a period where he could barely afford to feed himself, making do with dry bread and water for days.
While the situation now was surely different, Newt couldn't shake the memory of those lean times, especially now that he had two mouths to feed, one of which belonged to a notorious big eater—the Ironbelly.
The name 'Ironbelly' referred to its iron-like stomach, capable of consuming vast quantities of food and digesting it swiftly. Even as a newly hatched dragon, it could devour an entire cow leg, bigger than its own body.
However, it wasn't the cost of food that Newt was concerned about. What pained him was the thought of using up his carefully hoarded fire ash snake eggs and fire lizard tails.
Two fire dragons... that would mean a substantial amount of food.
Newt pondered his options, considering whether he should sneak over to the Hungarian Tree Bee nest during the night to gather some flame stones.
Perhaps the Romanian Horntail could be fed more carefully, but as for the Ironbelly... no matter how many good things he gave it, it would never be enough to satisfy that bottomless stomach. Newt would just have to make do with quantity.
Such were Newt's inner calculations.
On the other hand, Kyle felt much more relaxed about the situation.
Firstly, he wanted to clarify that he wasn't treating Newt as a free meal ticket. The main reason for bringing the dragons to Newt was... his worry that he might not be able to take care of newborn dragons properly.
Yes, that was it.
Saving money was definitely not his primary intention; it was merely a fortunate byproduct.
As for why he was laughing, it was because he thought of something delightful—he was about to own his own shop, and with the extra money, he could even afford to buy some nice shelves. Naturally, he felt elated.
"There's one more thing I wanted to ask..." Kyle paused for a moment before continuing, "If the Time-Turner can cause the fire dragons to hatch early, will it have any impact on other magical creatures?"
"I understand." Newt looked deeply into Kyle's eyes. "I'll go and check on them later."
"Thank you," Kyle said sincerely.
"But I have one request," Newt said.
"Don't say one, say ten, and I'll agree to them all." Kyle patted his chest confidently.
This statement came straight from his heart; even without this incident, he wouldn't have been able to refuse Newt if he had asked for help.
"There's no need for that many. Just one is enough." Newt once again glanced at the parchment bearing Bardem's signature. "The Fire Dragon Reserve will be giving you two dragon eggs later on. I hope you'll choose a Lion Dragon as one of them."
Lion Dragons, also known as Chinese Fireball Dragons, were a unique breed native to the East, and they were quite rare in Europe. As far as Kyle knew, there were only one or two of them in the Romanian Fire Dragon Reserve.
"Why?" Kyle asked curiously.
"Of all the known fire dragons, the Lion Dragon is the one I know the least about," Newt admitted. "I've always wanted to expand the section on Lion Dragons in 'Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them,' but I've never had the opportunity."
"That's hard to believe," Kyle said doubtfully. "This type of dragon may be rare in Europe, but you could easily go to their place of origin to study them, couldn't you? I recall that you also have a Chinese Fireball."
"It's not the same," Newt replied, his face reddening slightly as he looked embarrassed. "Due to certain circumstances... which I'm not at liberty to discuss, let's just say that after a particular incident, I haven't felt comfortable returning there."
"Oh, I see." Kyle nodded, understanding Newt's reluctance to elaborate further, especially given his complicated relationship with most countries.
"I'm sure there won't be any issues on my end," Kyle said after a moment's thought. "But whether the Fire Dragon Reserve will agree is another matter. After all, the contract only mentions giving me two dragon eggs, and it doesn't specify that I can choose freely."
"Don't worry about that," Newt assured him. "I'll go with you, and I'll handle the rest."
"Then there's no problem," Kyle nodded.
...
In the following days, Newt spent most of his time in Kyle's trunk, caring for the newborn fire dragons while also observing the other magical creatures... Eventually, he concluded that they were all unaffected by the Time-Turner.
"Perhaps it's because they were considered a part of you and went through the complete process of traveling from the past to the present," Newt explained during one of their dinners. "Only the dragon eggs are an exception, as they only experienced half of it."
"Of course, this is just my speculation," he continued. "The specific reason may only be known to those who thoroughly understand the Time-Turner. Why don't you ask Diana about it?"
"Ask my mom?" Kyle shuddered involuntarily. "If she finds out that I bought two fire dragons, she'll definitely kill both me and my dad."
"What does Chris have to do with this?" Newt asked, confused.
"I need someone to share the blame," Kyle shrugged. "Maybe then I'll have a chance to survive. Getting beaten to a pulp is still better than being killed."
Newt's lips twitched as he silently regarded Kyle, "Does Chris know about this?"
"Did he say you did it?" Newt asked.
"No," Kyle shook his head. "But he tricked me and took my shoe with the flower petals on it as evidence."
"Alright." Newt closed his mouth and remained silent.
...
After a few more days, Kyle began to feel a bit bored. This was mainly because Newt had taken over the task of caring for the fire dragons, leaving him with nothing much to do.
He thought of offering to help in Newt's trunk, but found that Dobby had already become increasingly proficient and completed most of the tasks, including feeding, cleaning, and breaking up fights. From a distant island in the lake, he could often hear mournful wails, which were quite frightening at night.
Kyle recalled that the place belonged to the Hungarian Tree Bees, and although he was curious about what was going on, he dared not venture there without Newt by his side.
After all, the Hungarian Tree Bees were notorious for their short tempers, and with the scent of other fire dragons on him, they might perceive his presence as a provocation.
To find something to occupy himself, Kyle decided to step out after an early breakfast.
"Mr. Kyle, where are you going...?" Dobby hurriedly ran after him to ask.
"I'm going to Diagon Alley," Kyle said. "There's an empty shop there that needs to be cleaned up."
"Cleaning?"
It might have been his imagination, but Kyle felt that Dobby's eyes lit up at the mention of cleaning.
"Dobby will go with Mr. Kyle."
"No need, no need." Kyle waved his hand. "It's just cleaning, and you have a lot of work to do, don't you?"
Ever since Newt took on the task of caring for the two little dragons, all the work in his trunk, including feeding, cleaning, and mediating disputes, had fallen on Dobby's shoulders, keeping him busy from dawn to dusk.
"It's alright, Mr. Scamander said he would be returning today, so I have time to accompany you, Mr. Kyle," Dobby insisted.
"Alright then." Kyle thought for a moment and felt it would be good to have the house-elf along.
"I will pay you accordingly for your work," he added.
"How generous!" Dobby's tear glands immediately activated, and his body convulsed as he sobbed, "Mr. Kyle is willing to pay Dobby for his work."
"But I can't accept payment, sir," Dobby said, his eyes wide with sincerity. "I'm here to help you, not work, so I can't take your money."
"Then let me treat you to some ice cream—how about a hazelnut peanut crunch flavor?"
As expected, Dobby burst into tears again, his tears staining his denim overalls in light and dark patches, as if he had been caught in a downpour.
Kyle couldn't understand why Dobby's personality remained so sensitive after all this time.
After finally soothing the emotional house-elf, they set off for Diagon Alley.
Kyle used a magical contract to open the door and stepped inside, only to be greeted by a strong, peculiar odor.
He had to cast a Bubble-Head Charm on himself to block out the smell.
Kyle considered casting the same charm on Dobby, but the house-elf declined, saying he didn't need it. Kyle didn't press the issue and instead cast a Whirling Wind Charm to ventilate the room before beginning the cleaning process.
...
Bringing Dobby along indeed proved to be a wise decision.
Either due to their innate talent or specialized skill set, house-elves were far more adept at cleaning than wizards. While Kyle had barely managed to tidy up a small area, Dobby had already cleaned half the room, carefully picking out the doxies from the nooks and crannies and placing them in a basket.
"Many little creatures love to eat doxies; these will be enough for a hearty meal for them," Dobby explained.
"You're indeed a great help," Kyle said as he watched the house-elf carefully cover the basket.
But Dobby was right; although doxies were poisonous, for some magical creatures, that poison added a unique flavor—a condiment of sorts—making them a delightful snack.
With Dobby's help, the cleaning process was completed swiftly, and the once filthy and dusty shop underwent a remarkable transformation. It was now spotlessly clean, and the colors of the interior seemed brighter than before.
True to his word, Kyle rewarded Dobby with an oversized deluxe ice cream, loaded with every type of nut available.
The little elf was so touched that he burst into tears once more.
With the cleaning done, it was time to set up the shop. However, there was no rush; they could take their time, installing a shelf one day and arranging a table the next—a perfect way to pass the time.
During this period, the two baby fire dragons continued to grow... No, they could no longer be considered babies, especially the Ukrainian Ironbelly, whose stomach seemed to be inflatable, expanding at a rate of a circle per day. It now stood taller than Kyle, and when it rushed towards him, he would be sent tumbling to the ground.
A few more days passed, and there was still no news from Dumbledore, but the magical contract on the parchment suddenly lit up.
(End of Chapter)
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