When it got later, Charlie showed up too. He looked even more exhausted than everyone else, his face as pale as overcooked cabbage.
"I've been flying for over thirty hours!"
At dinner, Charlie couldn't help but mutter, "And I had to keep an eye on where the Fire Dragons were the whole time, just in case one of them bit me in half or sent me flying."
I think Quidditch teams should come here for some real training, weaving through seven or eight Fire Dragons on a broomstick is way more useful than practicing on the pitch."
"They just want to play Quidditch, not risk their lives..." Kael laughed. "And I doubt the Reserve would ever allow it, either."
"Yeah, you've got a point. What a shame, though. They're missing out on a golden training opportunity."
Seeing Charlie looking so drained, Kael handed him a peppermint-flavored Explosive Candy.
"Want one? It's not quite as good as an Awakening Potion, but it should pep you up a bit."
"Thanks, I could really use that." Charlie took the mint candy.
Moments later, a muffled pop came from his mouth, his whole face puffing up until he looked like an oversized toad.
Charlie shivered all over and quickly rubbed his cheeks with his hands.
"Much better." He took a deep breath. "Magic, honestly—mint used to be my least favorite."
"Tastes change," said Kael.
Charlie raised an eyebrow and grinned. "So, does that mean you'll start liking Licorice Candy in the future?"
"No way!" Kael replied immediately.
"What a pity, you're missing out on a real treat."
The kids in the Weasley family are all die-hard Licorice Candy fans, and so's Harry. On the train, Licorice Wands were essential snacks for him and Ron.
So usually, Kael would pick out any Licorice Candy he got and save it for days like... Christmas or birthdays, giving them as extra gifts.
Oh, and now, too...
Because they still needed to patrol the Reserve that night, Charlie left not long after dinner.
Kael gave him a huge bag of candy.
Around the Fire Dragon Reserve in Romania, there were wizard communities and shops, but most of what you'd find there was booze, minerals, Magic Potions, or Magic Tools.
Candy, which was everywhere at Hogwarts, actually turned out to be a rarity here.
It's not that it didn't exist, just that getting any was a hassle—you'd need an owl to fetch some from far, far away, and even then the taste and variety didn't hold a candle to Honeydukes.
After Charlie left, Kael headed back to the tents.
There were quite a few people around, including Newt.
None of them looked tired anymore. Just like when they'd first arrived, they sat together, chatting away happily.
Their conversation was all about Fantastic Beasts, from how to treat Fire Dragon injuries to postnatal care for Tebo warthogs—anything and everything.
Kael stood quietly beside Newt, picking up loads of obscure but useful facts.
Professor Rockneil even mentioned that while he was in the Barisan Mountains, he'd accidentally discovered an entirely new Magical Beast—huge, with four arms.
Before coming to Romania, he'd already sorted out the notes and photos, and it wouldn't be long before he published them.
Everyone seemed genuinely interested. Newt looked tempted, and it was obvious he wanted to check it out himself.
Of course, that would have to wait until after Rockneil published his findings.
...
This time, the Fire Dragons took a slightly longer rest than usual.
They all waited at the field for a full three days before things got lively again.
Kael and Newt returned to the same hill as before.
The area they were assigned had been decided ahead of time—probably to look out for Newt's age. Their spot was further away from the highest cliffs, and much safer.
It was just a bit boring...
Still, it was several days of chaos and melee.
But this time, way more Fire Dragons got knocked out than before. Kael could hear their screeches almost every day.
Though, there were exceptions.
On the second day, a Romanian Longhorn, completely exhausted, got whacked on the head by the tail of a Ukrainian Ironbelly, rolled its eyes, and fell straight from mid-air.
It happened to land right near Kael and Newt's hill.
No one could tell if it hadn't signaled surrender or was just too dazed, but the Ukrainian Ironbelly hovered a bit, then dove down after it.
Newt frowned, Apparated next to the Romanian Longhorn, pressed his Wand to its throat, and started making sharp, short sounds—trying to signal its surrender.
But it didn't work; the sounds he made were very different from the Fire Dragons', or in other words, he had a thick accent.
Under normal circumstances, the Ukrainian Ironbelly might have understood, but now it was clearly too worked up to pay attention to Newt or Kael.
"This is bad!" Newt's expression turned serious.
If it dived down now, all six tonnes of its weight could crush that poor Romanian Longhorn to death.
And most of the Charms that could stop it weren't an option.
Because they could hurt the Ukrainian Ironbelly, affecting its future performance in combat.
Like they'd said before: human wizards could not interfere in the battles between Fire Dragons, for any reason. No exceptions.
"Misty Veil!"
Left with no choice, Newt conjured a thick fog all around, hoping to block its line of sight. Then, with a wave of his Wand, he shoved the Romanian Longhorn a distance forward.
Kael also cast a Softening Charm and a Swamp Spell on the ground beneath it—hopefully that would help cushion its fall.
Almost at the same time—
The surrounding trees suddenly stretched, turning into giant, thick "ropes" that reached into the mist, weaving themselves into a massive net.
"Creak..."
With a string of firecracker-like, teeth-grinding cracks, the "tree ropes" snapped one after another—only for new ones to spring up in their place.
Finally, the Ukrainian Ironbelly stopped less than two feet above the ground.
Its claws were practically touching the Romanian Longhorn's tail; if it'd fallen any farther, the Reserve would be looking after a tailless dragon now.
The Ukrainian Ironbelly struggled for a moment, gradually coming to its senses. With an irritated roar, it tore through the tangled net and lifted off again.
"That was close, just barely made it," came a familiar voice from behind.
Chris put away his Wand and came over to the two of them—the giant tree net a moment ago had been his doing.
...