All in all, the Fire Dragon Reserve's gathering place is pretty nice, and it's really not as chaotic as Chris said.
At least Kael didn't run into any weirdos here.
It's just that all the shopkeepers are kind of shady, always trying to push those useless, overpriced products on him.
Luckily, Charlie was with him. Having lived here for two years as a "local," he knows every shop inside out.
Most shopkeepers sighed in defeat seeing Charlie with him, and didn't bother trying to sell those so-called hot items to Kael, switching instead to bringing out the real good stuff from the back.
In short, Kael really scored big this trip, buying nearly three hundred Galleons' worth of goods.
By the end, even Charlie was a bit nervous seeing him shop.
He knew Kael was loaded, but he didn't expect him to be this loaded… buying things by the crate, especially when it came to accessories, he nearly cleared out the store's stock.
Even with discounts, you can't just shop like this… Over three hundred Galleons, gone without blinking an eye.
Charlie tried advising Kael, telling him to go easy—it's not good to waste money like this, even if you're rich.
But Kael just shook his head, "You don't get it, Charlie. It might not even be enough."
If Newt hadn't borrowed his trunk to observe the Norwegian Ridgeback Norbert, and the Transfiguration Lizard Skin Bag wasn't so limited in space, Kael would've wanted to buy another two hundred Galleons' worth to bring back.
"Not enough?!" Charlie stared, "Do you seriously have over a hundred friends?"
"If you really count… probably even more." Kael thought about it, then said, "But I'm not buying these to give them away.
A lot of Hogwarts students have never had a chance to visit here, and they've definitely never seen such awesome magical specialties. Since I'm here, I'm picking these up for them."
"Huh?" Charlie didn't quite get what he meant.
But Kael didn't bother explaining too much; the Weasleys aren't exactly sharp when it comes to this sort of thing.
"Anyway…" He packed up that mountain of parcels, and looked up: "I'll probably write you again later, so you'll have to help me buy a few more things and send them to Hogwarts."
"No problem." Charlie agreed instantly, without even thinking. "But it might not be super quick. You know, we only get two days off per month at most."
"That's fine."
Kael grinned, "Plus, I'll pay you the full price. Whatever discounts you get from the shopkeepers, you can keep for yourself…"
"No way!"
Kael hadn't even finished before he was interrupted.
Charlie seemed offended, refusing: "No matter how much you buy, I'll always get you a nice discount. I've got that kind of pull here."
"No, what I mean is, the discounts are your reward." Kael tried to explain.
"Are you talking nonsense or what?" Charlie was even less happy. "This is just a small favor, why talk about rewards? What do you take me for!"
"That's not what I meant…"
The two argued about this the whole way back, and never settled it, even when they reached the Reserve.
No matter how Kael phrased it, Charlie insisted he'd help buy stuff, but absolutely refused to take any 'reward' for it.
Charlie wasn't clueless about Kael's intentions.
Basically, it's just taking local specialties to Hogwarts and selling them at a markup to other students.
He got the gist, but he simply didn't want to take Kael's money.
Besides, Charlie seriously doubted Kael could sell much… He's not the first to try this, after all.
There's actually a shop in Diagon Alley like that, specializing in famous regional specialties. Last time Charlie went home, he saw John Senior's handmade Dragon Fang necklace in there.
But about their business… how to say, he's never seen more than two people in there, even on Christmas or the busy times before the start of school.
If a shop can't survive in Diagon Alley, no way they'll do well at Hogwarts—those students hardly have any money.
Charlie was convinced that what Kael already bought would last him for years.
So, once they returned to the Reserve, Charlie just gave Kael's shoulder a pat and walked off without looking back.
Kael could only smile helplessly at that.
Oh well, guess I'll deal with it later.
...
In the last few days of August, the people who'd come to help started leaving the Reserve one by one.
Professor Rockneil left too. Before he went, he invited Kael to visit Beauxbatons—not to transfer, just to hang out.
Kael happily accepted.
"Once I finish organizing the new species materials, I'll mail you a copy," Professor Rockneil said, then left via Portkey.
There was also Edward Lima, who promised Kael he'd send a copy of the latest edition of 'The Monster Book of Monsters' before departing.
...
Since Chris had to stay for an extra procedure, finishing the final handover with the Romanian Ministry of Magic, Kael and Newt waited another day with him.
The Portkey's destination was set for the Ministry of Magic.
When they arrived, a haggard-looking wizard hurried over.
"New arrivals come here to register, and check their belongings… Oh, Chris, it's you."
"Arnold?" Chris looked at him, puzzled. "Since when did you get transferred to the immigration office?"
"Not a transfer."
Arnold replied, "I'm just helping out."
"Helping?" Chris glanced around.
The place was busy, a long queue stretched out in front of the registration desk.
"You're here to help keep order?"
"Can't be helped…" He sighed, "You know why. Because of the Sirius Black incident, things are really strict here recently, and we're short-staffed."
"Thanks for all your hard work." Chris said, heading for the line.
"Oh… Chris, you don't need to."
Arnold tugged him back, "The Portkey shows you're coming back from the Romanian Ministry of Magic. There's no way you people are tied up with that guy, right?"
"Of course not." Chris nodded, "There were at least ten witnesses at the time."
"So you don't need to register." Arnold scribbled in a notebook, muttering: "And the Minister's got something important for you, I doubt he's got the patience to wait for hours—if he does, I'll be the one in trouble."
"The Minister wants to see me?"
"Yep, he came over half an hour ago." Arnold looked up at Kael and Newt.
Chris hurriedly said, "This is Newt Scamander, and my son Kael—we came together."
"Oh, Mr. Scamander…" Arnold was a bit surprised, but his hands kept moving, writing in the notebook.
"Okay, three people, all registered!"
He quickly closed the notebook and said, "Go on, hurry to the Minister before he gets impatient."
A few minutes later, Kael was walking down the Ministry of Magic's hallway totally confused.
He'd just been wondering how he was going to switch the trunk into Muggle mode, and instead they got waved straight through, no procedure at all?
"Arnold Peasegood, he's a Memory Erasure Officer. We've worked together a few times."
Chris explained, "And before we left, the Romanian side probably already gave the Ministry a heads-up. In cases like this you usually don't need to register again."
The three of them soon made a turn and entered the magnificent Ministry of Magic main hall.
Since their destinations were different, the three split up upon arrival.
Chris headed for the lift to find Fudge; Kael and Newt slipped through the crowds toward the rows of long fireplace tunnels.
Just like Hogwarts, the Ministry of Magic prohibits Apparition, so they decided to travel by Floo Powder to the Leaky Cauldron and head home from there.
Kael mainly wanted to visit Diagon Alley, and Newt just wanted somewhere to Apparate from—anywhere would do.
Because the Ministry gets so many visitors daily, even with over a dozen fireplaces, it still wasn't enough; people kept pouring out of them, green flames dying down only to flare up again right away.
After waiting a few minutes, a fireplace finally opened up and Kael hurried over, tossing in a handful of Floo Powder.
Kael stepped into the fireplace, and with the scenery around him shifting, soon found himself leaving the bustling Ministry behind and arriving at the equally lively Leaky Cauldron.