Percy's return made the Shabby Residence lively once again. Mrs. Weasley seemed to have lifted a weight off her shoulders, and her entire demeanor was completely different from before.
That day, she prepared a sumptuous dinner and enthusiastically invited Kael to the Shabby Residence.
Chris was still on the Hesidiri Islands and hadn't come back.
That's normal, as anything related to dragons is never a small matter. Besides, even Newt went, so it's obviously not a trivial matter that can be resolved in a day or two.
Barring any surprises, Chris would probably stay on the Hesidiri Islands for a while. Although Kael wanted to help, just to pass the time, he hadn't received an invitation. If he went there just like that, he'd most likely be seen as an illegal intruder.
After all, dragon-rearing places have dragon eggs and young dragons. To prevent them from being stolen, it's generally forbidden for unfamiliar wizards to enter freely.
This is especially true for the Fire Dragon Reserve in Romania.
With the Black Dragon's unrest, the people on the Hesidiri Islands were very tense. Going there rashly might cause unnecessary conflict, and getting anyone injured wouldn't be good.
So, after hesitating for a while, Kael gave up on the idea.
Besides, Chris had a point. Both he and Newt were there, and Kael couldn't really help. He might as well stay home and rest up for what's to come.
...
At 7 p.m., Kael arrived at the Shabby Residence on time. Mr. Weasley was also there; for once, he got off work at a normal time and was back home on time.
Fred and George were also there, even though they had been loudly declaring in the afternoon that they wouldn't participate in any celebration of Percy's return, they showed up anyway.
They were wearing dragon-skin jackets from their shop opening, seemingly having dressed up. George's hair looked like it had been licked by a Three-Headed Dog, shiny and slick.
Fred had a distinct fragrance on him, probably Madam Pania's moisturizer, which was usually a product liked by witches like Conna, Cho, and Ginny, who were loyal customers.
Kael glanced at them teasingly but said nothing.
"Don't get it wrong. We honestly couldn't find anything more outdated than these jackets," Fred explained, catching Kael's look.
"No need to explain, I understand," Kael said, patting his shoulder, "It's okay, Percy is still your brother. It's normal to feel this way; no need to feel embarrassed."
With that, Kael turned and walked into the Shabby Residence.
"What does he understand?" Fred raised an eyebrow.
"I think he misunderstood," George said. "In hindsight, we shouldn't have been fiddling with the explosive face cream earlier. Rushed over here fearing we were late, didn't even change our clothes."
"Yeah..." Fred tugged at his clothes and quietly asked, "Do you think if we explain to him now that we wore these dragon-skin jackets to protect ourselves from exploding pod fruit, he'd believe us?"
"Probably not." George sighed, scratching his head, "Oh, this goo is so annoying, still not washed off..."
"We'll wash up again later; right now, we'd better go in quickly," Fred suggested. "If we're late, Mum would definitely nag us for a long time."
"That's the best we can do."
The duo hurried into the Shabby Residence.
Although Ron and Ginny were not present, Bill and Charlie were back, so the Shabby Residence still felt quite crowded, yet this kind of crowding didn't make one feel vexed.
Kael sat beside Charlie, watching Mrs. Weasley cheerfully serve stew onto everyone's plates, while Fred and George loudly teased Percy.
At around 8 p.m., Kael also left the Shabby Residence and returned to his own home.
For the next several days, Chris still didn't return.
The Daily Prophet also noticed the changes on the Hesidiri Islands; the paper mentioned Muggles had sighted dragons nearby, more than one, luckily the members of the Incident Reversal Squad arrived in time to modify their memories; otherwise, this matter could have spread in the Muggle World.
No, it's already spread, but not many people believe it. Plus, since the parties involved have forgotten the matter, gradually people brush it off as a mere attention-seeking ploy, losing interest.
Now, members of the Incident Reversal Squad have stationed themselves nearby to handle sudden occurrences at any time.
Fortunately, the dragons seemed to calm down afterwards, no longer trying to break out.
Chris's stay on the Hesidiri Islands turned out much longer than he anticipated. He finally came back after about half a month, looking utterly exhausted.
He told Kael that the reason for the Black Dragon's unrest was that some wizard—most likely Voldemort and his Death Eaters—had blown up the highest cliff on the south side of the Hesidiri Islands.
"It's just a ruined cliff, it shouldn't be that big of a deal," Kael didn't understand.
Cliffs are almost everywhere on the Hesidiri Islands, it's not a dragon egg, nor a nest site, why be so agitated about it.
In Kael's memory, the Black Dragons on the Hesidiri Islands hadn't left there for two centuries, and previous conflicts were resolved internally on the islands. Now they all seem to want to seek out the culprits outside...
"The cliffs aren't important, but what if it's where they choose their leader," Chris sighed. "Every leader of the Hesidiri Islands Black Dragons died and was born at that cliff; it's essentially their most sacred place. Suddenly having it blown up..."