Chapter 321: A Sniffing Encounter
When Felix extended an invitation to Charlie, Charlie''s adventurous nature kicked in. Without much hesitation, he dly epted the proposal.
"You''re as heartless as Norbert, you know that?" Charlie stretched out his rugged hand and patted the spines atop the Hungarian Horntail. The dragon rolled its eyes, unperturbed by his usation.
Charlie took over Felix''s work, applyingyers of sauce. "In my experience, brushing in one direction"
"Will make it more vorful?" Felix inquired.
"No, it''ll make it more visually appealing," Charlie chuckled. "Like melted amber. Alright"
The two sliced a tenth of the roasted meat, and the rest vanished into the belly of the Hungarian Horntail. "Charlie''s tent-brewed wine to the rescue!" Charlie shouted, as two jugs of wine flew in like projectiles. He said to Felix, "Our homemade wine, made from local fruits you can''t find anywhere else."
Felix shared some school anecdotes, especially about Hagrid and Ron. As he mentioned them, Charlie became even more rxed, asionally bursting into heartyughter. He enthusiastically said, "Hagrid and I got along well during my school days. We both had an interest in dragons. He kept talking about wanting to own a dragon, and he managed to do it in the first year after I left."
"You mentioned Norbert earlier?"
"Yeah, a Norwegian Ridgeback dragon not even three years old. We released it back into the wild." Charlie grinned, "These dragons grow fastest in the first few months after birth, and their ability to breathe fire as hatchlings develops early. Hagrid quickly realized it was a troublesome burden to keep it, so he asked me to take Norbert away."
"We got quite friendly with Norbert. It often came for food and then left after eating." Charlie said, "We wonder if it''lle back with its own offspring someday."
"It also has a habit of sneaking drinks of firewhisky from the camp. That''s the captain''s favorite. He pretends to be annoyed, but secretly he doesn''t mind. We have an alert system in ce."
"Firewhisky? You mean Hagrid"
"Exactly, Hagrid''s a bad influence." Charlie chuckled softly, "I guess he read some odd trick in a book, thinking firewhisky would enhance its fire-breathing abilities."
...
Felix spent another two days in the dragon reserve. On the day of departure, he finally met Norbert, the famous Norwegian Ridgeback dragon of the camp. It was merely twelve or thirteen feet long, quite smallpared to adult dragons.
Norbert resembled the Hungarian Horntail in some ways, with lizard-like bodies andrge wings. However, their tails were smooth. The young dragon named Norbert had a white snout, prominent orange eyes, and its ck, spiky wings pped incessantly.
The camp''s inhabitants prepared a sheep and a cask of firewhisky for it. The captain with his dark skin watched Norbert drink all the firewhisky with a sorrowful expression. The dragon let out a loud belch and spat out a few sparkling sparks.
Afterward, Norbert let out a cheerful roar towards the crowd, grabbed the sheep, and flew away.
"Cunning creature," grumbled the middle-aged captain.
At the appropriate time, Felix bid his farewell and Disapparated. Over the next week, he dedicated his time to visiting friends. Some were nned visits, like the Lestrange couple, while others were more spontaneous, like Newt Scamander.
Returning from Newt''s ce, Felix had a newpanion with hima baby Snidget.
Newt had always intended to release these magical creatures regrly. When Felix arrived, Newt was about to release three Snidgets, which Felix recognized from his time at the MinistryValen, Sal, and Sop.
"I suggest you choose just one. Their destructive power increases dramatically with their numbers." Newt advised.
"Valen it is. I remember it cursed at me." Felix chuckled.
The lively Snidget wiggled its rear end excitedly, snatching shiny gold coins from its two siblings. Upon hearing Felix''s words, it froze in ce.
Newt and Felix seemed to hear the faint creaking of its neck as it turned its head, and the Snidget Valen gazed at them innocently.
"Mr. Harp..."
"I''m joking. I''ll take good care of it."
Newt shook his head, watching as Felix used a feathered quill to conjure a pearl ne and deceive Valen with it. He wasn''t entirely sure if he''d made the right choice.
However, he still produced a silver pocket watch and handed it to Felix. "You''ve seen it at the Ministry. To activate, gently flick it open. It''s about the size of a ssroom, which Valen will enjoy."
...
At this moment, Felix was reading in a secret book cache belonging to Nics mel. Valen the Snidget was lying on the carpet, its tiny hands incessantly scribbling, attempting to stuff the shiny magical runes before it into its pocket.
After about a week had passed, Felix found a way to interact with the little creature. He would cast a sturdy locking charm in the room and then release the magical runes from the Thought Chamber for Valen to y with.
He had also created an intricate dream a mountain of Galleons stored within his Order of Merlin, Second ss, now one of Valen''s prized possessions. Another treasure was a defunct Time-Turner.
It had been previously concealed in an old box, unearthed by Valen. Inside, there was a note left by Nics mel detailing its origin, narrating its story.
This thoroughly damaged Time-Turner had been acquired by Nics mel at great cost three centuries ago. It was said to have been confiscated by the British Ministry of Magic as contraband. Its former owner had misused it, getting trapped in a temporal rift and starving to death, her plight undetected by anyone.
She had written down the ount in her own blood. Eventually, the Ministry found the Time-Turner, which was also confiscated. Somehow, it circted and was purchased by Nics mel.
He had conducted extensive research on the Time-Turner, trying to repair it, but ultimately failed. He did, however, leave behind extensive records about temporal magic.
Felix, skeptical, had repeatedly attempted to use it but found it truly broken. It was now merely an hourss-shaped decorative piece. In the end, it became one of Valen''s collectibles.
July 16th, Saturday.
The sky was overcast. Felix was dressed in ck formal attire. He removed the emerald ring from his left hand and the Serpent-Ring from his right, tucking them into his pocket. Valen, too, was ced inside a silver pocket watch, kept close.
Today marked the funeral of Sirius ck''s brother, Regulus. Felix finished his preparations and stepped out.
Raindrops began to fall as Felix, wearing his man-shaped armor, arrived at the funeral site. Many people were already there, dressed in ck robes or formal wear. Among the adults, a few children stood outRon Weasley with his red hair, Harry Potter with his ck hair, and Draco Malfoy with his tinum blond hair.
He also spotted several familiar facesTonks, Barty Crouch, the Malfoy couple, the Lestrange couple, the Longbottoms, and others.
Furthermore, there were a few people seated together who wore uneasy expressions when Felix approached.
Felix offered a smile. He saw Parkinson''s face, tinged with a purplish shade of beetroot, a peculiar hue on his features.
"All acquaintances, I see."
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