After a while, Fawkes still didn’t seem like he was coming back.
Dumbledore’s brief appearance at the Oak Barrel Bar caused quite a stir, with people speculating about his purpose there and his unusually frail state.
Some had already noticed that Dumbledore seemed very weak, looking severely injured.
They were curious to know who could harm the greatest White Wizard this way. Could it be the legendary Dark Lord?
Because of the great distance, the Death Eaters’ reach did not extend to Romania, and most people here had only heard that there was a remarkable Dark Lord in the United Kingdom causing chaos.
But no one knew exactly what that Dark Lord did or what he looked like.
As for Kael, people didn’t seem to associate him with Dumbledore, thinking of him as just a passerby who happened to be nearby.
Kael was happy to let them think that way and naturally didn’t explain, casually sitting down at an empty seat by the bar and ordering a brandy for one Galleon.
The price was right, too.
However, when paying, Kael couldn’t help but reminisce about a hundred years ago when one Galleon could buy everyone at the bar a drink, but now it could only buy one.
The difference was a bit hard to accept.
Kael took a sip of brandy, listened to the conversations around him for useful information, and occasionally chimed in.
In such a touristy place, it was normal for strangers to strike up conversations. Although some might be annoyed by the interruptions, no one found it strange.
Moreover, with Kael being generous, each time he asked a question, he would order a brandy for the person he was speaking with, so everyone was very cooperative.
Soon, Kael got the information he wanted.
Now he could be entirely sure that he had indeed come back, just that the time was a bit earlier.
It was only August now, no wonder Fawkes could take Dumbledore away; it hadn’t gone through Nirvana yet.
Additionally, if Kael remembered correctly, today was also the day Dumbledore used the Time Turner.
Was it a coincidence?
Kael didn’t think so.
The Philosopher’s Stone inside the Time Turner was repaired by Nicolas; he was also the person who knew how much magical power it held. Choosing to bring them back to August might have been to fill the temporal gap when Dumbledore disappeared earlier.
Even the timing of the phoenix’s appearance was intriguing, perhaps explaining the connection between Fawkes and Dumbledore, but Kael still felt all of this was prearranged by someone.
Was it Dumbledore?
Possibly, as Voldemort’s nemesis, upon knowing the Elder Wand was taken, it didn’t seem like his character to leave Hogwarts and risk disappearing to return a hundred years in the past.
Previously, Kael didn’t suspect because Dumbledore said Voldemort was severely injured while taking the Elder Wand and would have to hide for a while to recover, leading to a rare period of peace in the magical world.
Sure enough, the events unfolded as he said.
Since the event in Godric’s Hollow, Voldemort, including his Death Eaters, hadn’t stirred up any trouble. Even occasional conflicts with the Ministry of Magic were avoided if possible.
The magical realm seemed to have returned to the state it was two years ago, although there was an undercurrent, it was peaceful on the surface.
But thinking about it now, it might be that Dumbledore had always known he would come back and had arranged everything in advance.
Or it could be Nicolas Flamel; Kael recalled that his manor had a significantly larger than normal Crystal Ball.
Perhaps Fawkes had just taken Dumbledore to the manor in Devon.
Kael lightly tapped his fingers on the table.
After a while, he suddenly felt something tug at his robe.
A Niffler crawled up along the robe and called to Kael twice.
“I got it,” Kael nodded, standing up and leaving the bar.
Outside was the nearest gathering place to the Fire Dragon Reserve, just as bustling as last time. Besides the established shops, many people carried cloth bags, sneakily peddling their “good stuff” to passersby.
“A whole dragon heart, still warm, want it?”
“Dragon Skin Cloak, from Hungarian Horntail…”
“Dragon Blood, half-price, only a pint left.”
Kael ignored these people.
Put it this way, if the things in their hands were real, the Dragon Tamers would have been onto them by now. Selling fakes was safer than real things in places like these.
Kael went to a secluded spot and only, after ensuring no one was around, took the Niffler out.
“Where are the things?”
The Niffler reached into the pocket on its chest, rummaged around, and pulled out two pieces of parchment, one large and one small.
Kael had lingered at the Oak Barrel Bar not just to gather useful information, but also to let the Niffler find these.
He had intentionally hidden away the sponsorship certificate and legal dragon-breeding permit before coming.
The choice to return near the beech trees was also to find them as quickly as possible.
Setting the time at ninety-eight years wasn’t random either; from 1899 to now, it was exactly ninety-eight years.
Kael excitedly took the parchments from the Niffler.
Though they had magical contract protection, after almost a century, the two parchments were still soaked with a muddy smell, and their color had changed, but fortunately, the text on them was still clearly visible.