Newt still remembers the first fire dragon he ever raised. At that time, there was a period when he could barely afford food, and a piece of dry bread mixed with water could last him two days.
Although the current situation is definitely different, Newt has a bit of a shadow over it, especially since this time he has to raise two, one of which is an Iron Belly, known as a big eater even among fire dragons.
It’s called that because it has a belly like iron—eats a lot and digests quickly. Even when newly hatched, it can finish off an entire beef leg larger than itself.
Of course, what pains Newt is not these things, but all those Ashwinder eggs and Fire Salamander tails he painstakingly saved.
Two fire dragons; how much would they eat?
Newt pondered whether he should go and knock some flame stones from the Hungarian Horntail nests at night.
By then, he would nurture the Romanian Longhorn carefully, but as for the Iron Belly… he felt like no matter how much good stuff he had, it wouldn’t be enough to nourish this beast, so he might as well add more quantity.
Newt contemplated this in his mind.
Meanwhile, Kael was feeling quite at ease.
First of all, let me declare, he definitely wasn’t treating Newt as a free meal ticket, mainly because…he was afraid he wouldn’t be able to take good care of young fire dragons.
Yes, that’s it.
Saving money wasn’t the main goal; it was just a side result.
As for why he was smiling, it was simply because he thought of something joyful… He was about to own his own shop, and could even afford some better shelves with the extra money, naturally making him quite happy.
“Um, I have another question…” Kael thought for a moment, then continued, “Does the Time Turner have any impact on other fantastic beasts if it causes the fire dragons to hatch early?”
“I understand.” Newt gave Kael a deep look, “I’ll go check on it shortly.”
“Thank you.” Kael said sincerely.
“But I also have a request.” Newt said.
“Say one, even ten are fine.” Kael patted his chest and said.
This came straight from the heart; even without this issue, if Newt asked him for help, he couldn’t possibly refuse.
“No need for that many, just one.” Newt looked again at the parchment signed by Birdman. “After all, when the Fire Dragon Reserve gives you two dragon eggs, I hope you can choose a Lion Dragon.”
A Lion Dragon, also known as a Chinese Fireball Dragon, is a breed native to the East, and not very common in Europe. As far as Kael knew, there were only one or two at the Romanian Fire Dragon Reserve.
“Why?” Kael asked curiously.
“Because among all the known fire dragons, I know the least about the Lion Dragon.” Newt said. “I’ve always wanted to expand the section on Lion Dragons in ‘Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them’, but never found the opportunity.”
“That’s impossible.” Kael said in disbelief. “This kind of fire dragon is only rare in Europe, right? You could study them at their origin; I remember you even have a Zouwu.”
“It’s different.” Newt’s face slightly reddened, looking a bit embarrassed. “Because of certain things… It’s inconvenient for me to tell you exactly what, but ever since a certain incident, I haven’t felt quite right going back there.”
“Oh, got it.” Kael nodded, seeing Newt’s conflicted expression, he didn’t press further.
Besides, Newt had been blacklisted by almost all countries, so not being able to go there was quite normal.
“I have no problem on my end.” Kael thought for a moment, then said, “But whether the Fire Dragon Reserve agrees is another matter; after all, the contract only says I’m getting two dragon eggs and doesn’t specify that I can choose freely.”
“Rest assured about that.” Newt said, “I will go with you then, and leave the rest to me.”
“Then there’s no problem.” Kael nodded.
…
In the following days, Newt spent most of his time in Kael’s case, taking care of the young fire dragons while also casually observing the other fantastic beasts… He concluded that they were fine and had not been affected by the Time Turner.
“Perhaps it’s because they were considered part of you, experiencing the complete process from the past to present.”
At dinner one evening, Newt explained, “Only the dragon eggs are the exception, as they’ve only experienced half.”
“Of course, that’s just my guess. Only someone researching Time Turners could explain it clearly. Why don’t you ask Diana?”
“Ask my mom?” Kael shivered involuntarily. “If she finds out I’ve brought back two fire dragons, she’ll definitely kill both me and my dad.”
“What does that have to do with Chris?”
“I need someone to share the blame.” Kael spread his hands. “There might be a chance to survive. Being half-dead is better than being dead.”
Newt’s mouth twitched slightly, silently watching Kael, “Does Chris know?”
“He doesn’t, nor does he need to.” Kael calmly ate a piece of roast meat. “If the same thing happened to him, he wouldn’t let me off either.”
“I still remember, when we were kids, he and Mr. Weasley got drunk and stomped on the hydrangeas mom planted at the door.”
“Did he say you did it?”
“Not really.” Kael shook his head, “But he tricked me into going over, and even took my shoes with flower petals as evidence.”
“Alright.” Newt silently closed his mouth and said nothing.
…
A few more days passed, and Kael began to feel bored. Mainly because Newt was taking care of all the work with the fire dragons, leaving him with almost nothing to do.