Mentioning Birdman made Drools think of something else.
He remembered that the man who had single-handedly established the Fire Dragon Reserve had once said that if they couldn’t find this person, then they didn’t need to keep looking—after a certain time, he would naturally appear.
How many years later had he said it would be back then… Drools thought hard, and suddenly realized that it seemed to be this year.
This shocked him greatly. Could it be that Mr. Birdman also had the gift of a Prophet? He’d never heard of that.
But he didn’t pay it too much mind. Under normal circumstances, Mr. Birdman would also come to the Fire Dragon Reserve around these days to inspect things, and he could just ask him directly then.
Kael naturally had no idea what Drools was thinking. At this moment, he had already taken out another piece of Parchment.
“Captain Drools, I have another Magic Contract here, also concerning the Fire Dragon Reserve.”
“Another one?” Drools snapped back to his senses and froze for a moment.
That couldn’t be right. There shouldn’t be any other donors to the Reserve.
Although he was puzzled, he still subconsciously took the Parchment from Kael’s hand.
And then…
Visibly, Drools’ expression instantly became wonderfully dramatic. He almost popped his eyes out, and the hand holding the Parchment began to tremble slightly.
“Legal Fire Dragon raising… a Fire Dragon Egg granted… plus all dragon-raising expenses covered… This is impossible, absolutely impossible.” He practically screamed, “The Reserve would never issue such an outrageous certificate.”
“Where did you get this!” Drools lifted his head and stared solemnly at Kael. “Privately forging a Magic Contract related to the Fire Dragon Reserve—I have the authority to have the Aurors arrest you, even if your elders once helped us!”
As he spoke, he had already drawn his Wand.
“Easy now, Drools.” Dumbledore stepped forward, placing himself in front of Kael.
“Headmaster Dumbledore, what is the meaning of this.” Drools said in a deep voice, “The Fire Dragon Reserve will never be threatened by anyone.”
“Trust me, I have no such intention,” Dumbledore said airily. “But I am willing to vouch, in my capacity as Hogwarts Headmaster, that there is absolutely nothing wrong with this Magic Contract.
“So I suggest you calm down as well, and take another careful look.”
The furious Drools looked at Dumbledore, his thoughts unreadable, but after a moment he still lowered his Wand.
“There’s no need to look. We definitely would not issue this kind of ridiculous certificate,” Drools said. “For the sake of your past help to the Reserve, you can go. I won’t hold you accountable for forging the Contract.”
“That might not be the case, Captain Drools.” Kael, who hadn’t spoken until now, stepped forward and said calmly, “You only represent yourself; you don’t represent everyone else, do you?”
“Or you could ask Birdman as well,” Newt spoke up at this point. “He should be living nearby—you should be able to contact him, right? If you’re willing, I can do it for you.”
Looking at the three people in front of him, Drools began to waver.
He didn’t trust Kael, and he didn’t fully trust Dumbledore either, but he trusted Newt Scamander. If the other party really was Newt Scamander, there was absolutely no way he would join them in such nonsense.
As for their identities… In order to prevent impostors from posing as Dragon Tamers, the Reserve was protected by Revealing Magic. The fact that they could walk in here was proof enough of who they were.
Drools felt a bit torn.
“Oh, right.” At this moment, Kael suddenly spoke up. “I remember there should be two copies of this Contract. The other one was left here. You can try looking for it. You might be in for a surprise.”
Drools gave Kael a glance and said nothing, but he did draw his Wand and open a nearby cabinet.
A large number of Parchments floated out at his command, but none of these were what he was looking for.
“Those are no good. It should be from ninety-seven years ago,” Kael reminded him.
Drools’ hand, holding the Wand, paused slightly, then gave a sharp flick.
In the corner, a cabinet that had grown so old it had faded in color and was covered in dust creaked open, and more Parchments flew out.
But this time, one sheet of Parchment shone with a silvery-white light, as if attracted by something. It flew of its own accord to the table and landed beside the Magic Contract on it.
The silver-white pattern on it aligned with the one above, silver light flowing as the two pieces fit together seamlessly, not a gap to be seen.
Clack!
The Wand slipped from Drools’ hand and fell to the floor. He just stood there, dumbstruck, completely stupefied.
It was real…
This kind of outrageous thing was actually real!
Drools could hardly believe his eyes.
“No, something’s not right. You must have done something.” He still refused to believe it. Picking up his Wand, he hastily dug out a Two-Sided Mirror and tapped on it rapidly.
Very soon, the Two-Sided Mirror flickered and revealed a wrinkled face—that of a very old Old Wizard, and bald to boot.
“What is it, so anxious?” he said unhurriedly. “How many times have I told you, taking care of Fire Dragons is all about patience. When something happens, you must remain steady…”
“Mr. Birdman.” Drools had no interest in listening to this at all. He directly turned the Two-Sided Mirror around, aiming it at the two pieces of Parchment joined together on the table.
“Someone gave me this and said it was the legal Dragon Raising Certificate you issued to him.”
“Nonsense, how could I possibly…”
At the instant the image in the Two-Sided Mirror froze, Birdman’s voice cut off abruptly.