Chapter 1232: The Newly Established Fire Dragon Reserve

To the south of Romania lies a remote mountainous area, rarely visited due to its secluded location and lack of attractions.

However, a few years ago, this place was lively for a brief period.

At that time, members of the International Confederation of Wizards decided to establish a Fire Dragon Reserve, and they chose this very location.

But later on, due to funding issues, the construction of the Fire Dragon Reserve slowed down and finally came to a halt.

After all, it was a place meant for raising Fire Dragons, which required large amounts of Galleons for food, necessary protective measures, and hiring professional wizards. Without money, it simply couldn’t be done.

Take the simplest example… you need people to take care of the Fire Dragons, and they can’t just be ordinary wizards; they must be strictly trained professionals.

Professional means expensive.

If there’s no attractive salary, who would risk getting squashed by a Fire Dragon to come to such a barren place?

Oh, a few came out of passion, but faced with the harsh reality of being hungry eight times within three days, they too began to waver.

The only thing keeping them here was probably their pride.

When they arrived, they confidently declared that they would not give up in the face of difficulties. If they left now, wouldn’t it be a slap in the face?

They couldn’t bear the embarrassment, so they held on.

But these people are in the minority, and under the condition of lacking manpower, the only Fire Dragon Reserve officially recognized by the International Confederation of Wizards had only two Fire Dragons, and they were the smallest and most ordinary ones, the Common Welsh Green. It was nearly a joke to say.

But it couldn’t be helped. It wasn’t that they didn’t want to accept more; the Ministry of Magic of various countries had Fire Dragons they wanted to get rid of, but with their current manpower, taking care of two Common Welsh Greens was already the limit.

Again, the issue was a lack of funds.

The first head of the Fire Dragon Reserve, Birdman Strick, sat in his simple office, worrying so much every day that his hair was falling out.

Though only thirty years old, if you looked just at his head, he could be believed to be sixty…

You know Quaffle? Add two feathers on top, and that’s his hair volume now, the number of hairs was obvious at a glance.

But today, in an unusual move, he stepped out of that office… calling it an office was a stretch; it was just a few stones piled up with magic, cold in winter, hot in summer, drafty everywhere, with the only advantage being it cost nothing.

Birdman even dug out a robe he hadn’t been able to wear for two years. Although it was severely faded, it was now his most respectable piece of clothing.

He sold everything he could to fund the establishment of the Fire Dragon Reserve, but the money was still just a drop in the bucket for the entire reserve.

If there was no turn of events soon, and the few remaining Dragon Tamers gave up, he truly wouldn’t know what to do, and at that point, the Fire Dragon Reserve plan would likely be indefinitely shelved.

Fortunately, after years of struggle, there was finally a change for the better.

Birdman hurried down a small path, spotting two people by a large beech tree—also the only two strangers he’d seen in recent years.

“Welcome, welcome…”

Birdman quickened his pace, almost jogging to reach them.

“It’s an honor to meet you both.” He extended his hand, “I’m Birdman Strick, head of the Fire Dragon Reserve.”

“Hello, Mr. Strick.” Kael extended his hand as well.

That’s right, the visitors were Kael and Dumbledore.

After resolving Arianna’s matter, Dumbledore intended to return immediately, but Kael mentioned he had other matters to attend to.

Though eager to see Arianna, Kael had helped significantly; Dumbledore couldn’t refuse, so he accompanied him here.

As for why Kael came, it all started a month ago when he was staying at the Leaky Cauldron and overheard a conversation between two Ministry of Magic employees, learning about the situation here.

Kael wanted to come immediately, but because his main task wasn’t completed, he had to postpone it.

Now, having a bit of time, he decided to drop by.

The two shook hands.

“Mr. Strick, we’re not discussing things here, are we?” Kael glanced around, “Although I don’t mind, my companion here… Well, he’s quite old, surely he needs a bit more rest.”

“Ah, my oversight.” Birdman hurriedly said, leading them to his simple office and even preparing tea and snacks for them.

The tea was made of pine needles, a handful briefly rinsed and then steeped in hot water. Although the taste wasn’t great, it was the only drink here with any flavor.

The snacks were grayish, hard lumps, reminiscent of Hagrid’s Rock Skin Cake but even worse, the bitter taste unmistakable even from a distance.

Although Kael had heard of the harsh conditions at the Fire Dragon Reserve, he hadn’t expected them to be this bad. This stuff… even house-elves probably wouldn’t touch it.

Birdman seemed to guess Kael’s thoughts and sighed helplessly.