From Hogwarts to Strixhaven.

Chapter 327 Researcher and Fire Dragon
"They will stay here for the next two weeks." Ivy sent the mithril staff back into the void, then clapped his hands and looked at the temporary placement of the fire dragon in front of him.

"This is really... too amazing..." The dragon researchers gathered together to discuss for a few words, and finally decided to send Charlie Weasley to deal with Ivy. No one has ever seen magic on such a large scale, using manpower to shape mountains and caves. Even for wizards, this is a myth.

Charlie approached Ivy lightly, as if he was passing by a sleeping dragon. After walking a few steps, Charlie realized that he was not facing an unprecedented Ukrainian iron belly, but a powerful wizard.

"Uh... Professor Victor?" Charlie called hesitantly, "Should we wake up the dragons? They have been sleeping all the way. The two from Romania haven't eaten for several days..."

"Even if it's night time now, waking up the fire dragon is not a wise choice." Ivy turned around. Except for Charlie, the other fire dragon researchers were still watching from a distance, and some even refused to come down from the trees for the time being.

"Especially a dragon that has been hungry for a long time." Ivy smiled and joked, "Remember the motto of Hogwarts, Mr. Weasley?"

"Do not disturb sleeping dragons?" Charlie smiled, and his expression became much more relaxed. "But they need to eat, especially when these fire dragons are female fire dragons incubating eggs."

"You are the experts in this area," Ivy shrugged. "But have you prepared food for the dragons? I know their eating habits are different. Some like to eat food with hot blood, some prefer half-cooked food, and some like to let the food stink before eating..."

"You can rest assured about this, Professor Victor." Charlie's expression became less restrained when talking about dragons. He pointed at the dragons huddled together with the researchers for warmth, "Those guys are clean species and don't have the characteristics of carrion eaters, because they don't need to use rotten food to increase the danger of their fangs. As for the dragons' food... I remember Professor Dumbledore said someone would deliver it, and it would be specially purchased from Hogsmeade."

"Well, maybe Dumbledore has asked someone else to do this. It is definitely not an easy task to transport food for four dragons, so we should be patient." Ivy nodded thoughtfully. Maybe the kitchen supplier of Hogwarts and the supplier of magical creatures' food are not the same company, but he believes that members of the board of directors are definitely involved.

"Then let's not wake up the dragons yet. Maybe we can help them decorate their nests first..." Charlie approached and carefully looked at the temporary dragon nest that Ivy had just built. "...This is really amazing... The dragons in the reserve usually build their own nests, but their craftsmanship has never been so exquisite! Because they use dragon flames to bake the mountain rocks until they are soft and disintegrated, and then use their claws to clean up the rubble bit by bit. Only those dragon nests that have been used for a long time will appear so round. I'm afraid they will fall in love with this place! At least the Welsh green dragon will. Those from the Welsh Fire Dragon Reserve said that its nest is no more beautiful than a large chicken coop."

"Don't just talk about dragons, Mr. Weasley." Ivy glanced at the dragon researchers who were still paying close attention to this place. "Where are you going to stay tonight? In the castle? Or in Hogsmeade?"

"Oh! We brought a tent!" Charlie said energetically, "For fire dragon researchers, it is common to spend the night in the wilderness, so we plan to live near the dragon's lair. On the one hand, it is also to protect the plants in the forbidden forest from the influence of fire dragons. It would be bad if a forest fire started, so we have to keep a close eye on these grumpy guys."

"That's fine." Ivy turned back to face the dragon's nest. "You can come with your colleagues to set up the dragon's nest first, such as placing the dragon eggs. During this time, I will cast a hidden magic on this dragon's lair. It would be bad if some ignorant student broke in. As for waking them up, let's wait until the Hogwarts staff delivers their rations. I believe that eating as soon as they get up will calm the tempers of these fire dragons."

"That's it! Professor Victor!" Charlie grinned and ran towards his colleague.

Ivy took out the silver lime tree wand and prepared to cast a spell to cover up the dragon's lair.

A silver band of light spurted out from the tip of Ivy's wand, and in the blink of an eye it surrounded the artificial mountain where the dragon's lair was located. When they were connected end to end, a transparent hemispherical shield like a water curtain appeared in this space, not only completely enclosing the entire dragon's lair, but even including a large forest area.

"What kind of magic is this?" Charlie asked as he came over holding a few dragon eggs. The dragon eggs looked like they were made of granite, and each one was bigger than a normal person's head.

"I borrowed a little magic from Hogwarts Castle to temporarily hide this space from the Forbidden Forest. I will leave magic emblems on you so that you can see what's going on inside the magic shield even from the outside. For people without the emblem, this is just an ordinary jungle." Ivy replied, and then gave some precautions. "Of course, to prevent students from entering by mistake, after the shield is officially activated, anyone who passes through the border without permission will form a ripple inside the shield. As long as you look in the direction of the ripples, you can find the entrance for the intruder. If you plan to live near the dragon's lair, I think this is very necessary."

"Wow..." Charlie sighed blankly, and lifted the dragon egg that was about to fall to the ground in his arms to his chest, "This is really convenient... Is there any magic to prevent the fire dragon from escaping?"

"Of course," Ivy replied.

"It's true..." Charlie leaned back and the dragon egg in his arms almost fell to the ground.

"Remember what I just said? This magic shield borrows a little bit of Hogwarts' magic. For the magic school, the space inside the shield is equivalent to the outside." Ivy explained.

Seeing the "what are you talking about" expression on Charlie's face, Ivy knew he had to explain it in more detail.

"To put it simply, if any individual without a magic mark passes through the boundary of the shield from the inside, it will be an invasion for Hogwarts, and the headmaster will know immediately." Ivy couldn't be more satisfied with his magic. He distorted the magic covering Hogwarts to form an area with opposite inside and outside. Although the area covered by the Dragon's Nest shield is inside the Forbidden Forest, it is outside for the entire Hogwarts magic. Therefore, if any unauthorized creature wants to leave the range of the shield, it will trigger the magic of the magic school to protect teachers and students.

"You mean... the magic used to prevent the dragon from escaping... is to summon Professor Dumbledore?" Charlie, a former top student at Hogwarts, quickly understood the principles of Ivy's magic and asked in shock.

"Yes, that's it." This was what Ivy was most satisfied with about the magic shield. Dumbledore had drafted him in as a soldier, so he had to make Dumbledore suffer from a nervous breakdown for a few days.

The dragons' nests were quickly set up. Charlie and the dragon researchers even sprayed special dragon-scented perfume inside to help the four dragons distinguish their respective nests.

Before Ivy officially activated the shield magic, the house-elves from the Hogwarts kitchen arrived at the freshly-made dragon's lair together.

"It's so beautiful..." Hagrid's voice was soft, like a little girl seeing her favorite Barbie doll or stuffed toy.

"Hey! Hagrid!" Charlie came forward, "I heard that Hogwarts has been granted permission to raise dragons?"

"Yes..." Hagrid's voice still sounded like he was sleepwalking, "But there is only one dragon in the Dragon Area now, and that's the Norbeta I told you about before. And that area is not open to students yet, but sometimes I will take the seventh graders for a tour..."

"Besides visiting the dragon, you should have other tasks, right?" Charlie smiled as if he was used to it. "Professor Dumbledore won't feed you to the dragon, will he?"

"Those house-elves," Hagrid waved his hand, "will bring the dragon's food, but you'd better arrange a delivery time with them, because I know you will definitely not want to leave these beauties... I would do the same if I were you."

“No, no, no!” Charlie waved his hands quickly, “We are here because of work, to ensure that the Forbidden Forest of Hogwarts does not become a sea of fire.”

"They're all very good, aren't they?" Hagrid stared at the nose of a dragon with wide eyes. There was a very cloudy snot bubble there. "Look at these little sleepyheads!"

"Good? I wouldn't use such words to describe fire dragons." Charlie called on two fire dragon researchers to contact the house-elves about the time and location of food delivery, while other researchers were preparing to set up their own tents.

"In fact, these are guys with very bad tempers. Each of them can spit fire up to twenty feet away. That Hornet can even spit forty feet!"

While Charlie was talking, the dragon researchers assigned some people to move the iron cages that held the dragons. They wanted to lock the dragons in the dragon den, and the dragons, which were incubating eggs, would never leave the den easily. Moreover, these dragons could eat high-quality food from Hogwarts every day.

Hagrid followed the researchers to the entrance of the dragon's cave, and kept looking inside with his furry head.

"You built a super beautiful nest for them! I even saw dragon eggs!" Hagrid exclaimed in surprise, and even let out a longing groan because of the dragon eggs.

"That was built by Professor Victor. Besides, there are a certain number of dragon eggs. I have personally counted every nest!" Charlie's words contained two different meanings: explanation and warning.

"Professor Victor?" Hagrid pulled his head out of the dragon's lair and noticed Ivy standing at the edge of the field, helping to drive thick iron nails into the ground. That was a physical security measure used to tie up the dragons, tightly connected to the chains on their ankles, so the deeper the better.

"Hi! Victor!" Hagrid greeted Ivy enthusiastically, "I haven't seen you in several years! Are you here to watch the Triwizard Tournament as well? I have good news for you. Harry has become a Hogwarts champion! And he's the fourth champion!"

"No, Hagrid." Ivy drove the last nail into the ground and used Transfiguration to change the structure of the rock so that the nail was deeply locked inside. "I was asked by Dumbledore to come here to build a temporary accommodation area for the dragon. After tonight, I'm afraid you won't see me again."

"Haha! You said the same thing last time!" There was no surprise or sadness on Hagrid's face. He pointed at Ivy and laughed, "Now we meet again! I guess you will show up again as long as Dumbledore needs you!"

Ivy frowned and said, "In fact, I have rejected Dumbledore's invitation several times."

"The dragon feed has arrived!" This voice came from the dragon researchers' tent area, "It's raw beef! All the best parts! I want to roast two pieces to eat!"

"The cooking skills of the Hogwarts house-elves will definitely not disappoint you!" Charlie shouted to his colleagues, "Let's feed the dragon first and then think about eating! Professor Victor has made our work a lot easier!"

"Okay! Then do as you say! Weasley!"

Charlie gave that side a thumbs up, indicating that he had received the message.

Then he turned around and pointed at another tall figure at the edge of the field and asked, "Why did you bring her here? I remember that warriors are not allowed to know the projects they are about to face! And she will definitely tell her students, right?"

"I just thought she'd be happy to come over and see them," Hagrid called enthusiastically to the tall Madame Maxime. "Olympe! Come closer and take a look! While they're still sound asleep!"

So Madame Maxime walked over here in her unusually large high heels. Thanks to her huge feet, even with high heels, she could walk on flat ground in the forbidden forest full of rotten leaves and branches.

"This is such a romantic date." Charlie shook his head helplessly and had to let Hagrid do what he wanted. After all, cheating was an old tradition in the Triwizard Tournament.

Although she was closer, Madame Maxime did not join the conversation. Instead, she stared at the fire dragon sleeping in the cage and the raw beef thrown into the dragon's lair by the fire dragon researchers.

"Four in total?" Hagrid was still asking about the topic that interested him. To others, the atmosphere of this date between two tall men became weird.

"Yes," Charlie replied, "The one closest to us is the Hungarian Horntail, the silver-blue one is the Swedish Short-nosed Dragon, the red one is the Chinese Fireball Dragon, and the smallest one is the Welsh Green Dragon."

"Oh..." Hagrid sighed with satisfaction, "So, each warrior has to deal with one, right? What exactly do they have to do? Fight a dragon?"

"Probably not," Charlie scratched his arm which was covered with burns and scratches. "Even an adult wizard who has worked in a fire dragon protection area for many years can only run away when facing a fire dragon alone, so I guess the most he can do is pass by the fire dragon."

"We will all be on duty as safety officers during the first project. If things go wrong, we will rush to the rescue, stop the dragon from breathing fire, and recite the fire-extinguishing spell to it." Charlie looked at Ivy who was trying to pull a scale off the Hungarian Horntail. "If Professor Victor can join the safety officer team during the first project, then no warrior will be hurt. I have never seen a wizard like him."

"I've already told you that after tonight, you won't see me in Hogwarts." Ivy compared the black scales of the Hungarian Horntail with the scales of Smaug. Even though Ivy took out the smallest scale of Smaug, it was still several sizes larger than the scales on the fifty-foot-tall Hungarian Horntail.

"Oh!" Hagrid appeared beside him immediately. "What kind of dragon scale is this? It's too big, isn't it? Where did you get it, Victor?"

"I got it from a dragon I killed that had taken a lot of treasure." Ivy handed Smaug's dragon scale to Hagrid, "Leave it as a souvenir, Hagrid."

"...How big is it?" Charlie asked in astonishment, "I can't imagine a dragon can grow to that size!"

"I know it's more than three hundred feet long," Ivy put away the scale of the Horntail and took out another scale and handed it to Charlie, "So I have a lot of similar things, take them and play with them."

"This will definitely become my heirloom!" Charlie held the dragon scale in both hands, like a heavy piece of armor, "Charlie Weasley's heirloom!"

The roar of the fire dragon sounded in this space, and Charlie's colleagues had already begun to work on waking up the sleepy fire dragon.

Although the fire dragons, who had slept for several days, looked very angry, the abundant food and all the dragon eggs quickly calmed them down, and they all began to feast in their new home.

"Okay, Mr. Weasley, it's almost time for me to leave. Before that, please gather your colleagues and I will mark them with magic to prevent the magic shield from misjudging their identities." Ivy left the cage of the Hornet and walked towards the tent area of the fire dragon researchers.

The magic mark used by Ivy is a temporary tattoo spell. The pattern is a flapping fire dragon with constantly changing colors. This shape is very popular among fire dragon researchers, and they all ask Ivy to put the mark in the most conspicuous position.

After the researchers' Fire Dragon Marks were taken care of, the magic shield could really take effect. But what was unexpected was that while the researchers were still showing off the Fire Dragon Marks on their faces and hands, the magic shield began to have eye-catching ripples like water waves.

"Professor Victor..." Charlie asked, staring at the ripples that were constantly twisting and spreading, "...Does this mean that there are intruders?"

"That's right." Ivy rubbed his chin and observed his spell, "I didn't expect it to come in handy so soon."

(End of this chapter)