Hogwarts' Golden Glory

The afternoon sun was particularly intense on Saturday, yet a tense atmosphere permeated the clearing at the edge of the forbidden forest.

The space under the invisibility cloak felt somewhat cramped at that moment.

Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ron were hiding under the Invisibility Cloak.

As he watched the crowd gradually gather in front of Hagrid's cabin, his heart nearly leaped out of his chest.

"Merlin's beard," Ron gritted out, "that's Cornelius Fudge! Minister for Magic!"

Sure enough, Fudge, wearing a pinstripe robe, stood at the front with his pregnant belly, a gleaming Merlin medal pinned to his chest, and a broad smile on his round face.

Several Ministry of Magic officials were standing beside him.

Opposite them stood a tall, thin witch with a shorthand notebook—Rita Skeeter.

She gripped her crocodile-skin handbag tightly with one hand. A stenographer's quill pen beside her was automatically recording everything before her.

"The Daily Prophet has an exclusive report," Hermione whispered with disgust. "She wrote a bunch of lies about Dumbledore! She's definitely here for publicity."

Just then, the sound of orderly footsteps came from the other end of the open space.

"Look, that's my brother!"

Under the cloak, Ron pointed in a direction and exclaimed softly.

Charlie Weasley strode in with three dragon trainers from a Romanian dragon farm, all dressed in matching fireproof dragon skin uniforms and wearing badges of the International Dragon Training Association on their chests.

Charlie's red hair shone like a flame in the sunlight, and the scars on his arms spoke of the dangers of his job.

"That scar is from when he was spewed by the fire dragon. When Mom saw it last time, she didn't want Charlie to keep raising dragons anymore."

Ron explained to the group about their scars, which he considered a mark of honor.

"Ah! Mr. Weasley!" Fudge greeted him warmly. "It's an honor to witness this rare dragon conservation effort!"

Charlie shook hands politely, but his eyes kept glancing at Hagrid's tightly closed cabin door.

"Minister, let's hurry, the young dragon is prone to stress when it sees more strangers—"

Charlie was still somewhat surprised, even though Kane had mentioned to him that officials from the Ministry of Magic would be present today.

But I never expected it to be Fudge.

“Of course, of course!” Fudge turned to Rita. “This is Charlie Weasley, one of Romania’s finest dragon trainers! His brothers also attend Hogwarts!”

Rita's quill immediately began to dance wildly.

Rita nodded, but continued to ask, "Mr. Weasley, what are your thoughts on pure-blood families like the Malfoys' involvement in dragon conservation?"

"Actually," a cool voice suddenly interrupted, "our Malfoy family has been investing in protected areas in Romania for over five years."

Everyone turned to see Draco Malfoy approaching, dressed in a finely tailored silver-green robe, with a silver brooch given to him by Kane bearing the Malfoy family crest pinned to his chest.

A rare focus shone in the other person's eyes.

Harry almost bit his tongue.

Is this still the Draco they knew before?

At this moment, Draco looked like a younger version of Lucius, only lacking the arrogance and possessing more youthful charm.

"This is Mr. Draco Malfoy," Charlie introduced naturally, as if they were already acquainted, "the young master of the Malfoy Dragon Farm, and the co-head of this handover."

Fudge's smile grew even brighter, since he already knew in advance who would be coming today.

Rita's quill was so excited it almost flew away: "Two young people from opposing families joining forces to protect magical creatures! What a touching cross-academy collaboration!"

The door to Hagrid's cabin was suddenly kicked open, and a wave of heat rushed out.

Norbert is almost as tall as Hagrid!

At that moment, it was struggling in Hagrid's arms, spewing sparks.

Its scales shimmered with a bronze luster in the sunlight, and its wings stirred up gusts of hot wind when it flapped.

"Merlin..." Fudge staggered back a few steps, "It's bigger than the report said!"

"Prepare the Tranquility Charm!" Charlie commanded immediately, as he and his companions drew their wands simultaneously.

Draco quickly took his place, his movements so practiced it was as if it were his first time participating.

"One, two, three—collapse to the ground, completely unconscious!"

Although one spell, being so small, seemed somewhat out of place compared to the others.

However, no one present looked down on the boy, after all, it was already quite remarkable that he could cast such a spell at his age.

The four people under the cloak, in particular, were quite surprised by Draco's performance.

The four spells struck Nobeta simultaneously, and the young dragon let out a cry like an infant, its struggles gradually weakening.

Tears streamed down Hagrid's beard, but he still cooperated by placing the dragon into the specially made iron cage.

"Replenish his nutritional needs," Draco suddenly said, taking a crystal bottle from his pocket. "Otherwise, he'll easily wake up hungry during transport."

Charlie raised an eyebrow in surprise, but still took the potion and dripped it into the dragon's mouth.

"Is this a special recipe from your Malfoy dragon farm?" Rita asked keenly.

Draco raised his chin slightly: "Trade secret, ma'am."

His tone carried the arrogance characteristic of the Malfoy family, yet he added, "However, all the recipes have been shared with the International Dragon Taming Association."

When the cage door was finally locked, Harry noticed Draco quietly let out a sigh of relief, his fingers unconsciously stroking the dragon-shaped brooch on his chest.

Charlie's gaze toward Draco also shifted from its initial indifference to a degree of admiration.

"Handover complete!"

Fudge proclaimed loudly, as if it were all his doing, "This is a milestone in the protection of magical creatures in the British wizarding world!"

After all, he came here to add a highlight to his resume!

Rita's notebook automatically generated the title: "A Guardian Across Bloodlines - A Chronicle of the Hogwarts Dragon Rescue Operation".

Her gaze swept back and forth between Draco and Charlie, clearly plotting something even more "exciting".

As the crowd began to disperse, Harry and his friends finally removed their Invisibility Cloaks.

He, Ron, Hermione, and Neville just appeared.

Then Draco said to Charlie, "Your transportation methods are too outdated. Malfoy Manor has a much more secure key system."

Charlie laughed: "Next time you come to Romania, I'll show you what the real 'old-fashioned method' is!"

Ron's jaw nearly dropped to the floor: "My brother's joking with Malfoy? Is the end of the world coming?"

He still couldn't quite accept that his brother and Malfoy had such a good relationship.

Fred and George are one thing, but now even Charlie is the same.

Hermione, however, seemed lost in thought: "What other plans does Kane Malfoy have...?"

She had already realized that she could have secretly sent Norbert back.

But with so many people here today, this matter must be related to Kane!