Kayson leaned back in his chair; there was no one standing left in the Great Hall. The Little Wizards from both schools, and their Principals...
It's worth mentioning that Karkaroff was supposed to sit to Dumbledore's left and Kayson's right, but the old man, perhaps remembering some unpleasant memories, quietly swapped seats with Madam Maxime.
Meanwhile, three seats remained empty at the Professor's table.
"Severus? Whose seats are those?" Kayson asked softly.
"The Ministry of Magic will probably send people, and one seems to be from the Dragon Reserve. Because of the commotion you caused in Italy during the holidays, Beauxbatons was the first to learn about your Dragon Reserve bidding plan. They guessed the connection between the Dragon Reserve and the Triwizard Tournament, so Dumbledore also invited the head of the Dragon Reserve in advance," Snape responded softly.
"The Dragon Reserve in Romania... might have some problems," Kayson whispered.
"Hmm?"
"Perhaps your former colleague," Kayson said, gripping Snape's wrist, then quickly releasing it. He then briefly recounted the small incident when he and Sirius went to arrest Lupin and encountered Nios.
"I hope he just has a naturally expressionless face," Snape said curtly.
"Yeah." Kayson nodded. Soon, people from the Ministry of Magic arrived, but only one: Ludo Bagman.
As for the other Ministry of Magic official and Nios, there was still no sign of them.
"Those two are quite high-handed," Kayson joked.
"He has work with International magic Cooperation; he's probably greeting the foreign Wizards from Romania near the Forbidden Forest," Snape replied softly.
"Uh-huh..." Kayson nodded, still sitting there waiting for the two latecomers. Soon, the two he had been waiting for pushed open the Great Hall doors and walked in.
"That two-meter-tall muscular man is your suspected Death Eater?" Snape asked in a low voice.
"Apparently. Do you know him?"
"Never met him."
"Nice to meet you, Headmaster Dumbledore," Nios said, walking to the seat next to Hagrid and sitting down, addressing Dumbledore who was seated in the center.
"Yes, we've only met on paper before," Dumbledore chuckled, raising his goblet to Nios.
The two drank a toast from afar, while Hagrid, beside Nios, became mesmerized. He looked to his left at the elegant and virtuous Madam Maxime, then to his right at the handsome and brave Nios.
What to do...
So hard to choose.
Ultimately, his love for magical creatures triumphed over the control of hormones and genes.
"Ahem, Mr. Nios, I hear you manage a Dragon Reserve?" Hagrid asked quietly.
"Yes, is there a problem?" Nios looked at Hagrid and said.
"Um... uh... no problem." Hagrid, for some reason, usually wasn't very good at perceiving others' emotions, which is why Hagrid was so well-liked at Hogwarts.
As the saying goes, a direct approach conquers all. With Hagrid's sincere way of socializing, normal people might not like it too much, but they wouldn't be too distant... Well, actually, there would be distance, but he couldn't perceive it, so he continued with his direct approach, and his favorability slowly, slowly increased.
But Nios was different. Even with Hagrid's reaction time longer than a dragon's and his heart thicker than a bucket, he could still sense Nios's aloofness.
This was also a kind of talent.
Soon, the two from the Ministry of Magic finally walked in. Kayson swallowed, dinner was finally about to begin. He picked up his knife and fork, waiting for the House-elves to serve the food, when Barty Crouch and Ludo Bagman looked directly at Dumbledore. After Dumbledore nodded, the two came behind Kayson, one on his left and one on his right, and lifted him up.
"???"
"What are you doing? What are you doing?!"
"I'm here for the feast! What do you want?!"
Kayson shouted and struggled. Just as he was about to find an opportunity to hit the two hard and then shout and lunge at Dumbledore, Ludo Bagman suddenly leaned close to his ear and said something.
Then he regained control of his legs and walked out of the Great Hall.
"So now I seriously suspect, how did this damn goblet of fire, as clumsy as it looks, actually break?" Kayson asked with a sigh, looking at the goblet of fire with its inscriptions scattered all over the floor.
"Perhaps it was due to disrepair from age," Barty Crouch replied.
"I just repaired this thing not long ago, and it's withstood hundreds of years of wind and rain. Why did it break in your hands?" Kayson said hauntingly.
....
"Can this thing still be repaired?"
Kayson's mouth twitched: "It's difficult. For an ordinary Alchemy Professor, to repair a goblet of fire broken to this extent, the Triwizard Tournament would probably be delayed until three years later."
Ludo Bagman looked up at the ceiling and sighed. He seemed to see his pension... a premature pension, of course.
And Barty Crouch also decided to write his resignation letter when he got back. Rather than letting Fudge, that idiot, feign comfort and then transfer him to another damned idle position to retire, it would be better to just go straight home... No, the son he exchanged for his wife's body was also lost, so going home now wouldn't be peaceful either. It would be better to go to work... Damn beast... Beast!
Clang!
Just as the two were engrossed in their own thoughts, a loud clang suddenly rang out. Startled, the two looked towards the source of the sound.
They saw Kayson place a pitch-black anvil on the ground, then with one hand, he alone grabbed the goblet of fire, which was taller than a person, and placed it on the anvil.
Then he picked up the fragments from the ground and pieced them onto the goblet of fire like a puzzle. Finally, he pulled out a hammer from somewhere and gently struck it.
"It's fixed," Kayson said, clapping his hands.
"Didn't you say this thing would take at least three years to fix?" Ludo Bagman said, his mouth twitching.
"I said an ordinary Alchemy Professor. Am I ordinary?" Kayson said, frowning.
Ludo Bagman and Barty Crouch exchanged glances.... Good!
Their jobs were saved!
-------------------------------
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