"Hello, I'm Charlie, and these are my friends who are here to receive the dragons." Charlie was slightly plump, and his tone was warm and welcoming.
Ivan was worried that Ministry officials might arrive early, so after brief introductions, they were taken to Hagrid's hut.
"Who did this? It saved us a lot of trouble." Charlie was surprised to see Norbert, tied up and sound asleep.
Charlie confidently tried to lift Norbert's Transfiguration Charm with a wave of his wand, but his attempts were to no avail. He looked at Ivan with embarrassment.
"It's Professor McGonagall," Ivan explained.
"Why didn't you say…" Charlie's mouth twitched, and he quickly called the others over to help. It took a lot of effort to remove the Transfiguration Charm that was tightening Norbert's limbs.
He also woke Norbert up and gave him a fright. Ivan was the one who managed to calm Norbert down and put him back under a Stunning Spell.
Charlie was impressed, and said that Ivan had a talent for raising dragons, and asked him if he would like to work with him in Romania after he graduated.
Ivan, of course, refused without hesitation. He kept Norbert solely for the convenience of extracting blood, otherwise he would not have the leisure to raise a dragon.
Disappointed, Charlie didn't try to convince Norbert otherwise. Instead, he and the others put Norbert in a special cage and cast Levitation and Stunning Spells on him.
The former was to reduce Norbert's weight and make transportation easier, while the latter was to prevent Norbert from waking up midway.
Once done, Charlie didn't stay long, allowing his friends to guide the cage up into the sky on their brooms.
"It's done." Harry and the others were relieved to see Norbert off.
"We'll need to get rid of all traces of Norbert's life while we can," Ivan said, indicating the mess in the hut.
While Ivan's use of the Dust-Repelling Charm solved most of the problems, there were some that required their help.
By the time the four of them were finally done, it was already getting dark. Ivan was about to lead them away when he heard footsteps approaching the door.
…
Minister for Magic Fudge led the way to Hagrid's cottage on the shores of Lake Hogwarts, accompanied by Dumbledore and McGonagall, and followed by an older woman in a pink cardigan.
"Albus, you should know that I'm very willing to trust you, given how much you've helped me before, but I'm not the only one in charge of the Ministry of Magic…" Fudge's face was falsely worried.
"I also assure you that Hogwarts has always acted in accordance with Ministry of Magic regulations, and has never broken any rules." Dumbledore nodded his head in agreement, and would have believed Fudge if he hadn't dropped all of his administrative duties, signed a writ of inquiry as quickly as possible, and rushed here himself.
To his knowledge, the Ministry of Magic had never been more efficient in its business!
Half a body's length behind, Professor McGonagall looked worried, having misjudged Fudge's reaction time. She was worried that the children had not dealt with the situation in time, and Norbert was still in Hagrid's hut.
"Umbridge…" Fudge whispered, standing in front of the door. As Minister for Magic, he could not open the door himself.
"Very well, Minister…"
The high-pitched, delicate tones of her voice were comforting to hear from a young woman, but to hear them from Umbridge was disgusting.
Umbridge, however, had no such self-consciousness and pretended to take her wand out of her handbag and point it at the door.
"Alohomora!"
Umbridge flung the door open, causing Professor McGonagall's heart to jump out of her chest, which Fudge noticed with keen interest.
However, to the disappointment of Fudge and Umbridge, the house was not what they had expected; it was just an ordinary, shabby wooden hut.
Fudge would never have come to such a place.
However, there was still something there, and Umbridge's gaze swept over Ivan and the others who were still in the hut.
"Albus, I thought you kept your students in the castle," Fudge said, turning to Dumbledore with interest.
"There are exceptions, are there not?" Dumbledore's eyes lingered on Ivan's face for a moment, acutely aware of the change in him, but this was not the time to ask.
"Minister Fudge, how do you do? I'm Ivan Hales. It's a pleasure to meet you." Ivan bowed politely, and Fudge's good opinion of him was enhanced by his affinity.
"Of course, so am I…" Fudge reached out to shake Ivan's hand, then turned to look at the others, his interest piqued when he saw the iconic scar on Harry's head.
"Potter? You're Harry Potter?" Fudge stepped forward and stroked Harry's head affectionately, as if they were uncle and nephew.
Uncomfortable, Harry tried to move away, but Fudge's large hand was too strong for him.
"I have to admit you did something very good as a child…a hero, or the Ministry might have lost more men…" Fudge said wistfully.
More men lost? The Ministry must have been wiped out or surrendered, Ivan thought to himself.
"By the way, what are you doing here?" Fudge asked curiously.
Harry and Hermione were nonplussed, but Ivan did not panic, merely pointing to the dog.
"We're friends of Hagrid's, and since he's in the hospital, we were asked to look after Fang, in case he's not cared for and dies."
Fudge followed Ivan's finger and saw that it was a large Mastiff, with bandages around its legs and traces of blood on them.
Fudge nodded as he recalled the investigation report he had read earlier. The dog was the one who had rescued Hagrid when he was attacked.
Hey… who doesn't like a good, loyal dog?
Fudge bent down to stroke Fang's head, but Fang didn't seem to appreciate the gesture and bared his teeth at him, making Fudge look embarrassed. Fudge didn't like dogs that bared their teeth at him.