The dragon tamer was very friendly. He took off his gloves and began shaking hands with Severus and the others, not even leaving out Harry and Draco.
"Is this a Swedish Short-Snout?" Draco couldn't help but move closer to the dragon, his eyes shining.
"Oh, my! When I was your age, I couldn't even tell a dragon from a lizard!"
The dragon tamer praised Draco, also noticing the longing in both Draco and Harry's eyes.
"Want to touch it? Go ahead, don't be afraid. The dragons we ride are all gentle and don't harm people. You can interact with them safely, but be careful not to touch its nose. Sometimes it can't help but sneeze, and the high temperature of its breath could burn you."
Hearing this, Harry and Draco finally mustered the courage to approach the Swedish Short-Snout.
Just as the dragon tamer had said, the dragon was indeed very gentle. It calmly watched the two boys approach and even deliberately lowered its large head onto the grass, letting them pet it.
But Andrews keenly noticed the first thing the dragon tamer had said.
"Patrolling for the reserve's expansion work?"
He frowned.
"What does that mean?"
The dragon tamer slapped his forehead as if just remembering what he had intended to say.
"Sorry, I almost forgot. Seeing you here, I came down specifically to tell you that in three days, the Llogara Dragon Nature Reserve will be expanding in this direction. We will designate this valley and an additional 10 kilometers east as new dragon habitat. You'd better leave within these three days. Otherwise, the relocated dragons can be irritable and highly aggressive, which could cause you harm."
Severus and Lupin exchanged glances. They both clearly heard the key issue.
Andrews's face changed. He looked at the dragon tamer in shock.
"Expanding east? And including this valley! What about the trolls living here? What will happen to them?"
The dragon tamer shrugged.
"That will be up to natural selection. Dragons don't usually actively harm other magical creatures, but trolls are so foolish they're bound to provoke them. That will lead to conflict, and the trolls will probably be crushed unilaterally."
"If they were rare magical creatures on the protection list, the Ministry might arrange for employees to protect and relocate them. But trolls... obviously, there's no need for protection."
Andrews's face had turned pale.
Whether in his heart or in what he had said to Severus and the others, he knew perfectly well that most trolls were fools acting on beastly instinct, with only a few like Lulu possessing human-like emotions.
But regardless, he had lived here with these trolls for three years. With Lulu as the intermediary, he had developed feelings for them.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have asked Severus and the others to help build proper houses for the trolls before he left Europe.
And now, the houses weren't even finished, but the trolls were about to be finished!
"Why is the Dragon Nature Reserve suddenly expanding?" Severus asked suddenly, "Was the original area not enough for the dragons to live in?"
The dragon tamer shook his head with a pained expression.
"Of course, we don't want to expand either. But these past two years, there have been constant accidents on the western side of the reserve. One after another, three dragons have died, and seven have been injured."
"Both the Greek Ministry of Magic and the Albanian Ministry of Magic have sent people to investigate many times, but they haven't found any cause."
"So, a few days ago, the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures issued an order for us to abandon the western area of the reserve and expand eastward."
At this point, he didn't wait for Severus and the others to speak further. Glancing at the distant dragon herd, he turned and said,
"Oh no, I must catch up with them! Kids! The visit is over, we have to go. There's still a lot of work to do today!"
He remounted the Swedish Short-Snout, signaling for Draco and Harry to step back, and said one last thing to Severus and the others.
"Remember, you must leave within these three days! If anything happens, or if you're attacked by a dragon, remember to send a distress signal into the sky. Our people will arrive quickly!"
As his words fell, the Swedish Short-Snout flapped its wings again, soaring into the sky and heading in the direction the dragon herd had disappeared.
Harry and Draco were still immersed in the excitement from earlier.
"Did you see that! Its nostrils could fit my whole head! I wonder how big a pillar of fire it could spew from there!"
"This dragon is so beautiful, much prettier than those with gray scales!"
They chatted as they returned to the adults, only to find that, contrary to their excitement, the atmosphere among the adults was clearly off.
Andrews's face was as pale as paper. Severus and Lupin also wore expressions of wanting to comfort him but not knowing what to say.
"What's wrong?" Harry couldn't help but ask.
"The dragons' territory is going to include this valley. When that happens, the trolls living here will definitely clash with them. The trolls will be wiped out." Lupin told them.
Hearing this, Harry and Draco's faces also turned pale, as if splashed with cold water, completely extinguishing their earlier excitement.
"How... how could this happen?"
Draco couldn't help but say, "Then didn't we build those houses for nothing!"
But as soon as the words left his mouth, after so many days of Severus's guidance, he realized he had misspoken.
Under the gaze of Harry and Lupin, he didn't want to admit his mistake outright but just turned his face away as if nothing had happened.
Severus patted Andrews on the shoulder at that moment and asked, "What do you plan to do?"
Hearing his question, Andrews snapped out of his daze. His expression was gloomy, and he finally sighed.
"I need to tell Lulu. It also needs to know what's going to happen. After it knows, we can decide what to do next."
After such an event, their subsequent lunch was naturally flavorless.
After lunch, there was no need to continue building houses. Andrews went alone to find Lulu to explain the situation about the dragon reserve's expansion.
Severus and the other three gathered together.
"So, will Mr. Andrews have to leave Europe early?" Harry asked.
"What else? His research subjects are about to disappear. He can't possibly be thinking of staying to help these trolls fight dragons, can he?" Draco complained.
"No one in the world is that foolish!"