The visitor ticket system at the Romanian Dragon Sanctuary was still in its trial phase.
Since the sanctuary opened, it had relied on Ministry funding and donations from generous patrons. But as the operation grew larger, those resources weren't enough to keep it running.
So the head of the sanctuary decided to test a "tourism" program to bring in extra income. Because there was no precedent, they started small.
During the trial, only a handful of witches and wizards received visitor passes, and they were scheduled on different days so the sanctuary could manage them safely.
That meant, for the past two days, the only visitors in the entire Romanian Dragon Sanctuary were Hagrid and Richie.
As planned, on their first day Richie and Hagrid spent the whole day shadowing the keepers:
6:00–6:30 a.m. — Assign daily observation targets
6:30–8:00 a.m. — First feeding
8:00–10:00 a.m. — Health checks
… and so on.
A dragon keeper's job was far more complicated—and dangerous—than most people imagined.
Richie watched every breed closely, learning their habits and appearances. He learned a lot. Hagrid, on the other hand, was having the time of his life. At one point he even asked Charlie if the sanctuary accepted part-time helpers.
Charlie could only laugh and shake his head. It took a lot of convincing—including reminding Hagrid how important his job as Keeper of the Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts was—before Hagrid finally dropped the idea of coming every week.
The busy, fulfilling day flew by. Before they knew it, it was six o'clock in the evening.
The sanctuary had beautiful surroundings. The starry sky stretched wide above the open plains, giving everything a peaceful, breathtaking feel.
After sharing the keepers' simple dinner with Charlie and the others, Richie and Hagrid were shown to a large tent.
"This is the temporary lodging we set up for visitors," Charlie said, holding the flap open. "Everything you need is inside."
Richie and Hagrid followed him in.
The tent had been expanded with an Undetectable Extension Charm. Inside were more than thirty private rooms and proper washrooms.
"Thanks for all your hard work today," Charlie said, handing each of them a small booklet. "These are some info packs about the sanctuary. Feel free to look them over and give us any suggestions you have."
"Oh, and tomorrow we've scheduled a dragon ride for you. You'll each get to fly a lap over the plains."
Charlie winked at Richie. "It's a completely different experience from riding a broom."
Richie nodded. No kidding. Riding a dragon versus a broom? Not even close.
"It's getting late, so get some rest. I'll come wake you in the morning."
With everything settled, Charlie said goodnight and left.
Hagrid and Richie had been on their feet since six that morning. Even though it was still early, they each picked an adjacent room and turned in.
Lying in bed, Richie flipped through the sanctuary booklet by the light of the oil lamp on his bedside table.
Time passed. When sleep finally crept up on him, he blew out the lamp and closed his eyes.
Not long after the light went out, a piercing alarm blared.
WEEE—! WEEE—! WEEE—!
Richie reignited the lamp, frowning as he pulled on his robes and grabbed his wand. He stepped out of his room.
Hagrid had been woken up too. The two of them met in the tent's common area at almost the same time.
"What's happening?" Hagrid asked, looking around nervously.
There was no one else in the tent to answer him.
Richie shook his head. "Let's go outside and see."
They stepped out of the tent. The alarm was even louder out here.
Wizards on brooms were streaking across the night sky—some heading toward the main wooden building, others fanning out in every direction carrying torches and lanterns. The staff moved with practiced speed. Clearly they had emergency protocols in place. Some stayed behind to guard the main building while the rest mobilized.
Richie and Hagrid watched for a while but still had no idea what was happening. When the alarm finally stopped, they were about to head back inside.
That was when a figure swooped down and landed beside them.
It was Ben—the same staff member they had met that morning.
"Sorry, visitors," Ben said, face serious. "There's been an incident in the sanctuary."
"A Hungarian Horntail broke through its magical barrier. That caused the barriers of the two neighboring paddocks to collapse as well. Three dragons in total have escaped and are loose."
"We've activated Level One alert. Please stay where you are and—"
Ben was still explaining when Hagrid suddenly grabbed both Richie and Ben and dove to the side.
BOOM!
Blue flames exploded exactly where they had been standing a second earlier.
The fire instantly caught the tent, and it went up in flames.
The whole area lit up brightly.
The three of them scrambled to their feet, coughing and covered in soot. Ben stared up at the dragon flapping its wings overhead.
"Merlin's balls," he cursed. "Romanian Longhorn… one of our highest-risk dragons. Nicknamed Thornhead…"
Ben's face had gone pale. "Out of the three that escaped, one of them is that one!"
"It's in the middle of shedding its horns right now—the worst possible time. It's extremely aggressive…"
Richie cut off Ben's explanation. "What do we do?!"
"What do we do…" Ben gripped his broom tightly and took a deep breath. "We need someone to get to the main building and tell the others that Thornhead is here. We need at least five people to cast the large-scale binding spell to pin it down!"
"But the problem is… it's already locked onto us!"
As if to prove his point, the Romanian Longhorn opened its mouth and unleashed another blast of blue fire.
Ben leapt onto his broom and shot into the air to dodge. Richie and Hagrid threw themselves sideways again.
They barely escaped.
Both of them were looking much more disheveled now.
"Don't run! Don't turn your back on it!" Ben shouted from above. "If you run now, it'll kill you even faster!"
Richie raised his wand and cast an Ironclad Charm over the three of them.