Early the next morning, Fred and George stormed back to Ottery St Catchpole in a rage, not even having bothered to eat breakfast.
But they did not manage to see Kai as they had hoped.
"What, he's out?"
"Yes, just ten minutes ago," Chris said, "Mr. Scamander thought it was time for Kai to expand his horizons, so he took advantage of the holiday to take him out."
He opened the door to let them in, "You probably haven't had breakfast yet, have you?"
"No need, we..."
Fred hadn't even finished his sentence when he smelled a very special aroma, seemingly roast beef steak, but with an indescribable freshness, like morning dew or freshly picked fruit.
Their noses seemed to be gripped by something, and they involuntarily walked into the house.
Chris smiled and waved his wand, and two steaming, rich-smelling steaks floated out from the kitchen, landing on the empty plates on the dining table.
"Giant Horned Beast hindquarters, the favorite food of the Black Dragons in the Hesidiri Islands."
Chris said with a smile, "You can't find this creature in the United Kingdom; Mr. Scamander brought it over specially, try it and see what you think."
"Then we won't stand on ceremony." Fred and George sat at the table, unable to resist cutting a piece of steak and putting it in their mouths.
It was indeed delicious, and it wasn't just the Black Dragons who liked it, they liked it too.
In almost a blink of an eye, half of the steak had disappeared.
"What did we come here for..." Fred felt he should ask something, but the moment the words reached his lips, they were swallowed back with the steak.
Forget it, never mind, let's eat first...
...
Meanwhile, Kai had also arrived with Newt in a sparsely populated place, surrounded by continuous peaks, and they were currently on the top of one of the mountains.
"South of Romania..." Newt pointed in the direction directly opposite them, "If you keep going from here, you'll reach Bulgaria. I've traveled this path several times, so I remember it clearly."
Kai glanced at him and leisurely said, "So this is definitely not an official road, right?"
"At least the Portkey we're using was obtained through regular means."
Newt casually put a brooch into his pocket and regretfully said, "This is really nice. Back then, I went through a lot to get some specific Portkeys, even received fakes, and spent a bunch of Galleons, but ended up at a completely different place."
Kai knew he was talking about his experiences decades ago, during the time he traveled the world delivering Fantastic Beasts, so he couldn't help but ask curiously, "What happened to the person who sold you the fake things? Didn't you go after him?"
"Of course I looked for him, but couldn't find him," Newt said, "That's normal, after all, selling Portkeys is illegal; they never stay in one place for too long.
"But I heard that this person somehow did something and suddenly became a hero in their country one day."
Kai struggled to keep a straight face... Becoming a national hero by selling fakes, even in the magic realm, was rare... But if it was Portkeys, and it happened to Newt, it didn't seem so perplexing.
After all, he sort of spared his own country from a disaster... A hero title, it's not too much.
"How did you find out?" Kai continued to ask, "Did he write you a letter?"
"No, I heard about it from other people selling Portkeys, and he even seemed to return the Galleons to me... I dare say the owl carrying the Galleons flew for at least a month, because when it found me, it was so thin it was merely skin and bones, poor little fellow."
Newt didn't seem willing to discuss much about his youthful experiences. He looked around, seemingly searching for someone...
"Strange, Dumbledore said the person supposed to receive us was nearby, and said we'd recognize her at a glance... Where is she?"
"Seems you are the ones I've been waiting for," a low voice suddenly sounded from behind the two of them.
Newt turned around first and then looked up to see her full appearance.
It was Ms. Maxime from Beauxbatons... Her nearly ten-foot-tall height was incredibly distinctive.
"Oh, remarkable Disillusionment Charm."
"Though I would like to accept your compliment, I actually used a Disillusionment Charm, the real me is in another place."
Ms. Maxime said with a smile, "I'm afraid no one in the magic realm is better than you at the Disillusionment Charm. If I used that magic, I would definitely be discovered."
Newt smiled, not speaking.
At this moment, Kai also noticed something like a mirror hidden at Ms. Maxime's feet, but because it was concealed in a pile of leaves, they hadn't noticed it earlier.
A moment later, with a slight popping sound, the real Ms. Maxime arrived, she extended her hand:
"Nice to meet you, Mr. Scamander, your works have always been the most important textbooks at Beauxbatons."
"It's my honor." Newt extended his hand as well.
"And you, Kai, it's nice to meet you again."
"Me too, Ms. Maxime," Kai said with a smile.
"I heard you've accomplished many great things over the past year, even receiving a special appointment from the British Ministry of Magic?"
"Just some minor achievements, nothing major," Kai replied.
"You're too modest..." Ms. Maxime shook her head, "Under normal circumstances, the French Ministry of Magic would not employ a sixth-year student, and I believe it's the same with your side."