Farewells Were Inevitable

Robin caught Hagrid, Edward, and Ager blinking frantically at him. Coupled with their story about his "parents' keepsake," he realized they had covered up the Phoenix Spitfire for him.

Then nothing but Artificial Gunpowder could have stood in for Phoenix Fire and destroyed the Experimental Base!

Robin gave them a reassuring look, then recounted how they had followed the green mist to the mysterious Black Zone, opened the Magic Runes Teleportation Array, passed through an Illusion and an Illusory Realm, pushed open a massive gate, and reached the Experimental Base. There, they had used Gunpowder and scorching sunlight to destroy the base and wipe out the Vampires.

After recording everything, Charlie Weasley put away his Quill. He frowned at Robin's slightly pale face, studying him as though trying to tell whether he was lying.

Charlie had led a team through the area the four of them and the dragon had explored. The Black Pool was strange, the Magic Runes really were relics of the Middle Ages, the Illusion remained, the Illusory Realm had become a desert, and the Experimental Base was in ruins.

They had not found a single useful thing. It made him wonder whether the four people before him had taken something—or struck some kind of deal.

Edward came from a top aristocratic family, and Ager's background was hardly humble. Charlie had neither the authority nor the standing to interrogate them.

Hagrid was the Hogwarts groundskeeper and Charlie's elder, so Charlie did not dare question him outright. He had tried getting him drunk instead, but Hagrid had learned his lesson from the incident with Fluffy's weakness. Once tipsy, he had dropped onto the table with a smack and fallen asleep. No amount of calling would wake him.

So Charlie pinned his hopes of learning the truth on the