Chapter 734 - 286: Family (2)
Chapter 734: Chapter 286: Family (2)
"Oh," Harry said, "Lady Pang doesn’t work day shifts. During the day, the Sphinx guards the door, and she switches in at six o’clock."
"The Sphinx?" Bill said with interest, "Oh, I remember now. Those two mischief-makers mentioned it to me. They said it’s an Egyptian specialty."
Harry knew that Bill worked at Gringotts in Egypt, where the Sphinx also appeared in Egyptian mythology.
"Lady Pang," Mrs. Weasley said with a reminiscent expression, "She was around when I was in school. One day, I returned to the dorm at four in the morning, and she scolded me a lot—I can’t imagine what would have happened if the Sphinx was watching the door then."
Bill’s focus was clearly different, and he zeroed in on...
"What were you doing outside the dorm at four a.m.?" He asked his mother in utter disbelief, as if he never thought his mom could be such a student.
Mrs. Weasley laughed, her eyes sparkling brightly, clearly recalling old memories fondly.
"I was walking with your father; he got caught by the then-prefect, Apollion Primrose—your father still carries the mark."
Bill was taken aback.
He hadn’t expected to suddenly be fed a mouthful of dog food without warning.
Clearly, he wasn’t interested in his parents’ love story; he was still single at this point.
"How about..." Bill scratched his long hair, looking down at Harry, "Shall we go for a walk? You know, I haven’t been back to Hogwarts in quite some time..."
"Let’s walk," Harry said, "We’re idle anyway."
As they walked out, Bill was still praising Harry’s heroic act of dragon-slaying.
"It’s nothing much, Bill," Harry said with a smile, "You know, just yesterday, there was a true show of bravery in Gryffindor—you wouldn’t believe how courageous he was."
"Ah, Gryffindor," Bill said, "Gryffindor is the house of bravery. I’m not surprised by how much courage its students have."
As he spoke, he reached the long table in the hall and tapped it to get a cup of iced coffee.
They strolled toward the hall entrance as Harry continued, "You might not realize how courageous he is—he actually drew his Magic Wand at Professor Snape, even called him a greasy old bat..."
Thud.
Bill’s cup fell to the ground, smashing to smithereens.
"What did you say?" Bill asked in astonishment.
He had already imagined that this student was incredibly brave, wondering if he had torn down Professor McGonagall’s office or cleared out Principal Dumbledore’s candy stash, but never expected someone to face Snape head-on.
Not only that...
Bill now only wanted to say, well done! With great spirit! Gryffindor’s honor remains intact!
Harry repeated it again.
"Who is this person!" Bill asked excitedly, "I really want to meet him... Wow, Gryffindor has such a talent. How did I graduate so early and miss meeting this real Gryffindor?"
Harry: ...
He held up a finger, "Actually, you do know him."
"Who?" Bill asked.
"Your brother, Ron," Harry spread his hands.
Bill: ?
"No, no way," Bill shook his head, "I can’t believe Ron is such a warrior... How could he dare? He’s always been timid. You say he’d whisper about Snape behind his back, but to curse him face-to-face, even drawing his Magic Wand... Is this really Ron?"
"That’s exactly what happened," Harry said with a laugh, "Later, after Ron finishes his History of Magic exam, he’ll have to go to Professor Snape’s office to face punishment... However, I seriously doubt if Professor Snape has figured out how to punish him yet."
"He must be furious," Bill sniffed, still a bit in disbelief, "So, my brother, Ron, actually drew his Magic Wand in front of Professor Snape and cursed him?"
"Oh yes, he even used a Stupefy, though it caused no harm."
As Harry recalled the scene, he couldn’t help but laugh out loud.
"He truly has a lot of courage," Bill said with admiration, "Actually, when I was in school, I would never have had the courage to do something like that—not even now."
At that moment, a pleasant voice suddenly came from behind.
"Are you talking about Ronald?"
Harry and Bill turned back together; it was Fleur.
"Yes, him," Harry said, "The thing happened this morning—oh, you probably don’t know."
He was curious about why Fleur suddenly appeared.
Could it be for Bill?
He couldn’t help but gossip in his mind, even curiously glancing between the two.
"Hello." Fleur lifted her head to greet Bill, "I am a warrior from Beauxbatons, Fleur Delacour, pleased to meet you."
"William." Bill confidently reached out and shook Fleur’s hand, "William Weasley, but everyone usually calls me Bill... That Ronald, also known as Ron, is my youngest brother."
Once their hands parted, Harry made a timely invitation.
"We’re just going for a walk; want to join us?"
"Sure," Fleur agreed cheerfully.
The trio strolled through the sunny grounds, enjoying their morning immensely.
Bill, as the older senior and someone who worked in Egypt, was quite the social butterfly himself.
You could see this from his daily attire.
Fleur felt very comfortable chatting with him, not at all tiring.
"See that? It’s the Beating Willow," Bill pointed to the distant tree, "That tree was planted after Mama left school; she often talks to me about this."
"Yes, that’s for Professor Lupin... uh, when he was in school, Dumbledore planted it for him," Harry said with a smile, "Technically speaking, Mrs. Weasley was indeed gone by then."
"Huh?" Fleur asked curiously, "Why? Why plant a tree for him?"
"I wouldn’t know," Harry spread his hands, then changed the subject: "How’s Percy doing? How’s Percy doing lately?"
"Percy," Bill thought for a moment, "Percy’s been in good spirits lately. According to him, he’s doing quite well in the Ministry. Mr. Crouch finally calls him by his name instead of ’Weasley’."
Harry held back, restraining his urge to laugh.
After all, he’s his good friend’s brother, even if he hasn’t interacted much with Percy, there’s the connection through Ron.
"That sounds decent," Harry nodded, "At least Percy seems to be getting ahead."
"I wouldn’t be too sure," Bill said with a laugh, "In the Ministry of Magic, working your way up is a long battle. Quick advancements can’t be achieved in just a year or two... Oh, Miss Grindelwald is an exception; she doesn’t count."
Harry thought to himself that Vivi was certainly well-connected, not to mention that her magical prowess was unparalleled compared to Percy...
Although Percy is a top student, there are differences even among top students.
You excel with O because you can only get an O; Miss Grindelwald gets an O because that’s the highest grade possible.
As the sun moved to the center, it was already lunchtime, and the trio returned to the castle to prepare for lunch.
Fleur seemed very happy and even exchanged communication addresses with Bill.
After Fleur left, Harry nudge Bill playfully.
"You know, brother," he said with a smile, "It seems Miss Delacour might have taken quite an interest in you."