Chapter 736 - 287: She Really Loves You (2)
Chapter 736: Chapter 287: She Really Loves You (2)
Karkaroff looked distracted, not knowing why, he felt like laughing, but couldn’t muster a smile.
During dinner, Mrs. Maxime was still engaged in a lively conversation with Hagrid; the two seemed to have grown closer.
There was an empty seat at the guest table, and Harry couldn’t figure out for the longest time who it might be reserved for.
The dinner was much more sumptuous than usual, possibly due to the upcoming final event of the Triwizard Tournament, Harry thought it was quite a feast.
"I think Little Sirius must have taught Hagrid something extraordinary," Hermione remarked sharply, "With Hagrid’s emotional intelligence, he should have lost touch with Mrs. Maxime by now... but look how close they are now, I definitely think Little Sirius played a big role."
Harry thought that was indeed the case, as Little Sirius’s busiest task lately was being Hagrid’s consigliere.
The term "consigliere" comes from Italy, where in a Mafia family, a consigliere acts as an adviser, a strategist.
During Hagrid’s pursuit of Mrs. Maxime, Little Sirius obviously assumed such a role.
"Little Sirius really knows his stuff," Harry told Hermione, "Believe me, he is definitely a... well, a man who understands women."
"Is he now?" Hermione asked, intrigued.
Harry didn’t reply, thinking he couldn’t possibly tell Hermione about his godfather’s knack for pursuing women.
Wouldn’t that ruin the image of his godfather in others’ minds?
But what he didn’t know was that Little Sirius’s reputation as a playboy was no secret at Hogwarts, and if Hermione wanted to inquire, she could certainly find out a thing or two.
After all, back in the day, Little Sirius was quite the heartthrob among the young ladies at Hogwarts.
"I really hope Hagrid and Mrs. Maxime can end up together." Hermione, resting her chin on her hand, looked at Hagrid and Mrs. Maxime with an aunt-like smile and said, "I think Hagrid and she are such a good match, don’t you think so, Harry?"
"I think so too," Harry mumbled, "Oh, I really wish Vivi could come..."
He really hoped Vivi could come to Hogwarts to watch his match during the third event. Originally, he thought she would surprise him, but after searching all over, he found no trace of Vivi.
Feeling down? Yes, a little, but he understood Vivi, as she had important matters to deal with.
"You need to understand her, Harry," Hermione consoled him, "Think about it, Vivi just took office as the Minister of Magic today; she has so many pressing matters to handle, how could she leave everything behind to come to the UK to watch your match?"
Before the voice could fade, the hall doors opened once again.
Dressed in a black suit, Vivi walked in from the entrance, followed by her secretary, a former Hogwarts student, Jemma Farrell, and a beautiful woman Harry did not recognize.
She strode in with confidence, heading to the guest table seat.
"Sorry, I was delayed by some matters, Principal Dumbledore," she said with a slight bow.
"You’re right on time, the esteemed Lady Grindelwald," Dumbledore stood up and said.
Then, everyone at the guest table stood up, even the distracted Karkaroff did the same.
After all, as the Minister of the Great German Ministry of Magic, she deserved this basic respect.
Dumbledore sighed inwardly, just last year, Miss Grindelwald was an ordinary Hogwarts student; within a year, she had become an ambitious figure swallowing six magic ministries.
But he also understood, Grindelwald, without ambition, would not fit that surname.
Vivi sat down in her seat, opting not to speak to Harry immediately, instead ordering herself a meal and allowing her two secretaries to find their seats freely.
Miss Fari led her colleague to the end of the Slytherin table, drawing the respectful gazes of Slytherin students.
Harry noticed that after Vivi sat down, she winked at him, then began a quiet conversation with Dumbledore.
"I really didn’t expect..." Hermione came to her senses, "She actually came to Hogwarts to watch your match, oh my, Harry... I just can’t imagine, she truly loves you—you’re so damn lucky, Harry!"
She admitted she was really envious of Harry.
It’s jealousy, she felt jealous!!!
"Oh, I knew she would come ages ago," Harry said with a cheerful smile, "Even if she’s busy, she’d come to Hogwarts... ah, let’s eat first."
As the enchanted ceiling shifted from blue to the dark purple of twilight, Dumbledore stood up beside the teacher’s table, and the crowd quieted down.
"Ladies and gentlemen, in five minutes, I will invite you to go to the Quidditch pitch, to watch the final event of the Triwizard Tournament... now, warriors, please follow Mr. Bagman to the stadium."
Harry stood up, and Gryffindor students applauded him together, as the Weasley family and Hermione wished him good luck, and Pabi ran to hug him so tightly, Harry almost suffocated.
He, Fleur, and Victor walked out of the hall together.
"Feeling alright, Harry?" Bagman asked as they descended the stone steps, "Confident?"
"Pretty good," Harry replied.
They entered the Quidditch pitch, which had become completely unrecognizable.
A twenty-foot-high hedge surrounded the field, with an opening in front of them that led to the entrance of the grand maze.
The paths inside were pitch black, a little intimidating.
Five minutes later, people started entering the stands.
Hundreds of students filed into their seats, the air filled with excited chatter and the sound of footsteps. The sky was now a clear deep blue, stars beginning to appear. Hagrid, Professor Moody, Professor McGonagall, and Professor Flitwick entered the stadium, heading towards Bagman and the warriors. All wore hats adorned with flashing large red stars, except Hagrid, whose red star was on the back of his thick velvet vest.
"We will be patrolling outside the maze," Professor McGonagall said to the warriors, "If you encounter difficulties and require assistance, shoot red sparks into the sky, and someone will come to help you, understand?"
The warriors all nodded.
At that moment, Dumbledore approached, followed by Vivi.
"Minister Grindelwald would like to say a few words to the warriors, Minerva," Dumbledore told Professor McGonagall.
Professor McGonagall glanced back at Vivi, smiling at her.
While smiling, Professor McGonagall felt quite complex inside.
Why wasn’t such an outstanding student as Miss Grindelwald in Gryffindor?
Though she wanted to speak to the warriors, Fleur and Victor knew it was merely an excuse; in reality, Minister Grindelwald only wanted to talk to the Hogwarts warrior.
Having stayed at Hogwarts for so long, they already knew about Harry’s affairs.
They weren’t gossiping, just as their schools’ warriors, they were supposed to find out information about other warriors.
In their inquiries, they stumbled upon a remarkable piece of news.
The woman active in Austrian (Great German) magical politics recently, Lady Grindelwald, was actually dating the Hogwarts warrior Harry Potter.
This news was quite explosive, so explosive that they found it hard to process initially.
But upon further reflection, it wasn’t all that shocking, after all, Harry Potter was the one who defeated Voldemort as a baby, winning Lady Grindelwald’s affection wasn’t unexpected.
They were unaware, though, that once upon a time, Lady Grindelwald was a squib.
And Harry was a ray of light shining into her once dark and gloomy life.