"He's very stubborn. When it comes to dentists, he's always insisted on using Muggle methods." Hermione spread her hands. "But in other areas, he's quite happy to try something new…"
"What more can I say?" Ron echoed, spreading his hands as well.
Compared to the relaxed atmosphere among the boys and girls at school, the French restaurant in Diagon Alley was… well, not exactly calm and peaceful.
Cassandra and Veratia sat in the private booth, eyes locked, and Harry could practically see the sparks flying between them.
The kind of sparks you get when two spells collide in midair…
"I think we should order now, Veratia," Harry whispered as a reminder.
Only then did Veratia look away from Cassandra and turn to the open menu in her hands.
After they had ordered, the waiter left their booth.
"I must say," Veratia said with a light laugh, "French cuisine truly is a treasure. At the very least, it spares us the misfortune of being ravaged by British food, doesn't it?"
"Actually, British food has some delicious dishes," Harry interjected from the side.
"Such as?" Veratia countered.
Harry hemmed and hawed for a long time but couldn't think of anything specific.
Fish and chips didn't count; that hardly qualified as a proper dish.
Cassandra had been about to toss in a sarcastic remark or two, but considering Austria was also a culinary powerhouse… she wisely kept her mouth shut.
If she opened it now, she'd only be humiliating herself.
Before long, several appetizers appeared on the table.
Veratia deftly speared a slice of Parma ham with her knife and fork, placed it on her plate, and looked up. "We've known each other for over a hundred years now, haven't we?"
"Uh, seven years?" Harry asked tentatively.
For him, adding the time after crossing over and then crossing back, he and Veratia had indeed only known each other for seven years.
After all, he'd met Veratia during the second-year holiday in Austria, and from the start of sixth year until he crossed back to the present… yes, it really was seven years.
Veratia set down her knife and fork and glanced at Harry.
"Over a hundred years," Harry quickly corrected.
"If we're going by Potter's perspective, it hasn't even been a decade," Cassandra said with a twitch of her lips. "But for this ungrateful fellow, I've never thought there's any difference between ten years and a hundred… Or rather, if there were a better girl for him, I'm sure he'd turn and leave you in a heartbeat, Grindelwald."
The words were blunt enough: Back then, I was so good to this Potter guy, and it still didn't stop him from throwing himself into your arms…
So you'd better be prepared—someday, he'll throw himself into someone else's arms.
"Oh."
Veratia nonchalantly cut a small piece of Parma ham, popped it elegantly into her mouth, chewed gently, swallowed, then reached for her napkin to dab at her lips a few times.
She set the napkin down, looked up, and said, "In that case, I think the girl who was abandoned before should understand one thing. It's not that Harry is fickle—could it be that the problem lies with her?"
"What problem does she have?" Cassandra asked, narrowing her eyes.
"For example… thinking too highly of herself?" Veratia curled her lips. "Always acting like the master, never showing her best side in front of him, and even suppressing him more than once… Kathy, do you really think a woman like that can win any love?"
It was only then that Harry understood what was being said.
But he stayed silent, head down, shoveling food into his mouth.
This Parma ham… was really ham!
And this caviar… was really caviar!
"That's still better than certain people being too low and vulgar," Cassandra said, arching a slender brow. "Since you know what that girl felt for Potter… why insist on showing up and stealing her servant?"
"What for Harry?" Veratia asked with a mischievous smile.
Cassandra's face suddenly flushed. She'd avoided the word earlier out of embarrassment, but now that Veratia pressed her, she still couldn't bring herself to say it.
"Look at that—you don't even know what she meant. And you expect Harry, this blockhead, to understand?" Veratia pressed on.
Harry's head snapped up. Wait, blockhead? Is she talking about me? Or Oliver Wood? He graduated already. Did he end up working at the Austrian Ministry of Magic with Miss Farley from Slytherin?
He hadn't been listening to the conversation at all—just focusing on eating.
Eating is great. The food is so fragrant…
Especially the cream of mushroom soup; dipping baguette into it was the ultimate pleasure.
Cassandra fell silent. Of course she was aware of what she'd done back then to cause the current situation.
It could be said she'd single-handedly pushed Harry into Veratia's arms. She had no one to blame but herself for being too proud and tsun.
"Of course," Veratia said, picking up her wine glass, taking a sip, and smiling sweetly. "If she can realize her mistakes and willingly beg me, I could graciously be magnanimous and accept her as my sister… Of course, from then on, she'd have to defer to me alone."
Harry's hand trembled.
Wait, what?
What's going on here?
Oh—so Veratia didn't mind sharing with Cassandra, but the issue was that Veratia wanted to be the boss.
Proud Cassandra could never accept such terms. Her lips twisted into a disdainful sneer.
"She won't willingly admit defeat, Grindelwald," Cassandra said, lifting her head. Her long, swan-like neck was smooth and pale. "I think she's the one who should be the queen you bow to. What do you think?"
"So you're challenging my authority," Veratia said, narrowing her eyes.
Interesting. Truly interesting…
She dropped the act and went straight for Cassandra.
"Do you think I'll back down?" Cassandra asked, crossing her arms, still holding her head high. "Or do you think I'll lose?"
"Then we'll see," Veratia said, not dwelling on it further. She turned to Harry. "So… Harry, have you decided? Choosing Cassandra as your dance partner?"
"Mhm." Harry reached for a cod bone and placed it in a bowl. "I'd really like to invite all three of you to the ball, but unfortunately, each champion can only invite one partner… So I can only choose Cassandra, since you're not at school."
Veratia didn't ask the foolish question: "If I were at school, who would you choose between us?"
A smart woman knows how to give a man a way out, and they were both extremely perceptive. Veratia was clearly that kind of woman.
"However," Veratia said, "in principle, a champion can only have one partner, but in principle, students under seventeen aren't allowed to enter the Triwizard Tournament either… I think since one rule has already been broken, we might as well break another. As the youngest champion, you could invite two partners to the ball. What do you think?"
The words did give Harry pause.
No flaws there. If a fourteen-year-old like me can enter the Triwizard Tournament, why can't I have two partners?
No—three.
If we're already going for multiple, why not bring Poppy along too?
But…
Harry caught Veratia's deeper meaning.
Veratia truly didn't mind sharing him with Cassandra; after all, she felt tremendous guilt toward her.
But Poppy, well…
"What about Poppy?" Harry asked tentatively.
"Hm?" Veratia suddenly smiled. "Two partners aren't enough for you? You want three? You're quite greedy, Harry…"
As a man, Harry could only steel himself.
No choice—miss this chance, and there wouldn't be another.
"After all, Poppy… well," Harry scratched his head. "If she hadn't endured a hundred years of loneliness like you two, I wouldn't… um, invite her. But now, since she suffered a hundred years of torment for me… I…"
Veratia sighed.
"Since you insist."
She wasn't worried about Poppy overtaking them and becoming the big sister of the three.
Even if you lent her ten guts, Poppy wouldn't dare pull off something so suicidal.
Her position as the most put-upon was already set. Now it was just a showdown between Veratia and Cassandra.
To decide who was on top and who was below.
To see who would be the boss and who the second.
Seeing Veratia's expression, Harry finally relaxed.
Good, good—she wasn't angry.
For a moment, he'd really thought he was about to eat a few blasts of ancient magic.
He turned to Cassandra and found her looking at him like he was trash.
"What's wrong, Kathy?" Harry asked with concern.
"Heh." Cassandra turned her head away. "You disgust me, Potter—turns out you really are that kind of fickle, two-timing, faithless man."
"I'm a boy," Harry said cutely, changing the subject.
"Heh." Cassandra didn't speak, just gave him a cold laugh.
She'd thought the dance partner would be exclusive. Now, with this Grindelwald woman here, it had turned into three.
Really…
Thinking about it, Cassandra felt a little aggrieved.
Really, this guy…
"Have some food," Veratia said gently. "The main courses are here. Try their foie gras—it's excellent… And these lamb chops; I'd say even the Austrian court chefs couldn't do better."
Cassandra shot Harry a sullen glance, then looked at Veratia, but said nothing.
Seeing her like this, Veratia leaned down to Harry and asked, "Looks like you haven't won her over?"
"Won her over?" Harry asked, confused, looking up.
"It means…" Veratia thought for a moment, then leaned close to Harry's ear and whispered, "Like the way you won me over that night—win over Cassandra—"
"N-n-no…" Harry waved his hands quickly. "We haven't gotten that far. Don't jump to conclusions, Veratia…"
Veratia pouted and snorted. "You… don't worry about me. I don't mind if something happens between you and Cassandra or Poppy, but you can't do it without asking my opinion, understand, Harry?"
Was this the awareness of the official wife?
Harry leaned back tactically, filled with solemn respect.
"Or…" Veratia glanced up at Cassandra, saw she was eating, then smiled foxily and whispered coquettishly in Harry's ear, "Or do you want me to help you?"
"Help me?" Harry didn't know what Veratia meant.
Help me? Seriously?
When did Veratia become so generous? Shouldn't she be saying, "Do you think Cassandra would mourn for you?" and then finish me off with an ancient curse…
"Trust me—if you can win her over, I absolutely wouldn't go to all this trouble to convince her today…" Veratia smiled lightly, her voice even more seductive. "Or do you really want me to help you win over Cassandra together? Hm… If that's the case, you have to promise me compensation…"
Harry was filled with solemn respect on the other side too.
Together?
This…
Was there such a good thing?!
The moment he imagined Cassandra and Veratia—two stunning, vibrant beauties—lying in bed waiting for him, Harry lost all interest in eating.
After all, as an athlete, rich imagination was one thing; a strong body was another.
"Really?" Harry whispered, ready to go all in.
Even if Veratia was testing him, he'd charge in blind—this chance was too rare…
"Yes." Veratia even stuck out her pink little tongue and licked Harry's ear. "You know, Kathy's always been a bit tsun-tsun. I can help you… help you strip away all her defenses… What do you think?"
"When?" Harry asked stealthily.
"After the ball," Veratia said with a light laugh. "Today's definitely not possible. After all, I promised Dumbledore to get you and Cassandra back to school safely…"
Harry really wanted to ask if adding Poppy was okay, but considering this chance was already incredibly rare, asking for more would seem too greedy, so he held back.
"You're both my wings," Harry finally said after holding it in for a while. "You're my left wing, Cassandra my right—neither can be missing…"
"Heh." Veratia reached out, ruffled Harry's hair, and whispered in his ear, "Don't worry, I won't go back on my word… After the ball, we'll carry out our plan together!"
"Great!" Harry nodded eagerly.
His voice was a bit loud. Cassandra looked up in confusion; she hadn't caught what the two were saying.
But instinct told her something was off, like they were secretly plotting how to deal with her.
If Veratia knew what she was thinking, she'd definitely give her a thumbs-up.
Yes, we're plotting how to deal with you together, my dear little Kathy.
Noticing Cassandra looking up, Veratia raised her wine glass and gave her a seductive smile.
"Save your charm for Potter," Cassandra said coldly. "He'll like you like this, Grindelwald—"
Veratia didn't speak, just giggled.
After dinner, the three wandered around Diagon Alley, planning to pick up some gifts for classmates and professors.
Harry chose a Chudley Cannons hat for Ron, since Ron loved that team the most.
For Hermione, a set of books recording many rare and wondrous events from the wizarding world.
After all, Hermione loved such curiosities. As a model academic, she was like a sponge, eager to absorb any knowledge.
--
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