Even though the Minister of Magic had once been her little brother's subordinate, Vivi still didn't treat herself like the Empress Dowager of the Austrian Ministry of Magic.
All the proper procedures, she went through every single one of them.
After she changed into Muggle clothes and came out of the office, Cassandra couldn't help complaining, "I still don't get it. Lady Rozier was a key member of the Saints, so why do you still have to go through all this procedure? I don't think she'd hold you responsible for deserting your post, would she?"
"I need to correct you, Kathy."
Vivi held up a finger and said, correcting her, "First of all, Lady Rozier is only a former Saint. She's made a clean break with Gellert Grindelwald—and I have nothing to do with the Saints. I'm just an innocent girl with no backing, studying in the United Kingdom, that's all."
"Secondly, even if we're very familiar with each other, that is not an excuse for me to act willfully, Kathy." Vivi went on, "Mr. Malfoy should have taught you what it means to keep public and private separate."
"Hmph." Cassandra snorted lightly, but didn't say anything more.
After the three of them left the tent that the Austrian Ministry of Magic was temporarily using, they first went back to their own tent.
"Vivi!"
As soon as she saw Vivi, Hermione practically jumped three feet high and bounced over to her side.
"I haven't seen you in ages!" She tilted her head up and said with obvious adoration, "How's life at the Austrian Ministry of Magic? Has anyone been bullying you?"
"No one's bullying me, Hermione." Vivi reached out and gently stroked the back of Hermione's head. "They don't have any reason to, do they?"
"Oh. Right." Hermione said, rather lamely.
Off to the side, Harry had his arm thrown over Ron's shoulder and was saying grandly, "Hey, mates, you'll never guess who the Minister of Magic in Austria is."
"Who?" Ron glanced at Vivi and asked in surprise, "Don't tell me it really is Miss Grindelwald?"
"How could it be?" Harry slanted a look at Ron. "Speaking of which, you actually know this Austrian Minister of Magic—remember back in second year, that lady who turned into some teacher to teach us Defense Against the Dark Arts?"
"The one with the Yin Corpse?" Ron thought for a moment. "Lady Vida Rozier, right? But who did she disguise herself as with Polyjuice Potion again…? I feel like I've totally blanked on it."
Honestly, now that you mention it… no one really had much of an impression of that person.
"Lockhart." Percy walked over and said. He seemed a bit absent-minded, with a pair of thick black-framed glasses perched on his nose. "The bestselling author who was exposed as a complete fraud."
"Oh, right." Ron said. "I remember now—Gilderoy Lockhart, the one whose smile was ridiculously greasy, the one Mum absolutely adored…"
Before he could finish, a ball of yarn came flying out of nowhere and smacked Ron right on the nose.
Ron was just about to lodge a protest when he spotted his mother, brimming with fury.
Knowing which way the wind blew, he instantly chickened out and obediently chose to shut up.
Otherwise, a ball of yarn would be the least of his problems.
"Let's go for a walk." Ron cleverly changed the subject. "It's almost time to eat anyway, so let's go find something to eat—Dad already said we're on our own for dinner, and I don't think Mum's in the mood to cook for us."
In fact, Ron wasn't wrong. Mrs. Weasley really had no intention of cooking; she was planning to have a little get-together with some old friends, drink some beer, and sit in chairs chatting for a while.
The group dragged a reluctant Percy outside, and as Harry walked past Bill and Charlie, his two older Weasley brothers each clapped a hand on one of his shoulders.
"What's up?" Harry looked up, puzzled.
The two of them said nothing, just gave Harry a synchronized thumbs‑up.
This kid was something else.
They'd both seen it—those two girls who were so pretty it was unreal, the looks they gave Harry were full of tender affection.
The biggest mystery was that when those two girls were together, the atmosphere between them was actually harmonious. This was what they simply couldn't wrap their heads around.
And it was right that they couldn't. Vivi and Cassandra would never show any hostility toward each other in front of outsiders.
Just as they reached the entrance, a middle‑aged man suddenly appeared outside.
"Hello there, kids." He smiled and asked, "Is this the Weasley family's tent?"
"Yes." As the eldest brother, Bill stepped forward. "I'm Arthur Weasley's eldest son, William Weasley. May I ask what business you have with my father?"
Bill's formal name was William; Bill was just his nickname, just like Ron's formal name was Ronald.
"I'm Ludo Bagman." The middle‑aged man said cheerfully, and only then did everyone realize who he was.
Ludo Bagman was clearly the most eye‑catching person in the entire campsite; even if Dumbledore turned up in his star‑and‑moon dressing gown, he wouldn't be a tenth as conspicuous.
He was very much dressed for the occasion in long Quidditch robes, with broad horizontal stripes of yellow and black, and a huge splashed‑on wasp emblazoned across the chest.
He honestly looked like a real bumblebee, aside from the fact that he didn't have a long stinger sticking out of his backside.
But it was also obvious that although he'd once had a powerful build, he was starting to go downhill—his robes were pulled tight across his big belly. Clearly, when he played Quidditch for the United Kingdom back in the day, he hadn't been this out of shape.