บท 24: Chapter 24: One of The Three!
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"How does seven sound tomorrow night? In the classroom I used to practice?"
"That sounds perfect." Daphne said as they reached their destination.
He gave her a rather flirtatious smile as he entered the fairly small classroom. The judges were already, there sitting behind five desks that had been pushed together and covered in a long length of velvet.
Aries gave a respectful nod to his Headmaster and leaned against a desk, just as Fleur Delacour walked in.
She also nodded to her Headmistress before her eyes landed on him.
The veela seemed to contemplate him for a moment before making her way over to him quickly, so that Madame Maxine would not interfere.
Fleur had blonde hair and blue eyes, and was much more filled out than Daphne, not surprising considering the three-year age gap.
Aries was not a fool, and could not deny the young woman's remarkable beauty, though if her allure affected him he had no doubt that he might consider her the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.
Luckily, he had more control of himself than most.
"Aries Black," Fleur greeted with a warm smile and extending her hand. "It is a pleasure to finally meet you." Aries noted that her English was much better now than it had been weeks ago.
Had she been practicing or simply rehearsed that statement?
"Miss Delacour, the pleasure is mine." He took her hand and kiss the back of it softly, rather enjoying the blush that formed on her cheeks.
"I hope we can find some time to get acquainted outside of this tournament. I would enjoy learning about the finer aspects of French culture from one of its more premier citizens. Your father is well known even in Germany."
Jean Delacour was well known indeed, being the Head of the French Department of Magical Law Enforcement and had worked well with his German counterpart a few years back when a French criminal wreaked havoc in Frankfurt, Aries remembered.
"I'm sure zat we could find many zings to occupy our time." The forwardness of the French girl intrigued him.
Veela tended to be more mature than normal witches and while Aries knew he was more attractive than the average male he doubted that even he could have caught her eye so quickly.
A ploy to distract him from winning perhaps? It could be a fun game to play and turn back on the French witch herself.
Unfortunately, he was stopped from responding as Ludo Bagman loudly announced the arrival of the last champion, Thomas Potter.
Aries watched with amusement as the reporter, Rita Skeeter, pulled the Potter boy into a cupboard.
He knew all too well about her as Aunt Cassiopeia had loudly cursed the woman's poor journalism every morning as she read the Daily Prophet.
Albus Dumbledore, on the other hand, did not find the situation amusing and promptly returned the champion, leaving Skeeter's hungry eyes to land on him.
A smirk and a nod let her know that she would indeed get the interview she wanted, but perhaps not the content.
"Now that all of our champions are accountable, may I introduce Mr. Ollivander?" Dumbledore said as he took his place at the judges table.
"He will be checking your wands to ensure that they are in good condition before the tournament." Aries observed that the old wand maker had hardly aged in the past eight years, though given how old he had been then, despite his appearance, perhaps he should not have been surprised.
"Mademoiselle Delacour, your wand first if you would please." Ollivander asked as he stepped into the middle of the room.
Fleur swept over to him, sending a rather discreet wink over to Aries, and handed over her wand.
"Hmmm. . ." he said.
The wand maker twirled the land between his fingers and it emitted several pink and gold sparks before he held it close to his eye and examined it carefully.
"Yes. . . nine and a half inches. . . inflexible. . . rosewood. . . and dear me. . ."
"An 'air from ze 'ead of a veela," said Fleur. "One of my grandmuzzer's." The look of surprise on Thomas' and Cedric's face was priceless, how they had not known without a doubt when half of their classmates acted like fools around the girl was beyond him.
"Yes, yes, I've never used veela hair myself of course. I find it makes for rather temperamental wands. . . however, to each his own, and if this suits you. . ." He ran his fingers along the wand and then muttered, "Orchideous!" and a bunch of flowers burst from the tip.
Aries was amused at the offended look Fleur had as she took back her wand forcefully before returning to her place beside him.
The air around him seemed to heat up and he began to wonder just how attuned to fire veela really were.
Cedric's wand continued the unique trend of wand cores, containing a single hair from the tale of a male unicorn.
Aries and Fleur both fought back snickers as Cedric proudly stated that he polished his wand regularly, before realizing the apparent innuendo.
"Ah, Mr. Potter if you would." Thomas reluctantly handed over his wand, after a futile effort of cleaning it with his robe.
Mr. Ollivander spent a few moments glancing over the wand.
"One of the three phoenix feathered wands I have created. Holly. And remarkable in his own right."
Aries did not miss the sudden curiousness of Albus Dumbledore as Ollivander made a fountain of wine shoot out of Potter's wand.
The Headmaster of Hogwarts was about to get a rather large surprise.
"Which leaves Mr. Aries Black." Ollivander announced as he handed Potter back his wand.
Aries flicked his wrist, releasing the wand into his hand, and placed it in the wand makers eager hands.
Mr. Ollivander's pale eye suddenly gleamed as he examined the wand.
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