บท 7: The Coven 0007

Only one hand raised as the half-giantess raised a brow, "Celine? You're an eighth year if I remember correctly. You didn't receive the invitation letter in the first place." She asked.

Celine gazed at Harry and Fleur, who were sitting beside her, hoping that they would explain. She was nervous until Harry finally stood up to explain, "Fleur thought that it would be a good idea for us to get a helper. Celine volunteered and we were happy to have some help." He said casually.

The large woman narrowed her eyes and almost glared at both Fleur and Harry, "I already broke the rules by bringing Gabrielle at your behest. Now you want another?" She asked.

"Gabi is Fleur's plus one." Harry smiled, "Celine can be my plus one."

"You're a real piece of work, you know, Potter…" She grumbled before saying, "Fine, I want the letter of the transference of the necessary funds by tomorrow evening."

"Will be done." Harry nodded before sitting down, though Celine was still too stunned to sit back down, 'That's all it took?' She thought, 'A few words to the Headmistress…'

"Anyone else want a plus one?" Madame Maxime almost glared at the group of almost fifty students as a hush fell over the room. Everyone was scared of even letting out a peep. As the tension rose, Harry grabbed Celine's arm and pulled her down, making her sit on her seat, "It's done." He said to Celine who was still dazed and dumbfounded at the ease with which Harry got allowance for Celine to come with them.

"Good." Madame Maxime seemed to be satisfied by the group's silence before continuing, "Now for the important part, The Triwizard Tournament." Her gaze passed over the entire group of students who all seemed excited at the prospect of an inter-school competition, "Some backstory is necessary before you understand the significance of the tournament. The Triwizard Tournament was first established some seven hundred years ago as a friendly competition between the three largest European schools of wizardry: Hogwarts, Beauxbatons, and Durmstrang." She explained.

"Now I won't bore you with the nitty gritty," Madame Maxime continued, "But know that it was an extremely dangerous competition. At one point, the death toll of students had gone so far that the tournament had to be discontinued." Her words were met with gasps from throughout the room.

"Now now…" She calmed them down, "As for why it's being reinstated once again. That's because of a little thing known as The Dark Lord. That man has been wreaking havoc throughout Britain for the past half-decade. At the suggestion of the International Confederation of Wizards, the ministries of our three countries have decided to ally together. The reinstatement of the Tri-Wizard tournament is going to be the first of many cooperation efforts between our three countries."

Someone from the crowd raised their hand and Madame Maxime pointed to them, "Yes, Aurèlia?" She asked.

"I read in the papers that initially, the tournament was supposed to be held two years ago, but due to some unknown reasons, it had been delayed. Do you know what they are?" The girl asked.

"Ahh, yes." Madame Maxime seemed to recall something, "Hogwarts was supposed to host it two years ago for the 1994-1995 school year. However, the dark lord attacked the school the year prior, causing untold chaos. The panic among the students even caused classes to be suspended for half of the year. It's only now, that things have somewhat calmed down, that they are able to host the Tournament."

Another student raised their hand, "I read a rumor in the British paper that the dark lord rides a Basilisk to battle. Is that true?"

Madame Maxime's eyes widened at the question. She cleared her throat, "The Daily Prophet is a paper full of conjectures without any basis. You shouldn't trust those corrupt journalists, most of whom are under the dark lord's control."

The rest of the session passed by with Madame Maxime satisfying the students' curiosities regarding Hogwarts except for the occasional odd question referring to the dark lord. Some of these students had prominent backgrounds and were aware of more than the general public, but their parents weren't willing to give them the full picture, so they instead asked their Headmistress those questions.

As for Harry and Fleur, they weren't paying much attention to the conversation, having more information about Hogwarts and the current situation in Britain than Madame Maxime would be telling the students. Harry's mother had kept herself very much up to date on the information regarding the dark lord. So, Harry knew much of the inside information, and by extension of that, Fleur.

All the students continued to ask their questions as the time passed, Soon enough, Gabrielle was too tired to pay attention to the new information that she was listening to. Unlike the seniors, she was merely in her third year, at 9 years old. Her tenth birthday was still two months away.

She scuttled past the students and moved to Harry and Fleur, "What happened, honey?" Harry stopped talking to Fleur and looked at Gabrielle curiously, "You okay?"

"Mm…" She didn't speak and moved closer to Harry before pushing his arms away, freeing his legs. She sat down on his thigh before moving a bit and making herself comfortable, "Here…" She grabbed the necklace from her neck and gave it to him.

Harry smiled wryly before taking the necklace from her and putting it away. He wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her higher so that she could lean against his chest. As she made herself comfortable, snuggling against Harry's chest, he cast the same concealing charms that he had cast around himself and Fleur during dinner. It was done nonverbally so it didn't distract anyone. Though if Madame Maxime's glance toward him and the two girls was any indicator, he still wasn't discrete enough.

Giving their headmistress an apologetic smile, Harry waited for the woman to look away before turning to Fleur, "She really hates the necklace, no?"

Fleur gave Gabrielle an annoyed glance before sighing as her hand made its way to the little girl's head, patting her hair gently, "How would you feel if I cast a spell on you that made you feel like you have little to no air even as you breathed freely. I've used that necklace too, and I can understand why Gabi hates it. You're the only one with whom we can truly let loose while we are in school." She explained, "So you're stuck with us sisters no matter what. Even when I graduate this year, you have to take care of Gabi for the year that you stay here."

***

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