Old men in the wizarding world seem to be particularly fond of growing long beards. Thierry Rosier is like that, Dumbledore is like that, and even Hagrid is the same.
Isn't it troublesome to take care of them? When they eat, don't bits of food and sauce get stuck in their beards?
Hard to understand. Fortunately, Miss Twist will never have this kind of trouble in her life—unless she plans to use her long hair as a substitute for a beard.
Don't forget, today is Christmas. A holiday like this isn't suitable for indulging in melancholy, nor is it suitable for searching for that person who is hiding somewhere.
Ending that somewhat sad conversation with a joke and a mischievous question was the right choice. Agnès and her French feast were still waiting for the grandmother and granddaughter!
Dinner still had a strong French style—oysters, smoked salmon, and fresh foie gras. No duck or goose can leave France alive.
Of course, turkey is always indispensable at Christmas. Slightly different from Hogwarts, tonight's star of the table was chestnut-stuffed turkey.
For dessert there was a Christmas Yule log cake made of chocolate. After dessert, a cup of rich hot mulled wine made the whole Christmas feel wonderfully comfortable.
To make the mulled wine taste a bit more stimulating, Eda secretly poured a little brandy into it.
After Christmas comes Saint Sylvester's Day, commonly known as New Year's Eve—the last day of the year.
Unexpectedly, Henry Rosier, whom they hadn't seen for a long time, suddenly showed up. The first thing he said upon meeting them was, "I've already picked out a cousin-in-law for you."
People often say that if you keep thinking about something, it will eventually echo back to you. Henry certainly had been thinking about it nonstop—but the echo appeared in Eda's head. Now whenever she sees Henry, she feels a bit uneasy.
There are quite a few witches of Muggle origin at Hogwarts, but Eda couldn't exactly walk up to every one she met and ask, "Sister-in-law, do you have a boyfriend? If not, would you mind considering my cousin who lives far away in France? And if you do, would you mind switching to my cousin who lives far away in France?"
If Eda actually dared to ask that, no matter how much of a troublemaker she was, every last one of the spikes on her head would definitely get plucked clean.
Henry's arrival wasn't too surprising. Even before Eda came to Paris, Henry would occasionally drop by to visit Vinda and keep the old lady company. That was also why, when considering a change of the family head, Vinda had first thought of Henry.
What really puzzled Eda was that Henry hadn't come alone. There was another young man with him—tall and slender, with red lips and white teeth.
This young man was named Hector Rosier. He was of the same generation as Eda, though he had been born a few months earlier and was currently studying at Beauxbatons.
Unlike the carefree and somewhat unruly Henry, Hector appeared very reserved. The drinks and pastries set before him remained completely untouched.
When speaking with Vinda, Hector's tone and posture were extremely proper, without the slightest hint of impropriety. It was obvious that he and Vinda were not truly familiar with each other—besides unfamiliarity, there was probably a trace of fear mixed in as well.
It wasn't until Henry forcibly dragged Eda out of the house and the three young people stepped onto the streets of the Champs-Élysées that Hector finally seemed to come alive, regaining the vitality a young man should have.
The three of them walked west along the Champs-Élysées. Along the way, Eda and the red-lipped Hector hardly spoke at all, while Henry chattered nonstop by himself like an old lady.
Chattering alone would have been one thing, but the key was that Henry actually had the nerve to say something like, "You two are the same age, you should communicate more with each other."
Eda suddenly felt the urge to pinch the bridge of her nose—or simply strangle Henry Rosier on the spot.
After gesturing with her hand for a moment, Eda discovered a very serious problem: she was less than 1.7 meters tall, while Henry was nearly two meters tall. Reaching up to strangle him in that position didn't look like a posture that could exert much strength at all.
All of a sudden, Eda no longer wanted to strangle Henry.
She wanted to saw off a section of Henry's legs and attach it to herself instead.
Perhaps it really was because of the surname—there were many oddballs in the Rosier family.
Earlier there was Vinda Rosier, the fanatically devoted admirer of Grindelwald; later there was Evan Rosier, the die-hard Death Eater fanatic. Earlier there was Louis, who acted for the sake of love; later there was Henry, who longed for freedom.
Very soon, Hector also demonstrated to Eda why he deserved the surname Rosier.
The red-lipped, fair-faced handsome boy first snapped at Henry, saying, "If you'd just shut your mouth, Miss Esmeralda and I would already be quite familiar with each other."
Although Henry didn't say something like "Then I'll leave," he really did stop talking and obediently shut his mouth.
Then Hector kindly demonstrated to Eda what he meant by communication and becoming familiar.
At the very western end of the Champs-Élysées, at the Place de l'Étoile, Hector Rosier gave Eda a detailed introduction to the history of the Arc de Triomphe.
Starting from the Battle of Austerlitz, then moving to Napoleon ordering the construction of the Arc de Triomphe, and then from Napoleon all the way back to Louis XVI…
For a moment, Eda felt that the person standing beside her wasn't a pure-blood wizard at all, but a tour guide.
Brother, does your family call introducing history and architecture "communication" and "getting familiar"?
Brother, you know Muggle history so well—do your parents know about this?
The fact that you've lived this long without getting beaten to death really proves you're their biological child!
Hector's hidden side not only left Eda completely stunned, even Henry looked shocked.
Henry liked this younger cousin very much; otherwise he wouldn't have brought him to the Champs-Élysées today. But even he hadn't expected Hector to have such an unknown side.
Seeing the doubtful, life-questioning look in Eda's eyes, Hector finally stopped, belatedly realizing something might be wrong. Confused, he asked, "Did I say something incorrect? That's exactly how it's written in Muggle history books!"
Eda hurriedly waved her hands, indicating that Hector's explanation wasn't wrong at all.
The one that was wrong wasn't Hector.
The one that was wrong was the Rosiers.
The one that was wrong was this world.
And the one that was wrong was the way Eda had opened herself to the world.
Wasn't the Rosier family supposed to be an ancient pure-blood family? Weren't they supposed to despise and hate Muggles? So why was it that one of these two cousins wanted to marry a Muggle, while the other could recite Muggle history like a catalogue of treasures?
Shouldn't they be casting all of this aside like worn-out shoes?
Could someone please tell Eda why the Rosiers she knew were completely different from the Rosiers she had heard about?
After Hector finished introducing the history of the Arc de Triomphe, the three of them left the Place de l'Étoile along Avenue d'Iéna, heading toward the distant Eiffel Tower.
The streets of France were not lined with plane trees, and the streets of Paris were the same. The trees along both sides of the road stood bare, while the flowing crowd continued to gather toward the Champ de Mars.
Finally, before midnight, under Henry's guidance, Eda arrived at the Pont d'Iéna. Of course, along the way there had also been plenty of enthusiastic explanations from their tour guide, Hector.
If Hector hadn't mentioned it, Eda really wouldn't have known that the Pont d'Iéna had once been renamed.
At midnight, Hector finally stopped his lecture on history. The noisy Muggles around them gradually fell silent as well, everyone waiting for the fireworks show to begin.
Eda also raised her head and stood on tiptoe, leaning forward, trying to get a better position. Suddenly she felt someone pat her shoulder. She turned her head and looked at the tall, broad Henry behind her.
Henry Rosier first bent his arm and showed off his strong biceps, then patted his broad shoulder and whispered, "Need some help?"
Was that an insult? Had Henry Rosier just insulted her?
Even if she hadn't grown to one meter eighty, was being one meter sixty-seven really that short for a girl?
Eda silently moved farther away from Henry. Right now she felt extremely disgusted with this cousin of hers. Seriously, why did he have to grow so tall? The Earth was practically about to run out of room for him.
Fireworks shot into the sky, and the crowd erupted into deafening cheers. Everyone lifted their heads, watching the brilliant and colorful display in the sky.
If anyone had happened to lower their head and take a look at that moment, they would have discovered that the girl in the black windbreaker standing on the Pont d'Iéna was actually floating in the air!
In truth, Eda wasn't floating very high. It looked as if she were simply standing on a small stool.
As she watched the dazzling fireworks rising one after another before her eyes, she suddenly felt that these Rosier relatives of hers weren't all that bad after all.
(～￣▽￣)～Read 12 Chapters ahead:
Patreon: Dragonel