There's killing intent!
Not just Harry—even Cassandra could clearly sense it.
Harry had every reason to suspect that Veratia had used her prophetic gift to foresee everything that was about to happen, which was why she'd left Austria and come to Hogwarts Castle to "catch them in the act."
He didn't know what the phrase meant exactly, but in that instant, the word and the scene that flashed through his mind were precisely that.
At this moment, he shifted his pleading gaze to Cassandra.
Cass, say something!
Cassandra wore a faintly mocking expression, shooting Veratia a sidelong glance with her eyes, signaling Harry to handle his own mess.
In that second, Harry knew: this was something he'd have to shoulder alone.
He took a deep breath, steeled himself, and said, "Oh, I was in an abandoned classroom on the second floor, with Cass."
"Oh?" Veratia's projection feigned surprise. "Second floor? Abandoned classroom? Was there some important matter you two needed to discuss in detail?"
"Mm."
Harry gritted his teeth, stamped his foot, and stared with the resolute gaze of someone about to join the Party.
"I invited Cass to the Yule Ball with me."
He added, for clarity:
"As my date."
"Is that so." Veratia's gaze softened. "Well… Cass is certainly a fine choice, but… as a Gryffindor, do you think your professor and classmates would want you to ask a Slytherin to be your date?"
"Of course they wouldn't mind." Harry thumped his chest. "After all, I'm the Gryffindor champion, and, uh…"
"And what?" Veratia asked with a smile.
"And Fred and George once said something brilliant," Harry said, looking anywhere but at her. "Get a Slytherin girl pregnant with a Gryffindor's child…"
"Oh." Veratia nodded. "That is a lofty ambition. So, which classroom? I'll come up right now and join you."
As she spoke, Veratia's expression was tender—as if she were whispering sweet nothings to Harry.
But Harry knew the situation was dangerous. Extremely fucking dangerous.
With that, Veratia ended the call.
Leaving Harry and Cassandra staring at each other in the classroom.
"What now?" Harry asked.
"What else can we do?" Cassandra sneered. "You stirred up this romantic mess—you deal with it—Merlin's beard, I was just going to the ball with you as a friend, as your date. Why did I end up in the crosshairs of this lovesick Grindelwald? Alas…"
"Just friends?" Harry looked up.
Damn it, you cause all this chaos, making Austria's top jealous queen—no, the Austro-Hungarian Empire's top jealous queen—explode with envy, and now you tell me we're just friends?
So I'm taking all this heat for nothing?
"What else?" Cassandra mocked, turning to him. "What do you think we should be? Don't tell me—Grindelwald's your girlfriend now, so you think…"
Before she could finish, Harry stood, reached out, hooked an arm around Cassandra's neck, and yanked her down.
Caught off guard, Cassandra was stunned by Harry's sudden assault.
Only when their lips parted did she realize what had just happened.
"Potter!"
She roared, flushed with embarrassment and fury. "What exactly are you doing to a lady?!"
"As you can see." Harry wiped his mouth, grinning wickedly. "Now, we're more than friends, Cass. You agree?"
—————————— We're boyfriend and girlfriend.
"Heh." Cassandra narrowed her eyes. "And Grindelwald? What do you think you two are, right now—"
"Also my girlfriend." Harry said, utterly shameless.
The moment the words left his mouth, Veratia's voice called from outside.
"Harry? Cass? Where are you?"
Harry shivered.
Sure, he could say it in front of Cassandra—that took guts.
But say it in front of Veratia? Harry would rather take an Avada Kedavra to the face or kiss Snape than face Veratia's wrath.
He'd heard all about what Newt went through.
Gellert, because Newt was Dumbledore's favorite student, targeted him relentlessly, hunted him repeatedly, and even left behind two famous lines:
"Do you think Dumbledore will mourn you?" and "What is it about you that Albus Dumbledore likes so much?"
As Gellert's sister, Veratia was similar to him in some ways—especially when it came to jealousy.
Not just similar—she surpassed him.
Harry genuinely feared she'd say, "Do you think Cassandra Malfoy will mourn you?" then hit him with her signature fire shield…
He wasn't afraid of the spell itself, but the castle couldn't withstand this woman's violent rampage.
Hogwarts was too ancient—it couldn't survive an incident like that.
Just then, from a classroom down the hall, a door suddenly BANG! flew open.
"Harry? Cass?"
Veratia's voice rang out.
"Oh~ not here…"
Footsteps drew closer. Harry looked at Cassandra, mouthing silently: Do something! Now!
But Cassandra had no intention of running. Her eyes blazed with fighting spirit, as if she couldn't wait to face Veratia.
Harry was still scrambling for a plan when the door suddenly BOOM! exploded with a massive hole.
Veratia gripped the edges of the hole with both hands, poking her little head through, her face positively delighted.
"You'd better not say 'Here's Johnny,'" Harry said, pressing a hand to his forehead.
"Oh." Veratia sniffed. "Then… here's Vivi!"
With that, the poor door creaked pitifully and thudded to the floor.
"Sorry," Veratia seemed to apologize to the door. "I didn't expect you to be so flimsy… that was my mistake."
Harry couldn't shake the feeling her words were aimed at him, not the poor door.
She stepped forward, stopping in front of Cassandra.
Cassandra straightened, and the two locked eyes, neither yielding.
For a moment, Harry swore he heard the classic Western duel music from cowboy 1v1 showdowns playing in his ears.
Veratia looked Cassandra up and down, her gaze finally settling on that flat chest.
Pathetic. Not even two ounces of flesh, Veratia thought disdainfully.
Can she even fill out a gown with a figure like that?
Unless she's got some engorgement charm helping her… tsk tsk tsk.
Stared at her weak point, Cassandra bristled.
It's just two extra ounces! What's there to be smug about?!
In the end, it was Harry who broke the silence.
"What's up, Vivi?" he asked, pretending ignorance, looking up at her. "Something urgent?"
"Oh, nothing." Veratia smiled lightly. "I just missed you, so I came to Hogwarts to see you… though, I seem to have heard some shocking news… I should say, I do have to praise your honesty."
"Ah, that." Harry raised his hands. "It's fine, Vivi—you know me—I never lie to you?"
Veratia's eyes had held no trace of mirth, but at Harry's words, the smile finally reached them.
"That's what I love most about you, Harry." Veratia reached out and ruffled his hair. "You never lie to me. You're always so honest with me…"
"So." She continued, "You've decided? To invite Cass as your date?"
"Of course." Harry nodded firmly, his expression more resolute than when he'd stood in the dragon's path.
"If you insist." Veratia sighed softly. "Alright, I have some things to take care of. We'll see each other at Christmas…"
With that, she turned to leave.
"That's it?" Cassandra suddenly spoke. "Not even a goodbye?"
"We should at least have dinner," Harry blurted. "The three of us—you, me, and Cass… yeah, at that French place in Diagon Alley. How's that?"
Cassandra's lips pressed into a tight line. She looked up at Veratia, who radiated main-wife energy every second, and a surge of defiance rose in her chest.
What's with that look…
I was first. Clearly I was first, right?
Whether it was meeting Harry, becoming his friend, or… falling for the guy…
Why do you get to act like the official wife?!
Veratia's demeanor reminded Cassandra of a storybook she'd read as a child from the "Qing Empire," where men had three wives and four concubines, and Veratia's current attitude undeniably brought to mind a woman named "Precious Hairpin Xue."
The comparison wasn't far off—though their personalities weren't very similar, Veratia and Sister Bao were absolutely alike in one thing: pink-cut-black.
"Alright." Veratia's brows relaxed, and she asked Harry as if joking, "Shall we invite Poppy too?"
Invite Poppy?
Harry hesitated. For a split second, he almost wanted to say yes.
But considering the reality, Harry decided to strategically retreat for now.
"Let's skip Poppy—she's probably busy today." Harry scratched his head. "Just the three of us… we'll have dinner, talk things over."
"Talk about what?" Veratia asked meaningfully.
"About the past, about the future." Harry said. "There's plenty to talk about, right? Vivi?"
"Fine." Veratia gave Harry a deep look. "Then let's have dinner together—"
With the jealous Grindelwald miss's approval, Harry turned to Cassandra.
"No objections," Cassandra said. "I also think, since Grindelwald came to Hogwarts, we should at least let her have dinner before she leaves."
With that cheerfully decided—at least Harry thought it was cheerful—the three left Hogwarts.
Before leaving, Harry and Cassandra reported to their respective heads of house.
When Cassandra informed Professor Snape, his face looked like he'd swallowed a fly.
"You're having dinner with Potter and Miss Grindelwald?" Snape's expression was as if he'd kissed James Potter. "Fine, but don't say I didn't warn you, Miss Malfoy—overnight stays off-campus are not permitted."
"It's just dinner, Professor." Cassandra said expressionlessly.
Snape couldn't argue further and reluctantly agreed.
When Harry asked Professor McGonagall for leave, she happily granted it.
Despite McGonagall's strict demeanor, and Harry being a fourth-year, he was her pride and joy. How could a professor deny her favorite student a small request?
Besides, whatever Harry was doing had to be proper.
And she knew Miss Grindelwald's strength—they'd be perfectly safe together.
Of course, McGonagall had no idea that a century ago, this trio had formed a team that had scattered the ashes of Britain's largest and second-largest dark forces.
Completely and utterly.
So, saying they were in danger?
The whole of Britain was the one in a bit of danger.
While speaking with McGonagall, Harry slipped into the bathroom—while Veratia and Cassandra weren't around, he called his godfather.
"…That's the gist of it." Harry pushed up his glasses. "Sirius, what should I do about my current situation?"
"Your situation?"
Sirius's projection wore a you've got to be kidding me expression, but since it was his godson, he steeled himself to help.
"Hard to say," he said, "but I think being honest is actually a good thing. The timing's off, sure, but it's still better than her finding out."
"Why's the timing off?" Harry asked.
"Because you should've called me and confessed to her before Miss Grindelwald arrived at Hogwarts—not passively!" His godfather looked utterly disappointed. "A woman like Miss Grindelwald—if she really cared about Miss Malfoy's existence, she'd have neutralized her long ago… She doesn't care about Malfoy. She cares about your attitude…"
Harry thought he understood.
"Women, you see," his godfather continued, "they don't care about logic. What they need is your attitude…"
"Then," Harry suddenly said, "what if, at dinner tonight, I tell Vivi and Cass straight-up that I want them both to be my girlfriends?"
Sirius fell silent.
Not for any reason—just out of respect for his godson's courage.
"But I hear a fat man," Sirius said, cupping his ear and looking skyward, "seems to be… singing."
"In Italian, I think. A segment from The Minister…"
--
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