The words Gabrielle spoke were shocking, but nobody present took her words seriously at all.
Even Fleur, who doted on her the most, now had faint veins bulging on her forehead, angry at Gabrielle's repeated nonsense.
Madame Maxime, who normally paid great attention to status and hierarchy, looked even less pleased.
But Gabrielle, oblivious, finished speaking and then hopped over to Madame Maxime's side, acting coy,
"Headmistress Maxime, my Phantom Knight is still studying at Hogwarts right now. Can you think of a way to let him come to Beauxbatons and study with me, pretty please?"
If Gabrielle had just kept quiet it would've been fine, but once she brought this up, Madame Maxime's expression grew even darker, and the atmosphere in the entire sitting room instantly turned awkward.
After all, years ago when Mrs. Flamel had been running around for Link's schooling, she had approached Madame Maxime about it.
But for the safety of the other students, Madame Maxime had ultimately not agreed.
Now that Gabrielle was digging this up again, naturally no one's expression looked good.
Using her peripheral vision, Madame Maxime secretly glanced at Mrs. Flamel, and only after confirming she didn't seem angry did she finally breathe a sigh of relief.
She then turned to glare at Gabrielle, before forcing a smile at Mrs. Flamel and saying, "It's getting late, so we'll take our leave. Next time, we'll come visit again."
Throwing down such words, Madame Maxime hurriedly left the tent with Mrs. Flamel sending her off.
She had well and truly lost face today.
Once they left, Mrs. Flamel and Emily's gazes once again fell upon Link. The three of them stayed silent, and even the air inside the tent grew tense.
Link quickly walked over to Emily, grabbed her little hand, and said, "She's just a child fooling around. Don't take it to heart. If you get jealous and angry and harm your health, that wouldn't be good. I'd feel terrible."
Link's words were as gentle as could be, but hearing them only made Emily more annoyed.
Who would be jealous of a little kid? If she were jealous, it would be of Fleur.
But Emily also knew Link was just trying to change the subject. Seeing Link winking at her repeatedly, she finally took a deep breath, suppressed her anger, and said with a smile, "It's fine. I'm not the type of woman who gets jealous. You don't need to worry."
After speaking, Emily secretly twisted a bit of soft flesh at Link's waist in retaliation.
Link's eyes nearly rolled back from the pain, but he still forced himself to look cheerful, all while watching Mrs. Flamel's reaction out of the corner of his eye.
Of course, their little tricks couldn't escape Mrs. Flamel's eyes. She sighed and finally said, "Enough, stop pretending. Madame Maxime and the Delacour sisters only came to thank you, nothing more. None of you should overthink it."
"As for why you snuck out last night, Link, if you don't want to say, I won't press you. But I want you to remember one thing, whatever you do in the future, your safety must come first. Don't take meaningless risks again, understood?"
Since Mrs. Flamel said so, Link naturally nodded repeatedly like pounding garlic, and the air inside the tent instantly lightened up.
Seeing this, Mrs. Flamel was delighted.
She didn't find it strange that children, once they grew up, had some secrets they didn't want to share. She had been the same at his age, especially since Link was a boy.
Chasing endlessly was meaningless; forcing too hard would only push the child into lying. Even if she did get the truth, what then? It would only make everyone unhappy.
For parents, sometimes it was best to turn a blind eye.
After the three of them joked around for a while, they had Little Button pack their things to head home.
Link was especially eager.
To be honest, the plot had already slipped mostly out of his control. He had to get back and prepare more for the coming new term.
But Emily's expression remained conflicted, and just before departure she finally couldn't hold back.
Hugging Mrs. Flamel's arm, she half-whined, "Aunt Leonie, those three won't come again, right? None of them looked like good people to me, especially that one called Fleur!"
Mrs. Flamel couldn't help but laugh, playfully scraping Emily's nose, "Don't worry. Maxime has no face to come here again."
"Ever since she refused to take Link into her school, my relationship with her has been very poor! If not for thanking Link for saving her student, she wouldn't have dared show her face here even if you killed her!"
Hearing this, Emily finally brightened up.
Of course she was jealous, when Fleur and Link greeted each other with cheek kisses just now, she had clearly seen Link's hand nearly land on Fleur's waist.
That had been her real reason for twisting him earlier.
Her thoughts were obvious to both Link and Mrs. Flamel. The two of them exchanged a glance and immediately burst out laughing.
This made Emily bury her face into Mrs. Flamel's chest in embarrassment, unable to show her face.
Just then, Rolf, having just woken up and stepped out of his room, happened to walk in on this scene. Though he didn't know why they were laughing, he joined in happily anyway.
And it wasn't a fake laugh to fit in, it was genuine joy.
Newt wouldn't be back for a while yet, so he was allowed to stay at Flamel Castle for a few more days.
Amidst the laughter, Little Button had finished packing everything. With a snap of his fingers, everyone returned home together.
———
Facts proved that even someone as clever as Mrs. Flamel couldn't predict everything.
For example, she had been wrong about the Delacour sisters and Madame Maxime not daring to come back to Flamel Castle.
In reality, starting the very next day, Gabrielle dragged Fleur to Link's house daily, under the excuse that their thanks last time weren't enough, and they needed to "continue thanking" him for several more days.
But despite calling it thanks, they never brought any gifts. Instead, it was the Flamel family who had to feed them lunch and dinner.
Watching the two silver-haired girls running wild around the house, Emily ground her teeth in anger.
Originally, Victoria had planned to take Emily home, after all, she wasn't officially married to Link yet, so it wasn't proper for her to spend her whole vacation cooped up at Flamel Castle.
But now, thanks to this, Emily refused to go back.
She insisted on staying at Flamel Castle to keep an eye on Link and Fleur.
If it had been any other girl, Emily might not have been so bothered. But Fleur was different. Her beauty was almost unmatched, leaving Emily lacking confidence.
In truth, though, Link also found the Delacour sisters annoying, especially Gabrielle.
This little one had a very clear goal. In her own words, she wanted Link to "fall at her skirt hem" and obediently become her Phantom Knight, returning to France with her.
To that end, she clung to Link every day, leaving him with no time for his meditation training.
Still, after these days together, Link gradually came to understand Fleur and Gabrielle's personalities.
Fleur, as Madame Maxime's prized student, was outstanding in every way, especially in etiquette. She even resembled a true pure-blood noble more than Link, who actually was one.
So Emily's worries were unnecessary. If not for Gabrielle dragging her along, Fleur wouldn't have wanted to visit Flamel Castle every day, it was far too impolite.
Gabrielle, on the other hand, was like a spoiled little princess who had to get whatever she wanted.
Thankfully, she wasn't truly bad. She wouldn't cry and tantrum to get her way like a brat. Instead, she was clever, using subtler methods that nobody could dislike.
For example, to make Link her Phantom Knight, she simply stuck to him constantly, saying things like, "Gabrielle's this cute, don't you feel anything?"
She was also particularly skilled at the roundabout approach. When Link wouldn't take the bait, she shifted her focus to Mrs. Flamel, showering her with affection daily.
And Mrs. Flamel fell for it every time, often coaxed into laughter by Gabrielle.
That was Gabrielle's special trait. No wonder she'd developed the habit of always getting what she wanted, because wherever she went, everyone adored her.
It was tied to her natural cuteness and charm.
After all, who wouldn't like a doll-like, sweet-talking little girl?
Every time he looked at Gabrielle, Link couldn't help but sigh. This was a kind of innate gift.
Fleur and Gabrielle were in fact half-bloods, born of a Veela and a wizard, each carrying one-quarter Veela blood.
Such hybrids were extremely rare, because the Veela bloodline was overwhelmingly dominant. Children born from a Veela, regardless of the father's race, usually turned out pure Veela.
That was how the Veela lineage perpetuated itself.
And normally, when such hybrids did appear, they were killed immediately.
Because in the wizarding world, half-breeds with intelligent magical creatures' blood were considered even "dirtier" than Muggles.
For a pure-blood wizarding family, it was a disgrace.
So in a sense, Fleur and Gabrielle's very existence was already a miracle of luck.
As a reward for that luck, though they didn't inherit Veela shapeshifting powers, they did receive peerless beauty and charm close to that of Veela.
Fleur's talent was especially strong, she had even honed it into a form of allure magic.
Men without firm willpower would easily become her puppets, submitting to her every whim.
Yet compared to her, Link thought Gabrielle was even scarier.
Because her charm was weak, so weak it only acted as a constant background aura, making others feel a little more favorable toward her.
But precisely this subtle, spring-breeze-like effect was the most terrifying.
With someone famous like Fleur, people automatically guarded themselves. For example, every time Link dealt with her, he cranked Occlumency to full blast to avoid being charmed.
Gabrielle was different.
Her ability was so weak most people dismissed it. But over time, it drew them in deeply.
Mrs. Flamel and Emily's fondness for her was largely thanks to this.
And Rolf was utterly defenseless.
Once, Gabrielle fancied one of his Krum badges, his most prized treasure, one he wouldn't even let Link touch.
But the moment Gabrielle asked, Rolf eagerly handed it over.
Afterward, she just tossed it into her "trophy" pouch and never took it out again.
That alone showed how frightening Gabrielle's gift was, and how nasty her personality could be.
She hadn't even liked the badge, she only wanted it for the thrill of receiving a gift.
Link guessed that her insistence on making him her Phantom Knight was largely the same kind of twisted amusement.
So ever since realizing that, he had stopped showing her any kindness.
He had no intention of ending up like that badge, discarded into her pouch, never to see daylight again.
As for Rolf, he suffered the most, after getting the badge, Gabrielle lost interest in him and barely played with him anymore.
For days, he often hid in his room crying, eyes red and swollen.
Fortunately, that sadness didn't last long, because his grandparents finally returned.
———
One week before term started, at dawn, Newt and his wife stepped into Flamel Castle with the morning light.
They had come to take Rolf home.
Rolf had known the news long in advance and was already waiting in the hall.
So the moment Newt appeared, he shot forward like a cannonball, throwing himself into his grandfather's arms, sobbing.
"Hahaha! My dear Rolf, you've gotten fatter again these past days!"
Newt held his grandson with effort, but his laughter was hearty, his joy clear.
His wife, at his side, secretly wiped away tears. Traveling had been wonderful, but seeing her grandson again melted her heart.
Link's family, along with the Delacour sisters, watched the scene.
Gabrielle sucked her fingers in envy, she hadn't seen her father in ages.
After smiling and watching for a while, once Rolf had clambered down from his grandfather's arms, blushing in embarrassment, Link stepped forward to greet him, "Mr. Scamander, it's been a while since we last met. How about staying for lunch today before leaving? You could also tell us about your travels."
"Yes, Mr. Scamander, the house-elf in my home cooks marvelously, you must try it."
Mrs. Flamel came over smiling as well. She, too, deeply respected Newt, the true Order of Merlin recipient.
Hearing this, Newt politely exchanged greetings with Mrs. Flamel, then turned to Link with mock annoyance, "I don't know what you're plotting. This was a private trip between husband and wife, how could I possibly tell you about it?"
At this, the entire hall erupted in laughter. Mrs. Scamander's face flushed red as she pinched Newt's side.
Unable to take it, Newt bared his teeth in a grin and hurriedly pulled a strip of black cloth sealed in a block of translucent crystal from his bottomless bag, tossing it to Link, "Enough nonsense, this is your gift, catch!"
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