The sarcasm in Little Sirius's words was undeniable, essentially a slap in Snape's face.
Luckily, Snape adhered to a policy of patience, merely casting a fleeting glance at Little Sirius before turning his head away.
Stingy?
Mean?
Do you have any idea how many Magic Potions your godchild has taken from me over the years?
But being the prideful person he was, Snape would never voice these thoughts.
To avoid a quarrel at the dinner table, Lupin decisively shifted the topic.
"I never imagined that Miss Grindelwald could cook so wonderfully," he said, holding his fork. "It reminds me of Lily; she was an excellent cook back in the day."
One must admit, Lupin always knew how to say the right things.
This compliment greatly pleased Vivi.
Hmm...like Lily?
Just then, Harry looked up at Vivi.
Taking the opportunity, Vivi leaned toward Harry and whispered in his ear, "Come on, call me Mom."
This teasing left Harry momentarily choked on his saliva.
He coughed loudly, glancing at Vivi in bewilderment.
But he found her nonchalantly telling Lupin, "Practice makes perfect, I suppose. My parents died very early, so I was the only one raising Gellert. Of course, the cooking was up to me."
"You raised Gellert all by yourself?" Hermione asked in surprise. "Are you talking about Gellert Grindelwald? Jesus in the Bible, I always thought you were a descendant of Mr. Grindelwald. I didn't expect you to be...his sister."
"Time magic is quite marvelous, isn't it?" Vivi said with a smile. "I merely used Time Magic to arrive a hundred years later. Technically, I'm not over a hundred years old, so there's no need to look at me as if I'm some ancient monster—"
"Why did you time travel then?" Ron asked dumbly.
Vivi glanced at Harry, her smile gentle as she said, "Wasn't it all for this reckless boy? If he hadn't been hit by Lanlock, perhaps he wouldn't have traveled through time and neither would we need to delve into Time Magic for him..."
"Because of this little brat, Cassandra lost her beloved family, and Pabi became a Ghost." Vivi pinched Harry's cheek lightly. "See, sometimes I think Gellert's nickname for him isn't too far off."
"What nickname?" Ron asked, intrigued.
"Scarhead Enchantress," Vivi said, unable to suppress her laughter.
Though she said it casually, others didn't take it lightly.
Especially Little Sirius, whose emotions were quite mixed.
He'd thought Harry would face a dilemma choosing among several women, but now it seemed Harry would face a monumental sin no matter who he forsakes.
"Oh, there's another one: Scarhead Spectacled Beast," Vivi added with a giggle.
"Ha ha." Ron laughed out loud, taking pleasure in it as Harry's best buddy.
"I've always been curious about what exactly sent Harry a hundred years back in the first place?" Dumbledore suddenly asked.
"I don't know," Vivi said, shrugging and looking at Cassandra. "Cassandra probably doesn't know either. The Malfoy family discussed this at the time, but I don't think they came to any conclusions."
"Now I understand why Voldemort tried to kill Harry," Little Sirius suddenly said. "It appears, after hearing that prophecy, Voldemort thought about that past Harry, which led him to want to eliminate him..."
"That's not impossible," Lupin said, spearing a piece of pork. "Voldemort has always been unpredictable; nothing he does would surprise me."
"I used to think that Harry and that other Harry were two different people with the same name," Ron said, slapping his cheeks. "Harry never denied it to me, either. I remember in first grade, he even admitted it to me once, but I thought he was joking, so I didn't believe it."
"Don't blame yourself, Ron," Dumbledore said with a twinkle in his eye, stroking his beard. "No one would believe such a thing outright, especially not a first-grader. If you had believed it immediately, I would've recommended you take a trip to Saint Mangos Hospital to have a look at here."
Saying this, Dumbledore tapped the side of his head with a finger.
Everyone laughed at Dumbledore's humorous yet teasing words.
After a while of laughter, Hermione asked, "So, what about Pabi then? Is she going to remain in this Ghost form forever?"
"Oh, Mr. Leme has already found a way for me to regain a bodily form," Pabi said, floating around Hermione. "But the Magic Potion requires some time to brew, so all we can do now is wait."
"Waiting is long, but it will lead to fruition eventually," she added.
"So, you'll become the first successful Magic Mage," Cassandra said from the side. "Like a mule—right?"
"It's a Unicorn!" Pabi shouted indignantly at Cassandra.
"Oh, a mule." Cassandra playfully picked at her salad with her fork, handing the carrots to Harry, "Sidekick, eat these for me."