For this reason, Vivi blatantly comforted him several times, finally soothing the trauma of his young soul.
Cassandra was increasingly feeling something was amiss, yet she couldn't find any reason.
On the day before the start of school, the day when Vivi was about to return to work at the Austrian Ministry of Magic, Cassandra voiced her thoughts.
"Why do I always feel something is off lately?" Cassandra rubbed her temples and asked with a sigh, "Grindelwald, I know you're good at prophecy, you should know what's going on, right?"
She was grasping at straws now, as such ominous feelings persisting was problematic; Wizards are indeed more superstitious than Muggles, since sometimes emotional changes are a form of prophecy too.
Vivi, who was drinking coffee, almost sprayed it all over Harry's face. She stifled her bubbling laughter and held back her words, "Is this the attitude you have when seeking help, Kathy?"
She really didn't want Cassandra to know about her home-stealing incident, but if she showed panic, Cassandra would definitely be suspicious.
Responding as if everything was normal was the simplest way to avoid arousing suspicion.
The vein on Cassandra's forehead throbbed.
This Grindelwald...
She held back the urge to mock Vivi, as the most pressing issue now was to figure out what's going on.
Stay calm, stay calm...
She took a deep breath, calmed herself, and said, "Alright, please help me, Miss Grindelwald."
Seeing her awkward demeanor, Vivi was actually quite pleased.
She felt a bit mischievous now, having first snatched away someone's pampered piggy's first moment, and now playing this woman like a fiddle...
Oh dear, I better not laugh.
"Hmm..." Vivi pretended to be checking the future, closed her eyes, and after a while, reopened them, "It might be because you've been resting poorly lately, Kathy—The Eye of Prophecy tells me you should rest more."
"Is that so?" Cassandra touched her cheek, "Oh... that does make sense. I've been having nightmares recently, dreaming about you and Harry..."
At this point, Cassandra suddenly fell silent.
Not far away, Little Sirius slapped his own face upon hearing their conversation.
This Miss Malfoy...
Really, not the brightest.
Vivi suddenly felt a wave of guilt.
It was indeed very guilty because Cassandra's dreams were somewhat related to her.
Of course, Vivi also felt it wasn't entirely her fault; she thought it was fair for Cassandra to have some involvement, right?
Harry sat there sweating profusely, not knowing what he should say at this point.
Should he side with Vivi? Or should he say something else?
But he quickly dismissed the idea; after all, not speaking this time was fine—fewer words, fewer mistakes, more words—more mistakes.
However, the more he wanted to be invisible, the less likely it would happen.
"Harry, speak up." Vivi suddenly called his name.
Harry's brain went into overdrive, frantically thinking of a way to respond.
"What should I say?" He ultimately chose the simplest response—playing dumb.
"You better eat," Cassandra said disdainfully, "I can tell that you can't offer any constructive suggestions, so just eat your meal."
Harry immediately lowered his head, thankful to be out of this unknown AOE (area of effect); he couldn't be happier.
If Cassandra found out something, that would be terrible.
In the evening, Vivi didn't succeed.
Because Cassandra thought, since Vivi was leaving the United Kingdom the next day, they should have a thorough chat to deepen their relationship.
Vivi: No, not necessary...
But there was no choice, Cassandra squinted her eyes, staring at her, which made it hard for Vivi not to overthink.
When they got up in the morning, both girls didn't look too well.
Initially, they were chatting through the first half of the night, but in the latter half, it turned into an endurance contest, neither willing to sleep first and let the other sneak away.
"What happened to you two?" Hermione asked with concern.
"Nothing much." Cassandra smiled lightly, "It's just that Grindelwald didn't want to part with me before leaving, so we chatted all night..."
Vivi took a sip of her steaming coffee, her gaze like daggers slicing through Cassandra.
If looks could kill, Cassandra would be nothing but a matter of course right now.
Vivi's resentment was heavy, after all, she originally intended to savor the moment before parting but was unexpectedly interrupted by Cassandra.
Meanwhile, Harry sat sullenly, pondering if he should sneak off to Austria some weekend to hang out with Vivi...
Yeah, the cover story would be to learn German.
The German language must be learned! I really want to learn German.
Cassandra: But I also know German!
"Quickly finish your meal," Harry suddenly blurted out, "We still have to catch the train, remember, today isn't just the day Vivi leaves the UK to return to work, it's also the first day of school..."
"Speaking of school." Vivi said with a smile, "Jemma from Slytherin got accepted by the Austrian Ministry of Magic a few days ago, I only received the news last night~"
"That's great news," Harry laughed, "In a foreign land, you should have some friends and family around..."
"Let me remind you, Potter—" Cassandra couldn't stand it, "Your dear Miss Grindelwald is an Austrian herself; Austria isn't foreign to her, but the UK is..."
What she said was indeed correct, crossing mountains and seas to the UK was truly being a guest in a foreign land for Vivi.
Vivi didn't answer and instead looked upward, blowing her bangs to express her disregard for Cassandra.
Harry had never seen such a cute Vivi before.
"I still don't understand," Ron said while chewing on bread, "Why do we have to take the Hogwarts Express to school; can't we have other means to get there? Must we squeeze in with classmates?"
"In theory, yes," Little Sirius said, "Back in my school days, at the start of a new term, some parents would use carriages to send some of us off, like the Malfoy family, Old Abraxas doted on his son quite a bit."
"What about everyone else?" Ron asked with interest, "Like your Black family?"
"Oh, please." Little Sirius rolled his eyes, "I ran away from home back then and was the disgrace of the Black Clan; did you think I had the privilege of using a carriage?"
"That's true." Ron surprisingly nodded in agreement.
After the meal, Vivi bid her farewell.
After saying goodbye and kissing Harry, Vivi turned around intending to leave.
"Just leaving like this?" Cassandra folded her arms and asked, "Not going to say anything to me, Grindelwald?"
"Oh." Vivi turned back and mischievously said, "Looks like our Kathy wants a farewell kiss too?"
The words made Cassandra's face blush.
"Who, who wants that," Cassandra huffed, extending a hand, "Just a handshake, after all, we're friends, aren't we?"
"No, we're closer than friends."
Vivi stepped forward, smiling as she shook Cassandra's hand, then suddenly, catching Cassandra off guard, she lightly kissed her cheek.
"Bye-bye~"
She turned around laughing, stepped into the fireplace.
The green flames whirled, and Vivi vanished into the fireplace, leaving Cassandra stunned in place, unresponsive for quite a while.