Still celebrating?
Harry just felt his head was about to split in two.
Back in the dorm, Harry had been planning to go to sleep, but then the Crystal Ball started bouncing again.
It was Vivi; she'd called Harry.
"Congratulations." Vivi's smile was sweet enough to kill. "I heard you've become Hogwarts' Warrior, that really is something to be happy about—"
"You already know?"
Harry raised his wrist in shock and glanced at his watch. "If I remember correctly, it's been less than five hours since I became a Warrior. How did you even find out?"
"I just did." Vivi said, eyes crinkling with her smile. "Of course, I hope you can win the final championship and represent our Hogwarts as the ultimate victor."
"Mm." Harry nodded.
The two of them were quiet for a moment, then Harry spoke first.
"I miss you, Vivi."
"How much?" Vivi asked with a grin.
"Like, uh…" Harry glanced around at his surroundings, coughed twice, and said, "Anyway, it's the kind of missing that really can't be overheard. I'm still in the dorm, you know."
Subtext being: watch yourself, don't let those spicy lines of yours get overheard.
Vivi got what he meant, shot him a bewitching little smile, then said, "I know, don't worry—so, I might have some free time at Christmas, we could meet up… or, well, if I remember right your Apparition is pretty decent now. Why not make use of that Magic Spell? When the holidays start, we can Apparate somewhere, have some beer, and talk about life properly."
That was a damn good idea; Harry's heart lurched hard.
"How about today then?"
"Not today, sorry, babe." Vivi shook her head. "We can make it a day earlier; I'll arrange my schedule a bit."
"Have you been very busy lately?" Harry asked with concern.
"Mm… kind of." Vivi nodded. "Lately I've been working on something… well, something that's pretty good at catching the media's eye."
"What kind of thing?" Harry asked curiously.
"That's a secret of the Austrian Ministry of Magic, Harry." Vivi said helplessly. "In principle, I'm not supposed to tell you."
"But I know you're not going to not tell me." Harry said, grinning.
Vivi rubbed her eyelids with her fingers, and after a while said, "Alright— it's not that big a deal, just, um… I've been representing the Austrian Ministry of Magic in talks with the Hungarian Ministry of Magic about a merger. I don't think Europe needs this many Ministries of Magic, it's just way too bloated. What do you think?"
"Why Hungary in particular?" Harry asked curiously. "Are you planning to restore the glory of Austria-Hungary?"
"Hmm." Vivi tapped her index finger against her lips. "So what you mean is… I should pick a different country? Let me think, um… Right, historically Austria was the Holy Roman Empire, so if we're talking mergers, Germany would be a pretty good choice. Hmm… an Austria-Germany union? What do you think of an Austria-Germany union?"
When those words came out, both of them felt a faint itch right under their noses, and neither was sure if it was their imagination.
It felt like they were about to grow moustaches.
"That should be fine in the Magic World." Harry scratched his chin. "But if you say that in the Muggle World… I think they'd either decide you've gone insane or just have the police throw you straight into prison."
Vivi burst out laughing twice; it was hard to tell if Harry had cracked her up, or if she just thought the idea of Muggles laying a finger on her was pure fantasy.
They lingered sweetly together for a while longer before Harry reluctantly hung up.
On the one hand, he had important things to do tomorrow; on the other, Vivi was very busy lately as well.
He had no idea that Vivi had taken his suggestion seriously—he'd just thought she was joking.
After all, who would ever imagine that, decades later, someone would actually push for an Austria-Germany union? Isn't that jabbing right into the soft spots of the Big Goose and the Beautiful Prison?
France: My Maginot Line just twitched, I'm out, I'm not playing!
Poland: Why do I feel like I'm about to get erased again?—Eh? Why did I say "again"?
When Harry woke up the next morning, he found the floor beneath his bed covered in flower petals.
The petals formed a trail leading him all the way out the door.
When he stepped out of the dorm, he saw the Weasley Twins, putting on a ridiculous act as they saluted him with a Muggle military gesture.
"Company… atten-tion!" The twins stood ramrod straight and shouted, "Salute the honorable Warrior!"
"Loy! Al!" everyone bellowed.
That roar carried a certain echo of the lobster soldiers of yore; it nearly scared Harry out of his skin. You really shouldn't be yelling stuff like that, it felt kind of ominous.
Colin Creevey twisted himself into an absurdly contorted pose and clicked off shot after shot of Harry.
"I think we should have Professor Trelawney do a reading for Harry." Neville murmured. "See if Harry can actually become the final champion."
"Oh, please." Hermione rolled her eyes. "With Professor Trelawney's usual style, she's definitely going to say Harry is shrouded in doom and that his life's in danger: 'Oh, my dear, I sense a terrible omen around you!' You buying that?"
"That impression is freakishly accurate." Ron gave her a thumbs-up in praise.
"If she dares say that, we'll just have to use a bit of Inoffensive Minor Curse to remind her what she should and shouldn't say—" Hermione slammed a fist on the table, clearly still not over her grudge against Professor Trelawney. "How about we let your clone big brothers handle it? Just have them smack a big lump of shit right in Professor Trelawney's face and yell, 'Fuck you, how dare you say he can't be champion!'"