Cassandra truly had no way to deal with Veratia's humblebragging.
After all, who asked her aunt to be the Empress? And the Empress of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, with the world art center Vienna as its capital, no less.
No matter how powerful the Malfoy family was in the wizarding world back then, their influence was confined to a corner of the magical community; it didn't hold much water in the Muggle world.
After all, Cassandra only knew that old matriarch back in the day; she wasn't like Veratia, who could follow behind her as a lady-in-waiting.
Do not underestimate wizards' pursuit of Muggle social status. Although pure-blood wizards seem to look down on Muggles, the Malfoy ancestors had indeed courted a Queen.
"Let's go eat," Harry hurriedly suggested, interrupting the sparks flying between the two.
It wasn't that he was afraid they would fight, but rather that he was afraid he'd get caught in the crossfire.
Okay, okay, what a scumbag!
Of course, Harry didn't consider himself a scumbag; he just really wanted to try that restaurant's oysters and Danish meatballs.
Come to think of it, he had never eaten Danish-style cuisine before.
"I didn't say I wouldn't go," Cassandra said, head held high.
Veratia smiled faintly but said nothing.
She felt that teasing Cassandra was actually quite amusing.
It had to be said, the feeling was rather addictive.
"I'll go call Poppy," Harry said, looking uneasily at Veratia and then at Cassandra. "You two stay here and behave, don't fight, okay—?"
"Are you treating me like a child?" Cassandra asked displeasedly. "Fight? With Grindelwald, that brute? Hmph, I won't ask for trouble."
Veratia didn't speak, just smiled gently at Cassandra.
"I'll go with you." Cassandra quickly stood up.
Seeing Veratia's smile just now, Cassandra felt uneasy.
What if this wicked woman does something to me while Harry is away? What should I do?
It was better to go out with Harry.
"Alright." Harry nodded, feeling relieved. "Then let's go out together. We're heading out to eat anyway."
The three of them left the room and walked to Poppy's room.
Just as he was about to knock, Cassandra suddenly sensed something was wrong.
"Wait!" Cassandra turned around solemnly. "Something's wrong, very wrong—Grindelwald, where exactly are you staying? I don't recall you registering a room in this hotel?"
This was a rather important question, one Cassandra dared not take lightly.
If Veratia wasn't here, fine. But now that she was in the hotel, if Cassandra let this Grindelwald sneak around and gain an advantage, wouldn't her trip be in vain?
"Oh." Veratia nodded, not hiding anything. "I'm staying in Harry's room. I haven't had time to book one yet—Besides, I am Harry's girlfriend, so it's fine to share a room with him, isn't it?"
"You're Harry's girlfriend?" Cassandra scoffed. "Then what am I? Harry? Speak!"
I speak?
Harry's heart skipped a beat.
However, he was battle-hardened and had seen it all.
At moments like this, Harry remained as steady as a rock, not panicking in the slightest.
"You are also my girlfriend, Cass," Harry said calmly. "If you want, you can come to my room too. After all, you know my room is quite large, big enough for the three of us."
That was true; Harry's room was a suite with four beds, enough for them to sleep.
"Who wants..."
Cassandra instinctively wanted to refuse, but she suddenly realized that if she did, this Grindelwald woman would surely take advantage of the opening.
No, she absolutely could not let Grindelwald swoop in!
Cassandra immediately said, "Since that's the case, then... I'll stay in that room with you too... Hmph, four beds, enough for us to sleep."
Speaking of which, she didn't forget to emphasize, "I'm just doing this to monitor Grindelwald, that shameless woman. Harry, I need to watch her so she doesn't do anything excessive."
"Oh?" Veratia suddenly stepped forward, resting a hand on Cassandra's shoulder and pressing her forehead against hers, whispering, "Then what do you think I would do that's so excessive?"
"Who knows with you?" Cassandra broke free from Veratia's hold and huffed. "Alright, call Poppy out so we can eat."
Harry finally knocked, and the door opened quickly.
"Oh?" Poppy looked at Veratia, then at Cassandra. "What's going on? When did Veratia get here? How come I didn't know?"
"In the middle of the night yesterday." Cassandra crossed her arms. "This shameless woman actually slept in Harry's room... Poppy, you be careful. Watch her closely and don't let her do anything scandalous!"
"Oh, oh, okay." Poppy nodded quickly. "I'll watch her, don't worry, Cassandra!"
However, Poppy clearly looked at Veratia's expression with a guilty conscience while saying this. Seeing Veratia wasn't displeased, she breathed a sigh of relief.
"Let's go eat," Veratia proposed. "I happen to be a bit hungry. Harry said there's a restaurant on the Isle of Wight with a nice atmosphere, and the oysters and Danish meatballs are delicious. Shall we go together?"
"Yay!" Poppy said happily. "I want meatballs too. Oh my, last night's Chinese food really wasn't very good—not even half as good as Professor Haoying's cooking!"
"Professor Haoying made authentic Chinese food," Cassandra shook her head. "The Chinese food here has all been modified to suit local tastes, losing its original flavor."
"Really?" Poppy asked suspiciously.
"Of course." Cassandra sighed. "Why would I lie to you?"
"Oh." Poppy nodded. "Alright then—let's hurry, I'm starving."
The four of them left the hotel and walked all the way to the restaurant.
The restaurant was called "The Little Gloster." It was said to have a huge reputation locally, and when Harry and the others arrived, they found they actually had to wait in line.
"Let's wait a bit," Poppy said. "Since we're already here, a little while won't hurt—there's a law that says if people are queuing for a shop, the taste can't be bad."
"There is such a saying." Cassandra nodded. "If you aren't too hungry yet, we can indeed wait a while."
"Let's wait then." Veratia also nodded. "Let's go sit over there; standing here is just too silly."
They waited for nearly twenty minutes before getting a table.
Coincidentally, the people walking out were the Malfoy family and Sirius Black.
"Yo, Harry?" Sirius saw his godson with three women at once, and a look of admiration flashed in his eyes.
This brat...
He really has surpassed the master...
I, the godfather, taught him how to deal with girls, but this kid can actually be with three girls at the same time without them fighting...
I have to admit, this guy really has a certain talent.
But Sirius forgot that these three girls had all made significant sacrifices for Harry to some extent.
One messed up her Animagus transformation, lost her body, and roamed the Forbidden Forest as a unicorn for over a hundred years; one was sealed in Merlin's Vault, racing against Death in dreams for a century; the other left her body in the Slytherin Scriptorium, her soul embedded in a portrait in the Map Chamber for a hundred years.
Damn it, Harry!
"Did you finish eating?" Harry looked at the Malfoy family, then asked Sirius.
"Yes, we're done," Sirius said. "We also heard yesterday that the food here was good, so we agreed to come here together for a bite... Besides, Lucius had some details to discuss with me."
Harry knew it was likely about the pure-blood families pouncing to carve up the Black family assets after Sirius's imprisonment, Regulus's death, and the near-extinction of the main Black line.
Now Lucius intended to return what he had originally taken to Sirius.
However, it seemed Sirius didn't hold a grudge against Lucius for it. After all, his wife Narcissa was also a Black; ultimately, keeping the wealth within the family was better than letting it flow to outsiders.
But other families might not get off so easily.
"You guys go in, we won't disturb your meal." Sirius waved at them. "By the way, I heard from Lucius that Fudge will be making some moves soon. You'd best be careful."
"Is that so?" Harry raised an eyebrow. "We'll talk about this in detail when we get back."
Bidding farewell to Lucius and his family, they entered the restaurant and found a private room.
The restaurant's service wasn't fast, and they didn't intend to discuss anything before the food arrived.
Once all the dishes were served, Veratia casually cast a Muggle-Repelling Charm at the door.
"I seem to recall what Sirius just mentioned." Veratia rubbed her temples. "But affairs at the Ministry of Magic have been overly busy lately, and I actually forgot about it just now..."
"What is it?" Harry asked.
"It's about Fudge's next move." Veratia sighed. "I actually don't understand why Fudge is doing this. As far as I know, he wants to use certain methods to control Hogwarts and oust Dumbledore from the Headmaster's position."
Hearing Veratia's words, the three looked at each other.
"No, is he sick?" Harry couldn't help it.
Even those who had issues with Dumbledore had to hold their nose and admit that Dumbledore was indeed the best Headmaster Hogwarts had seen in a century.
He was not only the leader who led Hogwarts to resist Voldemort during the darkest times but also a beacon in people's hearts.
It could be said that as long as Dumbledore was there, there was hope in everyone's hearts to resist Voldemort.
Now, you actually want to kick Dumbledore out of the Headmaster's seat?
Seriously, how drunk is he?
"If anyone knew what he was thinking, he wouldn't be Fudge." Veratia couldn't help but smile, looking up. "But strictly speaking, this is indeed something to watch out for. Fudge has a group of ambitious opportunists under him... Besides, he's banking on Dumbledore being a gentleman. A gentleman can be bullied with rules; if he just suppresses Dumbledore openly, there might really be no good countermeasure."
"Then why would anyone believe Fudge's nonsense?" Poppy asked innocently.
"You don't understand." Veratia smiled. "Not everyone is clear-headed. Some people are even less willing to accept the news that Voldemort has returned. They would rather be ostriches than accept such a fact. It's that ridiculous."
"Then what's the point of living?" Poppy lay on the table, poking the oyster on her plate with a fork. "Merlin, I really can't understand these people. Can you?"
"We can't understand them either." Cassandra skewered a meatball and put it in her mouth. "But the world is big; there are bound to be some oddballs, don't you think?"
That's true. As the saying goes, when the forest is big, there are all kinds of birds.
"Of course," Harry said. "Sometimes you can't blame them. After all, the current Minister for Magic is Fudge, and his influence is still significant—some wizards are always willing to trust Ministry news."
"The First Law of Politics," Cassandra swallowed the meatball. "Only officially denied news is credible... Haha."
Yes, she had learned that from a certain TV show.
A piece of intangible cultural heritage of humanity—Yes, Minister.
"So what does he plan to do?" Harry asked Veratia again. "Besides using his mouthpieces to spread rumors about Dumbledore and denying the news of Voldemort's return, what else can he do?"
"He'll likely install his cronies into Hogwarts, right?" Veratia said softly and slowly. "The Defense Against the Dark Arts professor position at Hogwarts is still vacant. I don't think Alastor Moody will continue as the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor after what happened, so... barring any accidents, he will definitely install his crony into Hogwarts to be the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor."
"Eh?" Poppy suddenly said. "Isn't Cassandra applying to be the Hogwarts Defense Against the Dark Arts professor?"
"Barring any accidents, Cassandra's application won't be successful," Veratia said with a faint smile. "After all, there is a dark magic curse on this course, and this curse was placed by Voldemort... The level of Voldemort's curse at his peak should be no less than Ranrok's. I think... even if Cass wanted to apply for this professorship, I wouldn't agree to it."
--
Support me & read more advance & fast update chapter on my pa-treon:
pat reon .c-om/windkaze
(Just remove the hyphen - and space, to access Pa-treon normally.)