"Here." Vivi lifted the curtain in front; Pabi leaned over to look, and saw the flames closely trailing behind the Yeti—the flames kept so near that they didn't burn the Yeti's fur, yet still let them feel the heat.
Pabi's mouth fell open, and after a long moment she rasped, "Are you the Devil?"
Vivi gave her a mysterious smile, but didn't say anything.
As everyone knows, Yeti have a bone‑deep fear of fire, so a capable Wizard can use it to drive them away.
And Vivi was precisely exploiting this trait of theirs, driving them forward.
Yeti are vicious by nature; they'll attack and devour everything they come across—but these two had clearly been hit with some kind of Inoffensive Minor Curse.
It's worth mentioning that Yeti are among the worst‑kept secrets in the Magic World, so there have been masses of Muggle sightings.
The most famous one was by a Lieutenant Colonel named Charles Howard-Bury, in an incident he reported back in 1926.
Because the Eastern Hideout Region kept violating Clause 73 of the Secrecy Law, the International Wizarding Union had no choice but to set up a permanent base there and station an international commando unit.
The carriage galloped across the Antarctic Plateau, surrounded on all sides by a vast, blinding white.
Sitting in the warm carriage, looking out at the ice and snow outside, was indeed an incredibly novel experience.
Half a month later, they finally reached the South Pole.
All along the way, Hermione had her camera out, constantly taking pictures.
After they'd stayed at the Amundsen-Scott Station for two days, they didn't forget to erase the memories of the American Research Station staff, then set off again, heading for Eastern Station.
"Is this really okay?" Hermione asked hesitantly; she couldn't shake the feeling that it was a bit rude.
"Nothing wrong with it," Vivi said with a squinty smile. "The Americans had it coming."
They spent the better part of half a month playing in Antarctica before reluctantly using a Door Key to return to the United Kingdom.
"That was such a memorable trip," Hermione said, still a little reluctant to let it go. "Maybe… next year we could go to the Arctic?"
"Silly girl." Vivi ruffled Hermione's hair. "Your summer holiday is the Arctic's summer too—winter's way more fun."
At each of their homes, there was a letter from Hogwarts waiting for them, listing the supplies for the new term.
In the final week of the holiday, they shopped according to the school list, and once everything was ready, they stayed home, calmly waiting for the new school year to arrive.
Thankfully, there were several House-Elves at home, so Harry didn't have to worry about laundry or packing.
Ron, though, was in trouble. He had to go back home himself to sort his clothes and pack his trunk, because his parents had taken Ginny out traveling again.
"If you ask me," Harry said, "you should just bring your stuff to my place and let Ruby or Kreacher wash it."
At that, Ron suddenly realized that was indeed an option.
So he happily bundled up a pile of dirty clothes and went back to Number Twelve, Grimmauld Square.
As they'd been away for a long time, Vivi had already set off back to Austria as soon as they returned—and Cassandra had her own affairs to deal with, while Pabi had to help Newt care for the Magical Creatures.
So at Grimmauld Square, only Annie stayed behind to keep Harry company.
The day before term started, the Weasleys arrived at Number Twelve with Ginny; Bill came too, and he brought a woman Harry hadn't expected.
Fleur Delacour, former Beauxbatons Warrior.
"This is my girlfriend," Bill said coolly, introducing her to everyone.
Mrs. Weasley, however, looked like she didn't much care for Fleur.
They'd arrived while Harry was still asleep upstairs; when he finally got up, he ran right into Ron, who was just coming into the house.
"Heads up, mate," Ron said, still a bit shaken. "You'd better stay away from the kitchen. It's… uh, not exactly peaceful in there."
Harry was baffled; he had no idea why Ron was saying that.
Sure enough, the moment he stepped into the kitchen he saw Fleur sitting by the table, chattering away as she planned her wedding to Bill.
Mrs. Weasley was standing guard over a pile of Cabbage that were peeling themselves, her face thunderous.
"…Bill and I have more or less decided on just two bridesmaids. Ginny and Gabrielle together will look absolutely adorable. I'm thinking of dressing them in pale gold—pink would look awful with Ginny's hair—"
"Oh, Harry!" Mrs. Weasley said loudly, cutting off Fleur's long monologue. "Splendid, I was just about to explain tomorrow's security arrangements for your trip to Hogwarts. We've managed to borrow cars from the Ministry of Magic again, and there'll be Aurors waiting at the station—you know, with all this You-Know-Who trouble in the United States recently, Little Sirius—oh, I mean Minister Black—has stepped up protection at the station… and of course Remus will be there waiting for you as well."
"Will Tonks be there too?" Harry asked curiously. "They're getting married soon, aren't they?"
"No, probably not. Arthur says she's been assigned somewhere else," Mrs. Weasley replied. "As for your question, I can answer it: Remus said they'll be having the wedding by this Christmas at the latest."
"That Tonks, she's become awfully unkempt," Fleur mused, examining her beautiful face in the back of a teaspoon. "If you ask me, that's a big mistake—"
"Yes, thank you so much for that," Mrs. Weasley said acidly, cutting Fleur off yet again.
And then, an awkward silence settled over the room.
Bill quickly tried to lighten the mood. "So, Harry, I heard you lot went to Antarctica over the holidays? Well? Was it any fun?"
"Pretty fun," Harry said with a smile. "You know how our Northern Hemisphere summer is winter in the Southern Hemisphere, so it was freezing down in Antarctica… but since we're Wizards, we didn't have to worry about the temperature. The trip there, though, nearly killed us—the West Wind Zone seas were rough and the waves were huge. At first everyone thought it was really thrilling, but soon we were all hugging toilets and throwing up—by the end, our standard greeting had turned into 'Have you puked yet?'"
Bill burst out laughing at Harry's story.
You could tell it was genuine laughter—Mrs. Weasley hadn't given him or Fleur a kind look all evening.
Harry himself had no idea why Mrs. Weasley disliked Fleur so much.
That night, Annie cleared it up for him.
"Maybe Mrs. Weasley thinks Fleur isn't the type for homely, day‑to‑day life," Annie said gently. "Look at her—she's just too beautiful, doesn't seem like the sort of person who'd be good at looking after Bill."
"Fair enough." Harry shrugged. "Lucky my mum's not around, or else…"
Here, his voice suddenly caught.
Yeah… if Mum were still here, how would she roast him?
Anyway… she probably wouldn't end up in a Mrs. Weasley versus Fleur situation, right?
First off, Mum definitely wouldn't hate Vivi—those two are best friends, and Vivi knew Harry before she met Mum… Knowing Mum, she might even pat his head and say, 'Good boy, you actually managed to win over your Aunt Vivi.'
As for Cassandra… hard to say, really hard to say. The whole tsundere princess thing has long gone out of style!
Pabi, though—there's hardly anyone who wouldn't like a girl as bursting with energy as Pabi.
And Annie?
Annie's honestly pretty good at winning people over.
"Your mum…" Annie weighed her words for a long time, then finally said, her expression complicated, "I think… there would always be at least one she liked."