Seeing the tracker vanish into thin air, Maurise and Fleur exchanged bewildered looks.
"What was that all about?" Fleur asked, a deep frown marring her flawless forehead.
Maurise stared at the spot where the cloaked figure had stood and slowly lowered his wand. He was equally clueless.
It was completely inexplicable.
"Perhaps just an ordinary wizard with malicious intent? The Hog's Head certainly isn't lacking in such characters," he said, stroking his chin. "Or perhaps they just didn't like the look of us and wanted to teach us a lesson?"
In short, anything was possible. The wizarding population had an exceptionally high concentration of absolute lunatics.
"Very well," Fleur sighed, a hint of resignation in her voice. "It seems Hogsmeade is not entirely safe."
Maurise shrugged. "Let us head somewhere with more people."
There was no such thing as absolute safety in this world; one had to constantly remain vigilant against the malice of strangers.
Since they still had plenty of time, Maurise and Fleur made their way to the Three Broomsticks.
It was vastly livelier than the Hog's Head, packed to the brim with patrons. Most were Hogwarts students, sprinkled with a few village residents. They were gathered in small groups, laughter and lively conversation filling the air.
Fleur clearly vastly preferred this environment.
"Maurise!"
Suddenly, Maurise heard someone calling his name.
He followed the sound and spotted Hermione waving enthusiastically from a table tucked in the corner. Harry and Ron were sitting right beside her.
Maurise turned to Fleur and asked, "Do you mind sharing a table?"
Fleur's gaze lingered on Harry for a fraction of a second before she nodded. "I don't mind."
The two of them wove through the crowded pub. Harry and the others quickly scooted over to make room for them.
Harry looked at Fleur in evident surprise, his gaze darting between the two of them before he blurted out, "Are you two on a date?"
"We are just taking a stroll," Fleur smiled and nodded at the trio, her tone perfectly natural. "Hello."
Ron sat staring dumbly at Fleur. He didn't snap back to reality until Harry elbowed him sharply in the ribs.
"Ah! H-hello," he stammered. He hastily took a massive gulp of Butterbeer to cover his fluster, ended up swallowing it too fast, and descended into a violent coughing fit.
Fleur seemed completely oblivious to Ron's embarrassment—or perhaps she noticed and simply chose to ignore it.
At this point, Maurise noticed that aside from Butterbeer and snacks, the table was littered with several copies of the Daily Prophet, heavily annotated with angry red circles.
"What is all this?" he asked.
Hermione sighed heavily and slid one of the papers across the table. "Rita Skeeter has been writing an absolute mountain of slanderous articles over the past two days. It seems the Triwizard Tournament has triggered an explosion of 'inspiration' for her."
Harry chimed in, "We're currently worried sick about Hagrid."
"Hagrid?" Fleur spoke up immediately. "Actually, we just saw him at the Hog's Head."
Hermione's eyebrows shot up. Her gaze ping-ponged between Maurise and Fleur, and she said in sheer disbelief, "You went there on a date?! Why on earth didn't you go to Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shop?"
"Madam Puddifoot's?" Fleur asked, unfamiliar with the name.
"I detest that tea shop," Maurise said at the exact same time.
How should he put it... the overwhelmingly frilly pink decor and the excessive use of floating cupids simply did not align with his personal aesthetic.
Harry quickly derailed the rapidly devolving conversation, dragging everyone's attention back to the pressing issue. "What was Hagrid doing at the Hog's Head?"
"Drinking his sorrows away," Maurise spread his hands. "You all know the reason, so I chose not to disturb him."
"Hagrid needs counseling," Hermione said, her voice laced with deep concern. "He is a perfectly qualified Care of Magical Creatures professor, and Hogwarts simply cannot afford to lose him! Furthermore, I heard from the other professors that he has completely abandoned his duties as Gamekeeper and Keeper of Keys and Grounds."
Maurise shook his head slowly. Hagrid's heart was far more fragile than any of them realized.
Harry abruptly stood up, his face etched with urgency. "We have to go talk to him. Right now, before he locks himself inside his hut for good."
He moved to leave.
"Hold on a minute!" Hermione grabbed his arm and yanked him back down into his seat, her eyes locking intently onto Maurise. "I have one more question I need to ask Maurise."
"What is it?" Maurise asked, slightly taken aback.
Hermione's expression was deadly serious. She flipped through the pile of newspapers spread across the table.
"I have noticed a distinct pattern," Hermione said. "Rita Skeeter has slandered practically everyone involved in this tournament. Look here: Hagrid is painted as a dangerous half-breed menace... she wrote that I am simultaneously toying with the affections of both Harry and Viktor Krum... she even wrote a scathing piece claiming Delacour is an arrogant, insufferable snob who looks down on everyone and constantly instigates conflicts with Hogwarts students."
"It is utter rubbish," Ron muttered darkly.
Fleur, however, remained perfectly composed. "It is foolish to place any weight on what is printed in the newspapers."
"But it will affect your reputation, won't it?" Hermione looked genuinely angry on her behalf. "People who don't know you will read this garbage and assume you actually are like that. Arrogant, insufferable..."
Her voice trailed off slightly. Well, perhaps Fleur was a tiny bit arrogant, but she was nowhere near the cartoonish villain the newspaper made her out to be.
"But that is beside the point," Hermione shook her head sharply and refocused on Maurise. "The point is, across all these articles, she hasn't written a single negative word about Maurise."
A sudden silence fell over the table.
Harry and Ron plunged into deep thought. Indeed, it was a blatant anomaly they had all completely overlooked. Let alone slander, Rita Skeeter's articles barely even *mentioned* Maurise's name!
Why?
"Very astute, Hermione," Maurise gave her a thumbs-up. "In truth, Rita Skeeter is terrified of angering me, because I happen to know a very damning secret of hers."
"What secret?!" Hermione's eyes instantly lit up.
Maurise considered it for a moment. In the past, he had struck a deal with Rita Skeeter: she would write a glowing feature on his flying broomstick, and in exchange, he would keep her illegal Animagus status a secret.
Should he tell them?
'Ah, why not.'
"She is an unregistered Animagus," Maurise answered without hesitation.
Hearing this, everyone at the table was profoundly shocked. They all knew exactly how severe a crime that was.
"An Animagus!" Hermione's eyes widened comically. She glanced around nervously and lowered her voice to a furious whisper. "What does she turn into?"
"A beetle."
"Wow!" Hermione suddenly broke into a dangerously predatory smile. "Perhaps we can use this little piece of leverage to force her to shut her mouth."
Although she had been pretending not to care, Rita's slanderous drivel had undeniably infuriated her.
"Hmm... go ahead and try," Maurise nodded encouragingly. "Good luck."
He had originally intended to track Rita down himself and warn her to stop slandering his friends, but Hermione was highly capable. Delegating this task to her seemed like an excellent choice.
The group chatted for a while longer. Harry and the others decided to head to the Hog's Head to try and talk to Hagrid, while Maurise and Fleur decided to return straight to Hogwarts.
Despite the minor hiccup in the alleyway, the date had gone rather smoothly.