The words "rare" and "medium rare" were extremely irritating to Hermione. Upon hearing those words, her body shuddered.
Just as Draco was about to take advantage of the situation and deliver a few more mental blows to Hermione, a male voice, as slow as Draco Malfoy's, was heard.
"Draco, it's time to go." The person who arrived was Lucius and his wife Narcissa. Both were dressed in silk robes, looking as if they were fleeing.
Hoods, masks? None. The Malfoy family was a law-abiding wizarding family, how could they do anything against the International Statute of Secrecy?
Lucius Malfoy approached his son and leaned his cane on Draco's shoulder, pulling him out from under the tree. Lucius always carried his cane everywhere, not just to show off, but because that cane was his own wand. He had added a long enough handle to the wand's handle... That was why Lucius Malfoy's cane had a length of 45 centimeters, including the length of the handle.
Seeing his parents suddenly appear, Draco Malfoy fell silent. He wasn't the kind of person to go crazy in front of his parents. With Lucius, Draco was always calmer.
Narcissa wrapped her arms around her son's shoulders and quickly walked away without saying a word. She had not participated in the Death Eaters' "team-building activity." However, that didn't stop her from witnessing Tom's firestorm up close.
After seeing the firestorm, Narcissa just wanted to go home. When she saw her son seemed to be in conflict with Hermione Granger, she was almost scared to death: could you really mess with that girl?
The Patronus pair at the opening ceremony had already made their relationship with Tom Yodel clear. At that moment, Tom Yodel was just as intimidating to Narcissa Malfoy as Voldemort. If you angered him, he would unleash a firestorm, and you'd be left stunned. With someone like him, it was best to stay away.
She decided to go back home and properly educate Draco.
Lucius Malfoy took a couple of steps behind his wife and son, directing a long and meaningful look at Hermione.
"You have quite the boyfriend," Lucius's eyes bore intensely into the red-tinged sky.
Then, with a flick of his cane, he quietly left. Lucius wanted to mend his relationship with Tom and Hermione, not seeking friendship, but mutual avoidance. However, his pride prevented him from saying pleasant things.
If Tom were here, he would surely be very satisfied with the Malfoy family's attitude. That was why he had personally intervened, as the saying goes: one punch is worth a hundred.
After the Malfoy family interrupted, Hermione realized they had completely lost contact with the main group. However, if the main group is defined by the number of people, then they had the same number as Fred and the others.
In theory, when you lose your friends, you should stay put and wait. However, they didn't want to stay here because the flames on the horizon could spread to them at any moment.
The narrow path was crowded with noisy crowds, all turning their heads and looking at the not-so-distant red sky. The camp was not far from there; they could even smell the scent of burning wood.
Hermione noticed a group of teenagers in pajamas animatedly discussing by the road. Among them was a familiar face, the curly-haired girl who had been watching the match with her in the same compartment.
Hermione saw her, and she saw Hermione. Then the curly-haired girl excitedly waved at Hermione, gesturing for the others to be quiet.
In her opinion, Hermione was a very reliable witch, and in this chaos, what everyone needed was someone with determination.
"Do you know where Madame Maxime is? We can't find her," the curly-haired girl quickly asked Hermione.
"I don't know," Hermione shook her head, "Will they stay here? The fire could spread at any moment... Wait, look over there!"
In the firelight, Hermione vaguely made out a tall figure in the distance, and she believed it was Madame Maxime.
"Yes!" the curly-haired girl stood on her tiptoes and looked, immediately recognizing their headmistress, and they all started calling out to her, attracting Madame Maxime's attention.
When she arrived among her students, Madame Maxime calmed down the most excited children and then looked at Hermione, saying, "That commotion caused by Yodel is no small matter."
Hermione was startled and quickly asked, "What's going on?"
Madame Maxime pointed to the fire glow not far from there and said, "All of that was caused by Yodel. I passed by and saw him 'communicating' with the parade crowd, you know, tall people always see things others can't. I think the parade is already over."
Hermione: !!!
Is Tom the one who caused all this commotion? What has he done? Hermione couldn't believe what she was hearing.
"Well, I have to take my students back to France. This meeting at the World Cup has really opened my eyes," Madame Maxime's patience ran out, and she ended the conversation, taking her students with her.
"Tom started this fire?" George wasn't sure if he completely believed the news, but the source seemed reliable.
Hermione and the Grangers exchanged looks: This form of persuasion is very Russian! To prevent the parade crowd from burning the camp, he set the camp on fire himself?
Just as everyone was doubtful, it started raining from the sky, and the flames in the camp gradually extinguished. Anyone could see that the disturbance had calmed down.
As they returned to the camp, Hermione and the others saw Mr. Weasley with a group of Ministry of Magic wizards. The Roberts family was sitting obediently on the edge of the forest, while several Memory Modification employees crouched in front of them, helping them modify their memories of that night.
The Weasley's three adult children were also among those people; they all looked injured: Bill had a cut on his arm, Charlie had a magically burned shoulder, and Percy couldn't stop his nosebleed. They looked a bit disheveled and miserable, but in reality, their injuries were not severe.
"Oh, Chris!" Arthur saw Mr. Granger in the distance and jumped as if he had springs in his feet, quickly running toward him and giving him a tight hug.
"Merlin's beard, I'm so glad you're okay!" Arthur was very emotional; he really feared that Mr. Granger would also be attacked by those crazy fans because of his Muggle status, and that would have haunted him for life.
"I'm fine, I'm fine. I have a very reliable young man who protected me," Mr. Granger smiled and patted George on the shoulder, who had joined them.
George, known for being cheeky and a prankster, blushed, showing some shyness, and saying he hadn't done much either.
But before they could exchange compliments, a wizard hurriedly arrived with bad news.