The feast itself could only impress me with the volume and quantity of food and sauces, but Hogwarts was traditionally strict about variety. French dishes were in a strong minority, and they were not as decorated as I had seen. But that's just for the record. As I said, I didn't have an appetite, but sitting stupidly around when everyone else is full is an unnecessary attraction, so I chewed on an absolutely herbaceous salad that was in demand among the girls.
Trying to keep up with the rhythm of the conversation, I drank a potion diluted in water, but there was a question in the eyes of both Gabby and Fleur, and I'm sure I'll hear it. Of course, I could say that it's none of your business, but you don't do that to friends, especially to sharp girls. I was glad that both of them had heads that weren't just for beauty and that they could think.
I couldn't help it. I remember my first reactions to my mother, not to say the effect is as strong, but not weak either. I could feel the girls, although there was some strange interference that I couldn't grasp or understand. Yes, I was squinting one eye at the twins, which was clearly noticed by Gabby sitting next to me and Fleur sitting behind her.
All present listened to the announcements of the local headmaster, Crouch, with short greetings from the headmasters of other schools. The Goblet of Fire was shown and "turned on", the conditions and limitations of the participants were explained, and the dangers were not forgotten. So, the application can be thrown into the blue fire during the week, and next Friday the champions will be determined, who will have two and a half weeks to prepare for the first task.
When all the speeches were over and the students from the schools who wanted to had another cup of tea, the evening was officially over. The guests started to get up, but somehow they were not in a hurry to leave, because I had asked the faculty heads to inform the guests about the Friday night movie show and ask them not to disperse.
By this time I had calmed down, even a little more than necessary. I got up from the table and made my way to the podium, by this time even the officials looked interested, in no hurry to leave. I hadn't needed permission since the moment Dumbledore announced the end of the feast.
— Honored guests, hosts, officials. As of late, there is a new movie being shown at Hogwarts every Friday night. It's not possible to see it all at once — the theater is small, so the show is repeated throughout the week. So here it is. I invite all guests and officials to today's screening, and for the locals it will be repeated tomorrow and the day after tomorrow evening. If you'd like to join me, please ask the faculty heads to escort you to the auditorium. The show will begin in forty minutes. Thank you for your attention.
I didn't pay attention to the raised noise and left the auditorium, but I didn't go far to wait for the blonde sisters. I thought: I've got at least a week before the names of the school champions are announced, so I'll still have time to talk to the twins, and tonight I'd better give the Delacour sisters a chance. By the way, at the exit of the Great Hall, there were some unknown sorceresses in dark robes down to the floor, with hoods that did not hide their faces. As it turned out, they were the Delacour sisters' bodyguards.
The sisters' parents didn't like the situation in England, and they didn't like the trial of me, even if they hadn't thought of it, so they had a couple of spies just in case. And the girls themselves, as I understood it, had a number of different artifacts and even potions. And I didn't take my spiders from the girls, and they're with them, I can feel it. Dumbledore, of course, wouldn't let any other guards in, after all, "Hogwarts is the safest place in Britain," but to all outsiders, these women are Madame Maxime's assistants.
At first, I thought of attaching the tracking shikigami to the female relatives, but a knowledgeable person can find them. I didn't prepare my puppets beforehand, and I don't want to shine in the presence of these sorceresses. It would be possible to send Baa-san for her, but I don't want to interrupt her work, and I don't have any other ghosts in my service. It's a miscalculation, but tomorrow is Samhain, so I can look for some lower-ranking service spirits.
I went to the séance in the company of, I would say, friends, and none of the three of them asked me any "unnecessary" questions — we had plenty of other topics. It was as if we hadn't seen each other for a few months, but we missed each other very much. The screening itself was kind of in the background for me: I took my favorite seat on a wide window sill, away from everyone else, so I had the opportunity to go into my own thoughts. And after a good movie I was already thinking of leaving to meditate, when it turned out that the trio had gotten permission from their director to stay a little longer at a friend's house. Well, you can't chase them away, can you? After twenty minutes of leisurely walking around the castle, we sat down in my living room.
Gabrielle decided to inspect my current domicile, after she had quickly examined both bedrooms and the bathroom, which had been magically enlarged and finished by me personally (I rebuilt the bathtub bowl, made wooden floors and panels, changed the lighting, and some other little things), but she couldn't get into the working laboratory (study), and no one but me could. Let the girl's behavior and goes beyond the bounds of decency, from which Fleur even hissed a little at the younger girl, but personally I was not offended.
Secret and secret can be seen only in the laboratory workshop, forbidden, rare and unique works I always have in my bracelet, and on the bookshelf is quite accessible only in Europe and America literature. What else is there to hide? So I looked at the energetic girl with a smile: the girl in this role is like a little reckless puppy, mastering a new territory. The bodyguards remained outside the room. I wanted to send them away and tell them I'd escort the guests myself, but no way.
— You didn't waste any time, did you? — Paul grinned and nodded at the screen with the sisters.
I shrugged, for he hadn't seen Lizzie's portraits yet. Fleur, on the other hand, stared at the painting as if she'd seen it for the first time, even though each of the sisters had a clone of her. Weyla stared at it for a few seconds, her cheeks flushing. Gabrielle smiled broadly at me and took a seat on the couch next to her sister, and I settled into my favorite chair. It had been bought back in the States, as it was unexpectedly pleasing in both appearance and comfort. It is, but Americans are good at comfort.
For about an hour we shared the news over candy and hot drinks, until the guards knocked on the door and warned us that the permit was about to expire. I decided to escort the guests out of the castle, and already at the door, where Filch was hanging around, as always disgruntled with everything in the world, I voiced an invitation to tomorrow's party. I was not immediately understood: in the magical world, even if there is not so much entertainment, but still, not every Muggle holiday is celebrated, and Halloween is it, because originally Samhain or Samhain is a Celtic holiday and its meaning is much deeper.
Ommyoji is as much about privilege as it is about responsibility, you can't just ignore the mystical, otherworldly part of the world. If I'm going to live in Britain, I need to understand the meaning of ancient holidays, so I had to spend half a weekend reading a book describing them. There is nothing really surprisingly unique about this holiday; everywhere, in every corner of the earth, every nation has its own celebration of the dead and the end of the year.
Of course, there are nuances — the imprints of the harsh life of subsistence farming: baking bread in the shape of horns, telling fortunes by the marks of fire on bones, jumping through fire, and so on. But the meaning is the same everywhere, and it can't be dismissed; the church has already done a lot of damage by twisting national holidays to its own ends.
I didn't go too far into the explanations, but it was enough to make all three of them change their faces and firmly declare that they would attend. The bodyguards took me by surprise when they asked to join. The sum of five thousand galleons per nose did not discourage the women, and one of them even asked if she could bring her child. I did not refuse, because at such festivals children up to the age of ten or eleven are considered part of the mother, and are even immune to the laws of magic. This is another reason why studies in official institutions begin at the age of eleven.