But in our part of the ministry, people think you're like a reincarnated Merlin, because we know better than most how difficult it is to deal with those things. But the public thinks of you the same way, because - "
" - They're sheep, yeah, I know." Harry quietly interrupted.
"Not the words I was going to use, but yes." admitted Tonks. They sat in silence for a few minutes as Dumbledore continued on with his introductory speech, before one of the Aurors behind the staff table motioned to Tonks.
"I need to go; the feast will begin soon, I need to go." she said, waving goodbye to Harry and scratching Hedwig gently behind the ear. Tonks, as well as the rest of the Aurors, made their way to the entrance and departed. Harry turned back to the front of the hall, finally giving Dumbledore his fullest attention.
" - a few basic rules to the Tournament, which are to be discussed after the feast. But for now, let us begin to eat!"
Dumbledore waved his arms in a sort of bizarre gesture, the once empty plates now filling up with food. Harry turned to Hermione, putting food onto his plate as he did so.
"Did he say anything important?" he asked casually, ignoring the look of annoyance that had etched itself onto Hermione's face.
"Maybe you would know if you had been paying attention!" Hermione hissed.
"He didn't, just introduced the headmaster and headmistress from the other schools. Also introduced two ministry folks, Mr. Bagman and Mr. Crouch, I think." said Dean, "He said he'd talk about the important stuff like rules after the feast."
Harry quickly inspected the staff table, and sure enough, Ludo Bagman and Barty Crouch Sr. were both seated. Bagman was chatting happily to Mr. Crouch, seemingly not noticing that the man seemed interested in just about everything other than what Bagman was saying.
Whoever thought having those two work together would be a good idea.
The majority of the Gryffindor table had begun to eat, with only Ron refraining from doing so. Instead, the redhead was looking around the hall, particularly at the Slytherin and Ravenclaw tables. When his eyes returned to the Gryffindor table, his eyebrows rose upon seeing the faces of his peers, their eyes all locked onto his form, clearly surprised.
"What?" he asked, as he began to dig into the food.
"What could possibly have been more important than you filling yourself to the brim with food?" asked Fred.
Ron's eyes narrowed at that, before he looked at all the Gryffindor faces nearby him (the fourth, fifth, and sixth years). When he spoke, his voice was dark and foreboding.
"We've got to see the delegations properly, don't we? If we're going to be champions, we ought to know the enemy, right?"
"Oh, shut up, Ickle Ronniekins." said George.
"'Know the enemy', what's this rubbish?" added Fred.
"You don't understand!" Ron exclaimed indignantly, "You've got to know the strengths and weaknesses, it's like chess! Krum's going to be Durmstrang Champion for sure, but we need to know more about Beauxbatons! Just wait for them to remove their bloody scarves, we'll know by then."
It was at that moment that Harry decided to tune out of the conversation.
Harry spent most of the feast simply feeding Hedwig, as well as occasionally ruffling her feathers. This way both of them got fed; Hedwig would not accept food for a while until Harry too had eaten his fair share.
After a while, Harry noticed that the once loud voices of those around him had now dimmed significantly.
"Are you still wanting the Bouillabaisse?" said a beautifully soft voice, which carried a slight french accent.
Harry looked up, his eyes glancing at the girl who had just spoken. She had waist length silvery-blonde hair, large, deep blue eyes, and high cheekbones. Her skin tone was slightly tanned (similar to his own), and her perfect teeth sparkled like fresh snow.
She makes the Veela from the World Cup look like normal women.
The moment Harry's eyes landed upon her, he felt a slight pull of his magic. The feeling was very similar to what had happened at the Quidditch World Cup, which meant that this girl was indeed a Veela (although what he felt now was slightly stronger than whatever it had been in the World Cup). Harry was truthfully more than a little surprised to see that he was still not affected by any allure, though he did not show it.
"No, it's all yours." said Harry in a causal tone. He carefully picked up the bowl and handed it to her.
"Merci." said the girl, her voice wavering slightly. It was another clear sign that she was a Veela, the fact that she was so evidently surprised when Harry had acted normally. Truthfully, Harry himself was surprised that he didn't do something stupid, even if he couldn't truly feel her allure. She was, without a doubt, the most beautiful woman he had ever seen (and definitely would ever see) in his life.
So it'll be Krum and the Veela girl, I'll have to tell Salazar.
.....
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