If you've been threatened, just blink your eyes.
"It seems you're very leisurely," Cassandra said, "And you two—Swedding, Saru, if there's nothing going on, try not to make a sound, sit on the sofa on the side."
"What are you doing?" Harry asked curiously.
"Watching the snow."
After Cassandra finished speaking, she didn't speak again, instead staring entranced at the snowflakes falling from the sky.
Harry turned the stool by the window into a sofa and lay down comfortably on it.
He also didn't speak; while Cassandra watched the snow, he stared fixedly at Cassandra, from her exquisite flawless pretty face to her smooth rounded chin, never getting enough.
"Have you watched enough?" Cassandra finally couldn't stand it and asked coldly.
"Not enough," Harry said with a cheeky grin, "No matter how much I look, it's never enough."
Cassandra paused.
"Why are you..." She wrinkled her nose, "How come you've become so shameless now?"
As she said this, she sighed inwardly.
If only you were this shameless a hundred years ago, wouldn't that be wonderful?
But she couldn't figure out why the current Harry's shamelessness was all about building confidence.
In other words, under Little Sirius's guidance, he's a bit like an ancestor—very much like his dad, with that kind of shamelessness to impress girls.
This is evident from James's persistent pursuit of Lily.
As they say, a good woman fears a persistent man; sometimes Little Sirius wonders if James just wore Lily down until she was too tired to refuse marrying him.
"If it's for you," Harry said with a smile.
Pabi on the sofa dry heaved.
Cassandra's eyes narrowed.
"Are you pregnant?" Her sharp eyes scraped over Pabi, making Pabi shiver.
"Huh?" Pabi gasped, "Why would you say that?"
"Heh," Cassandra just coldly chuckled.
"I just... uh," Pabi glanced at Harry and said timidly, "I just think Harry is full of flattery, sounds nauseating..."
Goodness, using archaic English, are we?
"Heh, I think he's disgusting too," Cassandra curled her lips, "What do you think, Annie?"
"Indeed." Annie nodded in deep agreement.
"I think you're all teaming up to bully me." Harry sat up straight and glanced at Cassandra, "You want to teach them to be bad, Kathy!"
"Isn't it possible that they are already bad?" Cassandra asked with a grin.
Harry took a deep breath and didn't answer this question.
"What about Grindelwald?" Cassandra asked again, "According to that woman's sense, she should be by your side when you appeared in Vienna, why haven't we seen her yet?"
"That question should be for you," Harry said, rubbing his forehead, "You're the one who's half-Viennese, I'm just a visitor here, I thought she would be with you."
"Make a phone call." Cassandra said, "See what she's up to now, she might still be working overtime... this workaholic."
Harry followed the suggestion and dialed Vivi's number.
Immediately, a delightful melody filled the room.
Harry listened and felt the tune was familiar.
"I know this tune!" He exclaimed, "It should be 'Ode to Joy', right?"
Then he felt something was amiss.
Why did the house suddenly play 'Ode to Joy' when he called Vivi?
"Ah, got caught,"
Vivi's voice rang out, and the space by the window suddenly rippled.
After the wave passed, Vivi dressed elegantly in a small suit appeared in the room.
Wearing high heels, her figure looked even more poised.
"When did you arrive?" Harry asked, astonished.
Both he and Cassandra asked the same question.
She never expected that with Sword of Loyalty Spell in place, Vivi could sneak in quietly.
"Uh, I told her the address," Harry raised his hand.
Cassandra cast a harsh glance at Harry, clearly wanting to bite him.
"I arrived a while ago." Vivi smiled as she walked to Harry's side, bent down to kiss his lips, then moved to Cassandra's side, wrapped an arm around her waist, and whispered in her ear, "At the moment you were at the window wallowing."
Her voice was so soft that no one else heard it.
Cassandra stepped back one step angrily, escaping Vivi's grip.
"There's good news, Harry." Vivi looked at Harry, smiling gently, "News of ten Death Eaters escaping is buzzing in the British Magic World, and the Ministry of Magic's prestige has suffered severely; the Godfather and others have already started planning to impeach Fudge."
"I heard about that," Harry nodded, "But will this be enough to get Fudge ousted?"
"I'm not sure, it depends on the Godfather's strategy."
Vivi's high heels clacked clearly against the floor.
She angled herself beside Harry, sat down: "I think it shouldn't be a big issue, reportedly many British Wizards believe Fudge is hiding news of Voldemort's return, considering the Azkaban's tight security and Dementors, if these ten could escape, why wait until news of Voldemort's return to break out."
"Fudge has lost control over the Prophet Daily." Cassandra chimed in, "Without his spokesperson, he is indeed on the way out, the only difference being sooner or later."
"Looks like it's also time to deal with Umbridge." Harry said, squinting.
"Letting him run wild in Hogwarts for so long must have accumulated a lot of hatred." Vivi said with a smile, "When you stand up to remove such a scourge, I'm sure classmates will admire you even more."
Harry opened his mouth.
He honestly hadn't thought that far ahead, besides, don't classmates admire him anyway?
Seeing Harry's thoughts, Vivi smiled lightly: "It's different, Harry, removing such a scourge will also earn you gratitude, gratitude for cleansing the school's environment."
"Alright." Vivi said again, "Today's a holiday, we've rarely gathered, let's not talk about these topics unrelated to the festivity..."
At this point, she turned her attention to Annie.
"I always thought this day would come, but didn't expect it so soon." Vivi sighed, "A hundred years ago, I already felt Annie was a threat... Despite her Curse, she helps you with homework..."
Harry suddenly felt awkward, like being caught by the main wife while dating the fifth mistress.
"This is the last one, Harry." Vivi pinched Harry's chin, "If you dare to add another member to our family, be wary of me..."
She didn't finish her sentence, but her gaze said it all.
Harry swallowed.
He knew Vivi wouldn't emasculate him, only keep him tied up always by her side.
"Relax, relax." Harry raised his hand, promising: "I promise—"
"Heh." Cassandra turned her face aside, "Your promises aren't worth a copper knut, Potter."
Harry held Vivi's slender waist in one hand, changing the topic: "Speaking of which, what's for dinner tonight? Have you prepared anything, Kathy?"
Cassandra's expression fell again.
"No preparation, Potter." She mocked, "I only had the House-Elf prepare a meal for two people."
"Make that five," Vivi commanded, her tone imposing.
Cassandra snorted but complied with Vivi's words.
(Hopefully dealing with the toad tomorrow)