Chapter 145: The End of the School Year
I walked with the girls toward the hall with the fireplaces, thinking about how quickly the school year had flown by, especially these last few weeks. It had been constant busyness, plus another four body-restoration rituals, each requiring several Dementors to be caught in traps beforehand.
Catching those creatures was simple, though. You only had to step outside the protective wards, and they would come at you on their own. All you had to do was trap them fast enough.
But I conducted the rituals that gave the Founders bodies anyway. As Rowena told me, they were more useful to me than to her. She had been restored to her best form, and thanks to her connection with the castle, which was saturated with magic, she had even reached a previously inaccessible level. So...
I had to work hard to help the Founders get physical shells, while also growing stronger myself. I didn't get the same massive boost as after the first ritual, though. Still, overall, I had even surpassed Snape slightly, though no one realized that except Dumbledore, who kept shooting mocking looks at the tame Death Eater.
Well, no outsider understood. Flitwick, for example, had worked me to the bone...
"Draco, what are your plans?"
"Plans?"
I looked at Fleur.
"My plans are to spend a week on the beach... I want to just lie on the sand and do nothing..."
"Do you think that will work out?"
Penny asked me that, and I shot her a gloomy look. That look made her smile.
"Penny, now that you've finished school..."
"Yes..."
She looked at me mockingly.
"Decided to change the subject?"
"No... I just wanted to ask: do you really think you'll have more free time now?"
"Um..."
Panic flickered in Penny's eyes.
"No?"
"You are right; you won't. Your lessons will only increase, so don't be sarcastic about the fact that I have such trouble sleeping. By the way, how do you think you did on your exams?"
"Normally..."
Penny waved her hand dismissively.
"...there was nothing difficult about them, just like for Fleur."
"Yes?"
Penny glanced at her friend.
"Yes. To be honest, I thought it would be harder, but it turned out to be much easier. It felt like the assignments were designed so that just about anyone could pass them."
"Honestly, that's somewhat true..."
I nodded.
"...but at the same time, they're not as easy as they might have seemed to you. It's just that you are clever girls..."
"Yes, yes... praise us more..."
We had just reached the fireplace and traveled to the Quarter. Gabrielle and the others had gone home earlier, while we had stayed behind because we had decided to sleep in today. The trip was quick and easy. I simply waved the wand that appeared in my hand, cleaning the ash off of us.
"...well, you really are clever girls. You studied under a different program, after all. In fact, that's exactly why you found the exams too easy. Your level of preparation is significantly higher than expected."
"And how will you feel when taking your exams?"
"Me? I'll most likely take them this summer, at least for fifth year."
"And not for the seventh?"
"Well..."
I shrugged, thinking about Penny's question.
"...it's not all that important. Though that could be arranged too."
As we talked, we reached the house, and I noticed Bella and Cissy arguing about something in the parlor, while Walburga simply sat watching them with a smile.
"And what are they arguing about?"
"Ah..."
Cissy waved it off, not at me but at Bella.
"...this obsessed woman wants to invest in the Quidditch World Cup this summer. The draw determined the final would be held here, and now she..."
Cissy nodded toward her sister.
"...wants not only to invest in fast food and merchandise, but also to sponsor the tournament itself."
I sighed.
"Do we have the funds for that?"
"Yes."
Bella nodded confidently.
"What's the expected profit?"
"Profit? I planned to act as a sponsor to raise the House's reputation, to show that we don't do everything for money."
She proudly tilted her little nose up.
"And the fact that we sponsor Hogwarts and St. Mungo's, plus provide free education and medical care for children in our Quarter, doesn't count?"
"Well..."
Her eyes darted from side to side.
"Mom, be honest, you just want to invest money in Quidditch..."
Fleur said with a slight smile, and my mother nodded, slightly embarrassed. Honestly, I couldn't tell whether she was embarrassed at being addressed that way by my future wife or at having been caught.
"Here's how this is going to work..."
I cut off the argument Cissy had been about to start, keeping Fleur out of it too.
"...Mom..."
Bella looked at me, and I saw stubbornness in her gaze.
"...if you've truly calculated EVERYTHING, and investing surplus funds won't affect our Quarter's development, then I won't object. But it has to be high-profile... so everyone knows this is our contribution. I mean... they just play for a salary, right?"
"Well, there's a prize fund, but..."
"Then set up a real prize fund for the champions. Let them receive real money. Or what were you planning to do?"
"Actually, I planned to invest in building the stadium..."
I blinked.
"Wait... they want to build a stadium?"
"Yes."
"Where?"
"In one of the preserves."
Bella shrugged casually.
"And do they have permission from the Ministry for that? Not the Ministry of Magic, but the regular Ministry?"
"Um..."
Bella was confused.
"Then here's what we'll do. Tomorrow. No, today. Right now, even. You contact the organizers, and if they don't have permission, offer our Quarter as a possible venue for the final. We do have a pitch here, don't we?"
"Yes."
Bella slowly nodded.
"And it meets international standards?"
"Yes..."
She nodded again, slowly and cautiously.
"What size are the stands here?"
"Well... they're larger than the ones they were planning to build. And more comfortable, too, since we built it all for ourselves, for the long term, while they plan to dismantle everything immediately after the championship."
I sighed.
"Very good... We'll find places to house the guests. We'll shake a little money out of our Ministry of Magic for putting them up in our hotels, and we might even turn a profit."
"Well..."
"And security?"
Cissy looked at me with irritation.
"Amelia will rally her people, and we'll pay them overtime. They've all mastered Muggle weapons, haven't they?"
"Seems so, but that's something to ask her."
Cissy nodded.
"Very good. They'll have tranquilizers with them, as well as tasers. In an extreme case, they'll grab their wands and strike to kill."
"Um, isn't that excessive?"
Penny looked at me in surprise.
"No..."
I shook my head.
"I'm not suggesting we strike to kill immediately, but if it's a terrorist, then..."
I shrugged, making it clear the terrorist's life meant little to me.
"And if they have permission?"
"Well, then it's at your discretion..."
I waved a hand as if to say to hell with them.
"...but I'd set up the prize fund and leave it at that."
"Understood... I'll go find out."
"Tch..."
Cissy wasn't very pleased with this decision.
"Mom?"
"Well, what? That money could have gone to the hospital, or bought extra provisions, or who knows what else?!"
"Are we lacking anything?"
"No, but..."
Cissy sighed.
"...ah, to hell with it! If we spend it, we spend it!"
"That's the right approach. And now I should probably go deal with the documents."
"And what documents are those?"
"I have thirty-seven folders with the personal files of people who met all my requirements and want the House of Black's help with their development. Twenty from my House, the rest from others. I need to go through all of them and decide exactly who to hire."
"Ah... your unexpected project?"
Cissy looked at me with slight mockery.
"Yes."
"Then go..."
She waved me off.
"Just don't be late for lunch."
I nodded to Mom and went to my office, my girls following me.
"Well, there it is. And you wanted to spend a week on the beach..."
Penny said, teasing me slightly.
"...but now you need to prepare for the Quidditch World Cup, or more precisely, the final."
"Yes... though I was sure I wouldn't get any rest, at least you'll have a week to yourself..."
"Don't even start."
"We're practically wives already. We've spent so much time together that it's time we got involved in the affairs of, if not the House, then at least the Quarter. So come on, let's sort through those who did meet your requirement together."
I smiled faintly at Penny's words, and once we were in my office, we began sorting through those files...
*** Several Hours Later. ***
"Why are you so sad?"
I looked at Bella, who was picking at her plate.
"They told me to go away..."
I frowned slightly.
"And who did that?"
"Huh?"
She noticed the change in my voice and looked up at me, then seemed confused, glancing first at my future wives, who looked somewhat bewildered, and then at Cissy.
Mother Cissy was suppressing a smile, but she had no intention of explaining anything to her sister.
"Mom?"
She looked helplessly at Walburga.
"Watch your words, daughter. You said they told you to go away, and Draco, apparently overworked, took your words literally. That is, he thought someone had actually dared to tell you to get lost in the crudest possible terms."
"Huh?! Draco?!"
"What, Draco?"
"Do you think I wouldn't have sent that idiot to the hospital or the next world?"
"And I don't know what to think... you're sitting there picking at your plate, and what if you'd fallen in love with the one who sent you away?"
"I what?!"
Bella's voice rang with open astonishment at my assumption.
"And what else was I supposed to think?"
"All right, Draco... today you and I will have full-contact training. Under expanded rules..."
I swallowed, because that meant they would beat the hell out of me, then patch me up, and beat me up all over again.
"On my end, they coordinated everything with the Muggle Ministry and refused to accept so much as a single gold coin from our House! Incidentally, Cissy, the Ministry took over the broadcasts and everything else, so we won't be able to profit from that."
Now Cissy frowned.
"What do you mean, we won't be able to?"
"Exactly!"
And Bella gave her sister the finger...
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