Isn't it?
What's going on?
The most shocked one wasn't Harry, nor Cassandra—it was Sirius.
He never could have imagined that someone with the surname Grindelwald could actually land a job at the Austrian Ministry of Magic.
This world was too insane—like a mouse serving as bridesmaid to a cat.
Cassandra wasn't surprised because she already had a thorough understanding of Veratia.
This woman with the Grindelwald name—whatever she set her mind to, she could absolutely make it happen.
Besides, getting into the Austrian Ministry of Magic was no big deal; she was just a little girl with the Grindelwald surname—no one could prove any connection to that old Grindelwald, so naturally, no one would step forward to object.
Most importantly, the Austrian Ministry of Magic was now completely under the control of the Wizarding Supremacists.
"Welcome."
Vinda Rosier spoke first, and even though she was advanced in years, she still carried that air of elegance about her.
Her gaze turned to Harry, and she smiled as she said, "Mr. Potter, we meet again—since I stepped down as Professor of Defence Against the Dark Arts, this seems to be our first encounter?"
"Good day, Madam Rosier," Harry replied with a slight bow. "It's a pleasure to see you."
"Very well." Madam Rosier glanced back at Veratia, then addressed Sirius and Mr. Weasley: "We should give the young ones some time alone, don't you think?"
"Of course." Sirius couldn't very well refuse at this point—not only because she was the Austrian Minister for Magic, but also because he knew this was what Veratia wanted.
He'd stopped objecting to Harry getting close to this Slytherin woman, and a big part of that was due to the strong support from Harry's mother.
Sirius had seen it with his own eyes: the approving look in Lily's eyes when she learned her son had gotten together with her old friend—practically on the verge of saying, "That's my good boy."
When the boy's own mum approved of the match, who was he, the godfather and a mangy black dog, to stand in the way?
Veratia gave Madam Rosier a small bow, set the files she was cradling on the table, and said to Harry and Cassandra, "Come on, let's go chat upstairs."
The three of them moved to the adjoining room and took seats in the chairs. Cassandra furrowed her brow and asked, "Grindelwald, what mischief are you up to now?"
"This isn't mischief." Veratia held up a finger to her lips. "After graduation, I couldn't very well become a layabout, could I? I had to find some work to do, and conveniently, the Austrian Ministry of Magic extended an invitation. So, while I was struggling to find an opportunity, I accepted."
Cassandra let out a scoff, as if she'd just heard the biggest joke in the world.
"The Austrian Ministry of Magic extended an invitation to you?" She pursed her lips. "Don't think I don't know what kind of person Madam Rosier is—she was your brother's old flame—that sunflower parrot of his!"
At those words, Veratia's expression darkened.
Cassandra thought she'd nailed it and crossed her arms with a triumphant smirk.
"Oh, you're wrong about that," Harry said suddenly, letting out a low whistle.
"Wrong?" Cassandra frowned at him. "What did I get wrong?"
"Madam Vinda Rosier wasn't Gellert Grindelwald's old flame," Harry corrected. "Gellert's old flame was someone else entirely—you want to guess who?"
"Who?" Cassandra asked.
Veratia reached out a hand, started to speak several times, then let it drop in defeat.
Fine.
Fine...
This family skeleton in the closet—even if Cassandra didn't know now, she'd find out eventually.
Might as well let Harry spill it; better to get it over with.
"You know her," Harry teased, building suspense. "And you saw her just recently..."
"I saw her?" Cassandra blinked in confusion. "Don't tell me it's Professor McGonagall?"
Harry paused for a moment, but he just couldn't picture Professor McGonagall with Gellert—they were worlds apart. Everyone knew cats and parrots didn't mix, especially sunflower parrots.
Sunflower parrots always liked to mimic dog barks to scare cats, or push them off things while they were napping...
"No way," Harry waved it off. "Not Professor McGonagall. Can you try guessing someone else?"
"Then..." Cassandra tilted her head, racking her brains. "Professor Sprout?"
"Nope." Harry shook his head again.
"Professor Burbage?" Cassandra ventured, naming the Muggle Studies teacher.
"No." Another shake.
"Not Trelawney, surely?" When Cassandra said the name, she even made a gagging sound. "Oh, Merlin's beard, Gellert's brother couldn't have such terrible taste as to fall for a loony like Trelawney, could he?"
As for Trelawney, Cassandra truly... harbored the deepest grudge.
After all, Trelawney's great-grandmother—Cassandra Trelawney, the famous Seer—had once mocked her with the most cutting words imaginable.
So, she'd side with Grindelwald over Trelawney any day.
"No, this person—never mind, I'll just tell you."
Harry glanced mystically at the door, making sure no one was there, then whispered, "Get this: Gellert Grindelwald's old flame wasn't anyone else—it's our Headmaster..."
Headmaster?
Cassandra's face took on an "I knew it" expression.
"Hmph!" She shot Harry a glare. "And you said it wasn't Professor McGonagall? Are you deliberately..."
"Not the Deputy Headmistress!" Harry sighed. "It's Dumbledore—the Headmaster, Albus Dumbledore!"
Not the Deputy? Dumbledore—the Headmaster?
No?
Wait—what?!
At Harry's answer, Cassandra froze.
Her pupils dilated suddenly, then contracted just as fast.
For a long moment, she couldn't process it, just standing there in a daze.
It felt like something had just slammed into her brain.
No, say that again?
Who was whose old flame?!
She tried to digest the explosive revelation, but after half a day, it still felt impossible to swallow.
No wonder she was stunned—after all, as someone from a century ago, especially a sheltered young lady who rarely stepped beyond her own doorstep, this kind of thing was just too avant-garde for her...
"What's wrong?" Harry asked with concern, waving a hand in front of her face.
"Wait!" she demanded, shocked. "You're saying... the Headmaster? Dumbledore? And Gellert Grindelwald?"
"Yes." Harry glanced at Veratia, who had closed her eyes in quiet misery, and nodded at Cassandra.
"So, so—so, Dumbledore is Gellert Grindelwald's..." Cassandra flailed her hands in incoherent gestures.
"Regrettably, yes," Harry said with a shake of his head and a sigh.
He looked at Veratia again and saw she'd covered her face.
Cassandra slumped into her chair, hands cradling her head, her eyes unfocused.
Her lips trembled at the shock of this unimaginable path.
"In fact," Veratia finally spoke up, "I think the one who should be most shocked isn't you—it's me, Cass..."
"So..." Cassandra's eyes finally focused, and she looked up at Veratia. "Then... how do you think you should address Dumbledore?"
"Thank goodness for English," Veratia said with a faint smile. "No need to untangle all those complicated relations—just one simple 'brother-in-law' covers it."
Cassandra said nothing, just affirmed Veratia with her gaze.
She was utterly convinced by this woman now—if she had a brother who'd come out of the closet, she'd want to throttle him on the spot.
Who would've thought this Grindelwald woman... would just grit her teeth and accept it.
"What else can I do but accept?" Veratia sighed, settling on Harry's other side. "It's been so many years since it all happened, and those two broke up ages ago—why should I be the villain now?"
"Fair point." Cassandra let out a long breath, tilting her head away and patting the side of her ear as if trying to shake out the scandalous tale no lady should have heard.
Seeing Cassandra like that, Veratia couldn't help but smile.
"What era is this? That sort of thing—well, it's all the rage now, especially in the Muggle world." Veratia said with a grin. "Particularly in Britain, this kind of... unconventional romance is quite common."
"Stop!" Cassandra gagged again; she still couldn't wrap her head around it.
Truth be told, Harry was struggling a bit too.
"Hold up!" Harry cut in quickly. "Let's talk about the actual matter at hand... like... what are your plans after this? Going to keep working at the Ministry?"
"Mm." Veratia nodded. "The job suits me well, and it's fairly easy for me—wait, what? Don't you want me working at the Ministry of Magic?"
As she said it, Veratia leaned her head against Harry's chest, tilting it up to stare at him intently.
It was a golden opportunity, and Harry wasn't about to pass it up.
He reached out and pulled Veratia's head into his grasp, ruffling her hair with one hand.
"Hey! What are you doing?!" Veratia demanded, half-laughing, half-exasperated. She'd thought he'd say he didn't want her at the Ministry—never dreamed he'd tease her like this.
But Harry didn't answer; instead, he said to Cassandra, "Cass, perfect chance—I'll hold her, you tickle her!"
Cassandra wouldn't miss this prime prank opportunity. She jumped up, leaned in, and dug her fingers into Veratia's sides, scratching mercilessly at her ticklish spots.
"Ah—hahaha—you two..."
Veratia laughed until she could barely breathe, her face pressed tight against Harry's chest as she playfully swatted at his shoulders.
But Cassandra had no intention of stopping—not until she was good and tired—before finally releasing her.
The three of them had devolved into a complete tangle of limbs and laughter.
Cassandra lay panting atop Veratia, while Veratia perched on Harry's lap, her arms draped around his neck, her nose nuzzled into the crook of his throat. Each breath she took warmed his skin, tickling it faintly.
Harry wasn't behaving either—one arm around Cassandra, the other wrapped around Veratia's back.
This pose... it was awfully familiar, like a certain famous scene.
Looks like I showed up at a bad time?
No! Perfect timing!
"Guess I really do need to give you a proper scolding!"
Veratia said it, but she made no move to get up, content to stay snuggled against Harry.
By now, Harry was off in his own world, barely registering what Veratia had said.
"What's for dinner tonight?" he asked.
Veratia clearly hadn't expected that response. She paused for a beat, then laughed. "Lucrezia and Garnet came here with me—if you don't mind, you could stay and eat with us tonight."
"Or we could go out to eat," Harry suggested. "Think of it this way, Veratia—we're used to home-cooked meals all the time, but now that we're out camping, isn't this the perfect chance to try some street food?"
"That works too." Veratia readily agreed with Harry's idea, then lazily nudged Cassandra with her elbow. "Cass, what do you think?"
"Either's fine," Cassandra said, still catching her breath. She hadn't recovered yet.
Veratia had put up quite a fight earlier, and Cassandra's main job had been pinning her down while tickling, which had worn her out.
"Settled, then. I'll ask Madam Rosier for a bit of time off," Veratia said happily.
But she showed no sign of getting up—instead, she nuzzled her nose against Harry's neck, inhaling softly. And from an angle Cassandra couldn't see, she even darted out her little tongue now and then to give his skin a gentle lick.
One had to admit, the big sister knew her stuff—at least, Harry had to respect that.
"Your wand."
The words had barely left Veratia's mouth when her face flushed crimson.
Of course she knew what that meant, and she went stiff against him, silent.
Cassandra, oblivious to the innuendo, just glanced at them curiously.
Seeing neither spoke, she didn't press.
After a moment of lingering warmth, Veratia finally stood from Harry's lap.
"I'll go ask Madam Rosier for that time off," she said.
She'd just turned to leave when Cassandra piped up: "You still need to ask for time off? Like I said earlier—sure, I guessed wrong, but I still know Madam Rosier is your brother Gellert Grindelwald's most loyal dark witch... Do you really need her permission to step out?"
"She's the Minister for Magic, Cass."
Sunlight filtered through the tent's small window, falling across half of Veratia's lovely face.
One half bathed in light, the other in shadow.
"And I'm just an ordinary new hire at the Ministry—her secretary," she continued. "I can't just leave my post without the Minister's approval."
Cassandra wore a "who buys that?" look, clearly not swallowing Veratia's line.
Veratia said nothing more and turned to leave the room.
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