Henry sensed his mother's thoughts and smiled reassuringly. "Mom, don't worry. If Hagrid knew I was giving this gift to you, he'd be very happy too."
He was certain Hagrid would get along well with his mother.
Diana's personality was completely different from that of the often morally questionable royal family members; she was genuinely kind in a way that transcended their circles.
Since her son had said so, Diana accepted the gift without further hesitation.
The last gift came in a light blue velvet bag tied with a thin silver cord. Henry untied the cord and poured out a small object: a jade safety buckle with warm, lustrous coloring and edges inlaid with a circle of flowing cloud patterns rendered in fine silver wire.
A red tassel hung from the buckle, its end tied with a small silver bead. A note lay in the bag, its elegant Chinese characters carefully written:
"May you be forever safe and sound, and may we meet again year after year. — Cho Chang."
Henry looked at the note and smiled gently. The saying that handwriting reflects the person's character certainly held true here.
At noon, William and Harry came running in from the garden, covered in snow from head to toe.
"Henry! We built a snowman!" William shouted, his face flushed with excitement. "Bigger than last year's!"
"Come look!" Harry tugged insistently at his sleeve. "We even put your scarf on the snowman!"
Henry was dragged out of the living room by the two of them before he could protest.
In the garden, a huge snowman stood in the middle of the lawn, indeed larger than last year's creation, about as tall as Harry himself. The snowman wore an old top hat that appeared to have been found somewhere or borrowed, and around its neck was...
His scarf?
"William," Henry asked, "is that my scarf?"
William nodded matter-of-factly. "Yes! That way the snowman won't be cold!"
Henry examined the scarf more closely, the cashmere scarf his grandmother had given him, now wrapped around a snowman's neck with a few withered leaves still clinging to it.
He was silent for a long moment, then bent down and ruffled William's hair.
"Use your own next time."
William blinked, his innocent expression perfectly maintained. "But my scarf is too small."
"Then make a smaller one." Henry gave his brother's head another gentle pat.
William nodded thoughtfully at this logic, while Harry had already begun digging in the snow to prepare another snowman.
At lunchtime, Diana heard about the scarf and nearly spat out her soup laughing. "That scarf?" she asked Henry. "The one your grandmother gave you?"
Henry nodded in confirmation.
Diana laughed even harder, her eyes glistening with tears of amusement. "Does your grandmother know?"
"Not yet," Henry admitted honestly.
"When she finds out," Diana said, wiping her eyes, "William will probably get a scolding."
Charles looked up from behind his newspaper and glanced meaningfully at William. "Serves him right."
William shrank back, pretending not to hear the commentary.
At midday, Henry sat alone in the drawing room. The animated painting of Slytherin remained on the mantelpiece, depicting him drinking tea and occasionally nodding in his direction.
Not long after, someone announced Sir Arnold's arrival.
Following a brief exchange of pleasantries, they made their way upstairs to the study.
"Your Highness," Sir Arnold said, settling onto the sofa, "Humphrey informed me of last night's conversation, and after discussion, we believe you do indeed need some practical simulations."
"Yes, Sir," Henry replied.
Sir Arnold smiled slightly. "Then let's begin."
He stood and pulled a folder from his briefcase on the table. "Your Highness," he continued, flipping through the documents, "Sir Humphrey's three suggestions are very concise, but some details require elaboration."
He returned to the sofa and sat again. "Theory is one thing; practice is quite another. Mr. Fudge won't lay out his intentions to you point by point as Humphrey did. He will employ various methods, including but not limited to probing, hinting, and appeasement, to achieve his goals."
He looked up, meeting Henry's eyes directly. "What you need to prepare isn't a set of standard answers, but the flexibility to handle all manner of situations."
Henry nodded. "I understand, Sir."
"In that case," Arnold said, "let's start with the simplest scenario."
"The simplest?" Henry asked.
"Yes." Arnold pulled a piece of paper from the folder and placed it on the coffee table. "What do you think Mr. Fudge will discuss when he first meets you?"
Henry considered the question carefully. "Probably some small talk, asking about the holidays, my family, my studies at Hogwarts."
"Yes." Arnold nodded in agreement. "These are all preludes to his real intentions. The true probing will be hidden behind these innocuous remarks."
He pushed the paper forward. "Take a look at this."
Henry looked down at the document before him. The paper contained a handwritten dialogue script, a collection of scattered sentences with red annotations noting key points beside them.
He read through it line by line, his brow furrowing slightly as he progressed.
"This..." he looked up. "This seems quite extensive."
Arnold smiled slightly. "Your Highness, this represents only the possibilities of a first meeting. Fudge won't reveal all his cards at once; he'll test things gradually, time after time. So what you need to prepare isn't formulaic answers, but a way of thinking that can adapt."
He moved the paper aside. "Let's start with the simplest example. Suppose Mr. Fudge asks, 'How is Your Highness settling in at Hogwarts?' How would you answer?"
Henry thought for a moment. "Very good, thank you for your concern, Minister."
"Too simple." Arnold shook his head. "Mr. Fudge will think you're being perfunctory. But you can't say too much either, if you elaborate too freely, he'll seize on something and keep probing."
He paused briefly before continuing. "Try this instead: 'Very good, Minister. The Hogwarts courses are very interesting, the professors are very responsible, and the classmates are very friendly.' That's entirely true, and no one can find fault with it. But did you notice something?"
Henry carefully recalled the sentence as Arnold had spoken it. "It doesn't mention Dumbledore."
"Exactly." Arnold nodded with approval. "You said 'professors,' which is plural. It technically includes Dumbledore without highlighting him specifically. If Mr. Fudge presses further, asking 'How is Professor Dumbledore to you?' you can respond: 'He's nice to all the students.' Both factual and appropriately vague."
Henry nodded thoughtfully, absorbing the strategy.
"One more scenario," Arnold continued. "If Mr. Fudge asks, 'I heard you and Professor Dumbledore get along well?' what would you say?"
This time Henry took a moment before responding carefully. "Professor Dumbledore is the Headmaster of Hogwarts, and we often meet in the Great Hall. He cares about all the students."
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Early chapters: [email protected]/palevolt100