Chapter 136: Before School
"This is Rita Skeeter with you again, and welcome, my dear viewers. Today, I'm breaking from tradition. I won't have a guest, and my program will focus on one single event: the insolence of the United States and its representatives."
Rita, seated in a soft armchair, fell silent. She wore a long green dress and a green jacket, her lips painted bright red, and her gaze fixed on the camera. She sat with one leg crossed over the other.
"Many of you remember my recent interview with Draco Black, and surely recall one of the topics discussed: his cruelty toward the representative of the United States, who broke all the Tournament rules by drinking a wide variety of potions that did him no good. Well, that's where it all started. After all, the Black family is ancient and noble, and in their time, they received the title of count directly from the monarch. And so they decided to respond to the threats from the boy's House, as is customary in the magical part of our newly reunited world. Specifically, to capture the one making threats, interrogate them, and, if necessary, destroy the entire House."
Rita fell silent again, and I sat watching with a smile as she earned her keep. The whole family had gathered around me, watching with great interest. Tomorrow I had to return to Hogwarts, but today... today I could still spend time in the family circle in front of the television and enjoy Rita and her oratory.
"And as I've learned, two days ago, an ICW representative set out from our most respected Ministry of Magic, accompanied by Deputy Minister Madam Umbridge, toward the Black family's Quarter. More precisely, that's what it seemed like to those who only saw them or greeted Umbridge and our guest in passing. However, everything turned out to be more complicated. He wasn't just an ICW representative; he was representing the United States' interests within the ICW."
Rita paused briefly.
"It might seem like nothing unusual. Well, a representative of the United States came to visit. But the problem is that he arrived not as a representative of the United States, but specifically as a representative of the ICW, while he came to resolve issues for his own country, meaning he hid behind the authority of a more prestigious organization. And that alone violates quite a few agreements. However, that's not even all..."
Rita shook her head.
"And these violations proved insufficient for Mr. Haggis. He began threatening a British Lord with sanctions, saying that if he did not release the prisoner, then..."
Rita shook her head.
"I won't repeat their entire conversation, though after a short letter to Lord Black, I was sent memories of it. I'll only say that I haven't seen such insolence in a long time. And I have just one question for you, my dear Britons: are we simply going to stand for this? Are we going to endure breakaway upstarts trying to impose their rules on our soil?! No..."
Rita sharply dialed back the intensity and shook her head almost imperceptibly.
"I am in no way suggesting that you take to the streets, overthrow our government, or anything of the sort... I am addressing our government directly with a simple question: since when do breakaway upstarts behave so brazenly?"
Rita was silent again for a moment.
"Returning to this incident, Lord Black naturally did not tolerate such treatment and threw the impudent lot out of his home. He also sent letters to the ICW, as well as to the American embassy and our House of Lords. So this issue should be resolved fairly quickly."
Rita sighed.
"Well, well done..."
We turned the television down, just enough to muffle Rita's voice.
"...she is earning her keep properly."
"Ha... this lady is boosting our reputation so much that I want to give her a bonus!"
Bella was greatly encouraged.
"So what is the problem?"
Walburga looked at Bella with a slight half-smile.
"I'm afraid that the next time I don't give her a bonus, she'll simply stop working with the same dedication..."
Bella shook her head.
"Well..."
Fleur shrugged.
"...we can simply raise her salary so she understands that we value her. Then she'll work even harder in order to earn even more later."
"Now that is an idea..."
Cissy nodded thoughtfully.
"...and quite a good one. After all, she not only writes articles but also appears on programs, and we still haven't raised her salary..."
"Well, I should note that Rita's salary is really just to keep her from writing or saying anything bad about us, while we pay separately for good articles."
"Even so..."
Cissy shook her head.
...we need to raise this girl's payments a little. We can afford it without any problems. After all, our Quarter has started moving toward self-sufficiency and is even beginning to bring in a little profit. A little for us, while the same amount would be enough for Rita to last several lifetimes.
"Well, we certainly won't pay that much..."
I shook my head.
"...but if you want to raise her payments, I'm not against it."
"Very good."
Cissy and Bella exchanged glances.
"Then we will raise Rita's salary. All that remains is to determine how much, but Bella and I will handle that ourselves. And you..."
They looked at me, Penny, and Fleur with stern gazes.
"...march to bed!"
And we, saying good night to the older generation of the family with smiles, went to sleep. Though we didn't lie down immediately, because Gabrielle decided it was too early for her to sleep, which meant it was too early for us as well. So for the next hour, we entertained the little fidget.
Only after an hour, when she fell asleep and I carried the little one to her room, were we able to settle into bed and gradually sink into sleep.
In the morning, I woke up in the arms of my future wives and once again realized that this was happiness, but at the same time, the thought flashed through my mind that a girl with black ears was missing here. The thought was fleeting, but I managed to catch it and was surprised.
I hadn't realized that over the past few days, Blake had managed to sink into my soul so deeply.
Getting out of bed without disturbing my girls, I quickly got myself ready and went to the training ground, where I began my daily exercises. It was during those exercises that Blake found me.
"Hello."
I nodded to her when I finished the next exercise.
"Good morning."
She nodded sleepily back at me.
"I thought you weren't such an early bird."
Looking at her, I tilted my head to the side.
"Well, usually I'm not, but I do remember that you're leaving for Hogwarts this morning, so I decided to get up a little earlier to say goodbye to you."
"Pleasant..."
I nodded and, approaching her, swept her into my arms.
"Let go... let go! You stink!"
Letting Blake go, I took two steps back and saw her face burning with embarrassment.
"Idiot..."
"I am what I am..."
I shrugged and turned to continue training. Blake whispered, "You could have held on a little longer." But I heard her. I said just as quietly, "Next time, that's what I'll do." And I was sure she heard me. True, I didn't turn around. Though, of course I wanted to look at an even more embarrassed Blake.
"Draco..."
"Yes?"
I half-turned to see Blake looking at me with concealed fear.
"...listen, I understand we've known each other for such a short time, but may I ask you for something?"
"Depends on what it is... You must understand, I'm responsible for the lives of many sentients in the district, and there are some requests I simply won't be able to fulfill."
"I understand, but I wasn't planning anything like that..."
Blake shook her head.
"...I simply..."
"Blake, let's do it this way. Gather your thoughts and think about exactly what you want to ask. I promise I won't brush your request aside and will try to help."
"Uh-huh..."
She nodded, and I turned away and continued my morning training, which lasted about two more hours. Only after I finished did Blake approach me.
"I... May I ask that you accept Faunus into your Quarter? My parents founded an entire city on one of the large islands, a city with no racial prejudices, but..."
She sighed.
"...there are none just because there are no humans, but here you have..."
She looked around theatrically.
"...werewolves, Veela, leprechauns... everyone imaginable, and all of them work together. This is the very place my parents wanted to create..."
"Blake..."
I shook my head.
...and you were afraid to ask me about this? That is such a small thing...
I looked at the girl with a slight smile.
"...if the Faunus follow the Quarter's rules, then I won't object. Let them settle here. I have no objection. As you know, there are still many places in the Quarter, very many. It's designed to effectively become a small city."
"Yes... thank you..."
She lowered her head, and I couldn't help myself, so my hand settled right between her ears and began scratching. Blake flinched almost imperceptibly at first, then, without moving away, raised her head slightly and looked at me. If her eyes hadn't shown embarrassment and a hint of joy, one might have thought she didn't particularly approve.
"Well, now I have petted the kitty between the ears."
"Pff..."
She snorted.
"...just don't get used to this. You have two almost-wives and..."
"And for that matter, they aren't strongly opposed to one kitty. It's just that for now, we don't know each other well enough. But overall..."
I shrugged, and Blake's cheeks blushed scarlet, and she sharply lowered her head.
"Don't..."
"Don't what? I'm not offering anything yet, and I'm not hinting at anything. I'm saying that if you're at least a little interested, then you need to talk with my future wives and with me. And if all of us see that this interests us..."
I leaned slightly and blew into Blake's ear, making her flinch and literally leap away from me.
"Don't do that!"
"And for now, we'll just be friends. That much, you can definitely count on."
"I'll remember that..."
She nodded to me with flaming cheeks and, turning around, went about her business, while I went to get myself cleaned up, as I needed to wash after such training.
"And what were the two of you talking about there?"
Fleur addressed me when I had already cleaned up and was sitting at the table, eating porridge.
"Well, to begin with, she asked me to shelter Faunus from her world. That is..."
We all remember who the Faunus are.
Penny interrupted me, making it clear that no explanation was needed about it.
"Well, I also defined our relationship as friendly..."
"You just went and defined it outright?"
"Yes. Essentially, I said that for anything more, we don't know each other well enough, and I also hinted that sometime later, if neither of you objects and we're all interested, she could join our family."
"So, you were seducing her..."
Fleur frowned slightly.
"...and you are not ashamed?"
"No..."
I shook my head.
"...you both know that I'm interested in Blake, but, as I said, without your approval, I won't take any action."
"Pff..."
Penny snorted and shook her head.
"...all right, we'll drop the topic. For now, we won't take any action either, but remember that if we don't approve of her and you try to drag her into our family, we'll be VERY offended by you."
"All right."
I nodded, recognizing the girls' right to set those conditions.
"Very good, then we have an agreement."
After that, we didn't raise the topic again. We finished breakfast, then asked Kreacher to bring our things. Only after that did we head to the large Floo connection hub, where we traveled directly to Hogwarts.
"Hogwarts, dear Hogwarts... we've returned..."
These words slipped from my lips, and then we headed to our apartments to put our things away.
------------------------------------------
Chapters on Patreon progress: Currently at;
1. Harry Potter: Satan? Nah, Just My Family Crest = CHAPTER 412
2.Harry Potter: Beyond Good and Evil in the Wizarding World = CHAPTER 427
3.Harry Potter: Reborn as Draco Black = CHAPTER 222
support me on Patreon for instant access to the 120+ advance chapters: patreon.com/redofic