Chapter 3
Dressed in an odd-looking suit, he entered the British Ministry of Magic. He felt awkward in this place, especially since the last time he had been here was two years after graduation from Hogwarts. At the time, he had little to lose. After Severus's disappearance, he carefully began to cut all the threads linking him to the Marauders. He also began to spend more time studying and avoiding the Slytherins who had previously offered him a partnership.
In retrospect, it seemed funny to him now that it was the Slytherins and not his then friends who had noticed his bad situation.
He straightened his tie and walked over to the first desk he came across. - "Excuse me ma'am..." - he asked seeing a woman with extremely intense grey-green eyes and strawberry blond hair. - "I'm looking for…"
"Someone from Foreign Media?" - she said before he finished speaking, then stood up and energetically showed him one of the corridors. - "You should either take the stairwell located in the middle aisle or take one of the elevators. In both cases, please stay on the second floor. These things are dealt with by… Isabella Black. The witch isn't related to these Blacks. I'm only warning you because she doesn't like questions about their supposed family relationship."
He stood for a moment silently looking at the woman who had surprised him so much. After a few seconds of awkward silence, he asked - "Thank you for the advice, but how did you know where I wanted to go?"
A blush of embarrassment appeared on the clerk's face. - "Sorry. I'm learning to master this skill, but I don't always succeed. Some people have to learn Legilimency for years and it comes easily to me. When you came in, your thoughts were so intense… All you said was that it would be nice if the clerk wasn't biased like Minnie. My name is Porpentina Kowalski. I am named after my grandmother's sister."
He held out his hand to her and said - "Peter Pettigrew. Nice to meet you. I hope we'll meet again."
Peter wasn't aware that there was a smug smirk on the witch's face. Tina had a lot of her grandmother, Quennie Goldstein. She never gave up easily. She knew she wouldn't give up this time either. Especially since this man caught her attention.
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He didn't know what awaited him when he returned to the Slytherin Common Room. But he knew that talking to Krum was worth Draco's unreasonable jealousy. Especially now when he knew for sure that between Hermione and Viktor was nothing more than deep friendship. He had the impression that they were as close as siblings can be.
He muttered the password thoughtfully, then walked inside without looking ahead. He was going to go straight to his dormitory. All he wanted was a shower and a good book. Lately, at his father's behest, he had begun to make up for his lack of knowledge of Muggle culture. As a result of this experiment, he discovered that he was very fond of classic romances. He suspected it was because with his looks, he wouldn't stand a chance of finding love. Thanks to the book, he could imagine himself in the place of the characters of the books he read.
Unfortunately, he miscalculated. He was naive enough to think that the heir to the Malfoy family wouldn't be waiting for him. He waited. And he wasn't alone. Vincent stood at the sight of all his friends. He didn't know what to say instead of saying hello. - Hi.
"Hi?" - There was venom in Draco's voice. - "That's all you're telling us after spending most of the evening with Hermione Grager and Viktor Krum?"- he hissed.
Crabble figured the best tactic would be to ignore his behavior. Just like he always did when he had to deal with his moods. He took a few steps to the nearest armchair, then sat on it. - "What would I say? You're not my mother so I have to explain myself to you. I don't even explain to her when I don't want it. I'm more interested in what you and your father talked about. Unless... You ignored him to see when I'd be back."
When he saw his friend's face blush, he knew that Draco had thought of not going to meet Lucius. If he hadn't actually gone, his face would have turned an unhealthy gray. - "My father… Father thinks Miss Granger is his friend's daughter. I think he's starting to lose his mind if he believes something Professor Potter told us about Snape is true."
He wondered why no one present spoke up. Conversations with a passive audience always stressed him out. During such conversations, he felt as if he was being watched by a group of people, evaluating his every gesture. - "Your father is right. Severus Snape is the father of Hermione Granger."
He was lucky that the witch didn't mind anyone finding out that the former Hogwarts student was her father. Thanks to this information, it was possible to distract the hyenas from talking about the nature of the relationship between Krum and Granger. Vincent liked romance. But he definitely preferred those in books.
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He wasn't sure if he should come in or not. There was no problem with magical journalism on the old continent. Anyone who strayed from the truth in their articles risked losing their license to practice. The only way out of the uncomfortable situation was to prove that it was not acting in bad faith but on the basis of wrong sources. It was hard to prove.
He was snapped out of his thoughts by the sound of the door opening. - "Are you coming or not? Tina called me half an hour ago to tell me a petitioner had arrived."
Peter tried his best not to flinch at the sight of a woman who looked like Walpurga Black. He knew now why this witch was often asked about her relationship to the family of Sirius and Regulus. - "I'm sorry…" - he grunted - "I tried to calm down."
A smile appeared on the older woman's face. "I like that. A man who isn't afraid to admit his weaknesses. What are you coming to me with?"
Entering the sumptuous office, he replied to the question put to him - "I would like to ask for permission to interview the students who are hosted by Hogwarts this year. The draw for the candidates for the Triwizard Tournament is coming up, but… the event itself is already underway. I would love to have a chance to talk to the students before they even know who will represent them."
"What's about the Hogwarts students, sir?" There was genuine interest in her voice.
" Petter Pettigrew. I'm not sure how they'll treat me. I was a Gryffindor and in my school daya the competition between the houses was very fierce." - he answered truthfully. "If they don't mind talking to me, I'd be happy to interview Hogwarts students as well."
"I think we'll get along. When would you like to start?"
He looked at the smiling witch and immediately thought that when she smiled, she did not look like Walpurga at all. She was of medium height, slender, with the first gray streaks in her hair and a smile on her face. He smiled back, then said - "Tomorrow morning. I just hope that Headmaster Dumbledore won't mind my presence."
"If that idiot goat fanatic's brother dares to ignore the papers you get from me, I'll go there myself!" - She snarled, surprising him with her temper. - "I'm sorry. I shouldn't say this publicly, but in my opinion, with his bias, he should, like his brother, be in charge of raising goats, not running a school."
The corpulent former Gryffindor wondered for a moment what Albus Dumbledore had done to this witch. He knew that someday he would think about this topic. Now he had other things on his mind. - "Don't worry. I will not tell anyone your opinion."
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Draco Malfoy wasn't the only one who was disturbed by Hermione Granger's unexpected kindness towards the unassuming Slytherin. Harry Potter paced back and forth along the corridor outside the Gryffindor Common Room, hoping that someone else was outside their common room. He was so nervous that he couldn't remember the password to go back to the dormitory. He knew he would have to come up with something to help him avoid similar situations in the future.
He didn't understand why this girl never paid attention to him. He was the son of James Potter. Practically every witch in the school was trying to get into his vault. He nervously ran his fingers through his hair, making it look even more disheveled than usual.
He didn't know what was happening to him. He felt as if the arrival of the Durmstang witch had given birth to a side of him he hadn't known before. He sighed as he slid down the wall. He didn't even know when tears started to flow from his eyes.
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She stood in the middle of the Quidditch pitch. She stretched her joints and smiled at her opponent. She dropped her wand and ran with such speed that Viktor noticed her only when he felt a blow aimed at the kidney. He fell to his knees and laughed through the pain.
"You're getting better at this." - he said confidently.
"Are you surprised?" - There were sparks of contentment in her eyes.
He held out his hand to her and she helped him up. - "I'm not surprised. I'm just wondering why no one came up with this idea earlier". - when he stood up, he brushed off the dirt almost instinctively - "It's extremely logical. If wizards can focus their magic in a wand or themselves to Apparate, why not try speeding us up. It's useful in combat."
"I suspect it's the fault of conservative thinking. Traditions are extremely important and should be nurtured, but… Development requires flexible thinking. And that's what many wizards lacking."
He nodded her agreement. - "Do you want to try again?"
She was already tired and all she wanted was to bury herself in her bed. - "Let's go to the inside. Tomorrow is a day too. My whole body hurts. Besides, I have the feeling that someone is watching me all the time and I would feel safer on our ship.
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I've been struggling with this chapter. I wanted to introduce the character of Peter Pettigrew in such a way that it wouldn't offend people who don't like this character. I am one of them. However, I assumed that for the purposes of this story, Peter never became a Death Eater. Just like Severus never became a Death Eater. How do you like this chapter? Is the story worth continuing? Regards, Katie Krum.