bacchusnovels Chapter 465 Miss Granger's Speech in the Kitchen
Chapter 465 Miss Granger's Speech in the Kitchen
Chapter 465 Miss Granger's Speech in the Kitchen
After the wand testing was completed, the group photo session began, but the question of where to stand became a significant challenge.
Wherever Mrs. Maxim stood, she inadvertently blocked others from view.
Her body was enormous, and the room seemed small, so the photographer couldn't step back enough to capture her completely in the shot.
Finally, she reluctantly sat down, and the others stood in a circle around her.
Karkaroff wanted to stand next to Krum, but Krum preferred to stand next to Irene.
Neither of them considered the photographer's predicament.
Meanwhile, the photographer suggested that Sean and Fleur, the two most attractive individuals, stand in the front and in the most prominent position.
However, Cho Chang, also a member of Hogwarts, was unwilling to stand too close to Sean. Although she did not explicitly object, she subtly leaned to one side, cleverly avoiding Sean.
The issue of where people were positioned brought the entire group photo session to a standstill.
Everyone seemed to be arguing over their position, while the photographer could only helplessly fiddle with the camera, trying to capture everyone's smiling face, but he could never find a satisfactory angle.
This chaos reminded Sean of a problem in probability logic from his past life: dividing people into A, B, C, etc., and then arranging and combining them according to each person's different requirements.
Of course, this type of question also frequently appears in civil service exams.
Anyway, we finally managed to take the group photo, albeit with difficulty.
Before everyone left, Rita took individual photos of each warrior.
And so, the busy day came to an end.
However, the impact and consequences of this incident are far from over.
The next morning.
Sunlight streamed through the tall windows into the auditorium, illuminating the rows of neatly arranged dining tables, and the air was filled with the aroma of toasted bread, bacon, and sausages.
Although there are many people gathered in the hall at this moment, it is very calm, far less chaotic than yesterday when we took the photos.
The table was laden with a variety of foods: golden, crispy biscuits, small bowls filled with cream and jam, freshly baked cakes, and fresh fruit. Steaming hot grilled sausages and hind legs glistened on the marble table, while the juice and coffee beside them emitted their aroma.
Sean sat on the long teacher's table on the stage, gazing at the morning light outside the window.
Beside him was a crispy loaf of bread, with the butter beside it melted into a golden liquid, which he then spread with a knife.
The surrounding conversations gradually faded into the background, but his thoughts remained on Ollivander's "surprise attack" the day before.
What is his purpose?
Was it out of concern for the work of a wand maker or was there an ulterior motive?
Is someone behind this?
To be honest, he wanted to send his men to Ollivander's house to check the water clock.
Suddenly, a rapid whirring of wings disrupted Sean's thoughts.
A flock of owls, like a black cloud, suddenly surged into the auditorium.
Their wings flapped violently as they whizzed through the hall and hovered overhead.
The owls quickly scattered, accurately placing packages and newspapers on each little wizard's plate and near their seat.
"The Daily Prophet!"
The wizards at the table reached out to take the stack of thin newspapers.
They floated down, landing lightly in front of everyone.
The newspapers delivered by owls even carried a faint scent of feathers and the fresh smell of ink.
Soon, the newspapers began to be unfolded and circulated.
Everyone's eyes were instantly drawn to the front page headline of the Daily Prophet: "On the Eve of the Triwizard Tournament: The Pride and Bloodline of Fleur Delacour."
The subtitle below the main title is even more direct, almost sharply pointing to Furong's lineage and attitude:
"Miss Delacour, who inherited the Veela bloodline, has long believed the championship is already hers!"
The entire front-page news was satirical and provocative, attacking not only Furong's background but also exaggerating her arrogant remarks, such as claiming that she "would win the competition no matter what," and showing contempt for other contestants in her interactions.
Rita also quoted an "anonymous source" as saying that Fleur once bluntly stated, "Without blood, you can't achieve anything real."
The first edition devoted almost all of its space to a single photograph of Fleur, and the entire article (to be continued in the second, sixth, and seventh editions) was about her. The names of the other warriors were relegated to the last line of the article, and even the names of two of Beauxbatons' warriors were misspelled.
The newspaper then listed more of the so-called "interview content," some of which was particularly sharp and hard to believe: "She disdains competing with those 'ordinary' contestants, believing that they 'will never understand the true spirit of wizards.'"
These contents shocked everyone who read them, especially when they included some of Hibiscus's provocative remarks.
Almost all eyes were on her.
The moment Furong picked up the newspaper, her face turned pale.
She keenly sensed that the atmosphere around her had suddenly become strange—the aroma of food and the conversations of the wizards around her were all enveloped by the article, and a tense atmosphere permeated the air.
On the other side, at the Ravenclaw table, Cho Chang was nervously flipping through the Daily Prophet.
Her eyes darted quickly across each line of text, and only when she no longer saw her own name did she let out a long sigh of relief.
The huge weight on my heart has finally been lifted.
Rita is a woman of her word.
However, this also means that she needs to fulfill Rita's embarrassing condition.
Thinking of this, Qiu Zhang's heart sank again.
Over the next few days, Hogwarts' various activities continued in full swing.
This includes Hermione's efforts to protect the rights of house-elves.
After several of Shaun's Muggle studies courses, she shifted her focus from wizards to house-elves—wanting them to fight for their own rights. Therefore, she tirelessly went to the kitchen almost every day to have "friendly conversations" with them.
"Little elves!"
Half an hour before lunch was to begin, she stood at the front of the stove, waving her arms and shouting loudly.
"You have been working silently and tirelessly for the wizarding families, almost never speaking up for your own rights. But the problem is—you also have your own rights! You are not tools created to serve others; your labor and contributions deserve respect!"
"You no longer have to endure long working hours, and no one has the right to force you to do things you don't want to do."
"You have the right to choose freely, to live and rest, and not to exist solely for others."
Hermione's voice echoed in the kitchen, but most of the house-elves did not stop what they were doing. Their eyes remained fixed on the pots and pans, and they were busy with their work skillfully and quickly, completely ignoring her words.
In fact, at first, some house-elves stopped what they were doing to listen to her talk. But as the conversation unfolded, they realized that she wasn't there to order food, but to spread some shocking knowledge, so they covered their ears. And as time went on, they didn't even need to cover their ears to ignore her presence.
Hermes was met with this cold response, but she was not discouraged.
She took a deep breath and raised her voice: "You are no longer 'forced to serve wizards'! You deserve to have your own lives! Your work shouldn't be endless; you should have time to rest and be treated with dignity!"
A little elf glanced at her, its face filled with confusion and bewilderment; it seemed to have no idea what Hermione meant.
The other person kept wiping the pot with their head down, their eyes vacant, as if everything Hermione said had nothing to do with them.
Seeing this, Hermione didn't give up. She quickly walked up to a house-elf who was preparing soup and tried to make eye contact with it: "You have the right to choose your own future, instead of being controlled by wizards for your entire lives. Your voices should be heard!"
The little elf stopped eating and looked up at Hermione as if she were a monster.
Soon, it lowered its head again and continued working.
Just then, the kitchen door suddenly opened, and footsteps accompanied by a gust of cool air rushed into the steamy space.
Hermione turned her head and saw a familiar figure walking in—Professor Phillips.
He stood in the kitchen doorway, his brows slightly furrowed, looking with some surprise at Hermione and her group of house-elves still at work, and at her rather unresponsive presentation.
This speech unconsciously reminded him of a man.
"Hermione," Sean chuckled, teasingly, "what are you doing? Preparing to lead the house-elves to overthrow Dumbledore's rule at Hogwarts?"
This statement caused all the house-elves to freeze in their tracks.
Hermes felt a little embarrassed when she noticed Sean's gaze and recalled the embarrassing moment she had just made.
But she quickly composed herself, nodded firmly, and restated her reasons: "Yes,"
Professor, I'm trying to let them know they have the right to fight for more. I don't want them to continue enduring a life of oppression.
Sean smiled slightly, reached out and ruffled Hermione's hair until her neatly styled hair from the morning was almost completely messed up, before slowly letting go of her.
Hermione looked up at him, a mixture of helplessness and amusement on her lips.
She cleared her throat, preparing to sort out her thoughts, but Sean's gaze had already turned to the little elves in the kitchen.
"Please have lunch delivered to my office," Sean casually instructed. "And please add some goji berries to my drink today." As he spoke, he took a bag of goji berries from his pocket and gently placed it on the table.
Hermione paused, staring at the bag of goji berries, somewhat puzzled: "Goji berries? Professor, why would you drink these?"
Before she knew it, Hermione had already taken on the role of a married housewife, focusing on her husband's healthy diet.
All of this was so natural that neither of them noticed.
Sean raised an eyebrow, his tone casual: "You know, staying healthy is important. Goji berries are especially good for the eyes and liver, particularly for people like me who stare at books and documents all the time."
The house-elves excitedly accepted the bag of goji berries, replying enthusiastically, "Yes, Professor! We will prepare them as you instruct!"
For house-elves, a wizard's trust means responsibility, but also an honor.
They were very happy.
Before leaving, Sean walked to the kitchen doorway, suddenly stopped, and turned to look at Hermione.
"Hermione," he said, his tone light, "remember to rest too, don't always be so focused. Taking a break now and then is good for your health."
Hermione watched him leave.
However, just as Sean's figure disappeared into the kitchen doorway, Hermione suddenly stopped.
Based on Sean's actions and words just now, she seemed to suddenly realize something—a thought struck her, as if she had found some connection.
at the same time.
Qiu Zhang stood at the door of that familiar office, his gaze fixed on the doorknob, looking somewhat dazed.
Today was supposed to be the day of her impromptu training session with Professor Phillips.
But with the task Rita gave her, the meeting that was originally full of anticipation turned into an unspeakable torment.
But what could she possibly do?
When Sean returned from the kitchen and reached the office door, he saw Cho Chang standing there, her gaze fixed intently on the doorknob.
He seemed to be thinking about something.
She stood tall and straight, her black robe swaying gently in the breeze, her waistline particularly prominent in the sunlight.
"Miss Qiu Zhang?" Sean called softly, tilting his head slightly as he pushed open the door. "Come in, don't stand in the doorway."
Qiu Zhang was taken aback, but quickly came to his senses.
She looked up and saw Sean, smiled slightly, but it seemed forced. She took a deep breath before stepping into the office.
Sean pretended not to notice her hesitation, and instead smiled slightly, casually pointing to the chair in front of him.
"Sit down. Let's talk about the training before the Three Kingdoms Tournament," he said slowly.
After Cho Chang settled into her chair, she looked somewhat bewildered, but she still nodded slightly, indicating that she was ready. Sean spoke softly, "You know, the Triwizard Tournament is unlike any other competition. It's not just a contest of magical power, but also a test of mental and physical strength. Whether it's the mission design or unexpected challenges, it requires us to remain calm, react quickly, and be fully prepared."
He paused, his gaze falling on her face as usual. "You need to understand that the key to success is not simply magical skills, but how to use your strengths and how to find a breakthrough under pressure."
Qiu Zhang listened in silence, his gaze shifting unpredictably, lost in thought.
Perhaps she was thinking about how to complete the task Rita had assigned her without Professor Phillips noticing.