Chapter 207

Almost as soon as Harry released his owl, another owl arrived with a reply.

"Harry, I don't actually recommend you do this—when I wrote this letter, I saw an ominous black dog outside my window. I think it might be the Hound of Tindalos that Zhang Qiu mentioned, representing the will of time and fate. Regarding the second task, I dare not be too specific; it might be risky. But I can tell you this: Donald will help you. That's all."

I can't say more in this letter, especially since I'm currently in Hyperspace. I look forward to you returning to Britain for Christmas—we can talk properly then."

Harry nodded slightly. He felt a pang of regret, but Neville had already given him the most important piece of information: seek Donald's help.

In fact, he had only just realized it: if Donald had helped him in the first task, there was no reason he would withhold aid in the second.

Once he grasped this, Harry and Ron immediately went to visit Donald. Though they weren't sure where he was, after asking around, they learned he lived in an empty classroom next to the Wizard Self-Defense Office, which Beauxbatons had turned into a suite with a desk and a large bed.

"Oh, Harry and Ron—I never expected you to come find me," Donald said, pleasantly surprised. "I thought I should keep my distance at this point."

"Keep your distance? Something like that—we came quietly, too," Harry said.

"Yes, keeping distance is important, so I used a clever trick—I had Hermione become Elena's personal assistant, so she can pass along information for you," Donald explained smugly, though Harry knew he was just using it as an excuse to spend more time with Hermione.

"You've got it all wrong," Ron, believing him, complained irritably. "Hermione tells us nothing—just gives us trivial advice."

"Well, actually, for the second task, even trivial advice might be enough—you're both so clever," Donald said awkwardly. "Didn't she tell you it's underwater?"

"No, Cedric figured it out himself," Ron grumbled. "Hermione didn't say a word."

"No, no—we just haven't seen Hermione," Harry corrected him. "She's been being hounded by Krum these past few days."

"What?" Donald was stunned, leaping to his feet. "She didn't tell me? Oh my goodness, this is trouble."

"Huh?" Ron was also surprised. "Harry, you've got it wrong—it's Krum who's been trying to meet Fleur alone. Hermione's just been blocking him."

"Even so, they've said enough already. Hermione already—" Donald paused, then shifted the topic with a guilty look. "If Hermione accidentally reveals anything, we're in trouble. No, I need to think of a solution."

"Alright, we do need a solution," Harry said, glancing away. "Soothe Krum a little—let Hermione have some peace."

"Thank you for telling me this—it's serious, for me, and for Ilfamoni," Donald murmured, stroking his chin. "By the way, Harry, have you figured out how to get through the second task?"

"Not at all. In fact, I don't even know what it is."

"I'm not entirely sure either, but I know it'll be underwater—you'll have to deal with grindylows, merpeople, and octopuses," Donald inhaled sharply. "I have many ways to help you, but I need to pick the right one. Let me think… don't worry, I'll have a plan ready for you around Christmas."

"You're too kind to me," Harry remembered the overwhelming power of the Seven Sins. "It doesn't have to be powerful."

"No problem, I understand," Donald said. "Now I need to find Elena—or maybe Hermione too. Yes, you two go call Hermione for me."

"If Hermione refuses to help you secretly because of professional ethics, this should make my meaning perfectly clear," Donald smiled. "Go find her and tell her I'm waiting for both of them in my office—they're probably in the library now."

Harry left the office satisfied. Ron seemed pleased too—he thought if Donald was on his side, his relationship with Hermione might no longer be so awkward.

When they reached the library entrance, they found Hermione, Elena, and Fleur standing at the corner of the corridor, discussing something. Ron immediately reached into Harry's pocket for the Invisibility Cloak. Harry hesitated, then decided to go along with him.

"This is driving me mad," Hermione said. "Krum's been coming to see me twice a day—morning and afternoon."

Fleur pouted. "He says I threw the match—that's ridiculous. We deliberately failed the tree dragon to lower our score and get the golden egg. That has nothing to do with cheating."

"The idea of 'cheating' is beyond the imagination of a curly-haired baboon," Elena said. "This is definitely Renata's scheming. Never let him meet Fleur alone—no one knows what kind of fake evidence he'll fabricate to smear you."

"On that point, we've already reached an agreement," Hermione said. "But what's really troubling me is that he asked me to be his dance partner."

"What?" Both girls gasped in unison. Harry and Ron were equally stunned.

Harry now understood why Donald had been so anxious—Krum had designs on Hermione too.

"I—I told him I needed to think about it," Hermione said. "If we set aside the competition, Krum is actually quite handsome."

"For safety's sake, turn him down," Elena said. "Say you already have a partner."

"But I don't have one—and he's the champion who's supposed to open the dance," Hermione wavered.

"That's easy—I'll be your partner," Elena declared, shocking them all. "I look great in a white suit. When I had short hair, I used the alias Kevin Kaslana and charmed quite a few girls."

"But wasn't our original plan for you to dance with Fleur?" Hermione said flatly—clearly, she didn't think Elena was an ideal partner.

"No problem—I can find as many partners as I want," Fleur said, winking as she comforted Hermione. "Besides, I'm not particularly keen on dancing with Elena."

"You idiot!" Elena laughed and playfully scolded her.

"Anyway, I still want to dance with a boy—and Krum really is attractive," Hermione murmured softly. "You two—well, we can talk about it later. For now, your original plan still stands: you two dance together. Right now, with Renata and Krum back together, dancing as a pair will outshine them in team solidarity."

"I'm a bit…," Fleur hesitated, then didn't argue—only sighed and shook her head.

"Fine, I'll ask Gabrielle," Elena said, shaking her head. "You can find another boy—it's not hard."

"But there's no one suitable," Fleur sighed. "Most boys I can't stand—they're not even as good as Kevin Kaslana."

As the three fell into awkward silence, Harry signaled Ron to step back, then removed the Invisibility Cloak, pretending he had just turned the corner.

"Oh, hello," Harry said, his tone slightly awkward. "I just saw Professor Donald—he said if you're free, you should go see him."

"Oh, alright," Hermione replied, equally awkward.

After this incident, Harry enjoyed several worry-free days. If the task was simply underwater and involved fighting water monsters, Harry didn't think he'd fail even without Donald's help.

But just as another pleasant weekend arrived, they encountered an unexpected visitor—Hermione. If her visit was understandable, the topic she brought up was utterly unforeseen.

"I want you to invite the Beauxbatons champion," she said. "Cedric invites Fleur. Harry invites Elena."

"Why?" Nearly everyone present looked bewildered.

"Hmm, how do I explain this…" she mumbled. "First, Krum asked me to be his dance partner, but Fleur and Elena disagreed. Then Elena suggested she be my partner."

Under everyone's gaze, Hermione gathered her thoughts. "Elena seems fascinated by the idea of dressing as a man and asking girls to dance. At first, she used 'showing unity among champions' as an excuse to ask Fleur to dance with her. That's because Renata will definitely dance with Krum—we can't let them outdo us on this point."

"But Renata and Krum have broken up," Harry said.

"They've made up," Hermione revealed a shocking piece of news. "Thanks to constant mediation from Karkaroff and Vaskov, they've reconciled. So Elena still insists—she doesn't want us to appear divided."

"Then why not just have Elena dance with Fleur?" Ron asked. "Oh, if you can't find a partner, you can ask me."

"My situation isn't urgent," Hermione said, shrugging. "Fleur told me Elena's insistence makes her uncomfortable—she wants to dance with a handsome boy, not become a laughingstock."

"Then just dance with Elena," Zhang Qiu said dismissively.

"But that won't work," Hermione groaned, pulling at her hair. "Elena will think it doesn't show unity among champions, and Fleur doesn't like most boys—she's turned down seventeen already."

"If you need me to help," Cedric said, blushing. No boy would consider dancing with Fleur a chore.

"But I want to open the dance with Zhang Qiu," Harry said. "I'm not willing to give that up."

"But if I'm going to convince Elena with the argument of Anglo-French unity, I can't let her dance with just any random boy," Hermione said.

"A knight must ease his king's burdens," Ron suddenly stood up. "I'll ask Elena to dance with me."

"Brilliant—that's not 'just any random boy' anymore," Harry grinned and elbowed Ron. Elena was stunningly beautiful too—this wasn't a bad thing at all.

Hermione, however, scowled slightly.