"Kathy's probably sleeping in the dormitory, and Pabi seems like she's coming over soon." Harry scratched his head and said, "She said she wanted to bring me some freshly baked treats she learned from Tina's brother-in-law... that Muggle old man."
"Jacob Kowalski," Vivi said the Muggle's name.
"Oh, it seems like that's his name." Harry said, "If I remember correctly, wasn't he an American? Used to run a bakery in the United States, right?"
"Yes." Vivi said kindly, then asked, "By the way, where are your inseparable Ron and Hermione? How come they're not around?"
"Professor McGonagall needed them for something." Harry said, "Probably not a good thing, I just saw the twins looking quite happy about someone else's misfortune, is she going to criticize them?"
Upon hearing Harry say that Professor McGonagall needed Hermione and Ron, Vivi's pupils slightly contracted.
But she hid it well, just gently patted Harry.
"The second task is about to start." Vivi said to him, "Are you ready? Oh, I forgot to ask you, do you know what your most precious treasure is?"
"It must be you!" Harry answered almost without hesitation, driven by a strong survival instinct.
That little expression looked truly sincere.
But Harry suddenly changed his tone and said to Vivi, "But, you know... if it's not you in the lake, I hope you can understand, Vivi..."
"Why?" Vivi was pleased with Harry's response but still wanted to hear what he had to say.
"After all, you're an important official at the Great German Ministry of Magic. If they put you in the lake..." Harry scratched at the air with his hand, "it could have a big impact on diplomatic relations... Besides, who do you think could secretly knock you out and throw you into the Black Lake?"
This answer wasn't bad, at least Vivi didn't oppose it.
"Hmm..." Vivi nodded with satisfaction, "I like that reason..."
After she said that, she leaned in and gave Harry a light kiss on the cheek.
People nearby were all stunned.
Wait, are you two doing this in the Great Hall!
This is a sacred hall!
But considering the other's identities, it quelled any dissatisfaction.
Alright, the male lead is Hogwarts' champion, and the female lead was once the queen of Slytherin, now a director at the Great German Ministry of Magic...
Better not mess with them.
"Eat something." Vivi said to him, "There's still the competition tomorrow... Yeah, eat a bit tonight and more tomorrow morning."
"I just ate." Harry said dryly, "I had sandwiches for dinner, they were pretty good... But I think I should lose weight, look, I'm almost losing my abs."
Saying this, he took Vivi's hand and slipped it inside his shirt.
"Hmph." Vivi checked, nodded, and said, "You should indeed eat less, or rather—you should exercise, my dear Mr. Potter."
"Indeed." Harry nodded in agreement.
Not long after, Cassandra and Pabi came one after the other into the Great Hall.
Cassandra clearly wasn't fully awake, while Pabi held a basket filled with an assortment of baked goods.
"Try this!" Pabi happily placed the basket on the table and held up a cookie to Vivi, "Vivi, taste this, I learned to make these grape milk crisps with Jacob—Muggles always have great ideas when it comes to food, don't they?"
Vivi didn't refuse Pabi's kind gesture; she also knew Pabi wasn't like Cassandra and wouldn't dare give her any Canary Cookies.
They were indeed delicious. Vivi chewed and gave Pabi a reassuring smile.
"Right?" Pabi also picked up a piece and handed it to Cassandra, "Kathy, you try it too."
Cassandra didn't refuse Pabi either, and after eating a piece, she also gave high praise to Pabi.
No sarcasm, that's the highest praise.
"What about Harry, Harry you taste it too." Pabi handed a piece to Harry.
Vivi wanted to say something, but finally said, "Eat a bit less, Harry, you're almost losing your abs..."
"Really?" Pabi exclaimed, "That's not good! Then you better not eat it..."
Saying this, she snatched back the grape milk crisp from Harry's hand, leaving Harry no room for objection.
Alright then...
Harry thought, if I can't eat it, so be it. After all, the Empress has spoken.
"How's it going?" Pabi didn't forget to ask Harry, "How are your preparations going for the second task... Although I have great confidence in you, I still want to ask about your preparation."
"Yeah," Cassandra asked seemingly casually, "Have you figured out the final answer? What's your treasure..."
"Preparation is okay, I guess." Harry shrugged, answering evasively: "Though I still don't know what I have to retrieve from the Black Lake... I think... maybe it's the Fire Crossbow Arrow? A precious treasure... it's unlikely to be a person, right?"
This noncommittal answer, while not entirely satisfactory to everyone, indeed received no objections.
"You better think it through." Pabi said, "If a broom gets wet, it might affect its performance, or maybe they'll have a protective cover, won't they?"
"I think so, too." Harry didn't know why, but he felt cold sweat running down his back.
The whole night, he just listened to the three women banter, and Harry's brain was running overtime to barely understand the underlying meanings in their words.
When he finally got back to the dormitory, it was very late, and Harry was too exhausted to pay attention to anything else; the whole night had worn him out.
The next morning, Seamus woke him up.
"Get up and eat something, Harry." Seamus patted his shoulder, "You'll be going underwater in the Black Lake soon, you can't do that on an empty stomach, what if you cramp up?"
Harry responded and made his way to the Great Hall.
He was absentmindedly eating breakfast until an anxious Hermione approached.
"Harry!" Hermione said anxiously, "Ron has been taken! The one you need to rescue is Ron!"
Such unusual words instantly silenced everyone in the Great Hall.
What?
What did you say?
Harry is going to the lake to rescue Ron?
Of course, the students knew about the second task; Mr. Bagman had just announced it: the champions would rescue their most precious treasure from the lake.
Now, everyone's thoughts might be something like this...
"Miss Grindelwald is definitely Harry's most precious treasure, right?"
"Miss Malfoy isn't bad either; she's the moonlight in his heart."
"Miss Swedding is also very cute, not any less than those two girls..."
"If we're talking about Harry's interests, the Fire Crossbow Arrow is definitely rightfully his!"
"What the heck, Ron Weasley, really?"
Beauxbatons and Durmstrang students looked at Harry in shock, shocked as to why it was Ron and not one of those three girls.
Having been at Hogwarts for so long, even if they weren't gossipers, they saw the three girls who danced with Harry at the Christmas ball.
It should be said, those three girls were exceptionally attractive, especially the one who looked the most mature and beautiful—possibly even more beautiful than Fleur, who's part Enchantress... They almost thought, in the second task, it would be Harry rescuing that most beautiful woman.
They never expected, who the hell is Ron Weasley?
No, well...
This is the United Kingdom, perhaps it's normal?
But Hogwarts students didn't think much of it, since friendship is the most precious treasure, isn't it?