Chapter 741: Everyone Stays Optimistic

Up in the air. At seven in the evening, several winged horses lifted off from the Hogwarts grounds.

The night wind rushed in through the carriage windows. The carriages swayed slightly for a moment before settling into a smooth flight.

The castle below grew smaller and smaller. The lights in the towers shrank behind the glass until they were little more than scattered points of light, then disappeared beneath the clouds. The winged horses beat their wings in perfect rhythm, pulling the convoy southward.

Professor McGonagall, Professor Snape, and Tom were traveling with the convoy.

If Fleur hadn’t been returning to France with Beauxbatons, Tom wouldn’t have been here at all. Dumbledore would have taken his place instead.

The inside of the carriage was many times larger than it appeared from the outside, clearly the result of an Extension Charm.

A thick carpet covered the floor, while the wall lamps gave off a soft, warm glow. Several plates of delicate French pastries sat on the table.

In the carriage’s luxurious reception room, several professors sat together, drinking tea and enjoying the refreshments.

"Mr. Riddle, Professor McGonagall, Professor Snape, thank you for coming all this way to help us." Madame Maxime’s expression softened with genuine gratitude. "With everything that has happened, I confess I wouldn’t have felt nearly as at ease making this journey without you."

Professor McGonagall smiled warmly and gave a small shake of her head. "Madame Maxime, you’re giving us far too much credit. We only came along as a precaution. There’s no reason to assume things are quite as bad as we feared."

"But it certainly makes us feel much more at ease," Maxime said with a sigh.

Her gaze then shifted to Tom, who had been steadily working his way through the food. "Mr. Riddle, thank you for being willing to step forward today."

Tom shook his head. "Professor McGonagall is right. When I returned to London today, I did run into a few minor complications, but they were things ordinary wizards could handle. The Muggle government reacted quite strongly, but most ordinary people are still caught somewhere between belief and disbelief."

Maxime took the opportunity to ask, "Then do you think this whole incident can end here?"

Tom nodded. "As long as we reach an understanding with the Muggle leadership, I think both sides can work together to gradually let what happened in New York fade from public attention. But it will take time to know whether that will really happen. We shouldn’t let our guard down anytime soon."

"Heh!" Snape spoke in his usual flat tone. "Never place your hopes in other people, Riddle. The wizarding world shouldn’t merely be on high alert. We should also be preparing for war."

At those words, both Professor McGonagall and the Beauxbatons professors looked distinctly uncomfortable.

The word "war" was simply too distant from the wizarding world.

Even the struggle against Voldemort had amounted to little more than a chaotic conflict. Its impact had been largely confined to British wizards, while the rest of the world had barely reacted.

So hearing Snape talk about war sounded almost ominous to them.

Tom smiled. "Professor, that doesn’t sound like something a Hogwarts professor would say. It sounds much more like something Grindelwald would say. Oh wait, Grindelwald seems to think rather highly of you, too. Don’t tell me you’ve already joined the Acolytes?"

Snape’s face darkened. "I have not joined anyone."

Snape was furious. He picked up his teacup and took a sip, deciding not to bother with Tom anymore.

Arguing with this student would accomplish nothing except making his own mood worse.

Professor McGonagall, meanwhile, calmly turned her attention to the window, pretending she hadn’t heard a word of the exchange.

- - -

The journey from Scotland to the Alps wasn’t particularly long. A few hours later, the winged horses descended into the magnificent gardens of Beauxbatons.

Once the convoy emerged from the clouds, faint lights could be seen glowing among the mountains below.

The winged horses slowed as they circled around several ridgelines before finally descending into the gardens.

The landing was remarkably quiet. The only sounds were the occasional crisp crunch of carriage wheels rolling over the gravel.

People were already waiting in the gardens with lanterns in hand. The students gradually climbed out of the carriages and, under the professors’ guidance, made their way back to their dormitories.

Because Beauxbatons had students from a wide range of countries, there were several different arrangements for those heading home.

International students would be collected by their parents and escorted back to their respective countries.

French students, meanwhile, would be escorted home the following day by Aurors from the French Ministry of Magic, who would accompany them to Paris and other major cities.

Professor Snape and Professor McGonagall would stay at Beauxbatons for one night before returning to Hogwarts the next day.

Madame Maxime had invited Tom to stay as well, but he politely declined.

With Gabrielle in his arms and Fleur holding his hand, he Apparated directly to the Delacour family’s home in Paris.

The Delacours had known in advance that they would be coming back that evening, so Monsieur and Madame Delacour were still awake, waiting for them.

The moment they arrived, Monsieur Delacour grabbed Tom’s hands and thanked him profusely.

Madame Delacour, meanwhile, had already prepared a late-night meal and brought it to the table.

"Uncle, I still think you should come back to London with me." Tom made one last attempt to persuade him. "No one knows how things are going to develop from here. Whatever happens, you’ll be safest if you stay in Dalaran."

"Thank you for the offer, Tom." Monsieur Delacour thanked him sincerely before shaking his head. "But the Ministry needs me right now. The Delacour family has put down roots in this land for generations. If we retreat the moment things become dangerous, what will the other families think of us? So the more dangerous things become, the more reason I have to stay."

He paused, then smiled. "Besides, from what I’ve heard, the Ministry’s negotiations with the Muggle authorities have been going fairly well. Both sides seem willing to keep this incident from escalating. The new president, Jacques Chirac, has only just taken office. He won’t want a crisis like this complicating things so early in his administration. If everyone is willing to cooperate, this whole mess may blow over before long."

"Exactly, Tom. Don’t be so pessimistic," Fleur added, trying to reassure him.

"You’re probably right. Maybe I’m just overthinking things." Tom said it casually enough, but inwardly he could only sigh.

He had said much the same thing to Madame Maxime and the others aboard the carriage. He had spoken confidently about the future and told them there was no need to panic.

But he didn’t actually believe it.

If everything followed the normal course of events, then yes, there was a chance the incident could gradually fade from public attention.

But that was precisely the problem.

Corvinus Gaunt had gone to such extraordinary lengths to have Herpo set off the explosion in New York. Was all of that really just to cause a little trouble and give everyone something to worry about?

No.

He had an ultimate goal: exposing the wizarding world.

And until he achieved that goal, Tom was certain he wouldn’t stop.

That meant if Corvinus Gaunt failed this time, he would undoubtedly find another way to expose the existence of wizards to the Muggle world.

Monsieur Delacour was staying in Paris for the sake of his family’s honor. Even if Tom laid out the entire truth before him, it wouldn’t change his decision.

There was nothing else to do but take things one step at a time.

...

By the time they finished their late-night meal, Gabrielle was already barely able to keep her eyes open.

Tom took the little girl back to her room first. Then Fleur led him to the guest room that had been prepared for him.

The girl pretended to return to her own room and stayed there for a while. Once she was sure her parents had gone to sleep, she quietly slipped back over to Tom’s room.

The two spent some quiet time together before Fleur, exhausted from the long day, finally grew sleepy.

After she had fallen asleep, Tom carefully eased his arm free and returned to his pocket world.

He had two gacha draws saved up.

Now it was time to use both of them and see if he could pull something genuinely useful.

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