Altair stopped in front of a painting depicting a meadow, with a huge monster chasing a little girl carrying a basket. The girl ran back and forth without stopping, a strange expression on her face. Altair had seen eyes filled with fear before, but there was not a trace of it in the girl's eyes.
He heard the echo of footsteps in the hallway, which was empty except for the person who had summoned him there.
Violet walked confidently, stopped right next to him, and looked at the painting with a frown. The girl opened her mouth to say something, but Altair's hand closed around her neck and pushed her against the wall. The girl looked at him with a stoic expression, then, as if realizing something, smiled.
"Are you jealous?" she asked, the words coming sweetly from her mouth.
"Of Cedric? Do you know how his last relationship ended?" Altair asked, a smile of his own coming to his lips. Violet Black simply looked at him with a frown as she thought for a second, then nodded with realization.
"You're a pig," she said. "Messing with a girl who has a boyfriend," she clicked her tongue with feigned anger. "Is your hand going to stay on my neck the whole time we talk?" she asked, feigning boredom.
"You haven't made a single move to take it away," Altair pointed out. "I know how that little head of yours works," he said, and she smiled at his words.
"Can you let go of me, please, Alti?" she asked, her voice more childlike, imitating Lavender's voice.
Altair squeezed her neck harder, watched her tongue stick out, and wet her lips before her mouth opened and her eyes glazed over. He let her go. She gasped softly as she began to laugh.
Altair grabbed her by the hair at the nape of her neck and made her look at the painting.
"Do you like it? The monster chasing the maiden," Altair asked. Violet's body was right in front of him, almost pressed against his. Despite having a "partner," she did not shy away from his touch.
"It looks like a game," she said superficially. "Look at her eyes," she pointed to the woman. "She's having fun," she scoffed.
"Yes," Altair replied. "It's almost as if she wants him to catch her. You know, every week, she ends up tired. The monster takes advantage of that, catches her, and takes her to the cave in the mountain behind," he held the girl's face with his hand and moved it so she would look where he wanted her to. "The days after he catches her are when she's happiest," he said close to her ear.
"Are you a fan of paintings? I didn't take you for the artistic type," she said.
"Hogwarts is magnificent," there was genuine sincerity in Altair's voice. "The magic... it was in the books, the ink, the walls, the armor, the moving staircases, the paintings... when I got here, I liked to see everything, to see every sign of magic in the castle." Altair suddenly fell silent.
"Ah, that's sweet of you," Violet said in her normal voice. "And you like this painting?" the girl asked, turning her neck to look him in the eyes.
"It's not my favorite," Altair said. "But it's curious that you quoted me here. Had you seen it before?" he asked.
"Not at all. I grew up in a home filled with magic. Paintings don't surprise me that much," she replied boredly.
"Even so, I think it's a good painting..." Altair suddenly let go of her. "Between actions and desire, the girl keeps everything fun," he distanced himself a few steps. Violet's hand went to her own neck, where she caressed it with a little sadness. "Why did you ask me here?" he finally asked.
"Stay away from my sister," Violet requested him. No, it wasn't a request; it was more of an order. "Keep your dirty hands off her," her gray eyes stared at him, this time she seemed to be serious.
"Dirt should stay with dirt," Altair's hands went to the girl's waist.
Slap!
She slapped his hand away as she moved away, her serious face breaking into a small smile that lasted only a second.
"And stay away from me, I have a boyfriend," Violet said, looking at Altair's face as if expecting her words to cause some kind of change in him.
He simply raised his hands in surrender.
"Okay, I'll stay away from you," he turned around. "I have to go, Sophie asked me to show her the Ravenclaw library. It's quite large, and it has some interesting thick books," he began to walk away.
"Didn't you hear me?" Violet chased after him.
"Honey?" a voice interrupted in the hallway. Cedric Diggory approached, interrupting the exchange between the two. When he saw his girlfriend with another guy, he felt something in his chest, a feeling that grew when he saw Altair. The young Asmodeus did not have a good reputation.
"Cedric," Violet greeted him rudely, barely acknowledging his presence. The boy looked hurt.
Even though they were dating, Cedric found little he could do with her. She barely let him touch her hand, and only for a few seconds. He didn't even know how they had really started dating; she seemed to dislike him.
"Diggory," Altair greeted him, the smile fading from his face. "Violet was showing me a painting," he said, pointing with his chin. "See you later," he said goodbye.
Altair didn't like Cedric. He didn't think he was a bad guy, but they weren't friends either, and he didn't owe him anything. That's why he didn't feel guilty. Or maybe he was just too mean at that point to care.
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Albus adjusted his glasses. The girl, his granddaughter, was speaking at the blackboard, showing the keys for each school. She drew 12 squares at the bottom, then enclosed them in groups of 3 in a circle.
"Four teams per school. Twelve teams in total. Groups of three will be formed to compete against each other, and here one of the teams will be disqualified," she crossed out a small square in each circle. "That would leave two teams per group, for a total of eight. Here, it would be a simple elimination tournament until we reach the final and a winner," she drew tournament brackets as well.
Albus rubbed his beard as he contemplated.
A Quidditch tournament would not only take attention away from the Triwizard Tournament, but it would also steal it almost completely. Viktor Krum was a student at Durmstrang, a famous Quidditch competitor, and world seeker. It was thanks to him that Bulgaria did not end up completely crushed in the final a few weeks ago.
Was that a good thing? Taking attention away from the Triwizard Tournament could anger some people.
But on the other hand, it would be like baiting Voldemort. He could take advantage of the lack of vigilance and strike. The more involved he was, the easier it would be to expose him, like a predator setting a trap for its prey. It was a risk, but a risk worth taking.
"It's an interesting idea," said the Headmaster. "Although it has certain flaws. How can you be sure that the other schools can form four Quidditch teams? And assuming they do, that would be a total of 19 games, 20 if you want to have a third and fourth place playoff," he challenged his granddaughter.
"I considered 4 teams basing on how it works on Hogwarts, but it can be modified", she explained. "About the time that's why the matches would be slightly modified. A maximum duration of 1 hour in group stage matches, 1 and a half hours in the quarterfinals, 2 hours in the semifinals, and 3 hours in the final. The end of the match would also be changed; it would be exactly at the designated time, regardless of whether the seeker caught the golden snitch. " Harley looked him in the eye. Albus found a strong resemblance to his mother, Lily. "There will be three snitches, each worth 50 points," he said at the end.
"You've thought it through," Albus complimented her.
"Hermione helped me," the girl did not deny her participation or take all the credit for herself.
"You have good friends, I'm glad," the headmaster said while he stood up. "I need to talk about it, maybe if there was a written document, it would increase the chances," Harley handed him a folder. "Magnificent," the old man smiled. "I also need to talk to Altair. Can you give him this?" He handed him a piece of paper.
Harley frowned but nodded.
"Thanks, Grandpa," she said as she hurried out, suppressing a smile.
"Ah, my heart can't take much more," Albus said as he opened the folder. He had to make some changes and find sponsors, but if Altair accepted the risk that Voldemort might influence the Triwizard Tournament, then he would consider the Quidditch tournament a done deal.