HP: Spirit Talker

Olympia Maxim was not surprised to find me here, she behaved extremely elegant and dignified, there were not even jokes about an unexpected date. Although the woman had behaved more openly last time. I don't suffer from extreme inattention, so I noticed perfectly camouflaged shadows under her eyes and a slightly "faded" glow in her eyes. And the whole body language of the half-giant spoke of fatigue, both physical and moral.

A glance at Fleur showed that she had noticed all of this, and so she changed her behavior seamlessly. I decided not to "cut and run", but to tell how I had learned to grow plants in a special way at the "summer school". At first she listened only out of politeness, but when I got to the part about growing a strawberry tree, her eyebrows raised in amazement.

Satisfied with the effect, I continued the story, adding many unimportant but colorful details, deliberately prolonging the monologue. When the level of interest had dropped a bit, I told them that I had been craving fresh fruit lately, and it had been lazy to move to Muggle London, so I remembered an old accomplishment and grew some indoor trees.

Madame Maxime's assistant, Michelle Roux, immediately complained about the "heartless" druids, "dragging the last of the poor girls for a handful of berries," and Muggle berries out of season are tasteless. And Madame Roux loves "sweet salads." The headmistress smiled at this speech, it was obvious that the woman was beginning to relax from the previous tension.

I would like to specify that Momo's talents revealed stubbornness and demanding. It manifested itself in the fact that zashiki-warashi found out in detail the source of origin of the indoor fruit and berry trees, and then demanded the expansion of the "garden". For three days in a row, I received an email literally every hour with a list of "essentials".

Yesterday, I had to take an hour of my time to personally deliver the stubborn girl's order, because Momo "refused to work in such terrible and inhumane conditions: no fresh fruit for breakfast for her favorite masters, no fresh berries for a bun or cake, and in general ...".

Zasiki-Varasi — very peculiar, in some places stubborn ghosts, with not the easiest character, but much better than the local house elves, scary and stupid. Although, I admit, they can be extremely useful, like now. The house elf I'd hired took my orders and returned in fifteen minutes with a small enchanted basket, which she immediately handed to Madame Roux.

Within five minutes, the happy scarf had already distributed bowls of her favorite fruit and berry salad with an aromatic sweet sauce made from a mixture of something alcoholic and fragrant.

I'm not going to give anyone trees, but I mentioned in passing that I sometimes experiment for the sake of interest, and I can grow some berries or fruit to order. Judging by the look on the women's faces and eyes, we'll talk more about that. After everyone was refreshed and tea was served, the headmaster spoke.

— Mr. Hoshino, I can guess the reason why you wanted to see me. — A calm, slightly tired look stared straight into his eyes. — It concerns the Minhe sisters, Manami and Marika, right? — I nodded slowly, 'holding' my face. — Well, — the woman sighed heavily, her voluminous breasts pulling the fabric tighter for a moment, so inconspicuously distracting. — I know the girls are no longer alive. — I noticed Fleur's sudden tension. — In fact, this was the event that brought me back to Beauxbatons. — The woman's gaze changed subtly, becoming sharply focused, attentive.

— However, I know that you were in contact with their father and that they were last seen entering the local bank branch with him. After that, neither the girls nor their father, Genosuke Mene, were ever seen alive again. According to long-standing laws and treaties, goblins are not allowed to harm humans unless there is an EXTREME need for defense, and only then. Which begs the question: where did they go and what happened to them? Do you know anything about that, Mr. Hoshino?

— At this detail, the expressions on the faces of not only the director, but also her assistant, her secretary, and another man I did not know, who did not introduce himself and remained silent the whole time, became predatory. — Minet had become famous in France when all this was happening here in England?

— The Beauhbatons have their own artifact — close in meaning to the local "Book of Souls". "The Light of the Wise keeps track of all active training contracts, as well as the appearance of new gifted children of the right age within France." — The woman narrowed her eyes slightly to see my reaction. — Something made you laugh, Mr. Hoshino.

— Yes, — the men listening to me frowned slightly, especially Unnamed. — When I finish my story, you'll understand why it made me laugh, but first, let me clarify one detail. Who has access to the artifact?

— The senior faculty. — The woman answered suspiciously, but she showed restraint, which made me respect her even more.

— That's just great! — A broad smile never left my face, and my eyes stared up at the painted ceiling. — Now I'm going to tell my part, but I'll start from a distance so that you understand my situation, if you don't mind? — Meeting my gaze with the headmistress, the woman nodded in agreement. — Good. This is not known to the general public, and I ask you to keep it within the minimum circle of the initiated. About seventeen years ago, my clan, the Hoshino, was attacked by our enemies, and thanks to a significant advantage in strength, the Hoshino clan fell. My mother was captured and the family altar was smashed. — They listened to me attentively, and the man even took some notes. In principle, I tell all this without swearing to anyone who wants to know, but at this stage it is no longer so dangerous.

— About a year ago, my mother and I managed to escape. With a fight. — Madame Roux, the secretary and Fleur's eyebrows raised in surprise, the others were concentrated. — We thought there was no one left in the clan but us, or rather, — I corrected myself, for Junko's reactions and reservations were telling. — I was the only one who thought that, but my mother didn't bother to tell me a single 'little thing'. — An ironic chuckle on my part. — It turned out that my mother's younger sister's family had escaped during the attack, and Genosuke-san and his daughters had been living in France all these years. He wanted to contact me while I was still in your country, but he didn't have time. The reason for the meeting is clear, isn't it?

— It's obviously to restore the family. — Mrs. Maxime had no doubts.

— That is true. — A nod and a smile, but on the side Fleur frowned more than ever. — We talked about getting engaged, — the girl clenched her fists. — But it turned out that Mene Marika and Mene Manami... — I smiled nonchalantly at the secretary and Madame Roux, who began to smile, and then abruptly wiped the emotion from my face. — ...have become slaves. — I see the disbelief on their faces. — The girls were slaves — they had magical seals of subordination of the highest level, established no more than a year ago. — All the people, without exception, turned pale. — During the removal of the seals, the guardian spirit of the Family Thief interrupted the removal ritual, and the one who had applied the seals blew the girls up by remote control.

— Fleur and the secretary turned green. — They were literally blown to pieces. The last two members of my family, not counting myself and my mother. — The principal's eyes turned from brown to black. — And her father committed ritual suicide in front of me to atone for his guilt, to restore his honor. As a matter of fact, — my voice remains calm, no hysterics. — I've requested a meeting with you, Madame Maxime.

— State your grievances, Mr. Hoshino. — The woman's voice was filled with barely contained anger.

— Of course. — A short nod and a bow to the dignified woman. — First, I would like to be informed of the details of the investigation. — I see how the unnamed wanted to object, so I will clarify. — I will not interfere with the process, but I need a dialogue. — The man nodded in agreement and remained silent.

— Secondly, I demand viruses from everyone involved in this case, those who knew everything, you will hand them over to me alive and with their identities intact. I admit that harsher interrogation techniques will be necessary to get the details, so I do not say unharmed. — The nameless one nodded again. — Third, if you are unable to punish the influential people or even the family involved in this case yourself, I ask you to give me information about them. That is all.

— And you won't even ask for a bribe from Beauxbatons School or the government? — the headmaster asked suspiciously.

— The school itself has nothing to do with this. — I continued calmly. — Neither does France, so there will be no publicity from my side anyway — it's not in my interest. — If I start demanding more or threatening the French government, it would be easier for them to kill me and keep everything secret. My proposal is acceptable because there is no loss to the school or the treasury, and the criminals' property would still be "dissipated" in the pockets of officials. — But the perpetrators must be punished, and I believe it's in our mutual interest to do so.

— You are right, Mr. Hoshino. — said the director again. — Scandals of this magnitude are not good publicity, but you must agree that agreements are better cemented by something stronger than mere sound. — I don't have enough credibility yet to be taken at my word.

— Of course, how could you not? — I even feign surprise. — I'll provide the goblins' report on the investigation of both the kinship between me and the dead, and the conclusions about the seals....

In short, on the same day, without delay, the documents and some of my memories were delivered to Gringotts and signed in front of witnesses. Also, my lawyer, together with the French representative who had arrived, worked through the night on the contract of my conditions and claims, as well as responsibilities.

The only thing is that when I said goodbye to the director and others, I asked to involve Madame Lucie Dunois in the case. The case promised to be very serious, and the woman, just at my suggestion, will get extra "pluses". But it turned out that Unnamed is her subordinate who came to see me.

It's a pity that an unexpected date with Fleur turned into this, and I didn't want to rush it because the girl wouldn't understand and would be offended if I didn't explain the details. But how could I tell her about my gifts and duties without oaths and at least some certainty?

It's good that the girl is not a natural "rock," but she's not a complete hysteric either. The next day I managed to talk to her, to ask her to give me time to talk to her father, and afterwards, if all went well, I would tell her. Of course, she was not happy, but I decided that since the girl was aiming at me, she could be patient with the answers, just a test of the seriousness of intentions.

I have a right, and I'm not going to tell everyone about the gifts in my blood. What if I tell Fleur about me and she's just a friend and has the opportunity to hurt me? No, I can't take that chance, not now, not when there's just a little bit left....