HP: Spirit Talker

It would take too long to treat each wound, so the seals would find each one and apply the elixir, Fleur would have to endure the sloughing of skin and the slight burning sensation of healing, but that was all, there would be no more pain. I'll do the face myself, I just felt like it. While I was doing that, the first wave of shikigami had already wrapped Kram, covered his wound, and dragged him a dozen meters away, while the second wave found the wreckage of Fleur's wand. The girl stroked the literal shards with undisguised grief.

— It took Master Boisselier two weeks to make it for me, — Fleur sighed heavily, wrapping the shards in a surprisingly clean handkerchief and hiding them in the pocket of her tattered jacket. — Don't you have a spare wand?

— I do. How could I not? — I'm surprised to hear you ask that. — Don't you have a spare? — I even stopped to look into the girl's eyes.

— Artifacts hide themselves, — the girl looked at the metal "dew" around her and sighed heavily again. — I couldn't figure out how to hide the other wand — it was too well tested.

— That's right, — I nodded and continued to carefully treat the wounds on my face, leaving only three strips very close to my right eye. — I had to do it myself. — When I finished the last cut, I pulled out a deep purple crystal wand with a magician's gesture and handed it to the girl. — Lick it.

— Why? — I get a look of disbelief and a blink that makes me uncomfortable, to be honest.

— She needs to be tied up. Either smeared with blood or licked or used for a long time and never let anyone touch it, never let anyone touch it at all. Only then will it be fully attached.

For a few more seconds I was studied with a suspicious squint, and then the girl examined the wand, looked at me, back at the wand, and raised it to her lips. Her pink tongue tasted the crystal, the girl hesitated, and then slowly, and somehow strangely, ran her tongue along the entire length of the wand.

You know, not only did my throat go dry at that brief introduction, but I wanted to feel that tongue in action. The satisfied gleam in her heavenly eyes spoke for itself, but Mademoiselle pretended to think nothing of it, that everything was within the bounds of propriety. Where did she learn that?

— Ahem, well, the wounds have been treated, what shall we do with your attacker?

— Is he still alive? — The girl was genuinely surprised.

— Yes, he's lying over there, — I nodded towards the immobilized Kram lying in the grass.

A closer look revealed that he was bound by two seals, the rest destroyed by our enemy's defenses. He did not look well, and how could he, with such a wound? Pale, almost white, the capillaries in his eyes bursting, his face a few abrasions, and his clothes ruined, Fleur was clearly no stoic and was able to respond.

— He attacked from around the corner, — she said, looking at the Bulgarian with the look of a mature butterfly wing-snatcher and an ant magnifying glass burner. — I could barely defend myself. And then he chased me when I tried to run away....

— What a naughty boy, huh? Hurting innocent girls and chasing them to hurt them more. Why don't we rip his head off, don't you think? — I've always loved this method, suggested in one of my favorite books, The Master and Margarita. A great work that never gets old.

— Isn't it a little too easy for him? — Oh, it seems the fiery maiden holds a grudge against the brave Bulgarian for the sneak attack. — Do you know how much the relics that kept me alive would be worth if they were for sale? Not to mention the fact that he tried to kill me in the first place. Hmm... but how do you get him out of the labyrinth without anyone noticing? Hmm... — the girl thought seriously.

I smiled: I can't stand infantile and weak-willed "pacifists" who firmly believe that you can't do to your enemy what he would do to you (if he hasn't already done it). As if you can't sink to his level. I think this is nonsense.

Because a blow always has to be answered with a blow, or a big gain has to be made as revenge, and you cannot just forgive such things, because such rascals and thugs, those who once decided to commit a meanness or attack, will never stop if they are not stopped. Forgiveness is out of the question when it comes to life, honor, and health, including mental health. I believe that everyone has the right to defense and revenge: if you came to kill, be ready to die yourself, if you decided to rape, get the same revenge.

— There is an option, — I show the interested girl another ring with a yellow sapphire. — We'll seal it here, and on the way out, so the artifact won't be discovered, hide the ring in your mouth....

— Monsieur, — Fleur arched a thin eyebrow and looked me in the eye. — Something about the way you've been watching my mouth tonight, or suggesting that I use it. Admit it, you can no longer control your animal instincts, can you? — If it weren't for the disheveled hair, dust and blood, the image of a stern lady would be impressive.

— I am not only interested in your mouth, Mademoiselle, but the whole of you, which is only natural, for you are remarkably beautiful and attractive. But now I was not thinking about how to seduce you here and now, although under different circumstances I would certainly take steps in that direction. However, I have to restrain myself and think only about solving current problems.

— Hmmm... — I got a doubtful look and then the blonde nodded. — All right, I'll pretend to believe you, monsieur. But only this time. — The girl turned away. — But I hope that in the future your words will not contradict your deeds and that the heart of the vulnerable girl will not be deceived by unjustified promises.

— Don't worry, Mademoiselle, — I smiled. — As soon as we get out of here, I will pounce on you like a wild, unbridled beast.

— No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. — Don't make the innocent girl blush, or she'll think you make such promises to everyone you meet.

I didn't answer, and I didn't have to. Krum was promptly stripped of everything but his underwear and then sealed in a ring that Fleur hid in her bodice, her eyes flashing mischievously in my direction. With that taken care of, we moved on. We walked in silence for a few minutes, walking slowly, in no hurry.

No, I would probably hurry, it would be a shame to lose because I wasn't there in time, but on the other hand, winning this tournament wasn't as important to me as it had been when I arrived in Britain. So much has happened in these months, so much has changed, that sometimes it seems that this is a completely different life, a completely different me, and all that was before — just a haze of a dream that will evaporate, it is worth washing up and having your morning tea or coffee. I can't say that my goals in life have changed, or that I myself have changed too much, but it's just silly to deny the changes in myself, yet sometimes I notice that I compromise more often, that I look for advantages in my own and other people's actions much more often than in the past.

However, I prefer to perceive these changes as a natural growth that leads to something new, including a new part of myself, because a person is the same blade that gradually hardens in the flames of life, becomes different, stronger, or crumbles, acquires new qualities, or is destroyed by improper hardening or bad ore.

Rarely even the blacksmith himself is completely sure how good the blade will turn out under his hand — there are always surprises and failures, so it is not surprising that "marriage" is very often found in people.

I, for example, if something similar to today's events had happened in the past, would have killed Kram, burned the remains and been done with it. Now I'm thinking about what I can gain, even by trivializing my Veila in a legitimate revenge, because girls love gifts, and I don't care that this Mademoiselle preferred this one, the main thing is that she liked it. Isn't it natural for a man to want to please his girlfriend, to win her favor?

— As soon as we get out of here, we'll have to talk to Dad, — Fleur was the first to break the silence.

— You're right, — I nodded, even though she wasn't looking at me. — The Bulgarians will dig and the locals will help, which makes sense. We have to be prepared for someone to find something.

— Right, — Fleur nodded and looked ahead. — We have to be prepared...

I involuntarily thought that it would be good to make an oath with Pierre before talking to him, not only about silence, but also to provide a variant of the situation in my favor. So that the experienced politician would not decide that it was to his advantage to expose me to the locals and the Bulgarians, so that I would have no choice but to move to France. I don't know why I even thought of it, but nothing happens for nothing, especially when it comes to magicians.

And I don't want to abandon my country and the business in which I have invested so much effort, time and money, so I need to sketch out the plan of the oath while there is still time, and later finalize it to a digestible level. Also...