— — — — — —
Silvery blonde hair, prettier than a porcelain doll, and important enough that a Catherine brought her here.
There was only one possibility.
Gabrielle Delacour.
The girls watched as Gabrielle clung to Tom like a koala, refusing to let go, and felt a wave of dark fire rise in their chests.
As expected of Fleur's little sister. A barbarian from France. What, is kissing just your national specialty? Big sister kisses him, then the little sister follows up?
No wonder England lost the Hundred Years' War.
But, no matter how furious they were, they couldn't exactly gang up on a child and pry her off him.
So all they could do was watch. Helplessly.
Astoria was the closest. She could clearly see Gabrielle's long lashes, her bright green eyes, her chubby pink cheeks. She was so cute that Astoria almost wanted to scoop her up and cuddle her senseless.
And yet, alarms were blaring in her head.
She had silvery blonde hair. Gabrielle had silvery blonde hair.
She had an older sister. Gabrielle had one too.
But her own sister was spectacularly unreliable…
This was bad. What if she lost?
"Gabrielle, where's your sister?" Tom finally asked after managing to steady the bouncing little girl.
Gabrielle answered brightly, "Sister walks too slow. Gabrielle came in first with Sister Catherine!"
A voice full of resentment came from the doorway.
"Am I slow? She ran off like a rocket. I couldn't even grab her."
Fleur stood there in an exquisite Rococo-style dress, topped with a wide-brimmed hat adorned with flowers. Her elegant figure and striking presence were on full display, though the helpless look on her face was oddly amusing.
When she saw Gabrielle still lounging in Tom's arms and secretly pulling faces at her, Fleur snapped. She strode over and lifted the little girl straight up.
Fleur then scanned the room. Not seeing her mortal enemy, she asked with a smirk, "Where's that annoying girl? Don't tell me she's still asleep."
Tom shook his head. "No. Daphne isn't coming today. She's doing special training. Um... She's entering the competition next term."
That delighted Fleur to no end. She laughed so hard she nearly bent over.
"She? Competing? Tom, that's the best joke I've heard all year."
Laughing, Fleur leaned right into Tom's arms, turning several faces instantly dark.
"Hey!" Ginny shouted. "Phlegm! What are you laughing at? Just because you're a few years older doesn't make you special."
"With Tom helping us, you old woman are definitely going to lose."
"What did you just call me?" Fleur snapped, standing up.
"Phlegm, phlegm," Ginny sang mockingly.
She deliberately twisted Fleur's French name into a similar-sounding word. The meaning was… phlegm. (The 'g' in phlegm is silent)
No wonder Fleur was furious.
Tom felt his headache getting worse by the second. He made a decisive move, scooped Gabrielle up, and slipped out of the villa.
Yes, villa. He did have a tent, but with this many people coming and going, he'd had the Astra Abyssum guild build a proper villa instead.
"Gabrielle, want me to take you shopping?" he asked.
"Yes!"
Let them argue. Even if it turned into a brawl, he wasn't dealing with it. He could comfort them one by one later. Staying there meant offending someone no matter what. Much better to escape and enjoy some peace.
---
At the center of all the camps was a commercial street, packed with wizard stalls from over a hundred countries. Food, toys, curios, even dangerous and sensitive items were all on display.
This was a carnival for merchants. Even sky-high stall fees couldn't dampen their enthusiasm.
And it turned out they were right. The street had been packed since a week ago, and today it was completely jammed.
The income from the past few days alone had already recouped most of the millions of Galleons he'd invested. Add in ticket sales from the expanded stadium, broadcast rights, advertising fees, and the explosive rise in Lume-Lens sales…
The money practically forced itself into his hands.
He had originally planned to spend money to expand his influence. The influence did grow, but somehow the money just kept piling up instead.
Tom kept a protective barrier around them, using magic to part the crowd so they could move more easily.
Besides dealing with the little girl, he also opened his study space and brought Jeanne out.
He had no idea what Jalter had said to her, but Jeanne no longer avoided him. Their appearances had settled into a pattern. Jeanne during the day, Jalter at night.
By unspoken agreement, Tom avoided any adult topics in front of Jeanne and never mentioned Jalter.
Sigh. Who knew when he'd ever get to try those "special tricks" Jalter kept hinting at.
Soon, Gabrielle had an ice cream in each hand, happily munching away while sitting in Tom's arms. A Catherine followed behind them, handling payments.
"Jeanne, do you like this?" Tom asked as they stopped at an accessory shop. He immediately spotted a hairpin he liked and glanced at the owner.
"I like it," Jeanne said softly.
"Then I'll buy it. I'll put it on you after you're revived."
"Thank you, Tom," the girl said brightly. Then her expression shifted slightly. After struggling with herself for a while, she added shyly, "Tom, she… she says she wants one too."
Tom didn't even blink. "No. This time, it's just for you."
Cheering girls up is easy. The simplest trick is comparison. Don't be afraid of making someone upset. As long as you smooth things over afterward, the relationship usually ends up even better.
Anyone who's argued with a girlfriend knows this. The sweetest moments tend to come right after a fight, when you're glued to each other again.
Of course, most people never get to use this knowledge. Step one is finding a girlfriend in the first place.
Jeanne didn't say anything on the surface, but her happiness was practically overflowing. Even the bristling Jalter was firmly suppressed, forced to listen to the two of them being all lovey-dovey the whole way.
The humiliation and cuckolded fury Jeanne had once endured had now come full circle.
Beep! Beep!
Suddenly, sharp alarm sounds rang out along the street. A red beam of light dropped from a rooftop and locked onto a hunched wizard who was trying to hurry away with his head down. Several nearby wizards reacted instantly. Spells flew. The man's face twisted, his mouth went crooked, and he collapsed to the ground, twitching nonstop, his front teeth even popping out.
Gabrielle, her mouth smeared with ice cream, witnessed the whole thing. She froze, eyes wide, completely lost.
"B-big brother…" The little girl instinctively shrank back.
"It's okay, Gabrielle," Tom said gently, patting her back. "Everyone's just catching a bad guy. That man was a thief. If you steal someone else's things, you get punished."
'Unless you're strong enough that no one dares touch you.' Tom added that silently, choosing not to say it out loud. No need to corrupt a child.
"Oh, I see." Gabrielle nodded in sudden understanding and finally relaxed.
The wizards who had acted conjured a rope and tied the thief up. One of them shouted, "Hey, check if anyone lost something!"
People around them patted their pockets. Soon, a witch stepped forward, pulled a wallet from the thief, and thanked them repeatedly. The wizards, looking a bit impatient, dragged the thief away.
That alarm system had been Tom's idea. No one understood better than he did just how much chaos two hundred thousand people could cause, especially when those people were wizards capable of all kinds of strange magic.
Even with Astra Abyssum and the Ministry working together, proper control was unrealistic. The best solution was decentralization. Let them keep each other in check.
Like those do-gooder wizards just now. They could claim a one-hundred-Galleon reward from the Guild, and the Guild would recover several times that amount from the thief.
On a legal level, the Ministry had formally granted Astra Abyssum legitimate enforcement authority for the duration of the World Cup.
A massive trust was quietly taking shape within the wizarding world.
---
The sun climbed high overhead, and before anyone noticed, it was noon. The streets grew even more crowded. Every shop and stall was packed to the brim.
Gabrielle, who had been bursting with energy when they left, was now drooping like a wilted flower. She dozed off in Tom's arms. Children need sleep, and considering she'd rushed over from France at dawn, lasting this long was already impressive.
When they returned to the villa, it was quiet there too. The living room was empty. Everyone had probably gone back to get a nap.
Tom gently placed the already sleeping Gabrielle onto the bed. He then sat at the desk, took out his codex, and checked in with Ikaros first. Seeing that nothing seemed urgent, he contacted Newt.
『Tom Riddle』: Grandpa Newt, how come you're still not here?
He and Newt had agreed to meet at the villa once Newt arrived. It was already noon, and there was still no sign of him.
『Newt Scamander』: Tom, this is Tina. Newt and I will be a bit late.
Tom's eyes sharpened.
『Tom Riddle』: Did something happen?
『Newt Scamander』: Two Kelpies got stomach trouble yesterday, and one Graphorn went into labor early. Newt is completely swamped. Don't worry, we'll definitely make it before the match.
Tom stared at the message in silence.
So this was the downside of not having subordinates. Everything had to be handled personally. Newt didn't even have time to come out and enjoy the spectacle.
No good. When he got back, he needed to prepare a few alchemical constructs to help Newt. The old man wasn't young anymore and couldn't handle all these exhausting tasks every day.
Decision made, Tom stretched, climbed into bed, and took a nap with the little girl beside him.
...
At four in the afternoon, Tom woke up and went door to door, knocking and waking the girls one by one.
After getting cleaned up, they prepared to head to the venue.
But just a few steps in, Tom couldn't hold it in anymore.
"Silencio."
Ginny and Fleur snapped their mouths shut at the same time, not a sound able to escape.
"If you keep arguing, both of you are going back." Tom's face darkened.
The moment the two girls stepped outside, Ginny and Fleur were at each other again, trading barbs nonstop. Tom had planned to ignore it, but the noise got under his skin, and for once, he actually lost his temper.
"Big brother, don't be angry. Sister already knows she was wrong." Gabrielle timidly tugged on Tom's sleeve.
Only then did Tom's expression soften. He took the opening and said, "Fine. I'll let it go this time, for little Gabrielle's sake."
Ginny and Fleur immediately got their voices back.
...
As the venue drew closer, more and more wizards poured out of the camps, converging on the stadium from all directions. The commercial street expanded once again.
This was the only path into the venue. The Guild had stationed hundreds of people here to maintain order and collect protection fees. No, stall fees.
Wizards were lining up everywhere. Even for the toilets. The length of those lines was enough to make someone give up and hold it.
The lines for the witches' toilets were twice as long as the wizards'. Someone suggested converting part of the men's room, and Tom immediately slapped the idea down.
Convert nothing. Don't you know what fairness is? He, Tom Riddle, is one of the biggest supporters of feminism.
"There are really so many people," Hermione said in awe. "I've never felt anything like this before."
Wizards always felt few and far between. One magical school in all of Britain, only three or four across Europe. It was hard to associate the wizarding world with crowds and bustle.
"Well, it only happens once every four years," Fleur said with a gentle smile. "Wizarding entertainment is pretty scarce. Aside from the Quidditch World Cup, I can't think of anything else that would bring so many people together."
"There is," Ginny muttered. "Grindelwald, for example."
Her single line dropped the entire group into silence.
That… is not the same kind of comparison.
This is the World Cup. A happy occasion. Don't drop such an awkward cold joke now.
But the mention of Grindelwald made Tom think of Ariana.
Ariana was at the match too. Not just her. A large number of acolytes had come as well.
.
.
.