To be honest, it was not surprising that Horace knew Tonks.
Before this, Nymphadora had not only been an elite Auror, she had also carried the Black family name. There was no reason for Professor Horace, with his fondness for gathering talented people around him, not to try getting to know a gifted witch like Nymphadora.
And in fact, judging from Nymphadora's reaction, she really did seem to have some acquaintance with Horace.
What was interesting, though, was that Horace now acted as if he had not even seen the current situation, simply chatting away with Tonks on his own.
If not for what he had said at the beginning, you might even have thought Professor Horace had gone a bit senile...
Leaving aside for the moment why Horace was acting like this.
What could be seen now was that Molly Weasley, worried that Ginny might do something rash, only stepped forward after Alastor Moody had left, making her way over to Harry Potter's side without meeting any obstruction.
Not knowing the full story, Mrs. Weasley did not rashly turn and question Draco beside her. If anything, she felt a little grateful that Draco had shown restraint.
Under everyone's gaze, Molly Weasley crouched down and called to Harry Potter.
"Harry! Harry!"
Draco made no move to stop Molly Weasley from helping Harry Potter, and Fleur and the others did not say anything either.
In truth, although Fleur Delacour and the others had looked as though they were about to fight the other side to the death just moments ago, they knew perfectly well that now was not the time to make enemies recklessly.
Especially not with Dumbledore, who, though injured, was still someone no one wanted to provoke for no reason.
Because no one knew just how important Harry Potter was in Dumbledore's eyes.
Nor did they know what other hidden cards he might still be holding.
At the same time, with Molly Weasley no longer standing there watching her, Ginny also took the chance to slip over behind Draco...
"Are you hurt? Are you all right?"
"You think something could've happened to me?"
"How should I know? I couldn't see clearly from that far away. But I know very well how hard that spell is to deal with."
When it came to Sectumsempra, Ginny really did have some right to speak on it.
After all, the sight of those Death Eaters dropping out of the sky one after another still surfaced in her mind from time to time.
But while Ginny was busy asking after Draco with concern, she did not notice that Fleur's expression beside them was gradually turning a little off.
Even Luna, who had followed her over, noticed the look Fleur was giving her.
That look seemed to be saying... since when was there another one?
Mm... Fleur had not said a word, but her expression had already given away exactly what she was thinking.
In any case, perhaps Fleur's stare was simply too focused, because only then did Ginny, noticing it at last, belatedly remember that this person existed too.
Isn't that the champion from Beauxbatons? She's actually on Draco's side?
Ginny naturally knew Fleur Delacour, who had once been chosen as one of the Triwizard champions. You could even say she knew her very well.
Because during the Triwizard Tournament, no matter where she went or when it was, Ginny could almost always hear the boys talking about Fleur.
Not only that, her brother Bill Weasley had also often kept Fleur's name on his lips.
As for why that was the case.
Supposedly, while transporting that Thunderbird to Hogwarts, Bill had fallen in love with Fleur Delacour at first sight.
Although up to now, the two of them still had not exchanged a single word...
Of course, it was not just Fleur's beauty.
Her reputation recently had not been small at all.
If her brothers Bill and Charlie could be said to represent the younger generation of the Order of the Phoenix, then Fleur Delacour, who had gradually made a name for herself in Lucius's camp, was the next young leading figure under Draco.
In other words, her opportunities to spend time with Draco had increased greatly.
Thinking of that, when Ginny looked at Fleur Delacour again, a trace of subtle hostility inexplicably appeared in her eyes...
...
As a mixed-blood Veela who was used to being looked at strangely wherever she went, Fleur noticed the almost tangible wariness in Ginny's eyes immediately.
That discovery made Fleur freeze for a moment, and once she realized what it meant, she tilted her little head and shot Draco a flirtatious, exasperated look.
That playful expression made Draco glance at her several more times...
After all, being a few years older, Fleur understood much more clearly than the still rather clueless Ginny Weasley why the other girl would feel hostile toward her.
I should have guessed.
That highly distinctive red hair, along with that report in the Daily Prophet.
Fleur Delacour instantly realized that among the two girls Draco had rescued from the Death Eaters, one of them seemed to have been a witch from the Weasley family.
In that case, that Weasley had to be the girl right in front of her...
After glancing at Ginny Weasley, who seemed intent on staying close to Draco, Fleur lifted a hand to brush her silver hair back and directly stepped in to block her.
"Shouldn't the person you ought to be worrying about first be Mr. Potter?"
"..."
"Look, your mother is telling you to hurry over."
Fleur was not making that up. In fact, Molly Weasley, who needed help and was also somewhat unwilling to see Ginny getting too close to Malfoy, really was waving to Ginny and telling her to come over quickly.
And after Fleur pointed it out, there was no way Ginny could pretend not to see it anymore...
"You!"
"Hmm?"
"I'm not going over there. At the end of the day, Harry Potter is the one who's in the wrong."
Don't be fooled by how cute Ginny looked. She was not some obedient little girl, and in fact she had a bit of a rebellious streak.
So the smugger Fleur looked, the less willing Ginny became to do what she wanted.
What Ginny did not realize was that this reaction only made Fleur even more certain of what she had been thinking...
But compared with jealousy, Fleur understood far better why she was able to stay by Draco's side.
After casting Ginny Weasley a glance, Fleur waved a hand, signaling the wizards behind her to leave.
Then, putting away the deeply enchanting smile on her face, she finally looked into Draco's eyes.
"Although we already knew from Dobby that you would be appearing in Hogsmeade, the fact that we failed to anticipate something like this really was negligence on our part."
"Oh?"
"After this, I will report everything truthfully."
"Mm."
"You're not curious why I'm here?"
"Not really."
Fleur's serious expression nearly cracked. The faintly throbbing vein at her temple made it obvious she suddenly had the urge to punch him.
"...So, shouldn't you explain clearly what exactly happened to you? Of course, when we're alone."
"!?"
Ginny, who had been quietly listening until then, suddenly jerked her head up the instant she heard that.
The glare she shot at Fleur Delacour seemed to say only one thing.
So this is where the knife comes out.
This was your real purpose all along, wasn't it!
As for why Ginny was so certain, that was probably just a girl's sixth sense...
...