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As luck would have it, Molly and Bill were pretty close. Of course, Ron and Harry were sitting next to them, and if on the latter's face there was a strange mixture of joy, contentment, and shyness, then Ron was trying his best to praise himself, eat, and gesticulate at the same time.

"You can't be left alone for a minute," Hermione sat down next to us. "I was distracted for a minute, and you are already walking arm in arm with beautiful ladies around the castle."

"Won't you introduce us?" Andromeda immediately perked up as she finished helping herself. "And pass the baked potatoes, please."

I stood up and courted the lady.

"This is my classmate who's delaying the moment of becoming my girlfriend, Hermione Granger. And this is my aunt, Andromeda Tonks, nee Black."

"Nice to meet you, Mrs. Tonks."

"Likewise, Miss Granger. Was this written about you in the recent issues of the Witch Weekly?"

"About me, Max and Amortentia."

"Interesting article," smiled Andromeda. "They wrote about everyone, and they didn't forget anyone."

"You don't believe what's written?"

"Growing up in a rather peculiar family and studying at Slytherin gives you an understanding that there are two kinds of information in the press: nonsense and what you have to read between the lines."

A slight, growing noise notified everyone interested about the approach of the twins.

"Hello, Max!" one of them clapped me on the shoulder.

"Hey, guys," I smiled and shook hands with the other.

"I can tell there'll be Blast-Ended Skrewts."

"What? They haven't died since last year?"

"Nope!" the boys shook their heads in sync, sitting down opposite each other, closer to their own, but still being able to communicate on two fronts. "Hagrid has hidden them somewhere since last year ..."

"...they're big, there's fire from their asses for ten meters..."

"...the sting is huge!..."

" ... the jaws are too.."

"The spectacle is not for the faint of heart!" they finished in sync, and noticing a new face at the table, they bowed politely. "Good afternoon. The Weasley twins, soon the creators of the joke shop, even came up with a name ... "

"...But that's not certain."

"Fred, George!" Molly looked at her sons reproachfully. "Finish school first."

"School will be over," one of the twins spoke up. "But we need to start advertising now."

The Weasleys began talking to each other and Potter, giving us the opportunity to eat in peace.

"How was the exam?" I turned to Hermione when we finished eating and moved on to tea.

"Nothing changes..." remarked Andromeda quietly, looking at the large mug of tea in her hands.

"Perfect, as always. At least I doubt that the ghost of Professor Binns will find, if he wants, at least one mistake."

"Commendable. Previously, you were suffering until the letter with the grades."

"That was three years ago."

After lunch, we went for another walk around the castle, and Nymphadora joined us again. Hermione glanced at my hand, which was occupied by Andromeda, and the latter, of course, noticed it.

"Here I am thinking," Hermione replied to an unspoken question. "Under what pretext to break into this tandem of yours. Hmm"

The girl quickly settled down on my other hand.

"Pfft," Nymphadora, who was walking beside her, giggled. "The wonders of puberty..."

"Nymphadora!" Andromeda glanced at the girl sternly, and apparently, strictness takes place in the Tonks house.

"I got it. I'll be quiet."

And so we walked around the castle and the grounds until dinner. As they listened to our stories, Andromeda and Nymphadora commented on the changes that had taken place in the castle, the caretaker, for example. In Andromeda's school days, corporal punishment was still practiced here, and she remembered with a smile the incredible stealth skills that they learned by themselves, just to avoid getting spanked.

Every now and then, we met someone from the Gryffindors, and on rare occasions, representatives of other Houses, who wished me luck and encouraged me. But, of course, there were no Slytherins among them, which saddened Mrs. Tonks a little but not surprised at all.

We came to dinner with the same line-up, but Nymphadora again ran away to the Hufflepuffs. And there were changes at the teachers' table. Instead of Percy or Crouch, there was a disgruntled Fudge in his striped suit, robe, and even a bowler hat. Bagman, as always, beamed with his round face. Some kind of sadness visited Madame Maxime, but I am sure that the problem is in Hagrid. In general, their torment is indifferent to me, and therefore I simply ate.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Dumbledore rose from the table, and the hall fell silent. "In five minutes, I will invite you to proceed to the Quidditch pitch, where the third and final task of the Triwizard Tournament will begin. Now I ask all participants to follow Mr. Bagman to the stadium."