Chapter 21.2- Doom Days

“Are you ready for tomorrow’s duels?” I asked, changing the topic and ignoring the way she made my heart twinge as she pulled back.

“No business tonight, Monsieur Potter”, She said in French and then turned to Dumbledore as the old man hit his glass with a spoon.

“It warms my heart to see us all gathered here tonight, friends, family, allies. This is what the triwizard tournament is about- international cooperation between schools that have long been rivals, but have the potential to, under our stewardship, be more. So turn to your friends from other nations, hold them tight, eat, laugh, make merry, and most importantly….dance- it is a ball, after all. Thank you” He said to smatterings of applause before he lifted his menu in full view of the hall and said, “Pork Chops”, the meal appeared on his plate, and thus everyone took it as their signal to begin ordering, creating a unique cacophony of noise.

I picked up my own menu, careful to stay away from any of the options likely to leave their impact on my breath, and considering the foreign delicacies most closely. Fleur ordered the Bollubaise almost without thinking and I briefly considered mirroring her before changing my mind. This was not the place to risk a fish soup.

“Fettuccine al burro” I said to the menu, and the pasta with butter and cheese appeared in my plate a second later. The Italian representative, Fabio, caught my eye before ordering the same and offered me a nod before I dug in. If there was one thing to be said about the Hogwarts elves, it was that they could cook. This table had dignitaries aplenty so no one was gorging themselves and forgetting their manners but it was clear that the food was being appreciated highly.

Looking over the shoulder of Mr. Delacour, I caught a sight that almost made me put down my fork and forget the meal in front of me. The books did an understatement when they spoke of Ronald Weasley’s table manners. He was practically submerging himself in his food. He’d taken the ribs in his hands and lifted them to his face so closely that part of his nose had joined his mouth on the food. I snapped my eyes away instantly, turning to the beauty by my side.

The food had taken me half an hour to polish off and I cracked open a bottle of white wine that had been on the table that seemed to suit both Fleur and Is choices. I poured her a glass before pouring one for myself and almost gasped when I took my first sip. Oh that was fucking good, I thought.

“The wine is lovely, you should try it” I whispered to my date as she spooned some soup into her mouth.

“Good to see you enjoy my father’s wine” Fleur whispered in my ear, and I looked at the bottle again. Sure enough, there it was in small print- produced in the Delacour Estate.