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HRHL# Chapter 126: Veratia, Cassandra, and Potter {2}
🕑 Added 2025-03-19 18:54:07 +0000 UTCOn the Sunday after Christmas, Veratia was informed that she would be meeting a pure-blood wizard from Britain.
In fact, Veratia’s aunt was also a Squib, which was precisely why she was so tolerant of Veratia.
If not for their shared misfortune, Veratia would likely have been kicked out by her aunt long ago—perhaps after the second or third time she had been pranked and humiliated.
As for the specific reason for this meeting, Veratia neither wanted to inquire nor had any interest in doing so.
As the Queen’s niece, Veratia naturally received quite a bit of preferential treatment, including a silver-white princess tiara.
It was the very tiara her aunt had worn when she was still a duchess—before she married Franz, she had been a carefree Bavarian princess, after all.
No matter how much the Grindelwald girls despised “Muggles,” they still had to serve the Muggle royal family in the end.
And as a powerful pure-blood wizarding family within the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Grindelwalds were naturally obligated to participate in this meeting.
After all, with over a hundred members, the Grindelwald family was a formidable force anywhere.
However, just before setting out, Veratia realized she couldn’t find her tiara anywhere.
Her aunt had explicitly instructed her to wear it for the meeting, yet no matter how thoroughly she searched her room, there wasn’t even a shadow of it to be found.
Left with no choice, she could only set off with a heavy heart, bracing herself for her aunt’s reprimand.
Yet, just as she arrived in the courtyard of the palace, she ran straight into Hydra and Wilhelmine.
“Oh, look who it is—our little Muggle Princess, Squib Vera,” Wilhelmine sneered. “What’s wrong? Can’t find your precious Muggle tiara? Don’t worry, maybe if you look harder, you’ll—”
“Oh dear, Wilhelmine,” Hydra chimed in with mock concern. “I think this little Squib princess must have been careless and lost her tiara somewhere again… Oh my, if she loses her position too, whatever will she and her heterochromatic brother do?”
Veratia’s fists clenched tightly.
She could already guess that these two had stolen the tiara and hidden it.
“Where is it?” she asked in a low voice.
“Why don’t you guess?” Hydra tilted her head playfully. “Ah, but that would be boring, wouldn’t it? Let me give you a little hint instead.”
She raised her hand and pointed toward a large tree not far away.
“See that? It’s hanging on one of the branches.” Hydra glanced at Veratia’s elegant dress and smirked maliciously. “Well then, let’s see which matters more to you—your tiara or your dress… Or maybe you’ll end up ruining your dress and still failing to retrieve the tiara. I wonder how your dear aunt will scold you then…”
“Go on, Squib Vera, climb up and get it yourself!” Wilhelmine taunted, making a face.
“Wilhelmine,” Hydra said, patting her on the shoulder. “Mind your manners. We are, after all, pure-blood wizards attending an important occasion. We must uphold our dignity… We should address her properly—as Her Highness, the Muggle Princess.”
Veratia could no longer pay attention to their jeers. She ran in a daze toward the tree where the tiara hung.
But the tree was far too tall. As a proper young lady, she had never learned how to climb trees. She could only stand beneath it, staring helplessly at the tiara dangling high above.
“Well, Muggle Princess, what are you waiting for?” Hydra’s voice was laced with malice. “Maybe you could climb up like a little monkey and fetch it—but be careful not to fall to your death.”
Standing under the tree, Veratia looked up in despair at the tiara far out of reach.
She didn’t understand what she had done to deserve this treatment.
They were all Grindelwalds, weren’t they? They were all cousins…
Suddenly, a gust of wind swept past her.
Veratia saw a boy riding a broomstick, wearing peculiar glasses, swooping down beside her. With effortless ease, he reached out and plucked the tiara from the branch.
After securing it, the boy turned his broom midair in a graceful arc before coming to a steady stop in front of her.
“Here, your tiara,” the boy said softly. “Be careful not to lose it again.”
Veratia noticed that the boy spoke English.
Having spent years under her aunt’s tutelage, she had learned both English and French, so she understood him perfectly.
“Thank you,” Veratia replied in English, though her accent carried a heavy Germanic lilt.
“Oh, what a dull cliché—Prince rescues Princess,”
a sharp voice rang out again.
“What are they saying?” the boy asked, not understanding German.
German had long been one of the official languages of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. In 1867, the empire had enacted a language law to uphold the official status of both German and Hungarian while also recognizing and protecting the rights of other ethnic languages to some extent.
Thus, wizards from the empire’s traditional German-speaking regions primarily used German in their daily lives.
“They’re saying it’s a classic ‘Prince rescues Princess’ scene—how boring,” Veratia translated for the dark-haired boy in front of her.
Upon hearing this, the boy gave a bright, carefree laugh.
“Haha, I’m no prince,” he said, scratching his head. “Have you ever heard of an orphan prince? I mean, a prince with no parents, no relatives… Haha, even attending Hogwarts, I had to rely on financial aid…”
Veratia’s expression softened.
She had assumed the boy before her was from a pure-blood family, but now…
It seemed his circumstances weren’t much better than her own.
Empathy was one of the hardest things in this world, yet Veratia felt that the boy in front of her… was a little like her.
“These people are really annoying, aren’t they?” the boy asked. “Who are they to you?”
“They’re my cousins,” Veratia said softly. “They hung my tiara on the tree, thinking it would get me kicked out by my aunt… In fact, this isn’t the first time. They think it’s disgraceful for me to work for Muggles, that it shames pure-blood wizards.”
"Ah, just like my cousin Dudley, right?" the boy said. "My cousin Dudley loves to bully me too, just like your sisters enjoy teasing you. But he even hits me—sometimes, he uses me as a punching bag for boxing practice."
Veratia didn’t understand what boxing was; the boy spoke a little too fast.
However, she did grasp the meaning of his words.
Orphaned parents, struggling circumstances—even being bullied by their siblings…
But…
Veratia became wary. Was this another trick? Or perhaps—
Was this one of Hydra’s new pranks?
"Potter!"
A proud yet sweet voice rang out.
"You rude little giant troll, where are you running off to this time? Honestly, such bad manners—this is a royal court, not a Quidditch field for you to go flying around on your broom!"
"Apologies, Miss Malfoy." The boy called "Potter" quickly turned around and said, "I was just… uh, this young lady’s coronet was hung up in a tree, so I was helping her retrieve it."
In Veratia’s view, a haughty young lady strode over from the side.
Like herself, she had blonde hair.
"Oh? Is that so?" Miss Malfoy narrowed her sharp eyes, scrutinizing Veratia before shifting her gaze back to Potter. "Alright then, Potter. I wasn’t aware that you had suddenly become a knight dedicated to protecting ladies—how ironic, isn’t it?"
"Apologies, Miss Malfoy." Potter quickly tucked away his broom and bowed respectfully.
"No need to apologize, just be mindful next time." Miss Malfoy lifted her chin, sweeping her gaze around disdainfully. "Now hurry up and come inside with me."
"Yes, Miss Malfoy." Potter bowed once more.
Veratia adjusted her coronet and hurriedly followed behind Potter and Miss Malfoy.
This boy… was called "Potter"?
It seemed he was this young lady’s attendant?
Who were they? Why were they speaking English? Could it be that the guests her aunt was meeting today were them?
With these questions swirling in her mind, Veratia felt unsettled as she followed the two inside.
"Late again, Grindelwald?"
The leading lady-in-waiting frowned upon seeing Veratia.
After scolding her for a few moments, she positioned Veratia behind Princess Sissi.
"Veratia?" Princess Sissi noticed Veratia’s slightly askew coronet and said softly, "I trust you know the proper royal etiquette—your coronet is crooked."
"Apologies, Your Highness," Veratia quickly replied, reaching up to straighten the coronet.
This was a formal occasion, so she could not address her aunt with an intimate term like "Auntie" but had to use the proper "Your Highness."
"I believe Your Highness should discipline your ladies-in-waiting more strictly," sneered Frederick, the current head of the Grindelwald family, as he glanced at Veratia with disdain. "A lady-in-waiting of the royal court, yet she cannot even master the basics of etiquette."
"Is that so?"
Being called out in front of everyone, a hint of embarrassment flickered across Princess Sissi’s face.
Veratia swallowed nervously. This was a formal diplomatic meeting between two nations, and now she had been publicly corrected—she highly doubted her aunt would let this slide.
"What are they saying?" Potter whispered to Miss Malfoy from not far away.
Miss Malfoy made a face of disgust but still translated for Harry.
"Enough, Veratia." Princess Sissi took a deep breath.
Veratia felt a sense of despair…
Before Princess Sissi could say another word, Veratia saw someone from the British delegation stand up.
It was that "Potter" from earlier.
"Your Highness, that’s not what happened!"
Veratia was confused. She didn’t understand why Harry was speaking up for her—especially since, as far as she could tell, his status was no different from hers.
Was it really worth it to defend a powerless lady-in-waiting like her?
Princess Sissi, who was fluent in eight languages, naturally understood English.
Seeing someone stand up for her niece, she secretly felt relieved and asked, "And who might you be, sir?"
"Forgive my intrusion, Your Highness."
At that moment, the noble etiquette lessons that Headmaster Black had forced upon them finally proved useful. Potter executed a gentleman’s bow, flawless and beyond reproach.
"If I’m not mistaken, Your Highness, your lady-in-waiting was being bullied by the two young ladies beside that gentleman." Potter gestured towards Frederick. "I saw them teasing her, deliberately hanging her coronet on a tree and standing by with glee, forcing her to climb up and retrieve it."
"And this isn’t the first time it has happened. I heard that they have frequently bullied your lady-in-waiting before. Just now, they even admitted to it—they said ‘Ja.’"
Princess Sissi was no fool. Upon hearing this, she immediately understood the situation.
"Veratia, why didn’t you tell me sooner?" she asked with concern.
She had no idea how much injustice her niece had endured, and now, she only felt the urge to vent her fury.
"Apologies, Aunt…" Veratia’s voice was faint. She didn’t want to explain—nor was she good at explaining.
"Your Highness."
Miss Malfoy’s voice rang out.
Princess Sissi looked at her.
"I apologize for my attendant speaking out of turn and disrupting the banquet." Miss Malfoy cast a disdainful glance at the two Grindelwald girls. "However, I still want to acknowledge his courage. After all, not everyone has the bravery to stand up for a lady they barely know in such a formal setting."
"However…" Miss Malfoy continued, "I believe sitting at the same table as such people is a disgrace to the Malfoy family."
She was, of course, referring to the two Grindelwald girls.
Her meaning was crystal clear—these two were unworthy of attending such a gathering.
"I believe you are right, Miss Malfoy." Princess Sissi showed no sign of feeling offended. She turned to the two girls, who were now trembling with rage, and said, "You are not welcome here, Misses Grindelwald. I believe I shall advise His Majesty to reassess the Grindelwald family’s status within the empire."
"Your Highness, you…" Frederick Grindelwald’s voice was dry and strained.
"You as well, Mr. Grindelwald," Princess Sissi said coldly.
