The windowpanes rattled in the rain and snow. Though the fireplace blazed fiercely, the room was still somewhat cold. Albert set out several more warming magical braziers while everyone went about their own business in the living room.
"Dear, is there something worth being so happy about?"
"Cassandra Vablatsky seems to be dead." Albert stared at the crystal ball before him as he spoke with startling cruelty. "Her whole family is dead."
Katrina, who had been leafing through her notes, abruptly looked up at Albert. "What is wrong with you? Did you two have some kind of grudge?"
"No." Albert shook his head. "We never even met."
"Then why are you..."
"Lord Voldemort killed her entire family in the end?" Isobel did not seem surprised at all. Instead, she looked as though she had expected it.
"Yes. He is Lord Voldemort, after all. You could hardly expect him to keep his promise. Cassandra Vablatsky ultimately lost her gamble."
Albert was not surprised by it. Expecting Lord Voldemort to show mercy was clearly a very difficult thing.
"Lost a gamble?" Katrina looked completely baffled.
"Cassandra probably agreed to perform Divination for Lord Voldemort in exchange for her family's lives. She knew the odds of him honoring his promise were low, but she gambled anyway. Obviously, she lost in the end. After Cassandra Vablatsky died, Lord Voldemort disposed of her whole family as well." Albert briefly explained the situation.
He actually felt that a Diviner as formidable as Cassandra Vablatsky must have been able to guess the final outcome. Yet, to give her family even the slightest chance of survival, she had done it anyway. In the end, she still could not escape disaster. The thought of it was inexplicably tragic.
"If you hadn't gone into hiding, you probably would have met