The safest place

"You speak French?" the girl asked in surprise.

"I only know a little bit. During the summer vacation, one of my... teachers suggested that I learn some French," William said.

His French isn't very standard or fluent; he can only manage the most basic spoken communication, but for a twelve-year-old, it's already quite good.

Who can blame them when this incredibly beautiful young lady across from them only knows how to say "hello" and "sorry"?

While William was chatting with the girl, Dumbledore and Maxime distanced themselves slightly.

"I'm sorry, Phoebe isn't quite able to control her talent yet."

Although Madame Maxime apologized, her tone contained no trace of remorse.

"But what truly surprises me is that the child was not bewitched by the Phoebe."

Children with Veela blood will unconsciously develop a certain allure as they grow older.

This ability requires learning to control, Phoebe clearly cannot do it yet. She always unconsciously releases magic, causing others to be stunned or embarrassed when they see her.

Few underage wizards could resist, but William was completely unaffected.

"The Veela- wielding Half-blood will make the child's path to becoming a wizard much smoother. You have an excellent student," Dumbledore smile, making no mention of the Clear Mind Potion.

"So, this kid really did capture a Death Eaters, through his own strength?"

"Genuine or genuine."

Maxime seemed thoughtful, and asked, "Has Karkaroff contacted you?"

"Yes, he said he has some business to attend to and can't come to the Order of Merlin banquet for the time being," Dumbledore said regretfully.

"What a coward," Maxime scoffed. "He was just scared by the Death Eaters who showed up at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."

Dumbledore smiled helplessly. Maxime's words were a sarcastic jab at both of them; she was truly a woman who didn't hold back her words.

"We'll be going now, we'll talk again later," Maxime said, waving to Phoebe.

Dumbledore in acknowledgment.

"I have to go, Madame Maxime is calling me." Phoebe tossed her cascading silver hair.

"Oh, of course," William said in French with a London accent, which sounded quite odd.

Phoebe couldn't help but laugh; her smile was radiant. "You need to learn more French."

"My mom found me a tutor; she's been in France for two years," William laughed. "But she's definitely not as good at French as you."

"Hmm, that's true!" Phoebe put her hands behind her back, took a few quick steps forward, then suddenly turned her head and asked, "Could you give me your address? Otherwise, how am I supposed to send you a letter, um... French tutoring?"

The girl rummaged through her pockets.

"Write it on my clothes, oh, I didn't bring a pen either."

William paused for a moment, then smiled broadly. "That's easy."

He took two steps forward, and a faint fragrance emanated from the girl.

He reached out and boldly plucked two strands of long, fallen silver hair from Phoebe's magnificent robe.

He slid his wand across his right hand, lightly touching it, and transformed one into a parchment bearing the Hogwarts crest, and the other into a magnificent golden quill.

Phoebe covered her mouth in extreme surprise, and Maxime's eyes also flickered.

This kind of Transfiguration is not something a first-year wizard can possess; in fact, even Phoebe cannot do it so easily.

William wrote beautiful cursive on the parchment and then handed it to the girl.

"Goodbye."

"Goodbye!"

After the four separated, Dumbledore chuckled and asked, "Did Nicolas teach you French?"

"Yes," William nodded honestly, "Mr. Flamel also suggested that I go to Beauxbatons Academy of Magic as an exchange student."

During the summer holidays, William exchanged many letters with the old man in Devon, who gave him a lot of advice, including some of the old man's early notes, though most of them were written in French.

Nicolas Flamel was France; to understand it, you'd need to learn French first.

Fortunately, Lyanna knew many professors, and she found a French-speaking teacher to help her with her studies.

William also learned about Beauxbatons during the summer vacation, which is why he was able to recognize Madame Maxime at a glance.

But where can you find a French teacher as good as Phoebe Delacour for tutoring?

They're worlds apart!

"Nicolas suggested the same thing to me." Dumbledore looked slightly dazed.

Did you go?

"No," Dumbledore shook his head sadly. "Back then, I had to go home frequently on weekends because of some family matters, and I couldn't go to Beauxbatons."

William wanted to ask something more, but Dumbledore didn't say anything more. Instead, he took William and chatted with the two wizards.

One of them was Gesell Marchbanks, and the other was Tiberius Ogden.

They were all very old and highly respected wizards, and members of the Wizengamot, making them ideal for expanding one's network.

By the time William returned to his seat, the banquet had been underway for some time.

The House-elf in the kitchen seemed to have used all their skills. A wide variety of dishes were laid out in front of them, half of which were foreign in style.

William grabbed a piece of bacon; he was starving.

"Brother." Anne leaned closer, about to tell him something, but then sniffed his hand like a cat.

"Your hands have a special fragrance!"

"Really?" William feigned doubt. "It's probably from Professor Dumbledore. He sprayed so much strong perfume that it hurt my nose! That guy!"

Hermione and Anne exchanged a glance, both narrowing their eyes with suspicion.

"Did you guys get any gold coin chocolates?" William asked the twins.

"Of course!" Fred exclaimed excitedly. "The three of us just sneaked into the kitchen, and the gold coin chocolates were all made by those House-elf. We asked them for a lot."

George exclaimed happily, "I'll write the lyrics as soon as I get back; these gold coin chocolates are sure to be a hit!"

"That's good!"

The banquet finally came to a complete end in the evening.

William and Hermione's family didn't go back immediately. Instead, they used Floo Powder by the fireplace to travel from the Leaky Cauldron to Diagon Alley.

William needs to replenish some Potions ingredients and buy a new cauldron, while Hermione wants to buy a pet.

Professor McGonagall only took her to buy textbooks and some necessities; they didn't buy a pet.

William also needed to deposit his two thousand Galleon into Gringotts, which was a huge sum of money for him.

Therefore, he plans to open a private vault.

Diagon Alley was even more lively in the evening, but everyone only looked around briefly before heading straight to Gringotts.

Gringotts is a snow-white building that stands tall above the surrounding shops. Beside its Winky bronze doors stands a Goblin dressed in a scarlet uniform with gold trim.

William suffers from prosopagnosia (face blindness), so he has difficulty distinguishing whether the Goblin greeting the guests is the same one who came on his first visit.

To him, every Goblin looked the same.

Hermione looked around Gringotts. This was her second time in Diagon Alley; the first time, she had been brought there by Professor McGonagall.

But she was still very curious, after all, this place was known as the "safest place" in the Wizarding World.

No one has ever been able to steal from this underground vault.

(Please vote for me, everyone! Happy Lunar New Year's Eve!)

(Thanks to "Ink-Stained Crow" and "Fengling Shiwu" for their generous donations)