Gabrielle, Easily Overlooked
William looked left and right, but couldn't see Phoebe anywhere.
"Stop looking, my sister isn't coming, she's still in France," Gabrielle huffed. "She's not coming!"
"Do you think I'd believe you?" William looked Gabrielle up and down. "You must have sneaked out of the tent."
Gabrielle was too young, and being Half-Veela, she was just too beautiful. Phoebe was never comfortable letting her run around alone.
I haven't seen the little girl for a year, and she's grown quite a bit taller. But she's only nine years old; how much taller can she get? She's still like a little bean sprout.
Therefore, Gabrielle must have sneaked out on her own to look for their tent.
After all, the only United Kingdom wizards she knew were William and his group.
Anne is their best friend; the two girls were kidnapped by Werewolf together last year and also encountered Thunderbird.
"Where's Anne?" Gabrielle turned her head to look for her. "I can't see her."
"Like your sister, she didn't come either; she's in United States watching a music festival," William said.
Gabrielle pouted, seemingly very unhappy that he had lied to her.
"A child who lies will have a long nose..."
"Wrong, it's the children who lie who will have missing teeth," William laughed.
"Come on, Gabrielle, smile! Let me see if you're still missing a tooth."
The little girl kept her mouth tightly shut, seemingly determined not to let William see her gap tooth.
"You're still laughing at me!" Gabrielle waved her little fist, threateningly.
"I'll have my sister teach you a lesson later... She could take on ten of you!"
"Oh, isn't your sister in France?"
William's smile grew even brighter. He pinched Gabrielle's cheek and teased her:
"Besides, even if I bully you, she won't know."
Even if she finds out, she might turn around and lecture you, so you need to think carefully about whether you want to badmouth her."
Gabrielle rolled her eyes, pondering William's words.
But thinking about it, considering how we spent time together last summer... what he said seems to be true!
My older sister definitely won't side with her.
"Mr. Stark, if there's nothing else, I'll take my leave now," said the House-elf beside him.
I have five more packages to deliver this morning.
"Go ahead, Keke, be careful."
William waved his hand, the House-elf bowed, and then Apparition away.
"William, is that your House-elf?" Gabrielle asked curiously.
"No, he's a senior deliveryman hired by our store."
"Can House-elf deliver packages? Like owls?"
"Yes, they deliver packages much faster than owls. This service isn't available in France yet, only in the United Kingdom."
William grinned like a strange old man and coaxed, "How about considering studying at Hogwarts? That way, if you buy things in the morning, they'll be delivered by noon."
You can shop every day and be a happy shopaholic... ahem... a shopper.
Gabrielle snorted twice, giving her a "you can't fool me" look.
William looked disappointed.
The little girl grinned, revealing a gap in her teeth.
"Oh dear, I've lost two more teeth!"
Gabrielle had just arrived at the camp and was unfamiliar with the place, so William led her around to explore.
However, the little girl was too short; even standing on tiptoe in the crowd, only her legs could be seen.
William simply let her ride on his shoulders.
This was definitely not in accordance with the ladylike etiquette she was taught, but the little girl was sulking with this guy and didn't care about that, so she climbed on without hesitation.
The little head rested on the big head, and the candy in the pocket wasn't given to him at all; he was only given to Anne and Hermione... It would be better if he were starving.
As Gabrielle passed by the vendors, her eyes were clearly not enough to take it all in.
A group of House-elf dressed in yellow uniforms pushed a cart filled with all sorts of strange and wonderful things.
There are commemorative coins for England's top 16 teams, and commemorative badges for the United States Quidditch 58.
The flags of the four finalist teams play their respective national anthems when waved; there are also miniature models of flying Firebolt; and a dazzling array of prank products.
"I want that telescope, both of them!" Gabrielle hugged William's head and struggled to pull the Galleon from her ring.
"Do you want it?" She tugged at William's ear again, then asked, looking down. "I have some pocket money... I can... buy it for you."
The little girl, afraid of being mistaken for a rich kid, quickly added, in a stingy tone, "It has to be paid back!"
"No need, these are all staff members of Akali's Mystery Shop... You bought products from our shop," William said with a smile. "Thank you for your patronage."
"..."
The little girl didn't want to deal with that awful person anymore; at least she wouldn't talk to him today.
After strolling around for a while, she couldn't help but tap William on the head and whisper, "What kind of decorations are those House-elf wearing on their heads?"
The House-elf appeared at the camp selling things were all wearing strange yellow uniforms and had bamboo dragonflies of various colors on their heads.
"That's not just a decoration," William said mysteriously. "It's a turbocharger that allows for low-altitude flight and vertical takeoff and landing. As long as you have that, there's no place House-elf can't deliver to."
"And it's the ultimate, invincible, limited edition!"
"Wow!" Gabrielle's eyes lit up.
This thing is a knock-off of a certain group's bamboo dragonfly decoration.
Light blue bamboo dragonflies represent ordinary blue knights; dark blue bamboo dragonflies signify that the one being delivered is the highest-ranking "King" blue knight.
In addition, there is a golden bamboo dragonfly, specially prepared for the Dark Knight who has made outstanding social contributions.
These measures are all designed to encourage House-elf to work hard.
See? That's what you call professional!
William got Gabrielle a golden bamboo dragonfly, which the little girl happily wore on her head, trying to look into the distance.
But after only a few seconds, he suddenly lowered his head and hid behind William's head.
"Run, William!" Gabrielle whispered, urging, "Hurry!"
William ignored her and instead looked in the direction of her gaze. A silver-haired girl was standing in the crowd, anxiously searching for something.
William waved. Upon seeing her sister, Phoebe visibly relaxed.
Gabrielle leaned on William's shoulder, mimicking Anne's sigh with an air of maturity, and bit her lip, saying, "I'm going to get scolded again."
William smiled and said softly, "Don't play the victim. That won't work on me. I won't plead for you."
Gabrielle, having her little scheme exposed, gave a weak hum.
To Gabrielle's surprise, her sister didn't scold her harshly. She just glared at her and said helplessly, "Couldn't you have said goodbye before leaving?"
"I left a letter, sister," Gabrielle said, sounding aggrieved. "It's a gift I bought for you."
Phoebe accepted the gift, turned to look at William, and smiled brightly.
Then, he asked with concern, "What's going on in Albania? The newspapers are all about it lately, saying you've destroyed the forests."
After several years of tutoring, Phoebe's English has improved significantly, and she hardly has any accent anymore.
"It was definitely me who did it," William nodded.
Gabrielle, who was clinging to William's back and trying to make herself as inconspicuous as possible, stared wide-eyed with disbelief.
She even argued with her parents, insisting that it was definitely not William and Hermione who did it!
Phoebe wasn't too surprised; she glanced at the photo and knew it was William who did it.
Others might not know William's strength, but she did. Last summer, he practically wiped out an entire island of Werewolf.
"A friend encountered Death Eaters in Albania, so Hermione and I sneaked over there, then a fight broke out, and he got away," William explained softly.
"Is the opponent that powerful?" Phoebe frowned.
To be able to escape from William, one must be quite capable.
"It's alright, I'll kill him sooner or later," William said softly.
"Then the Magical Congress of the United States of America..."
"They're just using this as an excuse; there's no need to worry too much."
"Who's worried about you?" Phoebe rolled her eyes at him and laughed, "I'm just worried about Hermione... You're so restless with her around."
"It's alright," William said with a smile. "Have your Owls results come out yet?"
Unlike Hogwarts, Beauxbatons only holds the Owls exams in sixth year.
"Eleven O's and one A." Phoebe was filled with regret.
William chuckled. "You didn't choose Ancient Runes before, and only started learning them in fifth grade. To get this score is already quite impressive."
"Can I apply for a job at your store with these grades?" Phoebe asked with a smile.
"I've heard about you all from Beauxbatons; your hiring criteria are very high."
"You're the person in charge in France; you're the one who recruits others," William said softly.
"By the way, did Picquery come along too?"
"She's here, and she brought the Thunderbird with her," said Phoebe.
William nodded.
Now that Picquery has arrived, it's finally time for Anne's little Thunderbird, Silver Wing, which she's raised for over half a year, to leave as well.
"Would you like to see our carriage?" Phoebe invited.
"Phoebe, please spare me." William shrugged.
"Madame Maxime is definitely waiting for me; I'm trying to avoid her as much as possible."
Phoebe covered her mouth and chuckled softly. "Then I'll go see Hermione; it's been so long since I've seen her."
Gabrielle, who had been ignored and left out, glanced at her sister, then looked at William, and couldn't help but pout.
She had just tried to make herself inconspicuous so that her sister would forget to scold her.
But now, neither her sister nor William... have forgotten her existence.
That's a bit hurtful to his self-esteem!
Gabrielle coughed loudly a few times, kindly reminding everyone... she's still here!!
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