Chapter 304 - Grand Fair and the Chess Tournant! (I)
Wednesday, 31st January 1986
Diagon Alley
From Leaky Cauldron to the end of Diagon Alley, from Carkitt Market and Horizont Alley to Knockturn Alley, thousands of wizards and witches could be seen, buzzing like bees.
People had co from all over Britain, and the very morning of the Grand Fair had already surpassed both the ministry and the other organizers' expectations.
It seed they had truly underestimated the craving of ordinary wizardkind for sothing like this.
Owls were soaring overhead, accompanied by paper dragons and birds, bringing letters from one shop to another. Children were awing, mooning, and drooling everywhere, seeing one wonderful and mysterious thing after another.
Custom broomsticks were on display, special objects of all kinds were being sold and bartered, sparks were exploding here and there, and the very air slled of magic.
A few wizards could be heard talking among themselves this ti, if one cared enough to listen.
"The only ti I ever saw so many people was during the World Cup..."
"Aye... Bliy! Get away you rascal..."
"What is this sticky substance?"
"Did you hear? Soone is auctioning an Invisibility Cloak..."
A clamor was everywhere and hushed discussion ran rampant like never before in the Alley.
However, even among these discussions, few were almost inaudible; afraid, and alert.
These few belonged to a different kind of people; from an unknown world.
...
"Damn! This tiline is too different, man..."
"All the Mission Credits we used to buy so info are now gone down the drain..."
"You don't understand. Whichever tiline has Characters, who are not part of the main storyline, cause major divergences. We were just too unlucky to get teleported here..."
"Darcie Malfoy! This girl is sothing, no? It is almost like those mysterious transmigration and rebirth tales. Don't you think she is just too outstanding?"
"What do you know? It does sound unbelievable, but it's still possible. I heard she had so kind of accident on her birthday. God knows what kind of freak accidents can happen in the world of Magic..."
"Heavenly Sage, weren't you a world-renowned Doctor in your previous life? What do you think?"
"My na is Earthly Sage! You fuck... Sigh! Anyway, it could be a rare case of Savant Syndro. But Magic is involved, so who knows?"
"I went to Flourish and Blotts so days ago..."
"You did? Did you et her? Was there any senior protecting her?"
"..."
"Speak bastard! Why bring it up if you ant to go mute?"
"Scary! She was too scary, man... I couldn't breathe in her presence."
"That powerful?! She's just what? 6-year-old?"
"I felt like she could look into my soul... I ran out after having one look at her..."
"Good." An old man, who had said nothing so far, finally barked. "So what if you have ascended to the 2nd Set? You all are still newbies. Worms. Our Sect Leader is from the 12th floor. I never t him, but there's a great quote from him engraved in all the disciples' hearts."
"Please guide us..."
"Yes..."
The old man sighed. "All storyline Characters have a stupendous amount of Luck. The mont Contestants like us were to think of harming them, a series of terrible events would happen to us. So don't ss with them, unless the Order has given a mission related to a Character specifically."
The group of Contestants looked at each other, their pupils trembling.
Another group of Contestants was also having a similar discussion at so corner.
...
"This Grand Fair is truly great for us Contestants. We can get many unique Milestones and Titles..."
"I am going to register for the Chess Tournant in U17 group... "
"Squandering money for that?! Gone insane, are you?!"
"Tch-Tch! You don't understand. Children from British Wizardkind will be there. It's CHESS... Doesn't that ring a bell in your goat-like ears?"
"This?!"
A family na boiled in their mind.
"They will co then? Let's go... Interacting with all of them according to the Lord's guidance gives super, unique Titles..."
...
Flourish and Blotts was the center of the world today.
Parents and children were going in and out, carrying a slip in their hands.
The players had started to co by 5 in the morning, even the winter's great chill failing to hide the enthusiasm on their faces.
The ministry had arranged a great number of staff mbers for the knockout round, which would last till the afternoon. There were so many people that it beca too hard to monitor one person before losing them the next mont.
In this great hubbub, Darcie, Daphne, and Dobby were eating cupcakes, eying the distant entrance of the bookshop from afar.
To maintain the impartiality of the Tournant, Darcie had been relieved of her Page duties for the next three days.
Both she and Daphne had already gone through their Chess problems and were quite confident in becoming two of the ultimate 20 players.
"Did Astoria co?" Darcie asked, taking another cupcake off Dobby's hands.
Daphne pressed her brows, rembering the commotion her little sister had caused this morning. She nodded.
"She is with mum," Daphne told her. "They have gone to the bookshop to let her have a go at the problem."
The trio was standing near the Florist Witch by the entrance to the Horizont Alley.
Both girls were buried under rich clothes, their hair falling down their shoulders like silken threads. Over their heads were woolen hats, and their hands were gloved and warm.
And it was Dobby's responsibility to look after the girls for the next three days.
Dobby clenched his tiny hands into a fist and punched at the sky, imagining an enemy.
Darcie observed her house-elf and raised an eyebrow as she saw this inexplicable scene.
"Dobby, would you like to participate in the Tournant?" she asked.
His eyes beca misty as Dobby's entire figure shook.
"Dobby..." he choked, rubbing his eyes. "Dobby doesn't know how to play, Ms. Darcie."
Daphne scowled. "Rubbish!" she reprimanded. "We tried to teach you so many tis. You never show interest. Don't hide behind tears."
With the ti these three had been spending with each other, it wasn't a surprise for them to beco closer than friends.
One girl belonged to a family whose history could be sumd up with one word — Shady.
She was a genius not seen even in a hundred years. People feared her as much as they loathed her because of the rumors about her.
Those who were too simple and naive to not give thought to those rumors were too ordinary to interact with her, finding themselves unworthy and unwanted, even if that wasn't the case.
The other girl belonged to a family which belonged nowhere.
The Pure Blood families disliked the Greengrasses, and the non-pure blood supremacist families wanted nothing to do with them, either.
None wanted to befriend her because of her inherent taciturn nature.
No wonder Darcie and Daphne beca friends when they disliked the very notion of this word.
Then there was Dobby. His fault and adversity didn't lie in him being a House-elf, but a house-elf of the Malfoy family.
All his life, he had only known punishnts, beatings, and scars, whose phantom pain never vanished, no matter how much he loathed his life.
These girls had brought gifts of hope and love for him, and Dobby would cherish them forever.
Especially Darcie, who was the kindest person he had t in his life; a brilliant lotus floating above the mud.
Not much ti had passed for these three to co together.
But the bond between them had already taken root in the deepest part of their hearts.
***************
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