Chapter 2524 man on a mission (seventeen)

Pomona found Neville in the empty corridor next to the clock tower not far from the meeting point. He was reading a book, which was "Seeing the Future" that was only used in divination classes.

The exam week was coming soon, and he was still in the mood to read such a book that had nothing to do with the exam. In fact, most people know that Sibyl's divination is easy to pass, and you don't need to preview or review at all.

"Mr. Longbottom," said Pomona, "why don't you go to Hogsmeade?"

Neville looked at her with horror on his face.

"Professor Trelawney told me I was going to have a terrible accident."

Pomona looked at Neville suspiciously.

"Why did you tell Professor Lupine about Mr. Potter's Defense Against the Dark Arts paper?"

"I...I want to learn from it." Neville said awkwardly.

"If you really want to copy your homework, you should copy Hermione Granger's too, or someone else who didn't hand in their homework, tell me the truth," Pomona said sternly.

"me……"

"What happened?"

The "warm-hearted" old bat came over with a smile, as if he was also happy to see Longbottom in trouble now.

Neville blushed, and after a while he said, "My Defense Against the Dark Arts paper wasn't finished, so I asked Harry if he had done it, and he said he hadn't, so I invited him to do it together, but the Halfway through, he told me that he had actually finished it, and I wanted him to give me a reference, but he told me that he had given it to Professor Lupine, so I went to ask Professor Lupine about it."

"When did it happen?" Pomona asked.

"last week."

She was still dizzy, but Snape seemed to understand something, the smile disappeared from his face, and his brows tightened.

"You can go," said Pomona, and Neville left the empty corridor.

"Do you understand what Neville meant?" Pomona asked Snape.

"I thought Mr. Potter was on some secret mission again, so he made up excuses and was eager to get rid of Mr. Longbottom." Snape said slowly, looking at Neville's back.

"Mission? Albus set up a 'chess game' again?" Pomona asked.

"Only after investigation," said Snape, then tugged at his robes and flew away.

"I really don't understand! What are human beings thinking?" She complained, too lazy to worry about this matter, and didn't want to care about cleaning, so she went back to the office to continue designing the maze.

After returning to the office, she found that the fire in the fireplace was about to go out. In fact, there was no need to burn firewood in summer, and it was all because of the dementors outside.

She was just about to add some firewood inside, when she heard a crisp sound from outside, like a dog's paw stepping on a hard floor.

Then the door opened by itself, and a black dog came in.

"Wow!" It wagged its tail and greeted her happily, then jumped onto the fat arm sofa, and turned into Sirius Black in an instant.

"Why are you here?" Pomona asked.

"Everyone is going to Hogsmeade, and it's safer in the castle." Sirius lay comfortably on the sofa and let out a long sigh of relief. "Oh, I miss my bed."

Pomona, looking at his filthy appearance, was worried that his hairy crabs would end up on her couch.

"Have you ever thought about going back to your own home in London?" asked Pomona.

The smile on Sirius' face quickly disappeared.

He sat up all of a sudden, "You don't welcome me?"

"I didn't mean that, I just said that there is a second plan." Pomona said, "I remember that your home is in Grimmauld Square, and that area is a Muggle community. According to regulations, dementors are not allowed to go to those places Yes, not to mention that your father used all known defensive spells on that house, and I think it's safe for you there."

"Yeah, it's safe." Sirius stood up, walking around irritably, "but it's like a prison there."

"Compared to Azkaban?" Pomona asked.

Sirius looked at her angrily.

"There is something I wanted to tell you." She sighed and took out a model she had recently made, which could be a maze or a divination tool.

"What are you doing?" Sirius asked.

"Divination." Pomona said, put a golden marble inside, let it bounce freely in the complex maze, and see which exit it will come out from in the end, predicting good or bad.

"What you want to say is related to the result of divination?" Sirius asked.

"Maybe so." Pomona listened to the ticking inside. "I was told that Trelawney predicted a terrible accident for him."

"Harry? Is it Harry?" Sirius asked with concern.

"No." Pomona said, now she probably guessed what Neville wanted to express, Harry Potter wanted to go to Hogsmeade again, but because he didn't have a guardian's signature, he had to seek illegal means.

"What's the matter?" Sirius asked anxiously.

"Wait." She said slowly, "Don't worry, be patient, the result will come soon."

Judging from the position of the marble's sound, it could be judged that it was about to reach the bottom exit. Pomona and Sirius stared at it together, waiting for the result.

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The Duke of Choiseul who completed the "Diplomatic Revolution" comes from a very large family. Although he and another "protagonist", another family member called the Earl of Stanwell, are cousins, they were also several generations ago It's okay, logically, the title of the Duke of Choiseul's father, the Duke of Stanwell, would never go to that branch.

However, the Earl of Stanwell married the princess of the Capetian dynasty. Since the Capetian dynasty had no male heirs, the throne was passed to the branch of the Bourbon family, which was considered a relatively peaceful transfer method.

Princess Capet, who married the Earl of Stanwell, is from Turtle Island, which is located in the West Indies. Princess Capet's father was the last Governor of Turtle Island.

Princess Capet's family owned several plantations in Santo Domingo and had considerable income. It was one of the wealthiest families in France at the time. The Earl of Stanwell earned around £30,000 a year from the marriage.

Corresponding to it is the main branch of the Duke of Stanwell's family, that is, the father of the Duke of Choiseul is not so rich, although he is an advisor to the Duke of Lorraine.

In 1740, at the age of 21 and as the only son of the family, the Duke of Choiseul joined the French army and participated in the War of Austrian Succession. His cousin, who was the same age, was a big spender in Paris, living every ostentatious life imaginable, and was one of the greatest flirts everyone knew.

He didn't even go to Versailles much, because that meant flattering the king. When he learned of the "diplomatic revolution" made by his cousin, the Duke of Choiseul, he couldn't help being disgusted. He was proud of his surname and did not want it to be tarnished.

He has a nickname, called "European blaster". The Treaty of Versailles in 1756 ended the more than 300 years of hatred between the Habsburg family and the Bourbon family, and also left a "back door". There is a defense in the treaty The alliance's treaty of friendship, in which both sides promised to provide assistance in the event of attack by any force except the Anglo-French war.

This led to the formation of a faction called "Interventionism", which aimed to prevent the implementation of the Treaty of Versailles and strengthen the "defense" of Vienna.

The 17-year-old Mrs. Choiseul doesn't care about politics, and she doesn't care much about her husband. When they got married, the Duke of Choiseul could already be her father, and the two didn't communicate much.

As much as the Parisians love Madame Pompidou, the Versailles hate her. She is in charge of the small theater in Versailles, including opera, drama, and ballet, and she often goes up to perform by herself. Mrs. Pompidou demanded that all her performances be perfect, and every temporary role and orchestra performance required her approval. The nobles bribed Mrs. Pompidou's chief maid in order to get the chance to show their faces in front of the king. Even the Duke of Richelieu needed Madame Pompidou's permission to go to the opera.

Mrs. Pompidou was just a countess. Although she was promoted to be a marquise, "kneeling" to her still made the nobles very dissatisfied.

On the other side, Mrs. Estrade, who is also from Nancy, was called to Versailles because of her marriage. Her husband is the Grand Duke of the Principality of Bardos. French salons brought together socialites and lovers of the fine arts to enjoy conversation, public readings, concerts and fine dining.

There will always be some indecent comments when men and women mix together. In addition to the normal salon, Mrs. Estérard also held a salon composed entirely of women, and the young Mrs. Choiseul was a member.

Mrs. Estelard is a famous bibliophile, but she is not quiet at all. She likes to play tennis. One day, accompanied by Madame Choiseul, she went to Fontainebleau, where she met Count Stanwell, who was also playing tennis.

Voltaire was a famous thinker at that time, but some of his ideas were not accepted by everyone in the "country", so he suffered the same fate as Rousseau - exile. Frederick the Great soon invited him to Prussia and gave Voltaire a post at court.

But in 1754, after Voltaire quarreled with Frederick the Great, he took refuge in Geneva, where he bought real estate and established the "Sweet Workshop".

Watchmaking came to Geneva in the 16th century, and many watchmakers were French Protestants who settled there. But the upper class in Geneva also struggled, and soon rioted into the city where Voltaire lived in seclusion, and he offered refuge to these refugees.

Voltaire also had a theater in his home in Geneva. "Sweet Workshop" was originally a play he wrote. After these watchmakers came, they transformed the theater into a watch factory. Attracted more Geneva watchmakers to his town.

They mainly provided pocket watches for Paris. As their reputation grew, Parisian watchmakers also sent their descendants to Geneva, where the environment was simple and there were not as many temptations as Paris, where they could learn their crafts quietly.

Voltaire also changed from a great writer and enlightenment thinker to a cheeky salesman, selling his pocket watches to all his acquaintances and friends.

In 1770, as the marriage of Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI was approaching, he found a way to get the Duke of Choiseul to buy 6 pocket watches as gifts for guests attending the wedding celebration.

He used to be a frequent visitor to the salon, and many noble ladies knew him. For a while, the entire court of Versailles seemed to revolve around Madame Choiseul. Madame Choiseul bought a pocket watch under the persuasion of everyone.

At the same time, Voltaire wrote to the Duke of Choiseul, explaining that he represented the group of watchmakers and hoped to get the protection of King Louis XV. The French could buy pocket watches or let these watchmakers serve in the court. They get help.

Voltaire's request was conveyed by the Duke to Cardinal Bernice, who had a quarrel with Voltaire. Bernice was the Vatican's ambassador to France at the time, and Bernice wrote to Voltaire a few months later. Voltaire, and told him that Rome had no agent to vouch for Voltaire.

Later, Voltaire discovered that these richest men in France became the worst debtors in the end. He didn't even receive payment for the six pocket watches he sold to Louis XV, but at that time the man in charge of the court had become Duba Mrs. Li.

Because the achievements of the Duke of Choiseul in international relations had influenced the court of Versailles, Madame Estellade conspired to replace Madame Pompidou with Madame Choiseul.

The Duke of Choiseul at this time is no longer the man he was 30 years ago. After the outbreak of the Seven Years' War, he concluded a "family contract" with Spain, because Spain was also ruled by the Bourbon family, and Spain entered the war.

In the end, France was defeated in the Seven Years War. Not only did it lose the land of North America and India, but the Duke of Choiseul became the Minister of the Navy, increasing the number of French warships with the intention of counterattacking Britain.

As Minister of War, the reforms he initiated continued until the outbreak of the French Revolution. Of course, he did not care about inheriting his father's duke title. He even formed a new Duchy of Choiseul-Stanville, led by Stanville. The Duke, the Duke of Choiseul, and another in-law ruled, and the lands of the three families joined together.

Mrs. Choiseul handed the king's letter to Earl Stanwell (he had already inherited the title of duke) at that time. At that time, the three families in the duchy had no heirs, and the Duke of Choiseul was busy with work. She "thought" The first task is to give birth to an heir, and this heir will also inherit the principality and the titles of the three families. The 17-year-old Madame de Choiseul "thought" the king had written to her just to make her a figurehead mistress, and that she could still be with the Earl of Stanwell. She asked Earl Stanwell to make up her mind for her. The earl said that he would read it tomorrow, and then he put the letter in his pocket and went to find Gunto.

Gunto is a friend of Mrs. Estérard Paris and Madame Pompidou. There is no shortage of people in the court who are courteous to you. The most important thing is that Gunto is the brother-in-law of Earl Stanwell.

In the end, it turned out that the king would find Madame Pompidou and chat with her for a while before discussing matters with the ministers. That night, the king came to Madame Pompidou's room as usual, but saw the first-class actor in Paris. With tears in his eyes, holding a letter from the king to Mrs. Choiseul in his hand, he looked at him with sad and condemning eyes.

The king calmly asked Mrs. Pompidou how the letter got into her hands, and Mrs. Pompidou told him. After the king left Madame Pompidou's room, he immediately lost his temper. On Christmas Day, the Duke of Choiseul was dismissed and exiled to his estate in Chantruu.

The Duke of Choiseul, who received the order, returned to Fontainebleau a few weeks later to pick up his pregnant young wife.

Although the old Duke Stanwell was dead, his widow was still there, and when the Duke of Choiseul took Madame Choiseul "home", she and the cardinal were there. After their discussion, Mrs. Choiseul had two choices. She could go to the monastery to give birth to the child and never come back.

"Any alternative?" Georgiana asked.

"Didn't you already know that Mrs. Choiseul died of dystocia in the manor." Bertin said with a smile, "As for the Duchy of Choiseul, it also perished because of its extinction."

Georgiana was silent.

Bertin walked up to her and knelt at her feet.

"I know you don't like it, but if you want to get rid of 'Madame Estérard,' you have to learn from Madame Pompidou when and how to lose your temper."

Georgiana recalled the time. In 1770...it happened to be the beginning of Maupe's reform. The king wanted to increase taxes, but the Paris High Court resisted. The reason why the king increased taxes was the defeat in the 7-year war.

"Tell me, why did he choose to tolerate me?" Georgiana asked Bertin numbly.

"Because he loves you." Bertin said softly.

Georgiana didn't believe it at all.

But she still remembered a reason - the Louisiana Acquisition, she, Lucien, and Joseph were all against it.

"Leave me alone for a while," she said wearily.

Bertin kissed Georgiana's fire opal ring, then stood up, left the living room backwards, and closed the door.

After waiting for no one, she took out her wand from the trembling flower bracelet, tapped the teapot on the table, and the teapot turned into a turtle, exactly like her previous one.

She lifted it and slammed it on the ground, but instead of shattering like a teapot, the tortoise spun on its back like a Russian roulette wheel.

The above content is all fictitious, please do not contact reality.