Hogwarts Raven's Claw

Chapter 303: Preparation for the Dance

If possible, Harry really wanted Qiu Zhang to be his dance partner, but he also knew that this was impossible.

Qiu Zhang is Cedric's girlfriend, and the two have been dating for a long time and are even planning to get engaged.

Let's not talk about whether he can poach Cedric. Even if he can, considering Cedric's current abnormal mental state, he will probably come to Gryffindor and kill him immediately!
Thinking of this, Harry couldn't help but sigh deeply.

I'm afraid my first love will end in vain.

At the same time, Harry felt a little guilty.

Michael and Dumbledore were both trying to help him find the man behind the scenes who had attacked him and made him a warrior. But at this critical moment, he was indulging in an irrelevant emotion like love.

This is really... a bit too much.

"Harry, what are you thinking about with that frown on your face?"

Harry turned his head and saw that the person who was speaking was Ron. Although he had had some minor conflicts with him before, they were still friends after all, so Harry took the initiative to find Ron recently to reconcile.

"nothing."

"Well, the Christmas dance is coming soon, but I still haven't found a dance partner. This is too bad!" Ron said half enviously and half jealously, "If I were a warrior too, I could choose a dance partner at will!"

"You should be glad you're not, because if you were a warrior, you'd have to deal with a fire dragon."

Harry retorted angrily that Ron only saw the privileges that the warriors enjoyed now, but did not see the dangers they faced at that time, which made him very unhappy.

Ron seemed to realize that what he said was inappropriate and began to change the subject:

"By the way, regarding your dance partner, have you chosen one?"

"not yet."

"That's impossible, isn't it? You're a warrior! I mean, there should be a lot of girls willing to be your dance partner!"

"The problem is I don't like them!"

As Harry spoke, he pushed open the door to the Great Hall, and Ron quickly caught up and asked tentatively:

"Okay, maybe you are right. But if a girl invites you next time and you don't like them, can you recommend me to them? You know, I don't have a dance partner yet. Of course, don't recommend those who are too ugly..."

Harry nodded perfunctorily, but his attention was already drawn to the scene in the auditorium.

After Ron recovered from the excitement of receiving a satisfactory answer, he also noticed something unusual in the auditorium.

Although the auditorium was packed with people as usual, everyone was staring at the same place quietly as if they were under a petrifying spell.

Following their gaze, Ron and Harry saw that at the intersection of everyone's eyes in the hall, a beautiful Fleur, like an elf, was smiling and extending the back of her hand to Mike.

"Mike, would you like to be my dancing partner at the Christmas dance?"

As soon as these words came out, Harry could clearly feel that almost all the boys in the auditorium gasped at the same time.

This was not surprising. From the first day Fleur arrived at Hogwarts, she became the dream lover of all Hogwarts students, and no one wanted her to be someone else's dance partner.

Harry even heard a boy next to him praying something.

Harry didn't hear the specific content clearly, but he could guess that it was probably just hoping that Mike would refuse.

At the intersection of the crowd's eyes, Furong stretched out her hand behind her back and looked at Mike with confidence.

She has used the charm she inherited from her grandmother to the extreme. In this situation, she doesn't think Mike will reject her, even if Mike knows the brain occlusion technique!

'He'll probably get down on one knee like a knight and kiss the back of my hand in a moment.'

Thinking of this, Furong couldn't help but blush on her fair face.

However, Mike's answer was, "I'm sorry but I refuse."

"That's just great... What?" The smile on Furong's face disappeared in an instant, "You said you refused? Why?"

Mike, who had already entered a closed-brain state, spread out his hands and was about to answer when a fanatical voice suddenly popped up.

"I promise! I promise to be your dance partner!"

Ron, with a flushed face, rushed in front of Fleur like a gust of wind, pouting and leaning his head forward with a disgusted look.

This sudden change frightened Furong so much that she quickly withdrew her hand, and her charm ability also lost its effect.

Ron woke up, still kneeling on one knee. Under the gaze of everyone, he seemed to realize what he had just done. His face suddenly turned red, the bright color was almost the same as his hair.

"Yes...I'm sorry!"

Ron roared in a tearful voice and then ran out of the hall. Harry didn't care about anything else and could only chase after him.

However, he had not chased far when he bumped into Professor McGonagall at a corner.

"Harry! No chasing or fighting in the corridor!" Professor McGonagall rubbed her painful stomach and frowned, "Gryffindor will deduct five points for your and Ron's behavior!"

"Professor! Now is not the time to talk about this. Did you see which direction Ron went just now?"

"What! Are you still going to continue?"

Professor McGonagall raised her eyebrows, and Harry quickly told her what had just happened.

"Silly boy! He should have gone back to the lounge. You can go look for him there."

Harry agreed and was about to run, but McGonagall called him back again.

"I told you! No chasing or fighting in the corridor! Walk slowly!" Mag frowned and said, "Also, have you decided on your dance partner?"

"Not yet." Harry kept searching for the right person in his mind, and finally said, "Maybe I can ask Ron to be my dance partner. Anyway, they don't have any requirements in this regard."

Hearing this, Professor McGonagall frowned even more tightly.

"Harry, I must remind you that if you really do this, it will cause a lot of unnecessary misunderstandings. So I suggest you choose a female as your dance partner." Professor McGonagall said with a strange look on her face, "And you have to hurry up, Christmas is coming soon, and the warriors have to lead the dance. If you don't have a dance partner by then, Gryffindor will be ashamed!"

Harry responded timidly with a "yes", and then quickly returned to the Gryffindor common room at an awkward but still fast pace.

"I'm so stupid! Really!"

As soon as Harry returned to the common room, he saw Ron sitting in the corner repeating these two sentences over and over again.

"Hey! Are you okay?" "Can't you see? I'm in such a bad state! I made a fool of myself this time! Now everyone in Hogwarts knows that I invited Fleur without considering my own abilities! Merlin's beard, Malfoy and the others will definitely laugh at me for this again!" Ron roared, "I should have thought of it a long time ago. Fleur must have been using the power of the Veela to charm Mike! I just stumbled upon her power by accident! I'm so stupid! Really!"

Harry scratched his head. He really didn't know how to comfort Ron at this moment.

Fortunately, Ron had no intention of stopping. He continued:
"That won't do! I have to find a dance partner! Maybe I can try to ask Hermione, that ugly girl that no one wants. Given our friendship, I should be able to succeed if I ask her!"

"An ugly girl that no one wants!?"

Hermione's scream suddenly sounded from behind the two of them, which scared Ron directly.

"Oh! I'm telling you, Ron! Even if no one wants me, I won't be your dance partner!" Hermione said to Harry and Ron angrily, "Besides, I've already been invited by someone else! And that person is much better than both of you!"

After saying that, Hermione walked away, leaving Harry and Ron standing there in a daze, at a loss as to what to do.

……

In the Hogwarts Great Hall, as Ron and Harry left, everyone laughed for a while and then turned their attention back to Mike.

Although they were happy that Mike rejected Furong, they were still very curious about why Mike rejected Furong.

To them this is totally unreasonable!

Is there any girl in this world more charming than Furong?

I'm afraid it's gone?

But Mike rejected Furong's invitation without even a moment's hesitation!

This is really confusing!

Furong also wanted to know the reason.

It was such a shame for her to invite someone in public but be rejected. She could already foresee how those bitches in her school would gloat over her misfortune behind her back.

Facing so many pairs of expectant, curious and hateful eyes, Mike still had a sleepless expression and said in a calm tone:

"You know, Fleur, I have a girlfriend, so I can only say sorry to you. Besides, I have to go now because the dress I ordered for the Christmas ball has arrived and I need to sign for it."

After saying that, Mike left without even looking back, without caring that Furong's eyes had already turned red.

Not until they approached the Ravenclaw common room did Mike silently come out of the absolutely rational state of the brain-blocking spell and shook his head.

He never expected that Furong would use her abilities to charm him!

Her behavior greatly reduced Mike's favorability towards her. No one likes to be controlled by others, especially when this control is as vicious as the Imperius Curse.

In addition, Mike felt that Fleur's intelligence was somewhat touching. He remembered that he should have told her that he knew how to resist her charm, but Fleur still did so today.

I really don’t know if Furong is too confident or too stupid.

Mike sighed and returned to his dormitory.

But when he pushed open the door, he saw a scene that made his eyes pop out.

Penelope was seen changing her dress and reaching out to button the buttons on her back, but it seemed that due to the angle, she could not succeed.

The sound of the door opening startled Penelope and she screamed.

But when she found out that the person coming was Mike, she glared at him unhappily, and then continued to reach out to button her back.

"Come and help me, honey."

The sound woke Mike up and he closed the door.

"Hey, hey, how do you want me to help you?"

"Stop it!" Penelope nudged Mike with her elbow, "Help me button up my back."

Hearing this, Mike withdrew his hand and began to help Penelope put on her dress.

With Mike's help, Penelope finally put on her dress.

Her face was flushed, and she turned around shyly and asked:

"What do you think?"

"Perfect!"

Mike's answer was simple and clear. He had someone in the Muggle society custom-make this dress. Although it was just black, the excellent fabric made the dress look gorgeous. The half-sleeves and wide collar were the finishing touches.

After getting Mike's affirmation, Penelope happily spun around, but then a trace of worry appeared on her face.

"This dress is beautiful! But I read its description and it said that this evening dress is made of a lot of special materials and cannot be washed or dry cleaned with other liquids. If what it says is true, how can I wash it?"

Hearing this, Mike smiled at first, and then he couldn't help laughing out loud.

"My silly girl! This evening gown is disposable. It doesn't need to be washed!"

"What did you say? This is a custom-made dress. It's so expensive, but it's a one-off!"

"This is an established rule. Evening gowns are disposable. If you reuse them to attend banquets, it will be considered impolite." Mike gave her a hug. "Don't worry about it. You just need to be beautiful. Leave the rest to me."

Mike, a straight man (a man who is used to money transactions and is straightforward), doesn't really say nice words of love, but Penelope just falls for it.

She looked at Mike intently, her eyes full of love.

But then, as if she had thought of something, she said:
"Your dress has arrived too, but when I looked at it, it looked like a suit?"

"That's right, a suit with an evening gown, isn't that the most correct combination?"

"But that's just the rule in the Muggle world." Penelope said uneasily, "I've seen other banquets held by wizards, and the wizards there all wore other styles of formal wear. If you go there wearing a suit like this, will you..."

Before Penelope could finish her words, Mike interrupted:

"No! Don't worry! Those people who are used to laughing at and despising others are actually the ones who bully the weak and fear the strong! With our current wealth and influence, they will praise us to the sky even if we go there in pajamas on Christmas Day!"

After saying that, Mike looked at Penelope who was still a little unconvinced and shook his head. Perhaps it was because she was used to being discriminated against in the past, Penelope's thinking had never changed.

But it doesn't matter, because as long as he is there, life will get better and better, and after a long time of such good days, she will naturally get used to it.

(End of this chapter)