Sherlock Holmes at Hogwarts.

Chapter 542 Choosing a Dance Partner
After announcing the news about the Christmas ball, Professor McGonagall kept Sherlock and Harry behind.

This made Harry feel very nervous.

He thought he had been caught laughing at Professor McGonagall's hairstyle in class.

However, Professor McGonagall's opening remarks surprised him:
"Holmes, Potter, even heroes have their partners—"

“A partner?” Sherlock raised an eyebrow.

"What partner?" Harry asked immediately.

Professor McGonagall looked at the two of them with a strange gaze, as if she suspected they were joking.

"Didn't you hear me? I already said that you should bring your partners to the Christmas party."

Her gaze swept back and forth between Sherlock and Harry's faces, and after confirming that they were not joking, she continued, "They are your dance partners."

Harry quickly said, "I don't dance!"

Sherlock nodded. "If you don't go dancing, you don't need a dance partner."

On this matter, the two shared the same opinion.

“No!” Professor McGonagall said sternly, “Both of you must dance!”

“No!” Harry insisted. “I don’t dance!”

Because at that moment, Harry suddenly pictured himself wearing a black top hat and a tailcoat.

There was a girl with him, wearing a dress full of ruffles, the kind Aunt Penny wore to the dance at Uncle Vernon's company.

Sherlock frowned. "The reason?"

"Because this is a traditional practice."

Professor McGonagall was even more determined than Harry:
“You two are both champions of Hogwarts—oh, and Diggory too.”

Others may not have dance partners, but you, as representatives of the school, must do as everyone expects.

Harry blinked. "Do it the way everyone expects?"

Sherlock shook his head: "That reason doesn't convince me."

"You heard me, Holmes and Potter—you both have to find yourselves a dance partner—so you are not allowed to go home this Christmas!"

Professor McGonagall spoke in an unquestionable tone.

Sherlock and Harry looked at each other in bewilderment.

They could tell that Professor McGonagall was genuinely angry.

“If it were a week ago, I would have said that finding a dance partner is a piece of cake compared to dealing with a Hungarian wood bee.”

After parting ways with Professor McGonagall, Harry said dejectedly:

"But now that I have defeated the tree bee, I am facing the challenge of finding a girl to dance with—I would rather fight the fire dragon for another round."

“Don’t do that, my dear Harry,” Sherlock laughed to Harry’s surprise. “Women are your specialty.”

“What do you mean?” Harry denied it outright. “I don’t know many girls at Hogwarts at all…”

“But they know you,” Sherlock patted Harry on the shoulder. “I’d bet you a galleon that you’ll be getting a lot of invitations in the coming days.”

Harry stared in horror, because Sherlock had never lost a bet.

Unless it's to deliberately lose to someone else when investigating a case.

"But, but..."

"No buts needed. Actually, this isn't as difficult as you might think. All we need to do is choose a suitable dance partner."

Sherlock smiled slightly and said, "For you, I think Miss Zhang is a good choice."

"Autumn--"

Upon hearing Sherlock's words, Harry immediately pictured Cho Chang's face.

Yes, if he had to choose a dance partner, she would undoubtedly be the one Harry would most like to invite.

but……

Cho Chang was a year ahead of him. Not only was she very beautiful, but she was also an excellent Quidditch player, and she was very popular.

I'm afraid she might not agree to it.
Although I feel that I have a good relationship with her, what if things change?
What if she told him, "Sorry, Harry, I've already promised someone else"?

Wouldn't that be incredibly embarrassing?
Why don't you go find Ginny?

Just like Hermione said, she certainly wouldn't refuse herself.

Moreover, Professor McGonagall said they could invite a lower-grade student.

The news of the Christmas ball brought a lively atmosphere to the otherwise chilly campus.

In previous Christmases, only a very small percentage of people chose to stay at school.

But this Christmas is different.

In particular, almost all students in the fourth grade and above have to stay behind.

Everyone was incredibly excited about the upcoming ball.

Especially girls.

This was the first time Harry had ever realized that Hogwarts housed so many girls—he had never noticed before.

The girls giggled and whispered in the hallway.

The girls would scream and laugh whenever a boy walked by.

The girls excitedly exchanged ideas and discussed what to wear on Christmas night.

Whenever Sherlock, Harry, and Cedric walked by, they would often stop and secretly giggle.

Why do they all move around in groups?

Harry couldn't help but ask Sherlock, "How can we wait until they're alone and then grab one of them to make a request?"

"Lasso one with a rope?" Ron suggested, offering a very sound idea.

Hermione shook her head helplessly, then whispered to Harry:
"If you're too shy, how about writing a letter in an owl?"

Harry's eyes lit up at this. Yes, that's how it works...

"However, I personally suggest you invite them in person—if you have a specific goal in mind."

Hermione added a sentence as she spoke, while subtly glancing at Sherlock.

Sherlock and Harry were very busy for the next few days.

First, Harry, a curly-haired third-year student at Hufflepuff House, invited him to the ball with her.

Harry was so surprised that he refused without even thinking.

The girl walked away, looking deeply hurt.

This made Harry feel a little embarrassed.

But he had to do it because Harry had never even spoken to her before and didn't even know her name.

That's not all. Throughout the entire History of Magic class, Harry had to endure Dean, Seamus, and Ron's sarcasm and ridicule of the girl.

Not long after, two more girls invited him to join them.

This time it was even more outrageous; one of them was in second grade—she was so young, even younger than Ginny.

There was also one who was in fifth grade.

Judging from her expression, it seemed she would knock Harry unconscious if he dared to refuse.

But Harry eventually mustered the courage to reject her.

"Actually... she's quite pretty," Ron said fairly after he'd had enough of laughing.

"But she's a foot taller than me."

"Imagine me dancing with her," Harry said, still shaken. "How embarrassing!"

Sherlock's situation is slightly better than Harry's.

Perhaps because they knew about his eccentric temperament, far fewer girls invited him than invited Harry.

Sherlock, like Harry, rejected them all.

Surprisingly, some girls, after being rejected by Sherlock, immediately turned around and invited Harry instead.

After rejecting yet another girl who was taller and stronger than him, Harry couldn't help but say to Sherlock:
"If I weren't the school's bravest warrior, they definitely wouldn't have invited me!"

“Obviously, my friend,” Sherlock said with a smile, “it’s only human nature.”

"So, have you two decided who to invite, or rather, whose invitation to accept?"

Ron couldn't help but ask, "Do you know that quite a few people have come to me asking about you two warriors?"

As he spoke, he kept glancing at Hermione. In the past, he would have thought it was perfectly normal for Sherlock to choose Hermione.

But now...

Gemma Farley is back.

There's no rule that says you can't invite or accept invitations from graduates, right?
So, between Gemma and Hermione, it's really hard to say who Sherlock will choose.

As for Harry, it's much simpler; he can just blindly invite Cho Chang.

Qiu Zhang would probably be very happy to accept it.

As the saying goes, the authorities are confused, but those who watch are clear.

While Sherlock hadn't announced the auction and Harry was still debating, Ron had already made everything perfectly clear for the two of them.

Not long after, Hermione once again pulled Harry to the shore of the Black Lake, much to Harry's surprise.

"I need to tell you something. This isn't to force you to make a decision, but I'm worried you might not be prepared—"

Harry noticed Hermione's expression and a thought struck him. "Is it related to the Christmas Ball?"

"That's right, if you've already decided who to invite to the Christmas ball, tell them as soon as possible."

Hermione paused, her fingertips unconsciously rubbing against her cuff:
“Ginny chatted with me yesterday and said… she wanted to take the initiative this time.”

If you haven't decided yet, she might come and ask if you want to come along.

Seeing Harry's stunned expression, Hermione immediately added:
"Don't be nervous! I'm not asking you to choose her, nor am I forcing you to do anything—"

She quickly waved her hand, her ear tips turning slightly red.

"I made a mistake by forcing my ideas on you last time."

I'm just letting you know so that if she suddenly contacts you and you haven't figured out how to respond, it will be awkward for both of you.

After all... no matter who you choose, being prepared is always better than being caught off guard, right?

Harry snapped out of his surprise.

He lowered his head, kicking at the pebbles by the lake, and Ginny's recent smile flashed through his mind.

He then looked up at Hermione, his eyes exceptionally sincere: "Thank you for reminding me, Hermione. I will seriously consider it."

Hermione breathed a long sigh of relief upon seeing this:

"So... whoever you plan to invite, it's best to go in person; that shows more sincerity."

"I understand... And what about you?"

"I?"

Hermione paused, her fingertips abruptly stopping.

Her eyes unconsciously glanced towards the opposite bank of the Black Lake, and the blush on the tips of her ears spread a little along her neck.

She genuinely didn't expect Harry to bring this up suddenly.

"If you've already made up your mind, then take the initiative."

Harry looked at his best friend and said seriously:

“I feel that Sherlock treats you... differently than he treats Gemma.”

He figured she wouldn't approach Gemma first, but if you don't make a move, and Gemma speaks up first, he might agree.

The day after that conversation, Hermione called Harry out again.

"Is Hermione inviting Harry to be her dance partner?"

Seeing Harry and Hermione run off on their own again, Ron finally couldn't help but ask Sherlock.

Sherlock shook his head slightly and said firmly, "No."

Even Sherlock had no idea that Harry and Hermione were plotting how to win him over.

"Hermione—we have to grit our teeth and go for it."

Harry spoke as if they were planning to breach an impregnable fortress:

"Our days are numbered!"

Today, you go find Sherlock, and I'll go find Autumn!

When we get back to the common room that evening, everyone has to have a dance partner—is that a deal?

“Uh…” Hermione hesitated for a moment, but seeing Harry’s unwavering determination, she nodded. “Okay.”

Harry, who was the one who made the suggestion, mustered the courage he had when facing the dragon and went directly to Cho Chang.

He kept telling himself that it was just asking Qiu Zhang a question alone—it was that simple.

Surprisingly, as Harry was thinking this, he found himself running into Cho Chang quite easily.

She was walking out of the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom.

"Uh—Choi Chang? Can I say something to you?"

Can't they keep their voices down?
Harry thought angrily.

Because the girls around Qiu Zhang started giggling.

This included Cho Chang's two roommates, whose gazes toward Harry carried a sense of "as expected."

Thankfully, Qiu Zhang didn't laugh.

She said "okay" and followed Harry to a place where her classmates couldn't hear her.

Harry turned to look at her, and a strange spasm suddenly gripped his heart, as if he had missed a step on the stairs.

"Uh……"

He stammered.

He had clearly made up his mind, but when he was about to speak, he found that every word was difficult to utter.

Qiu Zhang stood there, looking at him with a complex expression of confusion, expectation, and surprise.

Under such gazes, Harry finally couldn't hold back any longer.

As a result, the words came out of Harry's mouth in a jumbled mess, and he didn't even have time to pronounce them correctly.

"To keep me company?"

"I'm sorry, what did you say?"

Qiu Zhang forced a smile and said.

"Would you—would you like to come to the ball with me?"

Harry asked, "So why did he blush?"
"Oh, Harry—"

Qiu Zhang blushed, but then she smiled and said, "Okay."

"You agreed?"

"Yes, I agreed."

Cho Chang tilted her head, looking at Harry's relieved expression:

"So you haven't invited me yet? Are you worried I'll reject you?"

Harry's face grew even redder.

Qiu Zhang understood immediately.

The boy's blushing face is the best answer.

"do you know?"

Qiu Zhang said in a soft voice, "Like you, I've turned down many invitations—because none of them are the person I'm waiting for."

Harry: ! *★，°*:.☆(￣▽￣)/$:*.°★*。

At that moment, Harry almost jumped for joy.

Almost simultaneously, Hermione also bet on Sherlock.

She mustered her courage and said, blushing:

"Sherlock, you haven't found a dance partner for the Christmas ball yet, have you?"

"No."

Sherlock's gaze swept over her reddened earlobes and clenched cuffs, and then, recalling how she had looked when she left with Harry not long ago, a thoughtful expression appeared on his face.

"Then, can you be my dance partner?"

After asking that question, Hermione lowered her head, not daring to look into Sherlock's grey eyes.

(End of this chapter)