Sherlock Holmes at Hogwarts.

Chapter 547 The Unfortunate Ron

“You told me before that orthodontic treatment doesn’t have to rely on Muggle instruments.”

Hermione looked at Sherlock, her fingers gently tracing her teeth, which had been adjusted by Gemma, her voice tinged with excitement:
"I just didn't expect her to do it even better than I imagined; her technique is just as amazing as Ms. Pomfrey's!"

"Then why are you worried?"

Sherlock noticed that when she mentioned this, her fingertips curled slightly, a small gesture that Hermione always made when she was nervous.

"Uh... I think you should understand that my parents won't be happy."

Hermione wasn't surprised that Sherlock could see that, and immediately explained:
"For many years, I have been trying to persuade them to let me have my teeth reduced."

But they kept hoping I would continue wearing the braces to correct my malocclusion.

You know, they're all dentists—they believe teeth and magic shouldn't be put together.

Sherlock understood; it was simply that Hermione's parents hadn't fully accepted magic yet.

This is actually quite normal.

Just as Hermione said, these two are dentists, and very skilled ones at that.

In other aspects, it's fine, but in his own professional field, he naturally has a lot of confidence.

So this time Hermione really went all out, regardless of whether they accepted it or not, she just went ahead and did it first and asked questions later.

However, judging from the results alone, it's still quite good.

"You look great as you do now."

"Thank you, Sherlock!"

Encouraged by Sherlock, Hermione's eyes turned into crescent moons.

However, remembering Gemma's reminder last night, I mustered up my courage and said:
"By the way, I have something to tell you—Krum of Durmstrang invited me to be his dance partner a few days ago."

As she spoke, she secretly glanced up to observe Sherlock's expression, trying to catch a glimpse of any emotion in his grey eyes.

But Sherlock remained calm; she didn't see anything amiss.

Left with no other option, she could only add:
"He told me that he went to the library every day in order to strike up a conversation with me, but he just couldn't muster the courage."

"He didn't lie."

Hermione looked at Sherlock in surprise: "Huh?"

“The last time we ran into him at the library, he was definitely observing you.”

Sherlock sighed softly, "When you were with me, I thought he was keeping an eye on my movements."

At that time, we had just learned that the first project was the Fire Dragon.

"What a pity. If I had stayed a little longer that day, or gone to the library again afterward, I would have discovered that his target was you."

"There's nothing to regret!"

Hermione's cheeks flushed instantly, even her ears turned bright red, and she hurriedly waved her hands, her voice stammering:

"You know I could never agree to that!"

"Yes, back then you already had me as your target."

Sherlock spoke as if it were self-evident, his tone conveying the logic of "it's obvious."

Even though she knew that Sherlock was just stating facts and had no other intentions.

Upon hearing this, Hermione's cheeks flushed red like a tide.

She turned her head away, pretending to watch her friends having a snowball fight, but the corners of her mouth couldn't help but turn up slightly.

Just then, it was time for a break from the snowball fight.

The children's noses were all red, their cheeks were flushed from the cold wind and excitement, and even their hair was covered with unmelted snowflakes.

So when they came to Sherlock and Hermione's side, the blush on Hermione's face caused by shyness didn't seem so out of place.

"You two seem to be having a great chat!"

Ginny skipped over, still clutching a snowball she hadn't thrown.

Her big eyes sparkled with joy.

Just now, she teamed up with Harry and Ron to fight against the Weasley twins.

Although she was eventually pelted with snowballs and completely defeated, she still smiled with her eyes crinkling.

As for the reason, it goes without saying.

However, when Ginny saw Harry's scarf beside her, her face fell.

Harry, completely oblivious, joined in, brushed the snow off himself, and asked curiously:
"Yeah, what are you guys talking about? Is it about the Christmas ball?"

The scarf that Qiu Zhang gave him hung askew around his neck, bringing him warmth on this cold winter day and making him feel sweet inside.

Because of the snowball fight earlier, the stray hairs on his forehead were wet with snow and stuck to his skin, making him look a little disheveled, but also giving him a youthful air.

For some reason, Hermione didn't want to tell anyone other than Sherlock about Krum's invitation.

Even though Harry, Ron, and Ginny were all her very good friends.

So when she heard Harry's question, she immediately nodded in agreement:

"Yes, it's getting late. I'm going back to the tower to make preparations."

"What? Prepare? You need three hours to prepare?"

Ron, who had just walked over, widened his eyes upon hearing her words.

He stared at Hermione with an incredulous expression: "It's just going to dance, why does it take this long?"

"Boys and girls are different."

Ginny immediately took Hermione's arm and wrinkled her nose at Ron, "You have no idea how much a girl has to prepare—hair, dress, accessories, everything has to be carefully taken care of."

Hermione glanced at Ginny with gratitude, a hint of relief flashing in her eyes.

"is it?"

Ron was still somewhat skeptical, turning to Harry with a hint of seeking confirmation in his voice:
"Old Ha, does your dance partner also need three hours to prepare?"

As soon as she said that, Hermione immediately felt Ginny tighten her grip on her arm.

She couldn't help but look helpless, thinking to herself that her friends were all a bit too straightforward.

Ginny is your sister, don't you care about her feelings at all?
"I-I don't know either."

Harry's ears turned slightly red, and he scratched his head in a somewhat helpless manner.

He thought to himself that it was already a huge surprise that the other party was willing to accept his invitation.

How could I possibly ask her about something like that?
"Anyway, I don't expect my dance partner to perform well, as long as other people don't laugh at me."

Ron pursed his lips and muttered under his breath, "After all, I found someone..."

"Don't talk about her like that!"

Before Ron could finish speaking, Ginny angrily interrupted him.

She was already dissatisfied with Ron, and now her brows furrowed even more, her eyes filled with resentment.
"Luna is fine, she's just different from others, you can't say that about her!"

"Okay, okay, I won't say anything more. I should thank her, shouldn't I?"

Seeing that Ginny was really angry, Ron quickly raised his hands in surrender, shrugged, and said with a hint of helplessness in his voice:
“If she hadn’t been willing to be my dance partner, I probably would have had to go to the ball alone and become the laughingstock of everyone.” “You could also choose not to go.”

Sherlock, who had been silently observing, suddenly interjected casually.

Ron: (;Д`)
The air fell silent for a few seconds as everyone else tried to suppress their laughter.

Even Ginny pursed her lips, her shoulders trembling slightly.

Ron opened his mouth, wanting to retort, but found himself unable to find any words to respond, so he could only shut his mouth in frustration.

The group chatted casually for a few more minutes.

Harry talked about how he used the agility Sherlock taught him when they had a snowball fight, Ron complained about the color of his tuxedo, and Ginny discussed the ball decorations with Hermione.

Soon it was five o'clock, and Hermione and Ginny said goodbye to them.

The two walked arm in arm toward the Gryffindor Tower, their figures quickly disappearing into the distance at the edge of the snowy landscape.

"They actually left? I thought they were just joking!"

Ron stared in the direction the two had left, still looking surprised. He hadn't expected the girl to be so serious about preparing for the ball.

Coming to his senses, he turned to Sherlock, leaned closer, and asked curiously:
"Hey Xia, how did you even come up with the idea of ​​having Lovegood as my dance partner? How did you know she'd agree?"

Sherlock said in a matter-of-fact tone:
"Because she specifically came to me that day, saying she wanted to attend the Christmas ball, but no upperclassmen invited her."

Upon hearing Sherlock's words, Harry and Ron exchanged a glance and remained silent.

The two thought to themselves that, based on her nickname "Crazy Girl Lovegood," let alone if she were a student below the fourth grade, or even if she were a student above the fourth grade, probably no one would be willing to invite her.

"If I don't have a dance partner, I can bring her along."

His words caused Harry and Ron to exchange a glance.

The two realized at the same time that in Sherlock's mind, this crazy girl's status was indeed extraordinary.

Sherlock continued in that matter-of-fact tone:
"But I've already promised Hermione, and Harry has promised Cho Chang."

Since you were refused when you invited Miss Delacour, I naturally thought of you.

"No wonder she told me all I had to do was bring her to the ball..."

Ron said as if he had just realized something.

This was yet another time that Sherlock had completely outmaneuvered him.

“That’s right, exactly.” Sherlock nodded.

Ron: "..."

After a moment of silence, Ron finally let out a long sigh, as if resigned to his fate, and said:

"Well, it's better than having no dance partner or going to the ball with Eloise Midgen."

“My dear Ron, you are too focused on the appearance of the opposite sex, which is not a good sign.”

Hearing Ron mention the name again, Sherlock looked at Ron and said:

"Paying too much attention to appearance can impair your judgment at crucial moments, causing you to overlook more important things."

"Not everyone can be as indifferent to pretty girls as you are, and..."

Ron said indignantly, "Why don't you mention Old Ha? He only got into this because Cho Chang is good-looking..."

"I didn't!"

Harry blushed immediately and hurriedly explained, "It's because I think Cho is gentle and kind—and she likes Quidditch too."

"I don't believe you for a second! You're a really bad guy!"

"I already said it has nothing to do with appearance! We have a lot in common, that's why I wanted to invite her!"

"Don't explain, explaining is just covering up!"

"If I say no, I mean no!"

The two soon started arguing again.

Just then, George seized the opportunity and threw a large snowball from behind, hitting Ron squarely in the back.

So they simply stopped and rejoined the snowball fight.

There is no Christmas tea today, as there will be a grand feast at the Christmas ball tonight.

By seven o'clock, it was getting dark.

The light in the snow was getting worse and worse, making it difficult to even aim at a target.

The group reluctantly stopped, brushed the snow off themselves, and headed towards the Gryffindor Tower.

As soon as I reached the entrance of the common lounge, I saw a halo surrounding the portrait frame of the fat lady.

The fat lady is sitting in the picture frame with her friend Violet.

Their cheeks were flushed, their eyes were glazed, and they all looked dizzy and drunk.

Sherlock's gaze swept over the portrait and noticed several empty boxes of liqueur-filled chocolates lying at the bottom.

He shook his head, no longer wanting to say anything.

"A bright, vivid light!"
That's right, that's the password!

The fat lady chuckled when she heard Harry give the command.

Her voice was muffled, and her body swayed, but she still managed to turn the portrait aside, revealing an opening leading to the common room.

For boys, the time required to get ready is undoubtedly much shorter.

Back in their dormitory, Sherlock, Harry, Ron, Neville, and Dean quickly changed into their respective formal robes.

Apart from Sherlock's usual composure, the four roommates all seemed uneasy.

Neville kept tugging at the collar of his suit, while Dean fixed his hair in front of the mirror.

Harry, who had arranged to meet Cho Chang, repeatedly adjusted his collar, afraid that something might go wrong.

But the most frustrated of them all was undoubtedly Ron.

He stood in front of the long mirror in the corner, hands on his hips, his face showing a look of terror and despair, as if he had seen something horrible.

He had already seen the suit Mrs. Weasley had prepared for him before the start of the school year.

But he still didn't expect that once it actually took effect, it would look like this.

Actually, the style of the dress itself is fairly conventional.

It's similar in style to a school uniform robe; it's not particularly eye-catching, but it's not ugly either.

But its dark purple color was particularly striking under the light; it was no exaggeration to say that it looked like a walking purple sweet potato.

When they came downstairs, Ron was still muttering to himself, complaining about Mrs. Weasley's taste, his tone full of resentment:

Why is it purple again?
Couldn't she have picked out a more normal color for me?
For example, black, or dark blue, or even gray would be fine!

The scene in the common lounge at this time was also very different from usual:
The usual uniform black wizard robes were gone, replaced by colorful formal wear.

The colors were as red as fire, as pink as the sunset, and as white as snow, creating a particularly lively scene.

People gathered in twos and threes, talking in hushed tones, and the air was filled with anticipation.

(End of this chapter)