Sherlock Holmes at Hogwarts.

Chapter 554 A match made in heaven

As the silver-green Christmas wreath hanging from the dome of the Great Hall of Hogwarts swayed gently, the rousing dance music played by the eccentric sisters had completely brought the Hogwarts Christmas Ball to its climax.

The air was filled with the sweet aroma of hot cocoa and the fresh scent of fir branches, and the candlelight flickered on the gilded candlesticks, casting a warm glow on everyone's faces.

The high-backed chairs in the main guest area were mostly empty long ago.

Professor Dumbledore's signature long, silvery-white beard swayed gently with his dance steps. He had just finished dancing with Madam Maxim and was now joining Professor Sprout.

Not far away, Ludobagman was holding Professor McGonagall's hand and spinning her around. Professor McGonagall's usually meticulous hair was slightly loose, and the corners of her mouth were unusually upturned with a gentle smile.

Professor Lupin gentlemanly supported Professor Sinister's waist, and the two walked slowly, occasionally exchanging a few words in hushed tones.

In short, the usually serious teachers all let down their guard at this moment and were completely immersed in the joy of the dance.

However, the most eye-catching people at the event were still Hagrid and Ms. Maxim.

The two burly giants moved nimbly among the students dancing the waltz.

Hagrid's ugly suit jacket was left open, and Ms. Maxim's velvet dress unfolded with his movements, like a huge, dark flower bud.

Their dance steps are expansive and dynamic, with their feet stomping heavily on the ground when moving forward and maintaining a perfect balance when moving backward.

Each step was wide and steady, sharp yet tacit, ultimately drawing a wide trajectory on the smooth dance floor.

Although the students around them had to stop dancing and move aside, they still smiled and applauded for them.

Moody continued to scan the room with his magical prosthetic eye, while his other hand rested lightly on the back of Professor Flitwick's chair.

The two occasionally exchanged a few words in hushed tones, quietly admiring the figures twirling on the dance floor.

Only Karkaroff and Snape had disappeared without a trace.

As the last note of another song faded away, the people on the dance floor once again burst into enthusiastic applause.

Applause and cheers mingled together, almost lifting the roof off the auditorium.

This time, Harry and Cho Chang were both a little tired after dancing three dances in a row.

Harry's forehead was beaded with sweat, and Cho Chang's cheeks were flushed.

She gently tugged at Harry's sleeve and whispered, "Shall we go and rest for a while?"

Harry nodded, and the two walked out of the dance floor side by side.

As soon as they reached the rest area against the wall, they saw Gemma sitting on the sofa, and Hermione waving vigorously at them.

The two of them immediately walked over quickly.

"Hey, where's Sherlock?"

Seeing these two women who were close to Sherlock sitting together, while Sherlock himself was nowhere to be seen, Harry couldn't help but ask curiously.

Gemma put down her glass of butterbeer, a faint smile playing on her lips:
"He went to dance with Miss Lovegood—long time no see, Harry, Cho!"

Her gaze swept over Harry's bow tie and then fell on Cho Chang's hair ornament, her eyes full of gentleness.

"It's been a long time indeed."

Qiu Zhang smiled as well.

She actually already knew about Gemma coming to Hogwarts—she heard it from Penelope Lylewater, who had already graduated.

Even after Clearwater left the school, Cho Chang and she remained in touch.

When Cho Chang learned that Gemma was assisting with the first event of the Triwizard Tournament as a dragon trainer, he couldn't help but sigh for a long time.

The world is both vast and small.

Fate, amazing.

"Go dance with Luna?"

Harry was slightly taken aback upon hearing this.

"That's right, look, they're coming!"

Hermione suddenly pointed to the entrance to the dance floor and said, her voice tinged with amusement.

Harry quickly looked in the direction she was pointing and saw Luna leading Sherlock toward them.

"Harry, Cho, you two are here too!"

Luna's eyes lit up when she saw Harry and Cho Chang, and she looked very happy.

She released Sherlock's hand and sat down next to Cho Chang.

Her cheeks were flushed a beautiful rosy pink from dancing, and they were slightly hot.

As she gently fanned herself with her palm, she addressed the people present:

"It's much more fun dancing with Sherlock. Ron can't do anything and can't keep up with my rhythm at all."

Harry: "..."

He silently mourned for Ron for three seconds, then couldn't help but ask, "Where is Ron?"

"He couldn't keep up with my dance moves and wouldn't admit it, so I told him to go and invite that Warriors captain from Beauxbatons."

But then he said he didn't need it, and he even blushed.

I ignored him and went straight to Sherlock.

Harry: "..."

This time, he silently mourned for Ron for five seconds.

My buddy is really having a tough time. Not only is Luna disliking his dancing, but she's also rubbing salt into his wounds.

So, you don't know where he went either?

Harry asked again, still wondering if Ron was hiding in some corner sulking.

"I do not know!"

Luna blinked and said matter-of-factly, as if Ron's whereabouts had nothing to do with her.

“He’s with Miss Lavender Brown,” Sherlock suddenly said. “They’re resting now, but it looks like they’ll be dancing again.”

"Lavender?"

Harry and Hermione exchanged a quick glance and immediately thought of Uranus.

In a sense, this is a pretty good result.

Just then, Luna suddenly waved vigorously in a certain direction:

"Ginny, come quick!"

Upon hearing Luna's voice and seeing the group of people nearby, Ginny breathed a sigh of relief, her eyes lighting up as she quickened her pace and walked towards them.

"Ginny, where have you been? I haven't seen you anywhere!"

Luna took Ginny's hand and said, "Let's go dancing together... Hey, what's wrong with your clothes?"

Upon hearing Ginny's words, everyone turned to look at her.

Several distinct black footprints were visible beneath the hem of her dress.

Some were dark, some were light, and some were covered in dust, making them look rather out of place.

Ginny blushed slightly upon seeing this. "It's nothing, someone just stepped on it by accident, it doesn't matter..."

Seeing this, Gemma smiled slightly and pulled out her wand: "Clean it up!"

Ginny's gown suddenly looked as if it had just come out of the factory.

“Thank you, Miss Farley,” Ginny said quickly, her voice full of gratitude, and she secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

"No need to be so polite." Gemma put away her wand and shook her head with a smile.

“Judging from the size and depth of the footprints, they were left by Neville not long ago; his shoes have a diamond pattern on the soles,” Sherlock suddenly said.

Ginny: "..."

I've been covering for him, why did you have to tell everyone?

However, the people present were quite familiar with Sherlock's behavior and habits, so they were not particularly surprised to hear him say that.

But Luna immediately followed up with a critical hit, tilting her head and asking:
"Could it be that Neville is even dumber than Ron?"

At least Ron wouldn't make it so obvious..." "..."

The air fell silent instantly, and the scene became quite awkward.

Ginny's face turned even redder, her fingers gripping the hem of her skirt tightly, unsure of what to say.

Seeing this, Qiu Zhang quickly changed the subject:
"Ginny, how about you dance with Harry next?"

"Dancing with Harry, me?"

Ginny pointed to herself, looking incredulous.

She would absolutely love to dance with Harry.

Ever since she heard about the Christmas ball, she had secretly fantasized about it several times.

But she never expected that Qiu Zhang would bring this up on his own initiative.

In fact, ever since Harry took the initiative to invite Cho Chang to be his dance partner, she knew that she should remain calm and not make any moves in her dealings with Harry recently.

But she had no intention of giving up.

That's why she accepted Neville's invitation to the Christmas ball.

At the very least, we need to get an admission ticket first.

Maybe I'll have a chance to dance with Harry.

But she didn't expect the opportunity to come so quickly.

What was even more unexpected was that Qiu Zhang himself offered him this opportunity.

Harry looked surprised when he heard this.

Clearly, he hadn't expected Qiu Zhang to make such a suggestion.

"Yup!"

Cho Chang's gaze swept across Harry and Ginny's faces, taking in their expressions, before she smiled and said:

"I'm a bit tired too, so you can dance with Ginny for the next dance."

Harry hesitated for a moment, glancing at Cho Chang's gentle eyes, then at Ginny.

She was looking at him with expectant eyes, and finally nodded, saying softly, "Okay."

Ginny gave Cho Chang a deep look, her eyes filled with gratitude, and said softly, "Thank you."

The group sat down and chatted briefly before Harry and Ginny, Sherlock and Hermione went back to the dance floor.

After all, Hermione is Sherlock's dance partner today.

While it might not be as long as Luna just said, dancing nonstop would definitely not be acceptable to only perform one dance.

"It's a bit stuffy in here, how about we go for a walk?"

Just then, Qiu Zhang suddenly spoke to Gemma.

Upon hearing this, Gemma glanced thoughtfully at Cho Chang, a thoughtful expression appearing on her face.

"Okay!"

"We're going for a walk outside, Luna, do you want to come?"

"I'm not going!"

Without turning her head, Luna said, "It's so much fun watching them dance!"
Ha, Neville stepped on that girl's foot again!

The girl looked like she was about to cry!

Seeing Luna grinning foolishly, Gemma and Cho Chang exchanged a knowing smile.

The two of them walked sideways around the dance floor, quietly slipped out the door, and entered the foyer.

The front door was open, and a cold wind carrying the scent of roses blew in.

As the two walked down the steps, they could clearly see the fairy light in the rose garden.

Tiny, fluorescent fairies danced among the flowers, casting a hazy glow over the entire garden.

The area was surrounded by low shrubs, which were decorated with small Christmas lights.

The ornately decorated, winding path is paved with cobblestones, which creak softly as you walk on them.

A huge stone statue stands in the corner of the garden, and the sound of splashing water can be heard not far away.

That was the fountain in the center of the garden, its jets of water shimmering silver in the moonlight.

Occasionally, you can see a few dance partners sitting on carved wooden benches, talking quietly in a very peaceful atmosphere.

The two walked slowly along a winding path through the rose bushes. The red and white roses exuded a faint fragrance in the night, and the petals were still covered with a little dew.

After walking a few steps, Gemma suddenly stopped, looked at Cho Chang's profile, and asked softly:
"Is it really okay for you to do this?"

There is an old saying in our country: "It is better to guide than to block."

Cho Chang didn't ask Gemma what she meant by "doing it this way," but instead gave her the answer directly.

She turned to look at Gemma. "Don't talk about me, aren't you the same?"

“I understand what you mean, but although my situation is similar to yours, it is not exactly the same.”

Gemma shook her head. "Sherlock has no interest in that at all."

Moreover, my return to England and my coming to Hogwarts this year was entirely accidental.

I thought I'd never see him again after graduation.

"So, you were already prepared to accept the possibility that you might not see him?" Qiu Zhang asked, somewhat surprised.

"You could say that I actually talked to Hermione about graduating this summer."

Gemma didn't shy away from Cho Chang at all, and directly recounted the content of her conversation with Hermione.

Qiu Zhang was even more surprised upon hearing this: "Why are you telling me all this?"

In her opinion, she and Gemma weren't particularly close.

"Perhaps it's because our situations are similar? We both have someone on our minds..."

Gemma laughed and said, "The only difference is that the savior of the magical world's feelings for you are already very obvious."

I think if he confessed his feelings and asked you to date him, you wouldn't refuse, right?

After a moment of silence, Qiu Zhang nodded. "I certainly won't refuse."

From the moment Harry invited her to be his dance partner, she knew her feelings for him and could feel how much he cared about her.

"If that's the case, why are you still giving Miss Weasley a chance?"

Gemma tilted her head and looked at Qiu Zhang, "Could it be that the Chinese have become so magnanimous that they no longer have any possessiveness in this regard?"

Qiu Zhang couldn't help but laugh upon hearing this. "This has nothing to do with possessiveness. As I just said, it's better to guide than to block."

Even if I hadn't mentioned it, Ginny would definitely have invited Harry in a little while.

Rather than putting Harry in the awkward position, it's better for me to speak up first; that way, everyone will be more relaxed.

Gemma looked at Cho Chang in surprise, her eyes filled with admiration, and said from the bottom of her heart:
"Choi, you are so kind-hearted, you and Harry are a match made in heaven!"

Upon hearing this, Qiu Zhang's cheeks flushed slightly, and he couldn't help but smile.
"Saying they're a perfect match is a bit premature."

We're only fourteen or fifteen years old now, and we have such a long road ahead of us. Who knows what the future holds?

Perhaps in a few years, our thoughts will be different again.

"Love that blossoms on campus is often the most beautiful."

Gemma remarked with considerable emotion:
"There is no complexity of the adult world, no calculation of interests, only the most hazy and purest liking."

And the thought of considering the other person's feelings—that feeling may never be experienced again.

If we can really get together..."

She was about to continue speaking when she suddenly stopped.

Qiu Zhang also turned his head, and the two of them looked towards the rose bushes with solemn expressions.

(End of this chapter)