The Return to Hogwarts

This dreamlike ice castle has completely captivated the young wizards, who are almost oblivious to the upcoming ball.

While people were still admiring the ice castle, Amostella raised her wand again and waved it, and a series of rustling sounds suddenly rang out in the castle.

In the palace hall, the seemingly chaotic but actually orderly arrangement of ice sculptures and plants has given rise to small round tables and two chairs.

"Don't just stand there, everyone—"

Amosta's voice echoed through the empty hall.

"Please take your seats. Dance partners can sit at one table, but students attending alone can share a table. Oh, warriors and your dance partners, please come to the head table—"

After Amosta repeated it again, the students gradually began to move.

“Come on, Ron—”

Hermione gently tugged at Ron's sleeve, her voice soft.

"Oh, okay--"

Ron's cheeks were practically burning red. He still didn't dare look at Hermione's face, but when he noticed that Cho Chang, Daphne, and Fleur had all taken their dance partners' arms, he coughed a few times, straightened his posture, and clenched his right fist and placed it on his lower abdomen in a very professional manner.

Hermione pursed her lips slightly, ignoring Fred and George's winks at her, and took Ron's arm.

All of this was only rehearsed in Amosta's mind, and even the faculty and staff were inevitably confused. Amosta smiled and guided everyone to their seats. He saw Professor Moody still standing under an ice pine tree in a daze, so he went over to him.

Like everyone else, the Ice Castle gave Professor Moody an unprecedented shock. However, a trace of loneliness occasionally flashed in his eyes as he gazed at the magnificent castle, and it seemed that he was trying his best to suppress some emotions deep in his eyes.

But when his gaze swept over Hermione, who was walking towards him arm in arm with Ron, he suddenly froze, his face, which was etched with displeasure at the grotesque scars, filled with astonishment.

"Granger made Weasley her dance partner?" Professor Moody blurted out instinctively, his voice filled with horror and confusion.

"Is something wrong with this, Professor Moody?"

Amosta's meaningful look brought Moody to his senses.

"Oh, it's nothing--"

Moody breathed heavily for a few moments, gave Ron and Hermione a deep look, then glanced at Amostella's face with a complicated expression before silently walking away.

The warriors and their partners sat interspersed around the three headmasters, Amosta, and the representatives from the Ministry of Magic. Percy and Ludo Bagman flanked Harry and Fleur, and as soon as Harry sat down, Percy immediately leaned in.

"I received your letter, Harry. I didn't reply because I was going to attend the banquet at Hogwarts in place of Mr. Crouch. Why are you suddenly so concerned about Mr. Crouch's recent activities?"

"Let's talk about it later, Percy—"

Harry glanced guiltily at Professor Blaine a few seats away and lowered his voice.

The commotion gradually subsided, and people were all looking towards the main table, because every table was empty, without even a plate in sight. What were they supposed to eat?

Just then, one of the young wizards seated below suddenly cried out in surprise.

"Look at the ground!"

The slightly panicked roar drew people's attention to the ground for the first time. There were so many things to see inside the ice fortress that they hadn't even noticed where they were standing.

The floor of this ice castle was also a flawless piece of crystal. Reflected in its icy blue light, they could see to some extent the scene beneath the frozen lake. The reason the young wizard had exclaimed in surprise was because, at that moment, an enormous shadow was looming beneath their feet!

"It's that giant squid from Black Lake!"

Soon, someone analyzed what the enormous creature beneath their feet was; the giant squid in the Black Lake is also one of Hogwarts' famous school legends.

Not all young wizards had the chance to get up close and personal with this squid. Some excitedly left their seats, disregarding their appearance, and sprawled on the floor, eager to get a better look at this enormous creature. Ron, seated at the VIP table, was also drawn to the squid. Although he remained seated, his eyes kept glancing downwards—

"Oh--"

Suddenly, many humanoid shadowy figures slithered under Ron's seat, ran to the giant squid, and began to negotiate with it.

"What the hell are these!"

Ron let out a terrified scream uncontrollably.

"Remain calm, Mr. Weasley—"

No one answered Ron's question, but Professor McGonagall spoke with displeasure.

Hermione saw what Ron saw, and she was about to give Ron a heads-up, since every warrior and their dance partner were under the public eye. But when she heard Ron's question, she instinctively began to think about the answer. And when a word popped into her mind, Hermione's expression changed instantly!

Chapter 709 Warrior and Dance Partner

2024-01-23

People's attention was drawn to the suddenly appearing giant squid and the creature that followed, and everyone stared wide-eyed at their feet.

The greatest form is formless.

No one could see the giant squid in its entirety, but people could clearly see the creatures that appeared later.

They were a group of creatures with human upper bodies and faces and fish tails, looking like mermaids from Muggle mythology, but unfortunately, these strange creatures had nothing to do with beauty.

Through the ice, one could vaguely see that their skin was iron-gray, and their long, dark green hair was messy and disheveled. Their eyes were yellow, as were their broken teeth, and they wore pebbles strung together with thick ropes around their necks.

She's a mermaid!

As the golden menus conjured by Professor Blaine flew automatically to each table, the older students had already told the answers to their classmates at the adjacent tables.

"Mermaid."

Ron lowered his voice and tilted his head slightly to face Hermione.

"what is that?"

Ron had expected Hermione to answer the question, but after waiting for a long time, he didn't hear a single word of explanation. He turned his head to look at Hermione and saw that she was frowning and looking over the table in front of her at the mermaids, as if she was thinking about something.

"What's wrong, Hermione? Did you find something?"

"Oh, it's nothing--"

The mermaids finally convinced the giant squid not to interfere with the wizards' celebration, and they left together. Hermione finally looked away, but her eyes still held a thoughtful glint.

"I thought of mermaids."

She was halfway through her sentence when Hermione suddenly realized something and quickly stopped talking, because there were other warriors and Ministry of Magic officials sitting next to her!

Harry heard Professor Dumbledore read out the names of the dishes on the menu, and then the corresponding food immediately appeared in front of him. Everyone who saw this followed suit, and Harry also ordered himself a Hungarian red wine braised beef, just like Professor Dumbledore.

Perhaps because the cold and surprise had drained their energy, the young wizards began to feast, while those seated at the head table, mindful of their image, all kept in mind the proper dining etiquette.

At a banquet, participants can enjoy a delicious lunch and a rare spectacle, but the organizers can't be so carefree.

Dumbledore's 'status' and seniority already allowed him to disregard these matters, but Amostella couldn't. Throughout the banquet, he maintained a polite smile while listening to Ludo Bagman's ramblings about how he and Dumbledore should have submitted the banquet plan to the Ministry of Magic earlier, so that the Ministry could have arranged for a reporter from the Daily Prophet to come and record the scene of them creating the ice castle. On the other hand, Amostella also had to keep an eye on whether the young warriors on the main table and his colleagues at the faculty and staff tables were enjoying their meal.

To Amosta's surprise, the warriors, who should have been basking in the envious glances of others, didn't seem to be very happy. Or rather, most of them weren't very happy.

Cedric Diggory, the 'real' champion of Hogwarts, and the Asian girl from Ravenclaw got along very well. During the meal, the two would occasionally huddle together and whisper to each other. Cho Chang, who possessed the unique gentle beauty of an Eastern woman, was amused by Cedric time and time again, while the handsome Cedric's admiration for Cho Chang was undisguised in his occasional glances.

Cedric and Cho Chang were both physical education students. Having taught them for so long, Amosta couldn't possibly have missed the fact that a secret crush had developed between the two students.

It's a pity that Harry Amosta remembers that in one class, Harry secretly glanced at Cho Chang forty-eight times, without even noticing the disappointed looks that Hermione gave him.

Just like now.

Harry probably didn't even realize it himself, but he would always take the opportunity, while looking down at his meal, to glance at Cedric and Cho Chang with his bright green eyes.

Fleur, however, didn't notice Harry's little antics; in fact, she herself was daydreaming.

Just as Harry was secretly watching Cho Chang, Fleur occasionally pretended to listen to Madam Maxim, but her attention was actually on herself. The look in her eyes was no longer angry, but rather tinged with resentment.

Fleur and Harry are outwardly compatible but inwardly estranged. From this perspective, they are actually quite a good match.

Amosta knew what Fleur was planning from the message she had Harry relay.

By drawing the most famous boys at Hogwarts to her side, Fleur probably wanted to prove her charm. Amostella understood her 'good intentions,' but...

The atmosphere between Hermione and Ron is also quite subtle.

Hermione shed more than just the bag she was carrying; as the dinner progressed, her gaze towards Ron became increasingly open, and the problem lay with Ron.

This young man seems unable to shake off his lack of self-confidence.

He sat there, every movement of his seemed so anxious and restless.

Whether it was the gazes cast upon him by the young wizards below or the radiant Hermione beside him, both brought immense pressure to Ron.

To be honest, in Amosta's opinion, the Weasleys' youngest son isn't untalented; it's just that his excellence lies deep within, while outwardly he appears rather ordinary compared to his friends and siblings. Moreover, perhaps due to his upbringing, Ron is always accustomed to comparing his weaknesses with others' strengths, which further exacerbates his inner anxiety.

He had lived in a neglected environment for a long time, and his inferiority complex remained deeply ingrained.

The best way to cure this is to constantly receive encouragement and admiration, thereby gradually building his self-confidence. Unfortunately, even with Harry and Hermione, two outstanding young people, he will continue to be neglected.

The atmosphere of the conversation between Viktor Krum and Daphne Greengrass was relatively harmonious.

As a Quidditch World Star, Viktor Krum naturally knew how to maintain his image in public, and Daphne, from the Greengrass family, was equally adept at it. The two maintained a proper distance and conversed politely.

However, Vicdir seems to have the same problem as Harry and Fleur: his gaze occasionally drifts unintentionally towards Hermione.

Moreover, what puzzled Amosta was that Krum seemed to be avoiding his gaze. Did this young man have such a deep prejudice against him?

The dinner was lavish, but once people had filled their stomachs, they stopped paying attention to what they were eating and began craning their necks to look at Professor Blaine. When Amostall noticed that even Mrs. Maxime was frequently responding to Hagrid's eager gaze, he smiled slightly, spoke briefly with Dumbledore, and then stood up from his seat.

He waved his wand, and all the tables slowly sank to the ground, followed by a huge stage rising up from the ground.

Beneath an ice pine tree appeared a piano, its entire body pure and clear, still formed from ice. The keys moved automatically, and a soothing, melancholic melody filled the hall.

"So--"

Amosta glanced at the Warriors around him, who were clearly getting tense.