Hogwarts' Golden Glory

The girl in the silver-gray coat didn't reply; she just stood there, watching the tree's branches slowly adjust their angle. The person next to her also stopped to watch the process.

At that moment, the candlelight at the farthest point in the foyer simultaneously lit up by half a degree. No one could see exactly when it started, but it did happen—like a row of slowly heated filaments adjusting their brightness in sync.

The row of candles maintained its brightness after being lit, without dimming, as if reserving the most suitable angle of light for those about to pass by.

People were still arriving in the lobby. Some were checking if they had come to the right entrance, some were answering "This is it," and some were saying "You've arrived."

Their voices mingled, but the tree on the tapestry had begun to readjust its branches, as if adapting to the new distribution of people. The flames in the icicles continued to rotate, and light pierced through from different angles, falling on the collars and shoulders of those entering.

As Krum entered, the thin white mist suspended in the air parted slightly to the sides as he passed, as if propelled by his pace.

His steps were unhurried, each step leaving a brief indentation on the misty surface, lasting about half a second before disappearing. His dance partner, in a dark red dress, took slightly smaller steps, landing precisely on the edge of his footprints without overlapping.

At the edge of the Hufflepuff area, someone whispered, "Is that Krum's dance partner? I thought he'd bring someone special."

"The girl he brought along didn't seem like his type of dance partner."

"Maybe he just wanted to find someone who wouldn't stand out, to save himself the trouble."

The sound was not loud and was mostly drowned out by the surrounding noise, failing to travel further.

Cedric entered next, his dark blue robe shimmering in the candlelight, like a fabric whose color changes depending on the viewing angle.

The silver badge pinned to his left collar had a very thin coating that produced extremely subtle color changes when the candlelight passed over it.

His dance partner wore a light-colored long dress with a sheen as thin as a cicada's wing at the hem, as if some extremely light fabric had been made into a double structure with extremely fine luminescent fibers embedded between the layers. The sheen changed as she moved, and as she passed through the crowd, the gazes of several people lingered for a moment after she had passed, landing on the spot where she had just stood.

"He invited that third-year student from Hufflepuff, right?"

"Yes, it's the one who doesn't usually participate in activities."

"Her dress looks like it was custom-made."

"Cedric has a good eye for talent."

The conversation didn't last long because a new change came from the foyer.

The disturbance in the suspended white mist was more pronounced than ever before, as if heavier footsteps were passing through its area. However, the disturbance did not last long and returned to a uniform distribution after it passed through.

As Harry entered, the row of candles closest to the foyer simultaneously lit up by one increment. Not because of the wind, but because they lit up at the same time and evenly, as if adjusting their brightness themselves. The flames of those candles, after increasing in brightness, slightly veered towards him before returning to their original position.

He walks at a moderate pace, with each step landing naturally on the same axis.

The shoulder lines of his black coat extended naturally and straight out on both sides of his shoulders, with no excess fabric piling up at the edges, and fit perfectly against the actual contours of his shoulders.

The dark gray trim inside the collar briefly lit up as the candlelight passed by, then dimmed again, as if it could only be seen from a specific angle.

Qiu Zhang walked beside him, her dark blue skirt swaying naturally about an inch above her ankles as she moved, without much undulation.

The fabric at her shoulders was very thin, as if a layer of thickness had been cut off to fit the contours of her shoulders. She walked with slightly smaller strides than Harry, but the time intervals between her steps were the same.

Her hair shimmered softly in the candlelight, the ends curling slightly as it swayed gently with each step she took.

The conversation in the foyer paused briefly as they passed by, a pause of about one and a half seconds, before resuming.

But the voice was lower than before after it was reconnected, as if some sentences had been taken back before it could be uttered.

"Is that Harry Potter? He doesn't usually walk like that."

"It's not a problem with how he walks; he's a completely different person after he changed his coat."

"Is that Qiu Zhang next to him? When they walk together, their pace is almost synchronized."

"She looked different tonight, like she had a different style. That coat definitely fit her better than usual."

"They looked like they had rehearsed when they came over."

"It doesn't feel like it was rehearsed; it feels like they were always meant to walk together like this."

"They look great together. It's not something faked; it just feels natural. It's like they've been together for a while and don't need to adjust their pace to fit each other."

"They look so well-matched!"

Halfway down that stretch of road, Cho Chang turned his head slightly, his gaze falling on the edge of Harry's cuff, and whispered in a voice only Harry could hear: "Are you nervous?"

Harry's gaze didn't waver: "A little nervous, but very excited."

Ron stood near the wall, with Chloe chatting with another Hufflepuff girl to his left and the wall to his right.

He saw Harry walk in, his gaze first falling on Harry's shoulder, then moving down along the cuffs, past the edge of the coat, and finally landing on the tips of his shoes. He looked away and glanced down at his own cuffs.

"His outfit today is really cool!"

Chloe was looking in another direction and didn't hear the sentence.

Fred and George stood at a table a little distance from the entrance, each holding a drink, but neither had taken a sip. "Looks like Harry's going to get a girlfriend," George said.

"I never imagined that Harry would actually win over the prettiest girl in Hufflepuff!" Fred said.

"I must say, they're quite a good match," George said.

Neville stood at the edge of the Hufflepuff area waiting for Hannah, and he saw Harry and Cho Chang walk through the foyer.

He saw the chemistry between Harry and Cho Chang.

He looked away and glanced down at his collar.

Hannah was walking back from the crowd when she approached Neville. "What were you looking at just now?"

"It's nothing. I thought I had mistaken someone for someone else."