Hogwarts: My Grandmother is the Queen

Chapter 336 Ron: A Little Jealous

Ron was silent for a moment, then said, "I'll wear Mom's."

"A wise choice," George patted him on the shoulder. "At least this one won't sparkle."

"No," Ron said politely, "I'm just worried you might do something bad with that dress. To be honest, I can hardly trust you anymore."

The twins looked at each other and burst into laughter.

That evening, Ron tried on the dark purple robe.

He stood in front of the mirror in the common room, turned around, and looked at his reflection—the color of his robe made his face look somewhat pale, and the lace trim at the shoulders and cuffs piled up like two withered purple clouds.

He straightened his collar, then loosened it, then straightened it again.

No matter how he adjusted it, the robe still looked like a garment that shouldn't belong to him.

Hermione came down the stairs and stopped in her tracks when she saw Ron standing in front of the mirror in that robe.

She stared at the robe for a long time before politely asking, "Ron, what are you wearing?"

"My mom sent me a formal gown," Ron said. "What's wrong?"

"It's nothing," Hermione said. "It's just—I didn't notice it before you weren't wearing it, but now that you're wearing it, it looks a little—a little special."

"Special?" Ron turned around. "Is this what you call special?"

"Yes," Hermione said, "the kind of special that's really noticeable."

"The word 'conspicuous' is well used," Ron said. "When I walk in the hallway wearing this, the first thing people see when they see my back isn't my head, but the lace on my robe."

At this point, Ron said with a mournful face, "Merlin's socks! How could I be so unlucky—"

"Then you could put it away and wear it in a more understated way?" Hermione asked tentatively.

"This is my only outfit," Ron said. "Unless I go in my pajamas."

Hermione looked at him, her expression complex. "So you're planning to wear this?"

“Yes,” Ron said, “what else?”

Hermione thought for a moment and said, "Then at least tie your tie properly; your collar is all turned up."

Ron glanced down and reached out to straighten his collar.

Hermione glanced at him, said nothing, and turned to walk towards the chair in front of the fireplace.

Harry sat on the sofa next to him and watched Ron pace back and forth in front of the mirror for ten minutes before finally saying, "Ron, that dress doesn't actually look that bad."

"Really?" Ron turned around.

"Really," Harry said, "at least the colors still look pretty good."

"The color is perfect?" Ron said. "You mean the color of this dress is a standard maroon?"

"Yes," Harry said, "a standard maroon, and the lace is standard too."

"Are you trying to comfort me?" Ron was on the verge of a breakdown.

"Yes," Harry said seriously, "I was just trying to comfort you."

"You're really good at comforting people," Ron said sarcastically.

"I know," Harry laughed, "but I tried my best."

Ron sighed, took off the dark purple robe, folded it, and placed it on the sofa: "The ball is in two days, and I've decided to wear this."

"So how do you plan to deal with the rest of the people?"

"When I'm with other people, I hold my head high and pretend I picked out the clothes myself," Ron said. "Anyway, nobody knows my mom sent them."

"Everyone knows it was sent by your mother," Fred said, peeking out from the bottom of the stairs. "Because only a mother would buy clothes this color."

Ron glared at him, but Fred had already pulled his head back.

"Harry," Ron asked again.

"Um?

'

"You mean—Hermione and Krum, how did they meet?"

Harry put down the magazine: "I think we met at the library. He said he was reading a Quidditch tactics book, but the book was upside down."

"Upside down?" Ron paused, taken aback. "Is he reading a book or not?"

"He's probably waiting for Hermione," Harry said. "Anyway, that's what Hermione said, and I think so too."

Ron was silent for a moment: "So, does he genuinely enjoy reading, or is he just pretending?"

"He likes Hermione," Harry said. "So he waits for her in the library, it doesn't matter what book it is."

Ron thought about this logic for a moment and felt it made some sense: "So if someone really wants to wait for someone, he'll pretend to be doing something else where she might be?"

“Yes,” Harry said. “It’s like when you sometimes pretend to tie your shoelaces in the hallway, but you’re actually waiting for Padma to come out of Ravenclaw Tower.”

Ron blushed slightly: "How did you know?"

"I saw you," Harry said. "You tied your shoelaces four times, each time in the same spot. And the shoes you wore that day didn't have any shoelaces at all."

Ron opened his mouth, only to find himself completely exposed: "Okay. He was indeed waiting for her."

"And the result?"

"She came out, I saw her, and I said hi," she said hi too, then we chatted for a bit, and then she left."

"Then why didn't you just invite her directly?"

"I'm not ready yet," Ron said. "I want to run into her a few more times before inviting her, otherwise it would be too sudden."

"A very wise choice, so you succeeded," Harry said with a hearty laugh.

That evening, Hermione sat on the windowsill, gazing at the Black Lake outside. The gown she would wear the next day was already hanging in her room; she had bought it at Hogsmeade.

She tried it once and thought the effect was pretty good, but when she stood in front of the mirror, she always felt that there was something she could adjust.

Ron came out of the common room with the folded maroon robe in his hand. He saw Hermione sitting on the windowsill, walked over, and stood next to her.

Hermione.

Hermione turned her head: "Ron?"

"Tomorrow night," Ron said, "will you dance with Krum?"

"Of course I will," Hermione said.

"That's good," Ron said dryly. "Wearing this outfit, at least I won't get my feet stepped on if I don't jump well."

Hermione glanced at him: "You won't step on Padma."

Ron stood beside her, looking out at the black lake.

The moonlight cast a silvery glow on the water, and the Durmstrang ship lay quietly moored in the middle of the lake, its flag fluttering gently in the night breeze.

He was silent for a moment, then said, "Hermione."

"Um?

'

"Do you really think Krum is a good person?"

"I think he's a genuine person," Hermione said. "He doesn't pretend to be anything he's not. He was quiet at the tea party because he was listening to others."

"So you like his personality?"

"I like his personality," Hermione said, "but I'm not sure if I like him."

Ron frowned slightly upon hearing this answer: "You mean two different things when you say 'like'?"

"Yes," Hermione said, "one meaning is 'I like this person,' and the other meaning is 'I like this person.' Do you understand?"

Ron thought for a moment: "I think I roughly understood. But I'm not sure."

"That's enough," Hermione said. "You don't need to know everything."

Saturday afternoon, the Gryffindor Tower was bustling with activity.

There were fewer people in the common room than usual; everyone had gone back to their dormitories to change clothes.

Footsteps and laughter occasionally echoed down the corridor, interspersed with conversations like, "Can you check if my bow tie is straight?" and "Is my skirt too long?"

Harry stood in front of the mirror in his dormitory, wearing a formal crimson tuxedo robe, struggling to tie his bow tie.

He tried many times, but each time it was crooked. Finally, he gave up, took the bow tie off, and re-tied it. This time, it was finally straight.

Ron emerged from the bathroom, wearing the dark purple robe with the lace trim at the collar already turned up, but he still looked somewhat uncomfortable.

He turned around in front of the mirror, looking at his reflection, as if to confirm that he really wanted to wear this outfit out.

"How is it?" he asked.

Harry looked at him carefully: "You look like your mother's style."

That means it's not good-looking.

"It's not that it's ugly," Harry said, "it's—very special."

Ron sighed. "I accept it. Anyway, I have nothing else to wear."

"You could wear Fred and George's color-changing shirts," Harry suggested hesitantly.

"That one will sparkle like a rainbow," Ron said. "I think rainbow colors are more eye-catching than maroon."

"Then wearing maroon is a wise choice for you."

"At least the word 'wise' is good," Ron said. "I can use that word to comfort myself."

They walked down the stairs together to the common lounge.

Parvati Petil was already waiting there, looking radiant in a gold sari and with a string of delicate pearls in her hair.

She smiled when she saw Harry come down.

"Harry," she said, "you look good."

"You too," Harry said. "You look—very good."

Parvati smiled and extended his hand: "Let's go."

Harry hesitated for a moment, then took her hand.

Ron stood at the top of the stairs, watching Harry and Parvati walk out together.

He was about to go find Padma when he saw her wearing a light pink dress and slipping through the opening of the portrait of the fat lady.

Ron looked at her, and his face suddenly turned a little red.

"Ron?" Padma looked at him, somewhat surprised. "You're wearing—"

"A formal gown," Ron said. "My mother sent it."

"Oh," Padma said, "—very special."

“I know,” Ron said. “I’ve heard the word ‘special’ so many times today.”

Padma smiled and didn't comment on his clothes further: "Let's go then."

The two of them walked out of the common room together and down the corridor toward the lobby.

Ron walked beside her, feeling his steps were a bit stiffer than usual, but he tried to keep his shoulders from tensing up.

The corridor was already quite crowded. Students from the four colleges, dressed in various formal gowns and skirts, walked down the stairs and merged into the crowd in the entrance hall.

The students at Beauxbatons wore light blue silk robes, the students at Durmstrang wore thick crimson robes, and the students at Hogwarts wore all sorts of things: some wore formal gowns, some wore Muggle-style suits and skirts, and some wore shimmering gold, as if they were wrapped in a Christmas tree.

When Ron and Padma entered the foyer, it was already crowded with people.

Some people were talking in hushed tones, some were looking around at other people's clothes, and some were trying to find their dance partners.

Ron saw Fred and George—they were wearing color-changing suits—talking loudly to some Gryffindor classmates at the edge of the crowd.

Ron also saw Hermione.

She stood on the other side of the foyer, wearing a light pink dress with silver embroidery on the hem, which shimmered softly in the candlelight.

Her hair fell more smoothly down her sides than usual, not tied up or styled into the tight bun she usually wore, but loosely draped over her shoulders, revealing the lines of her neck and ears.

Ron stared at her, stunned.

He had never seen Hermione dressed like this before.

During her four years at Hogwarts, Hermione mostly wore her school robes, and her hair was either messy or tied in a ponytail or a bun.

He had never seen her like this before, wearing a well-fitting long dress, her hair hanging naturally, standing in the candlelight, as if illuminated by some kind of light.

Padma followed his gaze and asked in astonishment, "Is that Hermione Granger?"

"Yes," Ron said.

"She looks—very different."

"Yeah—" Ron suddenly felt that everything was a bit boring.

Ron's gaze lingered on Hermione for a moment, then he saw Krum walk up behind her, dressed in a formal suit, stand beside her, and whisper something to her.

Hermione looked up at him, a faint smile playing on her lips.

Ron looked away.

Hermione stood there, feeling her heart beating faster than usual.

Krum stood next to her, looking more relaxed than she did.

His posture was natural, as if he was used to being watched.

"You look very nervous," he said.

"I'm not nervous," Hermione said. "I'm just making sure I'm ready."

"Are you ready?"

Hermione thought for a moment: "It should be fine now, at least I'm wearing the right dress."

"Now that you've put on the right dress, we can begin," Krum said. "Let's go."

He reached out his hand, and Hermione hesitated for a moment before placing her hand in his palm.

When Ron saw Hermione and Krum walk into the hall together, a pang of jealousy welled up inside him for some reason. He turned back to Padma and said, "Let's go in too."

Padma glanced at him: "Okay."

The scene in the hall was more spectacular than usual, with holly wreaths and silver icicles hanging from the ceiling, each icicle glowing slightly, like frozen starlight.

The walls were covered with mistletoe and ivy, the kind that seemed to be enchanted, swaying gently to the music.