A Certain Magical Hogwarts

Chapter 652 Christmas Ball (Part 3)

William and Hermione simply stood there quietly, yet they naturally became the focus of the entire room.

It has nothing to do with fame; it's just that her looks and charisma are so outstanding that she's impossible to ignore.

Hermione, in particular, with her luxurious attire and stunning beauty, looked like a fairy.

Wherever her gaze fell, many people felt ashamed and avoided her eyes.

Hermione looked around, then leaned close to William's ear and said with some concern:

"I didn't see Annie, and she didn't steal my invisibility cloak. Hopefully, nothing bad will happen."

"No, she must have already sneaked in," William said calmly.

He hasn't heard of any boy accepting his invitation yet, so it must have been through improper channels.

She wouldn't miss the ball either, she probably sneaked in using other methods.

Moreover, she'll likely bring that little Gabrielle in too.

Either method is a violation of the regulations.

However... Annie is a bit mischievous... but overall, she shouldn't go too far.

Hmm... William, as the older brother, certainly has that much confidence.

After all, a younger sister is a brother's hand warmer.

Just then, Professor McGonagall's voice rang out: "Brave warriors, come this way!"

William took Hermione's hand and they walked slowly forward. The chattering crowd immediately parted to make way for the warriors as they left.

Professor McGonagall was also dressed up tonight, wearing a red plaid robe and a wreath of thistles on the brim of her hat.

It's somewhat like the style of dressing in the 1950s.

Obviously, that's what everyone thinks.

However, Professor McGonagall had sharp eyes and walked out with a powerful and imposing air.

Okay, don't ask... the answer is retro style, it's the Renaissance.

It's definitely not Professor McGonagall's aesthetic sense; it's fifty versions behind the rest of the world.

Led by Professor McGonagall, the warriors and their dance partners stood at the door.

After the students found their seats and settled down, the warriors lined up to enter the auditorium.

Someone nudged William in the back, and he turned around to find it was Trinity.

Ah~ this look was quite alarming; William almost blew his eyes out.

Instead of her leather jacket, Trinity wore a more glamorous black deep-V dress, exuding a strong feminine charm.

Although William was only fifteen, he was already taller than many adult wizards. And Trinity was even slightly taller than him.

Regardless of her clothing and demeanor, her incredibly long legs beneath the long skirt were quite eye-catching.

Although Hibiscus is also very pretty, she is too young and inexperienced compared to Teresa. Standing next to Teresa, even her aura is overshadowed.

That's right, Hibiscus's dance partner was Teresa.

During this time, Trinity traveled around England in her modified boat, only returning to Hogwarts just before Christmas.

She wasn't a student and couldn't attend the dance on her own.

Fleur hadn't found a dance partner, or rather, she hadn't even thought about having one, so William suggested inviting her.

Anyway, no one says that your dance partner has to be a boy.

The two of them standing together were a sight to behold, at least attracting the attention of the other half of the room.

Looking at William, Trinity gave him a flirtatious wink as usual, then reached out and pulled Hermione to her side, helping her adjust her headdress.

William watched the three girls whispering amongst themselves, seemingly alone.

Cedric and Cho were chatting not far away. Or rather... wrestling.

It really was a wrestling match; Cedric seemed to want Cho to link arms with him, to make their relationship appear closer.

His hands were a bit restless, landing in places they shouldn't have.

Qiu used a counter-grappling move and almost broke Cedric's hand.

"I'm sorry, I practiced Taekwondo during the summer vacation," Qiu comforted her.

Qiu did train; she was attacked by a kangaroo in Australia that year, and that's when she started learning martial arts.

Qiu apologized, "It won't happen again next time. I'll control myself."

Cedric nodded. Now that Cho had said so, he could be a little bolder at the ball.

Cedric began preparing to madly test and repeatedly teeter on the edge of death.

Malfoy also appeared, dressed in a black velvet high-necked robe, looking like a serious priest.

His dance partner was indeed Pansy, and could only be Pansy.

Pansy, dressed in a dark green robe with many ruffles, clung tightly to Malfoy's arm, letting him hold her hips.

But seeing Malfoy's pained expression, he would rather have his hand broken than hold Pansy.

Ron and Lavender stood at the very back.

Lavender hooked his arm around Hermione's neck again, but kept staring at the large diamond on her body.

"Lolo, why don't you give me a diamond too? I don't care about the money, I just want to see your attitude."

Ron rolled his eyes. Even if he sold his house, he still couldn't afford it.

"If you can't afford to buy, you can rent," Lavender said reluctantly. "I have several girlfriends who all want to rent gemstones."

Everyone takes turns leading for a few minutes; it won't cost each person much.

"This can be rented?" Ron asked in surprise.

"Yeah," Lavender said, looking at Ron's incredibly unfashionable clothes. "You can also rent formal wear, though those are very expensive."

"You can wear it for a while, then go to the restroom to change and let someone else wear it. It's not expensive per person... How about we rent a diamond too?"

Ron, thinking to himself that he had no money, replied evasively:

"I'll go to Black Lake later and pick up a few pebbles to give you. It's all the same anyway."

"..."

As the students sat down, McGonagall led the warriors inside, toward a large round table at the front of the auditorium where the referees were seated.

The people in the auditorium applauded enthusiastically.

Hermione felt a little nervous being stared at by so many people.

She held William's hand tightly, her palms sweaty.

William gently stroked the girl's hand, turning his head to smile at her. Hermione looked into his eyes, and her heart quickly calmed down.

The walls of the auditorium were covered with shimmering silver frost, the ceiling was a starry night sky, and there were also hundreds of mistletoe twigs and ivy garlands hanging from it.

The four college tables were gone, replaced by a hundred small tables lit with lanterns, with about ten people sitting at each table.

Sitting at the main table, Dumbledore clapped his hands happily.

Madame Maxim had changed out of her usual black satin uniform and was now wearing a flowing pale purple robe, holding a glass of red wine in her hand.

Karkarov stared at the crowd with a gloomy expression; clearly, he hadn't found a dance partner.

William suddenly noticed that Ludo was not there, and Crouch was also absent.

Percy was sitting at one corner of the table.

William and Hermione found a table and sat down. Percy, at the other table, eagerly turned to William and said:

"William, thank you for your Christmas gift... Mr. Fudge's autograph, it's wonderful! It's the best gift I've ever received."

William smiled and said, "I'm glad you like it."

Last semester, Fudge gave William a set of his autographed books.

He immediately gave it to Percy as a Christmas present. Those self-help tropes and motivational quotes were Percy's favorite reading material.

"What brings you here?" William asked.

"I got promoted," Percy said smugly.

Judging from his tone, it was as if he had just been chosen as the ruler of Earth and the supreme god of the universe.

"I am now Mr. Crouch's personal assistant, and I am here on his behalf."

"Why didn't he come?" William asked.

"It's all because of Ludo Bagman," Percy said in a low voice.

"Ludo seems to have disappeared yesterday; Mr. Crouch went to look for him."

"Ludo is missing?" William raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, he probably owed too much money... so he ran away. I heard he owed money not only to fairies, but also to wizards."

William squinted as he thought.

This is strange. Ludo and Gringotts made another bet, this time that Ron would win the championship.

But in the first round, Ron was last. Perhaps seeing no hope of winning, he simply ran away?

This also makes sense.

However, Lu Duo, the director of the sports department, is still presiding over the competition.

Is it really a good idea to just run away like this?

……

……

(Please vote for this post, everyone.)

Sorry, I've been staying up too late for several days in a row, and I'm just too tired. The temperature difference has been too big lately, and I've also caught a bit of a cold.

I'm sorry, I'm sorry.

Thank you to the two esteemed contributors, "Dao You Qing Liu Bu You" and "Hui Zi Bao Huang Ru Dan Tian," for their generous donations.

(End of this chapter)