Christmas Ball (I)

Professor McGonagall ignored the excited girls in the crowd and continued speaking.

"Remember to wear your formal gowns—the ball will be held in the Great Hall at eight o'clock on Christmas night and will end at midnight. Listen—"

She looked at all the students, and when she saw a few of them, she deliberately pushed up her glasses.

For example, Harry, Fred, George, and Ron —well, the school's notorious pranksters.

"This is a good opportunity to express myself, so I hope no one will cause me any more trouble."

"You're allowed to let your hair down at the Christmas Ball— " Professor McGonagall said this, and Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil chuckled, since Professor McGonagall never let her hair down.

"But that doesn't mean—" Professor McGonagall continued, "That we will relax our behavioral requirements for Hogwarts students. I will be very distressed if any student of the school embarrasses the school in any way."

She spoke very seriously, so seriously that the Weasley twins shrank back— Professor McGonagall wouldn't let them off the hook if they caused any big trouble at the Christmas Ball.

After giving some more instructions, Professor McGonagall waved to Sean and Daisy beside him.

"You guys, come here."

She then called on Stephanie, as well as the Cedric and Weasley twins.

"Is everyone here?" Professor McGonagall looked around, then continued, "Champion need to have their own partners, so—"

The Weasley twins gave each other a high five, and Cedric also raised his head slightly. Clearly, the three of them had already chosen their partners.

Correspondingly, there are the three of them, Sean.

Sean maintained a calm expression, but inwardly he was already screaming that something was wrong.

Daisy looked at Sean after Professor McGonagall finished speaking.

Stephanie remained expressionless and even raised her hand slightly.

"Miss Ollivander?"

"Professor, is a dance partner required, Champion— "

Professor McGonagall nodded. "Of course, you must dance, and that's exactly what I'm about to tell you—traditionally, the ball is started by the Champion and their partners."

Daisy immediately asked, "Professor, can Champion become Champion partners?"

"Normally, everyone should find their own partner, but considering the significant increase in the number of contestants, it would take too long and be too chaotic if everyone danced together. So we encourage contestants to form dance partners," Professor McGonagall said.

Fred whistled and looked at Sean with ill intent.

Sean secretly moved over and stomped on his foot hard.

"Ouch—" he cried out in pain and was then stared at by Professor McGonagall.

"Mr. Weasley —both of you, I'm proud of you being chosen as Champion, but..."

He didn't finish his sentence, but Fred could only put on the act of a good student.

"Alright, I hope you can get the Christmas Ball off to a good start."

"You guys go eat first... I need to talk to Professor McGonagall," Sean said, then followed Professor McGonagall away.

"What's wrong, Sean?" Professor McGonagall never called him Wallerup in private, and her tone was much gentler.

Sean scratched his head sheepishly. "Professor, is a dance partner really necessary?"

Professor McGonagall looked at him strangely. "I made myself perfectly clear—and Sean, finding a dance partner shouldn't be difficult for you, right?"

"It's not difficult..."

"Hmm?" Professor McGonagall suddenly narrowed her eyes, making Sean tremble.

"Well... um, could I find a male dance partner or something..." Sean tried to make himself seem sincere.

Professor McGonagall's expression turned strange. "You like boys?"

"No..."

"Then there's nothing more to say," Professor McGonagall waved her hand. "When the Christmas Ball starts, you will be the first to appear on behalf of Hogwarts."

"Teach, professor..."

Professor McGonagall has gone far away, leaving only a melancholy Sean behind.

"This is a big problem..."

Choosing a dance partner is a very serious question.

Looking for Daisy? Hmm, Hermione might not say anything, but she must be feeling terrible inside. Besides, she was already upset about teaming up with Daisy Stephanie —though she never says it out loud, Sean can't pretend he didn't see it.

Looking for Hermione? That Little White Flower would probably be all smiles and then just sitting there lost in thought. Just thinking about it makes Sean feel a little sorry for her.

Moreover, the Champion must have a dance partner, which means that if Sean finds someone else, Daisy must also find another boy as a dance partner— Sean thought about the scene carefully and felt a little uncomfortable.

As for Stephanie ... Sean was also a little unsure about her thoughts and his own.

However, at this point, it's no use for Sean to be slow-witted or pretend to be stupid; he can't fool himself.

Only children make choices...

Sean felt that this might be the most Greed thought he had ever had in his life.

However, a practical problem loomed before him— Pride was at most two years away from fully awakening.

Sean sighed and stared blankly at his outstretched hands.

No matter how confident he was, he couldn't guarantee that the Sword of Damocles wouldn't fall from his head.

"De, de, de..." He pressed his tongue against the roof of his mouth, making muffled bubbling sounds.

Growing up brings so many troubles...

"Sean, you don't think you should be sitting here," Neville said, scratching his head.

On the courtyard railing, Sean, Harry, Ron, and Neville sat slumped, looking distressed.

"No, buddy, I'm in the same situation as you."

Ron protested, "You? Don't be ridiculous! We're not the same..."

As they were talking, several older girls passed by. They looked at Sean and giggled, and some of the bolder ones even gave him a fiery look.

After they passed by, Ron bumped Sean hard and then said to Harry and Neville.

"How many is he? Sean is like a magnet; if he wanted to, he could line up and dance with every single girl in the castle—we're not!"

Neville nodded in agreement, but in Sean's opinion, it would be easy for Neville to find a dance partner—born into the Auror family, with excellent grades, kind and reliable, and Gryffindor Prefect.

There will be no shortage of girls willing to date Neville.

Harry is in a similar situation; he is quite popular in Gryffindor, just like his father James was when he was in school.

Only Ron is somewhat pitiful, overshadowed by his two outstanding friends, while his brothers have left an insurmountable gap – Percy, Charlie, and Bill are all top students, and Fred and George, although their grades are a bit worse, have likable personalities, are well-liked by everyone, and have now been chosen Champion, enjoying great popularity.

The youngest boy in the Weasley family was practically invisible.

Harry was lost in thought, a lollipop dangling from his mouth.

"Hey, buddy, say something!" Ron nudged him.

Harry shook his head and suddenly said, "Ron, if... I mean, if I wanted to invite Ginny..."

Ron was stunned for a moment, then angrily lunged forward and grabbed Harry's neck. "You actually fell for your best friend's sister!"

"Cough, cough... buddy, I haven't said I like you yet, I just invited you..." Harry struggled to say.

"What's the difference!"

Sean watched the two bickering and said lazily, "Wouldn't it be better to become even closer?"

Harry glared at him as he was being hugged around the neck. "You have no right to say that! I haven't agreed yet!"

Sean: "..."

Things are getting chaotic...

Neville sighed, "It's definitely better not to dance."

Sean nodded in agreement.

Neville glanced at him. "I can go without a dance partner, but you have to—speaking of which, haven't any of Hermione or the others invited you?"

This topic is getting awkward... Sean gave an embarrassed smile, "No..."

Hermione and the others did not invite Sean. It was as if they had reached an unspoken understanding, and none of them even mentioned the matter of a dance partner.

But the Christmas Ball is getting closer and closer.

"Mr. Wallop, come over here and demonstrate with me." Professor McGonagall had turned a class into a group ballroom dance lesson, and she immediately spotted Sean hiding at the back.

"All right..."

"Have you danced before...? Oh, not bad." Professor McGonagall looked at Sean in front of her with some surprise. Sean casually put his arm around her waist, and his movements were very standard.

"Very good, very good. Come on, let's demonstrate for everyone."

Sean agreed and started dancing with Professor McGonagall. Although he was reluctant to step forward at this time, he figured he might as well do his job since he had been singled out.

When he was a child, his father hired a teacher to teach him to dance. For the Wallop family, attending various balls was unavoidable, and Sean was certainly a good dancer.

After the demonstration, Professor McGonagall nodded in satisfaction to Sean, then said to everyone, "Alright, everyone find a partner to practice with— Mr. Wallop, you can help the other students who don't know how."

"Okay—huh?" Sean was dumbfounded.

Immediately, many girls turned their eager gazes toward them.

However, before the other girls could speak, Daisy ran over happily.

"Quick, Sean, teach me!" the girl said with a smile.

Sean was taken aback, but still gracefully extended his hand.

The Little White Flower gently placed her soft hand in his palm, smiled sweetly, and put her other hand on Sean's shoulder as well.

"Okay, Ms. Wallerup, what's next?" she blinked her beautiful big eyes.

"Oh, oh, come on, like this..." Sean snapped out of his daze, and when he placed his hand on the girl's waist, he could clearly feel her body tense up.

"Don't be nervous..." Sean tried his best to play the role of a good teacher.

Daisy, however, gave a sly smile and pressed herself even closer to the ground.

"So?"

Sean: "..."

Indeed, visual perception alone is not accurate; in terms of physical feel, Daisy is... considerably larger than Hermione...

"Pah, what are you thinking?" Sean cursed himself inwardly, then put on a serious face.

He put his arm around Daisy and gently started the girl to dance.

Although it was their first time dancing, Daisy was a complete novice, they were surprisingly harmonious. They swayed gracefully across the floor, and before they knew it, everyone around them was watching, even making room for them.

As she spun leisurely, Daisy quietly leaned closer and whispered, "Sean..."

"Um?"

"I really want to keep jumping with you..."

"Ah—" Sean's eyes widened before he could even finish his sentence.

The two hopped and hopped until they reached the edge, where there was a person standing all alone.

It's Hermione.

Seeing Sean's gaze, Hermione gave him a smile, though it looked somewhat forced.

Then, Daisy made a graceful turn, took Sean's hand, and stopped in front of Hermione.

"Alright, it's time for you to teach Hermione!" the Little White Flower said smugly, hands on her hips.

Hermione's eyes widened slightly, and she raised her hand. "No, I'm not going to the ball..."

Before she could finish speaking, Daisy shoved Sean toward Hermione, and the two of them ended up right next to each other.

The atmosphere became inexplicably awkward.

The instigator, Little White Flower, looked around nonchalantly, then sighed.

"My brother is such an idiot. He was so quick to catch the Golden Snitch, but he can't even dance properly—I'm going to save him."

After saying that, she skipped and hopped towards Harry.

Sean watched Daisy walk away, then heard Hermione's disgruntled voice from beneath him. "How long are you going to keep pinning me down...?"

"Ah, sorry—" Sean quickly let go. For some reason, he felt like his reactions were much slower today...

However, Hermione is indeed a little Daisy...

Beneath him, Hermione, her face flushed, glared at him disapprovingly, then said in a nonchalant tone, "I don't need to learn, anyway, I don't dance..."

Sean raised an eyebrow and gave an elegant bow. "May I invite you to dance, Miss Granger?"

Looking at his outstretched hand, Hermione bit her lip and reluctantly put her hand in after a long while.

"It's not impossible..."

Ten minutes later...

Hermione blushed and said, "How about we call it a day..."

Sean broke out in a cold sweat—it hurt.

He jumped for ten minutes, and Hermione stepped on him for ten minutes...

The tacit understanding between the two had completely disappeared during the dance. They were both top students, but one of them just couldn't be taught and the other just couldn't learn.

However, Sean showed no impatience. He laughed heartily and said, "No problem. When I first started learning, I stepped on my dance teacher for a month—my dad gave her a raise, so you can do my extra homework for me?"

Hermione glared at him. "Anything else is fine, but helping you with your homework is out of the question!"

"How ruthless..."

The girl's expression visibly relaxed considerably.

After ten minutes, she was finally able to dance freely.

For the final dance move, Sean lifted Hermione high and spun her around in the air in a perfect circle.

As soon as they landed, Sean was about to say something to praise her, but Hermione suddenly hugged him.

They part at the slightest touch, like a butterfly that has just touched a flower.

Hermione regained her usual decisive and straightforward demeanor, proudly raising her head. "Thank you for your guidance, I've learned it."

"Ah?"

"I said, I've learned it!"