Ron the Big Fool

Ron the Big Fool

While Harry was fretting over how to keep persuading Ron, Ginny was invited onto the dance floor by an older boy.

The Yule Ball had no rule against asking someone else's partner to dance; it was perfectly normal to invite someone of the opposite sex you liked.

But like Hermione and the others, Ginny had no intention of dancing with any boy other than her own partner.

After turning down three boys in a row, she went over to the Christmas tree and studied Luna with an odd expression.

"This is what you called carefully prepared?"

Without turning around, Luna continued teasing the little golden fairies on the tree. "Yes. What do you think?"

Ginny was rather speechless as she reached out and turned Luna's little head around.

Her makeup was fine, at least. She had not painted any strange runes on her face.

It was just that those glass eyeball earrings were rather creepy. They made Ginny feel as though Moody's magical eye were staring at her.

"Luna, you—"

"You want to ask why I dressed like this?"

Luna lifted her skirt slightly and slowly turned in place. "I think it's quite nice. As long as I'm comfortable in what I wear, why should I care what other people think?"

Ginny was briefly at a loss for words, though she could not help admiring Luna's mindset.

Luna had not earned the nickname "Mad Girl" for nothing. When she had first enrolled, her circumstances had been even worse than Hermione's.

Even Ravenclaw, which was full of oddballs, could not tolerate her and ostracized her. If she had managed to stay all this time, she must have long grown used to those strange looks.

But honestly, Ginny was more inclined to believe that Luna truly did not care what others thought.

After knowing her for so many years, Ginny had always been like this. She had never changed at all.

"Fine, Luna. The school's holding a ball right now. Surely you should go in and dance at least once?"

Luna's distant gaze drifted toward Harry and Ron. "Forget it. I don't want to spoil his mood."

Ginny looked over as well, and her little cheeks immediately puffed up with anger.

How could she not know what Ron was like?

Before, when he had not thought of using Transfiguration to alter his dress robes, he had not even dared to invite a girl himself. Now that his biggest problem had been solved, he was actually looking down on Luna?

"Luna, wait here for me." Ginny strode over furiously after saying that.

"Ron, no matter what, she's still the partner you invited."

"Stop it, Harry. If you sympathize with her and think she's pitiful, then you go dance with her—"

With a sharp smack, Ginny landed a solid slap on the back of Ron's head.

"Hey! What was that for?"

Ginny was so angry her eyebrows nearly stood on end. "What was that for? You should be asking yourself what you're doing!"

Ron shrugged. "You're here to persuade me to dance with the 'Mad Girl' too?

Forget it. She really is very pretty, but her dress robes are even worse than my old secondhand ones. I don't want people laughing at me."

Ginny's small body trembled with rage. "Ron! You big fool!"

"I'm a fool? I'd be the fool if I actually went."

She was so angry that she began to stammer. "I get it now. You never sincerely wanted to invite Luna. You just wanted to invite a pretty girl!"

Her voice was particularly loud, drawing the attention of the students nearby.

Ron's face flushed red. "Yes, that's exactly the kind of person I am. Happy now?"

Ginny glared at him furiously with puffed cheeks, while Harry could only stand helplessly between them.

"Fine." Ron turned around stiffly. "Stop looking at me like that. I'll go dance with her, all right?"

Though unwilling, he went in the end.

Suddenly becoming the center of attention on the dance floor, he was distracted by laughter several times and nearly stepped on Luna's feet.

Naturally, the twins did not miss such a perfect chance to tease him. They secretly used the wands hidden in their sleeves to change his dress robes back to how they had been.

It was not until the laughter grew louder and louder that Ron realized his robes had changed from black back to dark purplish-red, and even the flowing antique lace around the collar had returned.

"Look!" George shouted at the top of his lungs. "Ronniekins's dress robes can actually transform!"

Fred pinched his nose and imitated Percy's tone. "Merlin, these are the most avant-garde dress robes I've ever seen in my life!"

Amid the laughter, Ron decisively abandoned Luna and fled the dance floor in utter embarrassment.

Harry watched from afar as he ran out of the castle. He wanted to chase after him and offer a few words of comfort, but Ginny stopped him.

"Let him be alone for a while. He lacks confidence too much and always thinks of running away at the first opportunity."

Compared to Luna's calm composure, Ron's choice to flee in the face of ridicule made him seem sensitive and fragile. He was impulsive by nature and never considered the consequences.

Harry gave a bitter smile and nodded. "I hope he figures it out soon."

The little incident on the dance floor did not spoil everyone's mood. McGonagall caught the twins and scolded them for a while, then strictly forbade them from going near the dance floor.

They had danced enough already. When the twins came back, they found Cedric and Cho there as well, while the other boys and girls had disappeared. The students around them seemed to be pointing and whispering in their direction, making the atmosphere especially strange.

Angelina pulled Elodie down to sit. "Fred, why did you make Ron embarrass himself in public just now? Isn't he your brother?"

George glanced toward the Great Hall's entrance. "Didn't you notice our little brother was acting like an idiot? If he didn't want to stay, then he could leave."

Fred sighed, but quickly flashed a broad smile again. "Forget about him. Did something happen just now?"

At that, Daphne and Fleur shot Vincent and Hermione odd looks.

The twins immediately grew curious.

"What happened?"

Vincent and Hermione remained perfectly calm.

"Nothing. That Slytherin girl—the one who's Viktor Krum's dance partner—came over and invited me to dance."

"Oho~" The twins sat down with looks of eager interest.

Viktor Krum's dance partner had invited Vincent, and though she had been turned down, Krum had surely felt a little unhappy about it.

So he had come over as well and invited Hermione to dance.

It took real courage to do that right in front of someone's boyfriend.

But reality was cruel. Viktor Krum had been rejected too.

The way he had slunk off looked rather pitiful, making Vincent, who already bore the title of "scumbag," seem like some kind of final boss.

"Pfft, hahahaha—" The twins burst into thoroughly unkind laughter.

Vincent, dressed in a black double-breasted formal suit, had an imposing presence just sitting there. On top of that, he had stolen the Champions' thunder tonight—wasn't he practically a textbook villain?

With him around, even Snape, sitting alone in the corner, seemed somewhat approachable.

Vincent's face darkened. "Is it really that exaggerated?"

The twins nodded with particular exaggeration.

"Fine." He stood up, and the students around them all hurriedly turned their heads away.

"The big villain is going outside for a walk. Who wants to come with me?"

Hermione, who was trying hard not to laugh, held out her small hand to him. "Come on, big villain. I can't let you carry out your evil plan so easily."

Vincent smiled and took her hand. "Very good. Looks like I'll have to convert you first. Then I can upgrade it into a two-person evil plan."