Vincent and Hermione lingered a little while in the common room. By the time they came down to the first floor of the castle, the two impatient ladies had been waiting for them for a long time in the hallway outside the Entrance Hall.
They all looked beautiful today, and the dresses they chose were very appropriate.
Daphne's skirt was shorter in the front and longer in the back, and the color was elegant pure white. She wore white strappy high heels in the same color scheme, and the emerald necklace she wore on her chest was particularly eye-catching.
Phoebe wore a silver backless fishtail dress that looked particularly elegant. The skirt was covered by a layer of tulle, through which the crystal decorations on the tips of her shoes could be vaguely seen.
"Sorry we're late."
Daphne was initially glaring at them angrily until she noticed a tiny bit of lipstick on Vincent's lips.
She pointed to the corner of her mouth. "Please, can you guys be a little more careful when you're sneaking food?"
Hermione pretended not to hear, Vincent subconsciously licked the corner of his mouth.
Daphne looked defeated. "Alright, it's almost 8 o'clock. Let's hurry up and go."
The Entrance Hall was packed with students, all waiting for the Great Hall doors to open.
Vincent and the others arrived, McGonagall's voice rang out:
"Champion, come this way!"
She stood by the door, wearing a red plaid woolen robe and a wreath of thistles that was hard to describe around the brim of her hat.
The doors slowly opened, and the students eagerly entered the Great Hall with their respective dance partners.
Hermione and Daphne went inside hand in hand, Vincent and Phoebe stopped at the door.
McGonagall nodded silently, then turned to look at the Great Hall.
The Great Hall was beautifully decorated tonight, with the ceiling reflecting the starry night sky and hundreds of beautiful wreaths made of mistletoe twigs and ivy hanging below.
The walls Winky, covered with tiny silver frostings, like frosting sprinkled on pudding.
The long tables have disappeared, replaced by hundreds of small tables that can seat a dozen or so students.
The plates were gold, as were the chairs.
Each table was covered with a white velvet tablecloth, and delicate lanterns were placed on it.
In the very center of the Great Hall was a dance floor with a floor as smooth as a mirror, surrounded by tall Christmas trees and the armor that Filch had Harry and Ginny polish the day before.
Besides decorations, the Christmas tree is adorned with golden fairies singing beautifully, and bright red roses are inserted into the gleaming silver armor.
The original long table for employees was replaced with a large round table, next to which sat the five judges of the Triwizard Tournament.
After everyone was seated, McGonagall had the Champion and their partners line up in pairs and follow her inside.
At the very front of the line was Viktor Krum, who had a buzz cut.
His dance partner looked familiar; she seemed to be the beautiful Slytherin senior who had invited Vincent before.
Then came Draco, dressed in Black Swan high-necked tuxedo, and his dance partner was Pansy was dressed in an exceptionally flamboyant manner.
James is right. Pansy looks alright when she's dressed up, but her light pink dress inevitably reminds one of someone else.
Without the gilded lace and exaggerated petticoat, her overall appearance would be much better.
Next up were Harry and Ginny, and the applause was noticeably louder when they entered the Great Hall.
Finally, there were Vincent and Phoebe.
The two, one in black and one in silver, created a striking visual contrast with their contrasting styles, eliciting gasps of surprise from the Great Hall.
McGonagall led them to the referees' VIP table.
Dumbledore smiled happily, and Karkaroff to his left glanced at Viktor Krum's dance partner and nodded with great satisfaction.
Madame Maxime, on the right, was dressed in a flowing pale purple dress, and she also nodded with satisfaction at Vincent.
Bagman and Barty Crouch, sitting on the side, were dressed very seriously and formally, neither of them smiling. It's likely that Fudge put some kind of pressure on them again.
"Please have a seat." As soon as Dumbledore finished speaking, Vincent pulled out a chair for Phoebe.
Before sitting down, she glanced at Hermione and only dared to sit down with peace of mind after seeing that the other woman showed no displeasure.
Their agreement only included dancing, and there couldn't be too much physical contact; she even had to completely belong to the other person's boyfriend.
"What are you daydreaming about?" Vincent waved his hand gently in front of her eyes.
She cautiously turned her head and glanced at Hermione again. "Your girlfriend said she'd fight me to the death if you lost even a single hair. Remember to be careful later."
Vincent smirked. "What am I supposed to care about? This is your problem and hers. I'm already doing my best by putting in a good word for you."
Phoebe, thinking about what was about to happen, couldn't help but clench her skirt tightly with her little hands.
She glanced at Madame Maxime and, noticing she was talking to Dumbledore, moved slightly closer to Vincent. "Are you sure we want to dance like this?"
"What else can I do?" Vincent shrugged helplessly. "I have three dance partners. I can't just give you special treatment."
Phoebe chuckled dryly, "I'm not only afraid your girlfriend will come after me, but I'm even more afraid our principal will kill me."
Vincent picked up the two glasses of champagne in front of him and handed her one. "Don't worry, you're Champion of Beauxbatons, she wouldn't have the heart to kill you."
"..." Phoebe was completely speechless, and raised the champagne to drink it down in one gulp.
Her actions attracted the attention of many boys. As if he had anticipated this, Vincent turned around and raised his glass to them in greeting.
Seeing this, Dumbledore laughed even more heartily. "Mr. Wayne, I've heard you've recently defeated countless challengers. It seems they're not entirely convinced."
Vincent took a small sip of champagne. "I had no choice, Professor."
He looked at Phoebe, whose eyes were vacant, and said, "As a qualified knight, I have no choice but to faithfully complete my mission of defeating all challengers."
Madame Maxime was amused by him.
Those who can become principals are all shrewd people; they must know why Phoebe invited Vincent to be her dance partner.
Of course, Karkaroff is an exception.
He had been under close surveillance by the Ministry of Magic all this time, and even now, Moody's Magic Eye was still watching him, so he had no time to think about anything else.
He had no appetite the whole time, and if it weren't for the decent dance partner Viktor Krum chose, he probably would have kept a sour face the whole time.
Pansy was also unhappy.
She knew that Draco would never have agreed to her request if there were really no other options.
He, who should have been interacting with her, completely ignored her and instead focused his eyes on a slender figure from behind.
No girl wears all black to Yule Ball, it's not like you're attending a funeral.
She does have a great figure, but so what?
Pansy was absolutely certain that this little bitch was ugly, the kind of ugly that was outrageous, so ugly that it made people want to gouge their own eyes out, a peerless ugly woman who was ten thousand times uglier than the Half-blood offspring of Gnome and Troll.