Albert had left.
The girls had finally managed to extract this awful news from Krum's halting speech. It meant none of them would ever have another chance to ask Albert to dance. The few girls who had danced with Albert became the objects of everyone's envy and jealousy.
Katrina, Albert's dance partner in particular, was now surrounded by the girls, all of whom were curious about how she had become Albert's partner.
Left with no choice, Katrina could only briefly explain why she had become Albert's dance partner.
"Albert had originally planned to ask Isobel to be his partner. You all know about their relationship, but for certain reasons, Isobel refused. So he turned around and asked me to be his partner, saying he needed me to help keep some trouble away. Don't look at me like that. Those were his exact words." Katrina shrugged, making it clear that she was telling the truth. "Albert asked me because he wanted me to shield him from your pestering. As for why, he didn't say, but I think it was because we knew each other. The girls Albert danced with before were all acquaintances and friends."
"Does he know the Beauxbatons Champion?" someone could not help asking. "Probably. Albert usually takes better care of people he knows and his friends." Katrina shrugged and repeated what Albert had taught her to say before. She had not expected it to actually come in handy.
So the reason none of the people around them had gotten to dance with Albert was simply that they were not close enough to him.
"I thought he liked you and wanted to pursue you," Laurena said dejectedly.
"You're overthinking it." Katrina glanced at the girls who loved to indulge in fantasies, finding them inexplicably ridiculous. In the end, though,