Halloween Banquet

Halloween Eve, second floor of the castle.

Cedric sat in an empty classroom, covering his face and muttering, "Kyle, I don't think this will work. Let's just forget about it."

They've been here for several days now, and haven't gotten anything... well, not exactly, they have.

They became famous.

Almost half the school knows that the top student in the third and fourth grades has been loitering around the library entrance for the past few days, behaving very strangely.

Even though no one knows who it is, rumors have spread that this is a new learning method that uses an ancient magical ritual to transform the knowledge in the library into one's own.

This kind of talk is obviously nonsense, yet many people actually believe it... and they believe it without a doubt.

Recently, more and more people have started gathering at the library entrance, earnestly imitating their movements.

I must say, they learned it quite well; their movements were incredibly synchronized.

Especially in the last two days, the library has almost become a tourist attraction, with people crowding around it almost every moment.

But correspondingly, Madam Pince's gaze toward them grew increasingly hostile.

Because that group of people was seriously disrupting the library's order, she had tried to drive them away several times, but to no avail...

After all, Madam Pince couldn't stay outside forever; as soon as she left, those people would quickly return.

Under these circumstances, it was naturally impossible for her to have a pleasant expression towards Kyle and Cedric, the two culprits.

Cedric thought they might not be able to go to the library anytime soon.

Kyle sighed and nodded in agreement.

There's been quite a commotion here lately; today they were even blocked from entering the library by the crowd.

I reckon it won't be long before the professors come and kick us out.

After leaving the classroom, the two lowered their heads, walked around the crowd, and returned to the first floor, preparing to attend the Halloween party.

The Great Hall has been newly decorated.

A dozen enormous pumpkins were carved into lanterns, the smallest of which could comfortably seat two people. If a Thestral were added in front, it would definitely be a pumpkin carriage.

At the entrance to the Great Hall, Kyle also encountered the Gryffindor trio...

"You have to keep your word," Hermione said to Harry. "You said you'd go to the Deathday Party, you can't go back on your word, or Nearly Headless Nick, will be very disappointed."

"But Hermione, I didn't agree."

Beside him, Ron said with a bitter face, "And Scabbers is gone, I still have to go look for it."

"Your mouse?" Hermione frowned. "Didn't you always keep it in your dorm?"

"That's right, it was there at noon today, but it disappeared in the afternoon."

Ron muttered under his breath, "Neville must have forgotten to close the door when he left... I can't even imagine what would happen if Scabbers ran into Mrs. Norris in the castle; it would get eaten."

"You don't need to worry about that at all," Hermione said. "Mrs. Norris never eats students' pets... in fact, she only eats what Filch feeds her."

Are you going to the underground classroom?

A familiar voice rang out, startling the three of them. They looked up and saw Kyle and Cedric.

Hello.

Harry greeted the two of them, then nodded helplessly. "You're right, we're on our way to the Third Underground Classroom, which is where Nick held his Deathday Party."

It's clear that he's starting to regret it.

"I suggest you bring some snacks with you," Cedric advised. "There's no food suitable for you there."

"But isn't that a party?" Hermione asked, puzzled. "How come there's no food?"

"It's a ghost party," Kyle corrected. "They like things that are different from ours."

After hearing Kyle's words, Harry seemed even more regretful.

But as Hermione just said, he had already promised Nick, and Nick had just helped him escape Filch's punishment. It would be inappropriate to go back on his word now; he had to go no matter what.

At worst... I'll just leave earlier.

If they have enough time, they might be able to get back before the school banquet ends.

After exchanging a few more words, Harry and his two companions hurriedly left. Before heading to the underground classroom, they needed to help Ron find his mouse, and time was of the essence.

Kyle and Cedric then entered the bustling Great Hall.

A dozen minutes later, the banquet officially began.

Just as previously speculated, Dumbledore did indeed invite the Skeleton Dance Troupe to perform at the Halloween party.

Moreover, they weren't given a rebellious-sounding name; they were actually skeletons... similar to ghosts, but a different breed.

Accompanied by music and lightning flashing from the ceiling, they appeared out of thin air in the area reserved in front of the High Table, eliciting gasps of surprise from the young wizards.

Then the music changed, and they immediately started dancing to the rhythm.

At this point, Kyle understood why Nearly Headless Nick, had been so upset when he learned that the dance troupe was coming to Hogwarts.

Although it might be a little scary to first see these moving skeletons, that feeling quickly disappears when they start dancing to the music.

This was the first time Kyle had ever seen elegance in skeletons; every movement they made was full of beauty and power.

Her startling appearance and graceful dance moves... this stark contrast instantly drew deafening cheers from the Great Hall.

From that point on, the applause in the Great Hall was almost nonstop.

Especially during the last dance, they chose a more cheerful and energetic piece of music.

<Magic Gadgets>

It's also the most famous song by the Weird Sisters.

Amidst a series of cheerful drumbeats, some of the young wizards couldn't help but jump up and down.

At first, only Fred, George, and a few Gryffindor were entertaining themselves, but as the music progressed, more and more people joined in.

Even in the High Table, Lockhart left his seat and started dancing. While his teaching skills were average, his dancing was quite good.

He also wanted to invite other professors to dance with him, but Professor McGonagall and Professor Sprout both declined.

However, Professor Charity Burbage, who was in charge of Muggle Studies, readily accepted his invitation and got up to join him on the dance floor.

Dumbledore stood beside them, chuckling and clapping along.

The song ended, but the joyful atmosphere still lingered in the Great Hall. The students shouted that they wanted them to dance again!

Dumbledore stood up and gestured for everyone to be quiet.

"Dance...is more powerful than any words," he said with a smile, "But filling your stomach is just as important."

As soon as he finished speaking, the empty plates on the table were filled with all sorts of delicious food.

Pumpkin roasted chicken, roasted steak with pumpkin sauce, Pumpkin Pasties, pumpkin soup, pumpkin pudding...

It's all pumpkins; the main focus is on making it festive.

"Luckily, we didn't go to the underground classroom with Harry Potter and the others..."

Cedric had just joined in the dance and was still buzzing with excitement when he couldn't help but say to Kyle, "This Halloween party was absolutely fantastic! Do you think Headmaster Dumbledore will invite them again next year?"