Kyle's Embarrassing Past

The next day was the weekend.

Early in the morning, Kyle sat at the table eating breakfast with a serious expression.

What's wrong with you?

Cedric asked curiously, "Judging from your expression, it's like you're about to compete in your Second Task."

"Honestly, I'd rather start the Second Task today." Kyle sighed. "By the way, can you dance?"

"Yes, I can," Cedric said casually. "My dad took me to a few balls before, and I learned it specifically... What, you can't do it?"

"Why do you all think I should be able to dance?"

Kyle took a bite of his bread, looking annoyed. "If I knew how, I wouldn't be worrying like this."

"Pfft..." Cedric's facial muscles tensed as he desperately tried to suppress his laughter.

This was the first time he'd ever seen Kyle look so troubled; it was quite amusing.

"This...isn't difficult." Cedric tried to make his voice sound normal. "Just follow the music...I just saw the latest notice in the Entrance Hall that Professor McGonagall will be hosting a club event for the ball at 10 a. m. You can go check it out."

"You mean that? Actually, I was the first one to sign up," Kyle said.

Cedric laughed even harder, covering his mouth with his hand to stifle his laughter.

He didn't want it to be like this, but somehow, all he could think about was Kyle stomping on his dance partner's shoes at the ball, and he just couldn't help it.

With no other option, Cedric made an excuse to look for Cho and quickly left the table, running to the Ravenclaw table next door.

Kyle was preoccupied with thinking about the next club, so he didn't notice anything amiss and assumed that Kyle was simply trying to invite Cho to the dance.

The news of the Christmas ball has spread, and everyone is talking about it. More students are registering to stay at Hogwarts than ever before, as if everyone except the first-years has chosen to remain.

The girls gathered in small groups, excitedly exchanging opinions and discussing what to wear on Christmas Eve.

The boys also became quite serious. Ryan pinned a brooch to his clothes, something Kyle had never seen him wear before.

A moment later, a girl with curly hair walked over.

"Kyle, can you come to the ball with me?"

"Oh...sorry," Kyle said, snapping out of her reverie, "I already have a dance partner."

"Is that so?" The girl left looking disappointed.

She wasn't the first; in the next ten minutes, several more girls came over, from every college, but they all received the same answer.

Kyle had originally planned to wait in the Great Hall until the club started, but seeing the current situation, he gave up on that idea and got up to go back to the common room.

At ten o'clock sharp, Kyle arrived at the Great Hall, and Kanna and Cedric were there too.

"You can dance, so why did you come along?" Kyle asked Cedric, looking at him with a puzzled expression.

"Ahem, it's nothing," Cedric said, feigning nonchalance. "It's just that I haven't danced in a long time, and I want to get back into the swing of things so I don't embarrass myself later."

Kyle nodded, said nothing more, took a deep breath, and pushed open the Great Hall door.

Professor McGonagall had already arranged the area; the long table had been moved to the side, leaving only rows of chairs, which were already occupied by quite a few people.

Kyle walked over with unusually heavy steps, as if he were under Leg-Locker Curse.

Unseen by him, Cedric and the Weasley brothers were barely suppressing their laughter, their faces filled with anticipation.

When they arrived, Professor McGonagall closed the door with her wand and said, "Dancing is simple... grace. Every girl has a swan inside her, and every boy has a lion yearning to leap within him..."

It's no exaggeration to say that these were Kyle's most agonizing two hours to date.

Actually, dancing isn't that difficult, at least it's much simpler than what Newt taught, but the problem is that before he could even learn to dance, Professor McGonagall called him up to demonstrate... and then stepped on her three times.

Kyle could even clearly see Professor McGonagall's increasingly dark face, and Fred and George's undisguised laughter beside her.

It's easy to see that they won't let go of this dark history for a long time to come.

And indeed, in the following days, Fred's favorite thing to do was to imitate Kyle's clumsy movements and step on George's feet while eating.

Kyle could only pretend he hadn't seen anything; there was really nothing he could do. What could he do when he had such two friends?

It's worth mentioning that the Hogwarts professors seemed to want to show the students from the other two schools the best of the castle.

So, a few days before Christmas, the handrails of the castle stairs were covered with icicles that would never melt.

The twelve Christmas trees in the Great Hall were decorated with all sorts of little trinkets, from Winky holly berries to constantly chirping golden owls.

What Kyle found regrettable was that the professors didn't seem to be planning to use ghosts as Christmas tree decorations this time... He had always thought that was the most interesting part.

A Christmas tree covered in ghosts is sure to leave a lasting impression on visitors from afar.

As Christmas drew closer, the castle became even more lively. The girls always went out together, and whenever one of them received an invitation, the others would burst into laughter.

After a Charms class, Kyle ran into Harry in the hallway, but Harry wasn't there to see him.

"Um... Cho Chang, can I say something to you?" he asked nervously, clutching the hem of his robe with both hands.

"Of course, just tell me what's on your mind."

"Um... could you... come with me to the ball..." Harry stammered, his voice so soft that Kyle almost didn't hear him.

"I'm sorry, Harry," Cho shook her head, "I've already promised Cedric ..."

To Kyle's astonishment, Harry's face was turning bright red at an incredible speed, as if someone were brushing red paint onto his face.

"Oh, okay, it's alright," Harry said casually, then quickly turned and left.

"I'm so sorry," Qiu said again.

But Harry didn't hear him; in the blink of an eye, he disappeared around the corner of the stairs.

Kyle clicked his tongue, and could only say that he truly deserved to be Hogwarts' most talented Seeker; his speed was indeed impressive.

"It's been like this lately. I really hope Christmas comes soon." On the way to the Great Hall, Qiu looked at Kyle. "Strange, I didn't see anyone invite you."

"It's not there anymore," Kyle said.

Quite a few people invited him a few days ago. After Professor McGonagall's club, several upperclassmen girls even offered to teach him to dance... but Kyle declined them all.

With their rudimentary skills, they're nowhere near as professional Professor McGonagall. He now gets three hours of individual training from Professor McGonagall and Professor Flitwick every evening after dinner, and sometimes even Nearly Headless Nick, lends a hand.

This ghost, who always likes to shake his head like a fan, is actually quite skilled in dancing... though his head-shaking movements are a little creepy.