Yule Ball
Slytherin Common Room.
Draco, dressed in a black velvet turtleneck suit, stood ramrod straight. Pansy, in a pale pink robe with ruffles, stood beside him, her arm tightly around his.
The usually quiet Nott had no intention of attending the ball, so he did not show up.
Crabbe and Goyle were both dressed in green, like two large, moss-covered rocks, and neither of them had a dance partner.
Blaise was dressed in a dark green suit, and his dance partner was a pretty fifth-year Slytherin girl who was chattering excitedly in Blaise's ear, completely unaware of the slight frown on Blaise brow.
They walked out of the stone wall, went up the stairs, and arrived at the Entrance Hall before eight o'clock. The lobby was already crowded with students, who were pacing back and forth, waiting for the Great Hall doors to open. Some people wanted to meet their dance partners from other colleges, so they squeezed through the crowd, looking for their partners.
A gasp rippled through the crowd shortly afterward; Phoebe Delacour was approaching. Dressed in a silver-grey satin robe, her Veela bloodline enhanced her breathtaking allure simply by her presence. Accompanying her was Roger Davis, captain of the Ravenclaw House Quidditch team.
Just then, the oak gates of the castle opened. Everyone turned to see Durmstrang's students and Professor Karkaroff enter together. Skylar saw Eleanor walking at the front, her dance partner being Poliakov, the one with the somewhat unrestrained eating manners. Krum was also there, but his dance partner wasn't Hermione; instead, it was a Beauxbatons student.
Skylar then realized that he had just seen Harry and Ron, but not Hermione; it seemed she wasn't planning on attending the ball.
As the gates opened, Skylar also caught a glimpse of the scene outside the castle. A lawn in front of the castle had been transformed into a grotto, shimmering with fairy light. This meant there were hundreds of living Fairy, some sitting in magically created rose bushes, others flapping their wings on statues that appeared to be Santa Claus and his reindeer.
Just then, Professor McGonagall's voice rang out. "Brave Champion, come this way!"
The chattering crowd parted to make way for them. Professor McGonagall, dressed in a red plaid robe with an unsightly wreath of thistles on her hat, told the Champion and their dance partners to wait by the door while the others went in first. Once the students were seated, they lined up and entered the Great Hall.
It was at this moment that Shering met Katharine, the warrior of Beauxbatons. Katharine was stunningly beautiful that evening, wearing a pure white off-the-shoulder dress. Her beautiful collarbones were faintly visible, and the fabric of the dress was so white it seemed almost transparent, yet not at all revealing, making her look like an angel fallen to earth. The hem of the dress curved gracefully from high to low, revealing the girl's long, slender, jade-like legs. The hem was adorned with diamonds, like countless beautiful morning dewdrops.
Her dance partner was quite interesting; he was a pale, tall, thin boy, who was also the 7th-year Slytherin Prefect — Hector Fawley.
The Fawley Family is one of the Sacred Twenty-Eight. Like the Crouch Family, they are families that are keen on politics, but not so much involved in business and wealth. Interestingly, Hector has a grandfather who shares his name and once defeated his opponent by a large margin to become Minister for Magic, but was removed from office due to his mishandling of the Grindelwald Rebellion.
What truly interested Skylar was whether he genuinely mishandled the situation, or whether it was intentional.
With Skylar's expertise in the History of Magic, he knew perfectly well how many Auror had died in Europe and Americas during that upheaval—the number was staggering, practically crippling the wizarding population. Interestingly, almost none of the Auror who died were from the 28 Pure-blood families. Pretty interesting, right?
Since the last semester, Skylar had been pondering revenge against the Ghosts Society. In his mind, he had several suspects for the mysterious leader of the Ghosts Society, and Hector Fawley was the number one suspect among them!
Skylar narrowed his eyes slightly and shifted his gaze away from the two of them.
As for Harry, his dance partner was Parvati, an India girl from the same house. To be fair, Parvati was quite attractive, with sweet features and a good family background. It was a pity that she was paired with the straight-laced Harry —judging from Harry's expression, he clearly had no interest in this dance partner and only invited her because he couldn't find anyone else.
(Note: Parvati was praised by Dean Thomas as the prettiest girl in the whole grade; while in the first year, Pansy called her by her first name instead of her surname, indicating that she had been exposed to these Pure-blood cliques before entering school.)
Under Professor McGonagall's instructions, the students quickly and busily took their seats. After everyone was seated in the Great Hall, Professor McGonagall told the Champion and their partners to line up in pairs and follow her inside. They filed in and walked toward a large round table at the front of the Great Hall where the judges were seated, and the people in the Great Hall applauded enthusiastically.
The walls of the Great Hall were covered with Winky silver frost, and the ceiling displayed a starry night sky, adorned with hundreds of mistletoe twigs and ivy wreaths. The four college tables were gone, replaced by a hundred small tables lit with lanterns, each with about ten people seated around it.
The Champion approached the High Table. Dumbledore smiles, while Karkaroff's face remained expressionless. Ludo Bagman, dressed in a vibrant purple robe, clapped enthusiastically, Madame Maxime wore a flowing pale purple gown. Mr. Crouch was absent. Percy Weasley sat in the fifth seat at the table.
The Champion and their partners approached the table, Percy pulled out an empty chair next to him, looking intently at Harry. Harry understood and sat down beside Percy. Percy was wearing a brand-new navy blue tuxedo robe, and his face showed a smug and self-important expression.
"I've been promoted," Percy said before Harry could even speak—and from his tone, you'd think he'd just been chosen as the supreme ruler of the universe. "I'm now Mr. Crouch's personal assistant, and I'm here on his behalf." Then Percy launched into a Harry -winded explanation of how highly regarded he was at work.
The Champion and their partners sat down at the table, which was set with gleaming gold plates and a small menu. They could simply read out what they wanted to eat, and the food would suddenly appear on the plate.
Dinner was plentiful, and most people enjoyed it; the atmosphere was lively.
After everyone had finished eating, Dumbledore stood up and told the students to stand up as well. Then he waved his wand, and all the tables flew to the wall, leaving an empty space in the middle. He then conjured up a tall stage against the right wall, on which sat a drum set, several guitars, a lute, a cello, and several organs.
At this moment, the Weird Sisters rushed onto the stage, and the audience erupted in thunderous applause. They (the author did not make a mistake, they were men) had unusually thick hair and wore deliberately tattered black robes. They picked up their respective instruments, the lanterns on his table were extinguished, and several Champion and their dance partners stood up.
The Weird Sisters played a slow, melancholic melody. Skylar led Daphne by the hand into the dance floor, placing one hand on her waist, and danced gracefully to the music.
Skylar's dancing skills weren't top-notch; in both his past and present lives, he hadn't spent much time on these fancy activities. However, as a direct descendant of the House of Malfoy, he certainly possessed basic dancing skills.
However, Skylar also had his advantages. His body had undergone repeated magical modifications, making him far superior to Muggle World dance master in terms of agility and flexibility. Daphne, as a lady of high birth, had social dance as a primary and essential skill, and her dance technique was impeccable. Their dance steps were extremely fluid and pleasing to the eye, every movement exuding nobility and elegance. To onlookers, it looked like a beautiful scene of a prince and princess dancing together.
On the other hand, Harry and Parvati's dance was rather disastrous. Harry was like a circus dog, being led around by Parvati, being pulled east one moment and west the next. Skylar could even hear Draco's quiet taunts.
Eleanor and Poliakov's dance was adequate but unremarkable, nothing to comment on.
As for Katarin, she truly lives up to her reputation as a girl raised in romantic France. She is incredibly skilled in dance, and with her graceful figure, every movement exudes a breathtaking beauty.
It's fair to say that if it weren't for the good looks of Skylar and her partner, who successfully drew half the attention, Katarin could have drawn all the spotlight on the dance floor, making the other Champion practically invisible.
Yes, at least Harry Potter and Eleanor's groups are in this predicament right now.
At this moment, even Dumbledore and McGonagall, who were extremely biased towards Harry, couldn't help but think, "Thank goodness we still Skylar..."
Soon, many more people entered the dance floor. Draco and Pansy twirled slowly beside them, Pansy laughing with boundless joy.
Nearby, Dumbledore was waltzing with Madame Maxime, his pointed hat barely touching her chin. Mad-Eye Moody was awkwardly dancing a two-step with Professor Sinistra, who nervously dodged his wooden prosthetic leg.
The organ played its last trembling note, the Weird Sisters stopped playing. The Great Hall erupted in enthusiastic applause once more, and then the Weird Sisters began playing a more upbeat tune.
Skylar pulled Daphne outside the dance floor for a short rest. Dancing is physically demanding, and while Skylar felt alright, he didn't want Daphne to overexert herself.
A little while later, Morrie and Astoria arrived. They didn't dance; instead, they went straight to join Skylar and Daphne's conversation. The four chatted enthusiastically, and soon the Weird Sisters played a beautiful tune. Daphne nudged Skylar, Skylar immediately understood and extended his hand to Morrie, inviting her to dance.
Morrie's dance steps were a little stiff, but with Skylar's careful guidance and encouragement, it wasn't a big problem. After the dance, Skylar gentlemanly and gently escorted Morrie off the dance floor, and then went on to dance the next dance with Astoria.
It was only thanks to Skylar's exceptional stamina—he was in his prime, had consumed several Potions to permanently enhance his strength, and had his body modified by the "Source of Life" left behind by Hufflepuff —that he was able to dance continuously. The other junior wizards, after only two dances, were already panting heavily. So, that explains why some people can have three girlfriends while others can't even manage one—it's all about "the capable doing more work"!
Halfway through the ball, the Weird Sisters who were invited to sing had already changed their songs three times.
Roger Davis, who was completely absorbed in the dance, suddenly mustered up the courage to try to kiss Phoebe. Phoebe raised her eyebrows and pushed him away forcefully, leaving him standing awkwardly in the dance floor, at a loss for what to do.
Phoebe glanced around, spotted Skylar and the other three, gave them a charming smile, and walked over. "Mr. Malfoy, would you do me the honor of dancing with me?"
"Oh, of course," Skylar smiled confidently, "The beautiful Miss Delacour."