Christmas arrived, and a gentle blanket of white snow covered the castle and its vast grounds, turning them into a fairy-tale world. The pale blue carriage of Beauxbatons Academy of Magic looked all the more elegant amid the snow, like a carefully carved, frost-covered pumpkin in winter, while Hagrid's Hut became a tiny, exquisite gingerbread house dotted with icing.
Durmstrang's great ship looked even more imposing, its sides clad in a glittering coat of ice as smooth as a mirror, with flecks of frost adorning its rigging.
The entire school had been decorated like a fantastical wonderland. Never-melting ice crystals wound around the banisters of the Marble Staircase. In the Great Hall, twelve towering Christmas trees stood tall, their branches laden with all manner of festive decorations, from holly berries sparkling with crystalline light to live golden owls poised to take flight.
Even the suits of armor in the corridors had been enchanted anew by the professors. Whenever anyone passed them, they automatically sang melodious Christmas carols.
Night fell, and the clock quietly struck eight. The students staying at school changed into their carefully chosen dress robes, their faces filled with nervous anticipation.
In the warm Gryffindor Common Room, Hermione wore shimmering robes of pale lavender-blue, their fabric light and flowing. Her hair was no longer its usual casual tangle, but had been carefully arranged into a smooth, glossy bun. She looked like an entirely different person.
"Darling, you look gorgeous tonight!" Parvati entered the Common Room in bright green robes and immediately spotted the transformed Hermione. "The champions and their partners have to dance first. Is Jerry coming to collect you soon?"
"Yes!" Hermione smiled and nodded gently, but behind that smile lurked a trace of anxiety that was hard to spot. She had discovered that both she and