A great chorus of disappointed sighs rose from the young lions craning forward to see what gift was inside the box.
Hermione had only lifted the lid a tiny bit before closing the box again. No one had managed to see everything inside.
"This must have been expensive." Hermione's little brow furrowed, but her sparkling eyes betrayed how much she liked Su Er's gift.
"It's only a ball..."
"It's all right." Su Er waved a hand and looked at Hermione tenderly. "It wasn't expensive, really. I want you to be the prettiest girl at the whole ball."
Hermione could hardly bear Su Er's gaze and awkwardly looked away.
"Buuurp." Ron ruined the moment with a long, full-bellied belch.
"I did it." Neville returned from the Hufflepuff table with a silly grin on his face. "Thank you, Hermione. Hannah really did say yes."
"Congratulations, Neville." Harry was the first to congratulate him, but he looked even more troubled.
Several more days passed, and Harry still had not found a partner. There was at least one thing he was happy about, though: his good friend Ron was in the same predicament.
As Christmas drew nearer, the professors of each house handed out the usual applications to stay at school over Christmas. This Christmas was unlike any before it. Very few people chose to leave school to spend Christmas with their families; deep down, they did not want to miss the ball.
Oh, of course, that excluded the first-years who had only just started school. The bustle in the castle seemed to have little to do with them, and they would rather go home to their dear families.
In short, Hogwarts was far livelier this year than in years past.
That day, Su Er had just accompanied Hermione to the Owlery. They needed