With tousled hair, black eyes, and a faint smile on his lips, Shawn bent his right arm slightly for the radiant Hermione to hold, nodding politely at the people looking their way.
He wore a classical white dress coat with fitted sleeves and crisply tailored black trousers, looking utterly noble and elegant.
Intricate embroidery ran beside the double row of buttons, extending all the way to the structured collar.
Beneath the coat, the pleated front of his shirt swayed gently with his steps, while the Pentagram pin on his left breast glimmered with a faint purple light.
Many people at the ball wore pins like that.
The sight of Shawn and Hermione together at the top of the steps stunned everyone present.
The two slowly approached the entrance hall, and the young wizards along their path instinctively parted to let them through.
Shawn had no intention of stealing the champions' thunder, so he stopped at the front of the crowd.
McGonagall, too, had been momentarily dazzled. She quickly recovered and, once again inwardly marveling at this prodigy, tapped the doors several times.
"Knock, knock."
The arched doors slowly swung open with a creak, and a melodious accompaniment drifted out from the hall.
McGonagall then asked the champions to wait a moment while the other young wizards entered first.
Amid the bustle, everyone filed inside. Shawn smiled at Draco, who still looked a little nervous among the champions, then walked in with Hermione on his arm.
The walls of the hall had been specially covered in glittering silver frost that day.
The ceiling showed a brilliant, star-filled night sky, with several hundred garlands of mistletoe sprigs and ivy hanging beneath it.
The High Table at the front of the Great Hall had been replaced by a large round table where the