Teammates Are Meant to Be Sold Out!

News of the dance, like snowflakes before Christmas, quickly spread to every corner of the school.

Compared to the last snowfall of 1994, this "snow" feels warm, even... restless.

Yes, it's the restlessness of adolescence.

Students in fourth grade and above can participate in the dance, and those aged fourteen and above... are at the most restless age.

Of course, Cedric and Harry are exceptions... those two old perverts started having crushes as early as their first year.

This precocity is far beyond even William's.

But despite their years of commotion and antics, Qiu never gave them a chance.

They are still in a naked competition, and need to face off in a sword fight to determine the winner.

This ball is the perfect opportunity.

The winner will naturally be rewarded with shrimp and pork heart, while the loser will be sent to... eat dust.

There's not much to say about that.

Based on the odds of winning, Cedric has a better chance.

He is better Harry.

Whether it's height, looks, or even academic performance, she completely outclasses him without any doubt... and repeatedly so.

Harry's proudest Quidditch, Cedric's, was equally impressive.

Even Galleon... Cedric was one of the shareholders of Akali's Mystery Shop, a business he started at a young age.

Rich!

Although his father saved them all for his future son's wedding.

Harry's biggest advantage is his fame, and he's not familiar with Cho.

That's right. Being unfamiliar with someone means there's room for them to have flaws, and you don't truly understand their shortcomings.

Cedric and Cho are so close, like sisters... there's no sense of distance between them at all.

As Qiu's best friend and male confidant, William wanted to suggest that she not choose either of them... and continue to string them along.

That way you can gain two sycophants.

William and William are clearly old best friends.

Relationships can be ruined by best friends... Many best friends are the ones who give bad advice, sow discord, and advise breaking up rather than reconciliation.

No one understands it better than him.

Since adolescence is a period of restlessness, this is manifested in the obvious increase in the number of students on campus.

For a moment, it even felt a bit crowded.

Especially the girls.

They used to need to hibernate. Unless necessary, after class they would hide in the slightly warm dormitory or lie under Fantastic Beasts called the "Blanket Goblin".

But in this cold weather, they actually came out and started wandering around the corridor.

Warming Badge are selling like hotcakes again, and the little witches, like Professor Snape, are starting to dress very lightly... a practice commonly known as "playing the field."

Wearing bulky clothes won't show off your figure. Who are you going to show off all that weight you've lost over six months?!

The castle was filled with groups of girls, all dressed in their finest attire, vying for attention and beauty.

The male-to-female ratio, which was originally four to one in winter, suddenly became a terrifying one to seven.

Besides wearing light clothing, the girls also preferred to stick together in groups.

Before, there were only two or three people walking together at most, but now... wow, seven or eight people gather at once.

They abandoned their plans to act alone and began to travel in groups.

Holding hands when going to the toilet, eating together, sitting side-by-side in class... never alone.

It's as if all the boys are heartless jerks, ready to attack any girl who's alone at any moment.

This fear was obviously fake; they were actually hoping the boys would rush over to invite them.

Ideally, there should also be a stampede and violence, like a scene where multiple boys are fighting over someone.

If you can still politely decline and publicly give out a few "friend zone" cards... that's more satisfying than drinking Felix Felicis.

So why gather together at all?

It's like a fashion show; if you don't gather together, how can you showcase your good looks?

What if someone invites me, and I decline...? If I'm alone, how will the other girls know?

It would be too low of me to say it myself.

They're all seasoned green tea drinkers.

So, ever since Professor McGonagall announced the arrival of the Yule Ball, the battle for Hogwarts' dance partners has begun.

William was also caught up in the war, and he was the first to be "attacked".

The attackers weren't the "big pig's trotter" in the girls' eyes, but rather the girls themselves.

For example, at this moment, he has been walking for twenty minutes and has not yet walked from the Transfiguration classroom to the Great Hall.

He used to be quick, it only took him ten minutes at most!

William seemed to have become a rare animal, surrounded and stared at forcefully by the female students.

All three schools have them.

They chuckled and whispered in the corridor, and many others stared at him without any attempt to hide it.

Everyone was waiting, waiting for a witch to be the first to invite William.

The first person invited will definitely be cannon fodder... without a doubt.

But it could be a chance to gauge William's attitude and find out if he has a female companion.

After a lot of pushing and shoving, a girl was pushed forward and slowly walked towards William under the watchful eyes of everyone.

With his path suddenly blocked, William had no choice but to stop where he was.

He looked the timid girl up and down... She was probably only eleven or twelve years old, and looked even younger Anne.

Merlin, does he look like someone with a lolicon complex?

William silently wondered, what exactly went wrong to give everyone this impression?

When he types a question mark, it's definitely not his problem, but someone else's!

Walking over seemed to have exhausted all of the girl's courage. She hugged her books, lowered her head slightly, and dared not look William in the eye.

"Stark, my name is Mormont! Um, um..." she stammered, her eyes closed, "Could you be my dance partner?"

"This is my request for life!"

"I'm sorry, I can't." William refused without even thinking.

His tone was firm, leaving no room for negotiation.

The girl suddenly looked up, her bright, sparkling eyes widening, and said with a wronged expression, "So you already have a girlfriend?!"

The girls all perked up their ears; as long as Stark didn't have a female companion, they would have a chance to storm the tower.

"No, I haven't invited her yet," William honestly shook his head.

"Then could you consider me? Please!" The girl said with a resentful look, patting her unremarkable chest.

"I'm only eleven years old, young, with a long shelf life, and I've never been in a relationship before." She began to highlight her strengths.

"It's a completely different feeling from those older women who are in fourth grade or above."

You can give it a try!

"Older auntie"... that's a really devastating generalization...

It's an attack like a railgun!

Sure enough, many so-called "older aunties" were already secretly cursing Mormont... as a little slut.

William rubbed his forehead, feeling a bit of a headache. He immediately unleashed his "friend zone" skill, dealing 100 points of psychological damage to the enemy.

"You're a good person, but I still can't accept your invitation."

Upon hearing William's words, the girl burst into tears without warning; if she hadn't gently covered her mouth, she would have wailed uncontrollably.

William was incredibly embarrassed and just wanted to leave as quickly as possible.

The girl finally stopped crying, looked up at William earnestly, and sobbed, "I really like you... I grew up listening to your stories..."

The sad girl quickly added, her voice trembling with tears, "My roommates like you too... but they're too scared to come over."

Could you sign a few autographs for me? Just to make up for it, okay?

The girl seemed to have been prepared, and immediately took out a pen and paper.

William had long since stopped signing autographs for students, but at this moment, this request... was impossible to refuse.

He had no choice but to pick up a quill pen and quickly sign his name.

The girl took seven or eight autographs, then suddenly hugged William, and ran away with tears streaming down her face.

It seems William is a jerk.

But once she was far away, she suddenly beamed with joy, waving the note and saying to the little witches, "I got it! I told you this would get me an autograph... but you didn't believe me."

Pay up, pay up! Line up if you want to buy!

"..."

William was tricked.

As expected, true fans... all love backstabbing!

Mormont's actions seemed to open up a new world, and another group of girls crowded around.

William turned and ran without a second's delay.

Unexpectedly, when he reached the corner of the corridor, he ran into Cedric.

He was followed by quite a few girls, and of course, some boys were mixed in as well.

As a salesman at Akali's Mystery Shop and Hufflepuff's top socialite... Cedric certainly knows many students.

Don't let his sycophantic behavior towards Qiu fool you; this pretty boy, whose looks are second only to William, has many admirers.

It's not just rich women, but also... boys.

Hufflepuff is full of yaoi fans, Gryffindor is full of straight men... This isn't just a casual remark.

Upon seeing William, Cedric's eyes lit up, and he shouted without hesitation, "It's William! He doesn't have a dance partner yet! If you're late, you'll miss your chance!"

Damn! (A gesture)

This shameless guy is trying to shift the blame... If Cedric had a sister, William would definitely date her and then dump her like a jerk.

But Cedric miscalculated; the two groups merged and chased after the two.

Now it's become "The Fast and the Furious," and whoever runs the slowest will suffer.

After passing through a corridor, the witch blocked both the front and back, but thankfully the stairs were right next to us.

William and Cedric rushed down the stairs at the same time.

"That won't do, Cedric! Let's separate after we get down the stairs!" William said sincerely.

"I'll lure them away first, then you hide behind a pillar in the next corridor and run after they leave!"

"No!" Cedric protested righteously, "Let me be the bait and lure them away!"

"Listen to me, I can escape!"

"No, we're best friends, I'll be the bait!"

The two argued endlessly. William rolled his eyes, then suddenly shoved Cedric behind a pillar, while he himself sprinted towards another staircase.

"Look! Diggory is hiding behind that pillar! He doesn't have a dance partner yet, first come, first served!" William shouted as he ran.

Cedric pounded on the pillar.

He really betrayed me! William is a beast!

Cedric had originally intended to do this, but someone beat him to it.

Alas, he often felt out of place with William and Cho because he wasn't shameless enough.

(Please vote for this post, everyone!)

Chapter One, a major update of 3,000 words.

Thank you to "This Person is a Newbie" and "Ace101" for their generous donations.