The Yule Ball (3)

William and Hermione simply stood there quietly, yet they naturally became the focus of the entire room.

This has nothing to do with fame; it's simply that her looks and charisma are too outstanding... making her impossible to ignore.

Hermione, in particular, with her luxurious attire and stunning beauty, looked like a fairy.

Wherever her gaze fell, many people felt ashamed and avoided her eyes.

Hermione looked around, then leaned close to William's ear and said with some concern:

"I didn't see Anne, and she didn't steal my Invisibility Cloak. Hopefully nothing bad has happened."

"No, she must have already sneaked in," William said calmly.

He hasn't heard of any boy accepting an invitation from Anne yet, so it definitely wasn't through proper channels.

She wouldn't miss the ball; she probably sneaked in using other methods.

Moreover, she might very well bring that little Gabrielle in too.

Either method violates the regulations.

However... Anne is a bit mischievous... but overall, she shouldn't go too far.

Hmm... William, as the older brother, certainly has that much confidence.

After all, a younger sister is a brother's hand warmer.

Just then, Professor McGonagall's voice rang out. "Brave Champion, come this way!"

William took Hermione's hand and they walked slowly forward. The chattering crowd immediately parted to make way for the Champion as they departed.

Professor McGonagall was also dressed up tonight, wearing a red plaid robe and a wreath of thistles on the brim of her hat.

It's somewhat like the clothing style of the 1950s.

That's clearly what everyone thinks.

However, Professor McGonagall had sharp eyes and walked with a powerful and imposing air.

Okay, don't ask... the answer is retro style, it's the Renaissance.

It's definitely not Professor McGonagall's aesthetic sense; it's fifty versions behind the rest of the world.

Led by Professor McGonagall, the Champion and their dance partners stood at the door.

After the students found their seats and settled down, the Champion lined up to enter the Great Hall.

Someone nudged William in the back, and he turned around to find it was Trene.

Ah~ this look was quite alarming; William almost blew his eyes out.

Instead of her leather jacket, Trene wore a more glamorous black deep-V dress, exuding a strong feminine charm.

Although William was only fifteen, he was already taller than many adult wizards. And Trene was even slightly taller than him.

Regardless of her clothing and overall demeanor, her incredibly long legs beneath the long skirt were quite eye-catching.

Although Phoebe was also very pretty, she was far too young and inexperienced compared to Trene, and even her presence was overshadowed when she stood next to her.

That's right, Phoebe's dance partner was Trene.

During this time, Trene traveled around the United Kingdom in her modified boat, only returning to Hogwarts before Christmas.

She wasn't a student and couldn't attend the dance on her own.

Phoebe hadn't found a dance partner, or rather, she hadn't even thought about it, so William suggested inviting her.

Anyway, there's no rule that dance partners have to be male.

The two of them standing together were a feast for the eyes; they certainly drew the attention of everyone else in the room.

Looking at William, Trene gave him a flirtatious wink as usual, then reached out and pulled Hermione to her side, helping her adjust her headdress.

William watched the three girls whispering amongst themselves, no one knew what they were talking about.

Cedric and Cho were chatting, or rather... wrestling, not far away.

It really was a wrestling match; Cedric seemed to want Cho to link arms with him, to make their relationship appear closer.

His hands were restless, wandering off to places they shouldn't have been.

Qiu used a counter-grappling move and nearly broke Cedric's hand.

"I'm sorry, I practiced Taekwondo during the summer vacation," Qiu comforted her.

Qiu did indeed train; she was attacked by a kangaroo in Australia that year, and that's when she started learning martial arts.

Qiu apologized, "It won't happen again next time. I'll control myself."

Cedric nodded. Now that Cho had said so, he could be a little bolder at the ball.

Cedric began preparing to teeter on the edge of death, repeatedly flirting and teetering on the brink.

Malfoy also appeared, dressed in a black velvet high-necked robe, looking like a solemn priest.

His dance partner was indeed Pansy, and could only be Pansy.

Pansy, dressed in a dark green robe with many ruffles, clung tightly to Malfoy's arm, letting him hold her hips.

But seeing Malfoy's pained expression, he would rather have his hand broken than hold Pansy.

Ron and Lavender stood at the very back.

Lavender hooked his arm around Hermione's neck again, but kept staring at the large diamond on her body.

"Luoluo, will you give me a diamond too? I don't care about the money, I just want to see your attitude."

Ron rolled his eyes. Even if he sold his house, he still couldn't afford it.

"If you can't afford to buy, you can rent," Lavender said reluctantly. "I have several girlfriends who all want to rent gemstones."

Everyone takes turns leading for a few minutes; it won't cost each person much.

"This can be rented?" Ron asked in surprise.

"Yes," Lavender said, looking at Ron's incredibly unfashionable clothes. "You can also rent formal wear, though those are very expensive."

You can wear it for a while, then go to the restroom to change and let someone else wear it. It's not expensive for each person... How about we rent a diamond too?

Ron, thinking to himself that he had no money, replied evasively:

"I'll still go to Black Lake later and pick up a few pebbles to give you; it's all the same anyway."

"..."

As the students sat down, McGonagall led the Champion inside, toward a large round table at the front of the Great Hall where the referees were seated.

The people in the Great Hall applauded enthusiastically.

Hermione felt a little nervous being stared at by so many people.

She held William's hand tightly, her palms sweaty.

William gently stroked the girl's hand, turning his head to smile at her. Hermione looked into his eyes, and her heart quickly calmed down.

The walls of the Great Hall were covered with Winky silver frost, the ceiling displayed a starry night sky, and was adorned with wreaths made of hundreds of mistletoe twigs and ivy.

The four college tables were gone, replaced by a hundred small tables lit with lanterns, each with about ten people sitting around it.

Sitting at the head table, Dumbledore clapped his hands happily.

Madame Maxime had changed out of her usual black satin uniform and was now wearing a flowing pale purple robe, holding a glass of red wine in her hand.

Karkaroff stared at the crowd with a gloomy expression; clearly, he hadn't found a dance partner.

William suddenly noticed that Ludo was not there, and Crouch was also absent.

Percy was sitting at one corner of the table.

William and Hermione found a table and sat down. Percy, at the other table, eagerly turned to William and said:

"William, thank you for your Christmas gift... Mr. Fudge's autograph, it's wonderful! It's the best gift I've ever received."

William smiled and said, "I'm glad you like it."

Last semester, Fudge gave William a set of his autographed books.

He immediately gave it to Percy as a Christmas present. Those self-help tropes and motivational quotes were Percy's favorite reading material.

"What brings you here?" William asked.

"I got promoted," Percy said smugly.

Judging from his tone, it was as if he had just been chosen as the ruler of Earth and the supreme god of the universe.

"I am now Mr. Crouch's personal assistant, and I am here on his behalf."

"Why didn't he come?" William asked.

"It's all because of Ludo Bagman," Percy said in a low voice.

"Ludo seems to have disappeared yesterday; Mr. Crouch went to look for him."

"Ludo is missing?" William raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, he probably owed too much money... so he ran away. I heard he owed money not only to Goblin, but also to wizards."

William squinted as he thought.

This is strange. Ludo and Gringotts made another bet, this time that Ron would win the championship.

But in the first round, Ron was last. Perhaps seeing no hope of winning, he simply ran away?

This also makes sense.

However, Ludo, the Department of Magical Games and Sports, is still overseeing the Triwizard Tournament.

Is it really a good idea to just run away like this?

(Please vote for this post, everyone!)

Sorry, I've been staying up too late for several days in a row, and I'm just too tired. The temperature difference has been too big lately, and I've also caught a bit of a cold.

I'm sorry, I'm sorry.

Thank you to the two generous donors, "Daoyou Qing Liubu You" and "Hui Zi Bao Huang Ru Dan Tian," for their generous donations.