The Yule Ball (Finale)

In the corner, a head peeked out from the table, and then another small head followed suit, sneaking out furtively.

Both men wore Venice plague masks, which looked particularly frightening, so almost no students approached the strange pair.

The little head asked in a low voice, "Anne, have William and Hermione left?"

Big Head was still scouting the enemy's situation, preventing them from launching a sudden counterattack.

In the realm of investigation, she's a professional, even if she's not an expert.

"They're gone," Big Head finally confirmed.

Anne sat down in the chair, removed the mask, and revealed William's face.

"I was so bored, those two are finally gone."

Gabrielle removed her mask and sat down next to Anne. She asked suspiciously, "Anne, how did you know they'd leave so early?"

Anne smugly hummed twice, revealing a knowing look in her eyes.

"Is that even a question? Hermione will definitely find an excuse to leave early... A date is nothing compared to a ball."

Gabrielle said "Oh," and tilted her head excitedly, "Shall we go dancing?"

"Hmm." Anne glanced at the dance floor, rolled her eyes, and smiled, "Since my brother's not here, I can just have whatever I want and invite lots of people to dance."

Who would you like to invite?

"Of course, we'll invite whoever's prettier—your sister, and Trene too... hehehe~"

She covered her mouth and laughed.

"Anne, your smile is so sly!"

"..."

Stepping out of the Entrance Hall, William and Hermione went to the front door.

The oak door was open, and they followed the steps to the rose garden, which had already been decorated.

The fairy light in the garden was still Winky.

A cool breeze was blowing as the young couple strolled leisurely under the moonlight.

The area is surrounded by low bushes, ornately decorated winding paths, and huge stone sculptures. You can hear the splashing of water, like a fountain.

The two walked along a winding path through the rose bushes, but after a few steps, they heard a familiar voice.

--Snape was having an affair with Karkaroff.

Still in the rose garden!

No wonder he didn't attend the dance; he was hiding here!

Professor Snape, you still dare to say you can't fight with bayonets?

"... I don't understand why you're making such a fuss, Igor." Snape's voice came again.

"Severus, you can't pretend none of this happened!" Karkaroff's voice was frightened and hoarse.

"It's become increasingly obvious over the past few months. I'm very worried now, I can't deny it—"

"Then run away," Snape said impatiently. "Run away... I'll make excuses for you. But I want to stay at Hogwarts..."

Snape and Karkaroff turned a corner.

He seemed to hear the noise, and waved his wand, blasting the rose bushes apart.

Snape's face was grim, his expression grim. A scream had come from the flowerbed.

Several dark figures darted out from inside.

This place has been transformed into the Hogwarts reed marshes, becoming a popular spot for couples.

"Ravenclaw, deduct fifty points!" Snape snapped at Fawcett.

He then looked at Stebbins and angrily said, "Hufflepuff also loses fifty points."

"And what are you two doing?"

Snape caught a glimpse of William and Hermione on the path.

Karkaroff became alarmed, especially when he saw William. He nervously reached out to touch his goatee, then twirled it around his fingers.

"We're taking a walk, Professor. Did we disturb your date?" William said with a smile.

Snape rolled his eyes at William and said lazily, "Not wearing the school uniform, Ravenclaw loses twenty points..."

"This is Yule Ball!" Hermione exclaimed angrily.

"Yes, but once you've left the Great Hall, this is no longer the ballroom," Snape argued.

"Alright, fine, deduct it then," William said nonchalantly. "Don't disturb Professor Snape and Headmaster Karkaroff's date."

I think... maybe it'll be on the front page of the newspapers tomorrow, and everyone will know about it."

Snape glared at William and huffed, "Shidake, respect for elders and love for the young, Ravenclaw gets twenty points!"

After saying this, he strode past the two of them, his long black robes billowing behind him. Karkaroff also hurried away with Snape.

"Karkaroff is trying to escape?" Hermione whispered immediately.

"It seems so." William pondered for a moment. "Voldemort's power has been increasing recently; he's planning a resurrection..."

"Is Karkaroff really going to run away like this?" Hermione asked incredulously.

"He had no choice but to run," William explained.

"After Voldemort's downfall, Karkaroff revealed the names of many Death Eaters in order to get out of prison."

He was the one most afraid of Voldemort's resurrection.

Hermione frowned. "But he ran away, what about Durmstrang?"

"Elect a new principal..." William said matter-of-factly.

"Yes, but that's troublesome, isn't it?" Hermione rolled her eyes, seemingly lost in thought.

"William, why did Dumbledore hold the Triwizard Tournament?"

"For the sake of cooperation and communication, to fight together against the Death Eaters..."

William stopped; he instantly understood Hermione's meaning.

"That's right, it's for the sake of cooperation," Hermione said excitedly. "But even if we change the headmaster, he might not cooperate with us."

"And if Karkaroff escapes, we can take his place..."

"Become the principal of Durmstrang!" William continued.

"That's right!" Hermione grinned. "As long as our people are Headmaster Durmstrang, we can give orders and make them cooperate."

Hermione's meaning is very simple:

William had cut off a lot of Karkaroff's hair; if he ran away, they could easily arrange for a dutiful fake headmaster.

"Hermione, I must say, your idea is really bold and clever," William exclaimed.

Hermione blinked and said proudly, "Of course, I'm the smartest witch at Hogwarts."

"Is that right, Mr. Stark?"

"Yes, Mrs. Stark." William grasped Hermione's small hand and unconsciously kneaded it.

Hermione blushed and glared at him.

Then they came to a large stone reindeer sculpture, and beyond the stone reindeer, they saw a tall fountain with water splashing and Winky.

Hagrid and Madame Maxime were sitting there chatting.

"It's crowded here, let's find somewhere less crowded," the girl suggested.

She just wants to be alone with William right now, undisturbed by anyone.

"Let's go to the top of the castle; there's no one there."

William transformed into a sea eagle, Hermione rode on his back.

The eagle spread its wings and soared into the sky, landing on the tallest rooftop in the Hogwarts complex.

Standing on the rooftop, illuminated by the bright moon overhead, one can clearly see the entire landscape of Hogwarts.

This is the best vantage point for the view.

However, it's already quite cold in December.

William waved his wand, summoning a mink coat which he draped over himself.

Hermione then nestled into his arms, also wrapped in thick clothing.

She suddenly hugged William tightly, pressing herself against his warm chest, as if she wanted to meld herself into his body.

William stroked Hermione's back and whispered, "Hermione, loosen your grip, you're squeezing me so tight I can't breathe."

"No, there's no one else here anyway," she said coquettishly.

"Besides, I'm so tired from dancing, my legs are still hurting and I can't walk, so you'll have to carry me the whole time."

"That's a really rude thing to say," William laughed.

"You've been dancing for so long, aren't you just trying to tire me out so I won't have the energy to dance with anyone else?"

"Yes, yes." Hermione tilted her head back and readily admitted:

"But you never seem to get tired, while I'm exhausted first, so I have to drink some wine."

That way you won't leave.

She curled up in William's arms like a kitten and said sweetly, "It's my fault for being unreasonable, but I don't want to see you dancing with other people."

Phoebe and Trene are alright, but didn't you see the other girls looking like they wanted to eat you alive?

Aren't you friends?

"Yes, I can share anything, but you are the one thing I can't share... and you can only be mine!" she said softly.

William was both amused and exasperated, and slapped Hermione on the bottom with a little force.

The girl trembled all over, struggling to lift her head, gazing at William with unfocused eyes.

Her face was unusually flushed, as if she had taken Amortentia.

They looked into each other's eyes, and William leaned down to press his lips to hers.

The two kissed, the silvery glow of the moonlight spilling over their shoulders.

After what seemed like an eternity, Hermione finally released William, stood on tiptoe, bit his earlobe, and whispered sweetly:

"William, let's go home for Christmas, back to that little house."

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