Chapter 26

The night after first task, Edmund and Iris sat quietly in their haven known as Room of Requirement as they watch a few of Naruto's good memories in an attempt to help Iris understand chakra. Edmund had agreed to it after Iris asked him about wanting to learn more about chakra and the general life of people in the shinobi era.

They had set aside the golden egg after it screeched upon being opened. Edmund had wanted to blow the egg into bits as it had greatly irritated him due to his high sense of hearing, but was calmed down by Iris as she soothed him later.

Edmund had told her the kind of person Naruto was and Iris was curious what drove the ancient man to become a legend. There were still many references of the shinobi era in some of the older parts of Japan along with discovered ruins of that era, according to Edmund, and the name of Naruto was as famous in Japan as that of Merlin in Europe. What Merlin was for European wizards, Naruto was for Japanese wizards. Even though tales about him got more exaggerated as years went by, they were close to the actual truth about his life.

Saving the world when he was just seventeen and defeating ancient inter-dimensional foes known as the Otsusuki were some of the feats he had achieved. Even though he had a rough life in his early years, he was able to conquer his hate.

Iris sat beside Edmund, awed by the kind of man Naruto was while her boyfriend looked at her, feeling proud of his ancestors when he saw her awed look. He may not be the epitome of goodness and forgiveness, oh forget it, he was a cold blooded killer, but that didn't stop the pride budding inside him.

(ROTS)

It was the night of Yule Ball and Edmund was waiting outside the ROR as Iris got dressed for the event. The ball, from Edmund's opinion, was a waste of time. He could have been training Iris but no, she insisted he taught her how to dance for the ball. So many hours wasted on such a trivial thing as dancing just for a stupid fancy dress event. But what could he do, the girl could get really persuasive. She had gained a lot of confidence lately and it didn't help when she got a little bold to get him to agree to her requests.

Iris had really grown at the right places and looked as beautiful as a fourteen old girl possibly could. So, there were many fools who tried to ask his girlfriend out for the ball, but it didn't end well for them. One such example was that dumb Weasel.

Edmund was pulled out of his thoughts as Iris came out of ROR, wearing what Edmund could describe as the most form fitting and elegant dress a girl could wear. Staring blankly at her, Edmund spoke, "On a second thought, this ball's actually not a bad thing."

Iris giggled and fondly looked at him. She knew he didn't like public gatherings and balls as all the balls he had ever attended before had self proclaimed imerioused victims of Voldemort as guests. Not a pleasant company to be around for sure. But, he had agreed to help her with her dancing and had agreed without a second thought to accompany her as her date.

She gave him a chaste kiss and Edmund offered his arm to her which she gladly accepted. Walking towards the ballroom, they could see the various reactions of students. The school robes hid almost everything from the visible eye. Edmund really couldn't complain when other boys were eyeing her but he was not a nice person and allow such insolence.

The boys all around began sweating heavily and they felt their hands and feet go cold. A shiver went down their spines as a dreadful feeling of mortal danger invaded their minds. Edmund really liked this trick with his killing intent.

When Iris noticed what was happening, she looked at him and pouted while jabbing her finger at the side of his abdomen. Obviously, it did nothing to him which made Iris look away with indignation and she started walking a little faster. Edmund just shook his head and matched her pace.

They waited outside the great hall as McGonagall explained what they were supposed to do when they entered the hall. Her gaze flickering towards Edmund and Iris as she talked.

Edmund could hear what everyone was saying very clearly when they were asked to enter the hall. Many were wondering how he had convinced Iris to accept him as her date. Others were jealous of him for getting lucky. Really, even if she was a scrawny and malnourished boy they would want to ask her out due to her fame. How pathetic.

The champions danced one by one with their partners. As Edmund and Iris finished with their turn, everyone else was allowed to join the ball and dance to the music and a girl band sang joyously.

They were sitting with the rest of the champions and their dates. Getting up from his seat, Edmund clinked his glass with a fork and amplified the sound with his magic.

"May I have everyone's attention please? Thank you. For this lovely evening I had planned a little game for everyone present. I have an ancient enchanted object here that I got from Japan when I visited the country last year. It tells what animal a person resembles the most just with a touch based on the person's character. So, with the headmaster's permission I would like to start this game. Everyone can take part in it! Let's have some fun music!"

Dumbledore just smiled and nodded. Edmund had approached him earlier and had already gotten the permission.

One by one, the students and teachers touched the device to see what animal they resembled the most.

Susan Bones, "A shy Lemur."

Luna Lovegood, "An owl."

The Weasley twins, "Otters."

Lavender Brown, "A meerkat."

Ron Weasley, "A pig."

Draco Malfoy, "A weasel."

Fleur Declaur, "An octopus."

.

.

.

After a lot of students and teachers had tested the device Edmund decide to end it with the main event. "Professor Dumbledore, why don't you too have a go at this? Come on guys, who wants to see what animal the headmaster is like?"

At Edmund's encouragement, everyone in the hall cheered for Dumbledore to go ahead.

The old idiot smiled and reached forward to touch the device.

".... A smelly old c.o.c.kroach."

The Great Hall, "..."

A/N: There you have it. I honestly don't know what I was thinking when I decided to make Edmund introduce that device but, meh, whatever works to make the ball bearable I guess.