Chapter 416: The Ball

Chapter 416: The Ball

The hall buzzed with chatter.

The walls shimmered with sparkling silver frost, while the ceiling portrayed a dazzling night sky showering them with snowflakes that disappeared just before reaching their heads.

Hundreds of fairies danced high above, showering colorful confetti down upon them.

Felix stood at the entrance, surveying the scene. The house tables were gone, replaced by numerous small tables adorned with lanterns, each table surrounded by ten or so students.

At the front of the hall sat a long rectangular platform with judges for the competition. On either side of the platform were two teacher tables for Hogwarts professors and other guests who had traveled from afar.

In front of the platform and the teacher tables were two spacious round tables reserved for the champions.

Bagman and Percy walked up to the platform while Felix settled at one of the teacher tables, sitting between Professor Snape and McGonagall. Snape wore his usual black robes while McGonagall donned a red checkered gown adorned with a wreath of thistles on her hat.

"McGonagall, a rare sight," Felix teased. "Severus remains unchanged..."

Snape scrutinized Felix, watching him curiously flip through a small menu on the table. Slowly, he remarked, "I don't recall you ever learning to dance during your schooling. Perhaps you could join me later for a tour of the castle?"

"Oh, don't be a killjoy," Professor McGonagall chimed in.

Felix flipped the menu to its back, eyeing a line of dessert names. "No problem, but I want to try this," he pointed to a row of small words.

"Euphemia?" Snape glanced and remarked, "Too sweet."Rread latest chapters at novelhall.com

"A well-named dish," Felix chuckled.

After a few minutes, Professor McGonagall stood up. "I need to organize the champions' entrance," she adjusted her pointed hat and headed briskly toward a corner of the hall.

Near the entrance of the hall, the champions and their partners stood together as McGonagall briefed them on the entrance procedures. "Wait a bit longer until the hall is nearly filled, then proceed in pairs. Champions and partners, walk through the left aisle across the hall and finally turn to sit at the large round table on the right side of the platform. Understand?"

At that moment, Harry and Ron hurried into the hall. Ron finally managed to change into his new robes in the lavatory. They rushed towards the platform.

"Over here! Potter, Weasley," McGonagall called out loudly.

Harry and Ron froze in their tracks, awkwardly turned their heads, facing the stern-looking McGonagall and the clustered champions, who, in turn, were all gazing at them. Valgadu, a robust champion, stood considerably taller than Krum, while Nona Leberth, equally tall, stood gracefully on the other side.

Harry and Ron turned and retraced their steps. As they passed Draco Malfoy, he shouted, "Potter, Weasley, practicing your dance moves?"

His partner, Pansy Parkinson, elicited a chorus of mocking "tsk tsks."

Harry glared at them. Draco, dressed in a high-necked black velvet robe, resembled a rural parish priest, a fact that Harry silently scorned. Both boys reached the end of the champions' queue, where the Patil sisters stood, arms crossed, looking displeased at Harry and Ron.

McGonagall strode over, speaking quickly, "Get in line, you two! No, not together," she looked exasperatedly at Harry and Ron. "Stand side by side with your partners, for Merlin's sake, do you not understand what 'partners' mean?"

She stepped forward, separating Harry and Ron and then hesitated, looking at the Patil sisters. Uncertain, she ordered, "Stand next to your partners, ladies. A bit of coordination is needed... Honestly, it's a bit late to say this now."

McGonagall quickly moved back to the front of the line, and they could barely hear her faint voice, "Mr. Elephendi... please step back a bit; you're too close to Mr. Krum. Mr. Krum, where is your partner?"

"She's on her way," Krum replied in a low voice.

McGonagall appeared displeased. "Are you sure she won't miss the time? I could find a substitute if needed..."

"No need, thank you," Krum replied, his expression grim.

Harry and Ron peered at the front of the line. Ron, incredulous, murmured, "Can you believe it? Krum doesn't have a partner! He's a big star, who'd stand him up? Oh, Merlin, Harry, help me out here..."

He crouched slightly behind Harry, trying to hide because Fleur Delacour was looking their way. She was clad in a silver-grey satin robe, looking stunning. Beside her was a tall, handsome boy. Harry vaguely remembered him as the Slytherin seventh-year and the head of their house.

Once Fleur turned away, Ron straightened up.

"Can't blame you, she is quite beautiful," Harry remarked fairly. A few days earlier, when Fleur invited Cedric in the entrance hall, Ron had been utterly captivated and had awkwardly approached her, only to meet with inevitable failure.

Since then, Ron had been avoiding her, still not over the embarrassment.

At that moment, a beautiful girl in a flowing pale lilac-blue robe entered the hall, gliding past Harry and Ron. She went to stand beside Krum, speaking hurriedly, seemingly apologizing for her lateness. However, they were at the back of the line, making it difficult for Harry and Ron to hear her voice clearly over the front positions.

"Oh, sorry, Krum... I was ready hours ago... but... sniff... as a return gesture, I also didn't expect... too surprising..."

"Sniff? Are you talking about the magical creature that digs holes in the ground for coins? It sent you a gift?" Krum's deep voice was distinctive enough to reach Harry and Ron's ears.

"Valen doesn't dig in the ground! Oh, Valen is her name... Yes, she did send me a gift... I suppose it's because I sent her a Christmas present first... perhaps Professor Hagrid helped pick it out..." the girl explained.

As the song ended, Hermione blushed. She tiptoed, whispering, "You're really good at this, and thank you for saving me." Her lips lightly touched Felix's cheek before she floated away.

Raising his head, Felix found Fleur standing before him. "Are you good with this tune?" she teased. By now, the quirky sisters' performance had turned into a livelier polka.

"Of course," Felix replied.

After exchanging partners several times, Felix found himself facing Hermione.

"Oh, Professor, I saw you dancing so wonderfully on the side," she said.

"Thank you, not the only one saying so."

Felix counted down the sisters' new song in his mind. When the music began, he heaved a sigh of relief, finally completing a round without having to accelerate his thoughts.

He strolled and spun elegantly in the dance floor, confident and poised.

By the edge of the dance floor, Seamus and Dean sat at a table, enjoying desserts. Seamus exclaimed, "I didn't expect Professor Harp to excel in so many dance styles... He must have stayed on the floor the longest, right?"

"Yeah, how did he manage that?" Dean was equally surprised.

"And who was the girl he danced with? Beauxbatons or Durmstrang student?" Seamus squinted.

"What? She's Hermione!" Dean retorted loudly.

Seamus stared at Dean, who nodded towards the dance floor. "Look at her prominent teeth, it's obvious..."

In the center of the dance floor,

Hermione bit her lip, softly asking, "Do you know Valen gave me a Christmas present?"

"I do," Felix replied.

"Was that your idea?" Hermione asked sharply.

"Of course not," Felix didn't quite understand her tone, explaining, "I was unwrapping gifts all day, replying to letters, and it wasn't until almost evening that I realized you had prepared a gift for Valen. She was overjoyed because no one else but me remembered to give her a present, so she sent one in return..."

"But the gift is too precious!" Hermione exclaimed.

"Precious?" Felix chuckled. "No, Granger, it's just a keepsake. I researched; it's beyond repair."

"Is that so..." Hermione pondered, looking down.

At that moment, the ring on Felix's left hand buzzed. He frowned.

"What's wrong, Professor?" Hermione asked cautiously.

"Someone wants to contact me," Felix said calmly. As the music reached its final notes, Felix led Hermione to finish the last pose and left the floor with her.

Someone approached, eager. "Sorry," Felix politely declined.

He nodded at Hermione and hurried away, clutching a copper Knut between his fingers. Paired with the one he gave Dobby, whenever Dobby intended to report, he injected magic into it to notify Felix in advance.

But this time, the coin felt unusually hot, almost melting.

Felix swiftly exited the hall, finding himself in the courtyard, away from the hustle and bustle. "Psst!" A soft sound. Dobby suddenly appeared, looking highly agitated, his big eyes filled with fear.

Most importantly, he carried a collapsed house-elf.

After ensuring Dobby was okay, Felix squatted, assessing the house-elf Dobby brought. By his estimation, this was a female house-elf.

"What happened, Dobby?" he asked softly.

"D-Dobby doesn't know! D-Dobby just wanted to invite friends for Christmas. Dobby knew Winky has a master, so he specifically picked a very late time; they should've all been asleep. Dobby knew her master isn't feeling well..."

>

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