novelnext Chapter 447 The Ball
Chapter 447 The Ball
Chapter 447 The Ball (Part 1)
Night quietly fell, and the slightly swirling dark clouds temporarily obscured the silver moon, making the castle lights appear even brighter.
Christmas lights hung high from the dome of the auditorium, cascading down the star-studded ceiling as if gently floating on the tips of the students' heads.
Although the ball had not yet started, the students had already gathered here, dressed in their most elegant gowns, greeting everyone they faced with smiles.
"Harry—you're here?" Cedric chuckled when he saw Harry appear. He was dressed in a well-fitting tailcoat, looking dashing and handsome, with a slight smile on his face.
"Looks like you've found your dance partner—" His gaze shifted slightly to the girl standing next to Harry, his smile widening. He pulled Harry close and whispered, "When did you and Miss Ginny get together?"
"I've heard about her a lot."
"No, not really—" Harry scratched his head, blushing slightly, which made Cedric laugh. After laughing, he shook his head and said, "Go and prepare something, Harry, have some hot drinks."
"The hero will be in charge of the opening dance later."
"Ah!" Harry suddenly remembered this when he heard the opening dance. Although he had known about it for a while, he had subconsciously ignored it because of joy or some other emotion.
"You haven't forgotten, have you?" Cedric paused for a moment, then frowned as if remembering something. "Speaking of which, you haven't been to dance practice for a while."
"So you can dance now?"
"Cough cough—" Harry coughed a few times to lower his voice: "Cedric—to be honest, I've never danced before."
"By Merlin—" Upon hearing this, Cedric's eyes widened: "Then—" After a few seconds of silence, he could only reach out and pat Harry on the shoulder.
"It's okay, Harry, the opening dance only lasts a few minutes—I believe in you—you can get through it."
His words made Harry's face turn ugly immediately. The thought of being humiliated in front of the entire house made him take a few deep breaths.
"Don't worry about Harry." Ginny walked over and gently, carefully took Harry's arm. "I—I've practiced a little bit—"
"Just follow my lead," she said with a soft laugh, which eased Harry's worries.
He pursed his lips and said, "I understand, Ginny—but I'm very sorry about this."
"No need to apologize," Ginny said with a smile. "You're a great hero at Hogwarts, and you're going to deal with Mystic, right?"
"I guess—I guess so—" Harry, who actually spent most of his time having nightmares and dealing with Snape, gave a slightly awkward smile.
However, while the group was talking, more and more people gathered in the auditorium, and students from Durmstrang and Beauxbatons arrived on time.
The most eye-catching among them should be Miss Delacour, the heroine from Beauxbatons. As a Veela half-blood, she was already outstanding in appearance, and now, after being carefully dressed up, she was even more so. She wore a light silver, shimmering long dress, while standing next to her was Emma Rozier, who wore a black long dress.
Is that Miss Rozier?
Upon closer inspection, Harry was surprised to find that she did indeed bear a resemblance to Professor Rozier, much like a miniature version of him.
There was a strange blush on her face for some reason—was it because she was shy? Or—Harry glanced at their clasped hands and didn't know what to say.
However—looking at the dazzling Hibiscus that attracted everyone's attention, he suddenly thought of Professor Hamilton—wasn't Professor Hamilton here?
Even if she were to come, the professor would probably just be wearing her ordinary black robe, right?
Harry's gaze, of course, did not escape Ginny's notice. She lightly pinched Harry's arm and said, "Who are you looking for, Harry?"
"Professor Hamilton—" Harry said instinctively, then suddenly realized something and quickly explained, "I'm just a little curious—will Professor Hamilton be attending?"
"Really, Harry?" Ginny smiled. "We all know you admire Professor Hamilton."
"I didn't either—" Harry instinctively tried to explain, but Ginny gently shook her head and said, "It's okay."
"It's perfectly normal to admire someone like Professor Hamilton," Ginny said, blinking. "I admire Professor Hamilton very much too."
"After all, she's amazing, charming—and a little cute too." Her words startled Harry; he wasn't sure if Ginny was just trying to comfort him or if she genuinely thought so.
But it didn't seem to matter anymore, because at that moment the auditorium door was slowly pushed open again.
A silver-haired figure peeked out from there.
Ugh!
There are so many people inside!
It's all Miss Nagini's fault!
Loila looked at the clothes she was wearing and didn't know what to do. She was a little hesitant—a little hesitant to go in.
I've never worn this kind of clothing before—yes, I shouldn't say clothing, I should say—skirt—skirt—
Loila had never worn a skirt before. After all, this kind of "ladylike" clothing just didn't suit her at all. And—she touched her exposed pointed ears, which were usually hidden in her hair but were now exposed because of Nagini's hairstyle.
Her usually loose, slightly curly and messy silver hair was now piled high under a silver star-shaped hair crown, and the cool sensation on her neck made Loila feel uncomfortable all over.
"Hiss hiss hiss." Nagini, hidden inside her clothes, hissed softly, urging Loila to go in quickly.
"No—no, Nagini," Loila said in a low voice, blushing. "There are so many people in here—if I go in like this—"
"Hiss hiss hiss!"
"What do you mean by 'dressing up specially'? I don't even have a dance partner, yet I have to—" Loila was standing at the door explaining quietly when she suddenly heard a soft moan behind her.
"Loila?"
"Huh?!" Loila was startled by Luna's voice. She turned her head sharply and saw Luna dressed in a black gauze dress. It was rare for her not to dress up in a strange way. The only distinctive things about her were the butterbeer necklace that she never took off and the strange headdress on her head.
Even so, she looked more lively and adorable than usual.
"Loila, you look beautiful, just like a horned snoring beast."
This must be the highest praise Luna could possibly give.
But—but I'm so—so shy—Loila covered her chest and whispered, "You—Luna is also—"
very beautiful."
Then, as if remembering something, she couldn't help but say with a hint of bitterness, "Your dance partner must be very—very happy, right?"
"Not necessarily," Luna blinked. "I think she seemed a bit awkward."
"Her?" Loila paused for a moment. "So it's a woman—" Before she could finish speaking, Luna suddenly pushed open the door and then gently pushed Loila into the hall.
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