novelcrest Chapter 484 Choosing a Dance Partner
Chapter 484 Choosing a Dance Partner
Chapter 484 Choosing a Dance Partner
"It looks really good, Ron—it suits your robe quite well."
It's Fred and George.
They had somehow ended up sitting at the table where Harry, Ron, and Hermione were sitting.
"Ron, can we borrow the pig?" George asked.
"No, it went out to deliver a message," Ron replied. "What are you doing?"
"Because George wants to invite it to the ball," Fred said sarcastically.
"We have a letter to deliver, you idiot," George replied coldly.
"Whom did you write to?" Ron asked curiously.
"Don't worry about that, Ron, or I'll burn your nose off too." Fred waved his wand threateningly. "What, still haven't found a dance partner?"
"No," Ron said helplessly.
"I think we need to hurry, guys, the good girls are about to be picked clean," Fred teased.
"Then who will you go with?" Ron countered.
"Angelina," Fred answered without hesitation.
"What?" Ron asked in surprise, "You've already invited her?"
"Good question, not bad." Fred smiled smugly, then turned and shouted loudly towards the other end of the common room, "Hey, Angelina!"
Angelina was standing by the fire chatting with Arya Spinnet when she heard the noise and looked over at Fred.
"What's wrong?" she asked loudly.
"Would you like to come to the ball with me?" Fred asked casually.
Angelina gave Fred a somewhat calculating look, paused for a moment, and then smiled faintly, "Okay." Then she turned back to continue chatting with Arya, a faint smile on her face.
"Done," Fred said to Harry and Ron, speaking casually. "A piece of cake."
He stood up, yawned, and said, "We'd better use one of the school's owls, George, let's go—"
The two turned and left.
The three people at the table were stunned by what they saw.
Is it that simple?
Can I just invite them directly?
Hermione was the most confused – she didn't even know when the parchment on the table had fallen to the ground.
The Hogwarts teachers and students clearly had a strong desire to impress the guests from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang.
It seems everyone is determined to show off the castle at its best this Christmas.
The school was decorated with lights and colorful decorations everywhere. Even Sean, who had been at Hogwarts for ten years, and Snape, who had been there for nearly twenty years, felt that they had never seen such beautiful decorations. The railings of the marble staircase were covered with icicles that would never melt. The twelve Christmas trees that were usually placed in the Great Hall were decorated with all sorts of little trinkets, from glittering holly berries to live golden owls that kept chirping.
The armors were also enchanted; whenever someone passed by, they would sing Christmas carols—especially when the empty helmet sang "Oh, come, you devout people," it was truly hilarious. The armors only knew half the lyrics, and Filch had to pull Peeves out of the armors several times because Peeves would always fill in the lyrics himself when the armors couldn't continue singing—and they were all crude and unpleasant words.
However, despite the festive Christmas atmosphere, some people still couldn't find a dance partner.
"Uncle Hack————"
Luna Lovegood nestled in Sean's arms like a kitten, her beautiful long hair disheveled across her back, wearing the backless dress Sean had recently bought for her, the hem of which was piled messily at the base of her thighs.
"Um?"
"On Christmas Day," she looked up at Sean with her clear, lake-like eyes, a faint blush rising on her cheeks, "I want to dance with you."
Sean looked down at her. The neckline of her dress was wide open, revealing her snow-white shoulders and a hint of cleavage. Although the cleavage was not obvious, it was small and had a unique charm. The silver-gray straps hung loosely on her slender shoulders, trembling slightly with her breath.
"Will Uncle refuse me?" She gently tapped Sean's calf with one of her delicate white toes, her voice tinged with a coquettish tone. "This is the Christmas present I want."
"But this year's Christmas ball requires wizards in their fourth year or higher to participate."
Sean pretended to be embarrassed and said, "The next moment—"
Luna lifted one leg and straddled Sean's lap.
Sean could feel Luna's soft body pressed against him, the fabric of her dress smooth and cool. Her waist was breathtakingly slender, almost too thin to encircle with one hand. The silver-gray straps had slipped down to her elbows, revealing large expanses of snow-white skin.
"We can do it in Uncle's office instead of the auditorium." "Uncle's office..." Luna's voice was as soft as a dream, "There's a large full-length mirror and heavy curtains." Her hair brushed against Sean's cheek, bringing a faint, lingering fragrance.
Sean's back was against the wall, but she snuggled closer to him until she was completely buried in his arms. "I know Uncle will worry," she said, tilting her head to look at Sean with an innocent smile, "but I've learned all the dance steps. And, if we're in the office, no one will bother us."
Her knees gently rubbed against my thighs, and the hem of her silver-gray dress spread out like a blooming lily.
Sean could see a faint ligature mark on Luna's back, extending from her shoulder blades to her waist—a mark left from their last playful encounter.
Now, there was no reason left to refuse.
Just as Sean nodded in agreement and was about to give Luna a reward, there was a sudden knock on the door.
"Professor Phillips, it's me."
Hermione's voice.
It sounds a bit reserved, or rather, conflicted.
Hermione stood at the doorway, looking at it with some trepidation.
She came this time, naturally, for the Christmas ball—because of this, she had barely been to the house-elf kitchen these past few days—and even the progress of compiling and revising the house-elf manual had come to a standstill.
She wanted to...dance with Professor Phillips.
In other words, she doesn't want to dance with anyone else.
In other words, given her status, how could she possibly dance with someone else?
However, figuring out how to make an appointment with Professor Phillips and how to bring it up has become a problem these days.
Until two days ago, Fredo Angelina's straightforward approach gave her an idea—since the two of them were already like this, why not just be more direct and invite them directly?
Moreover, from an outsider's perspective, it's not a big deal for a professor to dance with his class representative, right?
Hearing Hermione's voice outside the door, Sean tried to push Luna away, but she only hugged him tighter.
"Ignore her." Luna buried her head in the crook of his neck, her breathing quickening. "Just let her go."
Indeed, the foreplay was only halfway done.
At this crucial moment, how can we give up halfway?
The knocking sounded again, this time louder.
"Professor, I need to speak with you about something—"
"Get up." Sean tried to free himself from Luna's embrace by supporting himself with his hands. But the girl clung to him like a koala, showing no intention of leaving. He didn't dare to use too much force, afraid of accidentally hurting Luna.
Luna giggled, looked up, and leaned close to Sean's ear. "Uncle Huck, do you prefer me to a good girl like Hermione?"
Hermione, still outside the door, persisted: "Professor, are you in your office? I think I heard some noise inside—"
Luna extended a slender, pale fingertip and unbuttoned the first button of Sean's shirt: "Let her wait. Doesn't Uncle always say we should focus on our studies? But right now, we're having an important academic discussion."
Sean could feel Luna's heart beating faster.
The next second—
She suddenly jumped off him, straightened her disheveled dress, walked barefoot to the other side of the room, opened a drawer and took out a dark red silk scarf.
"Uncle," she turned to Sean and winked, "I'm going to open the door."
"What? No way!" Sean was about to stop her, but she had already tied her scarf and gracefully walked towards the door.
The moment Luna opened the door, she covered her face with the silk scarf, looking like an exotic priestess.
"Miss Granger, the professor and I are discussing the history of ancient wizards."
Outside the door, Hermione was stunned.
She was stunned by what she saw: Luna's half-hidden face, her slightly disheveled dress, and Sean sitting upright behind her.
but--
For some reason, Hermione wasn't surprised.
Perhaps Luna's image as crazy has become so deeply ingrained that no matter what she does or how absurd the scene is, others have long been used to it.
"I—I'd like to discuss something with the professor," Hermione said, looking over Luna's slouching shoulder at Sean. "Professor, may I speak to you privately for a moment?"
Meanwhile, the other two little ones are still anxious about not being able to find a dance partner for the Christmas ball.
"Harry—we've got to bite the bullet and go for it!" Ron said breathlessly. "We all need to find dance partners when we get back to the common room tonight—is that a deal?"
"Hmm—okay," Harry replied.
However, despite his anxiety, he saw Cho Chang several times that day—whether during breaks, lunch, or on her way to the History of Magic class—always surrounded by a group of friends. Did she never go anywhere alone? Perhaps he could ambush her when she went to the restroom? But no—even when she went to the restroom, Cho Chang was always accompanied by four or five students.
But if he doesn't take action soon, she might be invited by someone else.
During Snape's Potions test, Harry was completely unable to concentrate and forgot to add a key ingredient—a dungstone—resulting in him receiving the lowest possible score.
Despite this, he didn't care; his mind was entirely focused on how to muster the courage to speak to Qiu Zhang.
Harry told himself, "Just ask Cho Chang one question, it's that simple."
I had lunch in the auditorium today.
Hermione said she was going to see Professor Phillips, and Ron was going to figure out how to ask other girls out.
This opportunity is perfect for him to take action!
So Harry made his way through the crowded corridor, quickly searching for Cho Chang.
Soon (he didn't expect it to be so soon), he saw her coming out of the Ravenclaw common room.
"Um—Akiharu? Can I say something to you?"
"The law should prohibit giggling," Harry thought angrily, noticing that the girls around Cho Chang couldn't help but giggle.
Fortunately, Qiu Zhang did not laugh.
She quietly said "Okay," and then followed Harry to a place where her classmates couldn't hear her.
Harry turned to look at her, and a strange spasm suddenly gripped his heart, as if he had missed a step on the stairs.
"Um—" he stammered.
He couldn't ask her, he couldn't, but he knew he had to.
Qiu Zhang stood there, looking at him with a slightly puzzled expression.
The words suddenly burst from Harry's mouth, incoherent, and he didn't even have time to pronounce them correctly.
"Would you like to keep me company?"
"Excuse me, what did you say?" Qiu Zhang asked.
"Would you like to come with me to the ball?" Harry asked.
Why is he blushing? Why?
"Oh!" Cho Chang's face flushed red. "Oh, Harry, I'm so sorry," she said, looking directly at him with some guilt. "I've already decided to go with someone else."
"Oh," Harry's voice lowered.
The feeling was strange: a minute ago, he felt his internal organs wriggling like snakes, but now, suddenly, he felt as if he didn't even have internal organs anymore.
"Oh, okay," he said. "It's alright."
"I'm so sorry," she apologized to him again.
"It's alright." Harry forced a smile.
They stood there staring at each other for a moment, the air seeming to freeze. Then Qiu Zhang said softly, "Let's leave it at that."
"Okay." Harry nodded, his voice a little hoarse.
"Alright, goodbye." Qiu Zhang's face was still flushed as she turned to leave.
Harry suddenly couldn't help but call out to her, without even having time to think about why he was doing it.
"Who are you going with?" he asked.
"You'll find out when the time comes," she replied.
Indeed, this was the seventh invitation Qiu Zhang had received this week.
Besides Harry, Cedric also invited her to the Christmas ball, but she declined both invitations.
To be honest, she hadn't decided who to go to the Christmas ball with yet.
If we disregard other factors and only consider personal preference, then Professor Phillips would definitely be the best candidate.
But in this world, many things cannot be decided based solely on the word "like".
There are other practical factors to consider, especially at such a critical juncture.
Therefore, before obtaining the photograph, Akiharu did not want to think about who her dance partner would be at the Christmas ball.
Yes, the day after tomorrow is the second day of the Christmas holiday.
She needs to be absolutely prepared!