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When the students in the Great Hall had mostly left, Professor McGonagall's gaze fell upon the four champions before her.
The Hogwarts champions stood in a row—Cedric, Harry, Roger, and Lynn, who stood at the very end with a somewhat distracted look in his eyes.
Professor McGonagall nodded with satisfaction.
"As is tradition," she said, "the Yule Ball is to be opened by the champions and their partners. This is a tradition of the Triwizard Tournament and an important part of showcasing Hogwarts' style."
She paused, her gaze sweeping across the four young faces, each wearing a different expression.
"So... do you understand what I mean?"
"Of course, Professor."
Cedric was the first to answer, his voice steady and a smile on his face.
As he spoke, his eyes involuntarily glanced toward the side door of the Great Hall.
There, Cho Chang was standing by the door, slightly out of breath. She was holding an envelope, seemingly having come specifically to find him. Seeing Cedric's gaze turn toward her, she curled her lips slightly and waved the envelope in her hand at him.
Cedric's smile deepened.
Professor McGonagall followed his gaze and couldn't help but chuckle.
"Haha," she laughed more heartily than usual, "it seems Mr. Diggory is already prepared."
Cedric withdrew his gaze, a hint of embarrassment on his face, though even more apparent was the joy he couldn't hide.
Professor McGonagall turned to the remaining three.
"Lynn, Potter, and Mr. Davies, what about you?"
Roger Davies thought for a moment and then nodded. His expression was calm; he seemed to already have a goal in mind.
Harry remained silent, his eyes wandering, unsure of what he was thinking.
Lynn stood at the very end, his lips twitching for a long time before he finally managed to squeeze out a sentence.
"Professor... can the ball not..."
Before he could finish, Professor McGonagall's expression changed.
"No."
Short, sharp, and decisive, leaving no room for doubt.
Lynn: "..."
He swallowed the second half of his sentence.
Fine. He had nothing more to say.
Professor McGonagall nodded in satisfaction. "Since there are no problems, let's continue the topic."
She took half a step forward, her tone becoming more solemn.
"As the opening of the ball, many people will be watching you. The teachers and students of the six schools, as well as officials from the Ministry of Magic—everyone will be staring at you, watching you walk onto the dance floor and perform the first dance."
Her gaze swept across their faces one by one.
"If you dance messily and become a laughingstock, it won't just be your own reputations at stake. It's the reputation of Hogwarts. It's the reputation of your Houses. It's the reputation of the entire British Wizarding World."
These words were a bit heavy, but they were indeed the truth.
Lynn stood there, the expression on his face becoming increasingly solemn.
He was thinking—thinking very seriously.
The dance of the Mooncalves... would that work?
The kind of dance where they hop and spin in circles under the moonlight. It looked quite "elegant," and Mooncalves did indeed look good while dancing.
The more Lynn thought about it, the more feasible it seemed.
Then he glanced at Professor McGonagall.
Professor McGonagall was looking at him, her gaze as cold as a December wind.
Lynn immediately deleted the Mooncalf dance from his mind.
No.
Absolutely not.
Professor McGonagall might very well eat him alive.
Seeing Lynn's increasingly furrowed brow, Professor McGonagall seemed to think of something and spoke tentatively.
"You don't know how to dance?"
Lynn nodded stiffly.
"Professor," he said, his tone carrying a hint of helplessness, "you know, I don't have the tal—"
"Stop!"
Professor McGonagall called an emergency halt.
"Mr. Lynn," she said, "do not say that word."
Lynn closed his mouth.
Professor McGonagall took a deep breath and slowly exhaled.
"It doesn't matter if you don't know how," she said, her tone softening slightly. "This weekend morning, I will be opening a dance club in the Great Hall. Remember to come then."
She paused, her gaze settling meaningfully on Lynn.
"Remember to bring a partner."
Lynn: "..."
He fell silent again.
Professor McGonagall stopped looking at him and turned to the other champions.
"The same goes for you. If you need to, you can come and participate at any time. I don't want to see the Hogwarts champions making fools of themselves at the ball."
Professor McGonagall satisfactorily tucked away the parchment.
"Alright, that's all. You may leave."
The four champions turned to leave.
Cedric walked quickly toward the door, where Cho Chang was waiting for him.
She stood there, handing the envelope to Cedric with a solemn expression.
"Would you like me to be your partner, Mr. Diggory?"
Cedric reached out to take it, just about to say something, when he heard a long hiccup from beside him.
"Lynn!!!"
...
As time went on, no matter where one went, students could be heard discussing the topic of the Yule Ball.
In the corridors, in the classrooms, in the common rooms, and even in Potions class when Snape turned to write on the blackboard—there were always a few daring students who dared to whisper to each other.
The boys gathered together to discuss which girl was the prettiest.
Ravenclaw's Cho Chang, Gryffindor's Angelina Johnson, and several cute girls from Hufflepuff were mentioned in turn.
But the most discussed topic was clearly Fleur Delacour of Beauxbatons.
"Merlin, did you see the way she took off her scarf that day?"
"I saw it, I saw it! Silver hair, blue eyes—she's like something out of a painting!"
"I heard she has Veela blood."
"No wonder! Wherever she goes, the boys are stunned!"
"Who do you think she'll choose as her partner?"
As soon as this question was asked, everyone fell silent.
Then they began to speculate wildly.
"It's bound to be someone from our school, right? After all, it's a ball hosted by Hogwarts."
"Not necessarily. Krum from Durmstrang is also quite famous."
"Krum? Which girl would like him?"
"He's an international star! He's very famous!"
"What's the use of being famous? Miss Delacour doesn't play Quidditch."
The discussion grew more and more heated, with no one able to convince the others.
In this atmosphere, some people who just wanted to see the world burn started urging their friends to invite Miss Delacour.
"Why don't you go try!"
"I'm not going! Why don't you go?"
"I'm just creating an opportunity for you!"
"Get lost!"
Similar conversations played out in every corner, but they were mostly just talk; no one actually dared to go through with it.
Until—
This afternoon, the hall was crowded with people.
Fleur was surrounded by a group of students. Some stood on the periphery with faces full of admiration, some pretended to pass by, and a few boys were pushing and shoving each other.
Fleur wore a smile on her face, elegantly dealing with various questions.
Just then—
A red-haired figure walked through the crowd, heading straight toward her.
Everyone's eyes were drawn to him as he walked up to Fleur and stopped.
He took a deep breath.
"Miss Delacour, would you like to go to the Yule Ball with me?"
Ron's voice echoed throughout the hall.
After saying this, he simply stood there, his face turning bright red, his eyes fixed directly on Fleur.
The next moment—
A deathly silence fell over the hall, so quiet that one could hear a pin drop.
Everyone was stunned.
They stared with wide eyes and open mouths, dumbfounded by Ron's actions.
At the edge of the crowd, Fred and George stood there, their expressions quite a sight. Fred's mouth formed an "O," and George's eyes were nearly bulging out.
The two of them looked at each other.
Who on earth had tricked their foolish little brother into this?!
Whispers began to rise from the surrounding crowd.
"He... is he serious?"
"What makes him think he can?"
"Courageous... truly, courageous..."
"I think he's going down in history today."
Ron was still standing there, waiting for an answer.
His face was as red as could be, and the tips of his ears seemed to be steaming.
Fleur looked at him for a moment.
Then she smiled politely.
"I'm sorry," she said softly, her tone polite but distant.
After speaking, she gave a slight curtsy and then turned to leave.
Ron stood there, motionless.
The next moment, he suddenly came to his senses. After realizing what had happened, he quickly turned and ran away.
A burst of laughter suddenly erupted throughout the hall.
The story of Ron inviting Fleur spread far and wide, with many students finding it very amusing and even adding a bit of embellishment to the tale.
The famous Slytherin commentator, Draco Malfoy, upon hearing the news, evaluated it as: "A toad lusting after swan meat."
Meanwhile, Lynn, who was hiding in the Hufflepuff Dormitory, was also worrying about the ball.