Chapter 76 - Yule Ball (2/2)
Malfoy shook his head and mumbled, ”don't think too much Draco. Not your problem”. Meanwhile, Harry was ecstatic in his room, grinning like a fool all-day as his crush, Cho Chang accepted to be his date for Yule Ball.
As the Day of the Christmas arrived, a girl opened her gifts and saw ruby earrings, she smiled while reading the letter which says her to wear it during the ball.
A while later, as Harry kept staring at Cho and admiring her beauty while she was talking with him, Ron and Lavender were stupified to see Krum is with Hermoine, who transformed completely from a bookish and bushy hair girl to a beautiful girl compared to those beauties from Beauxbatons.
But quickly, the attention on them was gone as the Slytherins came up the stairs from their dungeon common room. Everyone in the entrance hall became silent as they were speechless seeing Neal looking like a prince in his clothes while his arms were locked by Daphne who wore a red ball gown with half sleeves and a with a necklace on her neck and ruby earrings which Neal gave her as a Christmas present looking a princess.
When the doors of the Great Hall opened, whether it was Fleur admirers or Krum's fan club, all moved aside as Neal and Daphne were walking together. While Celia who was with Tomas Macmillan, looking at them enviously, on the other hand, Tracey sighed while looking at the pair from behind as she thought, ”if I only didn't refuse him, I would have been the one to walk beside Neal. No, I did the right thing. They are suited for each other. Even her clothes and accessories are on another level that I can't hope to buy in my lifetime.
Once everyone else was settled in the Hall, Professor McGonagall told the champions and their partners to get in line in pairs and to follow her. They did so, and everyone in the Great Hall applauded as they entered and started walking up toward a large round table at the top of the Hall, where the judges were sitting.
The walls of the Hall had all been covered in sparkling silver frost, with hundreds of garlands of mistletoe and ivy crossing the starry black ceiling. The House tables had vanished and instead, there were about a hundred smaller, lantern-lit ones, each seating about a dozen people.
As the champions sat at the top table, everyone started chatting with others. While Krum was explaining how Hogwarts is more comfortable and bigger than their Durmstrang and was impressed with how the Great Hall was decorated, Fleur wasn't impressed as Beauxbatons focused on appearances very much and found it just a mediocre.
Although she did praise Neal and Daphne on their outfits making Roger Davis disappointed as he looked at Fleur who was ignoring him completely and was just chatting with Neal who sat next to her. Meanwhile, Cho Chang and Daphne were busy in their girl talk and Harry was struggling to hear the praises of Barty Crouch by Percy who came to the ball in place of him and sat next to him
After the dinner is over, Dumbledore stood up and asked the students to do the same. Then, with a wave of his wand, all the tables zoomed back along the walls leaving the floor clear, and then he conjured a raised platform into existence along the right wall. A set of drums, several guitars, a lute, a cello, and some bagpipes were set upon it.
The Weird Sisters, a popular band in the wizarding world, stepped up onto the stage with wildly enthusiastic applause. As they picked up their instruments, Daphne smiled, ”Neal, c'mon, it's time to dance”.