Led by certain individuals, the Christmas Ball turned into one giant nightclub. For a while, the dance floor descended into complete chaos, enough to make Satan himself rejoice.
Of course, not everyone wanted to surrender themselves to the music. Harry and Ron, for example, never joined in.
The two of them sat at the edge of the dance floor with their legs crossed. Their dates, the Patil sisters, had already left and never came back.
The Patil sisters were of Indian descent, and they were twins. The two of them ranked among the prettiest girls in all of Hogwarts. Sitting by the dance floor, they naturally attracted plenty of attention.
Both Harry and Ron wore sour expressions, but neither of them was upset because the Patil sisters had left. They each had their own reasons for being angry.
Harry couldn't help glancing at Cho Chang and Cedric. He felt that he had lost to Cedric once again, making being a Triwizard Champion seem completely meaningless.
At that moment, Harry desperately wanted to vent his frustration. It felt as though a roaring beast was trapped inside his heart.
Ron, meanwhile, followed Hermione and Krum with his eyes wherever they went, glaring at them the whole time. He had been watching the two of them ever since the ball began. He hadn't danced a single dance himself.
Perhaps Ron himself didn't know why he was so angry, but he was. All he wanted was to punch Krum as hard as he could.
When Hermione finally sat down beside Ron, he blamed everything on her "collaborating with the enemy" and got into a huge argument with her, completely forgetting how much he had admired Krum before.
Besides jealous people like Harry and Ron, quite a few students quietly slipped out of the ball, or simply snuck out of the castle altogether. Instead of giving themselves over to the music, they gave themselves over to the person beside them.
In the quiet corners of the castle, couples, or people who looked very much like couples, embraced one another and whispered private words. Only they themselves could understand the joy of those moments.
The bushes and small groves outside the castle also became rendezvous spots for couples. Fleur and Roger Davies of Ravenclaw even disappeared into the bushes together, a sight that utterly shattered Hector's heart.
Fortunately, Hogwarts had someone whose job was breaking up lovers.
His name was Severus Snape.
The freezing weather outside couldn't dampen the passion between young men and women, but the Potions professor certainly could. Thanks to Snape's diligent efforts, the school grounds never became too true to their romantic reputation.
Still on the dance floor, Eda naturally had no idea what was happening outside, nor did she know about the meeting between the two former Death Eaters. She continued dancing with the twins and the others, swaying her body and soul alike, surrendering herself completely to the rhythm.
Every celebration eventually comes to an end, just as there is no feast that lasts forever.
At midnight, the Weird Sisters stopped playing. Everyone gave them one final round of enthusiastic applause before making their way toward the Entrance Hall.
Many people wished the ball could have lasted a little longer, but as a certain famous drunk had once said, "Happy times are always short."
Reluctantly, the students returned to their respective common rooms, bringing the Christmas night's revelry to a close.
On the day after Christmas, everyone slept in.
Even though daylight had long since filled the sky outside, the entire castle remained wrapped in slumber.
It wasn't until nearly noon that Eda, aching all over, groggily sat up in bed.
She felt as though her body no longer belonged to her. Even sitting up straight took considerable effort.
She had no strength and no energy. At this moment, not even an entire box of Snickers could save her.
Angelina, Alicia, and Katie were also sitting on their own beds, each looking completely drained, as though they had left their souls behind at last night's ball.
The four girls looked up at one another in perfect unison.
After exchanging glances, they all burst into laughter.
Their laughter grew louder and louder until, after finally struggling to sit up, they collapsed back onto their beds again.
"Last night was absolutely insane!" Angelina said, lying flat on her back. The rise and fall of the hills before a certain someone's eyes made them extremely envious.
Alicia lay face down with her head buried beneath her pillow.
"It's over," she muttered, her voice muffled. "So many people must have seen me with my hair all over the place last night. It's all over."
Alicia Spinnet had always had one little dream.
She wanted to find a boyfriend before graduating from Hogwarts.
Now she was already in her sixth year, and that little dream still hadn't come true.
She was still as single as ever.
"Don't lose heart, Alicia." Little Katie let out a giggle. "Someone was even crazier than you last night. She was practically a completely different person from her usual self."
Katie Bell could no longer be called "Little Katie."
She was no longer the tiny first-year she used to be.
The fifth-year Katie wasn't little at all.
But in the hearts of Eda, Angelina, and Alicia, Katie Bell was still that little girl who used to crumple her parchment in her hands, still that timid little girl.
"I think you're taking a shot at Angelina," Eda said, her eyes full of amusement. "Seriously, Angelina was absolutely amazing last night! I'm seriously starting to think you've watched an MJ concert."
Angelina turned to look at Eda.
"Why do I feel like Katie's talking about you instead? Do you need me to remind you what you did last night?"
"No!" Eda hurriedly reached out to stop her. She moved so abruptly that she nearly rolled off the bed, but it was already too late.
"I wonder who it was shaking her head around like crazy last night," Angelina continued without pause. "I was honestly worried she was going to dislocate her neck."
As Eda lunged at her, Angelina effortlessly pinned Eda against her chest.
"Exactly! That's so true!" Katie got excited as well and immediately sat upright. "At the time, everyone was dancing along, so it didn't feel embarrassing. But thinking about it now... it's so mortifying."
Eda struggled to turn her head and shot Katie a threatening glare.
Little Katie wasn't intimidated in the slightest. Instead, she raised an eyebrow and smirked back at Eda.
Ever since the day she had moved into this dormitory, Katie had deeply understood who the true boss of the room was.
That's right.
That person was Angelina Johnson.
Eda?
Who did she think she was?
"Oh, right," Alicia suddenly chimed in, sitting up as well. "Does anyone know what song 'that person' was singing last night? It was actually pretty good."
Eda looked at Alicia.
There was really no need to use such an obviously transparent phrase like "that person."
You could've just said my name!
"I don't know. It was just really catchy." Katie shook her head. She had never heard the song before. As she spoke, she hummed a couple of bars, though she hadn't remembered the lyrics, only the addictive melody.
"I've never heard it either. I only know that someone shamelessly called herself a 'little butterfly,'" Angelina said. "Apparently she can even make the sky all colorful."
She loosened her hold on Eda slightly before asking,
"Do you know exactly what 'she' was singing?"
What was she supposed to do when she had three roommates with such excellent memories?
Answers needed urgently!
I absolutely can't admit it. As long as I deny everything, they can't do anything to me.
That was Eda's firm belief.
After all, the song she had been casually humming the night before wouldn't be released in Denmark until July 1998. It was only 1994 now. Other than her, there was no way anyone at Hogwarts could have heard it!
Taking advantage of Angelina letting her guard down, Eda immediately "broke free" from her grasp. She swaggered back to her own bed with exaggerated confidence, humming the song again as she marched along.
Watching Eda's ridiculously smug strut and listening to her humming the same tune again, Angelina, Katie, and Alicia exchanged glances.
The three of them climbed off their beds together and immediately subjected Eda to a thorough session of affectionate "petting."
We'll teach you "Ai yai yai yai."
We'll teach you "I'm your little butterfly!"
When the four girls finally left the dormitory, they reached a unanimous agreement.
Not a single one of them would ever mention last night's events again.
What ball?
Hogwarts had never held a ball.
The common room was much quieter than it had been over the past few days. People chatted lazily, their conversations constantly interrupted by yawns.
Fred and George were busy promoting their latest products, surrounded by a small group of troublemakers.
After the twins' last batch of Transfiguration Biscuits, Hogwarts had lost the most basic level of trust between people.
Now, no one at school dared accept a biscuit or a piece of candy from someone else, because it might contain a Canary Cream or a Tongue-Ton Toffee.
The moment Eda stepped into the common room, Clark Gerall walked over.
"Eda," he said, "Professor McGonagall is looking for you."
...
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