There were only a handful of dances before it was widely suggested that everybody sit down and eat, and Harry found himself gently herded off the dance floor and up to the top table with the rest of the champions and their partners. He ended up sat next to Percy Weasley, who was oozing with pride. "I got promoted," he declared as soon as Harry sat down. "I'm now Mr Crouch's personal assistant, and I'm here representing him."
"Congratulations," Harry replied agreeably, glad Percy seemed to be doing well at work. He was a bit of a smug git, but he wasn't all bad. Certainly not Harry's least favourite Weasley sibling at the current moment in time.
Speaking of, Harry could see Ron sat with Luna, Ginny and Neville a few tables away. He was entirely ignoring them, too busy glaring at Viktor Krum. It made Harry sigh to himself; that was an explosion he'd love to avoid.
Dinner was surprisingly enjoyable, despite the judges' presence at their table. Harry spent most of it talking to Susan, Fleur and Cassius, as they were sat on Susan's other side. "We've really managed to do well for school representation here," Susan remarked at one point. "One from each of the foreign schools, and at least one from every Hogwarts house. Was that on purpose?"
Harry refused to admit that getting Cassius to go with Fleur had been partly because he was a Slytherin, insisting that it just happened to work out that way. He just hadn't wanted the snake house to get left out.
Susan barely let him sit and digest his food before they were back out on the dance floor, but she didn't stay in his arms for long. "Mind if we trade?" It was Cedric and Cho, waltzing effortlessly towards them, and bef ore Harry knew it he had Cho in his arms, and Susan was off into the crowd with Cedric. Cho giggled, adjusting Harry's hold and nudging him into action.
That started a series of mid-dance partner changes, until Harry had danced with every single one of the champions and their dates, as well as Ginny, Neville, both the Weasley twins, Anthony Goldstein, both Patil twins, Luna, Daphne Greengrass, and at one point Professor McGonagall, who looked equally confused as to how she ended up there. "I hope you're not considering asking Professor Snape to dance," she said with a dubious look towards the dark-haired Slytherin, who was lurking in the back corner of the room, looking surprisingly handsome in jet black dress robes. Harry hoped Remus got to see him in the robes before the night was through, if he hadn't already.
"Don't worry, Professor," Harry assured with a grin as they twirled through the crowd. "Contrary to popular belief, I don't actually have a death wish." That drew a reluctant chuckle from the professor, and when the music ended Harry released her with an over-the-top bow. She shook her head exasperatedly.
"Just like your father," she muttered, fondness creeping into her tone. "Stay out of trouble, Potter."
Harry saluted with a laugh, then turned away to head to the table, his legs starting to ache from all the dancing. He reached for his glass of water and drained it thirstily. Within a few moments, Luna appeared beside him, stealing Susan's seat. "Hello, Harry," she said airily, smiling. Her dress robes were a pretty lavender colour, with strange creatures embroidered on them. Her earrings looked to be made of tiny purple feathers. "Lovely night, isn't it?"
"Brilliant," he agreed, surprised at how much fun he was having. "Where's Ron?"
"Oh, he wasn't much for dancing, so I left him over there," Luna replied, gesturing to the other side of the dance floor. Harry could just make out Ron sat alone at a table, scowling into his glass of pumpkin juice. Served him right.
"Probably for the best," Harry said, gaze scanning the crowded dance floor. Susan was with Ernie, laughing as they waltzed together. Harry's chest gave a little twinge at the sight of Draco and Millicent dancing together, the shy girl looking pretty in black and silver dress robes. Draco was smirking, the collar of his robe undone a couple of buttons. He was so handsome it physically hurt Harry to look at him. He tore his gaze away, smiling to see the twins messing with Boris, switching partners with him and Angelina so quickly it was hard for him to figure out which twin he was dancing with. Angelina was laughing so hard she could barely stand up straight, which was just making the whole affair even more entertaining.
"I think they're about to change bands soon," Luna commented absently, her eyes on the string quartet currently playing. Harry raised an eyebrow.
"Bands?"
"Oh, yes. It won't be formal dancing for the whole night. I rather think everyone's had about enough of that. The Weird Sisters will be playing soon." It was said with a strange sort of confidence that Harry noticed Luna had only sometimes, but she was never wrong when she did. Ginny had wondered if Luna was some sort of Seer, and Harry was starting to think she might not be too far off the mark.
"Really? Brilliant!" Harry was even less prepared for informal dancing than he had been for the formal stuff, but it couldn't be too hard to figure out.
Sure enough, the quartet announced their final song, and Susan retrieved Harry from the table to drag him back out there. "You holding up alright?" she asked in concern, and he grinned.
"Better than I thought I would be," he admitted. "But looking forward to something a little less stuffy." Susan nodded in agreement, and when the song ended, she offered him a low curtsey.
"It's been a pleasure, Heir Potter," she said quietly, grinning. He bowed in return.
"The pleasure has been all mine, Heir Bones." He paused, side-eyeing her. "But you'll still dance with me to the Weird Sisters, right?"
Susan laughed, linking her arm through his as they headed back to their table. "Yes, I'll still dance with you," she promised, patting his hand.
All the champions returned to the tables, and Viktor and Cassius volunteered to go retrieve drinks from the bar, which was serving things more interesting than water or pumpkin juice. Nothing alcoholic of course, but brightly coloured fruity drinks that fizzed and smoked.
"Having fun?" Harry asked Hermione, who had been beaming so wide all night her face had to be hurting. "The best time," she said with a giggle. "Harry, this is ridiculous! I'm here in this castle wearing this amazing dress and dancing with an international quidditch star. It's like something out of a movie!"
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