Chapter 322: Looking at Stars and Moon
Dumbledore waved his wand, and the tables in the Great Hall quickly slid to both sides, clearing the central space. At the same time, the famous magical world band The Weird Sisters took the stage, wearing deliberately torn and tattered clothes with weathered instruments, preparing to play and sing.
Just then, all the surrounding lights went out, leaving only the lighting in the central dance floor.
Sean and the other two champions with their partners stood up and came to the centre of the dance floor.
Sean, who had fearlessly faced six dragons, found himself strangely nervous.
Taking a deep breath, Sean was preparing to muddle through somehow when the music began. Luna suddenly reached out to grasp Sean's palm, placed her other hand on his shoulder, and said softly, "Sean, follow my steps.
When my mother was alive, she often danced with my father, but he was also very bad at dancing. So my mother would guide him in dancing. Before she died, she taught me these dance steps. Just follow my movements. I'll guide you."
Hearing Luna's words, Sean exhaled gently. "Then I'll be in your capable hands."
"Don't worry; don't be nervous."
As her words ended, the music began.
The three champions and their partners began to dance.
Professor McGonagall was watching Sean with concern, but as the music progressed, her worry gradually subsided. Though Sean's dancing wasn't particularly good, under Luna's guidance he managed to look passable, at least no longer like a stiff marionette.
After the champions' opening dance ended, the professors came forward to dance.
Soon it was time for free dancing, with everyone and their partners taking to the dance floor.
With the opening dance finished, Sean's responsibilities for the ball were completely over.
Sean and Luna left the dance floor and came to the small garden outside the Great Hall.
Looking at the nearly full moon outside, Sean asked Luna, "Luna, do you want to continue dancing, or..."
Luna looked at Sean. In the moonlight she looked like an ethereal fairy. Hearing his words, she smiled and shook her head. "Sean, your dancing is even worse than my father's."
One sentence left Sean speechless.
"Let's go outside for a walk. I used to enjoy walking around by myself at night too."
"Alright, let's walk."
The two left the Great Hall's small garden and headed toward the Forbidden Forest, not realising their hands remained clasped together.
Snape watched Sean and Luna leave the Great Hall, a barely visible smile crossing his lips before his expression became cold again. He turned to look at Karkaroff standing before him.
"Igor, there's no need for alarm."
"Severus, you can't pretend not to see it, can't pretend nothing has happened!" Karkaroff's face was full of terror, his voice extremely hoarse. Looking at Snape with loss of control, he said, "For months it's been getting clearer. That person, that person, that person has returned! Severus, he's back. This is undeniable!"
"You can run away, Karkaroff. Run far enough, and I can cover for you here. I just can't guarantee anything."
"Severus, you'll die too. Merlin..."
Before Karkaroff could finish, Snape raised his hand to stop him, then directly drew his wand and waved it sharply at the nearby rose bushes, causing them to part and reveal several dark figures that scurried out.
"Fawcett, eavesdropping on professors' conversations. Ten points from Ravenclaw." Snape turned to look at the others and continued, "The same for you, Stebbins. Ten points from Hufflepuff. And everyone else, ten points each!"
In total, Snape had just deducted twenty points from each of the three houses, excluding Slytherin, then used this opportunity to escape Karkaroff's pestering, dragging his eternally billowing black robes as he quickly departed.
Seeing this, Karkaroff also followed Snape and left.
Meanwhile, Sean and Luna walked to the edge of the Forbidden Forest, looked around, and found the tallest tree. Sean put his arm around Luna's waist, and they floated up to sit on a branch of that tree.
The branch was very thick; not only was it not crowded for two people to sit, but it was quite spacious.
Taking some food and drinks from his Undetectable Extension Bag, Sean handed them to Luna with a smile. "I noticed you didn't eat much earlier. You must be hungry."
"Thank you."
The two ate and drank while listening to the music and joyful laughter from Hogwarts castle ahead, gazing at the moon and starry sky above. Sean drew his wand and cast a warming charm, making them both feel comfortable.
After a long silence, Luna spoke first.
"Sean, I've always wanted to ask you, what exactly are you preparing for?"
"Preparing for what? What do you mean?"
Taking a small sip of pumpkin juice, Luna explained, "Ever since I came to Hogwarts, I keep hearing about various achievements you've made and keep seeing you constantly busy. So I wanted to ask what you're preparing for that has kept you busy for over three years."
Hearing Luna's words, Sean suddenly smiled. "What am I preparing for? Probably preparing to face future crises."
"Future crises..." she murmured, then Luna nodded. "I understand. From now on, I'll work hard too, so I can face future crises together with you."
"Why? This is really just my own matter. Besides, I might not even be right. Perhaps there are no so-called crises at all."
"No, I believe you, so I'm certain there will be crises in the future."
Looking at the serious Luna, Sean unconsciously reached out to pat her head, smiling. "Silly girl, don't trust others so easily. Be careful of being deceived."
"Would you deceive me?"
Pausing, Sean looked at Luna, who was watching him seriously, then suddenly smiled and shook his head. "I wouldn't deceive you."
Hearing this, Luna smiled. She didn't say anything more, just turned to look at the moon in the sky while swinging her legs, her happiness obvious in her manner.
Just as Sean was about to say something more, he suddenly saw Hagrid emerging from the Forbidden Forest leading Fang. Sean frowned slightly.
Hagrid hadn't attended the ball. Sean had noticed this already. What puzzled Sean was why Hagrid would enter the Forbidden Forest at this time.