Chapter 320: I Am!
Dumbledore's revision suggestions didn't look extensive, but by the time Sean finished implementing the modifications, it was already the morning of Christmas Eve, December 24th.
Standing in the owlery, Sean watched an owl carry away his paper, then turned to head back to the Slytherin common room. But just then, a third-year Ravenclaw girl suddenly blocked his path.
Before she could speak, Sean directly refused. "Sorry, I already have a dance partner."
"But no one knows who your partner is. Everyone says you actually haven't found a partner yet."
"That's a rumour."
"Really? Then who is your partner?"
"You'll find out tonight."
"I still don't believe it. Won't you really consider me? I just want to attend the ball. I won't cling to you after it's over."
Sean looked at the Ravenclaw girl who kept blocking his path. His patience was wearing thin.
Just then, Blaise suddenly hurried over from another direction, wedged himself between Sean and the Ravenclaw girl, bumped her aside with his hip, then put his arm around Sean's shoulders and quickly led him away.
Hearing the angry shouts from the girl behind them, Sean looked at Blaise and smiled. "Ever since you got back together with your girlfriend, you've shown no mercy to other girls."
Hearing this, Blaise rolled his eyes. "If I pity them, who will pity me? My girlfriend isn't the jealous type, but my past history is a bit... complicated. Anyway, I need to give her plenty of security now, so I can only apologise to those girls."
Looking at Blaise, Sean shook his head with amusement. He really hadn't expected the former playboy to become so devoted.
As Sean was laughing, Blaise glanced at him. "But speaking of which, others may not know, but I do. You still don't have a dance partner. Who are you planning to ask?"
"Originally I was thinking of just partnering with Fleur. Two champions being each other's partners seemed reasonable, but later Professor McGonagall said no. Each champion must find a partner who isn't a champion. Fleur found that Ravenclaw prefect a week ago. What was his name..."
Sean paused. "Never mind, that's not important."
"Anyway, you need to find a partner before the ball, or Professor McGonagall might just randomly assign someone to you. Let's see what you do then."
"Whatever. I'll deal with it when the time comes."
To say he wasn't anxious would be a lie. Sean just didn't want to randomly find someone to be his partner, despite his terrible dancing skills.
Just as they reached the first floor, Blaise's girlfriend intercepted them to drag Blaise to the library, and Blaise quite unfaithfully abandoned Sean to leave with his girlfriend.
Watching Blaise depart, Sean suddenly lost interest in returning to the common room. Finding a dance partner was troublesome, so Sean simply left Hogwarts castle and headed toward the Forbidden Forest to clear his mind.
At this time, everyone was preparing for tonight's Christmas Ball. Very few people were wandering outside Hogwarts Castle. But when Sean reached the edge of the Forbidden Forest, he unexpectedly saw Luna feeding thestrals.
Hearing Sean's approaching footsteps, Luna turned around. Seeing it was Sean, she immediately smiled. "Sean, it's you."
Nodding, Sean said, "Feeding the thestrals?"
Luna nodded, then asked, "Can you see thestrals?"
"Yes, I can see them."
"Do you know about Nargles? Since you can see thestrals, you might have encountered Nargles."
Sean shook his head. He walked to Luna's side, took an apple from the basket she carried, fed it to a thestral that approached, then said, "I've never seen Nargles; I haven't even heard of them. Would you like to tell me about these magical creatures?"
"Strictly speaking, Nargles are parasitic creatures. They live in mistletoe and are quite dangerous."
"They must be very hard to spot."
Luna smiled and nodded. "So far only my father and mother have discovered them. Even I haven't seen one."
As they talked, another thestral approached. Seeing it, Luna immediately took an apple from her basket to feed it.
But as she stepped forward, she suddenly cried out in pain and fell sideways.
Fortunately Sean was nearby and caught Luna's arm, preventing her from falling to the ground.
Only then did Sean notice that Luna wasn't wearing shoes at all. There were already bloodstains on her feet, and she'd just been pierced by a sharp stone.
"Why aren't you wearing shoes?"
"They were gone when I woke up. Maybe Nargles stole them."
"Nargles are parasitic creatures in mistletoe. They're very small and can't leave the mistletoe. How could they steal your shoes?"
Luna paused, looking at Sean in confusion. "Then what happened?"
"You'd need to ask your roommates about that."
Luna's roommates always played excessive pranks on her. Hermione had mentioned this to Sean before, so he immediately understood what had happened to Luna's shoes.
Drawing his wand, Sean treated the wounds on Luna's feet and used magic to heal them. Then he plucked two leaves from a nearby tree and tossed them toward Luna's feet. When the leaves landed on her feet, they immediately transformed into a pair of blue leather shoes.
"Every time I see you, I end up conjuring you some clothing."
"Thank you, Sean."
"No need to thank me. Next time you can't find shoes, remember to transfigure yourself a temporary pair. You're in third year. This level of transfiguration shouldn't be a problem, right?"
Luna stood up and looked at Sean, suddenly saying, "Sean, you have to lead the opening dance tonight, right? It's a pity I won't be able to see it, but I still wish you luck, because I heard your dancing is a bit..."
Great, here it comes again.
Looking at Luna helplessly, Sean said, "Let's not mention that."
"Alright, anyway, good luck."
"Thanks. I'll be going then."
After saying goodbye, Sean turned to leave.
But just then, he suddenly turned back to look at Luna and asked tentatively, "Luna, would you be willing to be my dance partner?"
Luna looked at Sean. After a long moment, she answered, "But I don't have a dress, and I don't know how to dress up. I can't be your partner."
"That's fine. I have those things, and I know how. The key question is, are you willing?"
"I am!"