Rhys took two steps towards Aries and bowed to her.
"Honoured lady, please forgive my impertinence. Would you be willing to dance with me?"
Rhys stared directly into Aries's eyes.
Although he was clearly speaking to her, Aries's instincts told her that this question was not hers to answer.
Sure enough, Lady Ravenclaw temporarily reclaimed part of the body's control and answered on her behalf.
"I'm not good at dancing. It would be better to let someone skilled do it."
Aries very much wanted to say, 'Actually, I'm not good at it either,' but her survival instincts made her keep her mouth firmly shut.
"None of us are particularly good at it." Rhys blinked. "Give me a chance, wisest lady of Hogwarts. We're running out of time."
By now, the Weird Sisters had already begun to play.
If they did not enter the dance floor soon, it would be too late.
Aries, under Rowena's control, was about to say something else, but Rhys said seriously, "Not just anyone is qualified to dance with me."
Aries very much wanted to respond, but her vision suddenly went dark. She fell into a deep sleep and knew nothing more.
"All right. Just one dance," Rowena said softly.
"Just one." Rhys nodded, stepped forward, took Rowena's hand, and walked with her towards the brightly lit dance floor.
To the slow, melancholy melody, Rhys held one of Aries's hands while placing his other hand around her waist, dancing gracefully with her across the floor.
Helga, seated in the shadows some distance away, broke into a smile.
The old venomous snake and the old raven were dancing together!
She absolutely had to record this and show Godric later. With that thought, she hurriedly took a crystal ball from her robes, aimed it at Rhys and Rowena, and started recording.
Rhys noticed that among the contestants present, he and Rowena were actually among the few who knew the steps fairly well. Many contestants were not really dancing at all.
They looked more like puppets being manipulated by partners who knew what they were doing. If neither person knew how to dance, then they were simply spinning in circles.
Before long, the Weird Sisters finished their opening song. Rhys and Rowena returned to their seats together.
Then the band began their second song, which was much faster than the first.
Rhys gave Rowena an inquiring look. She smiled and shook her head.
"Too fast. It doesn't suit an old person like me."
"Nonsense. Your current body is very young."
"My mentality is old."
The two laughed together.
"This reminds me of when we first met. You forced Godric and me to attend that ball held by your family..."
Rowena seemed to sink into her memories, a nostalgic look appearing on her face.
"I was in a difficult position back then. My family wanted to marry me off. I can't even remember the name of that marquis's son anymore. If I hadn't met the two of you, perhaps I would have become a reclusive marchioness. But I suppose that was my duty, considering how many spells I had gathered using the family's resources..."
"Wouldn't you have ended up a widowed marchioness instead?" Rhys joked.
Rowena glanced at him.
"I probably wouldn't have done that back then. Though perhaps I would have. If he refused to let me continue my magical research, I might really have disposed of him. By the way, what did you two do to him? He disappeared after that ball."
Rhys smiled.
"Britain was hardly peaceful in those days. Vikings were everywhere. Would it really have been strange for some nobleman to be attacked and abducted by barbarians on the road?"
"Viking raiders wielding flaming swords and poison? You really treated the marquis like an idiot." Rowena beckoned, and a glass of champagne flew into her hand. She began sipping it slowly.
"With Godric's appearance, once his beard and hair were dyed black, he really did look rather like a Viking raider. But the important part was erasing the traces so the magicians kept by those great families wouldn't notice anything unusual." Rhys became rather pleased with himself as he spoke of the past. "I happened to know a few spells with a distinctly Viking flavour."
In truth, paper could never completely contain fire. Rhys and Godric had caused trouble for themselves through their wilfulness, but it had only been a small episode in the long course of their lives.
Rowena did not respond to that. Only after a while did she slowly say,
"At first, I thought I could only gather all the magic in the world by relying on my family's support. But the two of you showed me another path... I should thank you. Otherwise, I might have spent my life sitting idly at home, wasting my years."
"How could anyone study magic properly while shutting themselves away from the world?" Rhys shook his head.
Two seconds later, as though remembering something amusing, he suddenly burst out laughing.
"What are you laughing at?" Rowena narrowed her eyes, her tone becoming distinctly unfriendly.
"I... saw something funny. Look."
Rhys pointed towards the empty centre of the dance floor.
Madame Maxime and Hagrid had just waltzed straight through the crowd, forcibly carving an empty path through the packed dancers.
Rhys certainly did not dare admit to Rowena's face that he had actually been laughing at her original ambition of collecting every form of magic in the world.
It had been an extremely unrealistic goal, especially considering that at the beginning, Rowena had not even wanted to leave her family estate.
Even though Rhys did not say it aloud, Rowena knew exactly what he had been laughing at.
But since he had not said it outright, she had no intention of settling accounts with him over it.
Besides, if they were going to expose each other's embarrassing pasts, Rowena Ravenclaw was not afraid.
What was the first potion ever mastered by the legendary wizard, culprit behind the Twilight of the Gods, founder of Slytherin House at Hogwarts, and one of the founders of Potions as a discipline, Salazar Slytherin?
Hint: it was also the potion young Salazar brewed most often and relied upon to make a living.
Rowena was certain that if she asked that question, Salazar would immediately surrender.
At that thought, the last trace of displeasure in her heart vanished.
Who had not possessed a few unrealistic dreams in their youth?
Some people's ambitions were simply far too grand and unrealistic.
Others, however, had ambitions that were rather too down-to-earth, even somewhat mercenary.
Rhys also summoned a glass of champagne and began drinking.
Halfway through, he suddenly remembered something.
"Professor White seems to be enjoying herself quite a lot." Rhys's gaze grew deep. "She's certainly finding creative uses for that crystal ball."
Rowena acted as though she had not heard him and simply continued drinking her champagne in silence.
Only after draining the entire glass did she casually say,
"I hope she remembered to activate the recording function."
Not far away, Helga wore a stiff expression.
She clearly remembered turning on the recording function!
How had it failed to record?!
Had she really grown this old?
Helga began questioning her life.
The ball continued late into the night.
Dumbledore had indeed shown foresight. After ten o'clock, there were hardly any people left on the dance floor or around the Great Hall.
Most had gone out to the cavern beyond the castle with their friends or dance partners to relax.
A subtle, ambiguous atmosphere filled the air.
At a time like this, gathering all the contestants together would have been both extremely difficult and extremely unpopular.
When the clock finally passed midnight, the bells began to ring.
After twelve chimes, the Yule Ball finally came to an end.
____
12 Chaps ahead at Patreon.com/HornyFBI