These days, no one believed the truth anymore. Eda genuinely thought Durmstrang was simply too cold. She hadn't been taking a jab at Karkaroff at all. He wasn't worthy of that.
The people at the table, however, fancied themselves clever and assumed Eda had been insulting Karkaroff indirectly. Who could she even reason with?
Dumbledore's attempt to smooth things over brushed aside the minor unpleasantness, and everyone at the table soon resumed their lively conversation. Eda lowered her head and focused intently on the braised beef on her plate, saying nothing more.
During the conversation, Dumbledore also revealed one of Hogwarts' little secrets.
This very morning, while looking for the bathroom, he had taken a wrong turn and wandered into a restroom he had never seen before. But when he turned back later to find it again, the room had disappeared.
"At Hogwarts," Dumbledore concluded, "those who truly seek help will always find it."
Hearing this, George lowered his head as well, the corners of his mouth twitching slightly.
The 7th floor, a bathroom that appeared at just the right moment, and a room that vanished afterward. Wasn't that the Room of Requirement?
The conversation continued, and Fleur once again began criticizing Hogwarts, saying its castle couldn't compare to Beauxbatons at all.
The comment made Eda want to dump the gravy from her plate right onto Fleur's face. Sitting beside her, George deftly cut up the beef on Eda's plate, making sure she was too busy eating to assault Fleur.
At that moment, Hermione was teaching Krum how to pronounce her name correctly. He kept calling her "Her-my-own." Hermione patiently corrected him syllable by syllable, and Krum carefully repeated each syllable after her.
But to Eda's ears, the pronunciation sounded exactly like "her my own."
Was Hermione really teaching Krum how to say her name?
Why did Eda suddenly feel like the beef tasted suspiciously like dog food?
George casually set down his knife and fork, no longer bothering to cut the beef.
I'm tired. Let the world end already... hurry up...
Fortunately, Dumbledore stood up again and asked all the students to stand as well. He moved the tables to the sides of the hall, leaving an open space in the center.
At that moment, the Weird Sisters climbed onto the stage together, and the students erupted into thunderous applause.
The lights gradually dimmed, and the Weird Sisters began playing a slow, melancholy tune.
In the end, there was no escaping it. Eda could only follow George to their place for the opening dance. One of George's hands clasped Eda's, while the other rested lightly at her waist. The two of them swayed gently to the music.
George suddenly whispered, "To be honest, the dress Mrs. Rosier prepared for you is beautiful. It's just that she overestimated you a little."
He spoke quietly enough that only the two of them could hear.
Eda immediately understood what he meant. George wasn't speaking poetically. He was simply being as tactless as ever. A faint blush appeared on Eda's cheeks.
Refusing to give up, Eda stubbornly declared, "As long as you're alive, you should always have hope for the future."
"I'm just afraid that hope ends in despair, isn't that right?" George said softly. "Seventeen isn't exactly young anymore."
Eda looked him straight in the eyes and said sincerely, "George, today is the first time I've realized we're actually about the same height."
They were exposing each other's weak points. Neither was in any position to laugh at the other.
Just judging by appearances, Eda and George really were nearly the same height tonight.
After years of praying day and night, Eda had finally grown to five feet seven inches. At one meter seventy, she was taller than the average woman in both Britain and France. Eda was no longer the little shorty she used to be!
As for the twins, who knew whether all their height had been dragged down by their scheming minds or whether they had generously donated it to Ron. In any case, neither of them was particularly tall. They were just tall enough.
Watching Eda become so smug with the help of her high heels, George found himself unable to argue back. A faint flush also crossed his face.
But this was George.
He immediately turned the tables and said, "Look at you. We were just joking around, and you got worked up. Before you know it, you're trying to gouge people's eyes out..."
Seeing the dangerous look in Eda's eyes, George swallowed the rest of his sentence.
He was convinced that if he kept running his mouth, then after the ball was over, he could kiss his feet goodbye. Eda's high heels would stomp them into mush.
George wisely shut his mouth.
Eda decided to let it go as well, giving him a look that clearly said, At least you know what's good for you.
When the dance ended, Eda had miraculously made no mistakes.
Her attention had been entirely occupied by bickering with George, leaving her no time to worry about her footwork. Her feet, which apparently had minds of their own, had carried her flawlessly through the entire dance.
Could it be that George hadn't been making fun of Eda on purpose just now? Had he actually been trying to distract her and help her?
...As if that were possible.
When the second dance began, Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall also stepped onto the dance floor. With the headmaster and deputy headmistress taking the lead, everyone else gradually joined them. As more people filled the dance floor, Eda relaxed, and her steps became smoother and more natural.
Once everyone was dancing, the ballroom immediately became much more entertaining.
Moody's dancing was terribly clumsy, and he looked incredibly tense. His partner, Professor Sinistra, was even more nervous than he was, constantly worried about being stepped on by his wooden leg.
Neville, who had practiced for a long time, eagerly showed off his dance moves. Unfortunately, he kept stepping on Ginny's shoes, leaving black scuff marks all over them.
Having been doted on by her older brothers for so many years, Ginny wasn't exactly known for having a gentle temper. Yet she never said a single harsh word. Instead, she softly comforted Neville, telling the Sword Saint not to be nervous. Only when he stepped on her particularly hard did she knit her lovely brows.
If there was one pair that stood out the most, it had to be Hagrid and Madame Maxime. After all, it wasn't every day that you saw two people over ten feet tall dancing together.
Especially after George motioned for Eda to look at Hagrid, she finally noticed exactly what he had been doing.
Hagrid's hand, which was supposed to rest on his partner's waist, kept slowly sliding downward. Each time, Madame Maxime would catch his hand and place it back where it belonged.
Whenever that happened, Hagrid would wear a goofy grin, and instead of calling him a creep, Madame Maxime would simply smile and let it pass.
There was something almost affectionate about that smile, though Eda wasn't sure if she had imagined it.
How could she keep watching such an unsuitable scene for children?
As someone who still considered herself a proper innocent little lady, Eda immediately dragged George away from Hagrid, while George kept staring at Hagrid's wandering hand and laughing nonstop.
The organ played its final trembling note, and the Great Hall once again erupted into enthusiastic applause. Eda and George stepped aside to rest.
As they passed by Fred and Angelina, Eda and George nearly became collateral damage from the pair's passionate dancing. No wonder everyone else had been keeping such a wide distance from them.
The third song was still a slow one. Eda and George sat by the edge of the dance floor, quietly commenting on everything around them.
After a while, Eda noticed Moody limping off the dance floor with his wooden leg.
Alastor Moody seemed to be thirsty, but instead of taking one of the drinks from the table, he pulled out his own flask and took a long swig.
Wasn't he being a little too cautious?
Eda's PTSD was acting up again, a condition that only seemed to affect Defense Against the Dark Arts professors.
She found Moody increasingly suspicious. If he was truly that cautious, then why did he have no reservations whatsoever about eating and drinking food served by the house-elves?
"Hey! Hey!"
George snapped his fingers twice beside Eda's ear.
"It's Christmas," he said. "You're sitting by the dance floor. Can you stop thinking about depressing things for once and just relax?"
Eda snapped back to reality. Only then did she notice that the Weird Sisters had changed to a completely different style of music.
The previous tune had been slow and gentle, but this one was packed with rhythm. The BPM had to be around one hundred and fifty, and the dance floor had descended into complete chaos.
All it needed now was a bag of cement to complete the atmosphere.
It wasn't just George. Fred and Angelina, who were already on the dance floor, were waving at Eda, urging her to join them.
Eda had wanted to act a little reserved, but George didn't give her the chance. He grabbed her hand and pulled her to her feet.
Eda slowly walked onto the dance floor. As she did, she removed the diadem from her head and let down her long hair.
Her loose hair didn't make her look messy in the slightest. Instead, it added a touch of enchantment.
The moment Eda reached the twins and Angelina...
The seal was broken!
Dance like there's no tomorrow!
Anyone who could get along with Eda wasn't exactly the quiet and well-behaved type. Angelina Johnson and Alicia Spinnet quickly picked up Eda's moves, and together with the twins, they began copying her wildly energetic dance.
Professor McGonagall witnessed the utterly outrageous scene with perfect clarity. Just as she was about to stop the mad girl on the dance floor, the smiling Dumbledore stopped her.
Wasn't this wonderful?
Wearing the most expensive dress while dancing the wildest moves.
Meanwhile, Eda remained completely immersed in her carefree celebration, utterly unaware that she was repeatedly dancing on the edge of death.
...
(～￣▽￣)～Read 12 Chapters ahead:
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