Struggling to survive at Hogwarts

Chapter 173 Christmas Ball

Harry had never seen so many students registered to spend Christmas at Hogwarts. The reason they stayed at school was simply because of the upcoming Christmas ball!

A week ago, Harry would have said that finding a dance partner was a piece of cake compared to dealing with a Hungarian wood bee.

But now that he has defeated Tree Peak, he faces the challenge of finding a girl to dance with, and he feels that he would rather fight the fire dragon for another round.

Unlike Harry's predicament, Draco immediately invited Thea to be his dance partner.

Faced with a boy whose face was flushed red, as if he had run laps around the Quidditch pitch, Thea didn't hesitate for long and readily agreed.

Not to brag, but if Thea hadn't found a suitable dance partner by the end of the day, she might not be able to continue going to the library as usual for the next few days.

Based on this idea, Thea did not stop Draco from loudly announcing to others that she was his dance partner.

"Perhaps it was Merlin who gave me the courage to finally say those words I had been carefully considering—inviting her to the ball—when she was looking at me. Thank you, Merlin!"

Draco's Diary - December 12.12th.

The arrival of the Christmas ball slowed down the progress of the three-school competition organized by Gella and her friends. Thea didn't mind, though; if they followed the steps in the plan, it would be over in a month at most.

She wasn't in a hurry.

"Hi! Cedric!"

Thea ran into Cedric on her way to the library. Although he seemed to have been waiting for her, Thea still believed in Draco's persuasive abilities.

Surely they weren't inviting me!

"Um... Thea, good morning!" Cedric slowly revealed his purpose under Thea's questioning gaze.

"I want to thank you in person... After all, without your dueling training, I probably wouldn't have been able to win the first event..."

"By the way, this is cranberry jam bread that my mother specially made after hearing about it. It's one of her proudest creations!"

Thea also noticed the several beautifully packaged gift boxes the boy was carrying.

"This is too grand!" Thea praised with a smile, as she accepted the gift box from the other person's hand.

After delivering the bread, Cedric breathed a sigh of relief as if he had completed a major task, and his speech became more natural.

"Are you going to the library?" Cedric asked, looking at the backpack behind Thea.

"Yes, I need to go to the library to look up information about the Seamless Extension Spell. I can't maintain the extension of a room for long..."

"Have you considered that it might be caused by the stacking of spells? I heard that you used several of the same spells in a row to do it. If you could use only one spell, wouldn't it be simpler?" Cedric frowned slightly, trying his best to think about the answer.

“That’s possible…” Thea pondered, her mind constantly conjuring up simulated scenarios for this idea.

"...How about I take this bread to the Slytherin common room, and you go to the library first?"

Cedric suddenly changed the subject, and just as Thea was about to agree, several familiar figures suddenly appeared in her field of vision.

"No need, I think I see Daphne and the others, they can help me get it to the lounge!"

Having solved the bread problem, Thea warmly invited Cedric to go to the library together.

"Great! Perfect, I haven't solved the mystery of the golden egg yet!"

The two began walking towards the library. During the walk, Cedric thanked Thea again with utmost seriousness. Seeing the boy's earnest expression, Thea suddenly said:

"How about you promise me one thing?"

"Okay!"

Trusting Thea, Cedric agreed without hesitation!

Aren't you afraid I'll make some unreasonable demands?

"How could that be? What could someone who would spend a fortune just to gain dueling experience possibly want from me?"

Cedric looked relaxed, and as sunlight streamed through the gaps in the corridor and fell on his sculpted face, Thea silently strengthened her resolve.

How could such a wonderful young man lie alone in that cemetery?

She spent nearly six years becoming the most perfect Slytherin in the eyes of the world, but as the shadow of death gradually loomed over her, she suddenly awoke.

—Gella Rozier, *The Black Observation Journal*

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

The Christmas ball was fast approaching, much to everyone's anticipation.

When Harry descended the spiral staircase and arrived at the common room, his dark green robes were instantly overwhelmed by the colorful dresses and robes before him.

Parvati was waiting for Harry at the bottom of the stairs. She looked very beautiful, wearing a striking pink robe, her jet-black hair braided with gold ribbons, and a gleaming gold bracelet on her wrist.

The two greeted each other somewhat awkwardly, and then, like everyone else, they arrived at the auditorium foyer.

The lobby was packed with students, all pacing back and forth, waiting for 8 o'clock, when the auditorium doors would open.

While they waited, Fleur, dressed in a silver-grey satin robe, and Roger Davis, the Ravenclaw Quidditch captain, walked over, and almost everyone was amazed by Fleur's beauty.

"Where's Thea?"

Harry tried hard to spot Thea in the crowd, but he couldn't find her after searching for a long time.

Blaise felt that his roommate seemed to be seriously ill today. Although he usually paid attention to his appearance, he was obviously quite ill today.

"He's Thea's dance partner...it's normal for him to be a little arrogant..."

After Zabini gave himself countless mental suggestions, he managed to control his temper and try to keep his tone natural.

This is why Draco could smile and repeat that same question, which he had said countless times, while adjusting his shirt and asking himself, "How is it? Is there anything wrong with it?"

"You're already perfect! No one in all of Slytherin can compare to you!"

Hearing his friend's praise, Draco's face lit up with joy, and he immediately ran to the mirror to look at himself from all angles.

Zabini knew that in a few minutes, he would ask that question again.

Zabini's vision went black; he wished Thea would come and take the peacock away right now!

He didn't want to repeat that phrase that he'd said countless times again!