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Chapter 304: The Ball Ends
Chapter 304: The Ball Ends
Karkaroff watched the few young wizards fleeing with a look of panic. He nervously reached up to stroke his goat beard, then began to twine it around his finger.
"It seems this isn't a good place to talk", Snape glanced around the empty path and then abruptly turned, striding away with his long black robes billowing behind him. Karkaroff hurried to follow.
Once the two figures disappeared from the path, a faint thud came from behind a large statue. Liam and Hermione, who had heard Snape's voice and didn't want to run into the two, had quickly climbed behind the statue to hide.
"I think we could both go pro at parkour now", Hermione said, smoothing out the wrinkles in her dress. "By the way, why is Karkaroff so worried?"
"From what I know, Karkaroff and Snape were both Death Eaters. They have the Dark Lord's Dark Mark."
"It's been getting more prominent over the past few months—oh my", Hermione exclaimed, suddenly realizing something.
"We met that person in our first year. Sometimes, what's meant to happen will happen. At least we have Professor Dumbledore to look out for us, so we don't need to worry too much for now", Liam consoled her.
The topic of Death Eaters was indeed unsettling. In silence, they approached a large stone reindeer. Beyond the reindeer, they saw a tall fountain with water splashing and sparkling. Two large, indistinct figures sat on a stone bench, gazing at the moonlit water. Then, Liam heard Hagrid speaking.
"As soon as I saw you, I knew", he said in a strange, raspy voice.
"What did you know, Hagrid?" Madame Maxime asked, her deep voice tinged with a rasping quality.
"I—", Hagrid suddenly remembered his conversation with Liam in front of the library and quickly changed the subject. "I think you and I both feel a bit lonely, given our appearances are different from most people—"
"Indeed, that sense of loneliness remains even after becoming Headmaster", Hagrid's words seemed to strike a chord with Madame Maxime, who began to recall her own past.
Hagrid managed to navigate the conversation successfully. Liam smiled and led Hermione away.
By this time, Hermione had recovered from her initial shock at overhearing Snape's conversation. She walked backward along the path, playfully smiling at Liam.
After they had put some distance between them and Hagrid, she softly hummed, "Lavender, blooming all around—" The song wafted through the Rose Path like the evening stars.
Hermione looked a bit shy as she sang, her eyes squinted as if she wasn't looking at Liam. Liam smiled, finding Hermione incredibly endearing at that moment.
"I am the king, you are the queen", Liam joined in, softly singing the British folk song his mother had taught him when he was young.
The song was short and soon came to an end. Hermione stood there with her hands behind her back, looking particularly enchanting in the gentle moonlight.
"Throw a coin, make a wish", Hermione and Liam whispered, their voices gradually growing louder. They opened their eyes wide and looked at each other, as if trying to etch the other's image into their memory. "Throw a coin, make a wish..."
Liam leaned in and gently embraced Hermione, who instinctively lifted her head, her soft lips brushing against his.
"Ah—" Hermione let out a soft exclamation, then shyly buried her head in Liam's chest. She felt as if her entire body was on fire.
The two of them stood there under the moonlight for a long time, only parting when a cold breeze sent a shiver through them.
"Let's go back; it's a bit chilly here", Hermione said, straightening up and smoothing out her slightly wrinkled dress robes. She and Liam then returned to the hall.
At midnight, the band stopped playing, and everyone gave them a final round of enthusiastic applause before making their way to the entrance hall. Many hoped the ball could last a little longer; it had been the happiest night of their time at school.
On the second day of Christmas, everyone woke up late, their conversations intermittent and often interrupted by yawns.
Hermione's hair had become unruly again. She had used a lot of quick-smoothing hair potion for the ball, but doing so every day was too much trouble and wasted too much time.
"Too bad that body enhancement doesn't include hair", Hermione whispered to Liam during breakfast, her voice filled with regret. Liam could tell that even the most studious girls still cared about their appearance.
A series of coos came from the ceiling as the daily newspapers arrived on time. The moment Liam saw the headline, he choked on his milk, spraying it out his nose.
"What happened?" Hermione asked, surprised, as she handed him a napkin. Liam passed the newspaper to her, and she saw the headline on the second page: "Harry Potter Reconciles with Lover, Lover's Sister Sends Blessings." The article was accompanied by a photo of Harry and Ron embracing last night, with Ginny looking on happily from the edge of the frame.
"God, I need to write to Mum and tell her the truth", Ginny exclaimed from the other end of the table. "It's Ron and Harry who reconciled, and this woman writes it like this."
"Don't worry, most people in the school don't believe this woman's nonsense", Harry said. "But seriously, how did he manage to take this photo? Professor Dumbledore has banned him from entering the school."
Paparazzi in the magical world, who can turn into beetles, are indeed hard to avoid. It seems that in the future, Liam would have to use some magical surveillance whenever he needed to do something in private.
The Christmas break gave Liam a long period to master various abilities and create certain equipment. Hermione would sit quietly by his side, reading, and sometimes help him with his experiments.
The Room of Requirement was well-equipped, and Liam used the facilities there to replace most of his metal gear with Valyrian steel during the holidays. He and Hermione also worked together to brew several potions, replenishing the ones they had used during their trip to the World of Ice and Fire.
The only thing he regretted was that Valyrian steel was a single-attribute magical metal, suitable only for spells involving flame or light. Liam's plan to create a metal combat wand for himself would have to be put on hold.
"Maybe the next world will have some better magical metals", Liam thought, not without a tinge of disappointment.
(End of Chapter)
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