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Sometimes Kyle even suspected that even if Furong was served a plate of vegetable leaves, she might find it greasy.
But Kanna next to her seemed to take it seriously. She looked at the food on Furong's plate, which was enough for an owl to eat, and compared it with the full bowl of stew in front of her. After hesitating for a moment, she put it back on the table with difficulty.
"It's okay, just eat it."
Kyle pushed the bowl back and said, "When you grow taller next year, you will have to replace your current dress robe. Then you can buy a new one."
"No." Kanna shook her head and whispered, "Only today..."
Then she grabbed some tortillas as well.
At this moment, Furong seemed to realize something. She turned her head and stared at Kyle, saying in a bad tone, "You mean, I won't grow any taller?"
"No, no, no, I didn't mean that... You said it yourself." Kyle shrugged and acted as if he refused to admit it, which made Furong very angry.
After dinner they returned to the Hufflepuff common room and began to open their Christmas presents.
Fleur's gifts were also delivered here and piled up into a small mountain in the corner of the lounge, but she only picked out a few of them. As for the rest, she packed them all in a box and sent them back to Beauxbatons in the carriage.
They spent the entire morning in the common room sorting out the Christmas presents they had received, and then they all returned to the Great Hall for a hearty lunch.
The house-elves in the kitchen have prepared a new snack this time, Cribbage Wizard Shortbread Cookies... the sound is really crispy, and every bite is like a firework being set off in the auditorium, with crackling sounds everywhere, and it is very lively.
Finally, it was afternoon. As soon as it was six o'clock, Connor immediately jumped up from her chair and went back to the dormitory to prepare for the dance.
It wasn't just Kanna. After six o'clock, there was no girl left in the common room.
"Two hours... just to change clothes, do they need so much time?" Mikel expressed his incomprehension.
At seven o'clock, the sky gradually darkened, and Kyle stopped playing wizard chess with Cedric. They returned to the dormitory and changed into their respective dress robes.
……
By 7:30, everyone had come out of the dormitories one after another. The common room looked strange. The people inside were no longer all wearing school uniforms, but colorful ones...
Mikel changed into a navy blue dress robe, looking much more mature than before, while Ryan's was burgundy.
As soon as the two walked out of the dormitory, they slammed the table, attracting everyone's attention.
"Girls..." Ryan said with a smile, "You have no idea what you have missed..."
"If you mean yourself..." Hannah looked Ryan up and down and couldn't help but teasing, "Then, I guess I didn't miss anything."
"Hey, don't say that," Susan Burns pushed her friend and couldn't help laughing, "He's my dance partner, give him some face."
"Thank you for your affirmation, Hannah..." Ryan said unhappily, "But I'm sorry to disappoint you. I wasn't talking about myself, but... Oh, he's here."
Everyone followed his gaze.
So, Kyle, who had just walked out of the dormitory, saw this strange scene in front of him... Almost everyone in the common room was staring at him.
"What are you doing..." Kyle looked down at his dress robe in confusion, "Am I wearing my dress robe wrong? No."
"Oh..." Susan couldn't help but take a breath, then tugged at the arm of her best friend, "Hannah, do you think it's too late for me to change my dance partner now?"
But Hannah didn't answer. She, like everyone else, was looking at Kyle.
For most Hufflepuffs, this was the first time they had seen Kyle in anything other than his school uniform.
A black velvet dress robe with a simple circle of gold patterns on the collar and cuffs... It was obviously a very normal dress robe, but somehow, it made Kyle's temperament immediately different from before.
"I'm so envious..." Susan sighed, "I wonder who Kyle's dance partner will be..."
"Is this even a question?" Ryan walked over.
But before he could say anything, a voice came from behind them.
"Have you all changed yet?"
"Oh……"
There was another gasp in the lounge.
"I think I know who you are talking about." Susan looked at Connor behind her and couldn't help saying, "She is so beautiful..."
Connor seemed to have really listened to Professor McGonagall's advice. She no longer used a headband, but instead carefully braided her hair into a simple bun.
The originally baggy school uniform was replaced with an apricot-yellow robe. She did not have any extra accessories, but she did not need to wear them. She was beautiful enough to make people unable to take their eyes off her.
"Why are you all looking at me..." Kanna lowered her head, "Am I wearing the wrong clothes?"
"Oh, I'm even more sure they are dancing partners," Susan muttered softly.
"Don't worry, it's not." Kyle walked over, "You are...well, very beautiful."
"Thank you..." Connor whispered, "Are we going to the auditorium now? Or we should wait for Cedric, he doesn't seem to come out yet."
"Let's go to the Great Hall first." Kyle said, "Professor McGonagall told us to go there early."
"Okay." Kanna nodded with a smile, and then the two of them walked through the barrel door and headed towards the auditorium.
"They are such a perfect match," Hannah couldn't help but say.
"Who said it wasn't?" Mikel smiled.
……
(End of this chapter)
Chapter 525: The Ball, Snape's Gaze
The entrance hall was packed with students. The doors of the auditorium had been shut and everyone was milling around outside, meeting partners from other colleges and waiting for eight o'clock.
When Kyle and Kanna walked over, they naturally attracted a lot of people's attention.
Fortunately, Furong also came at this time. She was wearing a silver-gray satin robe and was stunningly beautiful. She attracted everyone's attention as soon as she appeared.
Everyone also subconsciously looked at her dance partner...
"Fred?" Connor couldn't help but shout.
"No, he's George..." Kyle said.
"Yes, it's me." George winked at them. "But by the way, Kyle, how did you recognize us?"
"Because Fred said he has found Angelina as a dance partner."
"Oh, how could I forget this." George patted his head.
The oak front door opened and everyone turned to see the Durmstrang students and Karkaroff walking in, Krum in the front with a pretty girl in a blue robe beside him.
"Wait..." George rubbed his eyes, "Am I dazzled? Why do I feel that girl looks a lot like Hermione?"
"You're not seeing things," Kyle said. "She's Hermione."
"Merlin..." George smacked his lips, "Is Hermione so pretty? The ball is magical..."
George was right. After Hermione smoothed out her messy hair, she really looked like a different person.
Even when she walked past, Harry didn't recognize her and kept asking "Where is Hermione..."
It’s a pity that he didn’t bring a camera. It would have been quite interesting if he could have filmed this scene.
At this time, the door of the auditorium was opened and Professor McGonagall's voice sounded.
"Warriors please come here!"
Kanna nervously adjusted her skirt, took Kyle's arm and walked forward. The chattering crowd made way for them to pass.
"You wait here first." Professor McGonagall took them to a Christmas tree at the entrance of the hall and let others enter the hall first.
The waiting time was a bit long, but fortunately, they were all acquaintances, so it didn’t feel awkward.
Professor McGonagall came over again only after everyone was seated in the hall. She asked the warriors and dance partners to line up in pairs and follow her in.
They filed in, and the people in the auditorium applauded enthusiastically. Kyle even heard a whistle, and when he turned around...it was Fred.
George subconsciously wanted to respond to him, but after being glared at by Professor McGonagall, he immediately calmed down.
The auditorium was now completely transformed. The walls were covered with glittering silver frost, the sky was starry, and there were hundreds of parasitic sprigs and ivy hanging from it.
The biggest change was that the four college tables were gone, replaced by more than a hundred small tables lit with lanterns.
The same was true in the teachers' seats, where five judges were sitting, looking at them with smiles.
Kyle originally wanted to sit next to Chris, but before he took two steps, he felt his hand being grabbed tightly. Kyle had no choice but to follow Connor and sit next to Professor Dumbledore.
To be honest, Kyle didn't really want to sit here... It had nothing to do with Professor Dumbledore, but mainly because Snape happened to be right behind this seat.
Everyone was laughing and chatting, except Snape, who had a gloomy face, as if he had discovered that his treasured potion collection had been stolen.
And looking at his expression, Kyle couldn't guarantee whether he would add something else to his food later.
Unfortunately, while he was distracted, all the other seats were already occupied, so he could only sit here.
It turned out that Kyle's worries were not unfounded. As soon as he sat down, he felt a chill on his neck.
Just like the auditorium which had completely changed its appearance, today's dinner was also very unique.
After the warriors sat down, Professor Dumbledore picked up the menu next to his plate, then pointed to his plate and said clearly, "Pork chop!"
The pork chops came out right away.
Ordering food service... This was not unfamiliar to Hufflepuff students, but it was the first time it appeared in the Great Hall.
But Kyle was in no mood to eat. The malicious intent behind him was too obvious. If he placed a spyglass on the table, it would surely produce sparks or make a hole in the table.
Kyle couldn't help but straighten his collar. He really wanted to ask Professor Dumbledore if Snape had ever entered the kitchen before.
However, compared to Kyle who was fidgeting, the others behaved much more normally. George was telling Fleur some interesting things that happened in school. Fleur seemed very interested and even took the initiative to ask about the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor at Hogwarts.
She had heard of this mysterious position even in Beauxbatons.
George suddenly became hesitant. Although this was the truth, he also wanted to protect the reputation of Hogwarts a little, so he just said a few simple words to get away with it.
On the other side, Krum was introducing the situation of Durmstrang to Hermione, but he was stopped by Karkaroff halfway through.
He didn't seem to want others to know about Durmstrang, fearing that if Krum talked too much, others would guess the location of the school.
"Igor..." Dumbledore said with a smile, "You keep the secret so strictly that people will think you don't welcome others to visit..."
"Ah, Albus..." said Karkaroff, "we all want to protect our private territories, don't we..."
"Ho..."
When he said this, Kyle suddenly heard an undisguised laugh from behind him.