Just as Harry was eagerly anticipating, a group of Slytherin students came up the staircase from their underground common room.
Leading the way was Malfoy, dressed in a black velvet high-collared robe, looking very much like a parish priest.
Pansy Parkinson was wearing a light pink gown full of ruffles, clinging tightly to Malfoy's arm, clearly his dance partner.
Crabbe and Gall were both dressed in green, like two large moss-covered boulders, standing alone and forlorn, evidently having not found suitable partners.
The oak front door opened, and everyone turned to see the Durmstrang students entering with Professor Karkaroff.
Krum was at the forefront, accompanied by a beautiful Ravenclaw girl.
Above their heads, the grass in front of the castle had been transformed into a grotto, shimmering with tiny fairy lights, indicating hundreds of living fairies, some perched among magically conjured rose bushes, others fluttering atop statues, which seemed to portray Santa Claus and his reindeer.
At this moment, Professor McGonagall's voice rang out: "Champions, please come over here!"
Professor McGonagall wore a red tartan long robe, with a rather unattractive thistle wreath decorating her hat.
She instructed them to wait by the door as others went in first. Once everyone was seated, they would walk into the hall in a line. Fleur Delacour and Roger Davies were standing closest to the door.
Davies seemed unable to believe his luck, having secured someone like Fleur as his partner, his eyes seemingly glued to Fleur.
"He's really pathetic," Ron quietly criticized Davies, "I get the feeling he thinks he's really proud, like he's never had a girlfriend before..."
However, even though he said this, Seamus clearly didn't agree.
"If it were me, I might be overjoyed too, after all, that's Fleur Delacour..." Seamus gazed enviously at Roger Davies, "If I could have Miss Delacour as my partner, I'd even be happy to be her boyfriend!"
"You're dreaming," Ron glanced disdainfully at Seamus.
Seamus's partner was Gryffindor's Lavender Brown, who threw a reproachful look at Ron, expressing her defense for her partner.
"Where's Hermione? Why hasn't she come out yet?"
Ron changed the subject, feeling a bit anxious himself as the ball was about to start, and there was still no sign of her.
Suddenly, he gaped in shock.
A beautiful girl walked in through the door, slender and tall, instantly drawing Ron's attention.
It was Hermione.
But she didn't look like Hermione at all; she had done something to her hair, which was no longer bushy but sleek and shiny, elegantly styled in a bun.
She was wearing a gown of floating light lavender-blue fabric, and somehow, her aura was different too—perhaps just because she'd shed the twenty-odd heavy books she usually carried.
She was also smiling—of course, a little nervously—but her smaller front teeth looked even smaller.
Ron felt a bit parched, doubting his own eyes, wondering if something was wrong with them.
No, how did I never notice before that Hermione is so beautiful?
Now, it seemed, Hermione was not just a girl, but a very beautiful one.
Hermione, of course, noticed Ron's enraptured and amazed gaze, feeling quite pleased deep down, calling him a fool to herself.
Then she stepped forward, taking Ron's right arm.
It wasn't until then that Ron snapped back to reality.
He could hardly believe such a beautiful girl was his partner, none other than Hermione, who he saw every day...
Merlin's most fragrant shampoo, Hermione... Hermione actually got close...
His body suddenly stiffened, not knowing where to place his hands, his head wouldn't even turn, just keeping his chin up, pretending to be calm, looking straight ahead.
"What's wrong? Ron?" Hermione asked softly from beside him.
"N-nothing," Ron still maintained that chin-up posture, like he'd attended a month's summer camp for veterans.
Hermione, of course, could see his nervousness, and to save her partner's face, she just gave a sly smile and fell silent.
Ahead, Professor McGonagall was questioning Harry.
"Mr. Potter, where is your partner?" Her expression was serious.
Harry thought he wanted to know where his partners were too.
Meanwhile, all the students in the entrance hall turned their gaze to Harry.
Indeed, the champion still didn't have a partner...
"Let's go in first." Professor McGonagall looked at Harry sternly but said nothing more.
As a professor, she certainly knew about Mr. Potter's tangled and unresolved romantic entanglements, neither wanting to intervene nor bothering to.
Who knows if those three poor girls were currently dueling, trying to determine who would be Mr. Potter's partner?
With this thought, Professor McGonagall's expression was even...
After everyone was seated in the hall, Professor McGonagall instructed the champions and their partners to line up in pairs and follow her inside.
They filed in, heading towards a large round table at the front of the hall where the judges sat, with the people inside the hall applauding warmly.