Harry returns from Hogwarts Legacy

Chapter 276 Outstanding Beauty
Just as Harry was eagerly waiting, a group of Slytherin students came up the steps from their underground common room.

Leading the way was Malfoy, who wore a black velvet high-necked robe and looked just like a parish priest.

Pansy Parkinson, dressed in a light pink robe with ruffles, clung tightly to Malfoy's arm, clearly his dance partner.

Crabbe and Gore were both dressed in green, like two large, moss-covered rocks, standing alone and forlorn, clearly not having found a suitable partner.

The oak front door opened and everyone turned to see the Durmstrang students walk in with Professor Karkaroff.

Krum walked at the front, with a beautiful Ravenclaw girl beside him.

Overhead, a lawn in front of the castle was transformed into a grotto, shimmering with fairy light—meaning there were hundreds of living fairies, some sitting among magically conjured rose bushes, others flapping their wings atop statues that appeared to be Santa Claus and his reindeer.

At this time, Professor McGonagall's voice sounded: "Warriors, please come over here!"

Professor McGonagall was wearing a long red plaid robe, with an unsightly wreath of thistles adorning the brim of her hat.

She told them to wait by the door while the others went in first. Once everyone was seated, they lined up and entered the auditorium. Fleur Delacour and Roger Davis stood closest to the door.

Davis seemed unable to believe his good fortune in having such a dance partner as Fleur; his eyes were glued to Fleur as if they were glued to her.

"He's such a loser," Ron whispered, sharply criticizing Davis. "He seems so proud of himself, like he's never had a girlfriend before..."

However, despite saying that, Simo clearly didn't think so.

“If it were me, I’d probably be overjoyed too, after all, that’s Fleur Delacour…” Seamus looked at Roger Davis with some envy, “If I could be Miss Delacour’s dance partner, I’d even be happy to be her boyfriend!”

"You wish!" Ron glanced at Seamus with disdain.

Seamus's dance partner was Lavender Brown of Gryffindor. When Ron spoke ill of Seamus, Lavender gave Ron a reproachful look, showing his defense of his dance partner.

"Where's Hermione? Why hasn't she come out yet?"

Ron changed the subject; he was actually getting a little anxious too. The ball was about to start, and there was still no sign of him, so he couldn't help but worry.

Suddenly, his mouth dropped open in surprise.

A beautiful young woman walked in through the door; she was slender and tall, and immediately caught Ron's eye.

It's Hermione.

But she didn't look like Hermione at all anymore. She had done something to her hair; it was no longer messy but smooth and shiny, and it was styled into an elegant bun at the back of her head.

She was wearing a long robe made of a flowing light purple-blue fabric, and somehow, her demeanor was different—perhaps simply because she had removed the twenty-odd thick books she usually carried with her.

She smiled—a little nervous, of course—but her shrunken front teeth looked even smaller.

Ron's mouth was dry, and he began to doubt his own existence, wondering if there was something wrong with his eyes.

No, how come I never noticed before that Hermione is so beautiful?
Now it seems that Hermione is not only a girl, but also a very beautiful girl.

Hermione, of course, noticed Ron's infatuated and astonished gaze. She was extremely pleased and secretly scolded him as a fool.

She then stepped forward and hooked her arm around Ron's right arm.

It was only at this moment that Ron came to his senses.

He could hardly believe that such a beautiful girl was his dance partner, and Hermione, with whom he spent every day...

Merlin's best-smelling shampoo, Hermione... Hermione actually came right up to me...

His body suddenly stiffened, and he didn't know where to put his hands. His head was also rusty and wouldn't turn. He just stood there with his head held high, looking straight ahead and pretending to be calm.

"What's wrong, Ron?" Hermione asked softly from the side.

"No, it's nothing." Ron maintained his upright posture, as if he had just attended a month-long summer camp for veterans.

Hermione could see his nervousness, but to save face for her male companion, she simply smiled slyly and kept quiet.

Ahead, Professor McGonagall is questioning Harry.

“Potter, where is your dance partner?” she asked seriously.

Harry thought to himself, "I also want to know where my dance partners are."

Meanwhile, all the students in the foyer turned their attention to Harry.

Indeed, the Warriors don't have a girlfriend yet...

“Let’s go inside.” Professor McGonagall gave Harry a serious look, but said nothing more.

As a professor, she was certainly aware of Mr. Potter's complicated and messy love life, but she didn't want to get involved, nor did she care.

Who knows if those three poor girls are having a duel to decide who will be Mr. Potter's dance partner?

Thinking of this, Professor McGonagall's eyes became even more...

When everyone was seated in the Great Hall, Professor McGonagall told the champions and their partners to line up two by two and follow her inside.

They filed in and walked towards a large round table at the front of the auditorium where the judges were sitting, and the people in the auditorium applauded enthusiastically.

The walls of the auditorium were covered with glittering silver frost, and the ceiling was a starry night sky, hung with hundreds of garlands of mistletoe sprigs and ivy.

The four college tables were gone, replaced by hundreds of small tables lit with lanterns, each with about ten people sitting around it.

The warriors approached the main seating area. Dumbledore smiled happily, as did Karkaroff, whose black stains on his teeth were even more noticeable.

Ludo Bagman, dressed in a bright purple robe with large yellow stars, clapped enthusiastically like his classmates.

Mrs. Maxim took off her usual black satin uniform and put on a flowing pale purple robe.

Harry sat down next to Viktor; he was actually a little hungry.

He wasn't really interested in where his three dance partners had gone; he just wanted to get something to eat.

“Hey,” Viktor suddenly whispered, trying to strike up a conversation.

Harry turned his head and looked at Viktor with a puzzled expression.

"Where is your female companion?" Viktor grumbled heavily, his speech characterized by a prominent nasal tone, emphasizing the "O" in his speech.

“They must be in a hurry,” Harry said nonchalantly, then whispered, “I’m more interested in where they are than where they are. Good heavens, I’m starving, and the kitchen isn’t serving us anything…”

But Viktor astutely grasped the key point in Harry's words.

they?

It wasn't her, but "them".

But adhering to the principle of not asking too many questions, Viktor decided to wait and see.

Harry tugged at the sleeve of his dress, intending to figure out some food for himself.

The gleaming gold plates were empty, but each person had a small menu in front of them.

Harry picked up his menu without hesitation and looked around—no one was waiting. Dumbledore examined his menu carefully, then pointed to his plate and said very clearly, "Pork chop!" The pork chop appeared immediately. The others at the table understood and followed suit, ordering their own favorite dishes.

“Roast chicken,” Harry said, craving some.

Suddenly, a whole roasted chicken, cut into pieces, appeared in front of him, accompanied by roasted mushrooms and potatoes, and a few bright red cherry tomatoes as garnish.

“That’s great,” Harry said with a smile, picking up a cherry tomato with his fork and putting it in his mouth.

It's grilled to perfection, not too burnt, and has a sweet and sour flavor that's very appetizing, making it perfect for a small bite before a meal.

……

Vivi's temporary office.

Before the serpentine mirror, Cassandra's pale fingertips gently traced the live silver snake buckle coiled around her waist.

The magical creature, taken from the Black family's dowry box, immediately raised its head, its emerald-inlaid snake eyes shooting out two beams of light that made the dark green taffeta dress appear as deep as a black lake.

“Purissimum sanguinem (Pure Blood)”

She tilted her chin up at the mirror, her fingertips tapping lightly on the whalebone crinoline.

As the incantation was recited, seven invisible silver lines appeared on the dress—the crests of the seven pure-blood families who had married into the Malfoy family. These lines transformed into flowing mithril, weaving a bloodline chart in Gothic script on the hem of the dress.

This dress was left to her by her mother... and kept hidden in her treasure trove.

"Cassandra?"

Papi's voice came from outside, and then the door was pushed open.

"Cassandra?" Papiyas poked her little head in. "The ball is about to start. Aren't you going to the Great Hall? Harry and the others should be dancing their first dance soon..."

"Didn't Grindelwald go?" Cassandra asked casually, a small silver snake ornament on her head glittering.

“Oh,” Pappy said, “she said that for such an important occasion, you should go first—”

Cassandra was stunned.

Then, she gave a disdainful sneer.

"Can I interpret this as a gift from the victors?"

“Oh dear.” Pappy squeezed in and sat down next to Cassandra. “How could it be charity? Don’t worry, Vivi definitely didn’t mean it that way…”

"Ah."

Cassandra stood up and reached for the black cloak beside her.

With a flick of his wrist, he draped the cloak over his back.

In a daze, Papiyas saw a line of small, silvery-white words flash by quickly on the lining of the cloak.

"Sanctimonia Vincet Semper (Pure Vincet)"

As expected of the Malfoy family, their obsession with pure blood and purity is truly...

“Let’s go, don’t keep Poot waiting.” Cassandra held her head high, like a proud swan. “I really don’t want him to cry on such an important occasion, don’t you think, Sweeting?”

“Call me Papbi.” Papbi chuckled and hugged Cassandra’s arm.

When Cassandra heard Papiyas say that, she really wanted to call her Papiyas.

But then she suddenly felt something soft against her arm, and when she looked down, her previously good mood instantly crumbled.

"Ha," she muttered softly, "vulgar."

"Ugh! You're so mean!" Papi protested. "Where did I go wrong? Where, where, where?"

“Everywhere.” Cassandra snorted and strode toward the Great Hall.

Inside the Great Hall, Harry was feasting. He had just devoured a whole roast chicken and was now battling for a steak.

Viktor seemed rather uninterested in conversation, at least not with the girl next to him.

He always tried to strike up a conversation with Harry, but Harry always managed to find a suitable opportunity to change the subject.

It's so slippery you can't leave a trace.

Meanwhile, Fleur Delacour is criticizing the decor of Hogwarts to Roger Davis.

“That’s nothing,” she said dismissively, glancing at the star-studded walls surrounding the Great Hall. “At Beauxbatons Castle, our Great Hall is filled with ice sculptures at Christmas. Of course, they don’t melt…like giant diamond statues, sparkling in the Great Hall. The food is also superb. We even have the Mountain Fairy Choir, who sing serenades to us while we eat. We don’t have these ugly suits of armor along our walls; if any mischievous ghost wandered into Beauxbatons, it would be kicked out, just like this.”

She slammed her hand on the table in frustration.

Roger Davis watched her speak with a rapt look on his face, and several times he held his fork crookedly, failing to put the food into his mouth.

Harry felt that Davis was so focused on staring at Fleur that he hadn't heard a word she was saying.

“Exactly!” Davis responded hastily, mimicking Fleur and slapping the table with his hand. “Just like this, that’s right—Petty is really annoying.”

Harry thought to himself, "You're the damn annoying one. You've only known Fleur for a short time, and you're already criticizing the school with her. You're really opportunistic."

Harry abruptly interrupted Fleur's sharp critique when she extended her criticism to the Gryffindors.

“I think Hogwarts is great, at least for us,” he said. “Everyone’s aesthetic is different, and I hope you can focus on appreciating beauty rather than trying your best to find fault with this castle.”

"Are you saying I shouldn't point out the flaws of Hogwarts Castle?" Fleur asked, displeased.

“Oh, no.” Harry smiled. “I was just suggesting something. After all, being good at finding beauty is an advantage, but being good at finding flaws isn’t.”

Furong felt choked up after being choked by Ha's words.

But she quickly regained her composure and once again raised her proud head.

“You’re right,” she said. “I do have a good eye for beauty, but I haven’t found a girl more beautiful than myself at Hogwarts.”

She was genuinely sincere when she said that, and it sounded like she was stating a fact.

Viktor opened his mouth but said nothing; while his Ravenclaw companion looked indignant but had to swallow her anger, after all…

In terms of looks, Furong is definitely top-notch, the kind that makes people feel inferior.

Just as Harry was about to say something, a gasp suddenly rang out in the Great Hall.

Furong subconsciously looked up, and suddenly realized that her bold statement had been proven wrong as soon as it was made.

Standing at the entrance of the auditorium was a young girl dressed in her finest attire.

Although Fleur didn't recognize the woman, she could tell at a glance from her attire that she was a beauty from Slytherin.

(End of this chapter)