Hogwarts: Don't call me Wandmaker

Chapter 361 Dance Partner
"A Christmas ball?"

Harry stared at Professor McGonagall on the podium with a look of astonishment, as if she had just announced that their Christmas homework was to steal a dragon egg from a Hungarian wood bee.

“That’s right, Mr. Potter.” Professor McGonagall glanced at him indifferently. “I’m glad you understood what I meant, but I don’t think most people need you to repeat it again.”

Harry quickly lowered his head.

“Yes, the Christmas ball is coming soon,” Professor McGonagall continued. “It’s a traditional part of the Triwizard Tournament and a great opportunity for us to socialize with foreign guests.”

"That's right, the ball is only open to students in the fourth year and above, and it is usually started by warriors and their partners."

Everyone turned to look at Xilun, who was sitting in the middle of the classroom.

Meanwhile, Harry on the other side breathed a silent sigh of relief.

That's great. From what Professor McGonagall said, it seems that only the warriors have to dance, while everyone else just needs to participate.

That's fine then... Harry was once again relieved that he hadn't become a champion.

Besides, he has more important things to do at Christmas, so he doesn't want to attend any Christmas dances.

"So who are you planning to invite as your dance partner?" Harry asked curiously after class.

“I don’t know either,” Xiren said.

He could have invited Hermione, and she probably wouldn't have refused.

But now there are some minor problems with the plan... Sirius Black's public hearing has also been scheduled for Christmas.

Such public hearings are extremely rare in the wizarding world, and given Hermione's personality, she certainly wouldn't want to miss one, especially since the other party is Harry's godfather.

So she figured she'd go home with Harry for Christmas.

But this means that Xilun will have to reconsider his choice of dance partner.

However, upon closer reflection, he didn't seem to know any witches besides Hermione.

"It's really troublesome."

Xiren sighed and muttered, "Why does the tradition of the Triwizard Tournament have to be a ball? Can't we have performances, or some thrilling extreme challenges... like making a magic wand in front of everyone in five minutes or something."

Harry opened his mouth, glancing at Siron with a hesitant look.

He admitted that making a wand in five minutes was indeed very challenging... He remembered the first time he watched Siron make a wand, the process lasted about half an hour, but he was still a first-year student at the time.

But really, what direct connection is there between making a wand and getting excited? Even if Dumbledore did adopt Siron's suggestion, probably no one would want to see that.

Siren thought for a while longer but still couldn't think of a suitable candidate. Perhaps Ginny would be an option, provided she chose to stay at school instead of going home with Harry, Ron, and the others.

It's all Fudge's fault, Celen said, scratching his head in frustration. If Fudge hadn't postponed the public hearing to Christmas, none of this would have happened.

Fortunately, there's still some time before Christmas, so there's no need to make a decision immediately.

However, by noon, Fred suggested that he should choose a dance partner as soon as possible.

“Don’t forget you’re the Warriors,” George reminded him. “You just beat Beauxbatons and Durmstrang, the number one Warriors. I bet you’ll be getting tons of offers soon.”

They proved to be right.

Just one day later, on his way to Charms class the next day, a curly-haired third-year Hufflepuff girl approached him and invited him to the ball.

However, before this, Xilun didn't know her at all, and had no recollection of her whatsoever, so he politely declined her offer.

However, this is just the beginning.

The following day, he received invitations from about a dozen girls from various grades, including one first-grader.

At the time, Siron was having dinner in the Great Hall. He noticed that Ginny and Hermione were staring at him with strange looks, as if they would pack him up and send him to Azkaban if he agreed.

“Are you kidding me? How could I possibly agree!” Celen glared back, annoyed. “Do you really think Hagrid would dance with Professor Sprout?”

Ginny and Hermione laughed, almost spraying pumpkin juice onto Harry's face, but Harry laughed too.

Siren is already considered quite tall for a fourth-year student, while first-year students are generally quite short. So, proportionally speaking, what we just saw did look like a normal person standing next to Hagrid.

If they danced together... Harry couldn't really imagine what it would look like, but it would definitely be hilarious.

"Speaking of which, Hagrid will definitely invite that woman, Ms. Maxim, right?"

“Definitely,” Siron said. “Otherwise, they would probably have a hard time finding suitable dance partners.”

“But I always felt that woman had ulterior motives.” Ron took a big bite of bread. “She approached Hagrid just to get information from him about the Triwizard Tournament.”

“I heard it all from Charlie. When they brought the dragon over that day, Hagrid took her to the Forbidden Forest. She must have told that Fleur Delacour about it too.”

“It’s nothing,” Xiren said nonchalantly. “Cheating has always been a hidden tactic in the Triwizard Tournament.”

As he said this, he glanced back at the Slytherin table. No Durmstrangers were there today, and he didn't see Viktor Krum or Karkaroff either.

"But Charlie hasn't gone back yet?" Siren turned his head and asked.

“Not yet,” Ron said, “because of that Swedish brachycephalan’s tail…”

He glanced at Xilun suddenly, and after a few seconds continued, "Of course, you all know why... Anyway, he was left behind to treat the dragon's tail in the Forbidden Forest."

People around looked at Xilun.

“I really don’t know,” Siron said. “I was busy dealing with the flames coming at me.”

"But how exactly did you do that?" Ron clicked his tongue. "You summoned such a huge three-headed dog so easily?"

“Professor Flitwick provided the magic, but it has many limitations,” Siren said, giving a brief explanation.

Hearing about all the restrictions and the fact that Hagrid's help was needed, something inside everyone shattered.

This is a bit different from what they expected. It's like seeing someone flying in the sky and assuming it's some kind of powerful magic, only to find upon closer inspection that they've hidden a broom under their robes.

Once the mystery disappeared, it suddenly became a bit boring.

"Is Charlie still in the Forbidden Forest?" Siron asked.

Ron then came to his senses and nodded.

"Yes, Hagrid found him a good spot."

“I bet Hagrid will be very happy,” Harry said. “He’s always loved dragons.”

“We can go see them,” Hermione said. “There’s a class on protecting magical creatures tomorrow.”

This was also Xilun's idea. ...

The next day, before class even started, he arrived at the Forbidden Forest early to wait.

Because he arrived early, he happened to run into Charlie, who was coming out of the cabin. It seemed that Charlie was trying to leave before class started.

“You’ve given us a lot more work to do.” Charlie couldn’t help but say after seeing Xiren, “That Swedish short-nosed dragon is furious. We’ve been trying to calm it down, but nothing has worked.”

“I’m sorry,” Siren said.

“Oh, you don’t need to apologize at all, Siron.” Charlie shook his head and said seriously, “You just wanted to find a way to take the golden egg guarded by the fire dragon, even if it meant killing the fire dragon…” Charlie seemed to want to sound more heroic, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it, and could only shrug in the end.

"Well, it's best not to do that if possible, since the number of Swedish short-nosed dragons is already very small."

“If I could kill a fire dragon, there would be no need for this three-way battle to continue,” Xiren said with a smile.

"How's that Swedish short-nosed dragon? Is the tail reattached?" he asked. "If I remember correctly, Lou Williams shouldn't have had a chance to swallow what's in his mouth yet."

“Just a little bit more,” Charlie said, his tone tinged with relief. “If we hadn’t used the Stunning Charm on Cerberus in time, that poor Swedish short-nosed dragon would only have half a tail left. Even so, it would have been quite a hassle.”

"what happened?"

“That brings us to the unique characteristics of the Cerberus,” Charlie said. “Just as ancient magic permeates the scales and thick hide of a dragon, the Cerberus’s teeth are its most terrifying weapon. These teeth can, to some extent, ignore magical protection, and the wounds they inflict are also very difficult to heal.”

"Break the demon..." Xilun whispered.

"what?"

"No, it's nothing," Xilun quickly shook his head.

He thought of Silvermane, one of the cores of which was a tooth from Cerberus, and the properties that tooth granted were exactly the same as what Charlie had just said... to a certain extent, ignoring the opponent's protective magic.

“But you don’t need to worry,” Charlie continued. “Thanks to Mrs. Pomfrey, she’s the best healer I’ve ever met, and she’s helped us solve a lot of problems. The Swedish short-nosed dragon is almost fully recovered now, and its tail will probably be completely healed by Christmas.”

"That's good." Xilun nodded.

Even so, he was a little disappointed.

Unlike Charlie, he was definitely on Lou Williams' side.

Actually, that half of the dragon's tail should have been Luwei's reward, but they took it back. This must be the first time someone has ever taken food out of Luwei's mouth.

Especially after the dragon's tail was reattached, it became even more impossible to return it.

The three-headed dog had worked so hard for so long and didn't get any reward, and then some snacks he had made were taken away. Xilun felt a little bad about it.

I wonder if it's interested in fishmen.

I chatted with Charlie for a few more minutes before the school bell rang.

“I have to run back,” Charlie said. “If I’m still here for Christmas, how about we grab a drink? Butterbeer, of course.”

“No problem,” Xiren said.

“I really miss the butterbeer from Three Brooms.” Charlie pursed his lips. “They don’t have that in Romania. They only sell brandy and whiskey there.”

Hagrid then came out of the cabin, ready to begin the lesson.

It seems Hagrid has finally given up on having the students take care of the Blasttails; this year's content has shifted to those Divine Horses.

This relieved everyone who came to class.

Although the strong smell of alcohol emanating from the stables was equally unpleasant, it was nothing compared to the frying snails.

They were truly fed up with those fiery monsters that kept breathing fire from their tails, and several of them had been injured because of it. And with Christmas just around the corner, they certainly didn't want to go to the Christmas ball with bandages wrapped around their necks.

Ron then asked Hagrid about the Christmas ball.

Hagrid said he would go and see, which was tantamount to admitting that he would invite Ms. Maxim to be his dance partner.

Ron wanted to say something more, but after being prompted by Hermione and Harry, he gave up.

In the week leading up to Christmas, the ball became the most talked-about topic at Hogwarts. People spread the news they heard every day, regardless of whether it was true or not.

For example, Dumbledore bought eight hundred barrels of flavored mead from the three brooms and invited the eccentric sisters to play music for the ball.

Siren had never seen so many students registered to spend Christmas at Hogwarts.

However, just as he expected, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny's names were not on it.

“Don’t be sad, we’re staying here with you, aren’t we?” Fred said.

“Yes,” George nodded. “Although we would love to attend the hearing, Dad thinks too many Weasleys are going, and it might not be appropriate.”

"So we decided to stay and keep you company."

"Thank you very much," Xiren said expressionlessly. "But there's no point in you staying. What I need right now is a dance partner. Are you two okay?"

"Hmm..." Fred stroked his chin, considering it seriously for a long time.

"It's not impossible."

what?
Xilun instinctively took a step back, putting distance between himself and them.

“Hey, that’s really hurtful,” George said. “Besides, we were just joking.”

"Yes, and we already found a dance partner."

Despite their words, Xiren made an excuse and left in a hurry.

He knew, of course, that Fred and George were joking, but given their restless nature—they couldn't stand not having fun for a day—they might actually do it.

Xilen just wanted to get away from Fred and George for a while and didn't care about the direction. When he stopped, he realized that he had somehow ended up in a secluded corridor on the fifth floor.

There is a classroom in the middle of this corridor, where Gilderoy Lockhart had his classes in the second year, but it has not been used since he left the school, and hardly anyone comes here.

But then Xilun saw a familiar figure in the middle of the corridor.

Golden hair, barefoot, bizarre carrot earrings and a plug necklace—Luna Lovegood.

Xilun's eyes lit up.

Yeah... an acquaintance, a girl, isn't that the perfect dance partner for him?

……

(End of this chapter)