Hermione, let's start a revolution from Hogwarts!

Dumbledore then looked at the dark Forbidden Forest in the distance and continued, "Hermione's teacher, Professor Grendel, discovered it. He believes it was Barty Crouch, the Director of International Affairs at the Ministry of Magic."

This answer was quite unexpected, considering that the other party was in charge of international diplomacy at the Ministry of Magic.

"Mr. Crouch?" Nietzsche, hands in his pockets, his back to the cheering hallway, frowned and said, "He wants to unite Europe in this way?"

“It wasn’t him. Barty was a comrade of the Order of the Phoenix and fought steadfastly for the Ministry of Magic against Voldemort,” Dumbledore said. “He was controlled by the Imperius Curse... a skillful one, but it was still obvious.”

The principal's mouth twitched at the thought.

How did Grindelwald figure it out? It's because he used it so much before. As for the Unforgivable Curse, he'd reached the point where he felt like there was nothing left to study, so he stopped using it.

"In other words, there's someone here who's maintaining the Imperishable Curse..." Nietzsche realized in less than three seconds.

He also studies magic, and naturally, he also delves into the realm of dark magic.

Whether it's white magic, general magic, or black magic, everything revolves around 'magic power'. Magic power originates from within the caster and manifests the caster's will externally through incantations.

Once the remaining magic disappears, the effect will naturally end.

Therefore, in this three-way battle, including the controlled Barty Crouch, there are a total of two people.

“If someone wanted to get rid of Harry, why would they throw Hermione in there?” Nietzsche shook his head, dismissing some of his assumptions. “Getting rid of one person is more difficult than getting rid of two at the same time.”

Not to mention, the three-way battle for supremacy is something that cannot be interfered with. Could it be that that person only intended to use the battle for supremacy to achieve their goal?

If that's the case, then this assassin is incredibly incompetent...

The lobby door behind them reopened, and he and the principal turned around at the same time, only to find a head peeking out from the crack in the door, its face rosy.

Hermione stammered, "Why did you go outside? Colin was just about to take a picture of us... It was Lavender, they called me to come find you... because you're a hero too, Headmaster Dumbledore, are you coming along?"

“I won’t disturb you any longer.” Dumbledore put on his pointed hat, politely declining her offer. “I think a headmaster suddenly standing there would only make the students feel uncomfortable… By the way, have you already invited them?”

He pushed up his glasses and gave her a meaningful look.

"Invite for what?" Hermione asked, puzzled.

"The Christmas Ball is a tradition of the Triwizard Tournament. After the first event, the warriors must have their own partners, and you will lead the ball."

“Me? But…but he…” Hermione pointed to Nietzsche, who was leaning against the doorknob.

"You are a warrior. Strictly speaking, others can only be your dance partners; you are the one in control."

By the light from the auditorium windows, Nietzsche could see the strange smile on Dumbledore's face. If he wasn't mistaken, it was a gloating smirk—wanting to laugh but trying hard to keep his lips pursed.

A smile that's neither quite tense nor quite tense.

"It seems your challenges don't end with just one fire dragon," Nietzsche said with a grin, pushing her away.

Chapter 243 The War Called 'The Ball'

The light snow in December seemed to follow the breeze through the castle and fall on Hermione's head.

In Transfiguration class, Professor McGonagall also told Slytherin about this, and now, a new activity to keep warm in the castle has emerged: finding a dance partner, as this will often bring the students together to discuss plans.

"Damn it, we should have let some witches into the Quidditch team," Warrington lamented.

"Also?" Nietzsche walked among them as they left the Transfiguration classroom.

“Look at George and Fred…they don’t need to worry,” said Psy, who quit Quidditch because of NEWT. “Their dance partners are the suitors Angelina and Arya.”

It was almost a war without gunfire. Every boy tried to subtly extend his invitation, but he couldn't be too fast, lest he seem frivolous, but he also couldn't be too slow and let someone else beat him to it.

Nietzsche, carrying his schoolbag, evoked sympathy for those lost in thought.

"It's really strange. Why don't I usually see them going out in groups?" Theodore roared in frustration as he stared dumbfounded at a dozen girls coming down the moving stairs together.

"Hmm...maybe you haven't noticed it before?" Nietzsche said sarcastically from the side.

"Come on! We're not like you... You don't even need to figure out a suitable time to send an invitation privately!" Hubble said angrily.

That's right, if you just go up and invite him like that, the girls will surround him.

And that's not the worst part. The worst part is... if they fail, they'll laugh even louder, and within a day, the news of the failed invitation will spread throughout the entire school.

Therefore, inviting them individually is the best approach.

And that's why they were jealous of Nietzsche—he didn't need to invite her at all, because Hermione was the real hero.

"Really? She hasn't mentioned the ball for a week," Nietzsche said casually. "The most agonizing thing is waiting, not guessing whether someone will agree."

Warrington just gave a cold laugh, dismissing it as mere nonsense.

Everyone knows Slytherin and Gryffindor; they are the ones who see things most clearly.

"Instead of Granger not inviting you, you should worry about whether someone else has used a love potion. She's the most popular warrior right now. Believe me, everyone would want to dance with her at the Christmas ball."

However, Warrington's words served as a reminder, and Nietzsche's gaze sharpened.

"So...who would do that?" He squinted, observing everyone who passed by, taking in every subtle expression and movement.

“Who knows? It’s not just boys; there are plenty of girls who like Hermione too.” Warrington shrugged. “Like Lavender and Parvati, as roommates, they have so many opportunities to use love potions.”

As they rounded the corner onto the marble steps, they saw people in front of them taking deep breaths and slowly pushing their way to the handrail. As the crowd dispersed, they spotted a silvery-white figure.

Nietzsche could hear the people staring adoringly at that strand of hair: "Hibiscus Delacour~"

In fact, Warrington was right.

Hermione really wanted to invite her, but... she just couldn't bring herself to say it.

"What are you waiting for? Be careful he doesn't bring someone else to the ball." Lavender was as anxious as if he were choosing a dance partner himself.

“Holmes wouldn’t ask anyone else; I’m more inclined to believe he simply won’t attend the ball.” Parvati sat on the bed, carefully folding her dress, with several invitations lying on the bed.

Hermione sat at a table with a vanity mirror, first messing up her hair, then standing up and walking around the room.

Putting aside how difficult the invitation process was, you have to understand that this was a Christmas ball.

In human society, dance partners are almost always people one admires—meaning a desire to develop into a real relationship... After all, no one would want to hold the hand of someone they're not interested in and dance the whole night together.

Most importantly, her nervousness was actually created by her friends:

Hermione initially planned to invite them directly, but it turned out that Lavender and the others had even planned out her and Nietzsche's future... terrifying.

At this moment, another girl interrupted their conversation.

Ginny skipped over, looking quite pleased with herself, which relieved Hermione—because Lavender and Parvati's attention had shifted to Ginny.

"Hey~ Potter's fangirls are here!" they shouted in shrill voices.

"How dare you!" Ginny retorted with her hands on her hips, exuding confidence. "I'm not a fangirl of Potter. From now on, I'm Potter's... dance partner!"

"You've already invited them? So soon?!" Hermione said angrily. "Didn't we agree that we'd invite them together after Nietzsche and Harry finished talking?"

The saddest thing still happened—when you make an appointment with a friend, but they finish it ahead of time, you only feel betrayed.

“It’s not my fault, it’s all Ron’s fault…he pushed Potter over here ahead of time.” Ginny’s gaze began to wander, and she quickly tried to salvage the situation, “It’s not difficult, you can just find Holmes and invite him.”

It's easy to say, because the weight has already been lifted from her heart.

“Yeah, we can just invite him back later…” Parvati deliberately provoked him.

"Again?" Hermione said coldly, "By the next Triwizard Tournament, we'll have graduated for a year."

“We’re talking about a wedding, darling. Consider it the price. This time you kneel on one knee, and you can make him kneel on both knees in the future, or you can always be on top of him…” Lavender said, sitting cross-legged and making a lewd joke.

Hermione cried out in despair, "It's just a ball!!"

Even Ginny just crossed her arms, leaned against the door frame, and stood at an angle.

"Are you serious? Just a ball?" She hesitated for a moment, then her eyes filled with pity. "Have you forgotten? In the Triwizard Tournament, besides you, there was another female warrior."

Fleur Delacour—the image of that arrogant girl immediately popped into Hermione's mind.

"What's the meaning."

“Dean and Seamus just came back, and I heard them talking in the lounge about Fleur extending an invitation to Nietzsche… She’s provoking you!” Ginny added fuel to the fire.

“That’s impossible, he even beat her up before,” Hermione said, exasperated.

"That makes it even more suitable for her to take revenge. Just imagine, after the ball, she'll use Veela's magic to influence Nietzsche and embarrass him in front of others... or maybe she just wants to embarrass you?"

Hermione put down the conditioner in her hand and immediately ran out of the dormitory.

She didn't even notice the expression on Ginny's face. After she left, Ginny said smugly, "See? Someone always has to push her."

(Friendly reminder: Most of what follows is sugary, for relaxation.)

Chapter 244 His 'Woman'

The marble staircase is the only way for students on the first floor to get to their classrooms on the second floor. Usually, they don't deliberately gather here or linger. But today, an exception was made because of a witch.

Fleur Delacour, whose Veela lineage makes the boys around her seem like idiots.

Nietzsche, meanwhile, kept his muscles taut and watched the scene ahead warily. He vowed that if the other side dared to do anything strange, he would have Smaug ramming into Beauxbatons' camp every day.

"She came to invite me..." He heard the boys around him, some of whom were already lost in their fantasies.

Veela's magic was strange. Nietzsche suddenly discovered that when he looked at Fleur, the surroundings would automatically become blurred, and some magical light spots like those of elves would appear.

As Furong drew closer, she gently pushed the boys aside and finally stopped in front of Nietzsche.

"Would you like to be my dance partner?" She smiled sweetly, her voice clear and melodious, carrying a touch of student naiveté rather than coquettishness.

Nietzsche did not answer, but instinctively took two steps back...

"Are you serious about taking a few steps back and trying to run away?" Furong took a deep breath and unconsciously clenched her fists, her good mood instantly ruined.

“Who knows what you’re planning to do?” Nie shook his head vigorously and said with a frown.

Unlike those teenagers who haven't even held a girl's hand and are prone to impulsive decisions, he even thought, from a conspiracy theory perspective, that Fleur was planning to take revenge at the Christmas ball.

And he rationally thought: she is beautiful, but these things will eventually disappear with time, just like tears disappear in rain.

“Do you think I came here specifically to see you?” Fleur was surprised by his arrogance. “To be honest, you’re not even my first choice. If Cedric weren’t a warrior, I would have extended an invitation to him first.”

That made things even worse; she actually wanted to break up a beautiful couple.

"I hope that before Beauxbatons returns to school, Senior Qiu Zhang will challenge you to a duel," Nietzsche said, glaring at her.

Moreover, she was a bad woman with a capricious personality... but in his ranking, she was still a little worse than Granger, and a Mary Watson worse than Irene Adler.