Chapter 101: Dance

[3rd POV]

The large Great Hall was not crowded with students waiting to eat but with students eager to have fun. 

There were not the usual house tables but small round tables in the middle.

The stage was set up for musicians who were specially invited to tonight's celebration. 

The band "Weird Sisters" would soon begin their performance... but first, there would be slow music for "Waltz."

A lot of students had already come into the hall with beautiful bright clothes.

This was primarily true for the girls, but the guys wore mostly darker colors.

The majority of them had smiles on their faces and even some Slytherins had even stopped viewing other people as inferiors.. but not all of them.

The Yule Ball had not officially started because the Triwizard Tournament champions had not entered, and the celebrations would begin only when they danced the first dance.

The hall was decorated for the holiday season as the Yule Ball coincided with magical Christmas and Muggle. 

The walls of the Hall had the illusion of snow and beautiful icicles hanging from above.

"There they are..." 

Ron said as the massive doors to the Great Hall opened and music began to play. 

The students started clapping as instructed by their Heads of Houses. 

The four champions of the tournament walked in with their partners. 

First came Fleur Delacour with her escort, Roger Davies... who was practically drooling over his partner, but she endured it with dignity. 

Next was Viktor Krum with a girl from Ravenclaw, who was beaming with delight. 

Cedric Diggory and Cho Chang followed this pair, and Harry walked behind them with Parvati Patil.

"You look stunning."

Padma Patil quietly said this to Hermione and smiled in response.

"You too..."

She replied before her gaze fell on Ron, and she made a sympathetic face. 

Then she looked quickly to the side, where she could only see the chat signs floating.

Anthony had noted that he would be arriving soon which made Hermione nervous. 

Rias Gremory: Hermione, you're worrying like it's a date. 

Shinoa Hiragi: Look how she blushed after those words, hehe.

Hermione barely restrained herself from covering her face with her hands and making a fool of herself. 

She began to reply, but turning off the chat became increasingly tempting.

Hermione Granger: Don't make me look like a fool! And you know it's not that! Anthony just wanted to visit my world! 

Shinoa Hiragi: He said the same about mine... and now I'm in his world and his girlfriend. 

Rias Gremory: Girlfriend?! Do you mean friend? 

Shinoa Hiragi: Think what you want... virgin :)

It wasn't hard for her to push the lewd thoughts to the back of her mind because of Occlumency. 

She looked at the couples dancing.

Harry had skipped many of Professor McGonagall's dance lessons again, and it was no surprise that his movements were somewhat awkward.

Soon, Headmaster Dumbledore came out to join the four couples with a kind smile on his face while leading Professor McGonagall by the hand. 

The other professors joined them as well...

"What, your imaginary date isn't showing up?" 

Ron asked while taking a deep breath after looking at her again. It was impossible not to notice how beautiful she was.

He was angry inside because she was waiting for some imaginary friend instead of going with him?

"Ron."

Hermione measured him with a glance.

"I don't envy your partner... and for your information, he isn't imaginary, just late."

She said it confidently. 

There were already a lot of students moving around in the middle of the hall, and then she felt something.

She had grown stronger and more experienced in a magical way in the months since she returned from that world.

She could sense Rias had a lot of power even back then. She learned how to use magic in the chat store. 

It made her very sensitive to magical energy just like Anthony's "potential unlocking."

That's why she immediately felt the changes around her as if... magic began to converge at one point while vibrating and alerting everyone that something unstoppable was coming. 

These were just her feelings, but that's how she perceived what was happening, and she wasn't alone. 

The professors frowned and looked around while Dumbledore... he had gone pale and was gripping his wand tightly already in his hand.

Dumbledore rarely panicked. 

The days when he was an inexperienced youth eager to uncover all the secrets of magic were long gone. 

He knew how to control his emotions and work toward his goals even back then.

As Dumbledore slowly danced the "Waltz" he enjoyed the fresh air of youth in the Hall... but everything changed abruptly.

He felt SOMETHING had appeared, and that was something that even Hogwarts feared. 

Of course, the castle couldn't be afraid as it lacked intelligence, but it possessed many powerful enchantments dating back to the four founders. 

Hogwarts was considered very safe for a reason as even at the peak of his power before his "death," Voldemort had not dared to go here.

The same applied to Grindelwald.

Dumbledore couldn't help but panic when all his vast magical knowledge and sensitivity to magic simply became useless. 

The professors sensed only a vague danger as if something unpleasant might happen nearby but nothing more. 

However, he was sure that something had appeared in Hogwarts that could erase it from existence.

It wasn't an Obscurus. 

An Obscurus is a powerful dark force capable of destroying buildings, but what he felt now was much stronger.

They simply couldn't be prepared for THIS.

However, the music stopped, and everyone turned to face Professor Flitwick who grabbed his heart in a comically exaggerated way.

"Albus..."

Professor McGonagall's voice was palpable. 

"What's happening?" 

She sensed something vague, but she was far from his magical sensitivity.

"I..."

Dumbledore swallowed, and this was more than anything. 

She had never seen the most powerful wizard with such an expression on his face.

" ... need to get the children out." 

Albus whispered quietly, almost just with his lips. 

Suddenly, Fawkes appeared beside him while singing his trill to ease his burden and everyone in the hall.

"What's happening?"

Headmaster Igor Karkaroff asked.

The most cheerful students soon noticed the tension between the professors and the headmaster.

The situation escalated... but the entire ceiling started to sparkle with bright colors and create a beautiful sight.

The vibrant show above seemed to calm the atmosphere, and the students looked up in awe with dazzling lights reflecting off their faces. 

Even though it was beautiful, Dumbledore's worry only got worse. He held his wand tightly in his hand, ready for anything that might happen.

"W-what is that?"

One of the students stared at a corner of the ceiling where a massive golden Chinese dragon had appeared. 

An immediate response from several professors was to raise their wands and cast spells upwards. 

They exploded like fireworks, and cheers sounded from the students.

"I'm glad you liked it."

A fairly young voice sounded from behind the professors and headmasters and caused them to jump and spin around abruptly.

They turned toward the sound in the middle of the hall.

A young man with bright eyes was floating about two meters above the ground and looking around curiously.

"Hermione, darling, you look great."

He gave a thumbs up to Hermione and immediately focused their attention.

"What... what did you do?!"

Hermione in the yellow dress pointed at him not knowing how to react in such a situation, with her cheeks burned from the attention and audacity! 

He even had the nerve to put on an innocent face, as if he didn't understand what was happening. 

He didn't seem to pay any attention to the adults who were now pointing their wands at him. 

Dumbledore was the only one who appeared uncertain of how to proceed.

"What? Darling, it all happened completely by accident... I promise..."

He smiled dazzlingly, and Hermione thought she had seen a few Slytherin girls lick their lips... 

"Anyway, why is everyone so silent? Let's enjoy yourselves."

He waved his hand, and the music started playing again... but Professor Snape fired a "Stupefy" spell at him... but it simply... dissipated as soon as it touched him.

However, Snape immediately slipped and fell... breaking his wand. 

Igor Karkaroff also slipped and fell after him.

"Anthony Joseph Luthor..."

Hermione began, clearly intending to scold him when he suddenly appeared beside her with a beautiful red rose.

"This is a beautiful rose for a beautiful girl."

Hermione's cheeks flushed even more, and all her confidence evaporated instantly. She took the rose and inhaled its wonderful scent.

She saw Dumbledore help Professor Snape get up out of the corner of her eye while saying something that made everyone lower their wands in worry.

The students resumed dancing as if this were just part of a show. 

Of course, there were those staring at HER date. 

For instance, Daphne Greengrass from Slytherin... but he was HER date, and she made that clear with a look.

Ron stood to the side and looked at Anthony with his mouth open and didn't know what to say.

He didn't even notice that his "partner" was also holding her breath while looking at the newcomer.

Seeing Dumbledore and the others' friendly smiles made the students immediately think it was all part of the show. 

Especially since the golden Chinese dragon continued to soar in the sky, spewing fireworks from its mouth.

"A beautiful dance with a beautiful girl—what could be better?"

I smiled while dancing with the flustered Hermione. 

"You know the waltz well."

"So do you..."

Hermione muttered in response.

"Nope, I never knew how to dance but I wished to dance the waltz now, and reality responded." 

I smiled at the confused Hermione. 

She didn't yet understand that her will could mean a great deal once she reached a certain power threshold.

...

[Anthony's POV]

"Tony, what are you doing here?" 

Hermione asked as if snapping out of a trance. 

"The headmaster is looking at you as if he saw all the Dark Lords at his bedside at once!"

"Well... my bad."

I admitted, and she didn't notice that we were now walking on air while slowly rising higher to continue dancing. 

"As soon as I appeared in this world, the magic of this world sort of... responded. It was a new experience for me too, and that's why those who are strong enough could feel it."

"Yes, I felt it... but the headmaster turned pale."

"Hmm, you simply knew who was doing it and were already familiar with my magic and presence. That's why it didn't affect you much, and you just sensed the change. The magic in this world isn't like in other worlds. It's... well, it's not active, but I would say it's very dynamic."

"I get the context... So you scared the headmaster just by showing up."

She muttered not too happily.

"Why am I not surprised..."

"Oh, come on. It didn't turn out that bad, and look, everyone's having fun."

She glanced down at the students... who were pointing at us with their fingers, and only then did Hermione notice. 

She immediately jumped in fright... so I caught her, and now she was lying in my arms.

"Tony!"

"What? I just want to show everyone immediately that you're a taken witch."

I said it rather suggestively.

"You! You're unbelievable!"

She clenched her fists and crossed her arms under her chest while turning her head away from my face.

"Thank you."

I held her body closer to me and began to descend. In fact, it wasn't very respectful to the professors and headmasters.

...

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