Chapter 264: Dance Partner Issues

About two or three days after Hermione solved the riddle of the golden egg, Fleur also successfully deciphered its secret.

With Alaric's hint, unraveling this puzzle was rather simple.

Alaric's first hint was about the pattern on the golden egg.

Wizards with a basic understanding of magical creatures could easily recognize that the pattern depicted on it was that of a mermaid.

In this world, mermaids were not mere myths but rather intelligent beings with a thriving culture.

They lived in highly organized communities, some even crafting residences from stone.

Additionally, they domesticated creatures like Grindylows, Hippocamps, Lobalugs, and even used Lobalugs as weapons.

Mermaids also created jewelry, weapons, sculptures, and communicated through gestures.

Moreover, in accordance with many legends, mermaids were capable of creating music, which was their most common hobby.

Thus, this aligned with Alaric's second hint — the so-called screeching was actually a type of singing.

However, contrary to the legends, mermaids' songs were not meant for human appreciation or to lure humans.

This was merely their own hobby.

Upon a little reflection, it was clear why their so-called singing sounded like screeches to them.

Their songs were meant to be enjoyed underwater, as mermaids had no need to sing for humans in the air.

Therefore, the answer was obvious — the key to solving the golden egg puzzle lay in opening it underwater.

Both girls chose to sneak into the water and open the golden egg while bathing.

Once the egg opened, a peculiar chorus of voices sang in unison:

"Come seek us where our voices sound, We cannot sing above the ground, And while you're searching, ponder this.

We've taken what you'll sorely miss, An hour long you'll have to look, And to recover what we took, But past an hour — the prospect's black, Too late, it's gone, it won't come back."

The song also mentioned that they couldn't sing on solid ground, indicating the next challenge was related to mermaids.

The nearest mermaid colony to Hogwarts was in the Black Lake.

In the second task, the champions' most precious possessions would be hidden in the Black Lake, and they needed to retrieve them within an hour — this was the final answer to the golden egg riddle.

However, it wasn't time to think about that now; after all, the second task wouldn't begin until February 24th next year, giving them over three months to prepare.

Right now, Alaric, the girls, and all the young wizards had to think about the Christmas Ball.

Although the champions had received the news in advance, Professor Flitwick still announced it in class after a Charms lesson.

"I have a few words to say to all of you," he said as usual, standing on a stack of footstools, loudly announcing.

"The Christmas Ball is approaching — it's a traditional part of the Triwizard Tournament and a great opportunity for us to interact with foreign guests.

The ball is open only to fourth-year students and above — but if you wish, you may invite a younger student —"

Kevin Entwhistle let out an annoying snigger.

Stephen Cornfoot nudged him hard, but Stephen's own muscles were straining as he tried not to laugh. Both of them turned to look at Hermione.

"Put on your dress robes," Professor Flitwick continued without acknowledging them.

"The ball will be held in the Great Hall at eight o'clock on Christmas night and will end at midnight. Listen —"

Professor McGonagall calmly surveyed the entire class.

"The Christmas Ball undoubtedly gives us the chance — um — to let down our hair and relax," she said in a somewhat dismissive tone.

Alaric felt the dwarf was definitely driving the car.

The bell rang to signal the end of class, and as usual, everyone stuffed their books into their bags, slung them over their shoulders, and walked out of the classroom.

But now, the atmosphere in the corridors of Hogwarts had changed.

The girls giggled and whispered in the hallway, laughing loudly whenever a boy passed by.

They excitedly exchanged opinions, discussing what to wear on Christmas night... while the boys began to carefully scrutinize the girls' appearances, determined to invite the prettiest one as their dance partner.

And as a champion, although Hermione didn't dress up much, she still became the most eye-catching girl.

For young wizards, being the champion's dance partner was quite prestigious.

After returning to the dormitory, Alaric and Hermione were surrounded by waves of attention.

Many boys gathered the courage to approach Hermione, the first being Kevin Entwhistle, who had set his sights on her during class.

"Miss Granger," he blushed, standing in front of Hermione as if preparing to say something difficult, "would you like to be my dance partner?"

"Sorry, Entwhistle," Hermione shook her head, "I already have a dance partner."

"Who is it, Miss Granger?" he asked incredulously, "Professor Flitwick just mentioned this, are you just brushing me off?"

"It's none of your business, Mr. Entwhistle. You can go now."

His questioning clearly angered Hermione a bit, and her tone was very harsh in her response.

So, Kevin lowered his head and left disappointed.

However, even though Hermione said she already had a dance partner, there were always boys who didn't believe it and insisted on trying again and again, as if it would never end.

Finally, frustrated, Hermione shouted, "My dance partner is Alaric! If you want to be my partner, go duel with him! Otherwise, get lost."

Obviously, dueling with Alaric was not a wise decision, and now the boys began to beat a retreat.

However, suddenly someone questioned, "But just now I asked Cho Chang, and she also said her dance partner is Alaric. You two must have been mistaken!"

So, the skeptical looks turned to Hermione.

Hermione did not answer the question but instead pointed out sharply.

"Could it be that you immediately went to invite the next girl after being rejected by one? That's why you know Cho's answer?"

This hit the boy's sore spot. Otherwise, how would he know Autumn's answer?

"Oh, I see," the embarrassed boy said somewhat angrily.

"So fundamentally, you just want to invite the prettiest girl who is willing to accept you, even if she's a complete troublemaker?

If you can't answer this question, I don't think I need to answer your question."

"Well — yes, that's basically correct," said the dumbfounded boy in resignation.

"That's what I thought. So you can tell us what's going on; I think you're just using Alaric as a shield."

"Okay, okay," Hermione said helplessly, "Cho and I are planning to share a dance partner. Is that okay?"

Saying this seemed to exhaust her last bit of courage, and after saying it, Hermione immediately left the common room.

Meanwhile, in Beauxbatons, an astonishing piece of news emerged — the Delacour sisters had both chosen the same Hogwarts boy as their dance partner, and that enviable man was Alaric.

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