Chapter 653: Fleur, You Don't Want Others to Know This, Right? (Edited)

Fleur displayed a surprised expression on her face; she never expected Tom to evade her attack at such close range.

This was a Confundus Charm released in an attempt to flirt at close quarters. Let alone dodging it, most people wouldn't even notice what happened. However, Tom managed to defend himself. How fast was his reaction time? And looking at the state of the spell, he had used the Shield Charm. Fleur didn't see Tom utter a spell or use his wand.

This was beyond Fleur's comprehension. Non-verbal and wandless spells, that was a skill reserved for wizards of Dumbledore's caliber. If this happened to Tom Yodel, it would be truly amazing. Fleur preferred to believe that this was the effect of some magical object Tom was carrying.

"Despicable," Tom said as he looked at Fleur's beautiful face, a trace of disdain in his eyes.

This tactic was truly despicable, regardless of how it looked. It would definitely embarrass Beauxbatons. How could the Goblet of Fire have chosen someone like this as a champion? Is this what a champion does?

Tom's gaze made Fleur feel a bit embarrassed. She knew she had acted rather undignified. Tom was at least two years younger than her, and by doing this, she would be compared to an "old cow eating tender grass," and this tender grass already had an owner.

But what did it matter? Tom's excellence made her willing to take the risk. If she succeeded, she could dance with the most outstanding boy from all three schools. After all, Tom not only had exceptional magical abilities but also grew more handsome as he got older, attracting many girls. Just in these days, he had received over ten invitations to the dance. Any girl who danced with him would be the center of attention at the party.

And that's what Fleur wanted. As a proud individual, she only sought the best. She considered herself the most beautiful witch and naturally should be paired with the most handsome and talented wizard.

In her imagination, if Tom were to publicly accept, there would be no chance to regret. But unfortunately, all these calculations were ruined by a simple Shield Charm.

All of this happened in an instant. At that moment, Hermione was blocked from view by some girls and had no idea what had happened. When she was back by Tom's side, it all seemed to be over.

When Fleur saw that Hermione had returned, she put on a shy face and was about to leave when a tall figure appeared in front of her. She looked up and recognized Hogwarts champion Cedric Diggory.

At that moment, Cedric looked distracted, stopped Fleur, and invited her to dance.

"Hiss!" Tom took a deep breath; this would be really fun now. He knew Cedric had already invited Cho Chang, what would happen if the pairing was now...?

He would earn the title of scum!

Tom also knew Cedric had probably been accidentally hit by the spell he deflected. This was truly unfortunate for him.

Fleur was startled, but after thinking it over, what if Cedric was also a good option? He was also one of the most outstanding wizards at Hogwarts, and dancing with him wouldn't be worse than Tom.

"Of course," she nodded slightly, accepting Cedric's invitation. "Agreed!"

After she left with pride, Cedric seemed to wake up from a dream. He realized he had done something terrible.

"Merlin!" he exclaimed in regret, covering his face with his hands. "Why did I do that?"

He turned around, and his face turned pale immediately because he saw Cho Chang looking at him with a mocking smile.

"Listen to me..." he wanted to say something, but Cho Chang simply turned and left.

"I hope you have a great time with Miss Delacour!" She left these words behind and walked away without looking back.

Cedric felt dejected; he looked at Tom next to him and said with a bitter face, "I don't know how I did this, I couldn't control myself-."

Hermione frowned as she ate her watermelon from start to finish. At first, she thought it was a story of a despicable man playing with two girls, but when she heard Cedric say it, it seemed like there was another hidden story.

Listening to the symptoms Cedric described, didn't they sound like the Confundus Charm or the Imperius Curse?

Wasn't Fleur Delacour talking to Tom just a moment ago? Hermione realized something and her expression turned even darker. She had a feeling that Fleur had approached Tom because of her.

She looked at Tom, and he smiled at her.

"Fleur tried to use the Confundus Charm on me, but my Shield Charm repelled it, and, by chance, Cedric walked by at that moment and got hit," Tom analyzed, narrating the events.

Cedric was stunned, and Hermione's face filled with anger.

"Shameful!" she gave Fleur the worst rating. "Using these cheap tricks! No, I have to-"

But Tom stopped her.

"The most important thing now is to clear things up with Cedric and Cho Chang to avoid misunderstandings," he told Hermione.

Upon hearing this, Cedric nodded repeatedly, holding Tom's shoulder. "Yodel, please, I really need you to testify for me..."

Tom nodded; he couldn't refuse this.

Seeing Tom's cooperation, both Cedric and Hermione showed relieved expressions. One wanted to win back his lost partner, while the other wanted to give Fleur trouble.

They reached an agreement and went after Cho Chang.

Cho Chang had left in a hurry, and the three of them finally caught up with her in front of Ravenclaw Tower. It wasn't because the three of them ran fast enough, but because Cho Chang was blocked by the entrance door of Ravenclaw.

"Why does such a small cottage have enough space?" the Ravenclaw eagle asked with emphasis, posing a new question.

Tom rolled his eyes; he really should better educate the eagle to ask mathematical questions.

Now Cho Chang felt like a tangled ball of yarn, unable to respond, and naturally couldn't enter the common room.

"Even for the smallest cottage, there is enough space for a loving couple," Cedric said, following quickly. Hufflepuff's common room was in the basement, so his ability to climb stairs wasn't as good as the three who often exercised.

However, his reaction was very quick, and he responded immediately.

Cho Chang looked at Cedric, her eyes filled with tears.

"Even for three people, it's still not enough," she complained sadly, "I invited you to the dance first, how can you...?"

"Listen, she cast a spell on me," Cedric explained hastily, and Tom and Hermione backed him up as witnesses, which finally convinced Cho Chang.

"It's really outrageous," Cho Chang said irritably, clearly angry at Fleur's actions.

"At least it shows that Cedric is good enough," Tom defended.

"What a scoundrel," Hermione muttered, rolling her eyes.

The misunderstanding was finally resolved. Cho Chang and Cedric, Tom and Hermione, the four of them returned to the Great Hall with laughter and chatter.

It was already dinner time, and all the students from the three schools were gathered. Tom and Hermione found a place to sit and waited for dinner to start. It wasn't long before a tempting aroma wafted over, and Fleur sat down next to Tom.

Hermione's expression suddenly turned unpleasant. She couldn't understand how this woman had the nerve to appear in front of her.

That's the part Hermione doesn't understand about Fleur. In Fleur's eyes, she only suffered a small setback in her conquest attempt, what else mattered? After a brief moment of confusion, she quickly adjusted her attitude. After all, the two of them hadn't officially announced their outcome yet, so what was there to ask about? Even if they publicly announce their relationship, I can still win over Tom with my skills! Although I used some tricks, it was a blessing for him!

That's Fleur's truly arrogant thought.

"There are too many people, so I'll sit here first. Do you mind?" Fleur asked with a smile.

"I mind," Tom replied straightforwardly.

Fleur: ...

Her smile froze on her face.

What's going on? How annoying! Pretending not to have heard, she took her seat, which made Hermione roll her eyes.

Just then, Cedric stood up and shouted to the Ravenclaw table, "Cho Chang, would you like to accompany me to the Yule Ball?"

This shout, almost every student in the Great Hall heard it. They were all initially puzzled, but then they started cheering.

Fleur's face turned red with anger; she felt genuine indignation. Cedric had already promised her that he would go to the ball with her, even if it was due to the Confundus Charm, he had promised it in front of everyone, how dare he break that promise?

Fleur was furious. But just as she was about to stand up and say something, Tom smiled at her and said, "Fleur, I suppose you wouldn't want others to find out that you used the Confundus Charm to force someone to accompany you to the Yule Ball, would you? For a Beauxbatons champion, that wouldn't be very decent. Madame Maxime doesn't know yet, would you like me to tell her? How about I tell her that the Beauxbatons champion did such a thing?"

Fleur: ...

Only then did she realize that her behavior was inappropriate and would damage Beauxbatons' image.

Cornered, Fleur was forced to back down and watched as Cedric invited Cho Chang to the Yule Ball.

Being asked in front of everyone, Cho Chang blushed immediately. She lowered her head, unable to meet Cedric's eyes, until her friends around her pushed her several times. She finally stood up shyly and nodded like a chick. Then, she quickly sat back in her place.

"Wow!" The students present showed complicit expressions and began to make noise. Even the teachers at the staff table smiled benevolently and watched silently.

But not everyone was happy, like Harry, who now felt like a stray dog without an owner, someone had kicked him for no reason!

He couldn't understand why Cedric had to publicly invite Cho Chang. Couldn't he invite her privately?

Harry had no idea what had just happened; he didn't even know he had missed an opportunity to invite Cho Chang.

Seeing Cedric and Cho Chang's happy appearance, Fleur felt very uncomfortable. Annoyed, she muttered, "I really don't understand why some people would prefer to eat fast food on the street instead of enjoying an elegant French dinner."

Tom looked at her and said, "I think most people would choose to go to a restaurant to enjoy a good dinner rather than street fast food. Cedric is no exception."

Fleur didn't catch the double meaning in his words and nodded awkwardly, "Yes, that's true."

"Then, in Cedric's eyes, you're the street fast food!" Hermione teased.

This remark was quite hurtful, and Fleur was forced to close her mouth, not speaking to Tom and Hermione for the rest of dinner.

After dinner, young wizards discussed Cedric and Cho Chang's story animatedly. Tom looked at Hermione next to him and noticed that, although she didn't mention it aloud, her eyes revealed a secret longing.

"Hmm..." Tom murmured, deep in thought.

"By the way, there's something I need to..."

"You're not thinking of venturing out without me again, are you?" Hermione said, alert.

"Of course not, it's about the Triwizard Tournament. Go back to the common room first," Tom said, making up an excuse to send Hermione away.

Of course, he wasn't going to deal with the Triwizard Tournament; in reality, he had a little surprise for Hermione.

"Alright, I'll wait for you in the common room, and if you dare... you know the consequences," Hermione threatened, raising her pink fist with little intimidation.

Then, Tom simply disappeared.

Hermione waited in the common room, but even close to midnight, she saw no signs of Tom.

"Damn it!" Hermione frustratedly kicked the floor. She thought Tom probably ventured out again without telling her anything, maybe even facing Voldemort right at this moment. Imagining that, her eyes filled with tears.

At that moment, a white light appeared in the common room window, catching Hermione's attention. She approached the window and opened it, only to find that Tom's Patronus was the source of the light.

"What's going on?" Hermione asked, confused, as the Patronus floated and circled around her. She looked outside, bewildered and lost.

Then, a red dot rose in the night sky and eventually burst in the air, forming a burst of bright fireworks.

Afterward, one after another, the dots of light flew into the night sky, bursting into bright fireworks and forming a phrase in the air.

The sight was unforgettable for the young wizards in the castle. They rubbed their sleepy eyes and peeked out of the windows to witness this scene: hundreds of dots of light ascending into the sky with long tails, bursting together and forming a phrase:

"Hermione, would you like to accompany me to the Yule Ball?"