Chapter 54: Christmas Dance Party

December 25th. The birthday of Jesus Christ, also known as Christmas. Normally, there aren't many people at Hogwarts on Christmas Day itself. Most students go home to spend time with their families. But this year, many students are staying because there's a dance party. Even though Hogwarts is filled with a festive atmosphere, Leo is in his research room as usual, dealing with magic and potions. Ku is currently not present as she is helping Hermione prepare in the Gryffindor dormitory.

And then it's night. Leo, dressed in dress robes is waiting for Hermione in front of his research room. After a while, Hermione arrived, accompanied by Ku.

"Good evening, Leo. How do I look?"

"Good evening. You look beautiful, Hermione."

Leo expressed what he felt straight away. Indeed, Hermione was so beautiful that it came out of his mouth. She had her hair up in a chignon and was wearing a dress; that alone made her beautiful. Behind the two of them, Ku gave a satisfied thumbs up. By the way, both of their dress robes were handmade by Leo's mother, Felis. Leo offered his right hand to a blushing Hermione, linked arms with her, and started walking towards the Great Hall.

The dance party was more enjoyable than he had thought. They danced elegantly to the music. Since he had reproduced the dance movements with magic beforehand, he was able to dance without wasting any movements. After the representative players danced, the other students also started dancing. Leo and Hermione decided to have a meal at a table after they paused their dance for a while. However, there was nothing on the gold plate on the table.

"How do we do this? There's a menu though."

"Roast beef. It seems like if you say the dish you want like this, it'll be on your plate in no time."

They enjoyed their meal for a while like that. While they were thinking about what to have for dessert, there was a commotion in the hall. Looking over, they saw a beautiful woman with white hair in a beautiful white dress and another beautiful woman in men's clothing in a black tuxedo dancing at a high level. Everyone around them didn't notice it, but seeing that made Leo a little surprised.

"What is Ku doing? And she's even splitting herself and dancing on her own."

"Ah... That's because Ku probably wanted to dance with Leo. But I think she was being considerate of me. She didn't want any other man but she wanted to dance at the dance party. That's why she ended up doing something like that."

"I see... I might have made her feel lonely. Ku! Come over here."

He calls out to Ku who is dancing.

Ku stops dancing and comes over here which causes a stir around them.

"You just called her 'Ku', right? So that beautiful woman in white is Ku-chan? I didn't recognize her because she wasn't in her maid version..."

"Then who's that beautiful woman in men's clothing over there? It's not my taste but I feel like I'm about to awaken."

While Ku was coming towards Leo from being two people she transformed and combined into one maid figure.

Seeing that caused even more confusion in the venue but Leo ignored it.

"Did you call me, Master Leonard?"

"Yeah, shall we dance?

Ku's eyes widened as he looked at Leo and then at Hermione.

"Ku, you don't have to hold back. You're like a daughter to me. Let's enjoy ourselves."

"Understood, mother. I will borrow Master Leonard for a while... I will also be your partner, mother."

Once again, they split into a white dress and a black tuxedo. Leo and Hermione each took their hands and enjoyed dancing.

The party was about to end. Leo and Hermione slipped out of the hall and walked around the school building. Hermione, tired of the crowd, had suggested it. There was no one around, not even Ku. It was quiet and only the stars were shining.

"I had fun today. The dance and the food were really good."

"I enjoyed it more than I thought I would."

"It was certainly fun. But, Leo, I probably... no, definitely enjoyed it just because I was with you."

"I feel the same way. If it wasn't for you, I probably wouldn't have attended the dance party in the first place."

The two walked in silence for a while. Hermione looked into Leo's eyes and spoke.

"You know... I have something to tell you. Will you listen?"

Leo silently urged her to continue. Hermione took a deep breath and spoke clearly.

"I love you Leo, Please be my boyfriend."

While trembling, she confessed her love to Leo clearly and seriously.

Hearing this, Leo was surprisingly not surprised.

He had confirmed her feelings as well as his own. But there was still something he had to say.

"Hermione. Honestly, I'm a weirdo. A research nerd. A guy who only thinks about magic. There will be many times when I prioritize magic over you. Can you still love such a crazy guy?"

"Yes. I love you. That's the only feeling that won't change no matter what magic is involved."

"You're just as crazy as me."

"That's right. And the one who drove me crazy is you. So please take responsibility."

"I'll be honest too. Until you confessed to me about this feeling, I had never thought about it because other than my family, I didn't have much interest in other people. But I've come to care about you... Yeah, I guess I like you. I love you, Hermione."

Leo hugged Hermione back as she clung to him. Under the starry sky, their faces drew closer and their lips overlapped.

Today, Hermione did not return to the dormitory. There might be a deduction of points, but she didn't care about that. Ku also went out for a walk in the Forbidden Forest, taking the hint. Hermione was leaning against Leo's arm, and her happiness only grew stronger with time.

"By the way, Hermione, when did you start liking me?"

"Hmm... I think I probably liked you before I entered Hogwarts. But I think I became conscious of it after you saved me from the Basilisk. Since then, I've been trying hard to close the distance between us, but someone is so insensitive and doesn't notice at all. It's just me who's all fluttery and fuzzy."

"Is that so? Sorry. Well, what can I say, we were probably already so close that there was no point in trying to get closer."

"That might be true. And did you know? It seems that we were already thought to be a couple in Hogwarts."

"I didn't know... What do you mean, it looked like that?"

"I knew it. Well, it's a fact now."

Saying so, she clung to Leo. She buried her face in Leo's chest and savored the happiness.

"Haha. Hermione, you've become quite a spoiled child."

"That's right. So spoil me with all your might."

Even after they moved to the bed, they continued to create a sweet space. Leo wasn't interested in that direction, and Hermione kept her decency, so they didn't develop any further and fell asleep happily in the same bed.

...If Ku had been there, he would have been cheering for his mother!

The next day. Perhaps because of the Christmas event, several couples were born in Hogwarts and it seemed that they had spent a wonderful Christmas Eve. Hermione returned to the dormitory in the morning and reported to her roommates that she had finally tied the knot with Leo,

"Wow, congratulations."

"What's different from before?"

"Why don't you report after you have a baby? Oh, sorry. You already have a daughter."

In other words, their relationship up until now was already thought to be like a married couple with a daughter, so there was only a sense of belatedness.

 Within a week, the information that Leonard and Hermione had started dating had spread throughout the school, but most of the reactions were,

"I knew it. Or rather, it hadn't happened yet?"