#376 - Chapter 376 Professor McGonagall's Breaking News
The wave of revelry swept through Hogwarts. To celebrate Harry and his friends' excellent performance in the competition, the young wizards spontaneously started a grand celebration.
The Great Hall was quickly decorated as the center of the celebration, and the long tables were filled with various snacks and drinks taken from the kitchen.
The Weasley twins, Fred and George, lit several of their self-made firework wands, and colorful beams of light exploded in the hall, transforming into patterns of dragons and golden eggs, eliciting bursts of exclamation.
Students gathered in a circle, singing celebratory songs, interspersed with laughter and applause, matching the floating magical lights, the whole scene was shrouded in a dreamy color.
Considering the mood and feelings of international friends, the celebration in the Great Hall ended quickly.
The young wizards moved to their respective common rooms to continue their revelry.
The Gryffindor common room was almost bursting at the seams, the tables and chairs were piled high with mountains of cakes, the sweet scent of cream wafted in, and various snacks exuded tempting aromas.
Pitchers of pumpkin juice and butterbeer were eagerly passed around by the students, and golden bubbles splashed between clinking cups. The entire common room was filled with joy and noise.
Several eye-catching new banners were hung high, vividly depicting the exciting moments of the competition with magic: the scene of Harry and his friends bravely confronting the Hungarian Horntail, the moment when the fiery dragon flame was easily blocked, and the final scene of the three raising the golden egg and receiving cheers from the audience.
The figures on the banners even smiled and waved to the surroundings, and the dragon's flames flickered on the canvas from time to time, as if to put people back in the arena.
In front of the warm fireplace, Harry was surrounded, and everyone congratulated him, toasting with butterbeer.
Ron even pretended to host a "hero interview," making everyone laugh.
"Harry, open the golden egg quickly, let us see what's inside!"
"Yes, Harry, open it quickly and let us broaden our horizons!"
Everyone was curious about the inside of the golden egg, and Harry was no exception.
Back in the Great Hall, he, Malfoy, and Cedric had wanted to open the golden egg, but considering the need for secrecy, the three of them had forcibly endured it.
The three also made a bet to see who could crack the secret of the golden egg first.
Seeing everyone's enthusiasm so high, Harry picked up the golden egg and pried it open along an inconspicuous groove on it.
In an instant, a terrifying scream filled the entire common room, startling everyone.
"Merlin's golden egg, what is this?" Seamus covered his ears, "It feels like there's a resentful female ghost locked inside."
This miserable scream aroused everyone's interest, and everyone discussed it, some guessed it was the sound of torture, and others agreed with Seamus, guessing that the next level was related to ghosts.
Fred and George gathered around: "Come, come, let us look at what's going on from an alchemical point of view."
The two carefully fiddled with it for a while, and came to a conclusion under the expectant eyes of everyone.
"This is a delicate recording device, it seems that the key is still the sound in the golden egg."
"As for what kind of sound it is, we don't know, you still need to explore it yourself, Harry."
Seeing that the exploration was fruitless, the young wizards quickly put the golden egg behind them and continued to revel.
The next day, Friday morning, the lively atmosphere still permeated Hogwarts Castle, and all the young wizards were excitedly discussing the competition yesterday afternoon.
In view of the wonderful performance of Harry and his friends, Cedric and Malfoy also had their own fan support groups.
And the earliest established Harry Potter fan support group took this opportunity to expand greatly, attracting many new members.
This led to Harry hearing people talking about his glorious deeds wherever he went, and seeing classmates greeting him enthusiastically, asking for photos and autographs.
This feeling of being welcomed made Harry feel elated again, of course, pain often coexists with happiness, and he had to sign autographs and take photos again and again.
Although his arms were sore from exhaustion, he was still very happy overall.
However, this beautiful mood did not last long, because in Professor McGonagall's Transfiguration class that afternoon, she solemnly announced the Yule Ball to the students.
"The ball is a tradition of the Triwizard Tournament, and it is also an excellent opportunity for us to enhance our relationship and friendly exchanges with foreign guests."
"All fourth-year students and above can participate, and of course, you can also invite lower-grade students as partners."
The students' whispers gradually turned into excited chuckles, and Professor McGonagall ignored these small movements and continued.
"The ball will be held at eight o'clock on Christmas night in the Great Hall and will end promptly at twelve o'clock. All participating students must wear formal dress robes."
"I will post the specific news about the ball on the bulletin board after class, please watch it yourself."
"Potter," Professor McGonagall looked at Harry, "The Yule Ball is opened by the champions with their partners, so remember to find a partner."
Harry stared at Professor McGonagall in a daze, feeling a little overwhelmed for a while.
He can't dance at all!
Besides, inviting a girl to the Yule Ball is simply an impossible task.
After all, since the first day he entered Hogwarts, he had not said a few words to girls other than Hermione.
To be honest, he would rather fight the dragon again than do such an embarrassing thing.
What's more, even if he invited a partner, he didn't have a suitable candidate.
Cho Chang is definitely going with Cedric.
Who should he invite?
Forget it, they are too familiar, let's consider other people.
Professor McGonagall's announcement was like a bomb, instantly detonating the already lively atmosphere in Hogwarts Castle, pushing everyone's emotions to another climax!
Christmas Ball, inviting partners, enhancing relationships These words aroused strong reactions among eligible boys, who were either whispering about their goals or quietly looking at their favorite girls.
The bolder ones were already considering how to win by surprise, making the invitation unique.
Those with shy personalities were uneasy, even struggling for a long time with the first sentence to say.
On the other side, the enthusiasm of the little witches was not inferior.
They gathered in groups of three or five, chattering about every detail of the ball, such as how to choose a fashionable dress robe? How to dress elegantly and without losing individuality?
As for the partner, of course, I hope to have an enviable invitation, preferably both romantic and unexpected.
Of course, it would be even better if those champions invited themselves.
It can be said that Professor McGonagall's announcement not only made this ancient magic castle more lively, but also made the atmosphere of the entire Christmas season begin to heat up.
All of this had nothing to do with Harry for the time being. On Saturday night, he and Malfoy gathered in Sebastian's office again, preparing for today's Occlumency practice.
