After the feast had run its course, Dumbledore stood and gently called for everyone's attention.
"I can see that everyone is quite eager to begin... but I must first trouble you all to stand."
Everyone complied imdiately, rising from their seats and gathering along the sides of the hall. With the space cleared, Dumbledore then slipped the Elder Wand free and waved it lightly through the air.
In the next mont, the crowded tables and chairs of the Great Hall rose into the air, gliding smoothly toward the walls. Even with so many of them moving at once, there was not a single collision, settling neatly along the edges, most piled together near the back of the hall.
Next, a raised platform erged along the right-hand wall, appearing as though it had always been there. It ca fully set, with drums arranged at the back, guitars propped on their stands, and, curiously, a lute, a cello, and a set of bagpipes laid out among them.
In a matter of seconds, the Great Hall's center was cleared entirely, leaving behind an open floor and a fully prepared stage for the performance.
"Without further delay," Dumbledore said, wand held aloft, "I declare tonight's Christmas Ball... officially begun."
At the sa ti, the starry sky on the ceiling brightened, countless stars twinkling softly. As the starlight drifted downward, the open space at the center of the Great Hall was wrapped in a gentle glow. The cold stone floor changed, smoothed, transforming into a polished wooden dance floor that glead warmly, as though it had always been ant for dancing.
"Wow!" ca the reactions at once, students breaking into excited whispers. One had to admit, Dumbledore certainly knew how to put on a show.
Amid the rising excitent, a band dressed in… well, distinctly unique, outfits made their appearance next.
The wizarding world was not exactly known for its musical culture, but it would be wrong to say it had none. There were musicians, bands even, ranging from classical to jazz and, occasionally, rock. One such band was The Weird Sisters, the wizarding world's answer to a popular rock group, wildly loved by younger witches and wizards, especially students.
They marched onto the stage to explosive applause, all of them weirdly hairy, and not just a little, clad in black robes ripped and torn with deliberate care, refinent clearly never having been the goal. In other words, they looked every bit like an old-school rock band.
The champions rose next, partners in hand, and stepped onto the open floor. They spread out beneath the falling snowflakes of the enchanted ceiling, the focus of the entire hall settling on them at once. Naturally, the first dance was ant for the champions.
"Focus," Hermione whispered, glancing up at Harry, who looked like his thoughts were racing in every direction at once. "Just like we practiced..."
"Oh... Right," Harry nodded, clearing his throat.
Thank rlin, Hermione thought. Practicing beforehand had been the right call. Without it, this could have turned into a complete disaster.
The Weird Sisters anwhile began with a slow, mournful tune. Harry stepped onto the dimly lit dance floor, doing his best to avoid catching anyone's eye, and the next mont Hermione seized his hands, placed one at her waist, and held the other firmly in hers.
Without realizing it, despite having practiced together in the Room of Requirent these past few days, their faces could not help but turn a pinkish hue when their eyes t to the soothing music.
Cough. Harry cleared his throat for the second ti, doing his best to settle into the rhythm. Sohow, he managed to find it, following along with Hermione's lead. "So…"
"So?"
"Uh… the weather's… nice?"
"Don't be silly. We're inside, and it's literally covered in snow clouds outside."
"I— I an… you look nice."
Hermione blushed at the sudden, blunt complint. She knew he was trying to make conversation, any conversation at all, and to be honest, her own thoughts were just as scrambled at that mont.
"Thank you," she replied softly. "You look nice too. Very handso, actually."
For the first minute or so, only the champions moved across the floor, their figures frad by soft light and drifting snow. Then Dumbledore's voice carried through the hall, inviting everyone else to join. At his signal, students and professors alike stepped forward in pairs, hands finding hands as they flowed onto the dance floor, swaying together to the slow, steady rhythm.
The atmosphere settled into sothing calm and almost unreal. The music was gentle, bodies moved unhurriedly, and magical snowflakes fell beneath a star-filled sky. The low light softened everything, turning the Great Hall into a quiet winter dream.
"This is nice…" Isabella whispered, resting her head against Mavrick's chest.
The starlight above shimred and fell gently, speckling the dance floor with silver light. It brushed against the moonstone set in Isabella's earrings and hair clip, the stones catching the glow and sending it back in soft reflections. For a mont, it felt as though a delicate veil of light surrounded them both.
In that mont, everyone else seed to fade into the background, no more than part of the scenery. The music wrapped around them, warm and steady, easing the heart with every note. It was hard to believe such a gentle lody ca from a band dressed so outlandishly.
The students on the dance floor, having only recently begun learning to dance, still moved with noticeable clumsiness. They kept a careful distance from one another, their gazes drifting down now and then to their partners' feet, subconsciously wary of stepping on the hems of their dresses.
Whether by chance or not, eyes kept finding their way to Mavrick and Isabella, the surprise in those looks often mixed with quiet envy.
They looked perfect together. While others watched their steps, Mavrick and Isabella looked only at each other, the rest of the hall fading away.
There was focus in their eyes, but also warmth and sothing unspoken, as they moved together at the center of the floor. Their steps were smooth and effortless, each turn flowing naturally into the next, as if the music belonged to them alone. Against the careful, uncertain movents around them, their dance stood out, confident, intimate, and quietly beautiful.
After what felt like an unasured stretch of ti, the lody softened and finally faded on its last lingering note. Only then did Mavrick and Isabella return to themselves, slowly breaking eye contact and taking in the dance floor around them once more.
Everyone was caught up in the joy of the mont, bodies swaying gently to the music as laughter and warmth filled the hall. Among the crowd, Dumbledore and McGonagall looked like a brother and sister sharing a quiet, familial mont, while Maxi and Hagrid stood out the most, their towering figures difficult to miss.
When the song finally drew to a close, they also slowed to a stop together, exchanging a warm, unguarded smile. To anyone watching, they looked every bit like a couple.
Professor Aurora Sinistra, who taught Astronomy, was also on the dance floor, her partner none other than Alastor Moody. When the music finally ended, she glanced down at his wooden leg and let out a visible breath of relief, as though she had spent the entire dance bracing herself to trip over it and was amazed she had not.
The dancers ca to a halt, and the hall erupted into enthusiastic applause, offered both for the Weird Sisters' performance and for the shared monts with their partners on the dance floor.
The band acknowledged the applause with casual waves and grins. Next, whatever calm had settled over the hall monts ago was about to be left behind.
The drumr raised his sticks, pausing just long enough to build anticipation, then brought them down in a sharp, driving beat. The sound cut cleanly through the air. A heartbeat later, the rest of the band surged in to match it, guitars roaring and rhythm swelling.
The music exploded into life, fast and loud, flooding the Great Hall with raw energy. In seconds, the quiet vanished, replaced by motion and noise, until the night felt less like a ball and more like a full-blown nightclub scene.
"Need a break?" Mavrick whispered into Isabella's ear, leaning close. When she looked up at him, his eyes curved with a teasing smile. "Or do you want to let loose a bit more?"
"Hm…" Isabella tilted her head, listening to the lively new song. A smile flickered in her eyes before she answered, already moving closer. "Let's dance so more."
The next few songs ca one after another, fast-paced and driving, filled with heavy drumbeats and lively lodies. Mavrick and Isabella, like most of the crowd, were swept up completely in the joy of it.
Bodies moved freely to the rhythm, so spinning, so laughing, so even jumping without care. The dance floor throbbed with life, and wherever you looked, people were smiling, carefree and fully wrapped up in the mont.
Light flared overhead. Thunder echoed through the hall.
The enchanted ceiling responded to the rising energy, lightning flashing across the sky while thunder rged with the beat, blurring the line between storm and song.
But while Hogwarts danced beneath borrowed starlight, elsewhere the storm was no illusion. Hidden from eyes and spells alike, a massive structure lood beneath a very real roiling sky, real lightning clawing through the clouds overhead.
It was tall, rising into the storm like a challenge to the sky itself, as high as the great Eiffel Tower in France. Clouds hung so thick and low that day and night were impossible to tell apart.
Rain poured endlessly, like a rainforest caught in permanent downpour. The only light ca from lightning overhead, violent flashes that revealed the shape of the structure before plunging it back into darkness.
Tap.
Tap.
Tap.
The muffled rumble of thunder seeped in from outside, mixing with the echo of slow, deliberate footsteps in a long stone corridor deep within the structure.
The walls on either side looked old and rough, partly covered in gri and thick spiderwebs that clung to the corners. Torches burned along the corridor, their flas flickering and hissing softly as rain-soaked air crept inside.
The figure moved forward without haste. From behind, all that could be seen was a long white fur coat draped over broad shoulders, swaying slightly with each step. The man beneath it was solid without being overly burly, lean rather than thin, his posture relaxed and carrying a quiet, commanding presence.
Brown hair fell neatly at the back of his head. From the front, his features were sharp, his expression carrying a confidence that bordered on arrogance. A cigar rested between his lips, smoke curling lazily upward, as though both the creeping unease within the walls and the storm raging outside ant nothing to him at all.
His eyes were calm, calculating, and amused. A faint smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. Whatever this place was, his expression made it clear that this was exactly where he wanted to be.
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