Chapter 469: Snake and Eagle

"Wiener Schnitzel!" Dumbledore picked up the menu in front of him and read in a clear voice, and then a pork chop appeared on the plate in front of him.

It was still the ordering mode, and everyone present was used to it. They picked up the menu and picked their favorite food.

This ordering model means that the house elves in the kitchen need to bear more heavy labor. They need to deliver the prepared dishes to the correct location in a very short time.

There were thousands of people in the auditorium. After briefly looking at the menu, dozens of orders were issued every second. This is undoubtedly a great challenge, but the house elves at Hogwarts are not easy to do. They successfully completed the task and accurately placed one delicious dish after another on the plates in front of the guests.

"Tuna salad, French-baked escargots, oxtail braised in red wine, bouillabaisse." Les quickly ordered the dishes he wanted to eat.

Four dishes appeared one after another, making the table in front of him full.

Rice noticed that Aries' mood seemed abnormal. Upon closer inspection, she found that her sitting posture was a bit stiff, and her eyes kept glancing towards the staff table.

After seeing who she was looking at, Les suddenly knew.

"There's no need to be afraid. This is Hogwarts, the safest place in the world." Les whispered softly, giving Aries a shot in the arm.

After comforting Aries, Les couldn't help complaining about Rowena: That guy was too cunning to come up with such a method, and he really let her take advantage of it. I just didn't consider the mood of Aries, and it scared people...

Les's comforting effect was very good. Aries quickly got rid of her fear, and there was even a faint expectation in her heart: If that guy attacked her here, would the guardians of Hogwarts kill him on the spot? Kill?

But thinking about it, Aries doesn't have the guts to provoke the other person.

The banquet began.

While enjoying the food, Rice could also hear the chatter of the surrounding players.

"The winter in Durmstrang is much colder than here, and there won't be such a grand celebration at the Christmas party. The winter nights there are very long, and the time you can see the sun is very short every day. If you stay for a long time, everyone will It’s gloomy. So almost no one chooses to stay in school during the Christmas period. Everyone wants to go home and go to sunny places like southern France for vacation.” Klum obviously doesn’t like the Nordic climate.

"Do you feel okay?" Fleur couldn't understand the pain of not being exposed to the sun. She even felt that it was good to have less sun exposure. "But South France is indeed a good place for vacation. The bouillabaisse there is very good, and the oysters are very good." It’s also very delicious. You can try Spain next time, where the pace of life is more relaxed. ”

Krum nodded, indicating that he remembered.

After finishing his meal, Dumbledore stood up.

"I have one more thing to do before the dance starts."

The students closed their mouths and listened quietly. While Dumbledore was speaking, Mr. Henry, who was sitting next to him, took out a box from under the table.

Ludo Bagman on the side took out his magic wand and tapped on the lid of the box. The lid of the box popped open automatically, revealing a bright golden flash.

Inside the box were hundreds of golden eggs the size of chicken eggs.

The students present stretched their necks to look at the teacher's chair.

Those golden eggs caught their attention instantly.

Dumbledore pulled out his wand and drew a half circle in front of him. The golden eggs rose from the box one after another, and then flew towards the contestants.

Each contestant was assigned one, and so was Rice.

After the golden egg landed in front of him, Les picked it up and looked at it carefully.

The golden eggs that I bought heavily should be precious metals such as gold and silver. Les murmured in his heart: If this golden egg cannot be recovered, then the Ministry of Magic has spent a lot of money on it. However, according to the urine properties of the Ministry of Magic, there is a high probability that pure gold will not be used.

While looking at the surface of the golden egg, Rice noticed a very thin ring-shaped crack in the middle of the egg that looked like it could be opened from it.

Other contestants also discovered this detail, and some were ready to open it to see the internal structure of the golden egg, but at this moment, Dumbledore spoke.

"Don't open them in a hurry. I suggest you go back and find a place where no one is around before opening these golden eggs. As for the reason for doing this, you will know when you open the golden eggs." Dumbledore smiled, half-moon-shaped The eyes behind the lenses are full of kindness.

"They are related to the content of your next game. You will have a lot of time to study it between the end of the party and the restart of the game. Now let us enjoy the Yule Ball!"

Although Dumbledore said that the contestants should enjoy the dance, after such an incident, few contestants were in the mood to dance. Everyone's attention was attracted by the heavy golden egg in his trouser pocket.

Is it related to the content of the competition? There is a high probability that the golden egg contains information about the second stage of the competition. If he could decipher the information earlier, he would have an advantage in the second stage of the competition.

Thinking of this, the players couldn't wait to go back to their dormitories to decipher the secrets inside the golden eggs.

Professor McGonagall glanced at Dumbledore reproachfully. She felt that Dumbledore had completely ruined the atmosphere of the ball. The golden eggs should be distributed after the party, as she suggested.

Dumbledore smiled awkwardly: This golden egg can only be distributed at this time. It is not certain that all the people will be gathered at the end of the dance. Many people don't know where they are with their partners when they are halfway through the dance.

It's easy for the contestants of Hogwarts. They can just let the house elves deliver them to the bedside. It's much more troublesome for other magic schools.

In order to revive the atmosphere, Dumbledore waved his wand and moved some tables to the wall, freeing up a large space in the center of the hall. A stage with a set of drums, several guitars, a lute, a cello and several organs was then transformed by him.

Then, the singing group Weird Sisters invited by Dumbledore rushed into the hall from the side room and walked quickly to the stage. They picked up their instruments amid the applause of the audience.

At this time, the lanterns on the tables went out one after another. It was time to dance.

Rice took two steps towards Aries and saluted her.

"Dear lady, please forgive my presumption. Would you like to dance with me?" Les stared straight into Aries' eyes.

Although she was talking to herself, Aries' intuition told her that it was not her turn to answer this question.

Sure enough, Ms. Ravenclaw temporarily regained some authority and answered for her: "I am not good at dancing, so let someone who is good at it come."

Aries wanted to say "Actually, I am not good at it either", but the desire to survive made her shut her mouth obediently.

"No one is very good at it." Les blinked, "Give me a chance, the smartest lady in Hogwarts - time is running out."

At this time, the weird sisters had already started playing, and it would be too late if they didn't go to the dance floor to dance.

Aries, who was controlled by Rowena, wanted to say something, but Les said seriously: "Not everyone is qualified to dance with me."

Aries wanted to respond, but she suddenly blacked out and fell asleep, knowing nothing.

"Okay, just dance one." Rowena said softly.

"Just one dance." Les nodded, took a step forward, took Rowena's hand, and walked with her to the brightly lit dance floor.

In the slow, sad tune, Les held Aries' hand with one hand, put the other hand on her waist, and danced with her on the dance floor.

Helga, who was sitting in the shadows in the distance, smiled.

Old Viper and Old Raven are dancing together! She must record this scene and show it to Godric later. Thinking of this, she quickly took out a crystal ball from her arms and turned on Les and Rowena to record.

Les noticed that among the contestants present, he and Rowena were relatively proficient in dance steps. Many contestants were not dancing at all, but more like puppets in the hands of dancing partners. If neither of them could do it, it would be pure spinning.

Soon, the opening song of the Weird Sisters ended. Les and Rowena returned to their seats together.

At this time, they played the second song, which was much faster than the previous one.

Les cast an inquiring look at Rowena, who smiled and shook her head.

"Too fast, not suitable for an old man like me."

"Nonsense, your body is very young now."

"Your mentality is old."

They laughed together.

"This reminds me of when we first met, you forced Godric and I to attend your family's ball..."

Rowena seemed to be lost in memories, with a look of nostalgia on her face.

"I was in a difficult situation at that time. The family wanted to send me to marry. I can't remember the name of the marquis's son. If I hadn't met you two, I might have become a reclusive marquise, right? But this is also my duty, after all, I have collected so many spells with the help of the family..."

"Isn't it a widow?" Les made a little joke.

Rowena glanced at him.

"I shouldn't have done this at that time, right? But it's hard to say. If he didn't allow me to continue my research in magic, I might really get rid of him. By the way, what did you do with him? He disappeared after that ball."

Les smiled.

"The British Isles were not peaceful at that time. Vikings were everywhere. Isn't it normal for a noble to be attacked and abducted by barbarians on the road?"

"Viking pirates using flaming swords and poison? You really think the Marquis is a fool." Rowena waved her hand, and a glass of champagne flew into her hand. She began to sip it.

"Godric's image, as long as his beard and hair were dyed black, really looked like a Viking pirate. But the key to the problem is to erase the traces so that the magicians raised by the big families can't detect the abnormality." When talking about the past, Les was proud: "I just know some magic with Viking characteristics."

In fact, the truth cannot be hidden. Les and Godric got into trouble because of their willfulness, but that was just a small episode in the long river of life.

Rowena didn't respond to him, and spoke slowly after a while.

"I originally thought that I could only gather all the magic in the world with the help of my family, but you showed me a different way... I have to thank you, otherwise I might just sit at home and waste my time."

"How can magic be done behind closed doors?" Les shook his head. After two seconds, he laughed out loud as if he remembered something funny.

"What are you laughing at?" Rowena narrowed her eyes and her tone became unfriendly.

"I...saw something interesting, look--" Les pointed to the empty center of the dance floor: Madame Maxime and Hagrid just "rushed" over while waltzing, and they had carved out an empty path in the crowded dance floor.

Les didn't dare admit in front of Rowena that the reason he was laughing just now was because he was mocking Rowena's original ideal of collecting all the magic in the world.

This was a very unrealistic thing, especially since Rowena didn't even want to leave her family's manor at the beginning.

Even if Les didn't say it clearly, Rowena knew what he was laughing at. But since he didn't say it, she didn't intend to settle accounts with him.

Of course, if they revealed each other's dark history, Rowena wouldn't be afraid.

What was the first potion that the legendary wizard, the culprit of Ragnarok, the founder of Hogwarts Slytherin College, and one of the founders of potion science, Salazar Slytherin, mastered in his life? Tip: This potion was also the potion that Salazar prepared most often and relied on when he was young.

Rowena believed that as long as she asked this question, Salazar would admit defeat.

Thinking of this, Rowena's unhappiness suddenly disappeared. Who didn't have some unrealistic dreams when they were young?

Well, some people's ideals are too grand and unrealistic, while others' ideals are too down-to-earth, and even seem a bit mercenary.

Rice also made a glass of champagne to drink. Halfway through the drink, he suddenly remembered something.

"Professor White seemed to be very happy," Rice's eyes were deep, "She played with the crystal ball very well."

Rowena just drank the champagne in the glass silently, as if she didn't hear what Rice said.

After she drank a whole glass of champagne, she said leisurely: "I hope she remembered to turn on the recording function."

Helga, who was not far away, had a stern face: She clearly remembered that she had turned on the recording! Why didn't she record it? !

Is she so old? Helga began to doubt her life.

The dance lasted until late at night.

Dumbledore was farsighted. After 10 p.m., there were almost no people around the dance floor and the hall. Everyone went to the cave outside the castle to relax with their friends or dance partners. A subtle and ambiguous atmosphere floated in the air.

At this time, it would be too difficult and too offensive to gather the contestants.

When the clock hands broke through twelve o'clock, the bell rang. After twelve rings, the Christmas ball finally ended.

————

Update is here, good night everyone~

The next update will be at midnight