A thick layer of ice formed on the Black Lake, and Durmstrang's large ship was also frozen, flickering in the sun, and a layer of crystal white frost hung on the sail ropes... It looked much better than before.
Christmas breakfast was hot stew and delicious pudding. Although it was a holiday, there were still as many people in the castle as before, and the hall was as crowded as before.
"The food at Hogwarts is so greasy," Fleur complained as she poured herself a few tortillas and boiled potatoes onto her plate. "I feel like I'm going to outgrow my dress robes."
Kyle ate the stew on his plate calmly without saying a word... After all, he had heard similar words many times recently.
Sometimes Kyle even suspected that even if Furong was served a plate of vegetable leaves, she might find it greasy.
But Kanna next to her seemed to take it seriously. She looked at the food on Furong's plate, which was enough for an owl to eat, and compared it with the full bowl of stew in front of her. After hesitating for a moment, she put it back on the table with difficulty.
"It's okay, just eat it."
Kyle pushed the bowl back and said, "When you grow taller next year, you will have to replace your current dress robe. Then you can buy a new one."
"No." Kanna shook her head and whispered, "Only today..."
Then she grabbed some tortillas as well.
At this moment, Furong seemed to realize something. She turned her head and stared at Kyle, saying in a bad tone, "You mean, I won't grow any taller?"
"No, no, no, I didn't mean that... You said it yourself." Kyle shrugged and acted as if he refused to admit it, which made Furong very angry.
After dinner they returned to the Hufflepuff common room and began to open their Christmas presents.
Fleur's gifts were also delivered here and piled up into a small mountain in the corner of the lounge, but she only picked out a few of them. As for the rest, she packed them all in a box and sent them back to Beauxbatons in the carriage.
They spent the entire morning in the common room sorting out the Christmas presents they had received, and then they all returned to the Great Hall for a hearty lunch.
The house-elves in the kitchen have prepared a new snack this time, Cribbage Wizard Shortbread Cookies... the sound is really crispy, and every bite is like a firework being set off in the auditorium, with crackling sounds everywhere, and it is very lively.
Finally, it was afternoon. As soon as it was six o'clock, Connor immediately jumped up from her chair and went back to the dormitory to prepare for the dance.
It wasn't just Kanna. After six o'clock, there was no girl left in the common room.
"Two hours... just to change clothes, do they need so much time?" Mikel expressed his incomprehension.
At seven o'clock, the sky gradually darkened, and Kyle stopped playing wizard chess with Cedric. They returned to the dormitory and changed into their respective dress robes.
…
By 7:30, everyone had come out of the dormitories one after another. The common room looked strange. The people inside were no longer all wearing school uniforms, but colorful ones...
Mikel changed into a navy blue dress robe, looking much more mature than before, while Ryan's was burgundy.
As soon as the two walked out of the dormitory, they slammed the table, attracting everyone's attention.
"Girls..." Ryan said with a smile, "You have no idea what you have missed..."
"If you mean yourself..." Hannah looked Ryan up and down and couldn't help but teasing, "Then, I guess I didn't miss anything."
"Hey, don't say that," Susan Burns pushed her friend and couldn't help laughing, "He's my dance partner, give him some face."
"Thank you for your affirmation, Hannah..." Ryan said unhappily, "But I'm sorry to disappoint you. I wasn't talking about myself, but... Oh, he's here."
So, Kyle, who had just walked out of the dormitory, saw this strange scene in front of him... Almost everyone in the common room was staring at him.
"What are you doing..." Kyle looked down at his dress robe in confusion, "Am I wearing my dress robe wrong? No."
"Oh..." Susan couldn't help but take a breath, then tugged at the arm of her best friend, "Hannah, do you think it's too late for me to change my dance partner now?"
But Hannah didn't answer. She, like everyone else, was looking at Kyle.
For most Hufflepuffs, this was the first time they had seen Kyle in anything other than his school uniform.
A black velvet dress robe with a simple circle of gold patterns on the collar and cuffs... It was obviously a very normal dress robe, but somehow, it made Kyle's temperament immediately different from before.
"I'm so envious..." Susan sighed, "I wonder who Kyle's dance partner will be..."
"Is this even a question?" Ryan walked over.
But before he could say anything, a voice came from behind them.
"Have you all changed yet?"
"oh……"
There was another gasp in the lounge.
"I think I know who you are talking about." Susan looked at Connor behind her and couldn't help saying, "She is so beautiful..."
Connor seemed to have really listened to Professor McGonagall's advice. She no longer used a headband, but instead carefully braided her hair into a simple bun.
The originally baggy school uniform was replaced with an apricot-yellow robe. She did not have any extra accessories, but she did not need to wear them. She was beautiful enough to make people unable to take their eyes off her.
"Why are you all looking at me..." Kanna lowered her head, "Am I wearing the wrong clothes?"
"Oh, I'm even more sure they are dancing partners," Susan muttered softly.
"Don't worry, it's not." Kyle walked over, "You are...well, very beautiful."
"Thank you..." Connor whispered, "Are we going to the auditorium now? Or we should wait for Cedric, he doesn't seem to come out yet."
"Let's go to the Great Hall first." Kyle said, "Professor McGonagall told us to go there early."
"Okay." Kanna nodded with a smile, and then the two of them walked through the barrel door and headed towards the auditorium.
"They are such a perfect match," Hannah couldn't help but say.
"Who said it wasn't?" Mikel smiled.
…
(End of this chapter)