Chapter 479: For Now, Don't Do It

Bai Lang saw Hermione Granger; she had become Ke Lumu's dance partner, and the dressed Hermione Granger was indeed beautiful—because Ron could no longer speak. Bai Lang just gave her a glance and moved on; Hermione Granger was merely unexpected, and in terms of beauty she still wasn't as good as Su Fei beside him.

After everyone sat in the hall, Professor Mai Ge called the warriors and their partners to line up two by two and follow her inside. They entered in single file, heading toward a large round table at the front of the hall where the judges sat, and the people in the hall gave enthusiastic applause. The walls of the hall were covered with sparkling silver frost, the ceiling was a star‑filled night sky, and there were hundreds of holly branches and ivy woven into garlands hanging. The four house tables disappeared, replaced by a hundred small tables lit with lanterns, each with about ten people seated beside it.

When Ha Li and the others walked by, they looked very nervous, "Fu Rong ended up choosing this fool? Luo Jie Dai Wei Si, right?" Bai Lang said to his own dance partner, "This time the Triwizard she is bound to lose—she was the weakest from the start." When Bai Lang sat in his seat he was extremely relaxed, his whole body stretched out like a king of the mountains, and Su Fei leaned beside him, drawing attention no less than that of the warriors.

Most of the people present probably thought that only Bai Lang deserved the title "warrior"—a warrior capable of fighting a dragon alone. Su Fei, beside him, greatly enjoyed this gaze, so she kept moving closer to Bai Lang. After the warriors sat down, a small menu appeared in a golden bowl before everyone, and Bai Lang picked up the menu and examined it for a while, "Steak, pork chop…".

Immediately, a large amount of meat plates he had ordered appeared in the golden bowl, along with various sauces floating beside them—from black pepper to white mushroom. Bai Lang grabbed his knife and fork and, with elegant yet lightning‑fast movements, devoured the meat. The drink should have been wine—but the young wizard was not of legal drinking age, so this time he was served butter beer. "Actually I think cola would be better…" Bai Lang muttered while shoveling food into his mouth.

The three leading warriors, their partners, and the professors each had something to say, but Bai Lang was probably the "center of attention" at this banquet; his rough way of eating and drinking even prompted others to imitate him—at least Neville Longbottom was the one who learned it relatively well.

When everything was finished, Deng Bu Li Duo stood up and told the students to stand as well. He waved his wand, and some tables swooshed to the walls, leaving a clear space in the middle. He then conjured a tall stage attached to the base of the right wall, on which were a drum set, several guitars, a lute (poetic lute), a cello, and a few organs. At that moment, the quirky sisters surged onto the stage, and the audience erupted in thunderous applause. Their hair was especially thick, and they wore deliberately torn, ragged black robes. They each grabbed their instruments, and the warriors and their partners all rose to their feet.

Ha Li's dancing might have been the stiffest among the warriors, but his clumsy performance didn't last long, and soon everyone was taking the floor with their partners. Bai Lang also took Su Fei onto the floor and asked, "Can you dance?" he said, while he himself recalled the steps he had crammed in at the last minute, intending to rely on his strong bodily control to execute them—his memory also contained many videos of movies or ballroom‑dance competitions.

These were things he had only occasionally seen before, but now, when combined with the crammed steps, they actually helped him understand quite a bit. Su Fei glared at him and said that a French woman asking "Can you dance?" was a complete insult to her, wasn't it? Bai Lang began to spin with Su Fei; at first it was a little awkward, but soon he grasped Su Fei's range of motion and habits, and they performed a fairly good spinning dance together.

Su Fei let out a giggle that was somewhat impolite in the dance, and she whirled with Bai Lang, blooming in the center of the hall—at that moment her radiance truly eclipsed Fu Rong, De La Ku Er, and all the other Hermione Granger‑type crowd… she was the most beautiful flower in the ballroom. From waltz to rumba, Bai Lang could always lead Su Fei into steps that ordinary young wizards could never manage— even the professors couldn't compare, because they lacked such strong bodily control and reflexes.

When the piece ended, Su Fei was panting but her enthusiasm remained high as she stopped. Her hand hooked around Bai Lang's neck; if Bai Lang hadn't, in the flow of a spin, slipped a drink into Su Fei's hand, the French girl might have kissed him outright—"Come to think of it, we've only known each other for a few days, and even if I were to take her somewhere… it wouldn't be a problem. French women, after all."

Although Bai Lang's body was nearly in shape, should he go after this French woman? Perhaps it would be a diplomatic issue… If he were to, he would have the advantage of a spacious bag, but the problem is Su Fei would definitely want to return to the carriage to rest—does he have enough time to act? "Forget it, I'm not in the mood today. We'll talk next time." Bai Lang made his decision, and of course Su Fei had already leaned most of her weight onto him…

Someone invited Su Fei to dance; it was a very handsome Ravenclaw boy. Bai Lang didn't really know who he was, but he wouldn't stop Su Fei from dancing. After Su Fei left, Bai Lang alone took a glass of juice, walked straight through the porch into the garden outside—no one dared to disturb his actions. Bai Lang leaned against the stone railing in the garden, comfortably admiring the moonlight and the pristine white snow beneath it.

He drained the juice in one gulp, set the cup on the railing, and leapt, turning into a fierce tiger, joyfully bounding across the snow. The massive tiger was like an elf under the moon, though few people saw it. Most people were still dancing and socializing in the hall, while a few enjoyed their own sweet moments. Bai Lang had a great time, and when he sprang up and landed back to his original form, he discovered that at least a third of the crowd had surged forward to watch him…

The ball ended at midnight, and after that Bai Lang didn't avoid people's gazes like those little couples did; instead Su Fei tried several times to pull Bai Lang to a secluded spot, but he saw through it. "Alright, the ball's over? Goodbye, Miss Su Fei." Bai Lang said politely and then returned to the common lounge—the atmosphere there seemed off, a sour tension filling the air.

The atmosphere in the common lounge was equally strange, mainly because the vibe among the trio was very odd. Bai Lang, of course, knew why, but he had no intention of exposing them.

"Hai Ge is a half‑blood giant?" Bai Lang heard their whispered gossip, so he walked over. "That's not the issue; the issue is that you two should not say that anywhere in Hogwarts—there are plenty of people here who hold malice toward Hagrid." Bai Lang said, "So you'd better say nothing."

"I remember where Fu Di Mo was revived? Can't recall, but it's okay; at the last moment Ha Li was supposed to be teleported there, so just a little…" Bai Lang thought about this and decided he should look up the information himself; he recalled that Fu Di Mo had made his resurrection preparations near the old mansion of the Gangte family.