Chapter 379 Two Dance Partners, Double the Difficulty of the Second Project
"What do you mean by that?" Aaron asked, somewhat uneasily.
"You've probably solved the clue in the Golden Egg, right?"
"So what?"
"Other champions have one dance partner, but you have two?"
Two… two… two… These last few words echoed in Aaron's ears, making his head buzz. His heart felt like it had been struck by lightning, and a continuous downpour of blood rained down.
He immediately understood Adrian's intention. The second task of the Triwizard Tournament was to rescue someone from the Black Lake. Other champions would rescue one person, but he would probably have to rescue two.
This was not like herding sheep, where tending to one or two made no difference.
The Black Lake was vast, and the task had a one-hour time limit. If the two people were too far apart, he would have to race against time. If he lost, one of them might end up sleeping forever at the bottom of the lake.
"Adrian Crane," Aaron said, suppressing his anger. "Even a prank should have its limits. Don't you think this is too despicable?"
"The lifelong happiness of my younger siblings is at stake, so I must be extremely cautious," Adrian said seriously. "Choices are something everyone has to face sooner or later. I'm just making that moment come a little earlier."
"But you shouldn't drag innocent people into it!"
"This can only be called a coincidence, or a wonderful accident, but it suits me perfectly.
You are Gaius, after all. I look forward to your performance."
With that, Adrian gave Luna a big smile, placed Abba in her arms, and then turned to leave.
"I don't think I understood a single word of what you just said," Luna said, puzzled.
"I'm sorry," Aaron said, somewhat ashamed. "You might be dragged into the second task of the Triwizard Tournament."
"Wow! That sounds really interesting." Far from being scared, Luna showed particular curiosity. "It has something to do with the champion's dance partner, right?"
"Yes, but it's very dangerous."
"Perhaps for others," Luna said, raising an eyebrow. "But I also watched when you passed the first task, and I have great confidence in your abilities, senior."
Aaron's mouth twitched slightly. He certainly had confidence; as long as he revealed one or two more trump cards, the second task would be nothing to him.
But this third-year junior's confidence was a bit much for him to process. Shouldn't normal people be nervous, scared, or uneasy?
"You'll definitely pass the second task perfectly, right?"
Aaron nodded blankly. Before he could speak, Luna smiled happily. "Then I have even less reason to worry."
She held Abba in her arms, playfully poking its claws with interest.
"Um… Miss Lovegood," Aaron said, somewhat awkwardly. "Abba is a bit special, so I don't recommend you…"
"Professor McGonagall promised me this," Luna said, instinctively hugging the pet in her arms tighter. "I'll return it to you tomorrow."
"But…"
"I earned this with my own hard work," Luna interrupted seriously. "I even took a big risk for it. You wouldn't deny me even this small comfort, would you?"
Aaron:... "Alright! But you have to promise me not to take off its clothes."
"No problem, I promise."
"Sigh!" Aaron sighed inwardly, then instructed Abba in Dragonic not to expose itself and to act as much like a cat as possible.
Abba glanced at its master, then turned its face away haughtily.
"Thanks, senior," Luna said with a smile. "I'm very happy this Christmas."
Watching Luna leave, Aaron smiled wryly and shook his head, then walked towards the room behind the Great Hall.
Just then, Ron suddenly called out to him. Because his dress robes were so out of place, even though he had invited a dance partner, he never had the courage to go up and dance, which left him and his partner, Padma Patil, sitting awkwardly in their seats.
"Is something wrong?"
"Isn't Hermione your dance partner? Who is that girl?"
"There was an accident. Hermione couldn't make it to the ball in time.
As for that girl, she's Luna Lovegood, a third-year Ravenclaw." Aaron said, somewhat helplessly, "Professor McGonagall found her for me as a temporary dance partner."
"Found her temporarily? And she's so pretty?" Ron admitted he was envious. "Why don't I get that kind of treatment?"
"You're not a Triwizard Champion," Padma said irritably. "Aren't you going to ask me to dance?"
"No."
"Fine." Padma glared at him and decisively left her seat.
She searched by the edge of the dance floor for a while and easily found a new dance partner.
"It's good that she didn't dislike you; how could you still be unsatisfied?" Aaron said, speechless.
"I didn't want to!" Ron said, raising his collar in frustration. "But wearing these clothes, I'd be the center of attention the moment I stepped out. It's too embarrassing."
As soon as he finished speaking, Ron's eyes widened. "Harry, why are you down here too?"
"I..." Harry stammered. "I'm not much of a dancer."
"You're certainly not great, but there must be another reason, right?" Aaron said playfully.
Harry's face flushed as he nodded. "Cho Chang was right next to me, but she's Cedric's dance partner. Do you know what it feels like to have your heart pierced?"
Ron looked at him sympathetically, feeling that compared to Harry, his own situation wasn't so bad.
The ball had already started, and no one would notice him at this point.
"Then what about your dance partner?"
Harry pointed to the dance floor behind him. The two followed his gaze and saw Parvati dancing merrily with a Durmstrang student.
"You two really are best friends," Aaron said, speechless.
"Never mind us, where's Luna?"
"She went back to the common room, and she took my pet with her.
But don't misunderstand, I'm not like you two."
"I can see that."
"I'm going to find Hermione. As for you two... it's better if you go back."
The two looked at each other, but with almost no hesitation, they stood up and left with perfect understanding.
Aaron opened the door behind the staff table and walked in somewhat cautiously.
After passing through several gates, he saw Hermione sitting by the fireplace.
She was wearing a blue-purple formal robe, her hair deliberately styled into an updo, making her more elegant and poised than usual, though she seemed a bit distracted.
"Excuse me, I seem to be a bit late," Aaron said directly and apologetically. "I didn't know my sister invited you. I'm truly sorry."
"It's fine." Hermione quickly snapped back to attention and waved her hand dismissively. "She arranged a luxurious dinner for me. My parents' month's salary might not even cover this one meal."
"A single dinner bought you off?" Aaron said, half-laughing, half-crying. "It's clear you dressed up carefully today. You should have had a memorable ball."
"That is a bit regrettable, but it's alright. We can just go out and dance one more dance later."
Hearing this, Aaron frowned slightly. He felt that Hermione's mood seemed a bit off.
It was too calm. Besides calmness, there was a faint expectation and joy, but no anger at all.
"What did she tell you?"
"Nothing?"
"If it was nothing, you wouldn't have that expression. Tell me what happened?"
"Alright!" Hermione said after a moment of hesitation. "She invited me as a judge for the Triwizard Tournament.
I originally wanted to refuse, but she said it was related to your next task and asked me to wait here for you for half an hour."
"And you agreed?
Do you know how long I waited for you? Even my dance partner was found by Professor McGonagall." Aaron said, rubbing his forehead in exasperation. He hadn't expected the usually sharp Hermione to be so easily deceived.
"Uh... sorry," Hermione said, looking a bit unnatural. "She said it was a sister's love for her brother, testing your ability to handle unexpected situations.
If you hadn't found a dance partner temporarily, I would have immediately come out to help you out and wouldn't have let you be embarrassed."
"Then did you consider what would happen if I did find a dance partner?" Aaron retorted.
"She said you would come looking for me within half an hour at most, and it turned out to be true."
"Hermione," Aaron said, somewhat helplessly. "Don't casually believe such unrealistic things in the future.
What if I hadn't come to find you? You would probably have to stay in this room for four hours before you could leave."
"A sister still has a bloodline suppression over her brother," Hermione said, raising an eyebrow. "Those were Miss Crane's exact words."
Aaron blinked blankly, a bitter smile on his lips.
"Good heavens, truly good heavens.
Even though she and I are only one year apart, compared to her, I'm still too green.
I'm still jumping back and forth on the chessboard, but she's already a skilled chess player, just a bit too malicious."
"What do you mean?"
"It's better if you don't know," Aaron sighed deeply. What had happened had happened; pursuing it further was useless.
If Hermione knew that the half-hour she hid away made his second task several times more difficult than others, she would probably be too guilty to sleep.
"Besides that, what else did Adrian tell you?"
Hermione stammered, her face slightly flushed, unsure how to respond.
"Why are you so nervous? Just say it."
"She also said... she also said that this half-hour would let me know my importance in your heart."
"What the f*ck!" Aaron couldn't help but curse. "This is too much, too outrageous."
"But you did find me within half an hour!" Hermione said, embarrassed.
Hearing this, Aaron realized that they were completely on different wavelengths.
Hermione was thinking about whether he had entered this room within half an hour, while he was thinking about who he should rescue first during the one-hour time limit of the second task.
Although he was in agony and wanted to tell HermioneAdrian's plan immediately, he forcibly suppressed the urge.
He could handle it alone, but Hermione's psychological fortitude might not be able to bear it. At least until the second task began, it was better not to let her know too much.