In Potions class this week, Professor Snape watched happily as Neville blew up the cauldron in one of them. It seems that when he is in a good mood, he also likes to bully Neville.

When the bell rang, Snape was back to business, and some even thought him was upset: "Slytherin stays, I have a few words to say." ”

"The Christmas Ball is a traditional part of the Triwizard Tournament, and the ball is only open to students from the fourth grade onwards, but if you wish, you can invite a junior student—"

"Put on your gowns," Professor Snape continued, "and the ball will be held in the Great Hall at eight o'clock on Christmas night and will end at twelve o'clock at midnight. ”

Professor Snape raised his voice and shouted in a loud noise, "Phoenix—please stay, I'm going to say a few words to you." Phoenix walked listlessly towards the podium. Professor Snape waited for the class to be gone, before he said, "Master, the Warriors have their own companions, and it is customary for the Warriors to dance with their partners. ”

"How's your mark?" Phoenix asked.

"It's darkened, and so is Karkaroff's. He was nervous and worried about being punished. You know, after the fall of the Dark Lord, he gave a lot of help to the Ministry of Magic. Snape replied respectfully, "Karkaroff intends to run away if the mark burns." ”

"Really?" Phoenix whispered, "you want to go with him, too?"

"No," Snape said firmly, his dark eyes revealing determination, "I'm not such a coward. ”

Phoenix smiled and asked, "How's Voldemort?"

"It's not changing," he rolled up his sleeves, the Dark Lord's mark the same as it had been during the summer vacation, "I think the Dark Lord isn't in a very good state yet, and can only stabilize in one state." ”

"What does Dumbledore think of this?" he couldn't deny.

"I'm worried, or rather anxious. Dumbledore couldn't do anything, after all, it was bound by a magical contract, and Moody could only look at him. Without thinking, he seemed to be ready.

Phoenix didn't speak, his wand beating nimbly at the tips of his fingers.

"Understandable. You see, I don't want to clash with Voldemort, I want to be in league with him. My enemy and Voldemort have a roughly similar goal, and you have his trust, what kind of person do you think he is?"

"Cold, cruel, absolutely egoistic. With all due respect, the Dark Lord won't accept someone of his stature, and I can't think of any conditions you would use to get him to say yes. ”

"That's really bad news. Phoenix nodded, knowing what he meant, "So be it." ”

Leaving the basement classroom, a large man blocked his way. Andrei looked happy, and he might have succeeded in inviting a beautiful girl.

"Laughing like this, who invited you?"

"Confidentiality, brother. Let's take a walk around the lake, we should have a good talk. Then he put away his smile and put on a serious face.

"I think it's time too. Phoenix motioned for him to follow, "But we don't really have much to say, you're just a microphone." ”

"You guys?" Phoenix walked ahead, and Andre was puzzled by his words, "I don't understand. ”

"I don't understand? That means you're alone. It's also possible, Klaus's backup is to let the dragon kill me, but someone has to make sure I compete, and honestly, I thought it would be you. After thinking about it, it shouldn't be, it's better to have someone I don't know do it, so it's safe. One of the students must have been an impostor, right? It's nothing, now that Klaus and I are small traders, you, as customers, will naturally choose which one is better. ”

"You're thinking too much," Andre's tone became quick, "really, we're here to support you." ”

"Very well, in that case - let's talk about it in the summer. They walked over to the Slytherin common room, "Merry Christmas to you." ”

Andrei stayed where he was, opening his mouth but not speaking. Phoenix was right, they were just passing on the word to their elders. There was no way, Andrei had no choice but to go back.

In the past, there was always a very small number of people who stayed in school, but this year it was different, and it seemed that all the students from the fourth grade and above had to stay. They were all obsessed with the upcoming prom - the girls were eating and laughing and whispering in the hallways, the girls were squealing and laughing whenever a boy walked by, and the girls were excitedly exchanging ideas about what to wear on Christmas night -

The very next day, a curly-haired girl in the upper grades of Ravenclaw Academy, whom Phoenix didn't even know, offered to invite Phoenix to join her to the prom. After being rejected, the girl walked away, looking hurt. In the following years, more and more girls invited him, and he ended up hiding in the forbidden area of the library, where few people could go because of the need for the professor's approval.

Harry's life has changed a lot since he passed his first project. He doesn't have so many unpleasant conflicts in the hallways anymore. However, there are not fewer insignia in support of Phoenix, but a lot more, but even so, at least everyone no longer sees Harry turning the badge into 'Potter stinking'.

Of course, Draco would have taunted Rita Skeeter whenever he had the chance, but he got less and less laughter.

In the last week of the semester, the school was bustling and noisy day by day. There were rumors about the Ball, but most of them were not believed by Phoenix - for example, Dumbledore had bought eight hundred barrels of Aromatic Mead from the Three-Broomed Rosmerta. However, it is possible that his premonition of the Strange Sisters is true.

Some teachers, such as the small Professor Flitwick, simply stopped teaching when they saw that their classmates were clearly absent-minded. He allowed them to play games in his class on Wednesdays, and he spent most of his time talking to Phoenix about the spells he used in his first project in Triwizard Tournament, admiring him for inventing such advanced magic at such a young age. Other teachers weren't so talkative.

For example, Professor Binns's attention could not be diverted, and he continued to trude through his pile of goblin rebellious notes—the students speculated that since Professor Binns had not allowed his death to stop his way from teaching, it was impossible for a trivial matter like Christmas to distract him.

Professor McGonagall and Moody also didn't let the students sit idle until the last second before class ended. Not to mention the period, he would rather adopt Harry as his godson than have his classmates play games in class. He looked at the class with a gloomy gaze and told them that he would test their antidote in the last class of the semester.

Hogwarts students and students are constantly showing a desire to impress Beauxbatons and Durmstrang guests, and they seem determined to bring out the best in the castle this Christmas. The school was decorated with lights, and Phoenix had never seen such beautiful decorations since he entered the school. The handrails of the marble staircase are covered with everlasting icicles, and the twelve Christmas trees that are customary in the Great Hall are adorned with all sorts of knick-knacks, from glittering holly to live golden owls chirping incessantly. The armor was enchanted, and whenever someone passed by, they would sing Christmas carols. Listen to an empty helmet singing "Oh, come, you pious people,"