| HIDDEN IN SECRETS |

chapter fifty-five

DAMIEN'S CHOICE

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The oak doors opened and a great applause echoed throughout the Hall. Professor McGonagall was walking down the aisle, the champions and their dates following her.

The first pair was Fleur Delacour, linking arms with Roger Davies. Verena was shocked to see him – her Quidditch Captain alongside the French veela. What shocked her even more, however, was the next pair. Viktor Krum, wearing red like all the other Durmstrang students, had a pretty girl in a frilly pink dress beside him. Verena had to do a double take to be sure she wasn't imagining things, and she wasn't. Viktor Krum, the famous Quidditch Seeker, was with the school's know-it-all bookworm, Hermione Granger.

"Is that— "

"He asked her?" Pansy questioned, looking at the pair with disgust.

Next was Cho and Cedric. They walked together, smiling at the audience and then at each other. Cho waved at Verena, and she waved back. Cedric gave a nod in her direction, and Verena understood that he was grateful for helping the pair get together. Verena was Cupid, playing matchmaker.

Finally, behind them was Harry Potter, escorting Parvati Patil. Harry was looking the best he had ever been. Verena had never seen him in such formal attire. She always thought he looked rather good in his school robes, but this evening, he looked quite handsome.

Harry Potter scanned the audience as he walked in. Unlike his date, who was happily waving at all her friends, he walked down the aisle with a serious expression. He didn't like all the stares, especially since he felt like he'd trip over his feet as Parvati pulled him along excitedly.

Then, just as he reached the staff table, he saw a glimpse of silver and a familiar pattern in a girl's hair. When he looked back, he saw Verena, and she smiled at him. There were no words he could think of to describe her; no fancy words he knew Malfoy could possibly say that would sweep her off her feet. Harry was never surrounded by the people in high society, so he never learned how to speak their language. He only knew that she was prettier than ever.

Once everyone settled down at their tables, Professor Dumbledore stood up, and then the Hall went silent.

"I welcome all of you to this wondrous event!" he said with a grin. "Once again, I must say how honoured Hogwarts is to host this year's Triwizard Tournament. I would also like to thank every staff member who has helped organize this Yule Ball, and I am most pleased with the results. I hope for this evening, we can all put our competitiveness aside and have fun. I know you are all hungry, so let the feast begin!"

Menus had appeared on the table, but they had no idea how to order. There was no one handing out anything. It wasn't until Professor Dumbledore said "pork chops" that food appeared on the plate. When Draco noticed the rest of the staff doing this, he did it himself.

"How did you do that?" Adrian asked, looking at him and the food on his plate.

"You just say whatever you want," Draco replied with a smug expression.

"Baked potato," Adrian said, and it appeared on his plate a second later. "Goulash! Pork chops! Turkey! Ham! Pumpkin juice— "

"Firewhisky!" Damien said, but nothing came. "Well, it was worth a shot."

Looking around at everyone, he saw their disappointed expressions and said, "What?! It's the Yule Ball. Even Father wouldn't mind."

"Maybe let's order one thing at a time, Adrian," Daphne told him, passing the ham to Blaise.