Chapter 724 Year-End Dinner 1997

The third Friday in June.

The day before the summer solstice.

The sky was getting darker and darker, and a full moon rose from the horizon, hanging on the branches of the whomping willow.

The light of the goose yellow light was lit in the entrance hall of Hogwarts Castle, and the little wizards who were wandering outside gradually returned. Hundreds of candles were suspended in the air of the hall, and the brilliant and bright light overwhelmed the stars and the moon in the magic dome.

Tonight is the long-awaited year-end dinner.

Gryffindor won the house cup, and the accessories and banners in the hall did not need to be changed. The little wizards of other houses were a little numb.

The elves in the kitchen showed all their skills and presented a rich and delicious dinner to all the teachers and students. All food was unlimited in time and quantity. Some students and a few principals even planned to skip the main meal and eat all they could with dessert.

Loren was not the kind of person who loved sweets and didn't know how to control himself. He made a careful arrangement according to his appetite. Dishes such as meat steak and pie accounted for one-third, staple foods such as cheesecake accounted for one-third, and ice cream pudding was counted as dessert, accounting for one-third. The nutrition was balanced and the combination was reasonable.

Some enthusiastic students came with high-footed glasses and clinked glasses with them like adults. There were juices and soda water in the glasses. The highest alcohol content was butter beer.

The Gryffindor students were a little disappointed. In previous years, when George and Fred had not graduated, they could always get some sparkling wine, brandy or whiskey, although few people dared to drink their drinks.

At eight o'clock in the evening, the feast was in full swing.

The full house of guests clinked glasses.

Only Sir Nicholas hung his head, looked sad, and sat in the corner sighing. There was also a performance of the Ghost Theater tonight. He had arranged the play for the past few hundred years, the court disaster of an unlucky wizard, but this year this job was taken away by Myrtle.

I don't know who helped her to change the story of Myrtle haunting Olive Hornby after her death into a comedy, adding many jokes, sublimating the theme at the end, and even adding some educational significance.

Considering the joyful atmosphere of the year-end banquet, Professor McGonagall gave the stage of the year-end dinner to Myrtle.

"Look at how Olive was scared and ran away. It's so funny. How could someone be scared of a ghost and fall down the stairs!" Lavender and Ron sat in the middle of the long table. Their shoulders twitched with laughter. Lavender wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes. "Is this still Myrtle who lives in the toilet in the bathroom and cries? I can't recognize her. I don't know who helped her change the lines and who arranged these plots."

"Myrtle only stays in the water tank occasionally." Ron corrected, "The ghost's mood is unstable, so she always cries."

"Oh, you are so kind, Ronnie!"

"..."

Parvati next to him chose to remain silent.

There were several couples sitting next to him, and they were always flirting with each other.

"Harry, try this..."

"But both of my hands are busy. Well...it's really delicious. I'm not talking about the taste of the steak itself. It's delicious because you fed me."

"Oh, how is that possible? Do you think my hands have magic?"

"Not only your hands, but your whole body has magic on me. It's the same level of magic as the Unforgivable Curse, but it's not out of malice, but out of love."

"Don't say that."

"..."

Parvati bit the steak with a numb expression.

Worried about having nightmares when seeing scenes that she shouldn't see, Parvati looked straight ahead. It happened that Loren and Hermione were sitting opposite them. The two didn't say anything corny or pretentious, but some of their actions were too tacit. They could pass each other paper and jam with just eye contact, and share whatever delicious food they had with each other. The affection was naturally revealed, which was even more hurtful.

It seemed that she was full without eating much.

After the ghost play, the Toad Choir performed, and then there were the graduating students who spontaneously performed. The choreography was not so exquisite, and the dance was more casual. It was not so exciting to watch, but the atmosphere was more lively.

Loren felt that it was quite good, so he ate too much without realizing it.

…

At 11 o'clock in the evening, the dinner ended.

The candles floating in the air gradually went out.

The seventh-year students who were about to graduate or had already graduated were hugging each other and saying goodbye. Hermione was stopped by several Ravenclaw graduates, who pulled her to say goodbye before parting. Club activities, teaching classes, and even asking questions to professors, Miss Know-it-all had met so many friends in a few years, which really surprised Loren. Thinking about it carefully, she felt that it was expected.

It was a bit stuffy inside the hall, and Loren came to the courtyard to get some fresh air and take a walk to digest the food.

The air outside was slightly cool at night.

Crickets can be heard chirping in the quiet courtyard. The first chirp is on the right side of him, and the second chirp is on the branch above his head. If he hadn't been sure that Apparition was forbidden in Hogwarts, Loren would even suspect that the crickets could teleport.

Loren pricked up his ears and listened carefully, slowing down his pace and walking towards the source of the sound, trying to determine the location of the little thing. Suddenly, he seemed to notice something. He looked up and saw that Dumbledore had stood beside him at some point.

"Principal Dumbledore." Loren stopped.

Dumbledore looked at him gently: "I ate too much lava cheesecake at the dinner, and my stomach was a little bloated. I came to the courtyard for a walk. I saw you here too, acting sneaky. What are you doing?"

Loren didn't feel embarrassed at all, and laughed: "I want to catch a cricket."

"Did you catch it?"

"Not yet."

Perhaps because they were too full, the two began to walk along the courtyard path, taking small steps, and Dumbledore spoke slowly: "I heard that the Ministry of Magic Transportation Department and the Egyptian Alchemy Research Center have both invited you?"

"Mr. Macross attaches great importance to the theory that explains Apparition from the perspective of the soul and body. Egypt seems to value magic armor, and Beauxbatons is also involved."

"Have you thought about what job you will do after graduation?"

"Actually, I don't want to work, but considering maintaining family harmony, I'd better go to work at the Ministry of Magic."

"It's a good choice." Dumbledore smiled, "Growing in the Ministry of Magic is a good choice. You can gain experience and grow up for a few years. When you want to settle down, you can consider returning to school. I think Professor McGonagall would be happy to let you join the Transfiguration Teaching Assistant. "

"Free food and accommodation, weekends off, winter and summer vacations, sounds good."

"Yes, faculty and staff can enjoy discounts when spending in Hogsmeade."

"But classes are too tiring. I heard that Professor McGonagall taught eight classes a day when she was busiest."

"It's not so busy after the teaching system was changed."

"Let's talk about it later."

Dumbledore smiled and didn't urge him. Students are like this. They rarely think about what will happen after graduation. They always feel that there is still a long time to grow slowly. In fact, graduation and work are coming in the blink of an eye, which makes people unprepared.