"Y-you-you…"
Draco stared at Harley in sheer terror.
"You're Scarhead Potter!"
Harley looked at Draco, who seemed about to scare himself to death, and pressed her lips together with a trace of pity. Then she brushed aside the hair that had grown long the moment she drank the gender-reversal potion, lifting her bangs to reveal the lightning-shaped scar still sitting there.
In that instant, Draco's expression was like Sakata Gintoki realizing the person lying beside him was an old woman, combined with fifty percent Fire Fist reaction—absolutely spectacular.
"Hah—?!" Draco sucked in a sharp breath and nearly passed out, only to be jolted back to life when Harley reacted instantly and drove an elbow into his chest.
"Urg! What do you actually want… You really are cold-blooded. Going this far just for a prank—I admit defeat," Draco said, looking at Harry with utter resistance. Now that he knew what truth lay behind that bright, lovely face, there was no way he could keep looking at Miss Harley.
"I'd like to ask whether you could settle whatever personal grudges you have after this," Professor McGonagall reminded them. "Students and headmasters from the other two schools are all present. Maintain your decorum. Don't embarrass Hogwarts."
"Alright, Professor." A strange, unpleasant curve appeared at the corner of Draco's mouth. His eyes instinctively filled with disgust as he steeled himself and took Harley's hand.
"Don't make that face," Harley frowned. "You picked me yourself, didn't you?"
"If I'd known it was you, do you think I would've invited you? And why didn't you reject me!" Draco whispered.
Harley's expression instantly turned awkward. She obviously couldn't say it was because she was afraid Snape might covet her looks, so she changed her explanation. "I was worried you'd be lonely at the Christmas Ball without a partner! Is that okay!"
Draco clicked his tongue. "Then I really should thank you. You smell pretty nice, by the way. What perfume are you using?"
"Shut up, you're being disgusting," Harley snapped.
As the ball was opened by the champions and their respective partners, Kasenhis settled into a corner and quietly started attacking the snacks on the table.
"Don't eat too much. They've all got Polyjuice antidote mixed in. The amount is low, but if you eat that much, you'll still have problems," Snape warned in a low voice.
"I'm not disguised with Polyjuice. What do I have to be afraid of?" Kasenhis replied.
"For normal people, consuming Polyjuice antidote can cause mental confusion. You'll still have to keep an eye on the ..odd ones later," Snape explained.
"OK… mhm… is everyone here now?" Kasenhis asked.
"The dragon handlers, the other two schools, Ludo Bagman… Barty Crouch isn't here. Percy Weasley is here in his place," Snape said obliquely.
"So that means, if nothing happens tonight, that nail is most likely Barty Crouch," Kasenhis said quietly.
"It's a bit hasty, but with the methods and information we currently have, he's the only one we can point to."
"Alright… Oh right, I'll eat a bit less and act as a human surveillance camera. What are you doing?" Kasenhis suddenly asked.
"I'm watching Lill-ehm … I'm also watching everyone," Snape caught himself mid-sentence and hurriedly corrected it.
"Did you just say something weird? I didn't catch it."
"Phlegm stuck in my throat. Don't worry about it."
"Oh… alright. It'd better be."
As he spoke, Kasenhis continued watching the young witches and wizards on the dance floor.
Hermione and Ron were dancing there quietly—well, not exactly quietly. It was basically Ron messing up his steps and accidentally stepping on Hermione, then Hermione getting annoyed and stepping back on him in return.
The two of them stomped at each other like that, laughing genuinely as they looked at one another.
"Ah, the rancid stench of young love," Kasenhis said, propping his elbow on the table and resting his cheek against the back of his hand.
He watched for a while, then Snape suddenly asked, "Did no young witch invite you to dance?"
"Huh? I'm practically pushing thirty. The oldest students here are more than a full generation younger than me. How would I even accept that? Sitting here isn't bad either," Kasenhis said with a shrug.
"Heh… then what about that mangy dog over there in his thirties? Isn't he dancing quite happily with a young witch?" Snape sneered, looking toward Sirius, who was dancing with a Beauxbatons witch not far away.
"Different personalities," Kasenhis shrugged again.
Before long, as the first dance ended, the number of people on the dance floor gradually decreased. Dancing was, after all, a physically demanding activity, and dancing the entire time was still a bit too much for them.
People began finding their own friends or empty seats and started enjoying the refreshments.
Of course, there were also a few young witches and wizards with extremely heavy idol baggage. Some wore corsets, others wore slimming garments.
Whenever they skipped eating for the sake of ...maintaining their figure, the house-elves—who had been warned in advance—would pop in with a bang and hand them a cup of warm water mixed with antidote.
"Any unusual movement? I've got nothing here… You—can you stop staring at Harry all the time? I've got this feeling you're about to pull your wand and kill someone," Kasenhis said helplessly.
"I have no intention of killing anyone, and I wasn't looking. Where are your two friends? Black and Lupin," Snape replied.
"Unfortunately, no issues there either. Are you very disappointed?" Sirius suddenly appeared beside Kasenhis and said lazily.
"Quite disappointed," Snape replied with complete seriousness.
"And I'd advise you to keep your hands off our Miss Potter. Don't you think?" Sirius added.
"I don't have that kind of fetish. Don't project yourself onto everyone else—you pervert who dances with minors," Snape replied with a dry laugh.
"Hmph. I was the one being invited. That's different from you," Sirius shot back.
"Do whatever you want. Since everyone here seems fine, our attention should be on Barty Crouch next," Snape snorted.
"You're still just as weird. Exactly the same after all these years," Sirius said, his mouth as sharp as ever.
"You two are grown men. Can you stop spouting this garbage? If you've got beef, go to the Forbidden Forest and knock each other's dog brains out," Kasenhis complained bluntly.
"Hmph. Back then it was three against one and you still got counter-killed. Now?" Snape let out a cold laugh and stood up. "The Forbidden Forest?"
"Let's go," Sirius replied without backing down.
Kasenhis and Lupin looked at the two who were clearly about to settle this with a real-life PK and followed after them helplessly.
And then they saw a strange figure inside the dragon camp in the Forbidden Forest.
Someone who exactly looked like... Neos.
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