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Each of the girls Harry danced with at this ball had a different dance style. Zhou danced beautifully, this ball was clearly not her first dance experience, she was perfectly adaptable to any rhythm, any dance, any style. Tonks was the opposite of Chang in that aspect. Though probably not only in that aspect, Nymphadora was the opposite of Chou in almost every aspect of life.
The Claw had grace, she was polite, calm, unemotional, had a sense of tact, good manners, and always had a sense of morality when choosing her stance on any issue. Tonks, on the other hand, often said what she thought, not always and not to everyone, of course, with Moody she was mostly silent, but with Potter she always tried to say what she thought. Grace, tact and calm were words that couldn't be put in the same sentence as the name 'Nymphadora' or 'Tonks'. Nymphadora was always trying to get involved in every incident: where everyone preferred to keep quiet, Tonks would turn into Moody and shout "Constant vigilance!", where everyone was inactive, Nymphadora would try to do something.
It was in dancing with Potter that her character was fully revealed; realising that her partner was not brilliant in the art of dance, she decided not to try and shine on the dance floor, to use a grace she didn't have, but to try and succeed in the field she had always succeeded in. Entertainment. Can't dance? No problem, let's knock down dancing couples! Can't stand on your feet? Well, it happens, let's fall, just try to hit other people when we fall. Perhaps it wasn't exactly good morally and for the enjoyment of the others, but Tonks was having fun, so she didn't think about such trivialities.
Ginny, like Zhou and Tonks, had her own style, except that this style wasn't so easy to recognise. She could dance on a normal level, not Zhou of course, but far from Tonks either. She caught the rhythm of the dance with ease, but her movements were a little clumsy, so she had to be guided by the other couples to correct her mistakes. It wasn't until a few minutes into the dance that Potter realised the true purpose of Ginny's style. Ginny Weasley was trying to please Potter and only perform moves that would not get in his way. It was worth noting that Ginny met her goal to the fullest. Harry was finally starting to enjoy himself; he had stopped stepping on his partner's feet, he was picking up the general rhythm of the music, and he even had some time to look at the other couples, and once he even managed to prevent himself from colliding with Hagrid and Madame Maxime.
- How would you rate your performance on the first trial? - Ginny hesitantly started the conversation. - Weren't you afraid of the dragon?
- I'm okay, there are many aspects to it," Potter encouraged the conversation. - On the one hand, I'm disappointed that I didn't get the golden egg, on the other hand, I'm in the top half of the standings, and the fact that I almost beat the dragon sounds cool. As for the dragon...
Harry thought for a moment. It was a slippery question, but the younger Weasley was the kind of person he felt was trustworthy.
- To be honest, it was the dragon's ability to start flames that scared me. Scared me a lot. But I knew a lot of spells to protect myself from fire, Flitwick had told me in my first lesson, I had memorised them all and learned some of them, after I found out that one of the spells worked, I immediately stopped seeing fire as... fire, more like just orange cloth. Although I had a dream recently where I was being roasted alive by a dragon, so I was probably still a little afraid of the dragon itself... So, who are you rooting for at the Tournament, the fair champion of Hogwarts - Cedric Diggory - or your brothers? I know that many students believe that Cedric alone is the true champion of the Tournament, and are hoping for our failure at the Tournament. Some are fans of your brothers, well, and there are some people who believe in me, like commentator Bagman. The only one that almost nobody is rooting for is Justin Finch-Fletchley. Who are you rooting for?
- I'd like you to win! - Ginny said with such seriousness that Harry, who had been prepared for about the same answer, blushed. - You got off to a great start, and I'm sure you'll do just as well in the rest of the trials. Well, and it would be nice if one of my brothers could place in the top three. And the most excellent development would be if all five Hogwarts champions took the top five places.
- Well, that's unlikely. Durmstrang and Beauxbaton have very strong champions. The same Krum, for example. I think if anyone from Hogwarts is capable of taking the top spot, it's Cedric Diggory. But I would like to be higher, so I will do my best to do well in this tournament.
The time passed very quickly in the company of Ginny Weasley. Harry didn't tire of the dancing that had previously been so unpleasant for him, he didn't tire of the crowd that surrounded him, he was having a good time in the company of his friend. Some time later, after finishing one quick dance, Zhou Chang approached their couple.
- Listen, Harry, I see you've learnt to dance? What do you say you try out your skills with me again.
- Stay out of the way, we're dancing," Ginny replied suddenly angrily.
Zhou opened her mouth at such a blatant insult. She stared at the Weasleys for a couple of seconds with obvious confusion, wondering what exactly was causing the hatred in her voice.
- Ginny-" Harry stepped away from his partner. He had no idea what to say in these situations," I think that was too rude. You're wrong.
Ginny blushed and came back to her senses, she dropped it:
- 'I'm sorry, Zhou.
And ran out of the hall.
Potter stared sadly after her for a while. The person he was so comfortable with was upset with him and ran away from the ball. Not the nicest thing that could have happened.
- What was wrong with her? - Chang didn't know how to react to this outburst of anger yet.
- 'I have no idea,' Potter said a little coyly. He had an idea what could have caused this behaviour.
Slow music began to play. Harry hesitantly paired up with his girlfriend, he felt like his acquired dancing skills still couldn't compare to Zhou's. After five minutes, he started stepping on his partner's feet again and had to give up dancing again.
- I'm sorry Zhou, I never learnt anything," Potter said with his mood having deteriorated considerably over the past few minutes. - I'm sorry you'll have to find another dance partner. I'm always getting you into trouble.
- Don't worry about it," Zhou hugged Harry and touched her lips lightly to his cheek. - You say such sweet things all the time.
Goosebumps ran down Potter's body.
- You may act strange sometimes," she continued, "but you're kind at heart, I know you are. That's why I like you.
Chang pulled away from Potter and lost herself in the already thinning dancing crowd. Harry returned to his seat at the tables with his heart pounding loudly in his chest. He needed someone to take his mind off Zhou, and it didn't take long for that person to appear.
- If I were a Death Eaters," said Moody, who had inexplicably found himself behind Potter's back. - How would you defend yourself against me?
- I have my wand with me, I have my wand with me. - Harry pulled his wand out of a secret pocket of his holiday robe. - Here it is, I always take my wand everywhere I go, even when dancing. I don't feel any relaxation at all.
- A wand? Is that all? What if you were poisoned? What if you'd been disarmed?
Harry wanted to answer, "Then Dumbledore would have intervened." But that was most definitely the wrong answer.
- Then I'd probably be killed," Harry said calmly.
He had come to know Mad-Eye well over the past three years, and it was likely that he had meant that answer to his question.
- Exactly! Do you know why?
- Because I wasn't vigilant enough? - Harry suggested the most obvious answer.
- No, you looked round the Great Hall before you sat down at the table, there was nothing wrong with your vigilance.
Strange, Potter didn't quite remember looking round the hall after Zhou... Probably on automatic. Then it came to him exactly what Mad-Eye had said, and he was pleased and surprised at the same time.
Wow, was that the long-awaited compliment from Moody's mouth? The words 'your vigilance is fine' in Moody's mouth equated to words like 'You're brilliant'.
- Then what's the problem? - Potter asked, trying not to let his voice betray his joy at the long-awaited praise.
- The problem is that you don't have a backup plan for emergencies. Here you go," Moody held out an empty palm.
Potter, already used to Mad-Eye's invisible things, fumbled for something leathery in his hands and took it.
- What was it?
By feel, the object resembled some sort of oblong rag.
- It was a small bag made of donkey skin with invisible expansion and almost eternal invisibility spells cast on it. Only the owner can take things out of it. It's yours now.
- Cool! - Potter quickly appreciated the usefulness of the gift. Mentally, he had already put the most valuable things in it: the invisibility robe, Tom Riddle's diary, the pen-shaped talisman given to Tonks, and his wand. - Still, how does this pouch help me protect myself?
- It doesn't. What will help you is its contents.
Potter quickly fumbled for a hole in the pouch and slipped his hand into it, pulling out a stick and a stone. The two acquisitions didn't look useful. Although a stick could be used to poke a man in the eye and a rock could be used to throw him in the head. Was that why Mad-Eye had put them here? I don't think so, although it's not unlike him.
- What was the purpose of the stick and the stone?
Moody's words were drowned out by a terrible rumbling sound from the direction of the Witches' stage. Tonks toppled over her spare guitar. The music temporarily stopped playing, the members of the musical group dealing with the damage they had sustained. It seems that once Nymphadora returned to Hogwarts, the rumbling falls became many times more frequent.
- It's not just a stick and a rock. It's a wand and a bezoar. Keep the bag handy and don't tell anyone about it, in a pinch, pull out a spare wand and surprise your enemy! The bezoar is for backup; only some poisons deprive a person of the ability to act, most poisons leave enough time to take an antidote, and these are the poisons most often used for murder, as the one who attempts to poison a person always wants to go unnoticed, and if possible try to make the murder look like an accident. Otherwise, there is no need for poisons at all, Avada Kedavra in the face is a more reliable remedy. So, if you feel sick after eating untested food, it's better to use bezoar, I used them three times a day during the magical war, just in case, but it's very expensive, bezoar is not so cheap.
- Thank you. - Harry thanked Moody from the bottom of his heart.
All three acquisitions were incredibly cool. The invisible pouch made of donkey skin allowed him to keep important items in one place without fear of them being stolen. Bezoar had completely eliminated the possibility that the under-professor Snape would succeed in trying to slip him some nasty stuff. The second wand was a backup. Of course, under normal circumstances, it would be practically useless... though....
- What happens if both wands are used at the same time? I thought you said it wouldn't work that way, but still. Theoretically, it sounds pretty good. One in the left hand, one in the right. You can cast twice as many spells, can't you? And by the way, there's a bit of a problem with wand choice, will it even work for me?
- Your second wand is universal, it obeys everyone, you don't have to worry about that. Using two wands is irrational. The speed of application of any magic is almost instantaneous, so with both one and two wands you will use the same number of spells and transfigurations per second. Once again, this wand is for emergencies only.
- Okay, I understand," Potter nodded. - I'll do it properly, thank you again.
- You can keep your thanks, but you'd better prepare for the second test as thoroughly as possible and try not to fail it.
The retired Auror left the Great Hall, and Harry began to ponder the use of his new acquisitions. Even though Mad-Eye had said that using two wands made no sense, Potter decided that he wouldn't rest until he'd tested everything himself. It was already one o'clock in the morning, the ball was gradually coming to an end, and Harry decided to leave the Great Hall. He was suddenly interested in the question, what would happen if he held a wand in each hand and said "Accio Wand"?