In the Harry Potter Without Harry Potter

Chapter 379: Jon's Dance Partner (2 in 1)

It might seem like a question, but as long as Jon didn't think about it that much and simply gave an affirmative or negative, it would give Lucius a wide range of interpretations.

There was no doubt that even if Jon and the others would win this Triwizard Tournament next, there would definitely be a need for someone who could provide some relevant and reliable information from within the British Ministry of Magic.

So Dumbledore's side actually needed a person to play a role of an undercover agent, in that situation if Jon decisively refused without thinking, it would be a straightforward signal to Lucius.

Compared to you, we already have a better undercover agent under Voldemort.

It was the sort of thing that Jon certainly couldn't reveal to someone like Lucius.

Malfoy's entire family is a typical fence-sitter, now seeing signs that Dumbledore's side is trying to regain its momentum, showing goodwill to them is just for the future continuation of his family, it doesn't mean that he has really completely abandoned the darkness to the light, it is just a purely speculative act.

As soon as the wind changed a little, he would not hesitate to break off his cooperation with Jon and the others without a second thought, and would most likely fall in line and offer his "absolute loyalty" to Voldemort.

So when he heard his question, Jon didn't hesitate to say no, but he added one more reason to his refusal.

"Of course we need such a person to pass on information to us, but if that person is you, Mr Malfoy, then let's forget about it."

Lucius visibly grimaced at this display of unadulterated dislike on Jon's part.

"Why if it's me forget it? Would you be able to find someone more suitable than me? I can provide you with a lot of valuable information, and it costs you nothing."

Jon said blandly.

"I think you know better than I do what your true status is under your lord. If you had truly been the Head of Auror Office like everyone had thought before, then you would indeed have been worthy of our solicitation, but these days you and I both know exactly who controls the largest armed force in the British magical world, and you are now, to put it nicely, the Head of Auror Office, but to put it more harshly, the leader of a miscellaneous squad, not even close to the core of power."

Lucius' face was hard because he knew that what Jon was saying was the truth, but it was because it was all the truth that it hurt his pride.

Jon, however, didn't care what kind of mood Lucius was in, like Dumbledore had said, even if they had to win over a few of Voldemort's men, it wasn't someone like Lucius.

"And, as you said, Mr Malfoy, you chose to make a deal with me because you believe in our character. Then I'll be honest and truthful, we're not willing to work with you on this just because we simply don't trust your character, even if you would be willing to take a blood pact. However, if you have anyone of reliable character within the British Ministry of Magic as a suitable recommendation, then perhaps we can still consider it."

Having finished those words, Jon stood up from his chair.

"If there is nothing else you want beyond that, then we will end here for today."

Lucius' face was visibly a little greying, Jon's blunt words made it hard for him to refute them, but to have his character despised in such a straightforward manner was a little unbearable for the normally privileged and respectable Mr Malfoy.

Even if you were telling the truth, couldn't you have phrased it more politely?

But although Lucius was a little disappointed by Jon's refusal, he wasn't too frustrated.

The main point of today's meeting with Jon was still for Draco's safety, and as long as he gave his word on this matter, then his desire to work with Dumbledore on something unseen afterwards would be incidental.

After all, the Triwizard Tournament is not over yet, even if Jon does win, the war between Voldemort and Dumbledore is only moving to an even footing, and for Lucius, a professional fence sitter, it is still a bit too early to choose sides, the most he can do is to make sure he has contact with both sides and in the end, no matter who wins or loses, he will have a familiar person to negotiate with.

Now that Jon had rejected him outright in place of Dumbledore, Lucius didn't have the kind of enthusiasm to stick his hot face in the cold ass.

There would be plenty of opportunities to do so in the future.

After the deal with Lucius was over, Jon did not stay in Hogsmeade for long and went back to the wagon.

The only thing that surprised Jon was that he had actually managed to come up with a deal that would really impress him.

Jon thought it was a good deal because he had no interest in Draco, and Draco himself clearly had no intention of competing with him for the number one spot, so there was no relationship between the two, so he didn't really need to do anything deliberately to get Lucius' request done in the end.

And he gained the freedom of Dobby, in addition to having some information about Adrien.

Forget about the rest, at least getting a good ending for the house elf who had made a big impression on him in the original story, Jon already felt that this deal between him and Lucius was worth it.

And after the end of the last day of November, time officially entered the last month of 1994.

On the third day of December's commencement, snow began to fall from the sky.

Overnight, the whole of Hogwarts Castle was covered in snow and the Black Lake was covered in a solid layer of ice in temperatures that had been below zero for several days.

A number of the Castle's students had a new place to play, and after the lake froze over, Jon ended his fishing expedition and spent his free time sitting by the ice with George watching the shapely girls skate on it from afar.

"I've extended an invitation to Daisy, and she said yes."

George said in a bragging tone as he raised the wand in his hand and tapped it on the ice in front of him.

Jon rolled his eyes.

"And did you know that before you extended the invitation to Daisy, she had asked if a champion could ask a fellow champion to be a dance partner?"

"Damn it! You mean her first choice was actually you?"

"That's not quite true, just telling you not to overthink the signal of her 'yes' this time, I'm afraid the more you hope, the more you'll end up disappointed."

"That worry of yours would be completely superfluous, I just wanted to gain a chance to get to have a dance with a champion, so that I could go back and brag to Fred."

"Gee, if you say so, then actually you can be my dance partner."

"No way, Jon Green hasn't decided on a date by now, huh? You're looking for someone like me?"

"What do you mean, someone like you? What's wrong with having a male partner? Is there a rule that says a male partner is not allowed?"

"If you were to get a male partner, you'd be in the headlines all over Europe the next day, and I've got a perfect headline for the journalists: 'Shocking! Jon Green's Untold Same-Sex Love'."

"Sorry, my preference will always be female."

"But the Ball is only twenty days away, and if you don't strike now, all the surrounding girls are sure to be invited. Don't look at me, even if you didn't care about your reputation there's no way I'd give up Daisy for you for sure!"

"No, I'm just saying, there's no way I'd choose you even if I ended up with no one!"

The two men exchanged insults before turning their sad attention back to the girls who were showing off their bodies on the ice.

"Actually, I'm a thin-skinned person and a bit embarrassed to take the initiative to ask for a dance partner." Jon said sadly, "You said I'm very famous, so why don't any girls come forward and ask me?"

George gave him a contemptuous look.

"There's only a total of a few girls who have come to Hogwarts Castle this trip, who are you expecting to take the initiative and ask you? You're a professor at Durmstrang's side, and according to their rules, would a student take the initiative to ask a professor to dance?"

His analysis made sense to Jon, the rabbits didn't eat the grass in their nest, they were classmates who met every day in the wagon, it was hard to get too familiar with them, and in Durmstrang, he has the status of a Professor, a Professor can't dance with his students at Christmas, right? Especially since there wasn't much of an age gap in the first place, and Hogwarts Castle, well, there was no need to think about it.

Jon felt that Grindelwald was at least 50% to blame for this, he was to blame for dragging him into the whole thing at the time, and now the bad side of it was showing.

"Do you think Hermione has a date for the dance now?" Jon suddenly asked.

George shook his head instantly.

"I haven't heard of it, she's been spending a lot of time on good terms with a girl from the Castle and I don't even get to see her much on the wagon anymore."

"So if I ask her to go with me to this Ball, do you think she'd agree to be paired up with me for this Christmas day?"

George turned his head to look at Jon as if he were looking at an alien.

"Are you really going to just make an invitation to a pretty girl, like that?"

Jon was confused like he didn't understand why George was reacting in such a strange way.

"What's the problem?"

"Brother, have you never been with a girl before?"

At George's question, Jon thought hard about it and then nodded deeply.

"I really haven't spent much time with girls."

This answer of his left George speechless, and again, he couldn't really argue with it.

Jon seemed to be making a splash in the magical world right now and was still in his teenage prime, but he was surprisingly pure.

To be honest, Jon could have casually flirted and made love with his fellow wagon mates upon his return from Hogwarts Castle in his second year if he wanted to, and had even more opportunities to do so in his third year at sea.

But Jon, not to mention having secret girlfriends, hadn't even been known to have a slightly better relationship with a girl other than Gabrielle who had turned into a ghost; well, Hermione could be counted for one.

And with the fact that they were on the run until they occupied France, there would be no one in the mood to think about relationships, and Jon was almost too busy every day to think about anything other than the wagon journey and improving his strength to feel more secure to even think about the fact that he was at the right age to be "in early love".

"Well, you're right, you don't have experience with girls, but that's hardly justification." George told Jon with great conviction, "Even if Hermione and you are normally very close, and you were the one who saved her from the Castle despite the odds, you can't treat her the way Fred and I treat you, she's still a girl after all."

"So?"

"So if you're going to invite her to be your dance partner you can't say it in such a way that sounds like you're calling your best buddies to go fishing with you, you should impress her with an invitation that is more romantic and shows your sincerity and makes a lady swoon."

Jon looked at him with blank eyes.

"Why does it sound more and more like the more I think you're giving me this lecture not to ask Hermione to be my dance partner, but to try to make me ask her to be my girlfriend?"

"Then what do you think it means for a guy to ask a girl to dance at Christmas? Especially if you're also going to be the opening lead dancers." George asked in return.

"Can't it just be a simple dance? What kind of period is this, where am I in the mood for love? And to be honest, I do have a pretty good impression of Hermione, but it's not to the point where you'd say I love her though."

George showed a look of hate for Jon's honest statement.

"Usually when you've got a pretty good impression of a girl, that's when it's time to make a move, otherwise until when are you going to wait? Do you really think there is love at first sight in the world? It's all just an excuse for men to show their desire! You have to interact with each other more to know if you're right for each other, right?"

Jon, however, remained unfazed and shrugged his shoulders.

"We're interacting with each other right now, why do we have to start talking about love to be considered interacting?"

George was speechless, finding Jon's conservative thinking towards the relationship part almost un-English.

"If I were a woman, I'd be calling you practically a rock!"

He waved his wand hard and struck the hard ice surface as if it was Jon's brains that were being struck.

Jon, however, thought it was nothing; he had been considered a bit conservative-minded in his previous life, but not exactly blind and dense, he simply thought it wasn't time for him to deal with his personal romantic relationships.

And he only turned fifteen now, so to be honest, it was a bit early to be talking about relationships at this point in time, and Jon was not really interested in the kind of girls around him who hadn't quite grown into big girls yet.

"It's decided then, I'll go and see Hermione in the next few days when I can and ask her if it's convenient for her to dance with me on Christmas night, do you think she'll decline?"

George rolled his eyes.

"Just with your current relationship with her, I bet she's actually waiting for you to ask first right now, will you believe me?"

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