Yule Ball

The Yule Ball is a tradition of the Triwizard Tournament. It is a formal dance held on Christmas night of a tournament year and is opened by the tournament champions and their partners in the Champions Waltz.

At Hogwarts, where the Yule Ball was held in 1994, only students of fourth year and above were permitted to attend, though younger students could also go if an older student invited them to accompany them. The ball begins at 8:00 p.m. and ends at midnight.

Preparation
1994 was the first time in centuries that the Triwizard Tournament, and thus the Yule Ball, was held. The ball was open to students in the fourth year and above, meaning Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, Alfie Campbell and Sam Ainsley were able to attend. Younger students were also allowed to attend provided they were invited by an older student. Ginny Weasley was able to attend, as she was invited by a fourth year student, Neville Longbottom. All tournament champions were required to attend, and they must have a dance partner, as tradition required them to open the dance.

Gryffindor dance lessons in preparation for the ball The announcement of the ball caused something of a panic in Harry, Ron and Alfie, who were worried about their abilities to find dates. One day with the Yule Ball nearing, they made an agreement that they would both have partners by the time the returned to the Gryffindor Common Room. Harry asked Rhiana Porritt when they ran into each other on the stairs of the Owlery, and she agreed. Ron blurted out an invitation to Fleur Delacour, under the influence of her Veela charm, but then ran away. He then asked Lavender to go with him and Alfie take Hermione (whom he had already asked), but Hermione had already — and secretly — accepted the invitation of Viktor Krum. Alfie managed to go with Padma Patil, who he ditched straight after the Champions Waltz.

The Ball
Attendants dancing at the ball Harry wore robes of bottle green that went well with his eyes and Ron wore a second-hand robe that was more "traditional" and Alfie wore  dark navy blue robes. Ron's robes had once belonged to his great aunt Tessie. Hermione wore a beautiful gown of periwinkle blue and sported a fancy hairstyle. She also had a wonderful time dancing with Viktor. Alfie did not even ask Padma to dance, as he was too busy sulking over Hermione dancing with Krum. Sam attended the ball with Cho.
 * "Over their heads he saw that an area of lawn right in front of the castle had been transformed into a sort of grotto full of fairy lights — meaning hundreds of actual living fairies were sitting in the rosebushes that had been conjured there, and fluttering over the statues of what seemed to be Father Christmas and his reindeer."
 * —Description of the decorations

Refreshments and food at the Yule Ball The wizarding band The Weird Sisters played at the event, and for many, it was a great success. A feast was held as part of the ball, in which both goulash and stew were served. Several snack tables were set up as well, featuring decorations that represented both Beauxbatons and Durmstrang.

During the ball, Alfie overheard a conversation between Rebeus Hagrid and Madame Maxime in which Hagrid admitted to being a half-giant. This conversation was overheard by Rita Skeeter in her Animagus form, who published the information in the Daily Prophet.

When the ball ended, many students expressed their wish that it would go on longer, but Alfie found himself perfectly happy for the ball to be over, as he didn't think the evening particularly fun.

Notable participants
Ladies Triwizard champions (Harry Potter, Viktor Krum, Fleur Delacour, Alfie Campbell(no image)) Hermione dances with Viktor Krum

Harry Potter