The Great Hall was filled with dancing and laughing, the music loud and infectious. The band had taken a break, and the instruments were playing by themselves. Hermione was stood alone, as Krum had gone to get drinks. She could see Harry and Ron sat grumpily on a couple of chairs, but ignored them. She was too happy for their foul moods to bring her down. Her head was spinning, her cheeks aching slightly from how much she'd been smiling. The evening had so far been perfect, even if she didn't really know any of the songs that had been played.
And then she was struck with an idea. She frowned slightly at the instruments left on the stage, thinking hard, a half-remembered spell coming back to her. It sprang into her head suddenly, and she rushed as quickly as her dress would allow her over to Harry and Ron, grinning madly.
"Harry, can I borrow your wand? Mine's obviously not on me." She said, her voice quick and excited, her eyes sparkling the way they did when she had an idea. Almost too scared to say no, Harry handed his wand over warily.
"What are you going to-?"
"No time! I hope you remember muggle dances!" She called over her shoulder as she pushed her way politely through the crowd to the stage. No one seemed to have really noticed her. Good. She cleared her throat quietly and pointed Harry's wand at the instruments, whispering a spell and a string of song names. Their current tune faded out and she giggled. A ghostly figure faded into existence behind the microphone. The crowd quietened as they noticed the music stop, most turning to face the stage.
"Clear the floor!" Hermione shouted joyfully, her voice ringing out clearly over the muttering crowd, laughing as she went to give back the wand. Before she handed it back she beat in the instruments as a conductor would, then held it out to Harry. He took it with some confusion.
"Hermione…what have you done?"
"Just wait." She said eagerly.
Half a second later, the instruments picked themselves up and began to play a song that no muggle party was complete without. She grabbed Harry's hand and pulled him to his feet, ignoring his cry of indignation.
"Come on, come on! We're going to miss the start!"
There was already a crowd in orderly lines, and Hermione knew they were all muggle borns and half-bloods. How did she know? Because the song playing, was the Macarena. Harry gave a loud laugh when he understood. Deprived childhood he may have had, but everybody knew it. He and Hermione joined the end of a line.
"When I dance they call me Macarena, and the boys they say que estoy buena." Began the transparent figure on the stage.
As one the students on the floor stuck out their left hand out, then their right, and together they danced. "AYY MACARENA!" They all shouted together as they gave a single clap and jumped round. The students around the edge of the dance floor looked so perplexed that Hermione had to laugh. Durmstrang and Beauxbatons students looked even more mystified. The dancers just grinned, continuing right to the end.
As the song ended they erupted into cheers, but Hermione bit her lip to hide a smile. A couple of seconds later another started. Just as famous as the first, and just as necessary for a party to be a party, be it your fifth or fiftieth birthday. There was an bubble of laughter and a few rounds of applause as it began.
Several voices joined the apparition to start off the song. "This is something new, the Casper Slide part two, featuring the Platinum band, and this time, we're gonna get funky." Silence fell over the crowd as the instruments played. It was as if the Hall held its breath. "Everybody clap your hands!" Every single person on the dance floor was in sync as they clapped and took it to the left; they took it back now y'all.
"CRISS CROSS! CRISS CROSS!
"Cha cha real smooth."
It was a sight to behold, and Hermione could see Krum in the crowd holding two drinks and looking at a complete loss as to what was going on. Seeing boys in dress robes and girls in extravagant dresses taking it low and bringing it to the top was really something else.
Halfway through, the crowd parted slightly, though they continued to dance. Through the gap Hermione saw Dumbledore sweeping onto the floor, and before she could consider worrying that she might be in trouble, he joined in. At this point teachers and students alike laughed and applauded. Hermione wondered if she'd ever been quite so pleased with herself for such a wonderful idea.
And it wasn't over. After the Cha Cha Slide, came Mambo No. 5, the Electric Slide, and last but not least, the Time Warp. Harry had dropped out long before the end; his knowledge of dances was still really rather limited. There was still a relatively large group that stayed though, and most of the students watching were cheering for them by the last song. Dumbledore was in his element; you never would have guessed he was over 100 years old.
As the final song ended, the Hall erupted into cheers. It was louder than the House Cup finals, and Hermione would have been willing to bet it even rivalled the Quidditch Cup Finals. She beamed across at Krum, her face pink from the dancing, and made her way over to him, her eyes shining and her heart racing with anticipation for the rest of the evening.
A/N: I cannot take any credit for the idea, I found it on Tumblr! I decided it was so wonderful it needed a ficlet. So here, 948 words long, we have muggle-borns taking over the Yule Ball with classic muggle songs that every party needs. I hope you enjoyed!