Dance

Thousands of perfect, crystalline shapes- each one so very different- fell around her in a sea of white.

Several people started sniggering as the crowd nearby stared at her, watching...

She was dimly aware that they were there but the comments they made or the strong, heavy feeling of embarrassment for her that lay in the cold, wintery air meant nothing to Luna. She was happy.

"Oy Loony! Are you trying to catch a Blibbering Humdinger like that?"

She stopped staring up into the sky and looked over at the gaggle of fifth year boys who were all but laughing as they watched her.

"The Blibbering Humdinger ," she informed them, "Is a creature who prefers warm climates. They do not like cold."

She looked into the grey sky again and smiled as she closed her eyes, the tiny snowflakes falling gently on her pale face and her long mane of blonde hair.

It was her favorite time of year, it always had been. Slowly and gracefully with her arms out at her sides she began to spin a gentle waltz.

From what seemed like far away, she could hear laughter from the other students, but she continued to dance, with her face raised to the sky, eyes closed as the snowflakes fell around her.

There was a crunching in the snow and she opened her eyes slightly to see a timid looking first year girl standing next to her, bundled from head to toe in some homemade winter clothes. She smiled nervously up at Luna as she started attempting a little dance of her own.

Luna gave her a warm smile in return, before she closed her eyes and continued to dance and spin- the snowflakes falling more heavily upon them both.

And then, just a few seconds later there was more crunching in the snow, and then some more, and even a little while later- more crunching still. When Luna finally opened her eyes again she saw lots of students nearby, all dancing with in the snow. A group of girls were laughing loudly as they spun unsteadily about, a few boys were attempting to shove snow down their friend's back, a couple nearby were in each other's arms lost in their own world as they danced slowly while gazing into each other's eyes, a few second years were trying to catch snowflakes on their tongues exchanging silly, gleeful expressions with each other when one of them actually succeeded.

And still Luna continued to dance her slow waltz in the snow, a smile on her face. There was joy and love in the winter air now-

A warm content glow seemed to settle in her heart as she danced with the snowflakes.