A/N: This was previously published on HPFF. It was written in 2005.
"May I have this dance?"
Reluctantly, I looked up at the speaker through my tear-stained lashes. Before me stood Harry Potter, the Chosen One, the Boy Who Lived. His black hair was still untamed, and his green eyes (which matched his bottle green robes) gleamed with sadness and pity from behind his glasses.
"Please?"
I stood up slowly, grudgingly. I had been sitting alone most of the night, and no-one else wanted to dance with me, so why should he, Harry Potter, the hottest guy at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry? What reason would he have? Maybe this was only a dare. He offered me his arm, and I took it as he led me towards the dance floor. Around us, many couples were dancing; Cho Chang and Cedric Diggory, Ginny Weasley and Neville Longbottom, Professor Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall, Hagrid and Madame Maxime. At the tables by the dancefloor, Ron was nowhere to be seen, and Viktor Krum was busy dancing with another girl.
As we got closer and closer to the centre of the dance floor, Harry slowly let his hand slip down from my upper arm to lightly grasp my hand instead. Leading me right into the centre of the circular dance floor, he dropped my hand and bent into a deep bow. I curtsied, and stood up, allowing Harry to slip his arm around my waist. The navy blue chinese silk of my dress rustled as he took my other hand in his and pulled me close to him. Harry led as we started to rock, slowly moving into a graceful waltz around the small space. Other couples stopped and stared, moving back to allow us more room. Soon we were the only couple left dancing in the small space, but Harry didn't seem to mind, and neither did I.
After what seemed an eternity, the song finished, and another, faster one began. The other couples moved back onto the dance floor and began vigorously dancing. Harry, however, grabbed my hand again and moved towards the door, dragging me along behind him.
"Where are we going?"
"You'll see."
He led me outside the Great Hall, towards the front doors of the school.
"But Harry, it's – "
"I know, just trust me."
So, he led me outside, into the whiteness of softly falling snow. He ran, dragging me behind, to a spot right beneath a window, which contained a square of light to see by. There, he dropped once again into a deep bow, and asked, "May I have this dance?"
I looked at him in utter bewilderment, but curtseyed hesitantly anyway. He once again pulled me into a waltz hold, and this time as he pulled me close, I leaned my head on his chest, listening to his heartbeat. We started to waltz, slowly, more sure of ourselves than before.
There we stood, Harry and I, my head on his chest, him gently stroking my soaking hair as we waltzed in the snow. I looked up, and our eyes met, and as our lips touched, I finally realized:
I was home at last.