(Warning: This story contains one or two instances of adult language and yuri. Don't like, don't read - any overly hateful, negative, and/or non-constructive comments may be reported.)

(Warning 2: As stated in the summary, this is an AU story, meaning that some plot elements - whether or not a character died, what happened in Book 7, etc. - may contradict what happened in the books.)

Harry Potter: Dancers Under the Mistletoe

I munched on a piece of toast and watched the comings and goings of the Great Hall with the sort of interest that results only from severe boredom. I had expected to enjoy my last year at Hogwarts the most, what with Voldemort dead and only a few more Death Eaters loose or on the run, but as it turned out, no one was liable to rush out and start a new club or throw a cheerful party over this. In fact, only three major things had happened so far: we had gotten another Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor McGonagall had reinstated the Dueling Club (primarily for recreation this time), and McGonagall had also planned a number of now-annual events besides the various feasts and the Quidditch Cup - for example, a Christmas party or a Halloween costume contest. Not exactly the most eventful changes to the sort of stuff that happened at Hogwarts.

Still, I reminded myself with a smile, Voldemort was deceased, so you definitely didn't have to worry as much about staying safe or following the rules that kept you safe. I finished breakfast, then headed outside to one of my favorite locations in the grounds: an old sycamore tree about 500 meters off the coast of the lake. If you sat underneath it, you could see most of the lake, one or two of the entrances to the castle, and a large portion of the rest of the grounds. All in all, it was a great place to come and work on homework, to read, or just to sit and think.

I sat down against the tree trunk on a seat of fresh snow and got out my Potions textbook. After half an hour of reading 4 or 5 pages, however, it was clear that my brain was not in a highly active mode. I gave myself a pinch on the cheek to try and wake my brain up, but a few minutes later, I was fighting to stay awake.

A little over an hour later, I was woken up by the hand shaking my shoulder and the accompanying smell of pudding-scented perfume wafting in my nose. As I began to drag myself out of dream-land, a familiar voice said calmly, "Hello, Ginny. Have a nice nap?"

"Luna...?" I mumbled sleepily as I began to shift around in my seat beneath the tree and opened my eyes. My friend was leaning over and looking at my face curiously. "What're you doing here?"

"I saw that you had homework on your lap, so I thought you might like to be woken up," she explained as she sat down on the snow-covered ground next to me and rested her head against the tree. I looked at the offending textbook for a second, then clapped it shut and scooted up next to Luna as I sighed, "Forget it, I can't concentrate now."

"I can never concentrate on homework either, when there's snow like this," the blond Ravenclaw girl replied. We gazed out over the picturesque landscape for a few seconds: Hermione was having a snowball fight with some of the Gryffindor and Slytherin first-years; Colin Creevy was taking pictures of the scenery for the next edition of the student newspaper; and a group of Ravenclaw girls were skating out on the ice-covered lake. Luna picked up a clump of powdery snow with both hands, held it up to her face, and blew it out into the breeze. "It's such a special feeling - sitting in a place like here with a friend on this sort of afternoon."

"Yeah, it really is," I replied with a very happy smile on my face. In addition to everything she had listed, it was an extra-special feeling for me if that friend happened to be Luna. She and I had grown to be better and better friends ever since our second year together at Hogwarts, and now that it was five years later and we were both of age (as well as having gone through Voldemort's return together), I wouldn't trade that friendship for anything in the world. "By the way, Luna..."

"Yes?"

I grinned and whispered, "Last Hogsmeade weekend, I got you an early Christmas present... close your eyes and hold out your hand."

With a bemused look, she did so. I reached into my pocket and pulled out a pair of socks from Gladrags Wizardwear. They were oddly mismatched in multiple regards to appearance such as color and pattern, which I knew Luna would like, and the woman at the shop said that they were enchanted to smell like whatever would make the wearer happy or content or excited or such at the moment. I made sure the packaging was still keeping the snow out, then pressed the lot into her hands.

"Oh, they're wonderful!" she exclaimed as she opened her eyes and looked at them. I widened my grin a little and replied, "I thought you'd like them. Unfortunately, I didn't know what size you wear, but they cover size changes in their return pol-"

She interrupted me by throwing her arms around me in a tight friend-hug. She rested her head on my shoulder and said in a highly contented voice, "Thanks, Ginny."

I simply smiled and put my arms around her. We stayed like that for a minute or two - neither of us willing or wanting to break our special friendship moment - before Luna started, "Hey, Ginny?"

"Mmm-hmm?"

She looked up at my face and asked curiously, "Speaking of winter holidays, has anyone asked you to the Christmas Eve dance yet?"

I sighed and leaned back against the tree - the dance was a bit of a sore spot for me right now. "No luck so far: all my old boyfriends have new girls whom they've been dating for at least a year now; Neville told me he's planning to help Professor Sprout finish breeding a new type of flower to put in the Great Hall on Christmas Day; and Harry..."

My voice cracked, and before long I had my head on Luna's shoulder and I was sobbing quietly. My former boyfriend (and long before I reached the age to date, my former crush) had been the Chosen One, destined to defeat Voldemort. But when he did, something went wrong. Nobody could tell what exactly had happened; one moment he had caught the Elder Wand, and the next he was lying on the floor dead. It had been about 6 months, and the wounds were mostly healed, but I still couldn't completely forget. As I sobbed, I heard Luna's voice say quietly, "I'm sorry I brought it up."

I sniffled, resumed my reclining position against the tree, wiped my eyes, and explained, "Don't be. Harry's dead now, and I've mostly accepted that, but... I think I just need a little push to move on, you know?"

Luna nodded absent-mindedly in response. A few seconds later, she turned to me and said directly, "Would you like to go with me?"

...where the bloody hell did that come from?

"With- with you?" I repeated, a little taken aback. She smiled a little and said, "Yes, with me. I thought it might be better for us to go as friends than not go at all, right?"

"Well, I guess, but... won't people think it's weird when they see two girls dancing together?" I countered. It's not that I didn't want to go with Luna, mind you, it's just that something felt weird to me about doing so. She shrugged and reasoned, "Well, I know there are a few gay couples here at Hogwarts and they never get bothered about it, so I don't see why anyone would mind the two of us dancing for one night. Plus, I heard that when Professor McGonagall was demonstrating how to dance to the Gryffindors, she actually had to improvise and partner up with Professor Trelawney, yes?"

She had me there. I smiled and said decisively, "OK, it's a deal. How about we meet in the Entrance Hall 5 minutes before the dance?"

"Great! I'll see you there," Luna said cheerfully, giving me another quick hug before she stood up. "I have to go now - I promised a second-year that I would help her learn to fly a broomstick."

I watched her skip away with a happy smile on my face. She really was such a great friend; hard to believe that I had found her quirkiness (such as her belief in the existence of Crumply-Horned Snorlacks or her unorthodox attire) irksome when we first met all those years ago. I lost myself in pleasant thoughts about all my friends for a moment before I stood up, dusted the snow off the seat of my pants, and headed off to write a letter telling Mum I probably wouldn't be home for the entire holiday break.

Three weeks, two more dance practices, and one small dress fix from Hermione later, I stood next to the gold statue of the Architect of Hogwarts in the Entrance Hall, as prepared as I would ever be for a Christmas Eve dance party. I was not, however, ready for such a party with Luna at my side. Butterflies floated in my stomach as I made sure my dress was smoothed out and asked myself, Why, oh why did you let yourself get talked into this?

Because Luna's your best friend, and going to a party with a female dance partner is better than not going to the party at all, the smart-ass side of my mind replied smugly. About a minute after Professor McGonagall came out to announce that it was 5 minutes until the party started, I heard a noise and turned to notice Luna hurrying across the courtyard towards the enormous double doors. Instantly, in spite of myself, my heart skipped a beat just seeing how beautiful she looked. She was wearing a short-sleeved blue dress which seemed to sparkle in a very subtle manner, a matching pair of dance shoes that looked like slippers on first sight, and silver nylons that disappeared under her dress's knee-high skirt. In fact, I started to get alarmed for a moment when I couldn't find anything unorthodox about her appearance.

Oh, wait a sec... nope, she's still got her butterbeer necklace. Phew, you almost gave me a heart attack there, Luna, I thought to myself with a smile. When she saw me, she hurried over and apologized, "Sorry I'm a little late - Jenna and the Grey Lady spent a great deal of time wishing me well for the evening."

"It's fine, you look spectacular," I murmured. She beamed at me and said, "Thanks. So do you."

I smiled modestly. My sleeveless, almost-full-body-length green dress and red dance shoes didn't look nearly as good as Luna's dress, but they were cute in their own right. Before we could say any more, Professor Flitwick came out of the Great Hall and ushered us in along with all the other late-comers.

The enormous room had received nothing short of a remodeling recently. As with the Yule Ball back in the day, the walls and floor of the Hall had been painted snow white and accented with a number of white party tables around the perimeter. At the end of the hall where the staff table usually was, they had set up a stage for the musical groups that were going to be performing, and near this stage were the refreshment tables and the headmaster's podium. Professor McGonagall stood at this podium and directed a few last-minute adjustments as all the students attending milled around the room.

Luna and I quietly held hands and walked around until Professor McGonagall began, "Everyone quiet down, please! Thank you. Now, I would like to personally welcome you all to Hogwarts' first annual Christmas party. I have been teaching here ever since the First Wizarding War and I can personally tell you that it is a great joy to finally begin hosting yearly events such as this now that the fear of Dark Arts is much dissipated."

"Now," Professor McGonagall finished with a warm smile, "Let the dancing begin!"

Soon afterwards, all the couples who had enough courage to be the first dancers were ready on the dance floor. Luna seemed the slightest little bit shy about being one of the first, but I simply took her hand and firmly led her over to an empty corner of the dance floor. Just before Flitwick's orchestra started their first song, we put our hands in the appropriate spots - her left hand went to my shoulder, my right hand went to her waist, and our unoccupied hands clasped together out to the side. It was only when the music had begun and it was too late to change course, that I realized Luna's dress didn't completely cover her sides. As a result, my ring and pinky fingers and half my palm held her by her dress; the rest of my right hand rested on her bare waist.

Just... don't... think about it... I told myself, hoping my embarrassment wouldn't show itself on my face. When I looked at Luna, however, she was smiling. She cocked her head a teensy bit to the side and said, "You're a great dancer."

"Oh - um... yeah," I admitted, realizing that we had been dancing for over 20 seconds now, "I guess I am."

She giggled. As it turned out, we were both very good at dancing. In addition, unlike the Yule Ball fiasco during the Triwizard Tournament, the orchestra was accompanied by a band from Hogsmeade who played a variety of musical genres besides rock and metal. As it turned out, Professor Flitwick was also a pretty big fan of theirs, so he was willing to agree to let the band play their fair share of songs as well. We danced to a few Christmas carols, a Muggle classic called "Feliz Navidad", "A Nice, Big Mug of Winter", and a number of other songs. All in all, it was a wonderful experience.

Partway through the party, Luna led me over to one of the tables scattered around the Great Hall. We plunked down on the seat as Luna said with a tired sigh, "Phew... I'm tired. How about we sit here for a few minutes before we get back up?"

"Sure. I'll go get us some eggnog," I said. I stood back up and headed over to the refreshments table, which had not only eggnog but also butterbeer, firewhiskey, Chocolate Frogs, Cauldron Cakes, and Pumpkin Pasties among other things. As I stirred the jug of eggnog and poured two mugs for myself and Luna (plus an extra pinch of nutmeg in mine), I felt a hand on my shoulder accompanied by a familiar voice: "I thought you weren't planning to come here?"

"Luna offered and I figured it would be all right to come and dance with her," I replied, smiling as I turned around to look at Hermione Granger. She was wearing a dress that looked very similar to the one she had worn to the Yule Ball, complete with the little pink petal earrings. She helped herself to a little butterbeer as I began walking away, then turned and added, "Oh, by the way - nice job on your Quidditch match."

"Thanks. It feels so great to be Captain of the Gryffindor team," I shot over my shoulder with a big grin. Back in August, my standard Hogwarts letters had come with an additional letter telling me that I was the new Gryffindor Quidditch captain. Mum and Dad had congratulated me to no end, the new players had all proven to be excellent at their roles, we had already won both of our first two matches... life had never felt quite so good when it came to Quidditch.

I brought the two mugs of eggnog back over to the table where Luna was engaging Madame Hootch in a lively discussion about the pros and cons of various methods of flight. We gradually emptied our mugs as Madame Hootch walked off with her partner, then stood up together and jovially walked out onto the dance floor.

"That was fun," Luna said dreamily, her head on my shoulder as we walked out of the now nearly empty Great Hall. I ran a hand through her pale hair and replied, "Yeah, it was."

We lazily walked the halls of Hogwarts together, reminiscing about school years past as the sound of our shoes echoed throughout the empty corridors. I was able to talk with Luna well enough; however, my mind was entirely preoccupied with thinking about my feelings for her. I had a pretty good idea of what those feelings were by now and how badly I wanted to express them, but at the same time, did I want to risk losing my friendship with Luna over those feelings?

As we passed an empty alcove, I couldn't stand it any longer. I grabbed Luna's wrist, quickly dragged her into the alcove, and pulled the curtain shut behind us.

She looked at me curiously and asked, "Ginny, what are you doing?"

"Luna, I..." I started, and sighed. Even "Loony" Lovegood wouldn't understand - how could she? But I couldn't just put on a cheerful smile and pretend that I was just having temporary insanity. Unfortunately, that's exactly what I did. I smiled at her and explained, "It's nothing. I'm just... I'm tired after the party."

I pulled back the curtain and began to leave... when I felt her hand on my shoulder. Luna turned me around and I saw her warm, comforting smile. She leaned in my ear and whispered, "Ginny, I can accept anything you need to tell me. We're both human and we're both different as can be, but we still became good friends five years ago."

She leaned back and added, "Just open up to me... I promise I'll be ready for whatever you need to say."

I sighed, looked down at our feet, and mumbled, "OK...

I love you."

She raised her eyebrows and asked, "What was that?"

I raised my voice so she could hear me and repeated myself. "I... I love you, Luna Lovegood."

I expected her to burst out crying, to hastily apologize for already having a boyfriend, to slap me for such scandalous behavior. I expected one of a thousand different responses from her, but none of them came. Instead, I felt her hand on the back of my head, then her soft breath on my face, then... her lips on my cheek?

Wait... was she kissing me on the cheek/?

My eyes flew open to see her lean back. She smiled pleasantly and giggled softly before saying, "Mmm, I was really hoping you'd work up the courage to say that sometime soon."

"You mean... you're really...?" I said, shocked and confused at the same time. Her smile widened and she explained, "Of course. Why do you think I always came to you when I had a personal problem or a homework problem or something?"

I thought about it for a second. While I definitely loved Luna, a tiny part of me felt like the thought of what could become would taste so much sweeter than the idea of what would ever happen. She must have seen something of my thoughts on my face, because her face softened and she said quietly, "Look, Ginny, if you really think it's going to be just too plain awkward for us to be together, I can understand-"

"No," I whispered. I gently put my hands on Lovegood's shoulders, then looked up at her shyly and asked, "Luna... can we dance one last time?"

Her eyebrows raised in surprise for a moment, but she soon smiled at me and whispered back, "Of course, Ginny."

We clasped hands and started dancing in a circle again. The more we danced, the more relaxed I became. A few minutes later, I looked up and noticed that Hogwarts had grown a mistletoe bough right above our heads. Luna noticed it too and said with a smile, "Mistletoe."

I looked back at her and grinned as I replied, "Maybe we should go somewhere else so the Nargles don't bother us...?"

She pulled her butterbeer necklace out slightly so I could see it and explained, "I think they'll leave us alone for the night."

Without another word, we leaned in and kissed each other on the lips.

Oh, it was such a good feeling. It was so good that words simply can't describe it. After what seemed like forever and a century, we broke contact, but kept our heads just inches apart. I rocked from side to side slightly and whispered, "Ohhh, I really love you, Luna Lovegood."

"The feeling's mutual," she said with a chuckle. With our arms around each other's waists, we exited the alcove and headed in the general direction of our dormitories.

"So, I guess we're dating now?" she asked as we walked. I replied, "Yeah, I think we are."

We stopped in front of the staircase to the Ravenclaw rooms. Luna kissed me on the cheek before saying, "Let's go to Hogsmeade together on the next weekend trip, if that's the case."

"OK, that sounds good," I said with a smile. "G'night, Luna."

"Night, Ginny," she whispered cheerfully before twirling around and heading up the stairs. I sighed a happy sigh and went to return to the Gryffindor common room before Professor McGonnagall gave me a headache about staying up too late on party night.