Disclaimer – I don't own anything, blah blah blah.

A/N – I promise this will be a H/Hr fic in the not too distant future.

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It is possible to feel lonely in a crowded room. Harry felt the truth in this statement as he, the vanquisher of Voldemort, stood alone in a room full of the other students in 7th year. This masquerade ball was supposed to be in celebration of Voldemort's defeat little more than a week ago, yet the only people that had congratulated Harry were the people that were there when he successfully destroyed Voldemort.

Harry shifted his weight from his left foot to his right foot, and leaned back against the wall. He looked over to the dance floor, and caught the sight of Ron slow dancing with Lavender. Harry couldn't help but smile – Ron had been trying to find an excuse to talk to Lavender for months, and now, here he was with his arms around her neck. Harry was happy for his friend, he was glad that at least one of the two had found someone.

Harry sighed and closed his eyes. Hermione had also found someone, or so it seemed. She always had a look of desire in her eyes these days, even though she never spoke of the person who had successfully captured her heart. She never seemed to be around anymore, and Harry missed her incredibly. As for Harry, well he hadn't found anyone, even though he was now free to do so. That was why he was stood alone in the corner of the Great Hall, watching every other person in 7th year dancing with someone.

Harry had chosen his mask for this ball specially, as the one he had chosen was able to cover up his scar, as well as matching the dark blue of his dress robes. He didn't see the point of him being there, after all, he had no date, and it seemed as if every other person in the year did, so the likelihood of someone asking him to dance was next to none. It was his own fault really. He didn't ask the one he wanted to the dance in the first place.

He looked over to the far side of the room, which had been decorated in scarlet and gold in his honour, and saw another solitary person, wearing the most flattering dark red dress robes that Harry had seen in his life. He studied the person (who he had decided was female), and came to the conclusion that she was the most beautiful person in the room, even with her mask on.

Harry watched Professor Dumbledore hand the girl a glass of champagne, and he studied the way she smiled a perfectly polite smile at the headmaster. Dumbledore engaged the girl in polite conversation for a few moments, until he was called over to the dance floor to dance with Professor Sinistra. Harry decided that now was the time to talk to her, after all, masks were to be removed at midnight, and Harry had not danced with anyone yet.

He slowly made his way across the vast room to her, walking underneath the floating candles that illuminated the masks and dress robes that featured predominately inside the walls of the Great Hall. His route was only disturbed once, by a drunken Draco Malfoy who shook his hand and congratulated him in killing 'Wobblymort'. Harry was only about five feet away from the girl when he realised he had nothing to say to her.

After stopping and pondering for a minute or so, he decided that:

'Would you like to dance with me' would suffice. He continued over to the girl, and tapped her on the shoulder. She turned towards him and said:

"Yes?" before draining the last of the champagne from her glass. He replied:

"Would you… erm… would you like to dance with me?" She smiled at him, that same perfect polite smile that she gave to Dumbledore, and nodded. He offered his arm to her, which she took, and walked to the dance floor with her.

As soon as they got to the dance floor a slow song began, and Harry immediately got nervous. What was it about this girl that he recognised? He'd never seen her before in any of his lessons, yet she exuded an intelligent air about her. She tossed her blonde curls over her shoulder and looked up to him with deep blue eyes before placing her arms around his neck. Harry immediately placed his hands on the small of her back, leaving the two of them standing in a very intimate position. The two began to dance, ignoring all others around them and focusing only on each other.

Harry couldn't think where he recognised the girl that had her arms around him from, as she had a distinctive…something about her. Harry and the beautiful girl were dancing themselves closer and closer to midnight, and it appeared that neither wanted to let the other go. Both participants were eager to hold on to their partner, but as the bell struck the first chime of midnight, the girl released her grip on Harry, and started to run across the hall.

Harry soon caught up with her, as 7 years of Quidditch had improved his stamina well. He turned her around, and said to her:

"Why are you running away? Weren't you having a good time dancing with me?"

The girl suddenly looked tearful, and said:

"Yes. I've had a fantastic time, I've really enjoyed your company, but I don't think you're ready to see who I am yet."

With that, she ran off again, leaving Harry standing alone once again in the room full of people kissing each other. Harry couldn't stand being alone in that room again, so he began walking towards the lake. As he neared the tree that he often sat underneath, he saw the girl who he had danced with. He decided against sitting with her, and turned back towards the lake. As he began his journey, he heard the girl shout:

"Harry!" as she ran towards him.

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A/N – I'm going to leave it there. I don't know when I'll be able to update again, due to GCSEs, but I wanted to get this little idea out of my head.