Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter...that's all I'm going to say.

Author's Note: This is just a short one-shot with Draco and one of my many original characters. Her name is Sarah DuRaine and she is in Slytherin. She doesn't know why because she doesn't find many of their jokes funny. She is in the same year as Draco and is a friend of his, kind of. They have a lot of arguments but somehow always end up resolving it. I hope you like it. This story takes place when the houses are learning how to dance for the Yule Ball during 4th year.

Dancing is a dream

By: RobynGrayson

Professor Severus Snape stood in the middle of a large room. All the Slytherins were sitting against the walls, boys on one side and the girls on the other. Another professor was setting up a phonograph in the corner. "With the TriWizard Tournament comes the Yule Ball. All the students fourth year and up are allowed to attend. Third, second, and first years are allowed to go if they are asked by an upperclassman. The ball is well-known for the dancing so today we will be practicing our waltzing and other forms of classic dance."

Many students groaned, mostly the boys. Dozens of the girls smiled and gazed across the room at their crushes. A few boys also looked across the room at their crushes. Giggles filled the room. Snape held back a growl and stomped his foot to regain attention. The room became very quiet. "Inside every young girl, there is an agile and beautiful fox and inside every young boy, there is a strong and striking serpent. To start the dance, a young man must ask a young lady to dance." Snape turned towards the young girls and looked up and down the rows. He spotted one of his favorite fourth years, Sarah DuRaine. He smirked and walked over to stand in front of her. "Every boy must bow to the young lady before asking to dance."

The girls around Sarah realized what Snape was doing and giggled, nudging Sarah. Sarah merely smiled and watched Snape, waiting for him to continue.

Snape bowed to Sarah and held out his hand. "Would you like to dance, Miss DuRaine?"

Sarah giggled, placing her hand in his. "I would be delighted, Professor Snape."

Snape wrapped his fingers around her small hand and helped her to her feet. He turned his head towards the boys. "Notice how I bowed before requesting a dance. Always bow to the lady and give her your hand when asking for a dance. Now Miss DuRaine and I shall show you the classic waltz. Music please."

As music started, Snape led Sarah into the middle of the room and kept her hand in his while placing his other hand on her waist. Sarah reached up and put her free hand on his shoulder. All the girls giggled and a few guys made faces. Draco's eyes followed Sarah closely. They had met in second year and had become friends. They weren't very close but they could hold a pretty long conversation.

Snape and Sarah began to dance, spinning and dancing around the room. Sarah's robe swirled around her like a flowing skirt. Snape spoke above the music. "This is a traditional waltz but in some cases, depending on how strong the boy is, you can make it a little more complex. This is one way." In the middle of a turn, Snape moved both hands to Sarah's hips and lifted her off the ground. She squeaked and put both of her hands on his shoulders, waiting for him to put her down. Snape placed her back on her feet and motioned for the music to stop. He faced Sarah and gave her one more bow. She curtsied in return. "Girls, see how she curtsied in return to my bow. When a young boy bows, it is polite to curtsy in return. Now, I want all of you to pair up and practice the waltz. Get up and begin." Snape looked back at Sarah and nodded. "You are a very talented dancer, Miss DuRaine."

She curtsied. "Thank you. You are also a gifted dancer, professor."

Without a word, Snape turned and walked to the edge of the room. Many of the girls were already on their feet while the boys stayed in their seats. Snape narrowed his eyes. "Get up and dance!" Snape's voice echoed in the room.

In the blink of an eye, the boys were on their feet and walking across the room. Sarah stepped back, wanting to watch the others. A sickening voice reached her ears. "Don't you and Professor Snape look so cute together... Maybe you should go to the ball with him." Sarah sighed and turned to see Pansy Parkinson.

"What do you want, Parkinson?"

"I was just telling you how cute you looked with the professor. You almost looked somewhat good when you couldn't get a good look at your face." Pansy said, smirking.

Sarah's dark green eyes filled her anger and hatred. They started to turn a flaming red. Her eyes were bewitched to changed colors, matching her mood. "Really? I don't think anything could improve your look. No matter how fast you move, I'll always get sick looking at you."

Pansy gave her a mean look and turned away. She let out a happy squeal that hurt Sarah's ears. "Oh look, Draco is coming to ask me to dance. Isn't he so handsome? I always knew he loved me. Now he's coming to sweep me away in his arms and tell his feelings for me. I hope you enjoy the show." Pansy gave Sarah a mean look before stepping forward and curtsying to Draco. "Draco, I'm flattered that you...wha?"

Draco walked right past her and stood before Sarah. Pansy gasped and watched with shock. Draco gave Sarah a gracious bow and held out his hand for her. "Would you honor me with this dance?"

"Of course." Returning his bow with a flowing curtsy, Sarah placed her hand in Draco's and let him lead her to the middle of the floor. When she passed Pansy, she turned her head and spoke with a mocking voice, her eyes changing a bright yellow for contentment. "I hope you enjoy the show."

Pansy growled and stomped off, declaring a new hatred for Sarah in her mind.

Draco and Sarah stopped in the middle of a crowd of dancing Slytherins. They stood there for a moment. Draco held her left hand in his right while placing his left hand gently on her waist. She put her right hand on his shoulder. They gave each other a small nod before they began to waltz.

Some couples stopped dancing and watched the two fourth years glide across the floor. Snape moved to the center of the group and watched as the two danced. 'They are very good together.' He thought to himself.

Although the two were surrounded by dozens of other students, they weren't paying attention to any of their admiring or envious looks. The two were completely engrossed in the dance and each other. Draco looked into Sarah's glimmering eyes. They were changing from a bright yellow to a soft pink. If his guess was correct, that was a sign of affection and endearment.

Sarah was lost in a world of waltz and Draco daydreams. She loved being his friend but dancing with him was a dream come true. She had actually become his friend, hoping that they would progress to something more. When that didn't happen, she gave up that dream and decided that being his friend was good enough. She didn't seem to realize that Draco was staring at her. She blushed lightly. "Draco, why are you staring at me? Do I have something on my face?"

Draco shook his head. He put his hands on her waist and lifted her off the ground, spinning her around. "Nope. You just have beautiful eyes. I love how your eyes show how you feel inside."

She gasped and turned her head slightly to the right. She forgot that her eyes did show her inner feelings. "Draco, what color are they?"

"Pink, the color of affection and endearment. Why?" A smirk appeared on Draco's lips.

Sarah sighed. "Because I wasn't sure how you'd react if you saw my eyes. I was hoping that they would stay yellow, just showing my happiness."

Draco chuckled and heard the music stop. He bowed to Sarah as she curtsied. While everyone clapped, he took her hand and led her towards the door. They sat in two chairs as another song started and everyone else began dancing. Draco kept Sarah's hand in his. "Sarah, we've been friends for two years now. Why would you want to hide something from me? I thought we shared all our secrets."

"I know but this secret I was hoping to keep to myself. I didn't want something to mess up our friendship." Sarah gazed down at their hands then she looked away. "Besides, I didn't want Pansy bugging me about it. She's bad enough already. If I got rejected by you, I'd never hear the end of it from Parkinson."

Draco was about to say something when someone walked in the room. He looked up and saw a guy from Durmstrang. His name was Ilyis (pronounced e-lie-us) Witiker. He had on a brown shirt and pants, his black boots making a small noise as he walked. He had short black hair and dark hazel eyes. He looked around the room and went over to talk to Professor Snape. They started talking.

Sarah followed Draco's gaze and smiled when she saw Ilyis. She watched him talk with Snape for moment then she saw Snape point to her and Draco. Ilyis's head turned and he smiled when he saw them. He nodded to Snape and then made his way over to them. He bowed to them. "Hello."

"Hello." Draco replied.

"Hello Ilyis. What brings you here?" Sarah said, motioning for him to pull up a chair.

He smiled and moved a chair so it was in front of Sarah. "Well, I was just wandering around and I heard the music. I remembered that you all were practicing your dancing today and I thought I would come and see how it was going. Luckily, I found your house. Have you already danced?"

Sarah nodded. "Yes. I helped with a demonstration and then Draco and I partnered up."

Draco sat quietly, listening to the two talk. He watched Ilyis smile at Sarah and saw the way he looked at her. He had a gut feeling that something was going to happen and he wouldn't like it.

Ilyis looked over his shoulder at the dance floor for a second. He got up and bowed to Sarah. "Would you like to dance, Miss DuRaine?" He asked, holding out his left hand.

Sarah looked at Ilyis and nodded. She placed her right hand in his and got to her feet. "I'd love to. Thank you Ilyis. I'll be right back Draco."

Draco watched as Ilyis led Sarah to the dance floor and wrapped his arm around her. His hand was placed on her lower back, a little too low for Draco's liking. He saw them talking and laughing. He became really curious in what they were saying. He got up and walked over to a random girl and asked her to dance. He had to get close to those two and listen to them. He looked at the girl he had asked to dance and saw that she was a little shorter than him with curly red hair and honey colored eyes.

They danced around the dance floor, ending up very close to Sarah and Ilyis. He struggled to hear what they were saying.

"So how do you like our school Ilyis?" Sarah asked.

Ilyis shrugged. "It's alright. The classes aren't much different but some of the students really catch my attention, like you."

"Me? I caught your attention? I don't know why."

"I do. You're very beautiful and you have an adventurous presence to you. Many girls think that being a fancy girl will get a guy's attention but you seem like the kind of girl who would rather hike up a mountain than stay inside and read a book. You look like a girl that knows how to have fun. I like that in a girl."

"Really? Thank you. I actually love hiking."

Draco narrowed his eyes. This conversation was going in a direction that Draco didn't really like. He wasn't very happy with Ilyis either because he interrupted him when he was about to ask Sarah to the Yule Ball.

"Maybe sometime we could go hiking together. I've wanted to explore the Hogwarts ground a lot but I always have other things to do."

"That sounds like fun. Maybe we could go this weekend. I could show you the Whomping Willow. You'll probably get a kick out of it."

"Whomping Willow? Does it really whomp you?"

"If you're not careful. Some students go and try to avoid the limbs just to see how they fair against it."

Ilyis nodded and took that into thought. "That seems like a pretty good idea. I might have to try that."

"Okay but when you get a tree branch in the face; don't come to me for bandages. I'll be laughing too hard."

Ilyis chuckled. "I'm starting to understand why you're in Slytherin. You have no mercy."

"I have mercy. It's not fault if you want to test your skills against a tree."

Draco watched them closely. Sarah was laughing and Ilyis was smiling at her. He whispered something in her ear and led her towards the door. He made a sign at Professor Snape, who just nodded, then led Sarah from the room. The song ended and Draco bowed to his partner. He didn't wait for her to curtsy before walking over to Snape. He looked at Snape and asked when he would be able to leave.

Snape sighed. "If you believe that you're ready for the Yule Ball, you may leave. We'll have this room open for practice all day but only today. If you plan on practicing anymore, you need to do it as soon as possible."

Draco nodded and walked out of the room. He looked up and down the hall for any signs of Sarah or Ilyis. He decided to walk towards the Great Hall, hoping he was going the right way. He walked for a minute or two when he heard whispers. He froze and looked around him, trying to figure out where they were coming from. He followed the sounds and found himself by an archway that led outside. He peaked around the corner and saw Ilyis and Sarah sitting down next to each other, talking. He craned his neck to hear what they were saying.

Sarah's voice reached Draco's ears. "I never knew you were so into potions. That's my favorite class. It reminds me of muggle chemistry, the study of chemicals."

"I've heard of muggle chemistry. I believe we have chemistry between us, Sarah."

Draco rolled his eyes. 'Oh brother, how lame can he get?' Draco thought.

Sarah laughed and put her hand on his shoulder. "You really feel chemistry between us?"

Draco's eyes widened as he watched Ilyis lean in closer to her. "Yeah, I do. That's why I was wondering...Would you like to go the Yule Ball with me?"

Author's Note: Okay everybody! Now I need your advice...When you review, please finish this sentence:

I think Sarah should go to the Yule Ball with . It can be Ilyis, Draco, or any other Harry Potter character. Please review quickly!