Rose Weasley's first ever Hogwarts Halloween Dance was magical.
She walked into the Great Hall that had only recently become a familiar sight, and was greeted by wonders that took her breath away. The ceiling was a shimmering night sky, with stars burning like fire in the sky above her and tendrils of smoke drifting to the beat of some strange, cosmic song.
The walls were emblazoned with streamers of black and orange, with ribbons of the same colour resplendent on every wall sconce. They seemed to shimmer in the light from the candles behind them, and every flicker of the candle made them glow like the stars above.
In the centre of the Great Hall was a fountain that towered above even the teachers with four tiers of polished glass that shone under the light of a huge star above, lighting up the liquid that cascaded down. Rose assumed it was punch as she saw students scooping it into goblets, but it was like nothing she had ever seen. The liquid was the deepest violet, but with streaks of orange churning through it, and what she could only describe as starlight glimmering throughout as it poured over the glass.
Rose was breathless as she took in the scene before her. All around the fountain, students in dress robes and gowns of velvet, silk, satin, lace, whirled in a seemingly never ending dance as the band made music that seemed to flow through the air and intoxicate everyone it touched.
Within moments, it had seized the senses of her two best friends, Yasmine and Emma, and they pulled her out onto the dancefloor with them. Rose gave a small twirl in the gown she had bought with her mother that summer, which was a deep red with delicate lace sleeves. Emma had curled her hair, and Rose even had brushed some colour on her cheeks and let Yasmine make up her eyes with hues of red and gold. She felt magical.
The night passed in much the same way it began, with Rose feeling like she was floating. She twirled and waltzed and ran around the Hall with her friends, laughing until she had to sit down, tears streaming from her eyes, as she drank in the joy of the room and the wonderful lightness she felt.
She saw other students from her year, kids she was usually so shy to speak to, but she felt so wonderfully elated she made a fool of herself in front of all of them, spinning into them and then running away in giddy delight, laughing all the while.
She fell into her cousin, Albus, who was stood by the fountain with that Slytherin boy, and he pushed her away playfully, back into the arms of Yasmine and Emma, who were never far behind. Rose giggled. "Is that how you treat your darling cousin, Albus?" she joked, giving his friend a cursory glance.
"I'll let you know when I find one," he shot back, grinning. Rose laughed again and then Emma pulled her back into the throngs of people and Albus and the other boy were gone.
That night, Rose fell into bed more blissfully happy than she could ever remember being. When she fell asleep, she dreamed of moonlight; of stars; of dancing.