This was one of those 'kill two birds with one stone' stories. I wrote this for Sinister Spiders' Inspired by Disney Challenge and a-trip-to-honeydukes' Your Favorite Character Challenge. The two seemed to fit well together, so I went with it. I hope you all like it!

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter

"Ouch!"

A soft chuckle came from the opposite side of the room. Dennis looked up at the Herbology professor and stuck his tongue out.

"Neville, you are really not helping."

Neville Longbottom smiled and stood up, making his way over to the young muggle studies professor. "Dennis, what exactly are you doing?"

Dennis smiled to himself and momentarily put the needle and thread he was holding down. "I'm sewing a dress. What does it look like I'm doing?"

"Why are you sewing a dress?" Slughorn asked curiously. A portion of the student body had left earlier that day for the start of the winter holidays, so Hogwarts' teachers were enjoying some time off in the early afternoon before they had to begin preparing for the now annual Yule Ball later that week. Dennis had taken the opportunity of no classes or papers to grade to take some time and work on his latest project – fixing up an old dress.

The dress itself was really a work of art. It was an old Victorian gown with a silver floral pattern encircling the base of the dress, a portion of the sleeves, and the front of the torso. Apart from a few worn patches that Dennis had already replaced and a minor hole in the right shoulder that he was in the process of repairing, it was in great condition. Dennis had been extremely lucky when he had found it.

"It's a present for Gabrielle," Dennis answered as he resumed his sewing, being careful not to prick his finger again. He wouldn't want to get any blood on the beautiful dress.

Neville's eyes lit up. "Are you inviting her to the ball?"

Dennis smiled at his friend. Out of all of the Hogwarts professors, he was closest with the courageous Gryffindor. "I'm hoping this will finally convince her to go with me."

Neville nodded in understanding, but Professor Slughorn looked at the 20-year-old with an evident frown on his face. "What are you talking about, my boy? I thought Gabrielle was your girl? Why wouldn't she go with you?"

Dennis sighed. "Gabrielle and I have been together for seven months now, and if I've learned anything about her, it's that she is…extremely stubborn." After the war was won, Gabrielle, at twelve years old, donated all of her fancy clothes to children that had lost family members in the war. And every year since then, she had cleared out her closet and gave away all her fancy clothes to people around her that had a lot less than she did. Gabrielle said it made her feel good inside to help those people and to give them something nice that they could wear to feel good about themselves.

"She doesn't have anything nice to wear to the ball," Dennis explained. "And she refuses to buy anything new. So she won't go. I'm hoping that if I fix up this dress, she'll finally say yes."

"Is that the type of dress Miss Delacour would wear?" Professor McGonagall asked from the doorway. The Headmistress normally joined the rest of the staff when they all had time off, preferring to spend time socializing with old and new friends rather than remain in solitude. Dennis was not surprised to see her.

The young man nodded. "Yes. Gabrielle adores Victorian gowns. And this color will really show off her eyes. It's perfect."

McGonagall smiled. "Well, then I hope she says yes."

Dennis grinned. "Me too. But I have to finish this sleeve first before I can take it to her."

"Why don't you just use magic?" piped up Professor Flitwick. "It would make the task much easier."

Dennis shrugged. "I don't use magic if I can help it. Besides, I'm almost done."

After that, the professors left him alone. Dennis began to weave the needle back and forth and, bit by bit, the final hole began to close. By the time the man was done, the only professor left in the room was Neville.

"Finished?" the man asked happily.

Dennis nodded. "Yup," he breathed. "I'm done."

"It must have taken you a long time," Neville commented. "Why didn't you just use magic?"

The younger man sighed heavily. "I don't really know. After Collin died, I stopped coming to school. I wanted nothing more to do with magic. This world was the reason my brother had died. And I was angry. So I assimilated myself back into muggle society, and I tried to forget all about magic. I got used to doing things for myself, got used to not having to rely on magic for everything. I suppose it's just a habit I've had trouble breaking."

Neville nodded, deep in thought. "Why did you come back, Dennis?"

He chuckled. "Why do I do anything these days?"

"Gabrielle."

Both men laughed. Dennis stood up, stretching his sore muscles. "When I ran into Gabrielle for the first time since my first year here at Hogwarts, I hardly recognized her. She had grown up so much. She wasn't the cute little girl I knew anymore. She was a beautiful woman. She reminded me about the beauty of magic – reminded me that there was still good, that not all of it was to blame. I returned to Hogwarts to teach because of her."

Dennis sighed and ran a hand through his messy light brown hair. "Her big heart is one of the things I love about her. Even if she still says no, I'll count myself lucky to even have her. She's just so…amazing. I can't even describe what I feel." He turned towards Neville with an earnest look in his eyes. "Do you understand what I'm talking about?"

Neville Longbottom smiled. "Of course I do, Dennis. I've been married to Hannah for almost three years now."

Dennis took a deep breath in an attempt to calm his nerves. He was standing outside Gabrielle's house, present in hand, trying to gather up enough courage to ring the doorbell.

"Come on, Dennis," he scolded himself. "You're a Gryffindor, damn it! Just ring the bell."

Before he could talk himself out of it, he pressed down on the tiny button. Upon hearing the bells echoing throughout the vast mansion, he almost turned and ran, but no sooner had the idea entered his mind than his angel…his Gabrielle opened the door.

To say she looked beautiful would be an understatement. The seventeen-year-old girl was absolutely radiant. She was dressed in an adorable pair of cloud print flannel pajamas, her hair cascading down her back like a golden halo. As soon as she caught sight of him, Gabrielle's blue eyes lit up and her pearly white teeth began appear beneath her rosy lips.

"Dennis," she beamed, throwing her arms around him and kissing him lightly on the mouth, "what are you doing here?" Even though Gabrielle lived in France, she had almost mastered English due to her frequent visits to Fleur and Bill's house. Dennis could hardly detect a French accent anymore when they talked.

"I came here to give you something," he said, offering up the package, "And to ask you a question."

The younger girl looked at him, puzzlement etched into her flawless features, but Dennis shook his head. "Open the present first."

Gabrielle smiled sweetly at him and began to tear open the wrapping paper. Her hand flew to her mouth as she uncovered the newly restored purple gown.

"You didn't," she breathed as she removed the dress from the box and held it up in front of her.

Dennis smiled hesitantly. "You've been working so hard in school, trying to get the best marks you can. And when you're not doing schoolwork, you're volunteering someplace, trying to help out as many people as you can. Merlin knows how much I love you for your dedication to people. But I miss you." He paused and gazed into her soft blue eyes. "And I want you to come with me to the Yule Ball at Hogwarts. I know before you said you couldn't go because you didn't have anything to wear. But I modified this dress for you, so you would have something to wear. And I didn't go out and buy it, so you don't have to worry about that either."

Gabrielle was silent for a minute, running her hand absentmindedly over the soft fabric. Then, looking back up at Dennis, she smiled so brightly the man thought his heart would melt right there.

"How could I say no to a guy as sweet as you?"

Dennis couldn't contain his excitement. He rushed forward and picked the girl up by her slim waist and twirled her around before kissing her firmly on the mouth. When they finally pulled apart, Gabrielle was looking up at him with laughter dancing in her eyes.

"What was that for?"

"Do you remember, that night at the burrow, when we saw the shooting star?"

"Hurry up Gabrielle," Dennis shouted as he ran on ahead of the blonde haired girl. She laughed quietly at her friend and picked up the pace. What he wanted to show her, Gabrielle had no idea. But she trusted him when he said it would be worth the trek through the six inches of snow that already blanketed the ground.

"Dennis," she called back. "If we go much farther, we won't be able to find our way back. The snow's only getting deeper.

"Almost there," he said reaching out to take her hand. Gabrielle blushed, her heart racing at the warmth emanating from their touching skin. She was happy her cheeks were already flushed from the cold.

Finally, the two emerged in a clearing. Gabrielle was about to ask why he had dragged her all the way out here when she saw exactly what he wanted to show her. There were hundreds of stars dotting the night sky. More stars than she had ever seen in her entire life.

"It's beautiful," she breathed, squeezing the boy's hand. If she had been looking at him, she would have noticed a blush on his cheeks mirroring her own. But the sixteen-year-old girl was too busy looking up at the night sky.

"Look!" she exclaimed, pointing up above her. "A shooting star!"

"Make a wish," Dennis whispered, and the girl immediately shut her eyes, concentrating on the warmth between their hands. She knew exactly what to wish for.

Dennis watched as the girl's eyes fluttered open once more. She smiled at him sweetly. "Of course I remember."

"Do you want to know what my wish was?" She nodded. "I wished that someday I would be able to take you to the Yule Ball. And now, my wish has finally come true."

Gabrielle smiled and leaned in to kiss him once more. Dennis met her halfway and his eyes fluttered shut, his heart exploding with warmth that trickled down to his fingers and toes and seeped into his very bones. He felt on top of the world. His fear was gone and he had never felt so at peace.

Everything was right with the world. Gabrielle had said yes. His wish had come true.

a/n: try and guess which song/disney movie this was modled after :)