Kathleen allowed her mind to wander to the colors flashing around her, in the form of twirling bodies of her fellow classmates. She watched in wonder as the colors from the girls' dresses mixed and flounced throughout the Great Hall, which now closely resembled prom. Her own date, Richard Gunder, was still babbling like a brook on high currents while he twirled her around, her deep blue dress swinging about her in a grace that can only be defined as breathtaking.

"And so then, right as the blunder was coming, I, somehow, and don't ask me how, dove out of the way in the nick of time, right into the quaffle, and then…" Richard continued giddily, unaware that his date had forgotten about him and was in her very own world. Kathleen rolled her eyes (which of course went unnoticed by the self-obsessed quidditch champion) and continued watching the others dance around her, dimly aware that Richard was possibly the worst dancer in wizarding history as he continued to step on her toes and swung completely out of beat to the rhythm Professor Flitwick had the band playing.

Kathleen smiled politely, "Richy, could you go get me some punch, I'm famished." Richard stopped talking and looked down in confusion for a few seconds, before nodding rapidly and spinning around in search of the punch table before taking off. Kathleen allowed her shoulders to sag and shook her head, wearily. Definitely not the brightest bulb on the chandelier, that boy, she thought bitterly before heading off to find a chair, and hopefully an excuse to call the night off early. Now Kathleen was not a mean girl, no no, far from, but she had her limitations, and that youth was far beyond her line in the sand. In fact, his admiration of himself and bluntness were not at all new to her, it was in truth, only her kindness to give the boy a chance to take her to the ball. The chance was given, and he had failed stupendously.

Kathleen took a seat on the sidelines and watched and giggled as Professor Dumbledore twirled Professor McGonagall around gracefully. She deeply considered asking for a turn to dance with the twinkly-eyed Professor, but decided against it as she was truly famished.

Scanning the room, she took notice to a young Slytherin, Severus Snape, who lounged against one of the castle walls, looking sulky and less than pleased. His dress robes resembled all the other boys', though his looked more worse-for-wear than most. His head was bowed, allowing his dark locks to crowd his face and make it look like he wore a mop on his head. Kathleen knew little about him; only what Lily had told her and her own observations provided ground for her. He typically kept to himself, James and Sirius, the two most popular Gryffindors', hated him with a passion for no apparent reason. He was remarkable in all his classes, especially potions, and was one of the most unpopular boys in Slytherin. Though this, mixed with his crooked nose and skinniness, would typically turn any sane girl off, especially one as popular as Kathleen, it instead lit her general curiosity, and she found herself moving toward the boy.

Kathleen arrived in front of the boy and gave him a quick tap. Severus jolted upward as his eyes snapped open. "What?" he gasped, scanning the room before his eyes found Kathleen's face. "What?" he repeated irritation heavy in his voice.

Instead of running for the hills, which most girls would choose had he spoken to them in that matter, Kathleen giggled. The shock on the Slytherin's face only made her body quake more severely in laughter. "Were you sleeping?" she quizzed, eyes sparkling in amusement.

Severus flushed. "What do you want Montgomery? Shouldn't you be with Gunder?"

Kathleen shook her head and turned to the punch table, where Richard was in an ecstatic conversation with two giggling second years. Kathleen shrugged, "I doubt he'll miss me." Severus couldn't help but concur. Kathleen laughed again, "Come on, let's blow this joint." Severus gave her a look that may have suggested she'd grown a second head. Kathleen rolled her eyes and grabbed him by his pant buckle, and dragged him toward the gardens.

"Oi! What do you think you're doing?" He cried out as she half carried, half lead him through the dew-covered grass. Kathleen ignored him and came to rest at another wall, where she let go of him and slid down the size of the wall to rest on her bum. Snape stared at her for a few moments before joining her.

"So….what's up with you?" Kate questioned, slipping her feet out of her high heels and massaging them.

Severus watched in wry amusement as she gave a weak attempt to work out her achy feet muscles. "Charming," he muttered sarcastically.

"Ain't it though?" Kathleen shot back in another burst of sarcasm. "If you had to wear these things, you'd do the same thing, too."

"Well, why don't you not wear them? It can't be that big of a deal. Aren't there other shoes out there for women?"

Kathleen shrugged, "they make me taller. Here," she offered, twisting and plopping her feet in his lap, "you massage them."

"Why?" he gasped, staring at the blue painted toenails in confusion.

"'Cause you have bigger and stronger hands!" she shot back, shifting again to lean on her elbows. She watched in fascination as Severus tenderly picked up her left foot and gently but firmly began working his thumbs into the arch of her foot. "So…" she began again, "why were you at the dance if you clearly weren't dancing?"

Severus snorted and shook his head, "I lost a bet." He muttered, watching his thumbs kneed into her flesh.

Kathleen frowned, "What was he bet and with who?"

Severus sighed and picked up her other foot, "It was with Lucius Malfoy, we were trying to see who had the better collection of spells. If I won, he tells Narcissa he loves her, if he wins, I go to this wretched ball."

Kathleen frowned; Lucius was two whole years ahead of their class, so of course he had a better collection of spells. More than that, though he and Narcissa had been going out for months, it was obvious he felt nothing for her, and only did it so he could carry on the pure-blood Malfoy name. "Well, you could have brought a date," she reminded him.

Severus rolled his eyes and raised his head to glare at her, "Oh, good plan! I can't believe I didn't think of that!" he shot back in angry sarcasm.

Kathleen shrugged, "Coulda' asked me, I would have loved to go with you. I'd pick you over Richard any day."

Severus snorted, but smiled despite himself, "yeah, I was watching you all. He's not made for dancing."

Kathleen laughed and shook her head. "No, according to him, he's made for being the most outstanding quidditch player in all of history!"

Severus smirked, "I thought that was Potter."

Kathleen laughed and shrugged. They sat in a comfortable silence for a few minutes, Kathleen watched as Severus massaged her feet with a thoughtful expression on her face. "Come on," she chirped, pulling her feet away and standing up to offer him her hand. Severus frowned and stared at the petite hand in confusion. Kathleen rolled her eyes, "Don't make me grab your belt again." Deciding she had a point, Severus took her hand and allowed her to pull him up.

He frowned as she led him into the grass and put her remaining hand on her shoulder. "Aren't we going inside?"

Kathleen shook her head, "no, we're dancing, come on!"

"There's no music ," he pointed out, though he put his hand on her waist anyway.

Kathleen rolled her eyes, "so? Now, come on, lead!" Severus frowned again but did as he was told. Instantly, they moved together in tune to an imaginary beat, unaware of the shocked and envious stares from the other students who also filled the gardens. The two could have danced anywhere from five minutes to an hour, though neither were very sure. Kathleen was right in thinking that Severus would be a better dancer than Richard, as he never stepped on her feet (which were still bare) and moved swiftly and gracefully through the cool grass.

Finally, they called it quits and leaned against the wall once more. Kathleen had a small, thoughtful smile on her face as she stared up at the stars that winked at her. "You know, despite the actually disastrous ball, this turned out to be a pleasant evening." She whispered to Severus. Severus nodded as he too stared at the night sky. Kathleen turned to admire Severus, who felt a watchful gaze on him, and turned to meet Kathleen's eyes. They stared into the depths of each other's eyes for a few moments; Kathleen was in awe at how Severus' black eyes gave off the impression of knowing all and seeing right through her flimsy walls. Severus, in turn, found himself rather naked in the eyes of Kathleen, who seemed to analyze and gather everything about a person from a single glance. They both found themselves unable to look away, and Severus watched as Kathleen grew steadily closer, her eyes fell shut before he felt something warm and soft against his lips. His eyes too fell closed as his own lips moved against Kathleen's.

Their lips (like their dancing) moved in perfect sync, matching each other perfectly. Severus cupped her soft features in his large hands as Kathleen's rested on his hips. Hesitantly, Severus ran his tongue against Kathleen's bottom lip, in such a gentle way that Kathleen barely felt it. Smiling against his lips, Kathleen cocked her head and groaned as Severus' tongue slipped through her open mouth. Together, their tongues slipped around each others, exploring each other's mouths with a curiosity to match felines. Unfortunately, time can only be held at arm's length for so long and all too soon, they had to pull away, full of remorse at being back in reality.

Severus stared down at Kathleen, with his hand's still cupping her face. "What was that for?" he managed to choke out, his voice sounding queer and uncertain to his own ears.

Kathleen giggled and lowered herself to her real height (as she was previously standing on the balls of her feet to reach the 6 foot 5 Slytherin's lips). Instead of answering, Kathleen stepped away from the boy and reclaimed her forgotten heels with one hand before taking Severus' hand in the other and pulling him toward the castle. "Come on," she called over her shoulder, "walk me back to the Gryffindor common room?"

Severus caught up with her and walked hand and hand through the gardens, all too aware of the stares from the other residents as they watched the most popular girl with the most unpopular boy wander back into the castle. Once in the castle, the stares severity worsened and Severus flushed fiercely. Kathleen didn't seem to take any mind to this as she led the flustered boy to her dormitories. All too soon they reached the painting of the Fat Lady and he felt her hand slip out of his grasp. He fought down the urge to reclaim it and lowered his gaze to the lithe girl before him. "So, will you pick me up tomorrow and walk me to breakfast?" she questioned, her voice hopeful and a bit fearful. Not trusting himself to speak, he nodded jerkily, to which she smiled and giggled.

"Ok, 7:30, it is," she whispered before winking, causing Severus to blush profoundly. Kathleen giggled again before claiming his mouth with hers. All thoughts forgotten besides how she tastes like pumpkin juice and candy, Severus wrapped his arms around her and pulled her closer to him. They kissed for a lot longer than either intended, both ignoring the gasps and whispers of other Gryffindors' as they spoke the password and crawled inside, all while watching one of the most unlikely pairs make out.

Finally, they pulled away. Kathleen planted a soft kiss on his pale cheek before whispering in his ear, "Until tomorrow, Severus."

Severus gulped and watched her disappear behind the reproachful and disheveled portrait, "Until tomorrow, Kathleen."

So clearly I've decided to mix in the story of Severus and Kathleen, yay nay? Also I wanted to say that if there is a certain pairing you want me to do, post it in comments and I will. Any rating, any pairing, drabble, one-shot, or chaptered story I will. COMMENT PLEASE!