At eight that evening, the Yule Ball began. Everyone was excited to go—as long as they had a date, that is, and most people had arranged dates. Ron was going with Hermione; Harry, with Ginny; McGonagall, with Dumbledore; and everyone knew that, as crazy as it seemed, Professor Lucy Marsh had agreed to go with Snape.

Harry had picked out dress robes specifically for this occasion, and although he didn't say it, he knew they were better than Ron's were. They looked better after the lace had been cut off, but they still looked tattered and worn.

Meanwhile, Snape was trying on his dress robes too. Professor Marsh, or Lucy, as he now knew her, let him know that she liked his black robes very much, but maybe a little bit of color would be good for something as special as a Yule Ball. So they'd gone shopping for robes, and he had settled on some Slytherin-green ones with silver lining. Lucy hadn't revealed what hers would be, because she wanted them to be a surprise.

And he certainly was surprised, when they met up in the Great Hall.

Lucy's short blonde hair was usually straight, maybe a little naturally wavy, but she had curled it. Her dress robes were Ravenclaw-blue with bronze lining. Snape smiled slightly, remembering the big House Pride trend that had been going on at Hogwarts when he and Lucy had gone there. Lucy didn't spend her days in a mass of blue and bronze anymore, but maybe she'd gotten the idea from his Slytherin robes. Snape loved the way the robes were tight, accentuating Lucy's body.

The crowd of students was forced to clap for all the teachers, even though Snape was none too popular, and hardly any of the students thought they were actually in love. They all thought Snape had tricked Lucy in one way or another, probably by a Love Potion, because how else would the Potions Master do it?

Snape awkwardly took Lucy into his arms, and they began to dance. The Yule Ball was supposed to end at midnight, so Snape knew he had four hours until it was time for him to lift the spell. After all, he'd promised himself—this was just for the Yule Ball. After it was done, he'd take the spell off of Lucy, she'd remember none of it, and everyone could forget it ever happened…well, he would never be able to forget it, but maybe it was better that way. No matter what, though, he had to make these four hours last…

Alas, midnight came too soon. Lucy was a few inches shorter than Snape, and she was staring lovingly up into his eyes, like he was all she wanted in the world.

"I love you, Lucy Marsh." Snape swallowed hard. "You have no idea how much it pains me to say goodbye."

"What—goodbye?" Lucy looked startled, and her deep blue eyes filled with tears. "Severus, are you breaking up with me?"

"I'm sorry," Snape told her, his voice constricted. "This will be our very last night together."

"Oh, please, Severus, no!" Lucy shrieked, attracting the attention of several other ball-goers. "I love you!"

"No, you don't." Snape shook his head sadly. "You just think you do."

"I love you more than life itself, Severus," Lucy pleaded. She looked like she was about to throw herself off a bridge. "Please, don't leave me!"

"Okay, I won't," Snape reassured her. That was it, he didn't have to tell her; he could just tell her he loved her one more time, then take the spell off. She would wonder what she was doing here, and she would look at him with disgust. Never again would he be in her arms. Never again would he run his fingers through her hair, which smelled delightfully of coconuts. Never again would he press his lips against hers…

"You mean…we're not going to break up?" Lucy said hopefully.

"Of course not," Snape told her. "I'll always love you."

Snape took a deep breath and reached for his pocket, where he kept his wand, so he could perform the counter-charm. This was going to break his icy heart, but he had to do it…

"In that case," Lucy was saying, "I have an announcement to make."

"Yes, yes, that's right…" Snape was still fumbling for his wand, not listening to her.

"Everyone, I am no longer Lucy Marsh!" Lucy declared, raising her voice so the whole Great Hall could hear.

Snape looked up and his fingers dropped his wand. What on Earth did she mean?

"I'm afraid I don't quite get your drift," said Dumbledore, who looked as confused as anybody else.

"Now," said Lucy, her grin growing wider with every word, "I am Lucy Snape."

"Y-You're Lucy Snape?" said Dumbledore, clearly astonished. "You two are…engaged?!"

"Yep!" Lucy looked ecstatic. "I want to marry Severus! That's all right with you, isn't it, sweetie?"

"Um…" Snape looked around. Everyone in the Great Hall was staring at him.

"Well, Severus?" Dumbledore's eyes were twinkling. "Is it all right? Would you like to marry Lucy Marsh?"

"Of—of course!" Snape blurted out, before he could stop himself, and everyone cheered; Lucy cheered the loudest of all. Dumbledore seemed excited.

"Oh, Severus, I had no idea!" said the Headmaster, rushing up to Snape and grabbing him around the shoulders. "You two, engaged! I'll do it all! Don't you two lovebirds worry about a thing! We'll have the wedding one week from now, is that cool? Wonderful! Oh, gracious, this will be fun!"

Lucy was beaming, but Snape seemed to have forgotten how to talk. Obviously, he couldn't have turned down Lucy's "proposal" in front of the entre school…not even he was that heartless. And if he had to go along with this, Lucy was as wonderful a wife as any. But still…

Married?