Merlin meandered through the dancing crowd. Going to the Yule Ball stag had seemed like a good idea at the time, but now that he was here he just felt awkward. There were too many couples here, he didn't really have any friends who had come alone as well. It was odd, the dress robes were stuffy, and a part of him just wanted to go back to his Common Room and go to bed. But something told him to stay here.

A blur of pink pushed past him on the dance floor. It took him a moment to realize that it was Hermione. She stopped in the middle of the dance floor, seemingly wanting to lose herself among the people.

Merlin walked up and behind her and put a hand on her shoulder. She turned around, the anger on her face melting away into soft surprise. "Hi," she said, almost unheard over the band and the other people.

"Hi... Are you okay?" Merlin asked raising a hand to her cheek, where he brushed away a tear.

Hermione quickly tried to rub away any evidence of her crying. "I-I'm fine," she said weakly.

Merlin frowned. "What happened?" He asked, his voice clear over the last notes of the song.

"It's nothing, I swear," Hermione said, turning to move past the unusually still people around them.

Merlin grabbed her hand before she could push her way through the crowd. "Alright, don't tell me. But don't leave me alone out here on the floor."

At that he got a half-hearted laugh out of her. "Alright," she agreed, looking like she couldn't believe he had asked that of her.

He pulled her a little closer to him. As the band started up their next song and Merlin did his best to cheer her up. He didn't really know what he was doing as he spun her around, all he cared was that he got her to smile again. And she did smile. She smiled and she even laughed as they danced. And she kept dancing with him even when the song ended. A second song, and then a third, and then a fourth. During the fifth song she spun very close and ended up leaning against him for the rest of that dance.

"Thank you," she said with some relief in her voice. Any evidence that she was once upset had disappeared.

"Any time," Merlin said. He treasured this moment when she was against him, wishing it would never end.