That afternoon, after school had let out, Snape was deciding what to wear to the Yule Ball. He had never gone before at his school, when they had parties and things. This was the first time in his life that he had ever attended any parties Hogwarts set up. He decided to wear his new red-and-gold robes. Meg had suggested it, and, after all, Meg was his date for tonight.

He sat down at his desk to try and grade some papers, making sure that he took as many points as he could from Gryffindor, partly because he hated Gryffindor, partly because he had forgotten to take any points from the House in class that morning. Not even when Harry was there.

The thought of the Yule Ball kept on creeping back into his head, though, and he thought about how he was going to be dancing with Meg Smith. And then the horrible thought occurred to him that he didn't know how to dance. Nobody had ever taught him before.

He slammed the papers on his desk in frustration. How was he supposed to dance? He looked at the wall clock. Three hours and forty-five minutes until the Yule Ball…

Snape decided to change into the red-and-gold dress robes, and just copy whatever Meg and other people were doing when he got to the Yule Ball. He was wearing his old black robes that he used to wear before he had bewitched Meg, because he secretly liked them better. No sooner had he slipped his red-and-gold robes over his head, though, when Meg burst in.

He let out a cry of surprise. Meg smiled. "Only me."

"Only you?" said Snape incredulously. "You should knock before you come in! You scared me half to death, Meg!" Then he changed his tone and walked toward Meg. "And if you had scared me all the way to death, you wouldn't have had a date for tonight, would you?"

"Oh, stop it, Severus," said Meg, giggling girlishly. "I haven't even changed yet."

"Haven't you?" said Snape, glad for a reason to look at her whole body, not just her face. "Oh, I think you look good enough in those robes…Do you have different robes, then?"

"Of course," said Meg. "I'm not letting you see them until tonight, Severus. In fact, I'm not going to let anybody see my new dress robes until I go to the Yule Ball with you."

"Why not?"

"Because, silly," said Meg. "They're a surprise. I bought them at Madame Malkin's before I went to Hogwarts to teach, because, you know, you don't know when we'll have a special occasion! Could you imagine what it would be like to have to get new robes now?"

"Oh…" said Snape, remembering that he had just went out and bought his red-and-gold robes the day he had put the Romance Charm on Meg. "Y-yeah, it really would be, I guess, wouldn't it?" He fake-laughed so she wouldn't catch on that he had actually done just that.

Snape looked closer at Meg's laughing face. She had washed her hair, he saw, and put some kind of Curling Charm on it…one spell Snape never thought he would have to use. Maybe I should wash my hair, he thought. Nah…too much of a hassle…I hardly EVER do that. He looked at Meg, who had gone and sat down, in his desk chair. He walked over to her briskly.

"What are you doing in there?"

"Sitting," said Meg simply. When Snape said nothing, Meg added, "You know, if you want me to keep loving you, you should be less stingy…but, Severus, how could I ever, ever stop loving you if you have such a handsome face…No, I don't think I could."

Really? thought Snape. Nobody ever told me I was handsome before. Oh, well, I didn't know I was so good at Romance Charms…She thinks I'm HANDSOME…He was even more surprised, though, when he saw that Meg was walking right toward him, putting her arms around him…He put his arms around her, too, and she leaned her face in close to his…She has good breath mints, thought Snape…she looked up into his eyes…She loves me, she really loves me…thought Snape…

"Now let me show you something you'll love even more than that chair," she told him.

"I don't think I love anything more than you, Meg," said Snape romantically. The truth was, he had no idea he could be so romantic before. "Or anybody, either…"

Snape felt Meg had just put a Romance Charm on him and a very strong one too. They leaned in more closer to each other, Snape and Meg standing there, together, their arms thrown around each other, in Snape's office, until the remaining space between their lips was gone.