A/N: Thanks for all the reviews. For those missing Ron, he'll appear in the next chapter in all his glory and answer some questions it seems some of you have. That will be coming very soon as being relegated to the couch and watching chick flicks due to the flu leaves you with ample time to write. How can you get the flu in the middle of August?

After silence,

that which comes nearest to expressing the inexpressible

is music.

Aldous Huxley

I found I had a nasty headache due to the snowball incident. Harry was such a love; he managed to carry me back to my rooms, settle me in bed, and then made sure I ate some supper. He sat by and watched as I ate sometimes offering conversation in that warm, low voice he can have at times. By the time I finished eating, I was fairly tired. Harry said goodnight, and like many nights before, he tucked the covers around me. Just before turning to leave, he kissed me on the cheek.

In my drowsy state I thought deep thoughts. I love these covers; the coverlet is so soft and warm. Maybe I should change the paper on the walls. It has been several years since I changed anything in the room. Harry is such a wonderful friend. He is always by my side. He holds my hand or takes my arm when we walk. I feel so safe with him, so warm. Why do I feel warm around him? Must be because of the drafty castle. I should wear the jumper from Ron tomorrow. I wonder what Harry is doing now…and with that I was sound asleep.

While I faded into soft dreams of which I cannot report the content as I do not remember my dreams most of the time, three young Gryffindors and their Headmistress debated a new scheme. With the indubitable aid of Dobby, the ever faithful and well intentioned house elf, the scheme was much more intricate than the previous attempt. Lucky for my dreams, I was utterly unaware of this.

The next morning was a repeat of the previous day, clear and cold. Minerva excused me from, or rather ordered me not to do, my rounds. I stayed in my rooms for the morning, correcting essays and preparing lessons for the coming week. I ventured forth to the Great Hall for the noon meal. I joined the other professors and thanked them for their well wishes of a speady recovery. From the jokes flying about the head table, it seems I was not the only casualty of the day. A few other professors found themselves pelted by snowballs from students seeking revenge for poor grades, teasing their favorite professor, or simple being in the line of fire between two very enthusiastic students. All told, the first annual interhouse snowball fight was an immense success. I was proud to hear Gryffindor won. How that was determined, I cannot say, but apparently all the houses agreed it was a fair assessment. Plans were already being laid by all the students for the next year.

Following the meal I decided to stretch my legs a bit. I went back to my rooms and did put on my gift from Ron. The deep red of the jumper went so well with the necklace from Harry that I just had to put on the jewelry too. To help cover up this bit of frippery; I wound a scarf around my neck. A simple silk one from my grandmother and appropriate for the chilly weather in the castle. That's what I told myself.

I strolled around the halls, noticing this and that. After about half an hour, I was fully lost in thought. Suddenly a little blonde head appeared in my path. Before I could question where she came from, she tugged on my arm as she cried, "Professor Granger! Professor Granger! Nick is caught in a room and we don't know how to get him out! We were just walking around after studying and suddenly he got sucked into a room and we can't get him out!" She had huge tears welling in her eyes and a look of abject despair on her face. Realizing that the many rooms and closets of Hogwarts contain not always safe items, I began to race after her. I did not entirely pay attention to where we were going. We ran for several minutes and then we stopped.

"The door was just here! Where did it go!" she cried as she paced back and forth. My concern for such a young student to be trapped in an unknown room with unknown items covered my analytical skills. In a moment they would return, just not quite in time.

Suddenly she saw the door, "There it is, in there Professor Granger!" Just as suddenly as she saw the door, I had several small hands on my back pushing me through the door and a rush of something flew around me as I inelegantly fell through the doorway.

I instantly stood up and reached for the pocket of my skirt where I knew my wand was. There was no pocket to my skirt. In fact, I no longer had on a skirt. I was in a dress. A red dress the exact color of the jumper from Ron. Where was my wand? I reached to my throat and felt the necklace. Despite all the other surprises, at least I still had that.

I looked around the room as I heard a voice, "Well, it's nice to see that I am no longer alone in my imprisonment."

Still startled from the previous few minutes of chasing and falling, I did not immediately place the voice. The room was dim, lit only by some large pillar candles and the roaring fireplace across the room. The other figure, a man, got up from the small sofa and crossed the room.

"That was quite the graceful entrance, my lady," he said.

"Oh, Harry, thank Merlin it is you. What is going on here?" I ask. Then I notice something. While I am wearing a dress that is much less conservative than my normal choice, Harry is also a bit more dashing than usual. He is in midnight black dress robes that blend with the shadows in the room and make him even more mysterious than he already is. I look down to better examine my own ensemble. The dress is simple; at least whoever is responsible for this little incident gave me that. A red halter-top, though the neckline is a bit more daring than I would like, fitted to the waist and then it softly flairs out until the skirt ends somewhere at calf length. As I think about it, it reminds me of that picture of Marilyn Monroe. I also realize that my hair is not in the braid it previously was. Instead, my hair is now a pile of curls and who knows what else. Apparently there are some pins in it with a bit of sparkle on them as I see them reflected in Harry's glasses as he approaches me.

"Are you okay? It sounded like you landed a bit uncomfortably," he enquired.

"I'm fine. I am just thoroughly confused as to what is going on, where we are, and why we are here, and why we are dressed in these clothes!" I let out in a rush.

"Well, Mione, it seems three little imps discovered the Room of Requirement, I would think you would know this room well by now."

I roll my eyes. "Of course, she wasn't pacing, she was opening the door."

"Yes, I had Nicholas and Anthony drag me here saying Miranda was locked in a class room. By the way, the door won't reappear. I tried every wandless spell I could think of and so we are trapped here until the powers that be let us go."

"Same story for me, except Miranda was the one leading me here." I think for a moment and chuckle, "She's good. She was crying and everything."

"While I know the where we are, the rest of it, I haven't figured out. I can't figure out how they charmed or transfigured our robes. The spell work would be too complicated for first years, even three as devious as them." Harry trailed off into his own thoughts for a moment.

"I think I can provide a bit of help there, or rather state, they must have outside help from someone older, more talented, or more experienced than them. I wish I knew who…" Now I trail off into thought.

While we were stating the obvious, some subtle changes had occurred in the room. A small table appeared in a corner covered by a silk fabric. A bowl with a single scarlet rose appeared on the table. Small candles floated in the bowl, charmed to avoid the rose which was suspended in the center of the bowl. Soft music began to play, old music. There were not words to this music, but the music had meaning.

As the music entered our senses, Harry and I stilled. Our conversation and thoughts were silenced. We listened. We stood there in our unusual clothes and unusual circumstances, listening to the music that came from nowhere and everywhere.

When Harry said, "May I have this dance? A woman who looks as stunning as you must grace the dance floor." I jumped.

I stammered out something akin to a yes. He took my hand, spun me out, and then pulled me back. His hand continued to clasp mine, firmly, yet with such gentleness. His other hand fell to my waist.

"How do you know how to dance?" I ask softly.

He doesn't answer for a moment. Finally I hear, "After that embarrassing attempt fifth year, I asked Molly to teach out. I swore her to secrecy. Ron would never let me hear the end of it, if he knew his mum taught me to dance. But I think she secretly was thrilled," he grinned at the end.

I am positive Molly Weasley was thrilled to say the very least at teaching Harry how to dance. From the first moment she met the boy on the way to his first year here, she had all but legally adopted him into the family. When we came home from the War, we saw that it was official as there were new hands on the Weasley family clock. As we walked in the door of the Burrow after the Final Battle, we watched the hands labeled "Ron," "Harry," and "Hermione" move from mortal peril to home.

We danced for some time together. We were polite dancers. We kept our space and our silence. After a while, we noticed new appearances in the room.

On either side of the small table, two small chairs appeared. The chairs were covered with gold silk that matched the soft silk of the table. Deep red chiffon ties held the silk to the chairs. Fragile china, edged in gold sat with fine sets of silver and crystal goblets and Champaign flutes.

"Mmm…I think it is time for dinner," I murmur.

As I say the words, the china is suddenly filled with the first course of our meal. Harry leads me over to the table, pulls out the chair for me, and then sits down across from me. Over what must be the next two hours, we enjoy a meal like none other I have had. The food was exquisite and often a blending of our favorites. At least we both love chocolate so dessert was simple enough for whoever planned this little event. The flourless chocolate cake was just to die for in my opinion.

Over dinner we talked, just as we always do over meals. It was just as our friendship always was. I found myself glancing up at Harry frequently. The glances were short, secretive. It was odd behavior for me, but I found myself wanting to make sure that he was still there. That this was still really what my evening was like. Sometimes these glances would be met by Harry's deep green eyes. I could not quite read the expression in them, which was odd. After all these years, I could read Harry more easily than Hogwarts, A History.

After that incredible dessert we were somewhat lost with what to do. Neither of us had our wands, so until our little captors decided to let us out or our fearless Headmistress discovered the situation, we were trapped.

We noticed the music again in the silence that fell between us. The music was a bit slower, softer.

"Dance with me?" Harry asked quite shyly as he stood next to me holding out his hand.

"Of course, Harry," I said taking his hand.

This time as he spun me around, and twirled me back into his arms, I found myself a bit closer to him. His other hand was not at my waist, but firmly placed on the small of my back. The dancing was not so polite now. There was something behind or within it. Something, that despite my intelligence, I do not know what it is.

Every time I spun or shifted while dancing, I found myself edging ever so slowly closer to Harry. It was as if an unseen force was drawing us together. Sometimes he would pull me closer, exerting a gentle pressure on my back until I moved just a breath nearer. Other times I would make my step ever so slightly larger than necessary so I would inch closer.

Before too long, our clasped hands sat on his chest, over his heart and his other arm completely encircled my waist. My head drifted down finding a comfortable home on his shoulder. Soon his cheek was resting on top of forehead.

We stayed like that for days it seemed, cliché as that is. I did not process that best friends do not dance like this. I did not process that I wanted to stay like this forever. I did not wonder what this all meant. All I did was move with the music, caught in Harry's arms.

Neither of us noticed a plain, wood door appear in the far wall. Our entire world was made up simply of each other and this inexplicable newness. We continued in each other's arms moving gently with the wordless music, saying something to each other which we just cannot quite understand yet.

As the music slows still more, with only a haunting line of a cello lingering in the room, I pull my head back to look at Harry. He looks down at me. I forget how tall he is sometimes. As he stares at me, I see something change in his eyes. Slowly he lowers his head to the point where our eyes are locked. My lips part in surprise at this, despite its unhurried pace. With deliberate, yet gentle movement, Harry's lips meet mine.

This is not the accidental kiss of Christmas Eve. This is a kiss like none I have ever received. Viktor, Ron, all those others I dated, none kissed me like this. In Harry's kiss was a depth I did not know you could find. I lived in that kiss for a moment. Then my eyes flew open and I flew from the room.