The grand ballroom of Malfoy Manor blazed with light, reflecting off glittering crystal chandeliers hanging from the lofty ceiling, and music filled the air as dozens of brightly dressed couples whirled across the dance floor. Lucius Malfoy, standing momentarily alone at the edge of the room, looked out over the gathered members of Wizarding high society, brought together once more for one of the most anticipated events of the social season, and smiled slightly to himself. Everything seemed to be going exactly as designed, following the detailed plans that Narcissa had been poring over for weeks leading up to the ball. Lucius had spent many an evening watching her go over every detail of which songs to play when, which flower arrangements to use, and which guests could not be placed near each other at dinner without risking violence. Occasionally he had offered his opinions, but mostly he had tried to stay out of the way and leave the details in the very capable hands of his lovely wife.
Thinking of Narcissa, Lucius let his eyes wander across the room in search of her, thinking to congratulate her once again on the success of the evening so far. He frowned slightly, unable to spot her among any of the clusters of ladies in their elegantly flowing gowns and sparkling jewels. He was about to set off through the room looking for her when he felt a light touch on his arm and, turning suddenly, found her coming up beside him with a small smile on her lips, beckoning him to follow her. He followed, growing slightly confused when Narcissa led him not towards the dance floor but instead up to one of the little balconies that overlooked both the great ballroom and the gardens outside. She brushed off his questions of where they were going, and his mild protests that hosts weren't supposed to run off and hide on balconies, and simply smiled that mysterious smile of hers and said there was something he should see. As the pair reached the balcony, Lucius's next question died on his lips as he looked out onto the darkened grounds below.
The gardens, filled with bright colors and beautiful flowers by day, appeared much more mysterious and surreal by night. Lit only by the moon and what little light spilled out from the manor house, from the balcony it was still easy to see the silhouettes of a couple dancing together below, though it was only as his eyes adjusted to the darkness that Lucius made out any more details. The music that had been so loud inside the ballroom was barely audible down in the garden, but the dancing pair whirled about with no less enthusiasm, dancing to their own rhythm. As they spun across the grass, the woman's flowing skirts swirled around them, rising up enough to show bare feet. Looking on the ground beyond the dancers, Lucius could see where she had kicked off the uncomfortable-looking high heels that he had noticed her wearing earlier in the evening as she danced sedately in the ballroom with the Minister of Magic.
Now, though, with her hair let loose to stream out behind her as she twirled in the darkness of the garden, laughing as she looked up at the pale face of the man she danced with, she seemed more alive, more free, than either of the Malfoys had ever seen her. But if the joyful appearance of the woman was surprising, that of her dance partner was even more so. For while her friends (among whom Lucius and Narcissa counted themselves) had seen her dance and even laugh before, albeit in a more reserved and proper manner, the Malfoys between them could count on a single hand the number of times either had seen Severus Snape displaying even the smallest smile, let alone beaming as he was now, looking down at the woman in his arms.
Lucius and Narcissa stood there for a minute longer, watching the couple below as their dance momentarily became an embrace, before quietly making their way back towards the glitter and noise of the ballroom and their duty as hosts. Just before Lucius entered the brightly lit ballroom, with its polished dance floor filled with couples performing carefully choreographed sets with polite smiles fixed on their faces, he couldn't help but feel stunned, and a little saddened, at the contrast with the scene he had just witnessed in the darkness of the gardens. Narcissa seemed to know what he was thinking, or perhaps simply had the same thought herself. As she took her husband's arm and allowed him to escort her back into the room to take their places for the next waltz, he thought he heard her whisper a wish, a hope that he echoed in his heart: "Someday, they too will dance together in the light."
Author's Note: Thanks for reading! Please comment and let me know what you think! This little scene popped into my head and refused to leave me along until I wrote it down, so I figured I might as well share it. It is a standalone scene, though it once went along with a larger plot idea that I never quite got around to fully fleshing out or writing.