A/N: It's here - it's the Annual Spring Dance! There's a bit of a surprise in store, and Harry gets to show us why he's got the heart of a lion! I hope you find this as satisfying as I do!

Ana, Kellen, and Hermione returned to the castle a little earlier than expected, about three thirty in the afternoon. When Kellen returned to the boys' dormitory, he found Harry already getting into his clothes for the dance.

"What time did they let you out today?" asked Kellen.

"They excused all first and second year students at two o'clock today, so I figured I'd better start getting ready now. Oh, do you mind if I use a spritz or two of that Calvin Klein Obsession cologne of yours?"

Kellen chuckled. "Go for it, man. I'm going to start getting ready, myself. Dinner is at the same time and place as usual, then we need to split for the dance hall right after that. Are you excited?"

Harry grinned nervously. "I guess… I can't wait to see Ana, I know she's going to look amazing."

Kellen arched an eyebrow. "Now Harry… she's sort of expecting you to lay one on her, so just be smooth about it, all right? She digs you, man."

"And Hermione's smitten with you, Kellen," Harry replied. "I see the look on her face when she sees you. I guarantee she's never looked at another boy the way she looks at you."

"She's a very pretty girl," admitted Kellen. "I know she's going to look nothing short of gorgeous this evening…"

Harry wore a black button dress shirt and matching trousers, along with red suspenders and a matching bowtie. Kellen wore a white dress shirt, a black vest and black trousers, and a white and navy striped necktie. He slicked his hair back with a liberal amount of hair gel.

"Looking sharp there, Harry," Kellen said with a grin. "I'm sure Ana would approve."

"You look really good yourself, Kellen," replied Harry. "Hermione's going to melt."

"I suppose we should head downstairs for dinner then," suggested Kellen. "Let's roll, dude."

The boys made their way to the great hall for dinner, and it wasn't long before their pretty female friends joined them for dinner.

"Be still, my beating heart," murmured Kellen as he saw the lovely visage of his date. Hermione was dressed in a simple purple sweater and matching skirt, and wore simple black ballet-style flats. Her hair was actually beautiful for once… it was put up in a perfect halo braid. She wore a modest amount of makeup, mostly to accent her pretty light brown eyes.

"Wow, Hermione," Kellen said with a bit of a stammer. "You look absolutely lovely this evening. I can't wait to be out on the dance floor with you."

Hermione simply blushed. "Thank you, Kellen," she said softly. "You look very, very handsome. I can't wait either."

Daphne wore a 'little black dress' and matching flats. Her golden blonde hair was down, and she wore a matching black headband. Ana was in a baby pink satin dress, nylons, and black patent mid-heeled Mary Jane style pumps. Her milk-chocolate hair was put up in a soft updo. Like Hermione, both Daphne and Ana wore light makeup that made their eyes pop.

"Who did your hair?" asked Kellen. "It looks terrific."

"Nova may or may not have lent a hand," Hermione replied with a soft giggle. "Thank you for noticing."

Harry was rendered virtually speechless – Ana looked exceedingly lovely, and he couldn't think of a good way to tell her. She could tell that he thought that she looked beautiful, but she couldn't help but giggle when he struggled to find a way to tell her.

"Erm, Ana… gosh… you look terrific," Harry finally said.

Ana blushed deeply. "You look terrific yourself, Mister Potter," she replied with a slight giggle.

"And you look wonderful, Daphne," added Kellen.

"Thank you, Kellen," replied Daphne with a smile. "I can't wait to be on the floor with you for a song."

"And it would be my pleasure to have a dance with you as well," Harry added. "I'm sorry you weren't able to secure a date for tonight… I know it was pretty short notice and all, and you don't really know anyone here yet, other than us…"

"You two boys are too kind," Daphne said with a grin.

After they had finished dinner, the children made their way to the dance hall, which was decorated festively with green, purple, and white streamers. A large silver disco ball hung from the ceiling, and in one of the corners of the room, the dongle house band Sasquatch began getting out their instruments and warming up. Over the next half hour, the first and second year students trickled into the dance hall and waited for the event to kick off.

At seven thirty on the nose, the headmaster himself, Professor Fontaine, apparated into the dance hall to personally kick off the dance. "Welcome to the annual Spring Dance, everyone," he said in his soothing baritone voice. "The Spring Dance is in many ways, a rite of passage… the last vestiges of winter have given way to spring, for one. And for another, it's where children take their first steps into the threshold of adulthood. I see everyone has put forth plenty of effort to look their absolute finest – well done, everyone. At the end of the event, we shall crown a Prince and Princess and they shall have the floor to themselves for one final dance. Before we proceed, our caretaker, Mister Keith Floyd, would like to share a few words."

Mister Floyd was a muscular middle-aged Black man that had served as an auror for MACUSA prior to taking up the post of school caretaker. Although he took his duties seriously, he was not heartless and had many an amusing anecdote about his adventures as an auror for students who asked about his past. "Good evening, students," he drawled. "As a safety precaution, I ask that everyone temporarily turn in their wands to the faculty sitting at the white table at the front of this dance hall. There's enough magic in the dance hall as it is." He chuckled softly. "Now, I implore all of you to be on your best behavior this evening – our eyes and ears will be on you at all times, so no funny business, aight? Any tomfoolery can lead to loss of points or detention, and I know none of you want that… so for the love of Merlin, go out there and have a little fun tonight, all right?"

A couple of minutes later, the students all gaggled in front of the long white table near the front of the dance hall, where they dropped off their wands for safe keeping. After all the students had turned in their wands, the couples had started making their way to the dance floor.

Daphne stood to the side, next to Professor McGonagall and Professor Goode.

"I feel positively rotten that you didn't get a dance partner, Miss Greengrass," Professor McGonagall trilled. "Had I known that you wanted to come to Ilvermorny earlier, I would have tried harder to bring someone like Mister Longbottom along."

"It's not a big deal, Professor," Daphne replied. "Both Harry and Kellen promised they'd save me a dance, and that's good enough for me."

"That's very kind of them," murmured Professor Goode. "You'd be hard-pressed to find two higher-quality young men than those two."

"They're both terrific," Daphne said softly. "I'm honored to count both of them as friends."

A few minutes later, after all the couples had assembled on the dance floor, Sasquatch opened with a soulful cover of the Righteous Brothers' You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'.

Kellen gently placed his hands on Hermione's waist, while she placed her hands on his shoulders. Kellen actually took the lead – something he wasn't completely comfortable with, but he knew he needed to do it.

"Wow, Kellen," sighed Hermione. "You're really good at dancing… I would never had expected that."

Kellen chuckled. "You wouldn't have said that a couple of months ago… November gave Harry and me some ballroom dancing lessons. She didn't go easy on us, that's for sure."

"She did a very good job for sure… tell her I said 'thank you'," replied Hermione softly.

Meanwhile, Harry looked into Ana's pretty hazel eyes. "I've been looking forward to this for quite a while, Ana. Thank you for being my date tonight… you look nothing short of stunning."

Ana blushed. "I'm not going to lie, I've been looking forward to this for a while myself… and you look nothing short of handsome, Harry."

A few minutes later, Sasquatch segued into the familiar deliberate 6/8 Percy Sledge standard, When a Man Loves a Woman.

"When a man loves a woman

Can't keep his mind on nothin' else

He'd trade the world

For the good thing he's found

If she is bad, he can't see it

She can do no wrong

And turn his back on his best friend

If he puts her down

When a man loves a woman

Spend his very last dime

And trying to hold on

To what he needs

He'd give up all his comforts

Sleep out in the rain

If she said that's the way

It ought to be

When a man loves a woman

Give you everything I've got

Trying to hold on to your precious love

And baby, baby please don't treat me bad

When a man loves a woman

Deep down in his soul

She can bring him such misery

If she is playing him for a fool

He's the last one to know

Loving eyes can never see

When a man loves a woman

She can do no wrong

He can never look another girl

Yes when a man loves a woman

I know exactly how he feels

Cause baby baby you are my girl"

In the middle of the song, Kellen closed his eyes, and leaned forward, gently placing his lips over Hermione's, giving her a tender kiss.

"I had some unfinished business from this morning," he whispered in her ear. "I hope you enjoyed that."

"I did," sighed Hermione. "That was my first kiss, for what it's worth."

"That was mine as well," admitted Kellen.

After a few more songs, Kellen politely excused himself. "Erm, Hermione, would it be okay if I asked Daphne for a dance? She's been patiently waiting, and I don't want her to feel left out."

Hermione wrapped her arms around Kellen. "By all means, Kellen," she replied softly. "She'd love that."

Kellen left the dance floor to look for Daphne, who was with both Professor Goode and Professor McGonagall the whole time. "Hello Daphne," Kellen said. "May I have this dance?" He held his hand out to her which she gratefully took. "Hiya Kellen," she giggled. "I was wondering when you'd ask. Thank you for remembering me." She gave him a quick peck on the cheek.

The two friends danced to the Temptations' My Girl. Daphne, being a pureblooded witch, had some experience with ballroom dancing. She was stunned to discover just how good a dancer Kellen was, despite being no maj-born. "You're a terrific dancer," she whispered. "I didn't rightly know what to expect… most Muggle-born wizards have little to no dancing background."

"Well, I think we both have November Woodward to thank… she's a half-blood, and has a bit of a dancing background herself… she took it upon herself to teach both Harry and me."

"She did a wonderful job then," sighed Daphne. "Thank you for asking me to dance with you, Kellen. You're a terrific friend." She gave him another peck on the cheek; the friends then warmly embraced each other.

"You're welcome, Daphne," Kellen said. "You're a great friend yourself."

Meanwhile, Harry and Ana were dancing the night away without a care in the world.

"I'm having a terrific time with you, Harry," murmured Ana.

"I'm having a terrific time with you as well, Ana," replied Harry softly. "I feel like I'm dancing with the prettiest witch in the world."

Ana blushed, then giggled. "You still owe Daphne a dance, you know."

"I know," chuckled Harry. "Doesn't mean I can't enjoy the moment… I wish tonight would never end."

"Me either," sighed Ana.

Several minutes later, a very flustered-looking Flynn Replogle stormed off the dance floor. Apparently, his date had enough of his boorish behavior and left him. He saw Daphne standing off to the side, watching her friends. Replogle spotted Daphne by herself and approached her.

"Dance with me," he said gruffly.

"No," replied Daphne defiantly.

"You will join me for a dance," Replogle persisted, clearly not taking 'no' for an answer.

Daphne glared at the hulking brute. "What part of 'no' do you not understand?"

Replogle grabbed Daphne by the wrist and pulled her out to the dance floor. She tried resisting, but she just couldn't free herself from his grip.

Harry saw Daphne in the corner of his eye, and noticed that she was in trouble. He looked at Ana apologetically.

"I have to bail Daphne out, Ana," he said. "Please excuse me for a moment."

"Do be careful, Harry," Ana sighed. "I don't want you getting hurt."

Harry stormed out to bail out his pretty blonde friend. She looked extremely uncomfortable as Replogle tried putting his hands on her waist, forcing her to dance with him.

Harry tapped Replogle on the shoulder. "I don't think she wants to dance with you, buddy."

Replogle swung around to address Harry. "And who are you, runt?"

"I'm Harry Potter, and the girl that you've dragged out on to the dance floor most unceremoniously just so happens to be my friend. I know she's already told you 'no'. You need to respect that."

Replogle cocked his head. "What are you going to do about it, runt?" he asked challengingly.

"This," Harry said. He reared back, and clocked Replogle squarely on the temple with a nasty right hook. Replogle collapsed to the floor.

Harry stepped over Replogle. "Hi, Daphne… I'd be delighted if you had this dance with me," he asked casually.

Daphne grinned broadly nodded. "I'd be delighted as well, Harry… that was very brave of you, by the way."

A moment later, Sasquatch began playing the Spinners' classic Could It Be I'm Falling In Love. Harry gently placed his hands on Daphne's waist, and smiled at her for the duration of the song.

"Thank you so much, Harry," Daphne said softly. "You really are a true gentleman." She gave him a peck on the forehead. Harry's face turned nearly crimson.

After the song was over, Daphne thanked Harry for the dance, and she returned to the sidelines. "Please don't go hard on Harry," she begged Professor Goode. "That git deserved exactly what he got."

Both Professor Goode and Professor McGonagall chuckled. "Mister Replogle was clearly in the wrong and got exactly what was coming to him," Professor Goode replied. "In fact, I may award the Horned Serpents a few house points for Harry's bravery. It took some guts for Harry to take on a boy nearly twice his size."

"Both Mister Potter and Mister Grimseth would make exceptional Gryffindors," added Professor McGonagall. "I may give them a little token of my appreciation before we leave in the morning."

Harry returned to the dance floor, where Ana wrapped her arms around him as tightly as she could. "You were wonderful, Harry," she said softly. She closed her eyes, leaned forward, and planted one on Harry's lips.

"Whoa," Harry said, his cheeks turning scarlet red.

They danced a few more songs, until Professor Fontaine apparated again in the dance hall.

"Did everybody enjoy themselves this evening?"

Loud cheers and applause was the response.

"Marvelous, marvelous," replied Fontaine. "Unfortunately, it's time to wrap things up for the evening, but before we do so, it's time to crown the Prince and Princess of the 1991-92 Annual Spring Dance!" Professor Fontaine waved his wand, and summoned a silver tiara for the princess, and a silver cape for the prince. "It is my great honor to crown… Miss Anastasia Harrison as our princess, and Mister Harry Potter as our prince! Everyone, please join us in congratulating our new royal couple…"

Once again, the dance hall erupted into cheers and applause.

Professor Fontaine gently placed the tiara on Ana's head, and fastened the cape around Harry's shoulders.

"Now, would the two of you please do the honors and have one final dance?"

Sasquatch played a tender rendition of Ben E. King's Stand By Me as Harry and Ana enjoyed one final dance together. When the dance concluded, the dance hall burst into cheers and applause, even louder than before.

A few minutes later, the students returned to the front table to retrieve their wands, but Professor Goode stopped Harry and Ana for a moment.

"Mister Potter? Miss Harrison? You two looked positively wonderful out there on the dance floor," Professor Goode said with a big smile on her face. "And Mister Potter… I heard you defended the honor of a certain Miss Greengrass earlier this evening. Although I normally don't condone the use of… physicality to settle disputes, I think in this case, I can overlook that. In fact, I find your deed brave enough to be worthy of five Horned Serpent points. Congratulations."

"Thank you, Professor," Harry replied.

"Now, Miss Granger and Miss Greengrass will be leaving for Great Britain tomorrow after breakfast, so if you want to stay up a bit past curfew in the common room, you have my permission to do so this evening. It may be a while before you see them again."

"I can't believe this week has flown by like this… I'm going to miss them. And thank you, Professor," Harry said gratefully.

Harry and Ana made their way to the common room, with Kellen, Hermione, and Daphne not far behind them.