Annie looked at the outstretched hand in front of her. Was she really about to dance with this man—this stranger?

But that was the thing. She had no idea what her mystery boy's name was, no idea where he was from or how old he was. But for some reason, he didn't feel like a stranger.

You are the one I dream of. That was what he said. Annie didn't dream but she wondered if she did, would it be of him?

He was handsome, very handsome. She would be lying if she said otherwise and he seemed to know he possessed good looks. The boy carried himself with a strong aura of confidence and charm. His brown hair was mussed in a way that was so lazy and yet so perfect. Deep blue seas lingered in his eyes, blissful shades of blue and silver and even a little black combining to form an ocean of thought. He had a strong jaw with high cheekbones and dimples that appeared when he smiled, which was often.

Annie didn't often go for handsome men. Actually, she hadn't ever gone after any men, too afraid of them to even speak to them. But it was almost impossible to be afraid around him. His laidback grin and effortless charisma somehow managed to climb past all of her walls like the fortress surrounding her heart was nothing more than a sandcastle.

And so when he held out his hand again, blue eyes patiently waiting for her to accept, Annie slowly slipped hers in, reveling in the brief moment when sparks flew up her entire arm from the warmth of their touch.

He immediately took the lead, a strong hand on her back guiding her through the steps in the garden. For a brief moment, Annie wondered what it would be like to have a man like this take charge of her life, barreling through it with boyish charm that only he seemed to possess.

That's crazy. You've just met this man.

"What are you thinking of, cara mia?" The Italian rolled so easily off of his tongue that she wondered if it was one of his native tongues.

"What does cara mía mean?" She asked, evading his question instead.

"''My dear,'" he replied with no hesitation as if he didn't have any second thoughts about calling her something like that. He's a stranger. A charming one but still a stranger, she reminded herself as he spun her gently. "It's what my father calls my mother." He grinned devilishly. "But I like mia topolina better."

Annie bit her lip and noticed that his eyes seemed to shift in color when she did. She immediately let go of the lip but that just made it worse. "And what does that mean?"

He slowly lowered her into a dip, his lips brushing her ear when he whispered, "My little mouse."

"I- I'm none of those things," she stammered breathlessly. Having him so close to her was driving her mind crazy. His scent, his warmth, all of it was making her mind go haywire.

"Oh, but I beg to differ." The boy winked before pulling her up. "You are soft and gentle like a mouse. Little like one too."

With a graceful spin, he turned her outward before quickly pulling her back in. His warm front pressed against her back while his arms slipped around her waist as if it were natural to hold her. When he spoke, hot air drifted down her neck, making her shiver. "And you might not be mine," he murmured, tucking a piece of loose hair behind her ear, "But I hope you will be."

But Annie just frowned, stiffening in his hold. "It seems odd to want a partner so soon just based on looks."

"I don't want you only for your looks—though they are a plus."

"Don't you, though? You know nothing about me." Once again, Annie was reminded that she still hadn't told him her name. At this point, she wasn't even sure she was going to. Her mind kept flashing from being totally smitten with him to very cautious.

"Oh, my love, but I do."

"You do?"

He grinned and began to dance with her again. "I know you are afraid of crowds. Afraid of people in general. I know you get nervous at the idea of conversations and when you're nervous, you bite your lip and look rapidly around the room. I know that your eyes widen when you check me out. I know that your smiles are rare but I bet they are beautiful. And I know that I want nothing more than to kiss you."

Annie ducked her head to avoid looking at his lips because, in all honesty, she wanted that too but she wasn't sure she was ready for it.

"Those are all physical," she said instead. "You're just proving my point."

"So then let me learn the other stuff. I'm not going anywhere, Little Mouse. Tell me something about you."

"Like what?"

She wasn't exactly interesting. Even her family joked that she could be boring. Annie's personality could be perfectly summed up in six words: quiet, soft, and barely there at all. Her mother just insisted that she was someone you had to dig a little deeper to know, someone who had bits of beauty tucked behind carefully built walls. "Like a bush of roses, Annalise. You may have to look harder for the buds at first but someone will look at your hidden blooms and think they are the most beautiful thing of all." Annie just wondered if she even had any blooms at all or if her mother was just trying to make her feel better.

"Tell me something no one knows about you."

Her face curled. "That would be a lot. I only talk to three people. Four now, I guess."

"And who are the three?" The thing that shocked Annie most was the way he looked genuinely interested. She had assumed that her severe social awkwardness and lack of friends would make her seem weird but there was no judgment in those ocean eyes. Just curiosity.

"My mother, my father, and my older brother," she mumbled.

He nodded. "I used to want a sibling when I was younger but my mother couldn't have any more children. It's just me and my parents." Then, a wry smile spread across his face. "Can you imagine two of me in one household? It would be a nightmare."

"How do you do that?"

The boy's eyebrows furrowed. "Do what?"

"T-that! How do you just say things so easily? How are you so charming?"

"You think I'm charming?" He asked with a smirk on his face. He laughed at the unamused look she shot his way. "I don't know. It feels natural to me, that same way being quiet is to you, I suppose."

Annie frowned and he did that thing again where he wrapped her in his arms. And for some frustrating reason, it worked. His warmth surrounded her until it was all she could think about, not her frustration over her inability to speak and just be normal. How was she supposed to ever become her own person when she couldn't even tell someone her own name without fear? How she was supposed to live if she was constantly hidden in the corner?

"Little Mouse," he whispered, breaking her from her thoughts with a voice that was deep and smooth, like the hot chocolate her mother would make on cold wintery nights. It stirred something in her stomach and Annie couldn't help but lean into him subtly with the sound. He hummed deeply in satisfaction, curling his fingers into the fabric of her dress while burying his head in her hair.

What am I feeling? What is this warmth? Why am I not pulling away? Why am I not afraid? Why do I actually like this?

"My love," he repeated again, seeming to know when her thoughts spiraled out of control. "I like that you're quiet. It makes me want to be quiet too. It makes me want to shut my trap so I can enjoy the world as you do."

"Don't do that," she mumbled. "I like it when you talk."

"Can I get that on the record for any future times you tell me to shut up? Because I can assure you, topolina, that there will be many."

A soft giggle escaped before she could stop it. Behind her, the boy stiffened, his arms dropping from her waist. Annie stepped away and turned, backing slowly.

Mortification flooded her body, flushing her cheeks and making her palms sweaty. Leave it to her to ruin things so quickly.

"W-what? Did I do something?" She asked once she saw his widened eyes.

Slowly, a smile spread across his face, bright and full of joy. He rushed over to her and cupped both of her cheeks in his hand, blue eyes swimming with wonderment and happiness. "Do it again," he murmured.

"What?"

"That was the most beautiful sound I've ever heard. Do it again."

Annie felt her cheeks turn a bright shade of pink. "N-no, my laugh is horrible."

He shook his head, that smile still on his face. "No, love. Your laugh is incredible. I want to hear it every day for the rest of my life."

He doesn't mean that. It's just another one of his lines... right?

Annie looked down at the ground, composing herself before deciding that a change of subject was definitely in order. She did not want to talk about herself anymore.

"So... um... you speak Italian?" She winced at how awkward the simple question sounded as it came out of her mouth but he just smiled again, removing his hands from her cheek as if he sensed her discomfort.

"Yup. My father is Italian and we spend about half of our time at our home there. It used to be more but when Scorpius and I became friends, my father was running out of excuses to keep my mother and Astoria apart. We just go there for the winters, mostly, when the Malfoys go to their home in France."

Woah. He said all of that so easily. Practically his whole life story in one casual breath. "Italy? Scorpius? Astoria?" She questioned.

Mystery boy chuckled. "My father grew up in Italy and we have a family home there. My mother and Astoria Malfoy are best friends so when they both had sons in the same year, they were determined to make us friends, which worked, obviously. Scorpius and I are thick as thieves and our families are still very close."

Annie frowned. Scorpius was her cousin—third cousin, technically—but she hardly knew him. She wasn't even sure he'd recognize her if he saw her. Her father wasn't exactly keen on leaving Riddle Manor to see anyone but her Uncle Mattheo and even then, he and his family came to them mostly. If they ever had company, Annie didn't usually see them. The Notts, the Malfoys, the Berkshires, they all visited once a year and usually only said a brief "hello" to Annie before she darted up to her room, leaving the adults to speak.

"Have you ever been to Italy?" The boy asked, stepping closer with each of his words. Annie was surprised to find herself not moving back.

"No. I've hardly left my family's estate."

A look of pity flashed across his eyes but he covered it with a smile. "Well, no wonder you're scared of the world. You haven't seen how wonderful it can be." Before she could question what on Earth he meant—because how could a world that took women and harmed them just as they did to her mother be wonderful?—he brushed past it, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her into his embrace. "Don't worry, mia topolina. I can show you the world."

Annie couldn't decide whether she really wanted that or really didn't. A combination of both fluttered around her, along with some other indecipherable emotions.

He looked into her with those deep blue eyes and Annie couldn't help the rise of heat within her. "I play the pianoforte," she whispered in an attempt to stop the rise of butterflies in her stomach.

A corner of his mouth quirked up. "Oh really?"

She nodded. "Quite well. Mother says she's never heard anyone play like that, even her."

He ducked his head and a few strands of brown hair fell over his eyes. "And do I get to hear this playing sometime?"

"Maybe." Her voice was so quiet she wasn't sure she had even spoken at all.

He smiled and squeezed her waist. "I can work with maybe."

His face inched closer and, again, Annie couldn't help but feel something stirring inside of her. Her heartbeat was thumping wildly as his already familiar scent entered her lungs. Woods with a little bit of warm musk, like a library with doors that opened out into the forest. "I used to sleep with a stuffed animal until my brother ruined it. And I hate being outside unless it's in the garden. Especially the rose one."

"Are you telling me things no one else knows about you, Little Mouse?" He teased, one hand coming up to lightly stroke her cheek while the other rested on her lower back."Because, somehow, I like you even more now that I can imagine you holding a little teddy and walking past roses."

"It was a bunny," she breathed as he came even closer.

"Even better," the boy murmured.

And then, his lips were on hers.

Fire immediately spread through her veins at the feeling of warmth that overcame her. Annie's toes curled inside her dancing slippers, so hard that she had to reach out and grab onto the lapels of his jacket to steady herself. His mouth was warm and soft, his lips somehow perfectly nestling against her own. He hummed and used the hand on his back to pull her closer while Annie was focused on all of the sparks dancing around where their skin met.

What am I doing? This is my first kiss and this is probably his thousandth. And just like that, instead of thinking about how wonderful it felt to kiss her mystery boy under the dim candlelight of the gardens, all Annie could think about was insecurities. What if this was just another kiss for him? What if she was awful? What if—

What if he was just saying all of those sweet things to do this, maybe more?

You can't trust any guy except me. We're all horrible liars with only one thing on our minds. Don't talk to any of them, okay sweet girl? Her brother's voice suddenly appeared in her head, reminding her exactly what she should have been thinking all along.

She saw the way that girl was looking at him. What if he had tried the same tricks on the blonde at another ball just like this? What if Annie was just another victim to his charm and boyishly good looks? What if all of this meant nothing?

Annie pulled away and looked at the way his beautiful blue eyes had widened. His lips were tinged pink from their long but sweet kiss. And Annie realized with a pang how utterly natural it looked on him. The messy hair, the freshly kissed lips, everything. This was probably what every girl fell for. It was what almost made her fall too.

So when a familiar sense of fear began to fill Annie's heart, she did the only thing she could think of.

She ran.

And *there's* our little Cinderella retelling guys and gals. What do you think will happen next? Let me know what you think and have a great day xx